One Week!

I cannot believe it's been a whole week since Truman came into our lives. But on the other hand, it's hard to remember the days before he was with us because he's pretty much the center of our universe right now.

So some updates, along with tons of pictures of T-man throughout his first week of life:

1. Today Truman and I ventured out for a car ride to the Pediatrician's office. It was my first time driving with T all alone and I was a little nervous but it went just fine. He was a superstar at the office and didn't even pee on the doctor:) His weight is up to 7.6 from the 7.4 he was at discharge and the doctor has no concerns after a full exam. I guess that means breastfeeding is working!




2. Speaking of breastfeeding: it's going really well. I might have mentioned that the Lactation Consultant at the hospital said Truman was one of her star patients with a great latch from the beginning. Well, a few days ago he started getting a little particular with his latch and likes to re-attach a few times before he settles in for the long haul. He's feeding anywhere from every 1.5 to 3 hours and I'm basically just letting him guide me for when he needs to eat. There are SO many theories out there about breastfeeding a newborn and I've decided to let him eat whenever he gives hunger cues for now. I mean after all, he is a growing baby boy and even if it's just a short little feeding session I know that is better than nothing at all. I'm still intrigued with trying a schedule or routine of some sort once he gets a little older but for now we are just pretty much winging it. I used to wake him up every 3 hours or so to feed because he was so sleepy those first few days but now he's much more awake and ready to chow all the time! :)


3. Sleeping: Remember how I was all, 'Oh the baby will sleep in his nursery from the first night because we don't have room in our bedroom, and the nursery is only steps away from our bed' before he was born? Yeah, totally not ready to put him in the giant crib so far away from me! Our first two nights at home I slept on the couch with Truman in the pack and play next to me while Nate dealt with Henry in our room (more later). Then we decided to buy a co-sleeper bassinet and just did some rearranging in our bedroom to make it work. The rearranging included Nate and I switching sides of our bed which is a HUGE deal, if you ask me! I mean, after 8 years together sleeping on 'our' sides we've switched it up....but it's totally worth it to have the whole family in the same room. It makes nursing him a lot easier on me right now, when we are still figuring everything out. I don't want him to stay in our room for too long because I don't want it to be hard on him to wean off the co-sleeper but for now it works and it helps me get at least a little more sleep. He wakes up anywhere from 2-4 times in a night and usually settles down right after he eats, so I really can't complain!


4. Temperament: I know it's still too early to say, especially since Truman was two weeks early, but I really feel like he's being TOO good to us. It's awful to think that way, but I keep waiting for everything to change, for him to get really cranky and inconsolable and it totally freaks me out. It makes me feel anxious just imagining him crying for any long period of time. Right now he is still so sleepy that when he's awake he is very relaxed and content. I know it's not likely to continue like this forever but I hope it does! :) Basically, I'm trying to take it one day at a time (have you ever heard me say that before?) and not get too far ahead of myself. If he does end up getting more crabby I'll just have to tackle it as it comes. But boy, right now we sure do have a great baby boy on our hands.


5. All things green and crunchy: First, cloth diapering--we tried it out for the first time on Saturday. I loved how the prefold soaked his 'heavy wetting' like it was nothing. But I did not like that the prefold and prowrap cover kept bumping his little umbilical cord and made it ooze a little bit. Nate and I decided that we'd just wait to start cloth diapering until it falls off which will probably be in the next week or so. I tried to research different ways to fold the prefold so it doesn't irritate the cord but Truman always has his legs moving around so much that it is just bound to bump it. So for now we are still on the disposables and going through our supply we got for shower gifts. I'm hoping we don't have to buy a single pack of them but we'll see.

Secondly, baby wearing! I busted out the Moby wrap after our second day at home and I must say that I love it to death. Truman likes it a lot, too, I think. I've only put him in it when he's passed out after a feeding but he seems to stay asleep pretty easily in it. And just look at what I can do with two free hands!


6. Push present: A long time ago, I joked with Nate about how it's all the rage for husbands to buy their wives 'push presents' for pushing out their children into the cold, cruel world:) I thought the idea was kind of silly, actually, since the baby itself is a pretty amazing gift. Well my sweet husband took it upon himself to get sneaky and bought me this gorgeous white gold and diamond necklace the day before my induction. It's called 'Love's embrace' and he got it from Jared's. We should be on a commercial, don't you think? :) I was shocked when he whipped out the box at the hospital because it's not like Nate to do sneaky things like this. I am absolutely in love with it and also with my husband for being so thoughtful. Oh, and I love the little man next to my chest, too:




7. My husband: Nate has absolutely risen to the occasion of being a daddy. He had to go to class on Thursday but was off Fri, Sat, and Sun. Then he went back to class today. He's been such a help and is usually in charge of most diaper changes and swaddling so that I can rest after a feeding. Because PPD runs in my family he is really watching out for his wife and will ask, 'How are you feeling today? Are you feeling down at all?' and then will go on to say things that melt my heart like, 'You are a good mommy, baby.'

