Monday, August 31, 2009

Growth and Pediatrician Visit

We knew Nathaniel was a eating and growing well. We didn't realize quite how well. He is now 12lb 6oz (5.6kg). So he has doubled his birth weight in two months. His length is good, but at 22in (55.9cm) he is still a little short. We knew we were not going to have a basketball player, this just confirms. All else went well with pediatrician visit.

Being that this was Nate's two month visit it was time for vaccinations. He got four different vaccinations. One was oral and the other three went into his thighs. Two into left thigh and one into right thigh. He took the shots like a champ. There was some crying, but between the cold Dr's office and the shock of needles that can certainly be expected. Now we are hoping that if there are any side-effects they are minimal at most. So no more shots for two months. One shot was DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis), IPV (Inactive Polio), and Hepatitis B combined, the second shot was Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), and the third was PCV (Pneumococcal Vaccine). The Rotavirus vaccine was given orally.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

New baby is like jet lag

I was trying to describe to someone how I was feeling the last two months. Yes, I'm sleep deprived and not myself, but I'm still functional for at least part of the day, especially after lots of caffeine. Then there is the fact that you don't feel in control. You don't know when you are going to be able to sleep or how long you'll be able to sleep.

I started to think back and this feels a lot like jet lag when flying back from Asia. The big difference is it has taken a lot longer to get back to normal. In this case back to normal may be a different normal. The advantage of jet lag is you return to normal after a few days. It has been two months and we are still struggling with sleep.

So if you've experienced jet lag from really long flights and haven't had kids that might give you some expectation of what you are in for. If you've had kids and are going to be flying long distances for the first time you already have an idea of the jet lag will likely feel like. Of course, everyone is different on how they deal with sleep derivation, jet lag, and newborns. Just my personal observation.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Nate's Favorite Pacifier

We've got multiple pacifiers sitting around the house. There is one that seems by far to be Nate's favorite. And it is the one we got as a handout from the hospital. I don't want to call it free as I'm sure we paid for it in one way or another. If we would have known this pacifier would be his favorite I would have asked for a handful before we left the hospital so we could have more of these sitting around the house. Note to self - if there is a next time see about grabbing a couple extra. Of course, as we were leaving the hospital we weren't using a pacifier as we were trying to make sure there was no nipple confusion.

Here is Nate with his Soothie®.

Nate with Soothie
We could go buy a couple additional as they are relatively inexpensive pacifiers. The Soothie is only recommended for babies without teeth. So its life is limited. Looks like babies with teeth could make holes or tear apart the relatively soft Soothie®. The Super Soothe® is the tougher material for babies with teeth. Notice they are designed to look like the real thing, which may be why Nate likes it.

For more information on Soothie®, the manufacturers website is http://www.childmed.com.


Photo courtesy: Philips Children's Medical Ventures

Friday, August 28, 2009

Football Season

Football season is here or almost here depending on your view.

Most of the college football teams will start their seasons next weekend.

Sherri has her undergrad degree from the University of Texas and mine is from the University of Oklahoma. I actually have have degrees from both fine institutions. However, one school certainly has my loyalty. Needless to say there is a little rivalry on Saturdays in the fall. So we've got Nate ready for college football this year.

So you can see from the pics Nate will be a little conflicted or confused this fall.
Then besides the American football season getting ready to kick off, football for the rest of the world (soccer) is gearing up, especially in Europe. Some of the leagues are already into their season or start this weekend. The EPL is in their third week and La Liga gets going this weekend. This Saturday there is a huge match between Arsenal and Manchester United. We didn't have a jersey for Nate to show his preference for teams and he probably doesn't even care.
It will be a while, but before too long I look forward to kicking or throwing the ball with Nate in the backyard.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Baby Don't Stink

Before Nate came Sherri was all worried about having a diaper genie or similar device to keep the diapers from smelling up the place. I figured how hard is it to take the diapers out everyday? Well someone did give us a Diaper Champ as a gift.

So at least for the next couple months I have figured out that we really don't need our Diaper Champ. While it is pretty cool with the handle to drop the diaper inside. I also like the fact that you can use any bag and not specially designed bags for the product. Below is a picture of the Diaper Champ.



