First the memories...
-Your favorite spot this week has been propped up on your daddy's legs with him holding your hands and arms to your chest. You calm instantly and just look at him with those big eyes. This is the best spot to cure your crazy whole-body-shaking hiccups.
-Dad wanted to "air you out" down there to make sure you weren't getting a diaper rash too soon. So we piled a bath towel up and laid one of your swaddle blankets on top of it. We set you free and not 5 min later you started to pee. 5 seconds later we realized your swaddle blanket was not absorbent and the pee was pooling all around you. Then you started moving and getting uncomfortable and the pee headed for the edge of the blanket. Matt tried to pick up the edge it was headed to only for it to slosh back the other way and onto our couch. We abandoned the mission to contain the pee and just picked up you and all the towels and headed for the sink. We dripped it on me, the carpet, the hardwood floor and the couch...smooth moves mom and dad. And then we had to bathe you.
-We were told in these first 2 weeks or so to feed you whenever you wanted so my milk supply would match your needs and you could regain weight lost post discharge from the hospital. Your feeding schedule for the first week has been either cluster feedings, where you wake up every hour for 3 or 4 hours wanting to eat for about 10 min, or every 3 hour feedings that we sometimes have to wake you up for because you would sleep right through them. Once you are awake though you can eat for 30 min. Every now and then you will throw in some every 2 hour feeds too. I love when you want to feed every 3 hours at night because we can get some good sleep between those. A lot of people have asked if we are crazy tired and overall I would have to say no. There has been a night or 2 that have been really rough if you want to cluster feed from 1am to 4am but overall I can get 6 hours of sleep or so broken up. That was really all I was getting while I was pregnant anyway. And this sleep is the restful kind, on my belly, no urge to pee, no leg cramps, no repositioning....I am out. I have napped a few times in the afternoon while family or Matt has watched her and that has also helped. I think the sleep has been harder for Matt, who was used to getting 8-9 hours of good sleep and not ever being up in the middle of the night. My night shift instincts have helped me stay awake once I do get up with her to feed. He on the other hand could fall asleep 2 min after waking up. Don't get me wrong, we both are tired, but it hasn't been incredibly awful yet. Ask me in after another week of this though and I might be singing a different tune.
-I don't know how many times your dad has said something to the effect of -Oh wow, oh my, oh geez, she's just so beautiful, she is so pretty, I love her so much... He is totally in awe of you and so smitten. It has been so neat to see him step into being a dad. He is a natural. It makes me love him more watching you two together. The only time I got teary this week was watching him with you, it is just so precious. I dreamed about having kids with your dad since I met him ten years ago and it is everything I anticipated it would be. He is just wonderful.
-Best story coming out of the first week. I was really sore and hurting a few days out and needing to soak in the tub. I passed her off to Matt so I could start the water. Passing her off woke her up and she decided she was starving! I told Matt to keep her at bay at least for 15 min because I was really hurting. This was also around the time my milk started coming in. So I climbed in the tub and not 30 sec later I started to leak into the tub at a drop per second kinda rate. I tried to ignore the water getting cloudy and just try to relax but Matt brought her into the bathroom all crying and fussing...which made the milk flow faster. I was frustrated and just told him to pass her to me and I would feed her in the tub, balancing her above the water. She latched right away and was content. A min later Matt said, uh are you peeing? I looked at him all confused and he pointed to the water behind me which was turning yellow. At that time a loud fart erupted and she pooped. Matt started freaking out and saying, "Get out of there, quick, you are going to get poop in your stitches!" So I unlatched her, she began to cry again, I climbed out of the tub with poo seeds stuck to me, threw a towel on the bathroom floor and laid a pad on it, sat down freezing, dripping milk and trying to get her to relatch. Breast milk is sticky might I add, so my arms, legs, and belly were all sticking to each other, she was sticking to me and herself as she was trying to relatch and slobbering milk all over the two of us. It was quite the site I am sure. I wanted to cry at that point but looking back it was pretty funny.
