2012年1月25日水曜日

What To Do When Newborn Cries When Awake

what to do when newborn cries when awake

Baby JDB – 4 Weeks/One Month Old

Baby J turned four weeks old a couple days ago, and (and one month as of today). Since my last update, Baby J is now walking, talking, and taking driver's ed. Just Kidding.

 

New Developments
First, Baby J is now sleeping for longer periods and is awake for longer periods. He's usually awake around 4am, 8am, and 11am, 7pm, and 11pm. And during those times, he's awake for about two to three hours at a time. Of course, he's awake outside those times as well, and when he is, he usually stays awake for 20-30 minutes every hour or hour and a half. Yesterday, he was awake for four hours (although between those four hours, he had 10 minute naps here and there). At night, he'll sleep for two to three hours straight, breastfeed, then go back to sleep for another hour or two. This has helped tremendously for me. I've been feeling a bit more rested, albeit still tired as heck on most days/mornings. At night he'll usually sleep right after a diaper change too, except around 4/5am. He'll stay awake for an hour or two around that time (after a diaper change).

Secondly, Baby J developed baby acne at two weeks and six days old. He still has it, and some days it looks like it's getting better, and some days, it looks like it's getting worse. I remember CLB having baby acne (only because I have pictures), but I can't remember how long it lasted.. At least this time around, I know it's normal. Baby J also showed some cradle cap symptoms around two weeks old, but that lasted about a day or two.


Baby Acne at Two Weeks Old

Third, his skin is no longer scaly, for the most part. There's still a few patches here and there – on his legs, but for the most part, they are gone.

Lastly and inevitably, he's gotten bigger. I haven't had a chance to weigh him yet, so I'm not sure exactly how much he weighs. He has another check-up coming up this week (tomorrow), so I'll just wait til then to find out. He's also starting to outgrow his newborn diapers – the Grovia AIO Organic Newborn Cloth Diapers. Aaand, he now fits into his Bumgenius AIO Elemental Organic Cloth Diapers. These diapers are supposed to fit babies 8+ lbs, so there's a good chance he's now over 8lbs. We'll find out for sure during his appointment with the pediatrician.

Firsts
As baby J is growing, we've had some firsts these last two weeks. Yesterday, I cut his nails for the very first time. I cut them with baby nail cutters while he slept and now he no longer has to wear baby mittens. Last Tuesday, we took baby J out for the first time. And last weekend, as our family flew into town to visit, Baby J met his grandma, aunt, and great aunt for the first time.

Feeding & Diaper Changes
Since being born, Baby J has had 394 diaper changes. Thinking about that makes me dizzy. So heads up to expecting rookie parents – 400 diaper changes in one month! On average, his diapers are changed every hour and a half, and a little over half of those diapers are wet&bm diapers. Still, somehow he developed a rash of some sort on his bottom. It's been there since he was about two weeks old. It looks like his frequent bowel movements are what's causing it. I'll find out tomorrow during his check-up.

As far as feeding goes, he nurses about an average of 6 minutes per feeding every hour and a half. At night, he tends to go longer between feedings, but not that much longer.

Physical and Cognitive Developments
When I, or someone else, talks to J, he listens. Most of the time, he stops all the noises he makes and listens. He listens to my voice and watches some part of my face – not my eyes yet. He will look at me and follow me if I move from left to right. Sometimes he'll even let out a small laugh or a smile. Other times, he responds with his own sound.He still gets crossed eyed every now and then, so we close his eyes when that happens.

J also has a really firm grip. He'll grip my finger pretty well, even while asleep. He's pretty strong. Since day one, he's been lifting his head. He does real well during tummy time. Although he can't fully support his head yet, he can lift it and move it around. The other day he head-butted my face while he was laying on my chest.

Personality
Last week, I could've sworn Baby J was a colicky baby. He tended to cry every time he's awake. He would cry or fuss. Recently (this past week), it's getting a little bit better. MOST of the time, he cries either because he's hungry, has a wet/poppy diaper, or is cold. i'm still learning to read his cues, they're certainly different from C's when he was a newborn. Still, JDB cries a lot. And sometimes he yells while crying – like he's really mad. He's very vocal when he's awake. Very different from C.

Baby J is also a serious baby. Most of the time he has a serious look. We call it the angry bird look. I guess he got that from me. My mom says when I was a baby, I had the same angry look. A lot.

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