It really is unbelieveable how much life changes when a little one bursts onto the scene. Nap time becomes the ONLY time to get stuff done and blogging clearly hasn't been high on the priority list.
That being said, let's see how fast I can type some of the highlights and struggles we've had....
After I post a few pictures of course!!
Timothy!
Born February 10th 2012
Birth weight: 8 pounds, 7 ounces
Length: 20 and 1/2 inches
Week 1
Highlights: Holding my baby boy and marveling at his miniature hands, feet, nose, etc.....Knowing that I'm his Mom and loving the feeling that I would do anything for him...Watching my husband hold him and being proud that he's my partner as we start the journey of parenthood....Thankful and in awe that God blessed us with such a bundle of joy.....Enjoying my parents' outpouring of love and support, both onto me and onto the grandson! ....Receiving phone calls and messages from excited friends and extended family members....Bringing Timothy home on Day 4 and introducing him to where he'll grow up...Feeling like a family of 3...Grateful that he takes to nursing right away and thankful that milk production is going well!
Struggles: Harder recovery than I expected from my c-section....Hating the side effects from the pain meds and wishing my husband didn't have to wait on me hand and foot! ...Difficult to find a good nursing position because my whole mid-section is so tender....A little overwhelmed by all the visitors but at the same time so excited to see them!
Week 2
Highlights: Grateful to be feeling a little better/moving around better.... Feeling blessed to have an "easy" baby---takes to being swaddled perfectly and only wakes up about 2 times a night....Grateful for meals upon meals upon meals being delivered--thanks to wonderful friends! ...Glad for the chance to catch up and share my little one with these friends as they do their drop-offs...Feeling blessed to have my mom doing special things for me....Thankful for a helpful husband who's willing to do the dishes, laundry, etc. while I tend to the baby....Yay for healthy check ups at the pediatrician! ...Loving long snuggles with Timothy while he sleeps....Loving his awake times even more....Admiring how cute/perfect he is (at least in my eyes!!) ...Loving spontaneous visits from the grandparents to admire their grandson....Thankful for the two following products which help make life easier: the Fisher Price yellow rocker and the giraffe sound machine! ...Glad to have an expert and willing diaper changer for a husband....Loving that I can capture special moments on camera and email them to friends and family so easily
Struggles: Still not feeling 100% ....wishing I felt strong enough to walk upstairs to his nursery...wishing the pain meds wouldn't make me feel so shaky....tiredness catching up to me from the middle of the night wake-ups...Tim having to work late for trials, getting home later accordingly....Wishing the 8 to 12 nursing sessions per day didn't take quite so long--starting to glued to the couch...Wishing I had more arms and hands to reach for things I need while holding the baby...Hungry all the time because of nursing so frequently (yet no time or not enough hands to eat it seems)...
Week 3
Highlights: Feeling a little more settled into the swing of things...Loving little smiles here and there even if they are "gas smiles"...Marveling at how fast he's already growing...Holding him and really feeling like a Mom now--HIS MOM! :) .... Enjoying time with visitors and cherishing each sweet compliment they have to say about my son...Having fun dressing him up like a little doll...Spending some time in his nursery now and loving that we can finally enjoy it...Grateful for a still really sweet, easy-going baby...Eager to get on a schedule but for now recognizing that his little newborn self isn't quite capable of one and that that's ok....Loving the moments of singing lullabies to him as he falls asleep...Cherishing his soft newborn skin...Glad that nursing isn't taking QUITE as long at each feeding now that he's more alert....Getting a kick out of the little "O" face he makes with his lips
Struggles: Major curveball....Timothy starts breaking out of his swaddle!! Operation try every swaddle device begins...Getting him to fall asleep and stay asleep is harder until the Halo Sleep Slack Swaddle combo is found and I feel like singing the Halleljuah chorus for all the world to hear. I'm sure there were a few other struggles that week but the swaddle problem was so huge it's the only thing I remember. :)
Week 4
Highlights:
Real smiles and expressions starting to come out now...A much-needed weekend at the beach (great to have a change of scenery and quality family time with no interruptions!) ... Enjoying getting out and about a little (visits to see my co-workers at work, short errands and lunches or dinners out)...Loving long phone chats with best friends who live far away...Enjoying stroller rides with my little buddy and Spring Time weather...Beginning to have more predictable eat-play-sleep times now that visitors are slowing down and I have time to work on setting a schedule...Thankful that night time wake ups are pretty much down to one time a night! (around 3 or 4 AM, I nurse him real quick and he falls back to sleep)...Learning that Timothy is quite a "talker" and totally getting a kick out of all his constant sounds---everyone who meets him including the pediatrician says he has more sounds than most babies his age...Ordering pictures from the past month and putting favorites in frames...Hosting friends over for dinner parties and loving that Timothy is so flexible and social!
