Hubby Back at Work and Visitors from the UK

This week Paul went back to work and our friends from the UK arrived to stay with us.
We met Baz and Alyx back when we all lived in Whistler and they have been doing some travelling since then. They have been living in New Zealand and are now on a 6 week trip in Australia before heading back to their home in the UK.

Some people may feel having friends stay with you when we have a newborn is madness but it’s been amazing. Otis loooooves Baz so when Baz and Alyx are home with me during the day it’s a great distraction for Otis. They’ve been kindly helping around the house, doing dishes, laundry and even offering to make me food.
They arrived on Tuesday and Paul went back to work on the Wednesday so the timing couldn’t be more perfect.

Some Rough Nights 
We had a really rough week with Casper’s sleep. From midnight onwards he was squirmy and unsettled. He wouldn’t fall back asleep in the bassinet, he would only sleep on us which was exhausting. Paul and I had been tag teaming which helps but when you’re not getting more than 1.5-2 hours of sleep in a row it starts to creep up on you.
After reaching out on my Instagram page I got some amazing feedback. Through this I learned about Willby’s colic and wind mixture. I did some research and the reviews were amazing - they claim to have a 90% success rate.
I booked a phone consult and through this consult they determine whether your bubba has colic or not. If they do then they will make you a mixture suited to your bubba depending on their age and weight. They even express post it out to you which meant I luckily received the mixture on Friday - just in time for the long weekend.
I struggled with Casper being labelled as a ‘colicky baby’. It sounds so silly but for a moment a part of me felt like something was wrong with him, when in fact 40% of babies have colic. It’s interesting to know that it’s simply their digestive system and gut flora not being mature enough. It’s believed that if you get your bubba onto a good probiotic and use this colic and wind mixture then after a few weeks you can wean them off of it and their ‘colic’ will be cured. I’ve been a big fan of probiotics for a long time so I’ll be continuing the use of it and I’m interested to see how it helps Casper in the coming weeks.
 

Mastitis!!!
When I woke up on the Friday I had a huge headache. I thought it was due to the sleep deprivation we’d been suffering with all week until my left boob developed a lump and I started having chills as well as a fever. I knew straight away what I had - mastitis.
This broke me. I cried so much. Baz and Alyx watched Otis whilst I ran to the GP to get checked out (I took Casper with me). When I got to the counter I broke down. I bawled my eyes out and the lady whisked me away. She took me to a corridor where she told me to wait. Only a few minutes later a lovely Dr came and grabbed me. He assessed my situation and gave me some pain relief. I had a fever, chills and a very obvious infection in my boob. It was so sore and red. He prescribed me some antibiotics (which I hate taking but I needed this gone).
In the meantime Paul has called my Nanna to let her know what was going on as her and I were supposed to be going out that night for her birthday, she jumped in the car and met me at the Drs. She is just the sweetest person, having her there to hug me and be a shoulder to lean on was just what I needed. She went and got my antibiotics and then helped me get back into my car. Secretly I think she just came down for Casper cuddles haha.
That afternoon I was able to rest, I managed by some miracle to get both boys napping at the same time and Casper surprised me by sleeping 2.5 hours which he hasn’t done in his bassinet in a while. It was so nice to just sit on the couch with Baz and Alyx, holding a hot water bottle on my boob, drinking a hot chocolate and relaxing. Paul came home early that night too so I didn’t have to tackle bath time alone. Needless to say I was in bed as soon as Casper was that night.

Colic Medication
That night when I was trying to get Casper down for the night he was a bit unsettled. He’s been pretty good at bed time so this was out of the ordinary. I decided to give him some of the Willby’s colic mix. I was going to wait till later in the night but he was so tired I decided to help him out. I was pretty shocked at how fast it worked. I gave him his dose and within 5 minutes he had passed out. I put him down for bed thinking this is too good to be true, and it was haha. He actually woke within an hour wanting more milk which was fine. I gave him another feed and put him back down (going to bed myself too). Casper then slept for 3.5 hours - his longest stretch in about a week so this was encouraging and also very exciting!
He went back down really easily which is a huge improvement as usually from midnight he can’t sleep in his bassinet. Casper woke every 2 hours for the rest of the night, however he went back down in his bassinet every time! Paul and I for the first time in about a week didn’t need to tag team through the night. After each feed I made sure to spend a good 10 minutes burping him. One burp would come up pretty easy but there was usually a stubborn one so once the first come up, I would rest him against my chest and allow him to sleep upright for 10 minutes. This allowed any gas to come up and ensured he was fast asleep when I transferred him to his bassinet. Even though he woke 4 times, it was still a big improvement.

The following night (Saturday night) was even better! He cluster fed between 6:30-9:30pm which didn’t worry me, from there he woke at 1am, had a feed and went down easily. The next wake up was just after 4am, again he fed and went down really easily. We then started our day at 7am.
Sunday and Monday night started much the same, cluster feeding in the early evening followed by the first wake up at around midnight. The next wake up around 4am and then we start our day between 7 and 8am.
I am so happy that we seem to have found a solution for Casper. It was hard seeing him unsettled. It was also really hard being so sleep deprived. I felt like a zombie. I struggled to have conversations and just function normally.

More Family Outings
We played tour guides for Baz and Alyx all weekend which was fun. Saturday morning we went strawberry picking at Beerenberg and had lunch in Hahndorf, on Sunday we did the Hallet Cove board walk, lunch at Cherry Darlings Bakehouse, saw Luminarium: Daedalum at the RCC and then wondered around The Garden of Unearthly Delights. On Monday we had a relaxing day, we took them to Morialta Falls and they got to see their first kookaburra and koala! They haven’t seen any kangaroos as of yet but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.

Toddler Adjusting with Being a Big Brother
We have noticed a little bit of jealousy come out in Otis which we were expecting at some stage. He still very much loves Casper and loves giving him hugs and kisses but in the bath Monday night he threw water all over Casper’s face - twice! and refused to apologise then told Paul to get him out of the bath. It’s hard seeing him go through such a big change. Otis has been forced to grow up a little bit and sometimes I feel so guilty for this. I know though that after this initial period Otis and Casper will share a special bond and it’s going to be so beautiful. It’s okay for Otis to have these big emotions right now. We just need to ensure we are guiding him through them with love and support. It’s a huge change he is going through right now and he’s doing so well.

Newborns Grow so Fast! 
Casper is changing every day. He’s getting so big! I had to pack away majority of his newborn (0000) clothes which seems absurd. I can’t believe he’s in size 0-3 months (000) already. He doesn’t mind doing tummy time, he’s boobie obsessed and he loves having a bath. It’s so funny because Otis hated baths for quite a while and Casper has loved them from birth. He finds them so relaxing (when Otis isn’t shoving toys in his face of course).
During the day I am still following a loose routine based off his awake window. 1 hour is the sweet spot for him which means after feeding he usually has about 20 minutes of ‘play’. Majority of his naps are in the baby carrier however I do aim to have at least one nap in his bassinet. This is so he gets used to sleeping in his bassinet during the day but also to free me up to either have alone time with Otis or to have complete alone time, it just depends on when it happens during the day.

Week 4 Final Thoughts
Having survived a pretty awful week it makes me realise how strong I am and that I can survive raising two little boys. It’s certainly not easy being pulled in every direction and being touched all day but having Otis wrap his arms around my neck and say “love me” which is his version of “love you” haha makes all the hard times melt away. Having Casper snuggling my chest and feeling his warm little body against mine reminds me of how precious these days are and to live in the moment. It’s easy to wish away the days, especially the hard ones but soon enough I’ll be reminiscing and longing to be back here.