1 month update

I am going to attempt to write a blog post and actually finish it—see in the month since my last post I have sat down and attempted numerous times to update about Nicholas, each time it ends in a crying baby or me being side tracked by something more important I should be doing (i.e. laundry, dishes, etc.)

So now as I sit here with my little one snuggled up in the moby *fast asleep* (please don’t jinx myself! Please don’t jinx myself!) I am going to update on my first month as a mom (and eventually I would like to post my birth story but seeing as I started typing it out for my own records and it was roughly 4 pages long I *may* need to write a condensed version for on here—plus I doubt you all want the details anyway)

Birth stats:
3lbs 6oz, 15.5 inches long

1 month stats:
4lbs 9oz, 17.5 inches long—he is still not on the charts (with the exception of his head circumference which was in the 2nd percentile haha) but I love love love my little peanut- I feel like he is becoming more “baby” and less “newborn” everyday. Things have been relatively easy I would say. The first two weeks were kinda rough mainly because of feeding issues. Nicholas doesn’t have any issues eating but its more trying to find the best way for him to get food. With him being as small as he is nursing was originally out of the question—we attempted (even with a shield) and got nowhere (which I expected). I rented a hospital grade pump and was pumping and bottle feeding every 2-3 hours which basically made me want to die haha I hated pumping and after being in a hospital room for 2 months and feeling trapped there I very much felt trapped/tethered by my pump…I felt like it was making things impossible for me and I felt very just…bleh I don’t know how to explain it but I am sure any other mom who has had to exclusively pump can relate to those feelings that occur in the first few weeks. So in the first 2 weeks he was home it was more an issue of me crying every night when I had to wake up and pump and bottle feed—I have been so blessed though to have a completely supportive and encouraging husband! He would wake up in the middle of the nights to give Nicholas a bottle while I pumped or he would go get my pump parts ready so I didn’t have to get out of bed—he is basically amazing!

But after those initial 2 weeks I became sort of resigned to my position of milk-machine but I was still hopeful to be able to get away from the pumping and transition to nursing—so I met w/ a lactation consultant, we tried a variety of things such as supplemental nursing systems (SNS), modifying my pumping schedule and I even tried nursing! He is able to nurse but because of his size he gets tuckered out pretty quickly and wont get a full feeding and when he does get a full feeding it uses so much energy that it kind of eliminates half the calories he just consumed (and at less than 5 lbs he needs all the calories he can get!) So the past 5 and a half weeks have been spent w/ me trying different feeding techniques which include: pumping and bottle feeding every 2-3hours, SNS and bottle feeding, SNS and feeding, combo bottle feeding and nursing, exclusively nursing on-demand and weighing him throughout each nursing session to watch his intake, exclusively nursing on-demand w/ no weighing—the first time I attempted this I got 2 days in and ended up w/ plugged ducts and mastitis which definitely knocked me on my butt for a good 4-5 days but I got to experience what its like to be sick while having to still care for a baby and through God’s good grace I got through it and it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.

Other than the ridiculous amount of time I’ve spent stressing over how to get my milk to my baby, I’ve really enjoyed being a mommy. I love the bond I already have with Nicholas and nothing beats the feeling of being able to just lie in bed and snuggle with a sweet smelling newborn! Nicholas is a very good natured baby and is in general pretty content—he has been a great sleeper too! After the first 2 weeks he started sleeping in 4 hour stretches and now he will give us a 6 hour stretch a couple of times a week! He is becoming a lot more alert and really enjoys bath time, walks in the neighborhood, dancing around the house w/ mommy (in the moby of course) and co-sleeping in the morning w/ mommy after daddy has left for work (shh! Don’t tell Donnie about our little ritual after he leaves—it involves sleeping in bed together and then watching Regis and Kelly haha)

So my sweet little boys first month has come and gone and I am so sad that it went by fast but I am thoroughly enjoying him changing everyday—God has blessed our family so much, every time I feel frustrated I just stop myself and look at him…I mean really look at him and I’m reminded of how much of a true miracle he is—I am reminded of the faithfulness of God, of God’s sovereignty, of God’s grace and mercy and I am astounded still to think that this sweet baby boy was just a single cell 10 months ago—its amazing! And as always God is just SO GOOD!