One week

ALL-consuming. That's how I would describe life with a newborn. :)








I now weigh 141 lbs. That's 20 lbs down from the pre-birth weight... in only one week!! My mom said she also lost weight really quickly. It's so nice not to have super swollen hands, feet, legs, etc.... I'm sure most of the weight was water weight. My uterus is shrinking fast. I have been taking pictures of my body in the mirror every couple of days, just because I can't believe how fast it is bouncing back! I expected it to take a lot longer. At this point, I almost feel like my old self again but a bit heavier.

Nursing is going pretty good. He doesn't poop as much as he should and he's a litte jaundiced. I took a look in the Dr. Sears Baby Book and he suggests switch feeding, which is good for sleepy jaundice babies because you latch, unlatch when he gets sleepy to burp him, relatch on the other side, and repeat. I'm not so good at it yet since I keep letting him fall asleep! He also is quite gassy... he often scrunches his legs up and tightens his stomach while sleeping, and sometimes does or does not pass gas. If he does not, he cries. Poor baby.

My right nipple is quite sore, even though the latch is the same for the right and left sides. In the beginning they both hurt like crazy (again, even though the latch was fine) because they both erupted with little blisters on the tips from being sucked for the first time. OUCH. I started a little care regime for the right side... dab with witch hazel and aloe solution, cover with coconut oil, cover with Lanisoh. It works well to sooth it. Engorgement really hurts!! My milk came in FAST since I have been eating giant bowls of oatmeal every morning and drinking two cups of tea every day (don't ask what's in the tea, I have no idea, it's a chinese post partum support blend from my acupuncturist). I didn't realize engorgement was a bad thing, but the Dr. Sears book says nurse as much as you can and ice it to keep it down, because they can't latch as well when you're engorged and it makes you prone to infections like mastitis!

Today daddy and mamaw took him while he was full and happy and I took a long nap (1.5 or 2 hours). It kind of freaked me out to wake up and find I had been asleep that long, since I really want him to eat every hour or so to make sure he is getting enough! Last night I tried something new, since he is capable of going 2 hours between feedings at night at this point. I would nurse at 11pm and set my alarm for 2am, that way I knew there was no way I could sleep through his hunger signs to a dangerous point (3 hours in between feedings is the max for a normal baby, nevermind an early jaundiced one). Then I would wake up at 12:30am or whenever it was he got hungry, nurse him, and reset the alarm for 3am. It gave me the peace of mind to sleep for those intervals.

Here is our set up. I sleep between the baby and Ash now, although at first we slept in a letter T shape because I hadn't mastered side nursing yet and I had to switch the baby back and forth at night (daddies are not allowed to sleep next to babies, they don't have the wake-up instincts not to roll over!!). All the newborn sized diapers, onesies, blankets, etc are all on the bed within arms reach. I don't know how people do this who have cribs in the next room! INSANITY.


I really can't wait for things to settle down and for it to feel like us again but... with a baby. I know I have a few weeks to go until that point. I can feel my herbal teas and my placenta broth carrying my sanity through this newborn time... I wish daddy had an equivalent, but he is getting a lot more sleep than I am so I know he can handle it better. He is SUPER DAD right now, taking very good care of me, really enjoying his son, and washing the diapers every day. I wake him up and night if there is a poop diaper, or if I have to get up and go to the bathroom (safe bed sharing tip! Always wake up and tell your sleeping partner if you are leaving the baby in the bed with them), but other than that he has been getting normalish sleep.

My goal is to go out with him on Saturday. There is a nurse-in at Whole Foods at 5pm and then our friend is playing an acoustic show at a coffee shop after that. It sounds TERRIFYING to be out of bed and in the world with him... but also terrifying to not get out into the world pretty soon. I've got cabin fever.

We tried out the Moby wrap... or as we like to call it... THE JEDI WRAP! Because ours is brown and looks like something Obi Wan would wear. Luca LOVED it. We didn't use it quite right (his head is supposed to be in the opposite strap that his body is in), but I'm hoping to figure out either that or the ring sling by Saturday.