Les Jones: Ultimate Baby Blogging to the Extreme Max

June 08, 2006

Home Life > Ultimate Baby Blogging to the Extreme Max

Monday was the first night Natalie was home, and she hardly slept at all. Tuesday she finally started sleeping during the day, and did pretty well that night. Last night she got feedings at 1:00 and 4:00 and slept through the night otherwise. So sleep is getting back to normal.

We took the girls to their pediatric appointment yesterday. Natalie gained two ounces since being discharged Monday, which is pretty good (a lot of babies lose a little weight when they come home). The nurse went through our family history for me and Melissa. They asked me my height, and then asked my pre-pregnancy weight. The nurse said that men tend to gain weight when their wives are pregnant, which was definitely true for me.

Katie has gotten big enough to reach the car's inside door handles from her car seat. I opened the rear doors and flipped the little hidden switches so that the rear doors can only be opened from the outside. I didn't think I'd be using the safety locks at 21 months.

Astrology

I mentioned Chinese astrology in passing the other day. Melissa's the expert in the family on that subject. After reading that post she filled me in on a few things.

In Western astrology, your sign is based on the month you were born. In Chinese astrology, your sign is based on the year and hour you were born. Natalie is Year of the Dog, Hour of the Rabbit.

One of Melissa's favorite astrology books combines Western and Chinese astrological signs. Natalie is a Gemini-Dog. Katie and I are Libra-Monkeys.

Melissa planned our second child's birth in part to so that everyone's signs would be compatible. She didn't tell me this when we were conceiving, because when she mentioned something about it a couple years ago I was like "I will not plan our family around freakin' Chinese astrology!" And I didn't, but she did. And astrology or not, I'm glad we had the baby right after she finished school, and before the summer heat started.

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Comments

"The nurse said that men tend to gain weight when their wives are pregnany, which was definitely true for me."

Raising hand here, boss.

Happened to me as well. Of course, I also quit smoking when my wife was pregnant with our first.

I easily gained 30 pounds in that time. I've almost taken it all off - I'm within a pound or two of what I weighed when we got married 10 years ago.

Glad to hear that Natalie gained a little weight. My son lost weight his whole first month - it wasn't until we finally gave up on the idea of breastfeeding that he gained weight. My daughter was formula-fed from day one and she never lost an ounce.

Posted by: Jay G at June 08, 2006

We tried breastfeeding the first time, with mixed success. It's harder than most people think, for sure.

This time Melissa's milk started coming in even before the baby was born, and Natalie was breastfeeding in the hospital the same day she was delivered. We also rented a medical grade pump right away - the first time we waited a few months after we realized things weren't going well, and by then I think it was too late.

Even at that, we're still using formula in addition to the breastmilk. It's pretty much a necessity - the baby is not satisfied with just the breastmilk right now.

Posted by: Les Jones at June 08, 2006