November 2010

Independence Day

Happy Independence Day!

As you can tell with my lack of posts, I'm super busy lately. Watching the 2 kids, working full time (at home-yey!) and keeping up with regular household duties is really a 24/7 job! Working at home and watching him is increasingly difficult with him on the move, and his desire to discover new things, but I'm so lucky to be able to be home with him this long so I'm not complaining.

Roman is now 8 months old. He's 21 lbs and quite a chunker! Sophie has definitely been enjoying him a little more now. He started sitting up around 6 months. Then started crawling at 7 months. Now he is pulling himself up to a standing position and, as of today, cruising. He is also a fan of screaming at the top of his lungs, especially in the early morning hours. He is obsessed with Cheerios and spends many an hour searching the floors for one that may have dropped. He is on the move from waking up between 6am-7am until bedtime at 7pm, with a few naps in between. He is a super happy baby but when he gets tired watch out-super cranky pants. Definitely not as easy a baby as Sophie was, but equally as happy and smiley : ) He really loves to cuddle, something Sophie was never really into. I really look forward to the days ahead when they can really play together. He adores her so.

Sophie is keeping herself busy doing things "all by myself". She is now fully potty trained, except for diapers when sleeping. Boy am I glad about that! I finally convinced her to make #2 on the potty with the lure of getting a "special toy" and once she got over the fear and confusion of how it all happens, she now is using the potty like a pro. With some little accidents here and there. She loves to talk about big plans she has for the day, most of which don't actually happen. She will only wear dresses and must pick it out "all by myself" every morning. She is starting to say some really funny things and we're really realizing she's much smarter than we realized and it's getting harder to convince her to do things we want. Tantrums are common as she has now entered the tantrumy three's, but usually don't last long and can be redirected with some carefully orchestrated redirecting!

We have a busy summer ahead with World Cup finals, Block Island, visits from my brother and my nephew, a trip to Hawaii for myself (YEY!) and then some weddings this fall-including my Brother-in-Law Matthew. Crazy year, crazy summer, crazy busy but crazy fun too.

Ok that's all I have time for-back to work. Sigh.

Four Months

Yikes I haven't been posting. Maybe because I just don't have ANY free time lately! Roman is now 4 1/2 months and doing well. Although he seems to have picked up a bit of the four month sleep regression lately waking up 2 or 3 times a night rather than 1 which is no fun for us. He did well during the weekdays this past week, but last night started up again. We've been trying to put him to sleep drowsy but awake as recommended, but sometimes he just screams and cries so much I end up picking him up as I fear he'll wake Sophie, or the neighbors! I'll have to be more diligent about it though as he seems unable to fall back asleep on his own lately.

Other than that he is doing well. He weighed in at 15 lbs 1 oz at his 4 month appointment and is now 25" long! He's smiling and laughing, trying to roll over. He successfully rolled from his back to his tummy twice in one day, and then from his tummy to his back another day. But since hasn't done either! He now grabs his feet when he rolls around and squeals a bit which is really cute. Still, he seems so much less animated when compared with Sophie of course, as she is just so incredibly active! I'm still having a hard time juggling my time between the two of them, work and home. I always feel like I'm disappointing someone. Some days I'm so stressed by 5pm and so ready for David to come home, but he's been working late hours lately so often hasn't been coming home until 7 or 8 o'clock. Needless to say once I put them down for sleep I collapse on the couch and veg out with mindless TV.

The weather is finally warming up ever so slightly, 50 degrees this weekend! Even this small increase is just so promising of what's to come.

11 wks

My big boy

10 weeks

Roman is now 10 weeks old. Whew! At his 2 month appointment the other day he weighed in at 13 lbs 4 oz and is now 23" long. Yey! He's still eating every 2 1/2 hours during the day and sleeps a solid 9 hours at night. This week we've made it our goal to get him to sleep earlier than midnight, and so far we've been successful! It's actually gone a lot easier than I anticipated. Every night we try to put him down 15-30 minutes earlier. Last night we got him to sleep at 10:40. Score! I'm not sure I want to put him down earlier than 10 though as I do like to get a bit of sleep in the morning and would prefer him not waking before 7AM. At this time in Sophie's life she was sleeping from 8PM-6:30AM, woke to eat, then slept another couple of hours. No such luck here, but hopefully it will be similar to that soon. He can't stay up more than 1 1/2 hours during the day, and he gets tired at exactly that time, like clockwork. He will then sleep for about 45 minutes, wake to eat. And repeat.

It's been so cold out lately that often we are forced to be stuck inside all day. It just doesn't seem worth it to me to bundle everyone up and take them out for a short while when it's 20 degrees outside. Especially since Roman is just getting over RSV and now Sophie has also developed a cold. But being inside is driving us all a little stir crazy to say the least. I can't help thinking if it were Summer we'd be out and about all day. It seems so far away. Sigh.