Struggles: Now that I am feeling pretty much back to normal, I have to remind myself to slow down and try not to catch up on EVERY little thing that I missed out on during the weeks where I wasn't able to do much...While Timothy isn't waking up to eat during the middle of the night as much, his cute "vocal-ness" during the day means lots of grunts and sounds during the night too!--Moses Basket in our bedroom might be on the way out??
Week 5
Highlights: What a great week! Timothy does full on smiles now and is trying out various facial expressions that crack us all up...I have the most one on one time I've had since he was born and we have lots of fun during play time now that he can do more...Lots of kick time on his playmat and fun seeing him stare up at his dangling rattles...He nurses more efficiently now and the time savings allows us to enjoy his awake time more....Naptime in his crib rather than swing or Moses Basket turns out to be a success--we begin trying it out more often...The beginning of a schedule is in sight!
Struggles: The eat-play-sleep is working great, except even when I catch him at his first yawn and begin winding him down for a nap, he fights it. (When I let him go past that first yawn and let him play longer, he gets overtired.) Troubleshooting this issue takes time (research on the internet for tips, conversations with friends and lots of trial and error!)...Also this week we take Timothy to after hours care because we suspect pink eye. Turns out to be a blocked tear duct! (Which cleared up about a week and a half later of putting medicine on it and massaging it)
Week 6
Highlights: Although I've taken hundreds of pictures of him with my own camera, my mom and I have fun taking him to his 6 week professional photo session....He is full of cuteness this week and looks so handsome when he smiles....The smiles are constant now--sometimes he lets out a full grin!....He learns how to stick his tongue out, which makes for some good laughs and funny pictures....Playtime
continues to be lots of fun....We continue to work on our schedule and get into a pretty good rhythm with it...He's nursing about every 3 hours now instead of 2 to 2.5....I love having He sleeps in the crib a couple times a week and does well with it, so the transition from Moses Basket in our room to his room is in sight!...On most nights, he sleeps through the night--yay!
Struggles: Going down for a nap or bedtime still proves to be a challenge. Also, he's beginning to be a little fussy in the evenings--right when Dad gets home!(Growth spurt maybe?)...I tell his Dad that he was a perfect angel all day long, but his evening mood sure makes it hard for him to believe me! haha ...Spit up is also becoming a regular occurence, which is very messy--yuck!
Week 7
Highlights: We have another relaxing weekend at the beach!!....Timothy flirts and smiles and giggles a lot...It's so fun to see his little personality form! ....On the nights where Timothy sleeps in his crib, I'm happy to see (thanks to the video monitor) that he is able to fall back asleep on his own---partially thanks to the projector screen mobile on the ceiling/heartbeat sound machine...and partially cause he's simply awesome:) ...The eat-play-sleep routine makes it so nice to be able to plan outings and visitors, but my favorite benefit is always know what he needs next! Love it! ....Nursing every 3 hours and the order of our days is pretty much second-nature now. Having regularity and some momentum means happy baby and happy mom!
Struggles: The evening fussiness continues. This is tiring and supercedes any other minor difficulties we encountered during the day.
Week 8
Highlights: Timothy sleeps in his crib through the night--every night! ...During the day, we play with a variety of toys, we read books, we enjoy playing outside, going to grandmama's house, running an errand or taking a stroll or meeting up with a friend for a visit...He weights 12 pounds 12 ounces at his 2 month check up and the doctor continues to call him a talker! She says this means he may or may not talk early but that when he does talk he will probably retain a larger repetoire of words than perhaps others his age....I was dreading the first round of shots, but was so proud when all he did was turn under his lip instead of scream and cry!...We go to the beach for another relaxing weekend...It's fun strolling him to restaurants to get seafood...He wears his bathingsuit for the first time and we prop him up in his baby pool (don't worry, we found a good shady spot)...He's not as fussy in the evenings now--praise the Lord!
Struggles: Why does the time have to be flying by so fast?/ Can't I just freeze him how he is (even though people say it just keeps getting more fun)?
Week 9
Highlights: It's an easy-going week with our little schedule flowing without much effort now....We have a couple playdates and stroller rides with friends....We visit Grand-Dad and Uncle J at work...We go to Babies R Us together and buy some fun toys for the summer as well as re-stock on supplies...During playmat time he is really getting stronger at twisting those shoulders and pushing his leg down, so eager to roll over but not quite old enough! He's also holding his head pretty much straight up during tummy time now--and keeping it there!....It's fun seeing the extra excited look on his face when I hold up a favorite toy...Sleeping in his crib and through the night continues--yay!...Every now and then we have a moment that's just so tender and special, where I look into my baby's eyes and feel so thankful to God that he is healthy, sweet, and mine!!! ....
Struggles: Nap times are getting shorter which makes it harder to complete a single project, much less multiple!
Well.......that brings us up to date with Timothy's first 2 months of life! We can't wait to see what the coming months bring! I'll leave you with a few more pics. :)
Yay!!! A posting! Adorable adorable...I love him already
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