So for John’s first 6 weeks Dave and I totally let John set the schedule.  In our minds there was no sense trying to impose a schedule on the little fellow being so new to the world and all.  The only thing we did was keep it dark at night and light during the day to help him get the feel for the fact that night time would be a great time to sleep.  We were really blessed in that John never had any long awake periods during the night.  He just woke frequently for feedings and would go right back to sleep.

After six weeks without a daytime schedule though and then three straight days when John didn’t take a nap longer than 15 minutes and having to hold him continuously I was starting to worry.  I called my dear friend Deborah who has six children and asked what on earth to do to help John get on a schedule.  Apparently, all I had to do was complain though because all of a sudden I started to see a pattern to John’s day.  We are now FOUR DAYS into an actually beginning of a schedule for our days!!  I’m feeling so human again, it’s amazing.

So Monday night and each night since John has gone to bed between 7:30-8:00PM, awakened around midnight for a feeding, around 2:30 for a feeding, around 5:30 for a feeding and then awakened for the morning between 7-7:45AM.  Then he’s taken a morning nap around 9-10:30 and another nap around 1-5PM.  Then been awake for the evening until his new bedtime.  Today is the first time I’ve been able to either lay him down by himself for a nap or not slept with him though.  If he stays asleep I might actually tend to a few household chores quietly downstairs!!!!!!!!

Dave and I wanted John to take the lead showing us his schedule and it worked!  And this week I’ve been able to do things to make sure he sticks to that schedule and it sure has made a difference in how I feel.  I’m feeling more rested and alert again.

Our Sweet Little John

Wow!  Dave and I have had an amazing seven weeks with our little man.  John is such a joy.  And that picture above is 2 weeks old because he’s lost all his hair in the past two weeks and we now have a bald baby.  Funny thing is that his new hair is already starting to grow in.

He came into this world via an unexpected fashion (c-section) and we had some trouble in the beginning keeping weight on the little fellow.  He was born 9 lbs and 8 oz, but too quickly dropped to 8lbs.  Some weight disappears off newborns anyway, but his percentage was just too high.  We learned from a lactation consultant that he wasn’t able to nurse properly so I had to stop breastfeeding and go to pumping.  For the last 5 weeks I’ve been pumping and then supplementing what I’m unable to provide with formula.  And has John ever flourished!  He was 10lbs and 12oz at his one month appointment!  And I know for a fact the little guy has added beyond that now.  He even looks bigger to Dave and I, and we see him everyday.

I’m still not getting much accomplished aside from pumping, feeding, changing and hopefully nuturing John.  Hopefully the house doesn’t fall down around our ears, but I guess household chores must at some point become something I can do again someday.  Once he is on more of a schedule I think life will become more normalized again, I guess.

John is not sleeping through the night or anything yet.  He still awakens every 2-4 hours for feedings.  But even that is becoming almost predicable.  He awakens around midnight, around 3 and around 6 (which also means 11:30, 2, 4 and 6 are still possibilities too, hehehe).

Today I was putting on a little outfit one of my Great Aunts purchased for him that says “Caution I might spit up” and has a cute little bald baby pictured.  No joke, I was snapping the last snap and the caution came true.  It was like he knew how to read.

Dave will probably be adding photos here to the blog frequently.  So check out the pictures section at least once a month and you’ll get to see our little man as he grows.  He is such a fantastic little baby.  We are absolutely in awe of him continuously.