Napping Deja Vu with Baby #2

I will admit- I had to Google the spelling on that. :-)

Anyways... I am finding that Baby Owen is a spitting carbon copy of Baby Austin in so many ways... yet I'm still finding it hard to deal with him some (a lot) of the time, even though certain behaviors are not alien to me..

Napping.

Or I should say, lack thereof. Owen will NOT nap. At least not nap well, or for a long time. Austin was the same way. I remember taking him the doctor once just to see if something was wrong with him because all I could get him to do was nap for about 15 mins all day long.

(Note- nothing was wrong with him, he was just an "active" baby that needed a lot of help to fall asleep)

History repeats itself... Owen nurses, is awake and happy and checking things out for about 10 mins after eating.. then the "tired" noise starts. Oh boy... what's my plan of action this time?

Swaddle?

Swing?

Rock and hold?

Crib?

Couch?

Front pack?

Car seat?

We've tried them all and they all work sometimes and are epic failures other times.

Lately it's taken me at least 30 mins (sometimes an hour) to soothe him to at least the point where his eyes are closing.. all the while he's getting more and more cranked up, more and more tired and making his body more and more stiff and harder to hold and soothe.

Why do I get so frustrated?

Austin did the same damn thing. I should be used to this.. or at least know what to do... I blogged once that trying to hold and soothe him was like trying to hold a log- stiff and impossible to cuddle.

It's not that I don't wrack my brain with how I can fix this..

We burp.

We sway.

We rock.

We try nursing again.. ok, nope.. you are playing around on there, obviously not hungry.

We try massage.

And finally, FINALLY he falls asleep.

Oops... gotta scratch my nose.. oh god, I need to scratch my nose!!!! Ok.. quick scratch... ahhh... better...

DAMN IT!!!!!!

Moving my arm woke him back up!!

Here we go again... rock and soothe.. sway and walk... swaddle, unswaddle.. swing? Nope, hated that..

Bounce, bounce, bounce...

I'll be honest. I'm exhausted from having to do this all day, everyday... just to get him to finally snooze for about the time it takes me to go to the bathroom or get more water.

Austin finally just grew out of this... about 6 months later.. Sigh. That's a long time from now. I'm getting to the "very frazzled" point.

Not to mention, I'm terrified to go anywhere with Owen because if he gets to the overly tired point... well.. let's just say the kid has some powerful lungs on him and he is not afraid to use them.

I know I struggled with this same thing with Austin, but back then I didn't have toddler Austin around who basically gets ignored or told to be quiet all day long because all day every day is devoted to "Get the Baby to Sleep Before He Screams Even Louder Than He's Screaming Now."

Anyone have any bright ideas I can try?

Other than duct tape over his mouth?

I'm kidding.

Maybe.

Project 857- August 16 through September 20

I will be honest.

After having Owen, the days all blurred together and I didn't even know what day it was most of the time.

I didn't take a lot of pictures of Saturday-specific activities, and I don't even remember what we did most of these Saturdays.

We were sleep deprived.

Changing diapers.

Nursing.

Shushing.

Playing baseball and golf and tennis and puzzles.

Taking baths and trying not to splash too much.

Watching Umi Zoomi and Paw Patrol.

Grocery shopping.

Starting next week I'll try to get back to my normal Saturday posts. Neal goes back to work on Monday (sad) and so that will make the weeks start to feel more like normal weeks... not extended long weekends with him home.

More adventures to come in the future!

I will leave you with a sweet moment though..

Project 857- August 9

We had another fun day over at our friends' Scott and Allyn's.

Allyn got all the kiddos signs to paint and then they planted pumpkins... we'll see if they grow fast enough for Halloween!

Mostly I think we make up playdates just so the adults can get together and hang out. :-)

The adults got snacks and beverages, and the kids got crafts, digging in the dirt and pool time.

Win-Win.

Project 857- August 2

Our busy summer continued on..

August 2nd we spent the afternoon celebrating another baby that was on the way.. our friend Allyn was due with her second baby 3 days after I was due with Owen.

Little did I know on this day I was just a little over a week away from having my baby..

Austin had a blast... sandbox time with Barrett, flying with Daddy, cooling his tootsies in the pool.. being a crazy monkey with Maddie..

