Introducing… Elliot and Winston!

As it turns out, there are way more rules for being a parent than there were for being a kid. Yesterday we had a little celebration at Elliot’s Gam Gam’s house for his 2 week birthday. Logan’s parents cooked us some delicious Chilean Sea Bass and provided a small cake for Elliot, which we ate on his behalf. Later on, Logan made some tuna salad and crackers for a snack. At that point, I was concerned about eating 2 fish meals in a day, due to the stupid mercury risk. Logan looked up Chilean sea bass, and to our surprise, the FDA lists Chilean sea bass in its moderate/high risk category, where as a lactating female they recommend that I have no more than 1 serving a month. Usually the higher risk seafoods are predatory, like shark. The risk would have been higher to Elliot if I had been pregnant. Plus, grilling the fish apparently helps decrease the risk. So, we are in all likelihood safe, but it just makes me mad since I like seafood and it is otherwise healthy. Stupid pollution… Happy belated Earth Day…

Fortunately, the dietary restrictions are much more relaxed for lactation as opposed to pregnancy. For example, I can eat cold cuts again without having my sandwich toasted. I also can have a small amount of alcohol and a medium/rare steak! Still probably shouldn’t start smoking, but I wasn’t going to worry about that one…

Another issue is the sleeping surfaces. In December, I read Dr. Sear’s Attachment Parenting Book, which promoted a very baby centered style of parenting that actually sounded like fun to me. Basically the idea is to really study your child and learn their cues so that you can hypothetically deal with problems before they arise. Dr. Sear’s postulates that keeping a baby happy makes them more receptive to their environment so that they can learn. Not to mention, my sanity is better preserved when Elliot is not crying. Obviously, nothing is perfect, and as Grandpa says, “Sometimes babies cry.”

Anyways, the attachment parenting philosophy recommends things like baby wearing and bed sharing, which sounded pretty convenient to me as a mother who is currently exclusively breastfeeding. However, recommendations for preventing SIDS advise against bed sharing. Plus, there is the risk of squishing the baby. So our solution: the Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper Bassinet, a bassinet that attaches to the side of our bed for easy Elliot access throughout the night. The only problem, Elliot much prefers our bed, even after I wrote him a song the basically went “We like the bassinet so much!” Our bed is much softer that the extra firm surface in the bassinet, which is another preventing SIDS recommendation. So when I feed him I end up letting him rest on my chest for a few minutes afterwards. Then, I move him to my side in the bed for a few more minutes to let him get good and asleep, and then to the bassinet. Sometimes the move to the bassinet wakes him up and I have to start the whole process over. And in the wee hours of the morning, sometimes I fall asleep before we get through all of the steps. So far I have yet to squish him, but every time I wake up with him beside me I feel a pang of guilt. Fortunately, Elliot is so big and can already move his head so well that I have a little less fear for his survival in our bedroom, but still as a new parent, any advise I hear I am keen to do everything I can to follow, especially when they throw in the phrase “infant mortality.” New parents are such chumps… At least, I finally figured out how to get him to sleep on his back.

I could also discuss the craziness of “nipple confusion” from giving a pacifier too early or the fact that we are not suppose to use baby sunscreen on him until he is 4-6 months of age (which will put us to September for going out in the sun), but I think that I have already exceeded my word limit for the day.

Elliot’s first shoes!