Catching Up


Wow, it sure has been a while since I posted a blog! Thanks to Tess for reminding me that there are people out there who actually read this thing. :-)

I'll start with a recent photo of Charlotte. This was taken last Friday, August 31.
Since I last journaled, I have lost the list I was using to track things to write about, so hopefully you won't mind settling for my random thoughts today.

Sleep - I am amazed at how I can get by with so little sleep. Charlotte wakes me up about every 2 hours during the night and we spend 30-60 minutes eating each time. Bruce has to be up for work at the awful hour of 5 am so we've been going to sleep by 9:30 pm most nights. Most days I am awake and out of bed by 8 am, so I guess that translates to about 6 hours of sleep a night. Today though, when Charlotte woke up at 5:00 am to eat, I couldn't go back to sleep, so I've been up since then and haven't even felt sleepy. For someone who used to require at least 7 1/2 hours of sleep a night this is quite surprising.

Cleaning - I've read a lot that says you should lower your standards after a baby arrives because you won't have time to do keep your house as clean as you are accustomed too. To that I say, 'HA!' My standards were so low to begin with (not moldy, cock-roach infested low, but I am use to tolerating quite a bit of clutter) that I haven't been able to take that advice to heart. It just so happened that the weekend before Lottie was born we had company so my house had been fairly well cleaned just before the big event. It's been a month now and I am finally reaching my own threshold for uncleanliness. So, since I was up so early this morning I decided to tackle a few tasks. I cleaned our bathroom, except the floor. I even got the moldy corners of the shower cleaned up. I know, I said I didn't do mold, but our shower cleaner ran out a couple of weeks ago so a little bit of black was creeping into the shower. Don't judge me, I have a newborn to take care of. :-)

My Mom - She's wonderful! She finally agreed to come down for the first week after Charlotte was born. Then, she was so wonderfully helpful, after a short weekend at home to spend time with my dad, she came back for a second week. She made breakfast, lunch, and dinner, took care of the dishes, washed my laundry, held Charlotte while I napped, changed diapers, and just kept me company while I was home alone for the first time. She did have to go back to the office for the third week, but just came back and spent the long Labor Day weekend with us. Yeah Mom! In case I didn't say it enough while she was here, 'Thanks Mom! You were a lifesaver.'

Daddy's Diapering Changing Abilities - Contrary to his pre-baby claims, Bruce is changing diapers. Our current arrangement is that if I am napping and she needs a new diaper, then he will handle it. He had to get used to wiping it off of Lottie and dealing with the occasional smell, but I think he is coming along just fine. There are a couple of amusing stories here, but I'll let him decide if he wants them shared with the world.

Breastfeeding - I am so happy that this has been working so well for both of us. The first week I did get some chapped nipples, but a little Lansinoh after feeding Charlotte and everything was far less painful. Since we are reaching 4 weeks tomorrow, I went ahead and figured out how to use the Playtex Embrace breast pump that I got as a shower gift (from my mom, go her!) It wasn't hard to set-up and was pretty efficient at getting its job done. We did have one lactation letdown in the first week at home. Everything had been going well, then on day 14 Charlotte just decided to stop eating. After about 6 hours of her lack of desire for milk, I started to get really worried. I tried to tease her with my nipple, but nothing... except crying, no, make that wailing. Since we had to go back to get another blood test done (for her jaundice), I decided to talk to a Lactation Consultant at the Regency. By this point, it was pushing 7 hours of no interest. When Kathy, the LC, walked in and introduced herself, all I could do was start crying myself... I was so stressed out. So, Kathy took me back to her office and asked me to show her what I had been doing. I did the same thing as usual, and Charlotte latched on like a champ and took long, deep sucks for almost 20 full minutes! I felt like such an idiot. Kathy made me feel infinitely better though when she talked me through how to handle similar situations in the future and reminded me that breastfeeding is a 2-person job. Just because I am ready, willing, and capable, doesn't mean the baby will be. Since then though, we've got along handsomely in this department and I couldn't be happier.

Baby Gifts - It occurred to me this past weekend, that Bruce and I have not purchased anything for Lottie ourselves except some diapers. Everything we have to use in her care and amusement was a gift from someone. Some were from people very close to us, some from members of my church we don't know so well, and some from co-workers of our parents whom we've never met. The generosity of so many people has taken good care of my daughter and I am appreciative beyond words. (However, if you haven't received your thank you note yet, don't think I've forgotten... it's going to be there soon, see note below for explanation.)

Overextending Myself - I was asked to take a continuing education course over the summer to hone my teaching skills in reading. I kept up with it fairly well until mid-July then just stopped working on it. A few nights ago, during a feeding session, I suddenly remembered the course ends on September 8th. Oh my gosh!
When I woke up the next day and logged into the course, I realized I had to do one week's worth of work a day in order to finish by the deadline and not lose credit for what I had already done. It used to take me 2-3 hours to finish 1 week, but with caring for a newborn, it takes me close to 6-7 hours! I will write those notes... just give me another week pf grace please.

Overall, I am still amazed by how much time I can spend staring at Lottie. She is more beautiful to me every day. I don't mean beautiful in a celebrity movie star kind of way, but in a wonderful creation of God that I can't believe I've been blessed with kind of way. Do all new moms feel this way? If not, I wish they would.

I've been spending a lot of my time at home reading other mom's blogs. They are all more amusing and insightful than mine and really lift my spirit. This one today really struck me and I wanted to share it with all of you. Go to Multi-tasking Moms to enjoy an explanation of a mom's assignment from God.

Tomorrow Charlotte will be 4 weeks old. I'll try to find her cutest outfit (that fits) and post some pictures for you.

Comments

  1. i saw your comment over at multi-tasking moms and thought i'd stop by to say hi.

    your daughter is a real cutie. i'm sure she has brought you much joy.

    i would encourage you to continue looking for and reading mom blogs. there's a wealth of information out there that might help you in specific situations. but it's also an way of feeling support and encouragement during this time of early motherhood. i know time is sometimes an issue, but just try to connect with other young moms as much as you can.

    good luck. and i'll stop back by.

    ReplyDelete

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