(husband and Birdie, hand in hand)My little Birdie is 16 days today. I still have a hard time believing it. On the one hand, it feels like she's been ours forever. On the other, when I was uploading her just born photos online, I couldn't believe how much she'd changed already. Time seems to be going just too fast!
We haven't had too many visitors, still getting used to our new family unit, and Birdie's unpredictable schedule.. But the other day, my good friend H who had a baby 2 months ago stopped by with her little man. I'd seen him when he was two weeks old, and it blew both me and my friend away how huge he looked in comparision to Birdie (who looked teeny tiny at 7.3 lbs). As gorgeous as he looked and as envious as I was of his playfullness, it hit me just how she won't be by tiny newborn for very much longer (sniff).
...Thanks ladies for inquiring how we're doing. I am doing fine- first two weeks I had the typical soreness and tiredness but I think all things considered, I did pretty well in terms of recovery. I was definitely overwhelmed and may just now be getting out of the "dazed" phase but I feel good physically. The big thing for me is sleep, and (knock on wood) Birdie's been sleeping a good 5-6 hour stretch every night for the past ten days. I've gotten better at falling asleep when she does. Once she wakes, I change her diaper, nurse her, and on good days she goes right back to sleep for another 3 hours, and on not so good days, I'll have to rock her and she'll fall back asleep after an hour or so. Still, I consider myself incredibly blessed to be getting 6-7 hours of sleep a night with a newborn! Armed with some sleep, I find myself far better able to deal with the day to day crazyness of life with a newborn.
So how is Birdie doing... First few days, she was fine. Then my milk came in (I seem to be a milk producing machine) and she gained the weight she had lost after birth. Her poo became the yellow mucuousy dream poo they tell you to look out for, she was napping day time, and sleeping night time. And then bam all of a sudden around day 10 she's become fussy. I think our poor girl is having reflux issues, so after talking to the nurse at the Pediatrician's, I've started feeding her on a slight incline, keeping her upright 5-10 minutes after feeding and placing her head on a soft baby pillow. It seems to have helped, and some days she's an absolute angel, and others, she won't nap and tires herself out. Yesterday for ex (my second day home alone), from 7am-5pm we basically did this routine: diaper change, feed, she falls asleep at my nipple after 10 minutes, I rock her and when I transfer her to her crib, she awakens almost immediately, and starts wailing. The only thing that comforts her is to be fed more... Everyone and their mother tells you to get them to feed longer, but it's easier said then done.
While pregnant, I had this image that we'd go on walks and I'd still be out and about with my newborn, but with her constant feeding (and my not being very comfortable with feeding in public), and my seemingly thin skin when she cries, means we've been staying home mostly. In the evenings, we'll take her for a stroll in her pram, but I only seem to be able to do that if husband is with me. I am trying to hold out until she's three weeks old to pump and am hoping after that we'll be much more mobile. I even gave in and offered her a pacifier the other day after hours of wanting to suckle, and she wouldn't take it. It was the Avent Silicone newborn one. I'm thinking maybe I'll try another brand for when she's super fussy.
I don't mean to make it all sound bad. This morning, Birdie and I danced around to Beyonce for a good twenty minutes. Each and every time I look at her sweet face, it still takes my breath away. I greet her with a kiss each and every time she awakens wanting to be fed, because I am in still in awe this little being is ours. Diaper change isn't as gross as they make it out to be (I even enjoy our little diaper change song :). And when your little one smiles (even if it may not be a real smile) the way your heart melts is unlike anything else...But I also want to be truthful about how hard motherhood has been. If she doesn't cry, I have endless patience and could probably rock her 24 hours a day if need be. But something changes within me when she cries and I can't soothe her, I seem to loose it :(
So a few questions for you new mothers:
when did you start leaving the house regularly with your newborn?
any tips for soothing a fussy baby?
what do you do when your baby wails in public?
I also just want to say that with all the time I spend nursing, I'm glued to my iPhone and read all your blog posts... just haven't figured out how to comment using the iPhone Blogger app. So even if I've been silent on here, I've been lurking on your blogs :)
5 comments:
Congrats again! Glad she's doing well. :)
My baby needed to be soothed with a pacifier, there was no denying her one. We use the soothie brand which she likes much better than Nuks. She also responds very well to singing. A lot of people swear by the video or book "Happiest Baby on the Block". I haven't used it but I know some of the techniques. We didn't really leave the house much until she was a month or more. It is hard to be cooped up but it gets better fast. When we are out now we try to go out right after she eats and hope she sleeps. If she cries, we take her outside so as not to disturb people at restaurants, church, whatever. That is hard though depending on the current weather. Good luck getting out more!
Jack was about 1 week old when we left the house for the first time. We went to get his pictures done. It wasn't awful. That said I had my mom and Hub to back me up.
We didnt start going anywhere on a regular basis all by our selves until he was about 3 weeks.
I got lucky and Jack really isn't a fussy kid. He's only cranky when he is hungry, so I feed him. I find that he falls asleep in the car and stroller or shopping cart. If he does fuss, I give him a passy, but I find it is usually much worse in your head then it really is.
It will get easier to leave the house. Just practice. :)
We started going places at about 2 weeks regularly and at first I felt panicked. Now (at 5 weeks), it seems normal and easy. I've gotten very used to feeding her everywhere. And she only cries when she's hungry so that takes care of it.
As far as her crying when you lay her down, mine does that too. I haven't found a way yet to keep her in her crib or cradle. She only likes to sleep by her mom or in my arms...
Oh my, look at those gorgeous long fingers! She's going to have beautiful hands!!
I'm glad to hear your recovery is going well. If it makes you feel any better, it's rough for all of us in the beginning, and it's just survival mode that helps us get through!
I started taking Z out regularly around 2 weeks. I forced myself to be comfortable nursing in public, because I didn't want that to be the reason I didn't leave the house. Once you start doing it you'll gain confidence. Even now I say to myself, "see? this isn't so hard!"
Good luck!
LOL, girl. I totally understand what you mean when you say that things aren't the way you thought they'd be. :) P is 4 MONTHS OLD and we still don't go out on a 'regular' basis, mostly due to her nursing all the time, the reflux issue and because she seems to do better with a schedule. It is hard to not do what I *thought* we'd be doing, but I'm loving every day with her, regardless of where we are or what we do. You'll find out what works for you and Birdie with time...and lots of trial and error! :)
No one told me just how difficult acclimating to life with a baby OUTSIDE the home could be and truthfully, I suck at it! I hate when she cries, so I nurse her to comfort her...which brings up the whole NIP (nursing in public) issue, which has been a struggle, too. But you WILL figure it out. Keep trying and don't allow yourself to be cooped up at home (like I did!!). It gets easier, I promise!
Glad you are all doing well! Hugs to Birdie from P...and from me to you, too! :)
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