Well, we managed to make it through the first two weeks as parents. They have been the best and hardest two weeks of my entire life. I’ve cried a lot and wanted nothing more to just sleep, but in the end I wouldn’t trade these two weeks for anything. Thanks to a few pep talks from fellow moms, I haven’t given up on nursing and remind myself that each day gets easier. This is SO true. The more time we spend bonding and figuring our new life out, the easier it all gets.
In this two weeks I’ve learned so much about myself. I now know that your body is an incredible machine (cue song by Sugarland) and it will do whatever it knows is right. I don’t know how it figures out what to do, but it does and it’s amazing. Nursing is probably the hardest thing that you can ever do and I don’t think you can even be prepared for it; luckily your body is prepared for it. Someone can say running a marathon is hard and you’ll say of course it is. That same person will say nursing is hard and you’ll say okay without thinking twice. Well, they were right. To say it’s impossible is going a bit far, but it really is hard. The hardest thing is you’re trying to manage your body in general, you have little sleep and then you have this little life to feed. Thank goodness for lactation consultants because without them I would’ve given up on nursing after the third night. Sixteen days and two growth spurts later we’re getting down the groove of nursing. I know it will take a few more weeks for us to be in sync, but I no longer feel like giving up. I’ve learned to let my body and baby do the work. I’m just here for head support 🙂
At one breaking point I looked to a fellow mommy friend for advice and she told me “The main thing is that none of us know how it’s supposed to go, there is no right or wrong! It’s hard being a mom; our job now is to keep our children alive and it’s not easy, but we manage.” These are words that I will forever keep in my heart as it is so true. With each passing days these words mean more and more to me. I LOVE being a mom and wouldn’t trade it for the world. Even with the sleepless nights, getting peed and pooed on, and having no idea what the heck to do next (at times) it is by far the most rewarding part of life.
Henry is an extremely happy baby. He is like his mom and loves to sleep, looks exactly this his dad and like both of us, loves to eat. The older he gets the more alert and awake he has become. At times he fusses as he has trouble burping, but other than that he couldn’t be a better baby. We’ve now reached a point where we only wake up twice a night (yahoo!!) and are slowly transitioning to a solid day schedule. He hates taking a bath, being naked and getting his diaper changed. Ben is on diaper duty when he gets home from work and that’s when Henry loves to poop the most!!
The crib was very scary for mom, we spent the first 10 days on the couch and in the pack in play, but he loves sleeping in it. The sleep sheep (thanks Jessica!!) is a life saver, along with our Angel Care monitors. Not to mention I missed snuggling with my husband so sleeping on the couch needed to end sooner rather than later. We now only frequent the couch during the day. We also make it a point to get out of our jammies everyday and often have several wardrobe changes due to spitting up and peeing on ourselves.
The two of us have had three outings together: newborn pics, the pediatrician and the store. All were complete successes and no meltdowns were had by neither of us. There was the incident where the car seat got stuck in the cart, but we managed. I’ve had one outing along, to the grocery store. It was nice to get out alone, but I missed the little guy a lot.
Within the first five days of his life, Henry gained two ounces shy of a pound so he doesn’t need weekly weight checks. He also had slight jaundice, but no need for the blanket (yes!!). The pediatrician said that he couldn’t be more perfect (we know she “has to say that,” but let’s be honest, it’s true).
Our days consist of eating, sleeping and watching TV. Basically the story of my life prior to baby, now I just have company. Thankfully I’ve bounced back from baby in no time and have never felt like I just had a baby; minus the sleepless nights. Things like laundry, dishes and cooking, are now usually done by Ben, but I am pitching in a little more each day. Sometimes I feel too sleepy to do anything, but other times I have huge bursts of energy.
Ben has become my rock now more than ever. He dries my eyes when my hormones take over, makes me laugh constantly, calls just to check in, snuggles with me and makes sure that the two of us have everything we need at all times. I am beyond thankful and appreciative of him. Without him I would’ve fallen apart the first week and definitely wouldn’t have such a great outlook on motherhood.
There is a new survey around about what comes first the husband or the baby. As a new mom I obviously have to say the baby as he needs me now more than ever, but quite frankly so does Ben. We’re trying to navigate through this whole new life as partners and without open lines of communication, a lot of laughter, hugs and just being there for one another we wouldn’t have such a strong relationship. That’s our secret to success.
To wrap things up, I plan to keep up the blog as much as I possibly can. Filling in our friends and family about Henry’s milestones and our lives as parents. It may be awhile between posts, but I will get to them when I can. Until then, know that every spare minute I have is spent staring at my little guy in utter amazement. Oh, not to mention a shower, some reading and just enjoying “me” time.
One Plus One Equals... 