Jack and Lucca relaxed on the couch this evening. As Joe knows, these dogs are about 2 centimeters away from getting kicked out of the house, so I thought I’d better put some pictures up for Joe to remember them by.

I want to thank “anonymous” for the tips regarding feeding and sleeping. I have pretty much realized he is going to sleep when he is ready, but last night was interesting. After doing some reading about infant sleep, I started to wonder about why he is waking up. Is he REALLY hungry? Or am I just picking him up, feeding him, putting him back down, because that is the easiest thing to do with a woken up baby?

So I put him down at 8:45 and he went right to sleep. At 11, right before I went to bed, I nursed him and he didn’t wake up. At 1 he woke up because he was wet (so much for baby dry diapers). We changed him and put him back down. At 4 he woke again, and this time I took a good look at him before scooping him up. His eyes were closed, he was making noise but he didn’t really appear to be awake. I gave him back the pacifier and watched. He fell back asleep.

So at 6 of course he was ready to eat (and I was ready to feed him, let me tell you). He ate his normal amount and seemed fine. It’s important to note here that he has steadily gained weight and has more than doubled his birth weight, so I am not concerned about his intake at all.

So something is waking him up, but I don’t think it’s hunger. Of course being wet will do it, but what woke him at 4? I’m not sure, but tonight will continue the experiment.

As for alcohol and breastfeeding, I understand this is a controversial topic. I choose to drink wine and breastfeed my baby. I made this decision after pretty extensive research on the topic. Here is an excerpt from La Leche League's BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK (pp. 509-510)

“Occasional or light drinking of alcoholic beverages has not been found to be harmful to the breastfeeding baby. Moderate-to-heavy alcohol consumption by the breastfeeding mother may interfere with the let-down, or milk-ejection reflex, inhibit milk intake, affect infant motor development, slow weight gain, and cause other side effects in the baby.”

The lactation consultant I went to after Jack was born said up to two glasses of wine will not impact the baby. If I am having wine, I will drink it right after I feed the baby, which gives me over 3 hours to have it work through my system. I have also asked the nurses at my pediatricians office, and they assure me that the amount I consume is safe.

So I guess I’m saying I did not make this decision rashly. I enjoy wine. I believe it will not harm my baby, and therefore I drink it. I know people disagree with me, but both Joe and I are comfortable with the way we are raising the baby so far.

Tomorrow we don’t have any plans, other than sharing a birthday dinner with Jack’s Great Aunt Cissy. I’ll make sure to get some good pictures of him tomorrow!