-We went on our first "date" alone to Sonic on Saturday while Grandma and Aunt Manda watched you for half an hour. Sonic's line was forever long and we waited and waited only for them to tell us their slushie machine was broken. Fail. So we went to Sheridan's instead for some semi-melted custard. Matt ended up missing you and worrying about you more than I did. I was excited to get out of the house and not feel so couped up. He was anxious to get back to you and snuggle. It was a weird thought that for the first time in 10 months or so, you weren't with us. I knew you were sleeping and in good hands though and we were only 5 min away.
Things about Ro that are awesome
-She doesn't spit up...ever...at least not yet
-She doesn't wake up crying to be feed. Instead she wakes up and just makes rooting noises and some grunts until someone notices her
-She rarely cries when she is getting her diaper changed, even the cold wipes don't seem to tick her off...take that diaper wipe warmer I didn't buy!
-She will sleep on her back, she settles faster on someone's chest but what baby wouldn't? I am just happy she doesn't have an aversion to back to sleep.
-Her eyelashes are long, quite opposite of mine, and I love them
-She doesn't fit in any clothes besides onsies, we tried all her sweet newborn dresses, skirts and outfits but she drowns in them. Yay for hopefully getting use out of everything in her closet and not skipping too quick to bigger sizes.
-She has been eating, peeing and pooping like a champ which makes me feel good to know she is staying hydrated and hopefully growing well.
-You don't hate bathes in your sling. It sits in the tub and keeps you mostly above water but warm enough for you not to get frustrated...until we wash your hair :)
-She is ours...still hard to believe, still such a blessing
Advice to Pre-Mommy Rachael
-Buy more swaddle pods...you will worry about safe sleep more than you think you will and not want to swaddle Rowan for fear of it coming undone and suffocating her in the middle of the night. Swaddle pods also keep her arms contained for nighttime feedings so she can't fight the boob. They also zipper both ways (top to bottom and bottom to top) to allow you to change her pants while still keeping her upper half swaddled in so she stays mostly asleep. They are wonderful and will be the only "must have item" for your first week home.
-Have more towels on hand as your milk comes in. You will soak through a hand towel in one feeding from it dripping out the side she is not eating. It will be enough to feed a small country so get ready. I finally got coordinated to hold a bottle under one side and have her eat on the other, a got 45 ml in the bottle just from dripping. And that was a few days after my milk came in and was starting to calm down.
-Clean out your tub before baby arrives, you will soak in it often and it will feel like heaven.
-Pants for your baby are overrated, don't worry about buying them at first, onsies work just fine and are easier to change a diaper in quickly.
-Take people up on their offer to watch the baby so you can nap between feeds. It will feel a little rude but is totally worth it.
-No you do not have a UTI, that is just burning from your incision. Get ready for your stitches to hurt worse as the swelling goes away and they become more exposed. The peri bottle they give you at the hospital will be of much help to keep the stinging at bay. It goes away in a week so start your countdown if you find yourself getting pee shy from the pain.
-You will love her more than you ever thought. You will feel this crazy sense of protective parenting set in. I don't know if I could live with myself if something were to happen to her.
-Don't bother cleaning your sheets before the next baby, you soak through them with your crazy night sweats anyway. Your raging hormones leaving you having fits of menopausal-like hot flashes. It adds to your sexy look you already have going with your huge diaper pad, mesh undies, creams galore, leaking boobs, flabby tummy and now.....sweaty hair stuck to your forehead and neck. Just try to contain yourself Matt!
-Carry an extra shirt in the diaper bag for you! One trip of leaking through your nursing pads, nursing tank and shirt while trying to use your long hair and purse to cover the disaster up will be all it takes for you to kick yourself for not seeing that one coming.
And those are my thoughts from the first week of being a mom. It has been quite the experience so far but she has made it all worth it. :)
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