Here is what we are using at the moment for most of the diapers. We are recycling grocery/retail bags. Because the odor is so faint we don't even have to take them out very often. I've heard others describe the smell of breastfed babies as something resembling the smell of buttermilk. My understanding is formula fed babies are a whole different ballgame of smells. We have a week old bag of diapers in our bedroom from when we change Nate at night and we don't even notice it. Below is all we really need for first six months.


So I'm sure we'll be glad we have the diaper champ once he starts eating solid food. But as long as he is a breastfed only baby the diaper champ is overkill. Just another advantage of breastfeeding.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Baby Carriers

One of the gifts that we've used quite a bit so far is a soft front baby carrier. It has had two main uses. First, we like to go take walks and Nate likes to sit in the carrier. He tends to be very calm when we take walks while he is in the carrier. This leads to the second use. I can put him in the carrier around the house and as long as he is not really hungry he likes hanging out next to me and usually remains fairly calm.

So if you have or are expecting a baby I would recommend getting one of these carriers and adjust it to your size. Since my wife and I are different sizes it means I get pretty much all the baby bonding time with the carrier. Now my wife has sling that she wears quite a bit and that works well for her.

The carrier that we have is the Infantino Eurorider. I can't compare, but it looks somewhat similar to the BabyBjorn products. The BabyBjorn seems be a little higher-end model and I really like the concept of the BabyBjorn Air with the hot weather in Austin.

Overall we really like the Infantino Eurorider. We can take reasonably long walks and it is comfortable for me and Nate. They say you can use the carrier until baby weights about 25lbs. We'll see how comfortable the carrier is as Nate gets over 20lbs.



This a picture of Nate and me after our walk yesterday.

So I'll continue doing my babywearing. I see this a big plus for everyone. Nate likes being in the carrier. I get to do some bonding and they say there positive physical development aspects of being in a carrier.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

529 Plans

With school starting this week I thought I would make some comments on my research on 529 plans or qualified tuition plans. Yes, it will probably be 18 years before any of this money is used, but as college expenses continue to go up seems like now is the right time to get started.

At some other time I'll touch on Savings Bonds, Coverdell Plans, and Uniform Gifts to Minors. This time I'll just stick with 529 plans. I see three categories of 529 plans. The first are state sponsored pre-paid tuition plans. In Texas, the current version is the Texas Tuition Promise Fund. With a pre-paid tuition plan you are locking in to today's rates for tuition. With the typical pre-paid plan you purchase credits can be used directly at state schools. With most of the pre-paid tuition plans if your child ends up at a private school or out-of-state school the money can still be used, but you'll likely get a lower conversion rate. Then are state sponsored and private college savings plans. Every state and the District of Columbia sponsors a college savings plan. Some states have both pre-paid plans and college savings plans, others just have college savings plans. Often there are tax or other advantages to investing in state 529 plans. There are also private 529 plans. These are college savings plans that are managed by groups like Vanguard and USAA.

All 529 plans are similar to Roth IRAs. Your contributions are money that has been taxed and is non-deductable. Any proceeds are not taxed (at least by federal government) as long as proceeds are used on qualified college expenses. Most states that have an income tax (Texas does not so this is not much of an issue) give you a break by not charging tax on state sponsored 529 plans. Money that is not used for qualified expenses is subject to income tax and 10% penalty.

Pre-paid plans are a little more restrictive as they can only be used to pay for tuition and required fees. Proceeds from college savings plans can be used for any qualified college expense. This includes items like books, computers, and room and board.

A couple other notes around all 529 plans. The account holder (custodian) is the owner of the plan. The beneficiary can be changed with out any penalties.

Everyone's situation is different and I would recommend that you do your research and homework before investing in any plan. There is a lot of information out there and there are details available for every possible plan out there. For Nate, I'm going to have both a pre-paid component and college saving plan component. Now I've just got to figure out the mix in which I'll invest each year.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Infant Tears

So yesterday we had one of those sad milestones for an infant. I wasn't nearly fast enough preparing a bottle yesterday as Sherri was away for a while. She did leave plenty of her breastmilk just in case.

Nate was crying and as I was trying to comfort him I noticed tears streaming down his face. We had not seen tears fro him and while they are not something I want to see it does tell us that his tear ducts are working properly and are not blocked.