My maternity leave ends on February 1st. I wanted to take more time but was advised against it by my manager. More for my benefit. So on the 1st I will work from home the first few weeks, then start going into the office 3 days a week and work at home 2. I'm not sure how I'm going to juggle it all. As it is I'm busy from the minute I wake to the minute I sleep. I don't see how I'm going to squeeze a full work day in with it all. I may have to have my nanny come while I'm home to help out with things. But still, nursing Roman every 2 hours is a lot. I'm hoping the feedings will be more spaced out soon. I'm really dreading February.

David was home the week between Christmas and New Years as his company gives everyone that week off. Such a nice perk. Unfortunately between me getting some sort of flu and the freezing cold weather we weren't able to accomplish much nor get outside. Still, having him home was such a huge help. It was also much less lonely that it is when I'm home alone. We were able to have several friend come by for visits which was nice. I look forward to having some adult conversations as I'm with the kids all day long and just need that break!

Sophie is doing well with adjusting to Roman. She still always asks me to come play in her room when I'm feeding him, but understands when I'm telling her I'll be there in a few minutes. She still has a bit of trouble watching David hold Roman though. And always insists I feed him when he does. Too funny!

5 weeks

Roman is five weeks now and things are finally getting a little more manageable for me. Until this week he was eating every 2 1/2 hours during the day, then at night he starts eating every hour until he finally conks out at 3am. Yes 3am! It's been very difficult for me to keep up with his late night schedule and very tiring in general just having a newborn. Sophie was truly a perfect baby and never fussed, never had gas, always slept and ate right on cue. But poor Roman is the total opposite. Almost daily he still suffers from bad gas pains, usually at night, that are only relieved with vigorous bouncing, hanging over the shoulder or more nursing. They are not as bad as they were before I cut out dairy and chocolate, but he still suffers quite a bit. I'm suffering too trying to eat foods that I hope won't upset him. It's so stressful especially at dinner time wondering if a certain sauce will upset his tummy!

But now he finally has a long 5-6 hours stretch at night where we can all get some much needed rest. It seems that just recently his bedtime has moved back a bit to 1-2AM. Still not ideal, but much better than 3AM! Next week he'll be 6 weeks and I expect the length of sleep to be even a bit longer then. Here's hoping! He still eats every 2 1/2 hours during the day, and then cluster feeds at night from about 6pm until 1am, but I don't mind knowing I have that long stretch of sleep waiting for me at the end of it all!

I've been very stressed out up until this week with the lack of sleep and uncertainty of how to soothe him when he gets fussy or has gas pains. Sometimes I just break down crying right along with Roman. Often I end up waking up David to help out so I can get a much needed break.

Thanksgiving was wonderful as we stayed in LI with David's family and they were such a huge help holding him throughout the day and letting me get some much needed nap time in. David was also able to spend lots of time with Sophie to make her Thanksgiving special. We watched the parade, they played football outside and then collected twigs to make a fire (which we never found the time to do). Still she had such a great time and some nice traditions were started for her that hopefully she will look forward to every year. Unfortunately we had dinner at 2:30 when she was napping so she missed the entire meal! Luckily she had leftovers later and doesn't really know what she missed!

I still have our nanny coming a few days a week to help out which makes things much more manageable for me. But I do plan to try a couple days here and there soon to see how I do! It makes me a little nervous as there is still a lot of time spent feeding Roman (takes about 20-30 minutes at a time) and taking care of him but I'm sure we'll fall into a routine sooner or later.

He had his one month appointment yesterday and weighs in at a whopping 13 lbs 9 oz at 21.5 inches long. I can't believe he's so big! He's already growing out of his 0-3 month clothes but luckily I have 3-6 month ready to go. I must admit it feels good knowing that he is feeding well and that nursing him has been successful this time around, as exhausting as it is.

Three Weeks

Roman is three weeks old today. And what a rough three weeks it's been. The first two were fine, but this past week has been filled with terrible late night gas pains for Roman, no sleep for Mama or Dada, and a change in his sleeping where he wants to be held ALL THE TIME. No longer does he sleep in the swing, only on our chest or while being held. This has caused me a lot of stress and worry, as well as lots of tears. I just was so unprepared for things not to go well, as Sophie was so easy from day one. But day by day we are learning what he does and does not like. Based on other posts and reading up online, I've learned that certain foods may be the cause of his pain. So as of yesterday I've eliminated ALL dairy and chocolate from my diet, and last night was the first gas pain free night he's had. I really hope that this is the answer as it was just heartbreaking to hear him scream and cry in pain all night long, with little that we could do to relieve him. I was sure he was destined to be a colicky baby, but now I have new hope!

I've also tried putting him to nap on his tummy, a no no I know, but it's the only way he'll sleep. I'm sure to put him on not too soft bedding with no blankets or loose sheets, and I am confident he'll be fine. What a relief it is to have some time to do things without holding him all the time.

