And so life goes on, but how different it is!

So here we are, 9 days on from Dexter's birth and life is going on. Having a newborn in the house sure does change things in a million ways, but I wouldn't change it for the world. Gone are the days of 'popping down to pick up a few things at the shops' or 'I might just go wash my hair'... everything requires PLANNING, and ORGANISATION! Thank goodness I'm a pretty organised person anyway - but that's a double-edged sword because no amount of organisation or planning can prepare you for the turmoil of a newborn in the house. It's all about HIM! And so it should be!

Dex is doing wonderfully :) He's generally a happy, easy baby. He LOVES to eat and has gained 300 grams since his birth! MY GOD! He's SUCH a piglet!!! Thank goodness my milk came in on Day 2 and I have PLENTY of it. The booby Gods have visited, and Dave is a happy man!

But the downside is that Dex also just loves to suckle, so sometimes he uses me as a dummy rather than a food source. This was really causing us some issues when he was tired or cranky, because all he wanted to do was go on the breast and nothing else would comfort him. I gave in finally a couple of days ago after having him on the breast about 6 times in 2 hours, and I gave him a dummy to go to sleep at night. We had a couple of nights where he just would NOT sleep for about 5 hours, by which time he was really overtired and cranky. All he wanted to do in that time was suckle. No amount of holding, rocking, soothing or singing would settle him. He would suckle and fall asleep after a while - so I would put him in his bassinette, creep away - and five minutes later he was awake, crying and sucking his fist.

So - out came a dummy and gosh - I really hated having to do that! I actually cried and asked Dave "Am I being a bad mother?" But he is a sucky baby and it's either that or let him massacre my boobs for hours a day if I want him to get any sleep at all. Luckily though he rejects the dummy unless he's really sleepy - so I can take it out shortly after he goes to sleep and he's fine. And at least he lets me know when he's actually hungry - if he spits out the dummy repeatedly, he wants food so I give it to him. He's still feeding about every 2-3 hours so I know he's not going hungry, and we're happier because he actually got a fabulous sleep last night and only woke me up once between 10pm and 5:30am! I didn't mind getting up that early though, seeing as I ended up with about 6 1/2 hours sleep for a change, and Dave gets up at 6am for work anyway so it wasn't so bad.

I've mastered the knack of feeding Dex while lying down in bed too, so I don't wake up TOO much when I get up at night and I tend to snooze and let him have as much as he likes. It's much easier to get him back to sleep if he falls asleep during the night feeds.

But other than his suckiness, he's just an angel. When he's well rested he is happy to interact with us and is so alert and interested in everything going on. Our pets are all fascinated by him - well, except for Raz our Ragdoll cat. He spent the first couple of days ignoring Dex's existence, and since then he will give Dex a sniff or two before running away. I think it will take some time for him to get used to having a new creature in the house, especially as said creature seems to be taking away much of his attention. Raz was VERY cold toward me the first few days, but now I try to give him a couple of five minute cuddle sessions each day and he seems to like me again.

Anyhow - I should keep this short. Dex has been sleeping since about 7:30am so I guess I MAY have another hour or so before he wants a feed. I have managed to get a heap of little things done this morning so I feel a great sense of achievement. That's the thing these days - achieving the smallest thing like doing the washing up or putting on a load of washing, or, the BEST thing, actually having a DECENT shower! - really does bring a sense of accomplishment and pride :) It's a strange and beautiful new world :)