Infants tear ducts seem to be capable of producing tears in the first month. Typically by 2-3 months infants will see tears. Some infants have blocked tear ducts which may mean no tears for many more months. In almost all cases,i the tear ducts will take care of themselves over time. There are cases in which more drastic measures may be taken to deal with blocked tear ducts, but looks like we are certainly in the clear. Now we just have to deal with the sadness of tears when Nate cries.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Sleeping Longer

Last night Nate slept for 4 1/2 hours straight. That was his longest uninterrupted sleep to date. We realize that one night may not mean this will be the norm. However, it does prove that he can sleep for long enough that on a good night he would only have to wake up once at night to be fed.

Even though Nate slept for 4 1/2 hours last night, once he woke up he didn't want to go back to bed. So the overall nights sleep was not wonderful. However, maybe before too long we'll get back to enough sleep that I won't have to drink large amounts of caffeine during the day to not be a zombie. I started thinking about a few months ago when I was sleeping well at night. A cup of coffee or a Dr. Pepper in the morning got me going and that was about all I needed all day. Now at least two cups of coffee in the morning and a couple caffeinated drinks during the day are more the norm. Even then I'm still not myself.

So there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We just don't know how long the tunnel will be.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Nate's Schedule

Or lack of schedule is probably the best way to describe it. He pretty much sleeps and eats as he wants. Just as we think he might be settling into a pattern...wham he decides to change.

So I guess the good news is at this early age you really can't expect a pattern and this should not reflect how well he will settle as he continues to grow. I haven't seen any solid data, but it seems like a lot people think at 3-4 months there is a significant amount of development and in some cases a switch just seems to go off.

I know we are looking forward getting a little bit of a schedule so we plan things like sleep. As I'm writing this it is well after midnight and Nate seems to have lots of energy. After feeding him about 10pm we've been trying to convince him that he should go to bed. The only convincing that has been done is Nate convincing us that he needed more to eat. I'm hoping he runs out of energy soon so I can call it a night and get some sleep.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Anniversary with Nate

So today is Sherri and my 3rd wedding anniversary. We've had three good years. This year will be different with Nate. In years past, we've gone out for a nice dinner and enjoyed each others' company.

This year we've got Nate. It seems interesting how priorities change. Our plans will be to go our for a nice quick meal based upon when we get Nate fed. Then the place we have chosen needs to be quick and we can pack up to go quickly if we get some kind of melt-down. Or we may just go for take-out. Finally, this Wednesday Sherri has things she wants to see on TV. Tonight is finale of Top Chef Masters and the premier of the new season of Top Chef Sin City (Las Vegas).

One interesting thing I came across today on mashable. Some of the best sites for parenting videos. http://mashable.com/2009/08/19/social-media-parenting. The Martha Stewart probably won't appeal to me much, but the bonus site - Sesame Street should be a good one to remember for the near future. I'll admit I was a Sesame Street fan and while things have changed I think it will be good to see Nate raised with Sesame Street as well.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Infant Vaccinations - How much does it hurt

Two months will be here before we realize it. Don't know if it is time flies when you are having fun or sleep deprivation makes us not realize how fast things have gone.

One of the things that happens at two months is vaccinations. We are both pro-vaccinations. We just can't see Nate having to deal with many of the diseases that are so easily prevented. So at two months here are the recommended vaccinations: DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (whooping cough)), Polio, Hepatitis B, Prevnar (pneumococcal bacteria), HIB (Haemophilus influenzae bacteria),and Rotavirus. Then there are followups and additional vaccinations at a year for diseases like measles, mumps, and rubella.

I do understand the arguments that some people have that by vaccinating you are not allowing the immune system to optimally strengthen itself. But then some of those same people are the ones sending their kids to things like measles parties. To me that just seems like a recipe for disaster. Diseases like measles can be really nasty. Others worry about the safety of vaccinations. That may be a topic for another date, but every study I've ever seen says that vaccines are safe. Yes, there can be some side-effects, but the minor risk is so much less than the reward.

So one of the things that crossed my mind is how much pain will we be subjecting Nate to when his shots are administered. I'm thinking there will be three or four pokes. Now when I think about it when I get shots they really don't hurt, except for that initial sting. Now a baby does have to deal with the shock which is probably the worst and most upsetting part of the whole process. My reading seems to concur that this is most likely the case.

