A good night sleep ... oops!

On Wednesday night, John woke up around 3:30 a.m. and realized that the lights on the baby monitor were going crazy but there was no sound. We both went running downstairs to find Giacomo crying for who knows how long. He typically wakes up anywhere between 2 and 3 a.m. for a feeding so it could have been for a while. Stupid mommy (that's me) turned the volume on the monitor down too low before falling asleep! I am going to push the blame off elsewhere because otherwise I feel too guilty. First of all, it's partially the monitor's fault. The analog dial does not allow me to see the volume in the dark. The other thing at fault is my job. Since starting back at work, I have been extra tired. I usually wake up around 1 or 2 a.m. to check on Giacomo if he has not at least been up once. Being overtired prevented me from waking up. So now I am thinking about quiting my job and pursuing a lawsuit against Fisher Price for the trauma to my son. Just kidding. He was just fine the next day and actually slept until 9 a.m. ... probably to make up for the sleep he missed while he was crying and waiting for me ... oops! Poor kid.

Deer in Headlights

I have been trying to get some good video of Giacomo to share with all of you but everytime I turn on the camera, he becomes like a deer in headlights. He stops smiling and cooing and just stares at the camera! In addition, I am not such a good camera technician and forget to keep the camera in the right direction. We use our new Canon camera as a static and video camera. I am still getting used to it. This video is pretty good. Enjoy.

Back to work with sick baby

Last Wednesday was my first day back to work. Mentally, I was ready to go back to work. Emotionally, it was a little more difficult. Tuesday was a tough day. Wednesday went pretty well, though. A new project is starting at work so there was plenty to keep me busy. The day went fast but it was the longest I have ever been away from Giacomo since he was conceived.

Unfortunatley, Giacomo started to sound sick on Tuesday night. His voice was real hoarse like he was congested and had a sore throat. He was in pretty good spirits, though, with no fever. Wednesday, he sounded the same. It was hard to leave him when he had his first cold. I knew he was in good hands with Grandma, though. She had to take him to the doctors for me. John had some free time in the morning so he was able to go, too. Giacomo just had a slight cold and there was nothing we could do except put saline drops in his nose if he needed them. He didn't. By Thursday evening, he was already sounding much better.

Thursday was much of the same at work. Thursdays Giacomo stays with Grandpa. I did not really know how much Giacomo would eat during the day (we've only given him a bottle a few times at night). I asked Grandpa to give Giacomo as much as he seemed to want. In the afternoon, he had two 6-ounce bottles ... more than I ever expected. Can I tell you how awesome he slept that night! I guess he has not been getting enough to eat during the day and is trying to make it up at night. It's so hard to verify what he is getting when he is breastfeeding. I am just making a real attempt at making sure he is really fed during the day!

On Friday, I worked from home. It actually worked out real well. It's just weird spreading out a few hours of work throughout the day. Giacomo is starting to take real good naps so I'm hoping it works out well. Actually, I am so excited to be able to work from home that I am going to make sure it works.

I go to work tomorrow, Wednesday, for another 20 hour week then next week it's back to full time.

Congratulation, Baby!

Congratulations to my college roomate, Emilie, and her husband, Chris on the birth of their son, Cooper. Despite some late pregnancy complications requiring Cooper to arrive a little early, he is doing great and hopes to be home soon. Read more on "The Chris & Emilie Experience" blog.

Congratulations to my college roomate Jill's daughter, Macy Rose, on her great prognosis. Macy had surgery before Christmas to fix her cleft palate. After weeks of healing, including the use of arm restraints, her doctor said she is improving as expected. Read more on "Our Little Pumpkin" blog.

Oh sleep, oh sleep … where art thou?

Giacomo started sleeping in his crib in his own room this week. The move was strongly recommended by the Pediatrician because he is still not sleeping more than 4 or 5 hours at a time during the night. The Pediatrician thought that his hearing us was waking him up. After a few nights in his crib, we are finding that is not the case. He is still sleeping just as poorly as before just now I have to go downstairs and down the hall to care for him when he cries.

