Oliver is 3 Weeks Old!

Um, wow. How is it possible that three weeks have gone by already!? Oliver will be 3 weeks old tomorrow, and I just can't believe it. He's such a great little guy!

I'm innocent, I swear!!

(bad photo, I know)...but look at those eyes!!

He loves:

The boob. 

Sleeping on mommy and daddy's chest

Snuggling

Being held

He does not love:

Diaper changes (screams)

Bath time (screams)

The carseat (SCREAMS!!--this is a killer.)

Being laid down, while awake, for more than about 30 seconds

Oliver was 9 pounds, 1 ounce at our post-partum midwife visit today. He was down to 7 pounds 6 ounces at his lowest (only 4 ounces down from birth weight). He's gained almost two pounds in three weeks! He is still wearing some of his newborn sized outfits, but they are getting a little bit snug, so the 0-3 month stuff is starting to get some use.

Our little man had his first actual doctor's appointment last week, and he did great. We're still not sure what we're going to do about vaccines...after Annabelle's experience, I'm super scared to do any with Oliver, but I also do think there is some merit to a few of them. Regardless, we won't start anything until at least 4 months, maybe 6, so we still have time to think about it all. 

Since he was born, Oliver has nursed pretty much non stop. If he's awake, he's generally attached. And, he seems like it's hungry nursing, not just comfort nursing. He also has a shallow latch unless I focus on it and help him get a better one, and he loses suction when he's nursing (which makes a "clicking" sound). Losing suction means he's swallowing lots of air and getting gassy, and his shallow latch means he's not emptying me as well, which is probably why I got mastitis last week. Anyway, all of those things put together made me suspect that O has a tongue tie. I called the La Leche League leader, Jodi, who is also and IBCLC, and who I owe my entire nursing relationship with Annabelle to. This gal knows her stuff! She came over on Saturday and checked out O, and sure enough, he has an upper lip tie and posterior tongue tie. Thankfully, it's not really affecting our nursing, since I've been aware enough of everything to help him nurse as efficiently as possible. Since he's gaining weight and is healthy, we've decided not to have the procedure done to "clip" the ties. They use a laser to do it, and it's relatively quick. But, it's not painless, and it's not cheap. Jodi said that some babies who were nursing before the procedure have developed oral aversions after the procedure and have actually stopped nursing because of it. One of my biggest nightmares of having babies is that they wouldn't nurse, so this is obviously a huge concern for me. If Oliver starts having problems with his teeth or with speech as he gets older, then we may reconsider it, but for now we're confident in our decision to leave him alone. Jodi also recommended chiropractic work, and craniosacral therapy...both can help losen the muscles around the jaws and neck to help the tongue have better range of motion. She also gave me some sucking exercises to do with Oliver to try to help strengthen his tongue. So, that's where we are at with that! Nursing away, and doing my best to keep the little man full. 

Oliver HATES HATES HATES his carseat. Screams like he's being tortured. Which does, actually, torture mommy. I pull over to try to calm him down, and then as soon as I start driving again, he freaks out. He cried until he was hoarse today, poor baby. I just don't know what to do. I can't stand being in the car with him crying so hard, it just breaks my heart :(

Unlike Annabelle, Oliver did not like being worn right from the start. I've been persistent in trying, though, and he's starting to like it, now. I wear him in the Maya ring sling most often out of convenience, but the Ergo with the infant insert has been great for walking around the neighborhood, and today at the grocery store. It feels the most secure to me, and has the most head support of any of them. I ordered my first woven wrap, and it should be here soon...I wanted something as cool as possible for summer, so I'm excited to give it a shot! We'll be heading over to the Chambana Slingers baby-wearing meeting on Thursday, and I'm hoping it's here by then so I can get some good insight in the best way to carry this little man in it. 

So far parenting this second time around is way easier. We as parents are a lot less nervous and uptight than we were with Annabelle, we haven't had the same problems with nursing as we did with Belle, and Oliver seems more easy going than she was (only by a little bit, but still). We're more relaxed and enjoying it more. It's more exhausting, that's for sure, but we're having a great time as our family of four!