Monday, June 28, 2010

From the Homefront




So we came home on Friday, and on Saturday I started working on a post about being home, doing well, adjusting, etc. But if Saturday was a step forward, yesterday was a couple of significant steps back. I woke up having some new pain, which grew to the point of heading to the Urgent Care. I came home with an antibiotic and a follow-up appointment. So the bad news is that I've had a hard time, physically, this time around. But there's quite a bit of good news.




All of the grandparents that have been in our house for the past week have been so tremendously helpful. My kids have been fed, bathed, dressed, and entertained while I am focused on feeding the baby and trying to feel better.



The best news is that Luke is perfect. There is nothing better than a newborn asleep on your chest. He is such sweetness in a cute little bundle. I love snuggling with him, staring at him, and imagining what he'll be like when he's older. That's the best part about newborns.



Katy and David are doing well with Luke. Katy is absolutely enamored with him, asking to hold him constantly throughout the day and "help" me with various baby-related tasks. David, on the other hand, doesn't seem to notice the new addition to the family. He goes about his business and doesn't really respond to Luke unless you say something like, "Where's your baby brother?" But I'm glad that he isn't overly jealous or frustrated, at least not yet.



My sentiments exactly, buddy

Another relief is that nursing is going well. Luke decided to follow in Katy's footsteps and not latch on for the first 24 hours. His blood sugar was low so they had to give him 2 bottles of formula. I was starting to get nervous, not sure that I'd be able to handle pumping for a third child. But finally he started to figure it out, and now we seem to have a good pattern established.



To demonstrate the magnitude of the cheeks

And of course, there's the lack-of-sleep factor. The first two nights we were home, we couldn't get Luke to sleep in the bassinet, so we took turns dozing in the recliner with him on our chest. But last night, he did two 3 hour stretches in the bassinet, which felt like heaven. I'm trying not to get my hopes up that I can expect this as a new pattern. But it's a good step in the right direction.




So this week I hope to get together a birth story, as well as sibling comparison photos. My mom is here, Katy's taking swimming lessons, I have a birthday and a couple of doctor appointments. It should be a good week, and I'm optimistic that I'll be feeling better soon. That would be fantastic.





4 comments:

Weed said...

Oh my! Those cheeks!! How precious. I'm so sorry to hear that you're struggling so much with your recovery. I hope you feel better soon.

Do you know we forgot to take pictures of everyone holding Rebecca when they came to visit?! That's great that you have pictures of everyone. I can't believe we forgot. The poor second child....

Can't wait to meet Luke!!

Pam said...

He's lovely Emily and I'm glad the nursing is progressing. I feel so bad for you - can we help? How about a play-date for Katy & David at our house? we'd love to have them over for a few hours. X

Mommy Daisy said...

Aww, he's simply adorable! I'm glad that things are starting to go better. It sounds like you have a very positive outlook, and that alone helps so much. I'm sure you'll get into the swing of things soon. Congrats again!

tracy said...

Emily! So glad to hear from you. It's uncanny how mauch of what you wrote struck a cord with me -- Miriam had low blod sugar & required some formula too (and she was only 7 lbs!), and I feel like both of my kids reacted the exact way yours are.

I'm sorry to hear about the pain. I had really strong afterbirth pains (worse than labor) for the first week or so, and was just shocked. It is a bad deal to not feel better/normal once you finally get the kid out! I hope the week is going ok and you are feeling better.

We are thinking about you. I am going to email you my phone number in case you ever just want to call and go "ahhh!" together (I have had many of those days already!). But you are a superstar mom -- you can totally handle this.