One of the vaccinations I most want to get Nate is the HIB, which protects against pneumonia and meningitis. We recently had a friend who's daughter came down with a case of bacterial meningitis before she was vaccinated. Even catching it early they spent many days in the hospital, several spinal taps, lots of antibiotics, and many prayers. She recovered nicely. However, after reading how serious meningitis can be to a child anything I could do to prevent it I will.

So I'm also going to try and make sure that I go to the pediatrician with mom and Nate, if nothing else to comfort mom during the process.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Pee and Poop Conversations

I can remember a couple years back someone telling me your conversations will change when you have a child. Things like pee and poop will suddenly become a common conversation.

Before Nate was born I can probably count on my hand the number of conversations with my wife around even slightly related to peeing or pooping. In just a couple weeks those conversations have gone to the point where I don't think I can count them all on my fingers and toes combined.

Today there was actually a conversation around poop. I had come home and one of the things my wife mentioned was Nate's poop was back to a more yellow color. This is actually very good news. The last couple days his poop had some green shading too it. This was coupled with some pretty rough gas. The yellow coloring more likely means that we've probably got pass the worst of the gas issues (at least for now). So between time and the things we did to try and remedy the situation something is working.

So Nate also seems to be less fussy and more his normal happy self. So hopefully this means a happy and somewhat more rested family for the next couple days.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Baby Got Gas

Nate has gas. Of late, especially at night, it has been pretty bad. We don't know how much it really hurts him, but the grunts and cries certainly keep everyone up. We've been trying to figure out what is behind Nate's gas.

Here are some of the common potential causes for a breastfed baby: immature digestive tract, gas bubbles entering through crying, eating, and sucking on pacifier (what comes in must go out), foods mom may have eaten, and foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. The list could be longer, but this seems pretty long for us. The good thing is Nate doesn't really seem to have colic, just bad case of gas. They may be rather similar, but from the descriptions I'm glad colic hasn't struck.

We've tried to burp and massage Nate a lot. That alone doesn't seem to have solved anything. From our reaching simethicone (mylicon) usually isn't very effective. We've tried some gripe water and it may have helped, but it is really hard to tell. We've looked at probiotics to help out his digestive system. No idea if that will do any good. I'm convinced that the foods mom eat make almost no impact on gas. Then Sherri is going to make some adjustments to try and reduce what Nate sees of the heavy letdown.

One thing that at least seems to help Nate feel better is to move his legs like he is bicycling. That usually seems to make him feel better and the cycling is often followed by letting out gas.

Hopefully all this will be behind us soon. Unfortunately a lot of the gas issues may just take time to work out on their own. One of the better sources (kellymom.com) that I've found on many baby topics lends weight to the argument that time may be the most effective. More at http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/gassybaby.html.

So we'll have a few more nights to deal with gas and lots more bicycle movements to come for sure.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Fuzzibunz vs. BumGenius

If you would have asked me a couple months ago what Fuzzibunz or bumGenius was I wouldn't have had a clue. Today I probably know more about cloth diapers than I probably should.

After much research on cloth vs. disposable and then different types of cloth diapers we figured that we really couldn't make a decision. So we purchased a couple different types of diapers. We purchased a set of bumGenius 3.0 one size diapers, a set of Fuzzibunz perfect size (small for now) diapers, and a set of Fuzzibunz one size diapers. We looked at other brands and so many had positives and negatives in our mind. In the end, we thought the Fuzzibunz and bumGenius diapers were our favorites.

Fuzzibunz Perfect Size

We bought some small Fuzzibunz to start with. Our plan, if these work out, is we'll buy some mediums for Nate as he grows out of the small. The snaps are easy to secure and the the diapers are easy to put on and take off. The small is supposed to work for babies 7 - 18 lbs. Maybe it is Nate's build, but these were really a little big for a 7 lb baby. We just couldn't get them to fit well enough around the legs to prevent liquid from getting out. As he has grown this has worked itself out.

fuzzibuns perfect size
source: Fuzzibunz

Fuzzibunz One-Size

These are made to fit a baby from 7 - 35 lbs. They have multiple adjustments including elastic straps. Then they also have three snaps on each side for fastening. I think the third snap (hip snap) gives a little better fit than the two snaps per side on the perfect size diapers. The one size did seem to swallow Nate a little bit at first, but that can be expected with a diaper that will last until potty training. Long term this diaper probably will adjust to Nate's growth better than any other.

