Mommyhood
It's been just under 27 days since I birthed a baby.
Oliver is snuggled up on my chest in the Moby right now, allowing me to use both of my hands while he sleeps. We're getting the hang of this. Finally.
After about a week and a half of creepy postpartum symptoms, and then the guilt over feeling them at all, Ollie and I are settling into a routine.
Marc's mom is here right now, which has been comforting, especially because, for a little while, I was wondering if I would be able to do this on my own… a sort of new mommy panic. Having her here has been like knowing that there is a safety net, but I have been feeling lately like I CAN do this on my own.
Sleeping is going okay some nights and not so okay other nights, but either way, I feel like I am getting enough sleep. Enough to function, enough not to break down into tears. Man, I miss my eight or nine hours in a row… now I would even be over the moon to get four or five solid hours in a row.
Every morning, whether we've had a couple good runs of sleep, or if he was up every hour to nurse, giving me about 15 minutes at a time, I just tell myself "I have had enough sleep. We are done sleeping now. Get up." and I just do it. It sucks, but I do it. And then I am fine. After all, most days we're just sitting around the house, and how much sleep do you NEED to do that, really?
What maternity leave looks like right now:
- Getting up around 7 or 8, right as Marc is leaving for work.
- We watch TV until it gets stupid in the middle of the day while nursing, playing, and sometimes napping. We watch The Today Show, then Kelly & Michael, then The Price is Right. Then we usually turn on Netflix or something like that… having the TV on makes me feel like there are other adults in the house and Cindy has been watching with me. I think when it's just Ollie and me at home, I might end up spending some more quiet time… reading books and magazines, maybe blogging more often, or working on my scrapbook.
- Tuesdays we go to parent and baby classes at the hospital… they are free until he's three months old! I look forward to the class so much. I have friends there already who I've exchanged phone numbers with and it's great to have some time to hang out with other grown ups… especially ones who are going through the same things I am!
- Marc comes home for lunch and hangs out with us and then gets home right after 5:00 most days. I LOVE that we live so close to work and I'm glad that we didn't end up changing apartments when our lease was up and moving somewhere further away. Marc is great with the baby and I get stuff done while he's home and he gets to spend quality time with the baby.
- We get out of the house pretty frequently, which I LOVE. I enjoy being at home and resting, but I HAVE to get out, even if it's just a quick trip to the grocery store to pick something up. We went to dinner for the first time the other night and it was a lot of fun. Ollie slept the whole time and I got to enjoy my pizza. He does REALLY well in his carseat (most of the time) and it's great because when we get to wherever we are going, he is usually really quiet.
- We are thrilled that football season is back. I love snuggling with the baby, watching games, and explaining football (and the fact that football=fall) to him.
- We are starting to schedule "adult" fun times like having people to come over for games. We're having some people over tonight after Marc gets off work… hopefully baby is in a good mood and I can play. :)
Other Ollieisms:
- He clasps his hands together while he's nursing and it's the most precious thing ever.
- His hair is falling out! I have heard that it can fall out and then grow back a completely different color and texture. I hope not, because it's the most gorgeous auburn color, the same color as the streaks in my hair when I stand in the sunlight.
- His eyes seem like they are getting darker. I had hoped that he would have Marc's pretty blue eyes, but I'll also be over the moon if he and I have matching eyes.
- I love his little hunger cues, like when he is sleeping and starts doing what I call "sleep nursing." He looks like a little fish.
- He usually sleeps pretty well, but I think he loves sleep as much as his mommy does! Some nights he wakes up all fussy and I start to nurse him. He drinks JUST enough to satisfy his tiny tummy and then is CONKED out again to the point where I can't get him to eat more, which is frustrating because that means he's up again in an hour, hungry again. I have started driving him nuts when he starts falling asleep and got him to nurse longer last night and sleep for like 3 hours in between feedings. WIN!
Anyhow, he's the most adorable baby in the whole wide world. He's the best.
