First of all, I never imagined a baby could have so much gas! I remember someone recommending I purchase a bottle of Mylicon gas drops. Well, we now have a bottle conveniently located in every room. The situation is getting better only in the sense that my little man has learned to fart with the best of them. Often my guests look over at me with startled wonder as Gabriel lets em rip. I tell them proudly that he can out-fart a truck driver. As my niece remarked last night, "he can fart louder and longer than I can!"
I didn't anticipate pooping problems either. My niece never really had that problem, so it was something I thought was relegated to older folks and their Metamucil. Not so with my little angel. My first call to my Mom about this situation resulted in her suggesting "rectal stimulation." Ummm, I certainly wasn't familiar with that procedure. Thank God for mothers who have been there and done that. She offered up her suggestion and now I can extract poop like a pro with a vaseline greased Q-tip or thermometer. As I type this moment, my angel is in his bouncy chair which is our usual poop extracting, gas calming device.
Baby boogers: do you have to be an atomic physicist to extract them? Gabe hates the extraction bulb and the whole process but he hates a stuffy nose as well. Sometimes it is a lose-lose situation.
And, the whole breast feeding thing. Don't even get me started on that one. I knew going into it that it would be hard work. I was ready for that. But, as my sister pointed out so blantently, your life transitions from your belly in pregnancy to your boobs post partum. She was right. While I ordered a baby that would eat voraciously and grow healthy in executed perfection, I got a baby who prefers to nibble and nap, nibble and nap, ad infinitum. Therefore, having my boobs hanging out all day is not something I was particularly well prepared for and something I have not subsequently handled well.
Between my lack of patience with my nibbler, and my nibbler's dislike of my boobs, the whole breast feeding wonder has about gone out the window. We're still trying, but I think it is more me trying and him resisting. I sometimes feel hostage to my full and painful breasts as he rejects them time and again. And, I admittedly have failed to develop a productive relationship with the breast pump. I just can't get the idea out of my head that it is some sort of medieval torture device. So, Gabe eats out of and loves the bottle. As another mother consoled me, "formula is good stuff; it's not rat poison you know."
Yet, I don't want to sound like I am complaining. I'm not really. I am just amused by the things I have discovered and even struggled with. I'm still waiting for Gabriel's first real smiles to show up and for longer stretches of sleep. But, in the meantime, his growing chubby cheeks keep me busy stealing sugars from them hourly. He completes my world like nothing else and fulfills everything I ever hoped for in motherhood.
So, to sum up Gabe's picks at five weeks:
Gas drops=great! Likes the pink version better than the clear.
Bottle/formula=bring it on, love it.
Mom's boobs=sooo last season, outdated, no thanks.
Pacifiers=like em most of the time.
Baths=like the warm water, hate the cold getting out.
Fisher Price Aquarium Swing=totally rocks! Love the side to side motion.
Bouncy Chair=great for gassy stomach and pooping.
Stroller rides=like the fresh air, bumpy jiggles.
I look forward to the new discoveries still lurking on the horizon. I am sure there are more than I can fathom and I relish that reality and challenge.
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