fuzzibuns one size
source: Fuzzibunz

bumGenius One-Size (3.0)

The bumGenius have a little different design. They use velcro for fastening and snaps to adjust. They are a one-size diaper (7 - 35 lb). The use of velcro makes the fastening really easy, even when Nate is kicking like crazy. I do worry that the velcro may have a limited lifespan, but it looks like if you take care the velcro (you might even have to clean it) it should stand up ok. Worst case you could rip off and sew on new velcro for a second child. I also like the pocket that bumGenius has vs. Fuzzibunz for the insert. The bumGenius one size actually did the best job of fitting a small baby of the three diapers we have. Hopefully these will work as well as Nate gets older as it did when he was small.

bum genius
source: bumGenius

I think we'll learn a lot more about cloth diapers over the next two years and I can see my opinions potentially changing. Right now the bumGenius are my favorite, but I can see benefits to each of the diapers and how those specific benefits may change which diaper stays or becomes my favorite over time. In addition to the cost, environmental, and health benefits of cloth diapers they also come in fun colors.

Probably won't be the last time I write about cloth diapers. If nothing else I'll try and update our experiences over time.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Cloth vs. Disposable Diapers

So before Nate made his appearance, we decided to look into cloth diapers vs. disposable diapers. We knew that diapers were going to be a major expense over first couple years and we wanted to spend our money wisely. As we started our research we found out that some of the new cloth diapers are not the simple prefolds that we were raised on. No more are trying to stick pins into a crying baby. That in itself would have probably meant lots of accidental draws of blood. The cloth diapers of today are about as easy to put on and take off as disposables. Doing a lot of reading it did become evident that there were pro and cons to both sides. The disposables are certainly convenient. However, the big item that caught my attention was even buying the high-end cloth diapers I can see a pretty significant potential cost savings over disposable diapers. And if we do indeed have a second child that can use the same diapers then the savings becomes even greater.

So we are almost six weeks from Nate's birth and the jury is still somewhat out. I do really like the cloth diapers, but Nate was pretty small being early and he just didn't fit into the cloth diapers initially. As he has grown he fits in them pretty well. We still use the disposables at night. More for convenience than anything else.

So why are cloth diapers interesting. One of the big arguments for cloth is they are better for the environment. Well, by the time you wash all those diapers I'm pretty sure there is still a positive environment impact, but I can see where the foreign made cloth diapers, water usage, and detergent start to negate that big advantage just a little bit. Another cloth diaper advantage is that babies are less likely to have diaper rash. Saving Nate this pain is a real positive in my book. I won't go into the argument behind this, but it does seem to make sense. Then there is the claim that babies wearing cloth diapers tend to potty train faster. We will see on this one, but the faster we can stop buying/washing diapers the better.

So why are disposables interesting. Convenience, convenience, convenience. Yes, all you have to do is throw them away. No trying to store to wash. No having to bring diapers back if you are out. No worrying about knocking solids off. Then there are day care providers that don't want to deal with cloth diapers. So that is a pretty compelling argument.

However, the #1 argument in my book was cost. I figured that 2.5 years of diapers was about average. Some children will go longer and some will get potty trained sooner. If you figured that you will spend about $1.80 per day on disposable diapers (estimate $0.18 each at 10 per day initially, $0.225 each at 8 per day as they grow, and $0.30 each at 6 per day before they are out of diapers). That means for one baby I estimated you'll spend about $1642 in diapers alone. You might be able to reduce that slightly buying in bulk or going with low end store brand. However, you can certainly spend more on the high end Pampers or Huggies. For a set of reasonably high-end cloth diapers (mix of sizes) that should last Nate until he is potty trained I will end up spending a little less than $500. If you add the extra water and detergent costs, lets say $5 / month you need to add $150. Then there will be times you use disposable diapers for what ever reason (traveling, came early and used newborn disposables, using disposables at night, etc.). Let's say that is another $200. So if you can handle washing diapers and dealing with the extra time needed to handle cloth diapers I estimate that you can reduce your diapering costs by about $800. Then the cloth diapers can be reused so for baby number two the cost savings become even more pronounced.