The nursing is going pretty well. Already I'm more successful than I was with Sophie as I knew what to expect with the pain and soreness this time around and really tried to push through it. I take Advil around the clock which really helps and little by little it's getting better. Still pain. Still sore. But it's all bearable and hopefully in the new couple of weeks it will get even better. I tried to nurse him at the playground yesterday which was a disaster for me as I was unprepared and found it very difficult to position him correctly as well as feel comfortable doing it out in the open. I think I'll need to get one of those nursing covers to make things easier for both of us. So for now I will time my outings better to where I know he will not need to nurse.

Roman has yet to have much of a personality as it's so early in his life, and we're just looking forward to getting to know him and what his demeanor will be like. Sophie is adjusting well and is enjoying the extra attention from David. I also have the nanny come in during the week to help out with her as I still can't lift her or take her out and about as I'd like. It's difficult for me not to spend the time I'd like to playing with and holding her, but I know that in a few weeks time that will happen again.

PhotoKuo

Eugene posted a series of beautiful photos he took at the hospital here. I'm so lucky to have such a talented friend. Thanks Eugene!

Roman Baldeosingh Rotstein

October 26, 2009 @ 12:58AM
8 lbs, 15 oz
20 1/2" long
Medium brown hair & blue eyes (for now?)


Welcome to our son Roman! I can't believe I've already given birth and am home with baby. What a whirlwind week!

Everything is going surprisingly well. I was disappointed with the C-Section but I always thought that's how it would end, but wanted to do my best trying. It all so happened so unbelievably fast. So fast that I was told by the Dr on call to go immediately to the hospital, which left us no time to have someone watch Sophie so I had to arrive there on my own. Luckily David's sister who was in Atlantic City made it here in record time and David was able to join me as I was still in the triage room.

I woke up at 8:30, water broke 9am, but I was unsure if it did or not. Maybe I was just in denial? We went to get bagels with Sophie and I quickly realized that it was in fact my water breaking so I called the Dr around 11am, after a quick trip to the playground with Sophie of course! It was just such a beautiful day, and it took me by surprise and I thought I really wanted to enjoy one last morning with just our little family of 3. I showered and finally went to hospital at noon, alone, and immediately as I arrived the contractions started fast and furious at 2-3 minutes apart, then 2, then 1-2! The all happened within 2 hours of being in the triage room. I began to stress out as David still wasn't there and I was so scared and lonely. But luckily he arrived just as I was about to be transferred to the delivery room. The pain was RIDICULOUSLY painful and intense, and as soon as they got me out of the triage room and into my delivery room I got the epidural. No, I BEGGED for it. Luckily the anesthesiologist was right there and ready and I screamed and cried through the last couple of contractions as she did it, thinking to myself over and over "this is the last contraction I will EVER feel". I really don't know how people do natural birth. They were 1 minute apart at that point and I just could not take it, I was going out of my mind. So finally the epidural took effect and then all was well and I could relax. It was impossible to watch the Yankee game or sleep or do anything other than wonder what was going to happen next. A few hours later my Dr ended up giving me Pitocin little by little to see if my contractions would strengthen, as I was 4cm and 100% effaced, but baby was still VERY high at -4! After several hours I never dilated past 4 cm and baby never came down, even with much strong contractions. I could have remained and tried if I really wanted to but I knew deep down that in the end this baby would not descend. He was still at a -4! So at almost midnight, as the Yankees won the penant and their entry into the World Series, they prepped the room for surgery. I was a little nervous but really just wanted to get it over with and see baby. The C-Section this time around took an entire TWO HOURS from beginning to end, twice the normal amount of time as I had a lot of scar tissue. It was horribly long and uncomfortable and scary. The shaking and uncomfortable position you're in, combined with the fact that you can feel or see much of anything is really horrible, but in the end all is well. At 12:58AM they finally pulled him out and we heard a series of really loud cries that sounded to me like a cat screeching! The announcement of a big baby boy was made and about 10 minutes later we finally laid eyes on our Roman.

Roman is doing well. The first night home did not go well as he does not like to sleep in a bassinet or anything that isn't moving, and we couldn't find the plug to the swing! So lots of rocking and shaking of the bassinet then eventually David just manually pushed him in the swing until he finally slept for about 3 hours. The breastfeeding is painful but I was definitely more prepared this time and so far it is working out. We went to the Dr today and he gained back 7 oz which is great as he had lost 10 oz in the first 3 days. I am supplementing with a small amount of formula after feedings but hopefully by next week I won't have to do this anymore.

Thankfully David is home for two weeks as it would be impossible for me to do this and juggle Sophie without his help. Basically he takes care of Sophie and I take care of Roman. I feel bad that I can't play with her so much or hold her, and she is definitely feeling the distance as well. But hopefully in a month or so I'll be back to my old self and able to do more with her. Of course I'm feeling guilty but I can only do so much with healing from the surgery and taking care of a newborn.

I feel 100% better than I did when I had Sophie. No depression. No surprises as I knew what to expect this time around. Boy it is so much easier after you've had a baby already. I wonder what I was so stressed out about the first time but luckily that is in the past. It's so nice to feel happy feelings and enjoy the baby rather than be distraught over it all!