It was obvious to me that I had not written about this topic in long time when I received an email from my girlfriend, Lisa, stating how it sounded like Giacomo was sleeping so well. This is the #1 topic on John's & my mind so I am surprised I have not mentioned it since the last time we had a decent night sleep … the weekend before Christmas. Since then, Giacomo’s sleep pattern has progressively gotten worse. The biggest culprit? His pacifier! Giacomo LOVES his pacifier. The problem is, when it falls out, he can’t put it back in his mouth. I talked to the Pediatrician, researched mommy Websites, posted the question on-line to a child development specialist and updated his feeding schedule then set out to break my 11 week old of his need for the pacifier.

On Thursday night, I put Giacomo to bed around 8 p.m. He was up by 9 p.m. I rocked and sang to him while he cried for almost 20 minutes. As soon as I put the pacifier back in his mouth, he fell asleep. Then I gave him his final feeding at 11 p.m. He was back up already by 2 a.m., 3 ½ hours later. So I fed, burped, changed, rocked, sang and shushed him for 1 ½ hours before I caved in and gave him the pacifier. He was sleeping within 5 minutes. He was back up at 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. for the pacifier. These times I was too tired to fight. By 6 a.m., he was back up for his first morning feeding. Now you can see why I was desperate to get rid of this little piece of plastic that rules my son’s world. He goes to sleep great, "sleepy but still awake", but is waking 6-7 times in a night. At his age and weight, he should only be waking up 1-2 times.

I have to let you know, though, I was letting exhaustion cloud my judgment. I talked to my girlfriend, Stacey, last night and she cleared my head. She pretty much said, “Yeah, as a mom, we do what we have to do. Sure, you’re going to be tired, but if that’s what your son needs, does it really matter?” I know it sounds harsh to you non-moms (and maybe even to some moms), but I truly appreciated the honesty. It made me realize that Giacomo really is just a baby and if he could put the pacifier back in his mouth himself he would (oh, I dream of the day!) It's not like he is acting out on purpose or can control his need for sucking. He really doesn’t want me in the middle of the night, just that little piece of plastic that he considers heaven.

I think my mom has been trying to tell me this in a round about way for weeks. It was nice to hear it from someone who has dealt with the same issue recently. You really would laugh if you saw how much Giacomo's demeanor calms as soon as he gets the pacifier in his mouth. I also have to say, those minutes in the middle of the night when Giacomo curls up his little body on my shoulder with his face tucked under my chin are pretty special and I will definitely miss them when they are gone. So for now, I will try to enjoy those few moments and work through the exhaustion and stop being selfish and put my son’s needs above my own. I know someday I’ll have to face this pacifier issue again …

Other than the when Giacomo is tired and the pacifier falls out of his mouth, he is a very happy baby. He is laughing and cooing. It's awesome! He follows me with his eyes as I walk around the room. I go back to work on Wednesday and I will definitely miss him on those days when I am in the office.

1st round of shots:( and the Urologist

Giacomo had his two month doctor visit on Wednesday. He is growing well and is currently 12 pounds 1 ounce and 23 inches. That lands him a little under 50% for infants his age. He also received his first round of immunizations. He was not too happy about the three shots he received. He turned a color of red that I have never seen before. It took about two days of fussiness, sleepiness and multiple doses of Tylenol until he was back to himself. The Pediatrician also recommended that we see a Pediatric Urologist. John and I have been a little concerned about some redness on the tip of his penis. On Thursday, we made our way down to the Cleveland Clinic to see the specialist. I will forego the details, mostly for my son’s privacy, but I will say he has a very mild case of hypospadias. (Giacomo has three male cousins with the same condition.) The Urologist said that there is nothing we have to do and the redness will go away as he gets older.