Four weeks old

Where has the time gone? Zachary is four weeks old today. He is becoming more and more alert each day, and likes to study my face intently. He can track things with his eyes now and is much more interested in the toys hanging above him on his playmat. This morning I put a rattle in his hand and he grasped it and shook it for about half a minute. When I hold him up to my shoulder he lifts his head and can hold it up for quite a while. On his tummy he can move his head from side to side but still can't hold it up for too long. He looks like he is thinking about rolling over but is not quite there yet.

He still seems to have his days and nights mixed up a little bit - he takes a nice long nap in the afternoon to late evening, then at night he only sleeps for two hours at a time, max. This is making for a tired Momma! I've been reading some different books about how to get babies to learn to sleep and/or on a schedule, but have not attempted to implement anything yet. I'm still just kind of winging it and working under the theory that babies under three months can't be spoiled, so I just feed him when he wants to be fed and hold him when he wants to be held, although that can easily take up most of the day! We have gone through a few crying spells, but he is still a very easygoing baby for the most part. Anyway, I am open to suggestions in the whole sleeping area.

Good news! His blocked tear duct seems to be cleared - we've had clear eyes for six days now. It was really goopy for a couple of weeks - we kept thinking he must have an infection, but we just kept cleaning it and massaging it and then voila! Pretty clear eyes. We were told it could take up to a year to resolve, and if it hadn't by then they would have to do a procedure to poke it open, so I'm very thankful that it seems to be okay now. I waited to report this for a while so I wouldn't jinx myself - hopefully it'll stay fixed!




As for my other, furrier kids, Tootie is still feeling a little neglected but he loves the baby and just wants to lick him. I've been trying to pay a little more attention to him. Timmi keeps trying to jump in Zachary's swing, and occasionally she'll jump up and sniff his head, but for the most part seems unfazed. Rupert is just hanging out on the porch, having been finally banned from the house after years of bad behavior. He seems perfectly happyand as far as I know is unaware of the baby.


The Kitty is the one I'm worried about - he is my neurotic, special needs kitty, having been my baby the longest and having his position repeatedly usurped by a series of ever more unsettling creatures, first the pig and most recently this loud, hairless thing that Mom never puts down and won't let him step on to access my face for licking. He finally gave up trying to get my attention and I didn't see him much for a week or so. When I finally did get a good look at him the other day, I noticed his chin was swelled up to an alarming degree. I decided to watch it for a couple of days, but yesterday it was looking particularly nasty (I won't elaborate), so I took him to the vet (my first outing alone!). The vet (Dr. Streed) took one look and said 'Ugh, that is nasty!' Thanks, I didn't feel quite guilty enough yet! He gave us some antibiotics to give him twice a day for a week, so hopefully that will clear it up. Poor Kitty! He seems happy to have gotten some attention from me though, and has returned to his sleeping spot by Zachary's bassinet in our room.