One Month

Josiah turned one month yesterday. I never would have thought that time could go as fast as it does when you have four small children. My God, it feels like maybe a week has past since I was sitting here day after day just waiting for this child to GET OUT OF MY BODY! I went to L&D three times before he was actually born, which made it feel like he was taking even longer. But eventually he came and he was perfect.


His birth was such an empowering experience. The room was all only women; from my labour coaches to the doctor and nurses. Right from the start everyone took the approach that I knew what I was doing and they all just let me do what I needed to do. It wasn't as perfect as I wanted it to be considering I had to have a few stitches and it took four hours. I was GBS+ so I had to be attached to an IV bag which limited my position options. I prefer to labour standing up as much as possible because it moves things along much faster and I believe it gives the perineum a chance to stretch. I spent this entire labour on my back though in the bed until the last ten minutes or so. I had to move to a squatting position because he would start to move down and then go back up again. Oh what fun labour is! But for my last child, it was still a wonderful experience.

It is hard to tell what Josiah's personality will be but for now he is a happy baby that loves faces and socializing. I can tell that he is listening when I sing or talk to him and he just started to coo and make noises back. He smiled for the first time (for real!) the day before he was one month. In the few days since then he has perfected the art, smiling almost every time he looks at some one's face. It is one of the most precious things I have ever seen.

He also loves baths in really warm water. My baby bath tub that I bought for Michael is still put away from the move so Josiah has been taking baths in the big tub. I hold him with one had behind his head and his little body just floats around while he coos. Even when I take him out to dry him off and get his pjs on, he is still so happy and content that he rarely cries.

Early on though Josiah developed thrush and I attribute that to the antibiotics that I had during labour for the GBS. It took me a couple days to get him into the doctor and by then his tongue was thickly coated. I was also in a lot of pain and had to psych myself up just to put him on the breast! After a few days of his medication though both he and I started to get better. I was using a cream as well which I have continued to use because Josiah's tongue still has a hint of white even though his medication has been finished for a while. While he was still taking the medication though, it gave him terrible pains and gas and the poor guy was so fussy every day. It was all I could do to get through the two weeks.

When he was over the medicine, he started acting colicky. Im still not sure what is causing his screaming fits but he is obviously in pain and has a lot of gas. Im experimenting with my diet now though and he has had a few good days so I know it has to do with food. I haven't quite figured out all of what bothers him but I do know that I have to cut out whole grain bread and pitas, watermelon and instant oatmeal. I also tried to drink a little gingerale, but I think that bothered him too. Rayden had a lot of sensitivities to foods that I ate as well so Im sure this will be a similar experience of having to really watch what I eat and how it affects him.

On days when he isn't in pain, Josiah is sleeping really well. Through out the day he sleeps mostly in a chair because he refuses his bassinet. I have to get more strict about it but for now I just need him to sleep so I can get things done. He is awake for an hour or so in the morning while everyone is getting up and dressed and while I am making breakfast. He usually falls asleep in his chair watching all the goings on then I move him into a quiet room for a couple hours. Then throughout the day he wakes long enough to be changed and have a feed before dozing off again. Around supper time he wakes again and watches all the happenings of the house. After supper we play and have family time before he goes down again for the night. If he wakes in the late afternoon however he will usually have another awake time around 10pm which keeps me up and makes me Cranky the next day. So I try to avoid that.

All around I don't think this month has been too hard on us as a family and we are adjusting well. Josiah fits perfectly with his brothers and they all seem to be ok with him (for now!). Hopefully this next month will bring more of the same, except with a little more sleep for me.