Oliver is snuggled up on my chest in the Moby right now, allowing me to use both of my hands while he sleeps. We're getting the hang of this. Finally.
After about a week and a half of creepy postpartum symptoms, and then the guilt over feeling them at all, Ollie and I are settling into a routine.
Marc's mom is here right now, which has been comforting, especially because, for a little while, I was wondering if I would be able to do this on my own… a sort of new mommy panic. Having her here has been like knowing that there is a safety net, but I have been feeling lately like I CAN do this on my own.
Sleeping is going okay some nights and not so okay other nights, but either way, I feel like I am getting enough sleep. Enough to function, enough not to break down into tears. Man, I miss my eight or nine hours in a row… now I would even be over the moon to get four or five solid hours in a row.
Every morning, whether we've had a couple good runs of sleep, or if he was up every hour to nurse, giving me about 15 minutes at a time, I just tell myself "I have had enough sleep. We are done sleeping now. Get up." and I just do it. It sucks, but I do it. And then I am fine. After all, most days we're just sitting around the house, and how much sleep do you NEED to do that, really?
What maternity leave looks like right now:
- Getting up around 7 or 8, right as Marc is leaving for work.
- We watch TV until it gets stupid in the middle of the day while nursing, playing, and sometimes napping. We watch The Today Show, then Kelly & Michael, then The Price is Right. Then we usually turn on Netflix or something like that… having the TV on makes me feel like there are other adults in the house and Cindy has been watching with me. I think when it's just Ollie and me at home, I might end up spending some more quiet time… reading books and magazines, maybe blogging more often, or working on my scrapbook.
- Tuesdays we go to parent and baby classes at the hospital… they are free until he's three months old! I look forward to the class so much. I have friends there already who I've exchanged phone numbers with and it's great to have some time to hang out with other grown ups… especially ones who are going through the same things I am!
- Marc comes home for lunch and hangs out with us and then gets home right after 5:00 most days. I LOVE that we live so close to work and I'm glad that we didn't end up changing apartments when our lease was up and moving somewhere further away. Marc is great with the baby and I get stuff done while he's home and he gets to spend quality time with the baby.
- We get out of the house pretty frequently, which I LOVE. I enjoy being at home and resting, but I HAVE to get out, even if it's just a quick trip to the grocery store to pick something up. We went to dinner for the first time the other night and it was a lot of fun. Ollie slept the whole time and I got to enjoy my pizza. He does REALLY well in his carseat (most of the time) and it's great because when we get to wherever we are going, he is usually really quiet.
- We are thrilled that football season is back. I love snuggling with the baby, watching games, and explaining football (and the fact that football=fall) to him.
- We are starting to schedule "adult" fun times like having people to come over for games. We're having some people over tonight after Marc gets off work… hopefully baby is in a good mood and I can play. :)
Other Ollieisms:
- He clasps his hands together while he's nursing and it's the most precious thing ever.
- His hair is falling out! I have heard that it can fall out and then grow back a completely different color and texture. I hope not, because it's the most gorgeous auburn color, the same color as the streaks in my hair when I stand in the sunlight.
- His eyes seem like they are getting darker. I had hoped that he would have Marc's pretty blue eyes, but I'll also be over the moon if he and I have matching eyes.
- I love his little hunger cues, like when he is sleeping and starts doing what I call "sleep nursing." He looks like a little fish.
- He usually sleeps pretty well, but I think he loves sleep as much as his mommy does! Some nights he wakes up all fussy and I start to nurse him. He drinks JUST enough to satisfy his tiny tummy and then is CONKED out again to the point where I can't get him to eat more, which is frustrating because that means he's up again in an hour, hungry again. I have started driving him nuts when he starts falling asleep and got him to nurse longer last night and sleep for like 3 hours in between feedings. WIN!
Anyhow, he's the most adorable baby in the whole wide world. He's the best.
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