How big is Liam?
A week ago Liam weighed in at 10 lbs 12 oz, so we are pretty sure he is over 11 lbs by now. Apparently this is only in the 35%-40% of babies… but he already feels huge to us! He started off pretty ravenous and eating around the clock which has tapered off now, so I think his growth is slowing down accordingly.
What is his eating and sleeping schedule like?
So, since looking back at Marina’s 4, 8 and 12 week updates was so helpful for us, I decided it would be even more helpful to actually write out Liam’s schedule for anyone else who is looking for info on an 8 week baby. Of course I am not a pediatrician and every baby is different, but this may help you in understanding what an 8 week old schedule can look like. We follow the Eat, Play Sleep routine during the day, with a dream feed at night. Here it is:
Things to keep in mind here are that we FORCED a pacifier on Liam. With Marina, she took to one easily at 3 weeks, which we needed for a long car ride. Liam struggled to accept one until about 6.5 weeks when I spent almost a whole day working on it with him and now he takes it. How did we get him to take one? I used the method of basically forcing it into his mouth until he finally sucks on it, and when he does, I would pull it away, which teaches him to suck harder. Once babies get 5-10 sucks on a pacifier they immediately calm down, as I have learned the act of sucking releases endorphins in their brain. This has been extremely helpful in carrying out the above schedule, and calming him between feedings, which keeps him from snacking and in turn frees up time for me. Liam would not take the flat pacis that Marina loves (MAM) so we are using Tommy Tippee which has the rounded shape. I honestly don’t really care what it looks like as long as the brand also makes glow-in-the-dark ones which are helpful when they’re older, which Tommy Tippee does.
What is his demeanor/personality like?
I’m sure everyone says this, but Liam is either screaming and shaking, or smiling and cooing. If I give him attention he is the happiest boy, but neglect him for a bit and he is inconsolable. Sounds pretty obvious, but with a job and a toddler running around, unfortunately he can’t get all the attention all the time. That’s where the paci comes in handy!
How am I feeling physically?
MUCH better. My doctor said I had a bit of diastasic recti in my upper abs, so I have to take care when doing ab exercises. However, a lot of the exercises they tell you to do for diastasic recti are very similar to barre and pilates ab work which I am very familiar with. Given that we are still in quarantine, I am still working out at home and surprisingly, loving it. I have been doing Dance Body online, about 4-5x a week for the past 2 weeks, and I already feel so strong. I do cardio typically 3x a week, toning 2x a week, and then I try for yoga once if I can. I have lost about 22 lbs so I am still up 6 lbs or so, and I expect to hold on to most of that weight over the next few months to keep breastfeeding, with the aim of strengthening my muscles in the interim.
What products are our baby saviors right now?
Definitely read my 4 week postpartum update, which highlights all the products we still use every day. Adding on to that, we love Lou Lou and Company‘s newborn sets and swaddles as they are super soft, easy, and come in great patterns. I also have been making onesies for Liam which is really fun, but disappointing when he grows out of them so fast! Makes for cute pictures though :)
