Separation anxiety...

...missing my baby! On August 23rd (a couple of weeks ago), I made a last minute decision to attend a real estate seminar on blogging in Orlando the next day. It was both thrilling and a little nerve wrecking to think of flying the coop and being amongst grown up people for an entire day! Being the animal that I am, I went to bed at midnight, fed Lucas for the last time at 2:30 am, slept for an additional hour and was on the road by 4 am armed with my breast pump packed and ready to tote around with me all day at the seminar. Since the drive to Orlando is 4 hours, I knew that I would have to stop at some point during my drive to pump. What I hadn't taken into consideration was that I would need to find a private room with an electric outlet to plug in the pump. First stop, Duncan Donuts - bathroom: check...electric outlet: noooo! Next stop, Walgreens - bathroom: check...electric outlet: foiled again! So I explained my situation to a female employee that mentioned that there was a breakroom, but that I would run the risk of one of the male employees walking in at any moment. Since it was only 6 am, I asked her how many employees were on duty now? 6. She said she would guard the door after I gave her a desperate look and told her that it would only take 5 minutes. Thank you Claudia from the Walgreens off the Ft. Worth exit!!! I arrived at the hotel for the conference on time after my 45 minute detour looking for pumping relief. I made the mistake of downing my first cup of coffee in almost a year and felt extremely anxious. I was able to really enjoy the conference, but boy did I miss my baby! I couldn't wait to hold him again and left the seminar an hour early to avoid rush hour and make it back to put Lucas to bed at 8pm. Lucas was soooo sweet as we were going through our nighttime routine and was touching my face mouth and cheek with his precious little hands. To summarize the day, I drove over eight hours in one day on less than four hours of sleep. By the way, the picture on this post is taken from my front carrier as I am wearing Lucas.

What was in the News...

...when Lucas was born!

- Mosque a few blocks from Ground Zero debate

- BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico

- Proposition 8 revoked in California

- low interest rates 4 - 5%

- Spain wins the World Cup Soccer in South Africa

The Dreaded Vaccines

Lucas had his two month appointment this morning and with that came the first rounds
of inoculations. I did a lot of research on the
vaccines, spoke to many other mommies and
read The Vaccine Book to educate myself on
each disease and shot. I decided to go with an
alternative vaccine schedule that runs one month
behind the AAP Recommended Immunization
Schedule. If you want to keep updated on changes the CDC makes regarding vaccinations you can sign up for e-mail updates here. At birth it is recommended that babies recieve the HepB shot. I skipped that since it is only sexually transmitted and will have it postponed until Lucas is 2 years old. At two months, it is recommended that babies recieve the following 7 vaccines: HepB (part 2), RV (Rotavirus), DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis - which is whooping cough), Hib (Haemophilus Influenzae Type B), PCV (Pneumococcal Vaccine) and IPV (Inactive Poliovirus Vaccine). I changed things up a bit, according Dr. Robert Sear's Vaccine Book and only had Lucas receive the following shots today: DTaP and Rotavirus. Next month he will recieve PCV and Hiband receives the IPV when he is 9 months old. I decided on this schedule for several reasons:
1 - If Lucas has a reaction to one of the vaccines, it is easier to figure out which one it is if he only
has two instead of six.
2 - Lucas will be getting poked only once or twice per session instead of an unbearable six times.
3 - Lucas is limited to receiving only one shot per session that contains traces of aluminum.
Lucas did really well today and complained when he was drinking the vial with the rotavirus, but swallowed it without spitting out any of it. I think that I was more nervous than Lucas was before the first shot and felt myself sweating profusely as I was speaking with the doctor beforehand. (Martha, Andres's mom, on the other hand, who was with me for support, was freezing cold in the same room.) I was distracting Lucas as the shot was administered into his left thigh and he cried out loudly when his skin was punctured. I managed in composing myself, pretty much, and grabbed Lucas to me as soon as the shot was finished and put him to my breast. I cuddled him tightly and talked to him as he was eating, explaining the importance of the shot and that I was sorry that we had to hurt him. Of course he doesn't understand, but I am sure that he was comforted by my voice. Lucas experienced zero side effects, but we gave him a little extra TLC just in case. :-) The rest of Lucas's schedule, continuing on September 20th, looks like this:

ALTERNATIVE VACCINE SCHEDULE:
2 months - DTaP, RV
3 months - PCV, Hib
4 months - DTaP, RV
5 months - PC, Hib
6 months - DTaP, RV
7 months - Pc, Hib
9 months - Polio, Flu
12 months - Mumps, Polio
15 months - PC, Hib
18 months - DTaP, Varicella (Chickenpox)
21 months - Flu
2 years - Rubella, Polio
2 years 6 mths - Hep B, Hep A
3 years - Hep B, Measles, Flu
3 years 6 mths - Hep B, Hep A
4 years - DTaP, Polio, Flu
5 years - MMR, Flu
6 years - Varicella (Chickenpox)
12 years - Tdap, HPV
13 years - HPV, Meningococcal

Basically, in the early months, Lucas will recieve half as many shots every month instead of every two months. You can sign up to recieve updates from the CDC regarding vaccination changes at the following site. On a side note, Lucas weighed 13.10 lbs (75th percentile) and was 25.5 inches long (97th percentile) and had a head circumference of 15.75 (50th percentile.) You can order free material from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) that lists milestones and has a free growth chart at the following site. Okay, now I'm babbling, but one more thing. Since we live in South Florida, I want to share a site that talks about safe sunscreens to use on your children and rates the various brands. I found it very informative and am going to look for Badger sunscreen in Whole Foods. If I don't find it there, I will just order it online.

Lucas makes new discoveries

Lucas and I went walking with little Oscar and his mommy Amy the other night and had a great time. On this particular occasion, it was a little late and both babies were not paying much attention to each other by this point. However, Lucas has smiled often at other babies, including Oscar earlier in the evening...although he prefered smiling at Amy. What a flirt! Lucas has started turning his head when he is tired or doesn't want to be bothered by the person smiling at us. Last weekend Andres and I went to a our friend Teca and Pato's birthday party and in the elevator there were to people on either side of Lucas smiling and cooing at him. It was so funny how Lucas kept moving his head from side to side to avoid both parties. Another discovery that Lucas has made is the object that he feeds from. One morning last week after his breakfast, I caught him staring at my nipple with a truly amazed look on his face. Now he will sometimes become very "talkative" and make tons of cooing sounds after eating and continues to smile in contentment. On other news, on Saturday (9 weeks after my c-section), I went running for the first time in almost a year! I ran for half an hour in almost 100 degree weather. As far as other firsts are concerned, Lucas rolled over for the first time on Wednesday, August 18th. He was in the play gym and walked his little feet up (from his stomach) with his butt in the air and flipped around. It took a lot of effort on his part and he made several attempts before he was successful. The next morning I showed Ana Maria, Martha and Andres what our little angel can do. Finally, Lucas has also progressed to size 3 Kirkland diapers from the 1-2. We found out from Andres's brother that Costco has a wonderful, and inexpensive diaper that causes very little accidents. With that said, "La Nena" Andres's aunt, came over for a bbq with "Ponce" her husband on Sunday night and Lucas was having a wonderful time laughing with her. When it was time for his bath, he peed on me as I carried him to the bath, when I put him in the bath he pooped in the bath shortly after...and THEN, he pooped in our bed the next morning! Andres and I have gotten accustomed to bringing Lukey to our bed when he awakes at 6 or 7 am so the three of us can sleep together until 9. This week Lucas stopped sleeping from 8 - 2amish and has started getting to sleep a little after 8 AND waking up at 12:30! I am not liking that trend, but he did break it last night and slept from 9pm - 3:30 so we will see what tonight will bring us...

Lucas stays in his crib entertaining himself for 45 minutes in the morning...

...unfortunately that was an isolated incident and never repeated itself! This happened in the beginning of the week. I was stunned! I woke up when Lucas started moving around. Then he started fussing. When the fussing didn't escalate to crying, I just let him be and realized he was playing with his new found toys, his hands! Lucas loves to blow lots of bubbles as he is concentrating on his hands and grabbing the outfit he happens to be wearing or his red dog chupo as you can see in this video. Lucas has definitely started noticing other babies and smiles at them at Mommy and Me class, which is so cute to see. His latest "girlfriend" is little Sofia from class. She is 11 weeks old, Lucas likes those older women already, and she was staring and staring at Lucas and smiling like crazy as well. I can't wait to see what my little angel is going to do next! He has started gurgling so much and enjoys "telling stories" to Daddy and I. He has also gotten so strong and likes to arch his back into a plank bridge position when he gets antsy on the changing station. Lucas also enjoys kicking one of his feet while in the bath tub. I think it might be time to take the little infant hammock netting off his baby tub too.

