Daily life with a Tanner-led schedule

Tanner Jay was one month old on Monday! It doesn't seem like it though. He came home on June 12th, so he seems like about 2 weeks old to me! I think I kind of block out the hospital time and NICU visits. One month does seem like such a long time and he has been through so much!!

We have evolved into a Tanner-led schedule. I don't set my alarm anymore; I just wait for him to wake me with his cute little grunts and infant cries. It isn't a normal baby crying sound, rather more like a baby calf or deranged cat! His last feeding is usually in the 11 o'clock hour, so he wakes me during the 3 and 6 o'clock hours. I will need to back that up the closer we get to August and school beginning again.

Yesterday I met with a wonderful lactation consultant (LC). I spent 2.5 hours with her and she was able to teach me and overwhelm me with all sorts of knowledge. I can honestly say that anyone who thinks that nursing is just a breeze is either very naive or very lucky with the experience. There is a myriad of tips, tricks, and even rules that must occur to get the baby to latch on correctly, get enough nourishment, and not hurt mommy in the process! Now that Tanner has been fed via bottle for a month, he is use to getting is milk at a certain speed. The breast isn't quite that fast and he has to suck harder to get what he needs. Therefore, we are training him to prefer the breast over the bottle. Luckily, not too much time had passed and this particular LC was able to get him to take 50 mLs, or almost 2 ozs. He is up to 7 lbs 1 ounce, by the way! Wooohooo! Such a BIG GUY!

As for Tobin and I, we are learning how to get along in the midst of stress and chaos. It isn't always pretty, but no lasting harsh words are spoken! Tobin has managed to play golf, go floating twice, and get out of the house on a regular basis, on top of working. I can't say that I've done anything remotely like that, unless you count my prolonged grocery shopping trip last night, but I do have a reflexology appointment tonight and that should prove to be wonderful. Thanks for the birthday gift mom! My feet are still killing me and my right foot hurts just about as badly as it did while pregnant.

The black and white pic is the view of Tanner from the shower! I wheel his bassinet into the bathroom so I can keep an eye on him while I get cleaned up for the day! It is a little cramped, and I guess it is the "new mom" thing, but I just can't leave him in another room, where I can't hear him, while I shower! They have really scared me with the SIDS thing! Plus, Tanner has been congested and it serves as a BIG humidifier! You can see that Twister, my 17 lb. cat, is keeping an eye on him while hanging out in the sink!