It seems like everything happened at week 6. This is supposedly the peak of fussiness, which means everything starts to get easier from now on. I remember with Little M, 6 weeks was a bit of a turning point for us. We are now half way through the “4th trimester.”
I am also unofficially able to do everything this week. However, I shall not, since I do not have my post-partum checkup until next week. Still, just knowing that I soon can wear little E, pick up little M, and finally take that well deserved bath, makes me giddy.
The one big thing that did not happen this week was the okay from the hospital ortho doc that Little E’s hip brace comes off. Although they assured us that the vast majority of newborns who need the brace will have them off by 6 weeks, at our visit, the head doc said that the hips are not quite there yet. He then adjusted the brace quite significantly, which made me even more suspicious of them saying that we do not need to adjust the brace as Little E grows. We then went to another ortho doc for a second opinion. This doc’s sonographic measurements were 10 to 20 degrees off from the hospital doc’s, and found Little E’s hips to be totally normal. He said we definitely do not need the brace. So M and I have a difficult decision to make – which doc’s recommendation do we go with? Update on this once we make a definitive decision.
Feeding: Little E is still nursing quite often during the day, every 2 hours or so unless he takes a long nap. However, he is going very long at nights now, usually two long spells of 5 to 6 hours between nursing. He is also growing like a weed, so I am not worried that he doesn’t eat so much at night.
Fussy: Little E is noticeably more fussy than before, and have a more difficult time calming down. But it is still quite easy to deal with, as he is never fussy for too long, and it is usually only when he gets overtired.
Sleeping: Naps have gotten harder, with Little E having a hard time staying asleep if I put him in his cot. Night sleep is still great, however. We never had to co-sleep, and only a few times did Little E need anything extra to get back to sleep over night.
Waketimes: Little E has more wake-times, now up to a half-hour, which he doesn’t need to eat, be changed or sleep. He prefers me to hold him upright and stand so he can see all around.
Milestones: First smiles! Okay, Little E actually first smiled during the 5th week, but this week, these smiles are happening more often and he even made a silent laugh once. It is super cute. We haven’t had a chance to do much else, like belly time, due to that hip brace. I want to give him some belly time as soon as we can though.
Mom: I still have a little bit of the post-partum belly, but overall feeling fit and want to get out much more once I have my final OB check. The weather is getting nicer, meaning that I really would like to pack Little E into the carrier and go out. Since all shops have stairs, the carrier would mean that I can actually do some shopping while out. And also, the first thing I will do once I am cleared is to take a nice bath. Okay, only after I carry Little M around a little (we haven’t done that for over 6 weeks!!!), but right after that, bath!
usheeshobbynook 