twomorrows & twominis: Photo Dump + Months 1-3

In my ever abundant free time (ha!), I have been reading some of our blogs from a few years ago. Even though they are pretty boring, I am glad I am able to go back and read what we did and remember things I otherwise wouldn't. With that being said, I thought I would write about our first three months with our sweet Cooper. Pictures scattered throughout to keep you entertained.

The boy loves his wubbi! 8/12

When Cooper first came home, it was super easy- he slept ALL THE TIME. Well, except for when he was eating. He didn't stay awake much and I remember we LOVED to see his eyes open, since they rarely were. He was eating every 2-3 hours, day and night, but I didn't mind. And I didn't really feel that tired, even though I knew interrupted sleep isn't the best.

Taking a quick nap during church 8/18

It was hard being stuck at home with him all day and not able to go out- even to the grocery store. J would get home and I was rush off to do errands before Cooper needed to eat again. Since he slept so much, J & I were able to have meals together. We even got to sit down! :)

Letting flies in 8/20

Then on a Sunday in late June, it all changed. Cooper would.not.sleep. Nothing we tried worked; he eventually just crashed. Too bad that was only a sign of things to come...

Getting that head up! 8/20

Cooper was not a napper. On a very rare occasion, he would sleep more than 40 minutes, but 40 minutes was usually his maximum. And sometimes it would take me an hour to get him to sleep, even if I could tell he was tired. This was exhausting, and I was going crazy! Being cooped up with a Coop who wouldn't sleep, which meant I couldn't sleep = not fun. Not having any friends here to talk to or go see = not fun. Not having family around = not fun. When he did sleep for longer periods of time, it was when I was holding him, so I still couldn't get anything done or sleep well. We did nap on the couch together sometimes just so I could get in a quick nap.

Holding onto mommy 8/22

Cooper would also wake up in the middle of the night extremely gassy. He would be screaming in pain. He fussed and screamed while he nursed. We would help him pass it by bicycling his legs, but that usually meant being up most of the night. Coop was also a very loud sleeper. It was nice being two steps from him in the middle of the night to feed him, but it was hard to get any real sleep!

Getting higher! 8/22

At his 2 month check up, I mentioned his lack of sleep, fussiness when eating, and gassiness to the doctor. Some babies just don't sleep, apparently. Not what I wanted to hear. For the other two things, I could give it a few more days to see if his system would mature, then I should cut out dairy. I think I waited two days. It can take 10 days to get out of my system, then about 7 days to get out of his. I had to commit to one month being dairy free (no butter, cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, whey, etc. NOTHING :(), then reintroduce it.

My fake smile

Being dairy free is WAY harder than being diabetic. Being diabetic means you can have some carbs/sweets in moderation. Being dairy free is just that- free. About two weeks in, we started noticing a change. He was easier to put to sleep, he was less fussy and less gassy. Along the dairy free road, I also discovered he is not a fan of tomatoes, broccoli, spicy foods, or caffeine. I was hoping it was not dairy.

Long Creek, SC

We suffered through a month of no dairy. I figured (hoped) it wouldn't be long lasting, so I just had to get through a month. I didn't cook as much, and we ate LOTS of PB&Js. Poor J! Eating out proved to be difficult. Dairy in grilled chicken? Yes. In fries? Yes! Dairy is everywhere. However, Cooper was like a different baby. It was amazing.

Carter and Cooper 8/25

We moved Cooper to his crib once he was only waking up 2-3 times a night and was less gassy. It was much easier on me than I thought. We had our room back! No more sneaking in. We can watch TV now. We can keep the lights on to read.... not that either of us wants to read. We'd rather sleep. Having the video monitor is comforting, and I find myself just staring at him on the monitor often. He's just SO cute!

Even higher 8/26

When we got home on Labor Day, I reintroduced dairy. Tuesday, I didn't really notice much change except that he was awake for a long time in the afternoon. I thought maybe it was because he had slept so much the day before. He wasn't having any of the other symptoms he had before. Wednesday, I had a little more dairy. Cooper didn't nap well and was awake for 7 hours without a nap in the afternoon. While he wasn't really gassy or too fussy, I knew this was it. No more dairy. :(

Still lovin' the wubbi! 8/29

While not being able to eat dairy is an adjustment, people do it, so I know I can. I have been finding recipes to try and alternatives to dairy products (vegan cheese melt, anyone?). J is happy I am cooking more. He is happy he gets to keep his dairy though. He even had a grilled cheese last night. Lucky. Buttery, cheesy awesomeness.

8/30

It took Cooper almost a week to recover from my reintroduction of dairy. He is back to his normal, happy self. He goes down easier for naps (except the last one of the day!) and is sleeping longer at night. In MS, he slept for 6 hours straight! We are just now back to 5 hours after having dairy again. I am holding out hope the 6 hours of sleep returns soon.

Grabbed my links! 8/30

Cooper is so fun to be around and play with. He loves his wubbanub (paci with a duck on it), his toy zebra, staring at lights and mobiles. He is such a smiley baby when he is well rested. I am so lucky to be his mom and to get to stay home with him everyday. It has taken me a while to feel that way, but I couldn't imagine it any other way now. The little boy has my heart.

And now the rest of the pictures....