Our friend Kati was pregnant this summer too.. we were all due within days/weeks of each other. If you believe the Old Wives Tales about belly shape.. it's obvious I'm having a boy and the other two ladies had girls!

Project 857- July 19 and July 26

So I'm way behind on my Saturday posts....

Like, two months behind.. I've had a lot go on in the last two months obviously.

Time to catch up...and because of how far behind I am, and because I have minutes between naps and crying sessions, these will be brief.

July 19th

We celebrated our friends' son's first birthday at a kid-friendly pool party.

There was swimming, a fight over a hose, a poop in a swim diaper and snacks.

July 26th

Neal went on his annual golf trip... I took Austin to my Mom's, ans I got a weekend in an EMPTY HOUSE. Bizarre.

Amanda was here though, so it was a weekend of BFF time!!!!!

And I got no pics because I was too busy talking all weekend. :-)

Baby Owen- 1 month!

I was hoping we'd have a cool nickname for Owen.... we called Austin "The Great Bambino" and all his blog posts got that tag... we called Owen "Baby Yeah" for a bit because Austin came up with that nickname.. but then when we decided on a name, it became "Baby Owen" and that seemed to really stick. We still call him that constantly.

So he might be Baby Owen until he's 18.

Here is how things are at 1 month!

-We should have named him Grunty McNurse-a-lot. For obvious reasons.

-Weighs 8lbs 2oz. I did a scientific weigh-in by weighing myself, then weighing again while holding him. Still in newborn sized clothes but getting close to being in the next size.

-Totally loves the front pack. Like LOVES it. I wear him in this everywhere we go, around the house, cooking, eating dinner, blogging.. everything. Thank heavens for front packs!

-Does not sleep consistently. Not even close. Some days we have really good days. He nurses, then sleeps and wants to nurse 2-2.5 hours later. Repeat. Other days he only cat naps for about 20 mins all day long. Some nights we get some good chucks- 5 hours!!!- other nights we are up from midnight to 6am, trying to get him to sleep.

-Nursing is going good. He is down to about 20-30 mins total, nurses from both sides and I feel like my supply is good. Yeah! I've also gotten more comfortable with nursing when and where we need to... parking lots, the zoo, the beach,  a playground. I am still proud to be exclusively breast-feeding!!

-He likes his carseat.. if its not in the car. We've gone on morning walks and now have him sleep at night in his seat and it's working fairly well so far.

-He is very "chatty" like Austin was... likes constant attention, doesn't like to be put down, grunts and coos and fusses constantly. Not a lot of quiet around our house nowadays..

"Ma!!! Where are my boobs???"

-Is strong and holds his head up well, pushes against me and already likes to "stand" while being held. Another active explorer, I think.. yikes.

-Is a total Mommy's boy. When Austin was a baby I was always a bit sad that he wasn't super cuddly or attached to me. Austin loved Neal. He slept on Neal a lot, was comforted by Neal more than me.. now with Owen, I got my "wish" (careful what you wish for!!). He doesn't really like anyone other than me and will fuss and cry if I leave the room, or if he's away from me for too long. He calms down instantly with me and snuggles in.

sorry for the nursing bra pic, but that's my reality!!

-If he is ok with being put down, he likes to just kick it out on a blanket.. the lights of the TV and the spinning ceiling fan already capture his attention.... as do stories from Daddy.

-Overall, he's a bit of a difficult newborn. Trying to figure out how to get him to sleep well, the fact that some days he wants nothing other than to nurse constantly, the very passionate LOUD cry when he's upset.. it's been a month in learning patience and finding our groove as a family of four.... but the cuteness makes it worth it!

And how is Austin??

In some ways, amazing. He loves to "see" Owen and tells people that's his baby brother. He kisses him and wants to hold him and give him pacifiers and show him toys.

He is also having his struggles. He wants to be carried while we are walking more often. He's whining A LOT. He's fake crying over little things a lot more. It's all attention-seeking and him trying to adjust to all the attention given to Owen, so we are trying to get through it day-by-day. Some days are hard... with major tantrums over EVERY.SINGLE.THING, some days are better.

Two animated, active, loud boys...

If anyone is ever bored, come on over to my house. You won't be after 5 minutes.. I promise!!