Baby Update: Four Weeks Old

Time is flying. I have always said if you want to pass time quickly have a baby. I can not believe my son will be four weeks old tomorrow. Whoa. I thought it would be nice to share how we're doing. I think I am adjusting like any other woman with a newborn. I'm tired and still riding on what little adrenaline I have left. Things have been going pretty smooth for the most part and I am very thankful for that.

Our sleep pattern has been pretty normal. He wakes up about every three hours to eat and be changed. He normally goes right back to sleep after being nursed. We have been doing a mix of co-sleeping and putting him in his crib. It just depends on how tired I am. Please spare me any lectures on co-sleeping. I am not interested in them. Baby M will eventually sleep in his crib every night. When he starts having longer stretches of sleep he'll make a permanent move to his room. He sleeps in his bed during the day for naps so I'm not too concerned about the move. I didn't co-sleep with Savannah but then again I wasn't as tired then as I am now.

Breastfeeding is still going well. Between nursing and pumping I'm a little milk machine. Love that. We've been able to go on a couple play dates and are slowly getting back into the swing of things. I am hoping to get better about taking both of them out by myself. I never knew how much goes in to taking two small children out for errands or an activity. It's been a learning experience. And I am still learning.

I'm going to start working exercise back in to my routine this weekend. I'll keep you posted on how that  goes. I don't own a scale so I'm not sure where I am in terms of weight since giving birth. I'm looking forward to getting in incredible shape. My plan was to be in amazing shape before my thirtieth birthday in February and I plan to accomplish that goal. Watch me work. We'll be talking a lot about fitness in the coming months. 

What was your first month like after baby? Is it all a big blur?

Baby Boy's Birth Story Part II

After spending two hours in recovery my nurse took us to our room where we'd spend the rest of our time at the hospital. I hate that I didn't take any pics of how nice the room was. I was very impressed. There was plenty of space and my room had an amazing view. 

As you know when you're in the hospital you get very little rest. Nurses and Doctors come in to check on you and the baby the entire time. When Baby M was born his initial blood sugar was low. They checked him after every feeding for three consecutive feedings. His blood sugar was normal after every check and we were able to get some good sleep in the wee hours of Friday night. 

After a c-section it is very important to get up and walk as much as possible. Once the feeling returned in my legs I walked a little in my room. I felt perfectly fine until I sat back down in bed. I got the worst motion sickness from my little stroll. I started throwing up which hurts like crap right after you've been cut open. I had had enough walking after that and decided to try again after some sleep. The downside to my motion sickness was being put on a light diet until I could walk without getting sick. 

Saturday was probably the most important day of our time at the hospital. After a c-section the hospital staff wants to make sure that your body is returning to normal. You will be asked to pee in a white measuring cup looking thing. When I had Savannah they actually measured my urine. This time they just wanted to make sure I could go. It wasn't easy. I know I shouldn't compare pregnancies or recoveries because no two are alike but I was able to pee and poop right after having Sav. This time was completely different. 

After lots and lots of trying I was finally able to pee. Once your catheter is removed they like for you to pee within a certain amount of time. I was able to finally go with ten minutes left running on my clock. If you're not able to go within your time slot they put the catheter back in. Yikes. There was no parts of me that wanted to go through that without being numb. I was very happy that I was able to go.

I hate to keep bringing up poop on this blog but it is a part of life and a big part of recovery. Pooping after a c-section is not the most fun you'll have. It will hurt. I was a stickler about taking my stool softeners so it wasn't so bad, but I still felt lots of soreness at my incision. It took me a full week after delivery to finally poop. Not the best week of my life but if you follow this blog then you know this is one of my better poop stories. 

Okay. Back to the baby. He took right to breastfeeding. The lactation consultant said that babies born early normally start out as strong feeders. She said that they may begin to have some difficulties after a few weeks. This made me nervous. Since he was doing so well there was little advice she could offer me. I think she was surprised at how well he was doing. I wasn't. Breastfeeding is all about a positive attitude. I didn't want to allow the statistics to get me all worried.

Since everything was going so well. We were discharged from the hospital at exactly forty eight hours after my delivery. Everyone was so nice. Good nurses are everything. I hate that I didn't have my nurses gifts ready for them. I was pretty bummed about that. I had a great experience at the military hospital where I delivered. I wouldn't change anything about it. The food was actually good and my husband and I watched the Food Network the entire time we were there. I was happy to get home to Savannah. She has been an incredible big sister. (she LOVED her big sister backpack)

Part three to his birth story will be about our first week at home, breastfeeding and what my recovery has been like without all the help at the hospital. I hope you all have been enjoying hearing about our new addition.