Well, somehow our little man is one month already!! I can hardly believe it!
Baby Lex today! After a violent bout of hiccups that wiped him out
The first week in the hospital shouldn't count. After all, I couldn't change his diapers, get out of bed, or feed him very well. I was practically out of commission. Thank goodness my husband rocks! I have no idea how single parents do it. My c-section made it incredibly difficult to get out of bed, unless I had major help from the nurses, or Lance. So changing diapers when he started to get fussy was hard, since he would suddenly be OK, then start to freak out. And because I was so sore, responding quickly was not possible.
Ah, the hospital. So many good/bad things to be said. I guess the only bad thing about the hospital was that our little guy would breathe fast and so EVERY nurse who came on, and EVERY doctor who saw me and him would freak out. I guess most babies breathe in the range of 30-60 times a minute (I think so) and our guy would breathe about 40-100 times a minutes. But he wasn't laboring for breath, wheezing and his blood oxygen level was totally normal. However, they took him to the nursery a bunch of times, tested him, took blood (horrible to watch - he would scream) and put lots of monitors on him. And guess what, he's fine. Totally fine. The pediatricians who would see him were the only ones not concerned and just kept saying that it was periodic breathing and that he just needed time to normalize out. Which made us feel better, but somehow nobody else, because despite what we said, he still kept freaking out the nurses and being sent down for monitoring in the nursery. It was frustrating that nobody would listen to Lance and I that he had been looked at (a bunch) and was OK.
But it was fantastic being taken care of, getting regular meals (the food was pretty good, though it still took forever to eat it because I kept getting interrupted), getting free stuff for later, and the help/advice from people and mothers who have gone through what I was going through. Especially about breast feeding - man, its rough. But you just have to remind yourself, that he was just born, and neither of you has much of an idea on how to do it, just the determination to do it.
The other nice thing about the hospital is that because I had a c-section, and was there for so long, I got a lot of help for the first little bit with taking care of Lex. Then you finally get to the day when it's time to go, and all of a sudden it gets real. And while it was real before, as you pack up your little man, and get ready to go, then you realize that there isn't a nurse to watch him breathe and help you both with breast feeding, and change him when its hard to get up and down. Bam! Reality. Its wonderful and terrifying. You are now solely responsible for this little life. And while you have help (Lance's mom stayed with us for a couple of days) and your husband is there to relieve you when you can't hold him while he's screaming in your face anymore, you are responsible for all the other times. For feeding him. Making sure he lives. :)
Having a one month old baby is awesome. And surprisingly, not as hard as everyone said it would be. So many people made it out that I was never going to sleep again, and my life would be over. Um, nope. I feel great. Maybe it's because I was sort of expecting the worst, or maybe because I've had such great parenting examples in my life, or maybe because our baby is just awesome and chill, but its been great. I've learned a lot already.
- Always have paper towels next to your changing station - surprise pee! And you need something disposable and absorbent to wipe it up. It doesn't happen often, but I'm so glad we had it nearby.
- Wait a few minutes after the initial poop - although I don't want him sitting in filth, changing him too soon either means that he immediately ruins the next new diaper, or he'll keep going when the diaper is off and before the next one is on. And so, we wait... :)
- Rocking chairs are kryptonite for babies. Whoever invented the rocking chair - genius. It soothes Lex down after eating and its soothing to you too. Baby kryptonite.
- You do laundry pretty much everyday. Yeah, get used to this one. And its generally just baby stuff, because when he pees through things, not only does he need a new diaper, but the clothes he was wearing need to be changed, and the blankets he was wrapped up in. And if he does this a few times a day, well then you need to get things washed or come night time, he doesn't have any clean blankets. Speaking of which...
- You can never have enough blankets. All kinds. Big light linen ones to really wrap him into, and soft cotton ones to snuggle him with, heavy ones to lay on top of him when he sleeps. You can also never have enough....
- Burp cloths. Especially if he spits up a bunch, you don't really want to keep reusing it and having it next to his face.
But every kid is different, so are the parents and the parenting style. Most importantly though, if you and your husband come up with a plan that works for you and your baby, then go with it, and don't let anybody make you feel bad about your plan, or try to tell you that there is another better (their) way of doing things. You are the parents and you know your baby best. I don't mind getting advice from people who have had children, because they've been there, but that's all it is - advice. You can take it into consideration and make changes, or not.
And definitely enjoy it. I LOVE being a mom. He's wonderful. He laughs in his sleep, smiles when he gets kissed, and enjoys the bath a ton. He even clenches his butt cheeks together when we get the sink spray to hit him right there.
Relaxing, and enjoying the bubbles
He smells wonderful. The bottom of his feet are so smooth.
They crinkle when you run your finger up them!
Just yesterday he learned how to grab my finger and put my knuckle in his mouth. He looks surprised if you blow his hair. He loves to lay on Lance's stomach. And no matter how tightly I swaddle him, he always manages to get one hand free, if not both, when he sleeps.
Yep, worked that hand free....
He has my cheeks, dark hair and eyes, and my lips. But Lance's ears, and nose. He loves to stare at the wall, ceiling and the lights.
Never mind that he's getting blessed, he'd rather stare at the lights in church....
He cannot abide a dirty diaper and sometimes at night he wakes up just so he can get changed, and without needing to eat, goes right back to sleep when he's dry again. He likes listening to music. If you sit him somewhere he's fine, but the moment he starts to slide down, he starts to get grumpy. He squeaks a lot and chirps and coos and makes all kinds of adorable little baby noises. If he gets startled in his sleep his hands shoot up and his fingers shoot outward. He's so smart - he knows when he's about to get changed and always settles down when you lay him on the changing table because he knows that he's about to get out of his diaper. He loves to have his hair washed and when the soap/water runs down his face into his eyes, he's not fazed at all. He never gets too loud or grumpy unless we ignore his problems for too long.
Ah, we ignored him to take this picture :)
His favorite thing to do right now is sit. Just sit. His head control is great and he turns to look at you when he hears your voice. He eats like champ but always seems startled and upset when he chugs so fast his starts to choke. Apparently he hasn't learned to slow down yet. The car seat always conks him out and he's so good in the car.
Out. Totally out.
He can tell the instant you sit down because his altimeter goes off and you have to stand back up. He doesn't like his mouth wiped, but prefers to have it dabbed clean after eating.
He's wonderful.
