The Leger house has adapted pretty well to our new normal. I anticipate that our normal will be ever-changing, but we’re handling the newborn stage pretty well. As I told Bryan, the newborn phase should be pretty easy because we’ve done it before. I was a little nervous that Quinten would have a completely different personality and we’d have to figure out how to deal with him. For the most part, he’s similar to Maximus.
He’s a much more efficient nurser and doesn’t ever miss a meal. He’s also a lot more vocal. Not necessarily a crier, but a grunter. We’ve had a few nights that he’s been pretty loud and we haven’t been able to get much sleep. I think that also makes him wake up more frequently. I think part of it is gas, but like I said, he’s not crying about it. He’s also a loud nurser. He likes to coo and make noises while he eats. Maximus did this a little too, but Quinten does it every.time. Eating makes his life complete.
He’s doing great with sleep. If he goes longer between feedings, it’s during the night. Lately he’s been on an every other night sleep rotation. That means that every other night he gets up every two hours. Then the next night he’ll only get up once, meaning he goes about 3-4 hours between feedings. That every two hours is rough. I’ve been thankful that he’s done it while Bryan has been on break. While Bryan gets up when Quinten wakes, he quickly falls back asleep and it’s me who is up for 45-60 minutes each time. That means that I’ve been able to sleep in* the next day while Bryan deals with Maximus and Quinten. *Get another hour of sleep between the 6 and 8 am feedings.
Maximus is back to his good-natured self. He’s remembering his manners and giving me hugs and kisses at bedtime. {The first two weeks he refused to say goodnight to me. 🙁 } He’s spent a lot of time coloring, drawing, playing with Play-Dough, reading books, and watching a ridiculous amount of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. In the beginning, he spent a lot of time playing IN the moses basket when Quinten wasn’t in it. Now he grabs onto a blanket or other baby item that isn’t being used. He’s gotten comfortable with me nursing Quinten and now simply says, “Baby Quinten eat again?” That’s much better than a few weeks ago when he was saying, “Uh oh! Baby Quinten biting.”
We’re enjoying this family time and the slow transition into our new normal. Some of us are taking a lot of naps. The rest of us are slowly getting back into the rhythm of cooking and cleaning {and blogging}.
*These pictures were taken when Quinten was two weeks old. The post written when he was three weeks old.
My Quinn was also an obnoxious grunter early on – to the point of very little sleep for us and less restful sleep for her. At the recommendation of a friend, I took her to the chiro and a couple appointments later, we noticed a huge difference! Just a thought.
And Mickey Mouse Clubhouse also became ridiculously popular in our house once Q arrived. I’m trying to wean the toddler off it slowly. So far, #fail!
Good luck and keep enjoying those handsome boys!
Yes, Bryan has been known to say, “You need to be quiet so we can sleep.” It’s usually around 4 am when he’s changing a diaper! 🙂 Was she pooping before you took her? We do get some pretty big blowouts and they could be hours later, but he’s pretty regular. I’m not against the chiro, mine is a good friend and we took Maximus when he was itty, bitty. Just want to see if we’re in the same situation. I remember Maximus being gassy and crying out in pain. I haven’t figured out if Quinten is feeling the same thing because he’s not crying. But it’s a lot of grunting! Part of me wondered if that was his swaddle issue, grunting to try and get his hands out.
My version of weaning from MM is to try and get him hooked on another cartoon. ANYTHING ELSE! That’s not working either. Thirty seconds later he throws the remote at me and whines for Mickey Mouse. As always, I enjoy the comments!
Quinn wasn’t crying in pain either. Just grunting like a crazy baby. I don’t think she was pooping during … because we would get the poops – but often much later. I would be convinced her diaper was full after all those grunts and then nothing!
After the chiro helped her a bit, that’s when the swaddle really seemed to take hold. She fought it at first too – and now loves it. (but my time is limited, I think)
Good luck with the other cartoons. Let me know if you find something as “awesome.” I can occasionally get F to watch something else – but MM reigns supreme.