Yeah!

Today the doc tested LJ for anymore blood, and it came up negative! Hurray! We've been on breast milk for almost a week now (I didn't go the full week on formula because my milk supply was suffering, even though I was pumping). Anyway, so he is allergic to something. I'm almost certain its cow's milk protein, and possibly soy, but I have yet to add things back to my diet to see what it is. I'll start adding back peanuts/nuts, then wheat, then soy....if none of those flare it up again, then I'll know it was the cow's milk protein. He's still a gassy little booger, but I think a lot of babies are at this age; hopefully he'll grow out of it.

More Questions

Well, for the past several weeks, LJ has been having streaks of blood in his stools, but earlier this week the amount of blood increased and became alarming to me. So the pediatrician told me to take him off of breast milk for a week and use a hypoallergenic formula. Thank God, its already started to work. He had his first normal bowel movement last night, and I'd never been so happy to see a pile of crap in all my life! So, now I know he's probably allergic to something in my breast milk, but what? During the week I have him on formula I'm eliminating all of the most common allergens from my diet and pumping...we'll see how he does with that. If I've eliminated the allergen, then I'll add back things one at a time to see which one is the culprit. Did any of you have this problem? If so, what did you do? Did anyone supplement for a short period then try to put him/her back on the breast? Did it work?

Cousins!

We went to Granny's on Sunday and LJ got to see his cousins! Cousin Olivea got to hold LJ for the first time and did a wonderful job (below). LJ just smiled the whole time!



Above is Cousin Rachel helping me change LJ's diaper (my sister is in the background putting Olivea's shoe on) and below is Cousin Jonathan holding LJ with cousin Olivea patting his head.


For those of you not familar with my family, Rachel and Jonathan are my cousins, and Olieva is my niece - so now you know the relationship. Cousin Amanda and her kids were there too, and I couldn't believe how big they've gotten since the last time I saw them! People are already telling me that about LJ, but it takes comparing him to old pictures for me to see it.

Prayer Answered!

Well, on Monday I prayed for God to give me the wisdom and LJ the ability to go to sleep in the crib, without the sling, and yesterday he did just that! I can only contribute the fact that I even THOUGHT to remove the crib bumper and dust the cobwebs off of a lightweight swaddler and wrap him up in it to devine intervention...apparently the crib bumper WAS freaking him out, and his arm flailing was waking him up and/or popping his pacifier out. Not ONLY did he take his naps in the crib throughout the day yesterday, but he slept from 11 last night to 7:15 this morning (oh, and after his 11:00 feeding I put him in his new sleep sack without the swaddler)!!! I hope it wasn't just a fluke...if not, I'M going to have to get adjusted to sleeping through the night again :o)

Thank you all for all of your input and suggestions. As Leah said in one of her comments, it's very reassuring to me as a first time mom to know that every baby is different and it's okay to try out new things and see what works. Anyone else who wants to post their experience, please do so. I have several friends who are or will soon be first-time mothers who check out my blog and would probably like to hear what other mothers have to say!

Update

Thank you all so much for your input. I'm trying to modify the idea behind the Babywise method to fit our lifestyle and LJ's personality. Today I'm trying the pacifier with a snuggly beside him - to help hold it in :)~, and I've removed the bumper pad so he can see outside of the crib...as weird as it sounds, I think that kind'a freaked him out. I'd still love to hear what anyone else has to say or additional info from any of you, so feel free to comment. I'll keep you updated on our progress. (But no screaming as of yet today!)

Babywise...need advise

Okay, I've read the Babywise book and am trying to apply its theory. The scheduled feeding thing is no problem...he's more or less eaten every 3 hours since he was born...so no biggie...playtime, also, no biggie, and even naptime falls in the right order, just not in the right place in the physical sense. SO...I'm trying to get LJ to take his naps in his bed and NOT in the sling (if I set him down after he's asleep he wakes up). The book tells me to let him cry until he settles himself down...and, yes, he does settle himself down, but it was the LONGEST 15 minutes of my life (we've only tried it once, and I was a wreck wanting to console him). He is now asleep, but I'm wanting to know from any of you mothers who have tried this...how did it work the first time (even few days) and does it get easier?

6 weeks old!

Daddy and LJ spending some quality, Saturday-morning time together!




Happy boy!

What big eyes you have!....

Me and my boys!

Well, LJ is 6 weeks old today. He's holding his head up pretty well anymore and has started smiling at random things that he takes a liking to. Today I dropped his pacifier in my plate full of watermelon juice, and since he was fussing, popped it right back into his mouth, and he seemed to take a new liking to his pacifier! He loves to look at trees and tree canopies, and, of course, still loves the sling. We have two slings, one that I'd posted a link to previously and the other is made by Infantino, BOTH are a huge hit. He loves to sit in the sling while I run on the elliptical trainer, and run the vacuum cleaner.