Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Week One

So - it's been one week with our little man.  My oh my how one's life can change in just a few hours!  It's crazy that a week can make you almost forget how your whole life used to be.

Generally speaking, I think things are going well...

-Sleep is greatly lacking.  The little man sleeps fine at night - for a baby.  So basically we're up every few hours or so to nurse.  That's a pretty weird schedule for an adult to get used to.

-Nursing is going decent to not good, I'd say.  It feels like 2 steps forward, 1 step back.  We'll have a great feeding followed by an awful one.  Bates is freaking strong - so usually when we first settle in to nurse, it's this battle between me and his strong arms and legs that flail around and try to grab things.  After some drama with a nipple shield (and the baby only willing to nurse when I had one on), we're now pretty much off it, unless he's really, really restless.  I'm hoping to get some pumping into the mix, as well.  I had a phone consultation with a lactation specialist yesterday and I'm hoping I can actually meet with her today to get her help.

-Emotionally I've been ok.  Definitely some postpartum weepiness going on, but it doesn't feel overwhelming or constant.  Hopefully it will get better every day.

-I've been overwhelmed with Jonathan's patience and helpfulness.  I have to say that patience isn't necessarily my strongest personality trait - and a lot of times, I just assume that because Jonathan and I are so much alike, he has the same weaknesses as me.  But really, he's suuuuper patient.  I can't tell you how many times I've snapped at him in frustration about something and he just jumps in, totally helpful and calm.  Also, he's pretty much taken over housework and meal prep, which is awesome.  (And he's been a great dad so far, too - total package, guys, total package.)

-I think having grandparents in town is going to be pretty awesome.  It already has been and it's only a week.

-I'm shocked at how little extra time I have to do anything.  The baby sleeps a lot, but it's not really like that's free time for me.  He's usually either sleeping on me, or is in a sleeping apparatus where he can't be unsupervised.  Also, he's often in this sleepy/awake state where he wants attention or he starts crying.  I mean, don't get me wrong, there's lots of nice relaxing/down time, but just not in the way there would be if there wasn't a baby.

That's about all I have time to post about right now.  Here's our first family walk:

And having some tummy time with daddy:


Sarah said...

He looks so precious in Jonathan's arms. I don't know for sure because I haven't had children, but all of my friends that have in this year had problems with breast feeding at first- so don't worry, it will get better.

AmyBethJames said...

You're doing great! Love the sweet pic with Bates and his Daddy. Everything you are feeling and experiencing is normal. You'll be surprised how you will adjust to the sleeplessness/sleeping at odd intervals. It just sort of becomes your new normal. Not fun by any means, but manageable.

One thing you can try is swaddling Bates and then feeding him. Some babies will tolerate it, others not so much. This can help with the flailing. I remember for the first couple weeks Ben was on hand duty, meaning he held Hudson's hands out of the way so I could try and focus on getting him latched on. I would just look at his little angry face (Hudson's, not Ben's) and think, "I'm trying to help you!!!"

Thinking of and praying for you! Bates is such a lucky boy to have a wonderful mommy like you. :)

Emily said...

I'm impressed that you're blogging! Sounds like things are going really well so far! Good luck with the nursing - hope it gets easier and easier for you both! You look amazing post-partum by the way!!!