Suck on this

There is, pretty much, no question as to whether Tyler will be a thumb sucker or not. He's already trying to find his thumb. A few days ago, he was holding onto my thumb, and he tried pulling it into his mouth. My thumb. When he makes a fist, he tucks his thumb INSIDE the fist. This morning he had his fist at his mouth, and he was trying to get his thumb out and into his mouth. I pulled his hand away and stuck the pacifier in. I know that some people think pacifiers are taboo, and just shouldn't be used, but if I have to choose between that and thumb sucking, I'm choosing the paci. You want a reason? I don't want to promote thumbsucking, because he'll forever have thumbs (unless he cuts them off in woodshop in about 13 years). How do you wean a child off thumbsucking if he always has the tools to do so? With a paci, I can wean him off by removing the paci sometime down the road. Only time will tell if my theory is correct.

On a side note, I added a bunch more pics of Tyler. Go to my galleries at http://TheGearharts.smugmug.com, click on "Our Family", then "Tyler James", then "Welcome to the World - Part Deux" to check them out. If you haven't already done so, bookmark that page (and this one), so you can keep up on the exploits, and watch Tyler grow.

Last night was glorious. I slept for about 9 hours. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me when I looked at the clock. That, coupled with the fact that it was no longer dark outside, threw me for a loop. I looked over to the other side of the bed and saw Sarah sleeping. Between her and I was Tyler, sleeping away.

We all came downstairs as a family, so that Tyler could get some boobage, and I could get some Cookie Crisp cereal. I asked Sarah why she didn't wake me up last night to take care of the little man for awhile. Her response, though very simple, was clear to the point.

"Because we didn't need you."

I guess, when you're breast feeding, there's just not much that the father can do. The night before was very rough for both of us. There was only one difference between that night and last night, and it made a world of difference for all involved. Sarah's milk had come in. I have to steal a term coined by Sarah here. When Tyler gets his milk, he goes into a "milk coma".

And we're not complaining. He sleeps anywhere from 2 to 4 hours after getting his fill. That's much better than the 45 minutes to an hour from the night before. He's actually in a milk coma now, right next to me on the floor. I'm lying next to him on my laptop. He's in the boppy sleeping very peacefully.

Something I never knew before this pregnancy is that milk doesn't "come in" for about 4 to 6 days after the birth of your baby. What you have before the milk is called cholostrum. It's sometimes called "early milk" and is full of fats, proteins, and antibodies. Well... the cholostrum was running dry and the real-deal milk wasn't quite ready, which resulted in a very fussy baby.

I'm currently praying that every night will be this easy, although I know that I've got a better chance of winning the lotto than having that happen.