Mom in town...My mom

GRAMMA! Andres and I had a wonderful week with my mom and tried to convince her into staying longer. She helped tremendously in not only entertaining Lucas, but also helping him develop his hand eye coordination. Within days, my mom set up Lucas with rattles hanging from his bouncy chair that he was first hitting and quickly grabbing. Now at 9 weeks he is also putting what he grabs in his mouth. I have also caught him sticking his arm out in front of him and inspecting his hand. It was so great having my Mums in town! We enjoyed barbecues, laughed, drank wine, went out to Casa Juancho (amazing Spanish food) and went shopping for post prego clothes including a new bathing suit. (I love Target.) We went to Miami Beach with my new bathing suit and I even have a little color now. Ooh-la-la! When Lucas was exactly 2 months old, Andres and I went on our second date night. I am happy to report that it was much more successful than the first date. I told my mother not to call me unless she felt that she couldn't handle Lucas. I didn't make the mistake to tell my mom to call me if Lucas cried for longer than 5 minutes! As it turns out, Lucas didn't wake up and Mums even sent the following message to reassure me: "Wee one is fast asleep. No worries." In fact, it's not set in stone, but Lucas these days goes to bed at around 8pm and wakes up at around 2am. Unless he is awoken by a loud noise, he will usually sleep these 6 hours. A fair amount of creeping has to happen to ensure that the little munchkin won't be disturbed. We took Lucas on his first outing as well...to Bed, Bath & Beyond. I used the front carrier to tote him around in. My mom and I also started walking for an hour every evening (Lucas in the front carrier) and ate salads and yogurt. Gotta get my figure back ASAP! We also started giving Lucas bottles during my mom's stay. He will now have a bottle a day and I am relieved that he has accepted it. I have been getting out and about a fair share and it feels great! I went to the bi-monthly office meeting at my office for the first time in 2 months. Regarding teething, my mom does not think that Lucas is teething. She says that he puts his fingers in his mouth when he is hungry and that he blows bubbles because that is what babies do.

Stuff

Being a new first time slightly neurotic mom, I have been absorbing everything that I hear from both other mommies and Faith in the Mommy and Me class as follows:
Collapsible Ice Pack- If there is a hurricane or we lose power, the last thing that I want is to spoil the milk that has taken me hours to pump. I now keep all my pumped milk in this ice pack ready to add dry ice to it. Faith also mentioned that if the breast milk does begin to defrost, it is possible to pasteurize the milk by bringing it to a boil and putting it in new plastic bags.

Born Free Sippy Cup- Recommended for babies 9 mths and older, although originally I purchased it to feed Lucas milk with should we go through another Boob Strike.

Nuby Sippy Cup- Recommended for use when babies start eating solid foods at 6 mths old. A couple of months before, I can have Lucas play with it so he gets used to it.

Tri-Flow Munchkin Bottle- This bottle is recommended by Faith because it has a shallow nipple (which more closely resembles most human nipples) and a wide base. It also has three different levels for slow, fast or medium flow. In theory it sounds great, but Andres (who is the one feeding Lucas the bottles) complained that too much air was getting in when Lucas used it. I don't question it as bottles is not my department.

The Science of Parenting- A book highly recommended by Faith. Andres is currently reading this book. It looks very interesting and like a quick read with lots of illustrations. Andres is enjoying it so far.

The No Cry Sleep Solution- I already spoke about this book in a previous entry. I am about 3/4 of the way through with it. Great book with some excellent ideas. Speaking with other mommies however, I realized that Lucas is not doing that badly in the sleep department compared to other babies.

My Brest Friend- Pillow which circles around me and buckles in place so that I have back support as I feed the baby. Since it has a flat surface, it also offers a more comfortable position for the baby as well. I have a sleep station set up in the bedroom with this pillow on a chair and a towel rolled up to support the breast that Lucas is feeding from. At night I also have the Ipod player set up ready to play Mozart's Clarinet Concerto.

Red Dog Wubbanub Pacifier- Hospital grade pacifier attached to a fuzzy red stuffed animal dog. Helps develop babies grabbing skills while soothing him...not to mention stays better in baby's mouth!

Boppy Head Nesting Pillow- Prevents baby from getting a flat head from spending too much time on their backs as infants, as that is the recommended sleep position for a baby until 6 months of age by the APA.

Ladybug Rattle- Babies love the black and white stripes and this rattle makes the most wonderful sound.

Bug Rattles for Hands and Feet- Helps baby discover hands and feet by attaching rattles to ankles and wrists. In Lucas's case it was Gramma that helped him discover his hands. :-)