1 Month

It's been one month since our little monkey was born. It's been quite an adventure, but I'd say we're adapting to the changes well. Things are finally feeling "normal" again. I think the pugs have realized that D's not going anywhere, and we've seen only one episode of bad behavior. Although I look forward to nights where I can sleep with little interruption, I love the time that D and I are up in the wee hours of the morning. It has given me time to think about things other than "here's what I'm going to try to get done today", because I know once I can put him back down, I get to go back to sleep. =)

Over the past month, I have gained so much respect for moms who can stay home with their children. I recognize that SAHMs do way more than sit on their couch and watch soap operas all day, but part of me thought "Really? How hard is it to stay at home and play with your kid?" I've learned that when your kid cries all day and nothing on your to-do list (the thing that marks my success for one day) gets done, it's hard. I have to admit that while I am sad that I have leave my little man to go back to schedules and structure, I am looking forward to going back to work.

    

This is a 3 month outfit.
He swims in it, but I really love the monster on the onesie!

This was after I gave him a bottle (of breast milk).  He finished two ounces in 2 minutes,
which is crazy fast for him. This is his "what just happened?" face.

Serious!

Trying to hold his head up on his own.

Starting him early...

The picture on the left was taken the morning after he was born. The picture on the right was taken on Tuesday the 7th. It might not look like he's changed a lot, but he's definitely different than he was that day at the hospital. We love him like crazy. 

   

Funny Faces

 Enjoy-

Week 3

Week 3 was one full of adventure and tears (mostly tears from D...only a couple from me). I think we have all the bugs worked out and this week already seems to be 100 times better. On Tuesday, I went out for the first time on my own in over 2 weeks. I went to Target to get some "mom supplies" that I was in need of. It was only for an hour, because D's not on a bottle yet. I shed a few tears as I walked out of my in-laws house, but it was kind of a relief to be alone for a few minutes. At Target, I felt like I heard every baby's cry... It wasn't something I ever noticed as much as I do. Kind of like a 6th sense...More like an expansion of my hearing sense. It was super weird. We went out for our first time together on Wednesday for Dante's hearing test and he passed. (YEAY!) He didn't cry while we were out and it was awesome! Tuesday day and Thursday were full of tears. It went on all day long. If he was awake, he cried. I'd get him to sleep and try to set him down, and within 20 minutes, he was crying again. We didn't do anything. I came to the conclusion that he has belly issues.  On Friday, we saw D's doctor and got all of his stats. We also talked about his constant tears and potential belly issues. The doctor suggested that we try the gas drops and keep him on an incline after he eats. This and getting rid of the first little bit of milk before he eats has helped a lot. He eats longer and seems to be happier.
D has started taking the binky! (A blessing and a curse!) We actually went out and bought a couple of different kinds, and it seems like the soothies work the best for him. He forgets that he has to suck on them to keep them in his mouth, so to keep it from falling out, he's started to use his hand/wrist to hold it in.
We went to church on Sunday. We only stayed for Sacrament Meeting, because we were worried about D waking up. He slept the whole time. It was awesome!
Here are D's stats as of Friday- 7 pounds 13 ounces, (+10 ounces since birth) and 21" long (+1" since birth). He measured in the 50th percentile for height and head circumference and 25th in weight. I think that now we've got the kinks worked out with his eating/belly problems, we should see his weight gain pick up a little bit.
Now for the good part:

Notice that he's naked in the majority of these pictures. There are two reasons: He has had explosive poops that go through his diapers and annihilate his onesies, and he just seems happier that way the majority of the time. We joke that this is a "Fuentes thing" because our nephews seemed to like being without clothes better than they liked being dressed. Maybe it's more of an "everyone thing". =)

Proof that he does cry...

These are "sassy" faces...

I wanted to show off the back of his head.
Look how much hair he has!

Pictures before a bath...

After the bath... See how happy he is? 

Just waking up from a nap

This is what we call "aut". 

Insert Caption Here...

Mike: "Do Dante and I look alike?" 

More sassy faces

Yawn!

Dressed up for church! 

Week 2

You know those days where you wake up and you want to go somewhere? I have those days every day, but by the time D's fed and changed and I'm ready, it's time to feed and change D again.  I haven't left the house alone with him yet because it feels like this circle- He eats and then we do a diaper change... and by the time we'd be packed up to go, we'd have to stop to eat and diaper change again to make sure he's not going to get hungry/need a diaper change while we're out.  It's exhausting for me to think about, and that's why we just don't do it.
When we get out, it's usually with Mike. But even then, we treat him like he's a ticking time bomb. When we get ready to go out, we double-team. So, Mike makes sure that D's all set to go while I'm getting ready. This cuts down on prep time dramatically. We might have to stop and eat really quick, but usually we can get out the door within a reasonable time frame. When we're out, we know that there's a set amount of time that we can be out. It's usually only 2-2 1/2 hours before D is in need of some care. I do everything I can do avoid changing/ feeding him in public because I don't have the equipment or the skills to nurse in public and no one likes a poopy diaper. This window works great for me. Things are beginning to get back to normal, but I'm not there yet. By the time we're in the car heading home, I'm relieved to be sitting again and ready for a nap!
Something about the post-partum period is making me feel a little like a teenager again. I drove for the first time in 2 weeks on Friday. I haven't been that excited to drive since I was 16. The "6-Week" rule has made that part of our relationship seem very high school-esque. We're still us, as our grown-up selves who now devote a lot of time to D while he's awake. But when he's asleep and we have a little downtime, we have a lot of fun making out. =)
Anyway, D and I are getting the hang of breastfeeding. This is evident by the number of diapers we change on a daily basis. I've noticed that his tummy is very sensitive though. Each time I've eaten something greasy, his belly gets upset. So, as good as it is for my weight loss, I'm sad to report that I don't get to eat all the greasy food I want to eat. I also learned this week that one burp is not enough for this kid. He gets way fussy just a few minutes after he eats, so instead of going for just one burp, we work on it for a few minutes at a time. This is new to me, I always thought "one and done".
Two week appointment and follow up on his hearing test are this week, so next week I'll post some stats and (hopefully) good news that everything checks out with his hearing. During our hospital stay, D failed his hearing test on his left side. They said that he had a lot of vernix in his ears and it is likely related to that. His left ear seems to be working. He responds to noise and turns his head as he should, so we'll see.
Anyway, the moment you've been waiting for...

Toes!

Mac Gets Up Close and Personal

Grandma Karen calls this his "Blue Steel" face (from Zoolander)

This was the first smile. It's a little creepy, but it made me crack up. Kelsie says it looks like the "I see what you did there" meme

This is blurry because he moves so fast from one face to the next. 

More smiles

Sleep!

This is that face where he either has to poop or burp.

Naked time!!

Check out his eyes. He looks kind of BA here. 

Shnugly!

This is blurry because we were in the car and it was a little bumpy.  He's being "trompudo" here. Look at those lips!

More trompudo. Grandpa Ryan thinks he was trying to whistle.

This is the part about burping...

Game time with dad...well, sort of. 

This is what D was really doing.

I love this picture. We put Dad's put up with D's. Look at the difference!

D's stump fell off yesterday! (This actually made me panic at first, but it was OK)

This is his semi-alert, kind of mad face. 

After his bath 

More smiles! This is when I was rubbing his scalp to dry his hair.

Mac and Dante

Dad might get mad about this one because a certain Gus is not allowed on the bed.
But they were so cute together! I couldn't resist!

He hates this chair initially because of the 5 point harness, but after he sits in it a few minutes,
he'll sleep for a couple of hours...which is nice because Mom gets a break!