totallyjeneric

It’s 5:35 am, the baby is fed, swaddled, and sleeping.  Eric is sound asleep.  My world is quiet, for now.  Normally I’d go straight back to bed after my cereal (I’m hungry all the time now!), but today James is 8 weeks old, so I figure I should write something. It’s been a while!

For starters, I can’t believe that 8 weeks have flown by.  Life has taken on a new normal, which consists of diapers, burping, “which boob do I start with this time”, crying, shhhhhush-ing, and tip-toe-ing around the house when James finally falls asleep.  Eating together is a treat, four hours of sleep a luxury.  We make up songs, narrate everything, and will bend over backwards to get a smile!  The house is not spic-and-span as it used to be, and it seems we are perpetually doing laundry.  My productivity has plummeted and my schedule/time is no longer my own.  This took some getting used to at first!  Sometimes I also struggle to understand where the time in a day goes… or to remember which day of the week it is… because it’s all a blur when you operate on a three hour cycle around the clock. Eat, poop, sleep, repeat… is quite accurate.  Life is at its simplest now, as well as its sweetest… cause the world fades when you look into the eyes of a baby!

Prior to James, I didn’t realize how much a baby changes in the first few weeks of life.  James has already grown so much since he was born!!  It’s a joy to witness, and a challenge to keep up.  Very briefly…

Week 1 was like jumping into the deep end, not knowing how to swim.  No one told us that the first night home from the hospital would be so rough!  Baby was wailing at 2 am and we didn’t know what to do.  Also, my boobs were crazy sore and big (sorry, tmi) as the milk was coming in and James was learning to feed.  Lots of visitors, about 10 diapers a day, totally in awe that we own a little person.  First sponge bath, first time clipping nails (scary!), first visit to the doctor. Eric was (and still is) super protective!

Week 2: We were slowly getting the hang of things.  James peed and pooped on Eric a few times… I found it hilarious, Eric not so much!  BTW, Eric did all the diaper changes for the first couple of weeks — what a guy!  James was able to track our faces with his eyes, and his neck muscles were getting stronger.  I fell asleep holding him once and drooled all over his head!

Week 3: James seemed to recognize my face as well as his feeding position.  He developed a high-pitched cry that still breaks my heart to hear.  Eric went back to work and I was home alone with the baby for the first time… a little nervous, but it turned out OK. We celebrated my first Mother’s day.  James’ umbilical cord stump fell out, and I don’t know why but that made me so proud/happy!  His belly button is super cute.

Week 4: James is getting big!  He shed a lot of hair this week, including much of his back fuzz, which made me a bit sad.  His cries grew louder and we had a couple very rough nights.  We began bathing him in the baby bathtub;  he was NOT happy the first time, but has loved the water ever since!  We also ventured to Magic Island for the first time — our first outing besides the doctor — and good thing, too, because I was starting to go crazy at home.

Week 5: We reach the one-month mark!  Hoorah, we survived the first month!  I was no longer “confined” at home!  Doctor said James was doing great and that he’s 11 lbs 10 ozs, which is in the 90+ percentile for one-month old babies.  We hesitantly introduced the pacifier, since breast feeding was fairly well-established.  I started avoiding dairy products in an effort to help the rash/eczema on his face.  And we went to church for the first time.  There was a worship song called “We are Standing on Holy Ground,” and it touched my heart because it basically says that wherever God is present, the ground–that place–is holy and there are angels all around.  I realized that even when I am “home alone” with the baby, I am not really alone because angels are surrounding me.  How comforting!

Week 6: For the first time ever, I felt like I was getting a grip on things… feeding, bathing, and going out with James.  I took him to school one day cause the students were begging me to bring him in, and thankfully he was very well-behaved! Everyone thought he was super cute!  During this week, his eyelashes also emerged from under his eyelids, and he began cooing.  His day and night were still mixed up… sleeping very well during the day and often fussy at night!  BUT, his feeding schedule began stabilizing at approximately 3 hours between feeds.

Week 7:  Our baby is really getting big!  We already miss how small he used to be, but are ecstatic that he’s smiling a lot more these days.  We do “tummy time” occasionally to build neck/arm strength, and James often gets stuck face down… we think because his head is heavy, because his brain is big!  Hehe. My bleeding “down there” finally stopped (yes, it took 6+ weeks).  And very, very momentous: James began sleeping a 4-5 hour stretch at night!  Go James!  He also began drooling more and has tears now (previously his cries did not have any tears).

Week 8: Eric discovered that doing squats calms the baby when he’s crying. As a result, Eric’s quads are getting quite the workout, because James tends to get fussy in the evenings, right around the time Eric gets home from work!  We also discovered that the sound of the hair dryer does wonders.  James is increasingly alert and interactive these days, able to focus on objects and smiling more.  Another noteworthy development: I made chicken pot pie one day, which may not sound like much, but is a huuuge accomplishment in my book because 1) I don’t like to cook, 2) I don’t know how to cook, 3) I had to dedicate an entire day just to collect the ingredients, and 4) cooking with a newborn is next to impossible!  My goal now is to try a new recipe each week.

So that brings us to today… eight weeks of joy, challenge, and new experiences under our belt, and undoubtedly much more to come.  I like being a mom.  Besides being a little tired at times, no complaints… I am so thankful for a healthy baby, a great husband, wonderful parents, and the opportunity to stay at home and savor this stage of James’ life.  Life is a new normal now, for sure, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!  

PS. I used to write blog entries in a single sitting, but of course that is a thing of the past!  Now as I finish this entry, I am typing with one hand & baby asleep in the other arm.  Life is sweet (when he’s sleeping peacefully)!