Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Happy (Belated) 2 weeks Jonah!

Sunday was Jonah's two week birthday. We celebrated his second week of life with a lovely ice storm that claimed our electricity. Of course most of NWA was in the dark, not just me, but we just got power on Sunday evening. So ours was a little slow getting turned back on.

In the meantime, we spent a few dark nights with Jeremy's parents. Luckily Jeremy was able to borrow a generator from his boss and we had heat, the blower from the wood-burning fireplace, and some lights. We then relocated to my mom's house, who only lost electricity for about three hours Tuesday night. I felt bad because she has two dogs who are like her kids and I wasn't quite sure about a newborn and a couple dogs, but my mom kept them penned up. She didn't complain once about it. I figure we'll introduce the dogs and Jonah at a later time. So we just got back into our house Monday night.

The most annoying thing about the electricity being out for almost a week? We lost everything in our fridge and freezer. It was full of food. My mom had just gone to the grocery store for us. We had tons of leftovers from the lovely people who brought us dinners. Its all gone. On the upside, I do have a very clean refrigerator now.Look at that face! We can't decide who he looks like. At times I think there are qualities that look like me, or really my brother in his baby pictures. Then he makes a face or purses his lips a certain way and he looks like his daddy. We looked at some hospital pictures of Jeremy when he was a newborn and there is a striking resemblance to Jonah. So we'll just call it even?

The last two weeks have been a rollercoaster! I've been elated, in love, happy, sad, worried, upset, good, great, annoyed, etc. Its a tough thing, taking care of this little guy, but I wouldn't have my life any other way. I am trying to take it all in. Slowly burn a memory in my head of how he is right now. The outfit he's wearing in the picture is the first thing Jeremy and I bought him. We had just found out we were pregnant and wanted to buy something. I had waited 2 years to even browse through the baby section. Of course we had no clue he was a boy, so we needed something unisex. This duck outfit was the closest we found to working for both genders. (I think it is so hard to find unisex stuff these days.) He's gotten some good wear out of it because it is a newborn size and is one of the few things that fit him right now.

Which reminds me: we went back to the dr last Monday for a weight check. Jonah was up to 7 lbs 5.5 ozs! He had been down to 6 lbs 7 ozs. at his two day visit the prior Thursday. So my piglet gained almost 15 ozs in about 4 days or so. We go tomorrow for his two week checkup and I think he'll be over 8 lbs. for sure. Once my milk came in (almost 5 days after he was born!!!) he has been a good eater. So PTL for that!

MOM Question:
Do you ever let your baby sleep on his/her stomach? I let Jonah when I'm there to monitor him and make sure he's breathing fine...but he sleeps soooo much better that way. Plus he can pick up his head very well and turn it to the other side. I'm too scared to let him sleep that way at night, but when I put him down on his back he wakes right up. We're not getting much sleep that way!

I hope to be better at posting in the next week. Thanks for keeping up with us!

11 comments:

B said...

Jordan slept on her belly from day 1....because she just WOULD NOT sleep on her back. I never worried much, I mean we all slept on our bellies, and we're fine ;-)

Hayden prefers is back, so his back it is...he hates his belly. All babies are different....but I'm sure he'll be fine on his belly.

B said...

oh and his blonde hair is ADORABLE!!!

Mary said...

Yep mine both slept on their tummies too--I started them both at naptimes so i could go in to check on them but after awhile I gave in at night too! My first baby loved his tummy and my second actually started sleeping on her back once she could roll over so go figure...but I believed that they would be ok and they were. I did hear that having a fan in their rooms dramatically reduces their risk of SIDS--if that makes you feel better. We actually have always used fans because of the noise!

LYNDEE said...

i pt cade on his back the first few weeks, but only bc u know i was a first time mom and u hear all that scary stuff, but when i did he loved it. And like everyone else says, we all layed on our bellies and were fine... hey girl, ure the mommy u do what u feels the best for him, if he likes it let him.

Jessica said...

I put Harbor on his back and never even tried it, but i'm sure he would be fine on his tummy. We all slept that way. : )

Isn't motherhood amazing and hard and emotional and wonderful all at the same time?? Jonah has a great head of hair!!! Such a pretty baby!

Natalie said...

Maggie always slept on her belly. As long as she had a paci I didnt worry as much. I worried just as much about Parker who slept on his back. Parker still sleeps on his back and Maggie still wads up in a ball on her belly. I think it is just what they prefer. Seeing him in that blue outfit reminds me so much of Parker.

Natalie said...

Okay funny...Parker walked up and said, "Is that baby Jesus?" I said, "No that is baby Jonah." I think that is what he meant.

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness, Jonah is so beautiful. Love all that blonde hair. When my baby was young she loved sleeping on her belly. If Jonah sleeps good that way I say let him. Lord knows you can't take care of a new baby or even your self if you can't get any rest. I heard you guys were at your in-laws, I thought Oh I'd love to see you & that sweet baby boy but thought it wasn't a good time to come & vist. So I didn't walk across the street to brother you, ha!!! And yes, that ice storm was unbeliveable, it looks like a war zone.

The "W" Family said...

Gosh he just gets cuter! I'm so glad your electricity is back on! I let both of mine sleep on their tummy even though I felt stressed about it because they say not too. They both slept so much better though. Especially collicy Zander. My little sis was a 3 pounder and back then they told my mom, DO NOT let her sleep on her back, if she throws up she'll aspirate into her lungs! So go figure! I think they flip every 10 years :)

Anonymous said...

I know there's this huge campaign to preven SIDS and have babies sleep on their backs all the time. I tried - I really did. And of my 3 kids, 2 did sleep on their backs. But my middle child would never have slept at all if I didn't let him sleep on his tummy. I also worried about it, and the first night I let him in the bassinett next to me, I woke up every 20 min. to check him and make sure he was breathing. But he had such good strength in his neck and back -- once I realized he could easily lift and move his head, I relaxed and we all got some much needed sleep. He is now 4 years old and is still a tummy sleeper. So, did I ever confess this to my pediatrician - no, I didn't want the lecture. But, the fact is that tummy sleeping is only one of many, many contributing factors for SIDS deaths, and there are a lot of unknowns. Millions of babies have slept on their tummies for generations with no ill effects. I respect the effort to try and reduce SIDS deaths and to educate moms about this danger and what they can do about it, but I think it's extreme and unfair to make mom's feel like they are deliberately abusing their kids by letting them sleep on their tummies. If it makes you feel better, you can invest in one of those mats you put under the sheet that alarms when the baby stops breathing. It would be a small price to pay for good sleep and peace of mind. (I didn't because on-line reviews said it falsely alarms quite a bit.) Best wishes, and trust your instincts!!

Anonymous said...

I would let him sleep however you feel comfortable letting him sleep! I know many people who say tummy sleep can cause SIDS, but one of my family members died of SIDS and she was a back sleeper. Just keep an eye on him! I know you are a wonderful mother and you know what is best for your sweet baby!!