Our little feeding machine

JJ may be the smallest member of our household (both cats have him beat by a couple of pounds) but he is feeding like I would at a $5 all you can eat 24 hour buffet!  We're going to try and weight him using Wii Fit tomorrow.  While we're at it we'll weight the cats too!  Maybe I'll add the numbers to that Excel file I'm working on...

He is presumably going through his 3 week growth spurt (after all, three weeks ago exactly E was resting before the final push) but it is bordering on the ridiculous.  No sooner has E stopped feeding him then he is rooting around for more.  We both know this is only temporary but it doesn't stop me from feeling pretty useless when I hold him and all he wants is more milk. 

He has currently mastered 4 activities:
1) eat
2) pee/poop (so he has more room to eat)
3) sleep (so he is rested enough to eat) and
4) dream (about eating)

At least I can help with number 2 (pun intended).  It's actually impressive how much exertion he puts into removing waste from his body.  He's going to strain something one day....  You can tell what he is up to from a few rooms away.  He also has impeccable timing, he knows exactly when I'm just about done and he decides that he isn't.  Our record so far is 4 diapers for one change!  My changes are far from the rapid efficiency of a Formula 1 pit crew that I am striving for.  Currently, I'm happy if he doesn't pee partway through and I don't have to change his clothes.

Thankfully, the feeding machine shuts down for a few hours overnight (except for one night when bedtime ended up being 6am) so E can get some rest.  Our bodies are definitely adapting to less sleep and neither of us has had the need for IV caffeine (yet), in fact I think I'm drinking less than before.  An afternoon coffee just makes me groggy in the evening.  Of course the special kind of groggy that a beer or glass of wine brings of an evening is a different matter.  How E is surviving is beyond me - well actually it isn't, she is eating well, trying to get out every day, meeting up with friends/family and she has found a whole new level of zen-like patience.  Getting to have a shower everyday seems to help too.

On the flip side to the feeding frenzy, E and I have still been able to enjoy some of favourite things.  Coffee and the paper on Saturday morning, a freshly prepared dinner eaten together at the table, popping out to the shops - things we took for granted before but cherish now.  We can see how we'll be able to have time for each other and to ourselves in the not too distant future - something that will save our sanity I'm sure.  

We are also looking forward to JJ being more interactive and, dare I say it, more lovable.  Obviously we both love our cute, hairy, robust little feeding machine but at such a young age he isn't yet that little person that I imagined.  He is happy so long as his basic needs are being met (no matter how regularly) but I can't wait to see him grow into his own little man (and not just so I can dress him in cargos, cool t-shirts and hoodies).

There may be a silver lining to the growth spurt, apparently once JJ hits about 11 lbs his stomach can hold enough milk to allow him to sleep for 4 hours!  We'll see...