no wonder it’s called hood

i’m starting to realize why it’s called “motherhood”. i’m pretty sure it’s because my 8lb meatloaf is giving me the gang/cult mentality to turn me into a mom. he’s so sweet and charming and does amazing things like randomly finishes a bottle and then snuggles right into my chest and neck only to spew breast milk barf into my hair and back. like don’t get to comfortable lady, i’m still the boss around here.

this week has been a bit of a trial of different sorts. otto is actually (in my opinion) doing really well. we’ve stopped really “pushing” him to finish bottles like we did before the feeding tube and let him eat what he can which is typically about 20ml out of 70 on his own and feed the rest via NG tube. every now and then he’ll surprise us by getting 40+ but it usually ends in puke. we are going to try switching up his type of bottle to the doctor browns and seeing if that works better for him. because this mama is tired of washing crib bedding and doc a tot covers. (as well as my hair). otto has started to act more like a healthy baby. he has been fussing and waking up on his own for feedings and alerting us to his dirty diapers. we have to be quick when changing him because he has these super long legs that he loves sticking right into his poopoo and if we get too focused on that he just pees sometimes right out of his peepee teepee that is supposed to aide in those issues. but honestly i’m so grateful for his fussing. he’s not near as lethargic as he used to be and he’s awake a lot after he feeds. he adores ceiling fans and LOVES staring at the black and white wallpaper in his nursery. i’m trying not to get my hopes super high but i do have a good feeling about tomorrows pediatrician appointment.

our trials haven’t been really otto this week it’s been this old house. don’t get me wrong i love this home we’ve worked so hard on it but lately it’s been revolting against us. we had two bats on two separate nights fly around and we got them out but after the second one we called a pest control company. they came on tuesday morning and sealed up the house ($2k later) and that night we celebrated with a glass of wine and homemade pizza on the deck. however at dusk we had another visitor swoop in that we had to get out of the house. the pest control assured us it shouldn’t happen again but it took two hours to get that sucker out of the house eating in to precious sleep time. (9pm-11pm) after we got that sucker out (with a big blanket, a glass bowl and a cutting board) (oh and joe covered head to toe in leather and carharts) we went to check on the dogs in the basement only to find a pipe to our boiler system had burst and was spewing water all over the basement. we vacuumed up the water, shut it off and went to bed. we are now waiting for the plumber to bring a specialized part to repair it. this means we have to turn the water on in the basement when we need it and then right off again so the barrel we put under the pipe to catch water doesn’t overflow. we thought this has got to be it we’re in the clear. NOT. last night we got home from having pizza at joe’s parents and joe went in first to do a “bat check” he found nothing but when i walked in there was one clinging to the wall eye level with me. thank God that one was easy to get out but still. sleep did not come easy.

sleep right now is such a necessity to keep ourselves moving forward. we need to have clear minds to keep straight feeding schedules, meds, etc that the deprivation of it is pretty detrimental. luckily when all these shinanigans are not going on we have a pretty good schedule. i take the 9pm and 3am feedings and joe takes the 12am and 6am feedings. that gives us each at least a 4 hour stretch of sleep (with hours here and there mixed in).

each day we figure out a little more how to make this new baby routine work a little smoother. we just don’t need anymore “house hiccups” to interfere.