One Month

Four weeks ago on a Monday, Baby came into the world. He drives me nuts, but how I love him so much! I could kiss his soft, pudgy cheeks all day long. I stare at him a lot; he changes every day it seems. He sometimes looks like an old man and has mature, refined expressions. He likes to stretch and arch his back, reminding me of a little inch worm. He loves to sleep with outstretched arms and he pooches his lips if you touch them. That's how I test to make sure he's still breathing (you'll neurotically check your baby's breathing, too, trust me).

He's hearty, healthy and eats well. We've been getting better at nursing and it's more comfortable and less painful now. He's awake more often and has a strong will and voice! He loves to be carried. He's generally consolable, thanks to the techniques we learned from "Happiest Baby on the Block" (thanks, Generous Jen, for recommending the book). But I've heard that between six and eight weeks, all babies get some form of colic. We'll see if they still work. We're doing pre-training for sleep. So we're making sure he eats every two and a half to three hours and trying to let him sleep four hours through the night. But he has only done that once or twice.

So many firsts this month, it's hard to itemize them all. I really want to document them...Maybe I'll add to this once I get my shiz together. For now, a little obligatory month photo of the little munchkin.

Herro!

Coming Up For Air and G's Birthday

No one ever told me how utterly exhausting the first few weeks of bringing a new baby home can be. Sleep deprivation is no joke! You get the blahs and a bit melancholy from the combination of no sleep, shifting hormones, and frigid weather that keeps you inside alllllll day.

But little successes keep you going. Like breastfeeding well. Like a healthy baby that grows so noticeably right before your eyes. Baby is getting so big and chubby. He is more alert and stays awake for longer periods of time during the day these days. He's not a fussy baby, but he does have his moments (and I'm sure many more). I feel less worried and nervous about him being so fragile and breakable. He is very hardy. I no longer wake up every ten minutes to check his breathing. (Now it's every 30 minutes. Kidding, kind of.)

This past weekend we went to G's parents to celebrate G's (and his dad's belated) birthday. The first outing to this set of grandparents'. It's a little nerve racking taking him out in the cold and during flu season despite his natural insulation. And sure enough, his cousins were sick with something. But their mother was really good about keeping them at a distance. I brought spray hand sanitizer, but that doesn't do anything for when someone breathes on the kid. Good lawd, I can't believe I'm neurotic over this. Just don't want a sick infant. That would be the worst.

With the never-ending cycle of feeding and pumping, I've had little time to do much of anything. Christmas will be spare this year, which is fine since I don't like shopping anyway (as you know). My mom will be hosting, so that will keep things neat, tidy and light on gifts (the only thing more exhausting than all-night feedings is a marathon of gift opening).

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

A Little Drive-by Hello

Hi there! Just wanted to say hello and not lose your attention! We're fine and well. We've been home for almost a week now, and it's been so neat getting to know our little guy! We went for our second pediatrician check up today and things are going well. Babies lose weight after they're born, and so they get monitored to make sure they gain their birth weight back. Baby S lost the usual: a little less than 10% and has since gained a good part of it back since just Monday (three days ago) from his first visit.

We are learning to breast feed and do that almost exclusively now (now being the past two days). I pump for night feedings when he gets fed by our night nurse (which I highly, highly, highly recommend--more on that later).

For now, I'll leave you with this. This is me and Baby on our last day in the hospital waiting to check out.

Waiting to go home from the hospital (the day before our due date!)

Week 39: Baby Boy!

Baby was born at 39 weeks and 2 days (five days early). This picture was actually taken today (December 4, his due date).

Because of a still-large uterus, it looks like I'm six months preggo (no one told me about this phenomenon)!

Today was Baby S's due date. Instead, he made an early appearance five days early. Born on Monday evening after about 16 hours of labor, I had to eventually get a C-section after all!!! It has been quite a week!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR (AS ALWAYS) KIND THOUGHTS AND SUPPORTIVE WORDS!

I will add more to this post on the whole experience, but just wanted to check in to say hello and announce the arrival of the Little Creature! He weighed 7 lbs and 13 ounces and measured 20.5 inches long.

One day old

Two days old