5 Weeks Old

Nursing: Well this has been a tough week for us! I started to get mastitis in my left breast on Thursday night and it was crazy painful! Around 10 PM my breast was swollen, hard and hot to the touch. I thought I was maybe just engorged so we nursed and then I tried to sleep, unsuccessfully I might add. Finally around 1 AM I couldn’t take the pain anymore and I wasn’t sleeping so Nick and I hoped on Google to figure out what was wrong. I had a slight fever and chills so we established that I had mastitis! Of course Cash was sleeping peacefully and for once didn’t want to nurse! My wonderful hubby figured out how the breast pump worked and got me set up. I pumped and kept warm compresses on my breast for the rest of the night and nursed whenever Cash was awake. In the morning I called my midwife and she said I had mastitis and we could try to treat it naturally first – which is what I always prefer. She had me drink a garlic decoction, take 1000 mg of vitamin C every 4 hours, nurse from the soar breast and of course 24 hour bed rest. The first day I consumed 20 cloves of garlic! By the next morning I was still soar but it was way better. After another 10 cloves of garlic I was feeling human again – albeit a smelly human but human nonetheless. Thankfully I was able to beat back the mastitis without antibiotics!

Cash has been going through a growing spurt and has been nursing pretty much every 2 hours. What can I say, my boy loves the boobies!

Cash has also started to hold his ear while he nurses! My mom said I used to do the same thing! It is so adorable I just can't get enough of it!

Cloth Diapering: We are so glad that we decided to order another 15 Cloth-eez diapers! Now we only have to do laundry every other day. We are still dealing with a small diaper rash every now and then so I have been researching diaper cream and plan to make my own very soon.

Sleep: Since Cash likes a diaper change every 2 hours and then wants to nurse; we are not sleeping very much. I just keep hoping that he will start going longer stretches without nursing at night, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

Likes/Dislikes: We have discovered that Cash likes us to sing to him. I know what you’re thinking; every baby likes “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and other baby songs. This is not the case with Mr. Cash, he likes a particular song from a Saturday Night Live skit. How did we discover this you might ask, well, Nick was trying to calm Cash down one day and just started singing the “What’s Up With That” song from SNL and Cash loved it! Now we sing it to him all the time when he is fussy and it seems to help. Hey, whatever works!

Cash still doesn’t like diaper changes and riding in the car seat. He will tolerate the car seat when the car is moving but whenever the car stops at a light he gets really mad! I have discovered that I can sometimes soothe him by sticking my pinkie knuckle in his mouth for him to suck on. I really don’t want to give him a pacifier, but I can see why parents use them!

Activities: Cash and I have been getting out of the house more, but with the bed rest this week we weren’t as active. He did go on a couple trips to Huckleberry's this week and everyone who sees him tells me how little and cute he is! Cash also had a visit from my friend, Monika, and her adorable son Jack. It was so nice to have another mommy friend come over for a visit. We just sat in the bedroom, talked, nursed and relaxed! I love hearing all of Monika’s mommy tips! She is such a wonderful mommy and he son is always smiling and giggling! I hope Cash will be a happy boy just like Jack.

Nick's parents have also came out and made us dinner this week. They needed their "Cash Fix" as Tony, Nick's dad, calls it.

Health: We had an appointment with our midwife this Tuesday and Cash weighed 8 pounds and 4 ounces! Our midwife way so impressed with his weight gain! Cash has been a little congested this week so we also took him in for a little adjustment from my god mom and chiropractor, Kathy. It really helped! Amazing what a slight adjustment can do! The only other health issue is the baby acne. I know that tons of babies get it but I just want it to go away!

Best Moment: Nick and I took Cash to my aunt Colleen and Uncle Paul’s house so my grandma Weasie could see Cash. They were all at the birthing center for his birth but grandma hadn’t seen him since. When she held Cash she got a little teary eyed! It was such a beautiful moment. I’m so glad that Cash was able to spend some time with his great-grandma!