The Sound of Silence

Tiny Guy is a VERY different baby from The Boy. We expected that. He likes the sunshine. Not that The Boy didn't, but getting out in the sun is pretty much an instant calming event for Tiny Guy. He does NOT like car rides, which is the opposite of The Boy who loves them even now. Also, he has very particular taste in music and an interesting sense of irony.

Item one: we're in the car and Tiny Guy is screaming and screaming. Daddy was listening to a podcast, and he put on some barbershop. As soon as the music got going, Tiny Guy was quiet. Next song: screaming again. We skip that song and go to another. No screaming. Go to the Vocal Majority Chorus. Screaming. Skip, to another, a championship quartet. No screaming. A top 20 quartet. Screaming. So not only does Tiny Guy only like quartets who have won the gold, somehow he has no patients for the Vocal Majority, who took second place in the contest for the first time in DECADES. Actually, it's the fact that the championship quartets have a certain ringing sound that can be easily felt, and perhaps that is what was calming him.

Item two: In the car again. Screaming. We have on Acoustix (a championship quartet) and he is screaming through the beginning of the Simon and Garfunkel medley, which begins with "The Sound of Silence." And at the perfect moment in the song, as they hold out the word "sound", he is quiet, and then they sing "of silence."

It's amusing.

Tiny Guy likes to eat and eat and eat. He'll cluster-feed for awhile and then be satisfied. Then repeat. Last night was a pretty reasonable night. I'm rather sore. His latch is good so that isn't causing the problems; he's just REALLY strong!!! Having nursed The Boy for 15 months, I thought that I'd still be pretty tough from that but apparently I have to start all over in that respect. However, I did not lose my overall comfort with nursing a baby. Especially in public. I don't give a darn who sees me, although I dress strategically so that no one can see my belly while Tiny Guy eats. It's a war zone over there. That said, I already look pretty good considering that it has been less than two weeks since I had him. I still probably have excess weight that I need to get rid of eventually, but fortunately, Tiny Guy will be nursing exclusively for the next 6 months and continuing to nurse beyond that. Nursing a baby means that someone else gets to suck in your gut for you.

So, about The Boy:

The past few days were very up and down for him. Fortunately, he is getting better. Hopefully, he will have his port reinstalled tomorrow. He is eating again and playing. Last night I got to see him and spend some time with both boys. The Boy is amused by Tiny Guy, but he has only ever seen him in the hospital and I'm not sure if he gets that the baby is going to be at home with us too.

I'll be interested to see how the sleeping arrangements go. Right now Tiny Guy is in our room. He has a bassinet, which he does sleep in, but sometimes if I fall asleep nursing him or if Daddy falls asleep burping him, he stays in our bed, across one of us. He likes to sleep on his stomach, or rather, he likes to sleep on MY stomach. I put him down in the bassinet on his stomach once, for a combination nap and airing of his bum, but I was awake and walking around and paying attention to him, so I wasn't worried.

I have stayed away from the blog for a few days because of heated internal situations, which have cause me much undue stress and likely have cause Tiny Guy to be that much more highly charged. For the record, I didn't start it, Musical Daddy didn't start it. But we have to deal with it. Couple that with the normal post-partum hormones and it's no shock that I've been a total basket case recently and I'm embarrassed. And isn't it sad that instead of trying to take care of myself that I'm embarrassed about being emotional, when I've been treated poorly and didn't do anything to cause it.

Anyhow, I am having a hard time staying awake so I'm going to nap.