I won't say that cloth diapers are for everyone, but I've been impressed so far. We have a little liquid leaking problem with one of our diapers because Nate just isn't really big enough for the way they are sized. At this point there have been no blow outs (or even anything close) with the cloth diapers.

Soon I'll go over the brands of cloth diapers we chose and the pros and cons of each.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Another reason not to take babies to movies

Babies tend to cry quite often. I certainly don't enjoy hearing the crying and I especially don't enjoy hearing my own son cry. This worry of is there something wrong, is he hurting, etc. goes on in your mind. But I've learned that females tend to have another reflex around crying. Breastfeeding mothers will experience letdown reflex (sometimes called milk ejection reflex) with they hear a baby cry. It seems reasonable that the female body makes milk ready when baby cries, which is most common reason for infants crying.

So my wife went to the movies yesterday. I stayed home and took care of Nate for a couple hours. There were a couple babies at the movie and they were crying. So not only was it a possible interruption to all the rest of the people trying to watch the movie, but the letdown reflex caused a significant buildup of milk in my wife's breasts. This pressure caused her to run home directly after the movie to pump (or feed) to reduce the pressure which was becoming rather painful. So she didn't get to accomplish a couple other errands and the end of movie was not as pleasant due to excess pressure in her breasts.

Not that we were planning on taking Nate to the movies, but I have another reason why babies should not go to the movies.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Why Breastfeeding

One of the things that Sherri and I decided on early was that she would breastfeed. It just seems to make sense. Not only is it the perfect food for babies, breastfeeding has positives for moms as well. Breastfeeding gives time for mom and baby to bond. Breast milk is easier to digest than formula and has hormones, antioxidants, and antibodies that help babies grow and protect them from infections. Breastfed babies also have lower incidences of SIDS, asthma, obesity, and diabetes. Then add the benefits to mothers, breastfeeding helps get rid of pregnancy weight and studies show that breastfeeding helps reduce certain types of breast and ovarian cancers as well as diabetes.

So based upon this why doesn't every mother breastfeed? Seeing Sherri struggle getting Nate to breastfeed gives me one clear indication. Sometimes is just isn't easy. The formula makers have made it easy. With the bottle there is no latching issues, no bruising, cutting, or soreness of nipples from baby. Plus anyone can easily feed the baby, and there are no problems later with work interfering or breastfeeding in public. 2007 data from the CDC states that 73.8% of mothers in the US initially breastfed. That number dropped significantly by the time babies reached three months and was even lower at six months. UNICEF goes even farther with estimating that 1.5 million infant deaths could be prevented worldwide if every mother exclusively breastfed for six months.

I have gotten quite a bit of satisfaction being able to feed Nate with breastmilk that Sherri has pumped. Makes me feel closer and hopefully that is some good early bonding between dad and son. I'm hopeful between breastfeeding and pumping breastmilk we can keep Nate 100% mom fed for six months.

I will say that without the lactation consultants and Le Leche League meetings and resources Sherri would have had a much more difficult time breastfeeding. I can see why so many people give up. The first week or two was really rough and she'll probably have scars for a long time to come. I am VERY grateful to these resources and encourage all mothers to learn more through resources like these - you and your baby will benefit.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Nathaniel (Nate)was born June 30th 2009. He was earlier than we expected (about two weeks). He weighed a whole 6lb 2oz and was 19in long. We thought except for a name we were pretty much ready for his arrival. Or at least we thought. I want to be a pretty active Dad and I'm looking forward to experiencing him growing up.

Many people told me to be prepared for lack of sleep. But until you experience it, I didn't realize how much the lack of sleep would really affect me. At times I feel like a walking zombie. I'm looking forward to Nate sleeping a little more between feedings. Right now Nate is about 3 hours between feedings (start to start). Another hour or so between feedings would be nice. I think that extra hour will make a big difference.

One of the other things getting used to is changing so many diapers. I've changed a lot of diapers in the first couple weeks. I read about all the diaper changes, but until you change 10 diapers in a day I just didn't realize. I'll talk more about diapers and our choice to go with cloth. We (well Sherri) also chose to breastfeed. It really makes a difference as the doesn't smell.

Off to get a nap....