I can honestly say that there is nothing like watching your husband hold your son in his arms with a look of pride and satisfaction that is undeniable. I think my love for Nate has grown in the past week just watching him morph into his role as a daddy. I know he must be tired, having to go to class in the mornings, but he's juggling it all like a champ. I'm a very lucky woman, for sure.






8. Clothes: OMG, I cannot get enough of dressing Truman up in his little outfits. Exhibit A:

I don't love the actual process of changing him because he screams when he's half nekkid and cold, but I can tell we've gotten faster at changing him and so it's not as traumatic as it was a few days ago. This boy will go through 2-5 outfits changes in one day because of peeing out a diaper, spitting up, or mommy leaking on him. Yes, the laundry has gone up exponentially but the little clothes are just too darn cute to be stressed about it.

9. We got our BOB stroller! Whoo hoo! We were all set to wait until the end of this month when our REI dividend arrives but Nate went in and talked to them and they said we can get our discount applied after the fact if we want. And thus, we are now proud new owners of this gorgeous beast, including the infant car seat adapter and the drink holder. All in all, when we put the car seat in the stroller, we are pushing around one expensive device my friends:)


10. Photos: before the days of Truman I would edit each picture I'd post on the blog, then I'd shrink it down to be an acceptable size for Flickr before posting it. I learned very quickly that I do not have the time or energy to do any editing right now. And thus, I just plug in my camera and let it pull every single picture (good, bad, ugly lighting...who cares). Then I upload the giant files to Flickr and walk away, letting the computer do all of the work. Genius, I tell you!! Why didn't I think of this before? So you'll have to ignore some imperfect pictures for now:)










11. Henry. Oh, my Henry. So you saw the video of our homecoming but what you did not see was that Henry began to whimper, squeak, and freaking lose his mind that afternoon. We could not get him to calm down no matter what we did. He was happy to see Truman because his tail was wagging and he kept sniffing him, but he was visibly upset, too. We called our dog trainer within the first hour of being home (nothing like spending quality time with the baby as we get home, right?) and she gave us a few ideas but poor Henry was just beside himself at that point. I honestly think that since we were gone for four nights, my parents came and stayed here, then we brought home this new little being he thought we might be leaving him for good and he was losing his position in the family. It was bad my friends. Very bad.

I was already tired and nervous and didn't feel that great so to have our dog--whom I obviously love dearly--act so out of character was awful. We did not prepare ourselves for that reaction because we truly thought timid little Henry would just cower in the corner and pout. WRONG! While I rocked Truman in the nursery, I could hear Henry whining and Nate trying to correct him non-stop in our room. This went on until 3 am when we just couldn't take it anymore and I decided to move Truman and I into another room and Nate did the unthinkable and let Henry sleep in bed with him to calm him down:) It did work pretty well but obviously didn't solve the problem.

The next day it was just me, Henry, and Truman and Henry was immediately better. I think he realized that Truman is not leaving and neither am I so he calmed down a bit. Now he's morphed into a great big brother who is still curious about mister man but does not whine even when the baby cries. He needs lots of extra belly rubs and attention from his mom and dad, and we happily oblige when we can. That seems to keep him satisfied for now and we constantly praise him for being a good boy.

Basically, it will go down in history for us that our first night home with our newborn was hell but NOT because of the baby. In fact, Truman was a dream. It was because of our spoiled first born canine but all is much better now. Henry is lucky Nate didn't put him in the garage or take him to the pound. The worst he got out of the deal was getting totally doused by a water bottle for correction from Nate. We usually don't have to resort to that but our first night home, I walked into our bedroom to find Nate with crazy eyes holding the squirt bottle like a gun saying, 'It's working! It's really working' like a mad scientist. I had to hold back a little laugh when Henry started to whine within 10 seconds and I almost lost it all together when Nate finally let Henry out of his crate and the poor baby had to shake off enough water to make a puddle on the ground. He got a shower for sure that night and I thought Nate might have gone certifiably insane. Ah, the memories. I'm so glad we all survived.


I plan on doing a post all about me and my recovery at one week postpartum. It might take a few days but I'll get there! Truman and I are both celebrating one week post-delivery for sure as both of us have to recover and adjust. So let this be Truman's post and mine will be later.