The second time around...

As I write this, I am hiding across the room from Thompson, frantically scrambling to do about 100 things at once because he has finally given me a gift.  Time.  The last two weeks have been slightly difficult in our house.  As Thompson came out of his shock from birth, he went from being a completely content, totally chill baby, to a very unhappy baby.  I feel like I have spent every waking moment (there are a lot of those these days) trying to figure out what is wrong and how I can fix it.  In the process we have determined several culprits.  The first is his little digestive system.  I have been told these really start kicking into gear at about 2 and 1/2 to 3 weeks (right about when we saw problems), and it seems Thompson's little digestive system and some of the foods I have been eating aren't quite getting along.  Determining just what foods don't agree is a bit of a challenge, but we have started with Dairy, as that is the most common culprit.  I have completely wiped dairy out of my diet, which wasn't entirely hard as I didn't have a whole lot to start...but I am currently mourning the loss of chocolate, ice cream, and cheese.  On the bright side, this shift in diet may help me lose some of the baby weight a little faster.  It takes a while for dairy to completely exit my system and my milk, so now we wait to see if that is the solution.  Another problem came to my attention just about a week ago, when I noticed white spots on Thompson's tongue.  This, paired with the fact that I was still experiencing quite a bit of pain from nursing, and we were headed into the pediatrician where my suspicions were confirmed.  Thrush.  This can cause quite a bit of pain for baby in the mouth and all through their system.  So, we started an antibiotic and are on our way to recovery.  Problems arise, and I am desperately trying to fix them and find solutions, but not always lucking out.

The second time around was supposed to be easier.  Been there, done that, I got this.  This is the case in a lot of things.  Despite constantly saying, "I really don't remember this with Vinnie," its like riding a bike...you just pick it up and know what to do.  This little man, however is different when it comes to his demeanor.  I pick him up, do what I know to do, and he is still fussy.  We really didn't know how good we had it with Vin...even though everyone told us, "this one is easy, just wait until the next one."  At the time, I was confident in the choices I was making as a parent, sure that our successes were not ENTIRELY because of Vinnie's disposition, but also because of us.  HA!  2nd kid, same parents, same choices, but unfortunately entirely different turnout.  Its still the early days, and it will get easier, I know.  The lack of sleep, or ability to get ANYTHING accomplished because this little man needs to be held to be happy...well its tough.

Despite the tears and all the fussing, we are up to good things.  Thompson is growing like a weed...and is on track to surpass his brother by about age 3, or even before.  When visiting the pediatrician last week he was up to 8lbs 12oz...thats a gain of 12oz in just one week!  Nursing is really going so well.  The boys continue their "bromance" with each other.  Vinnie is enamored with anything and everything Thompson does and continues to want to help and care for him.  Thompson knows where Vinnie is at all times and is constantly turning toward his voice...and we all know that voice of Vinnie's, its hard to miss when it never stops!!!

Yesterday Thompson had his first trip to Minneapolis, with a visit to Jon's work, and today he and I are heading into my work.  We are not letting his fussiness slow us down...just this last weekend we kicked off fall with a trip to the 101 Market in Otsego with the Gibas family and had great fun.  While those things are not always smooth with Thompson, Vinnie needs the entertainment and Jon and I need the chances to get out of the house.  So, we go and we do, and we tough out any fussiness.


Well, can't have too much time to myself now...the little man has awoken and is demanding my attention!  Until next time!