William's First Few Weeks

Motherhood was quite overwhelming at first for me. To this day, I am still in awe that I have a son. We were lucky that Matt got two full weeks off (paid! yay!) to spend at home with William and I after his birth. I was so grateful to have that time as a family.

I think the biggest shock for me was that breast feeding was not easy. It stressed me out and just wasn't as natural as I had thought it would be. So from the beginning I just pumped and we bottle fed William. It works for us! :)

I was lucky that I didn't have too much pain from delivery and really felt OK both physically and mentally after having William. Adjusting to motherhood wasn't all that easy though. Matt wasn't a natural father and to this day still needs some help with knowing what to do/taking some initiative to help with the never-ending list of chores. But overall, we made it through! There might have been some crying sessions with my mom though...

Those first few weeks, man, the evenings caused such anxiety for me. I never knew how well William would go to sleep. Would he cry for hours on end in the middle of the night? (I almost forgot about those zombie newborn days!...almost!). Some nights until William adjusted to days and nights, he would be up for no reason from 2-4 a.m. or whenever he felt like it. We were tired...and we're still tired!

In looking back, here's another email I had sent my friend during those early days:

Yay, I finally had time this morning to pump in peace and then take a shower and he's still sleeping! I swear this kid doesn't like to sleep. He's ok at night (back to about 3-3.5 hours at a time. I guess I got spoiled when he slept from 10-3:30 a couple nights in a row!). But during the day, William doesn't sleep for large periods of time. I might get an hour, maybe. So it makes it hard for me to do anything, let alone take a nap (which Matt thinks I should have time to do! ha).

William's two-week appointment went well. It was the first time I took him out by myself. I was nervous, but he was pretty good at the doctor's esp. considering he had to get undressed (which normally causes a crying meltdown--diaper changes are not fun!). I really like our doctor. We picked a family practice that we can all go to. We've heard great things and so many people we know go there apparently. We really like the one doctor we picked for William. William is already up to 8 lb 5 oz! He gained quite a bit of weight during his first two weeks. He's also very long (I think the doctor said in the 97%!). I noticed that the newborn clothes are getting too short for him already! Most are still kind of baggy, but the footed outfits are a little snug when he stretches out.

After William's appointment, I decided to try going to the store, so I went to Target to return something and get some formula. Although we haven't really needed formula anymore, I had a coupon and we still use formula when we want to make a bottle quick and not have to heat anything up. William does great in the car and apparently in his stroller/in motion. I just put his car seat in a cart at Target and he fell asleep and then slept the rest of the afternoon!

Matt and I are still trying to adjust to William crying more for no reason at all and Matt being back at work. It's definitely more tiring for me having Matt back at work. 

In the first few weeks, we had lots of visitors. Matt's sisters and brother, my aunt, a few of my friends and my family was constantly visiting. I'm pretty sure my mom came over every day during those first few weeks. Once Matt went back to work, I would walk over to my parents house in the afternoons to help breakup the day and get some rest while I was there! Matt would then pick me up on his way home from work. I was so incredibly grateful for those days and the help we got from my parents.

One of the best things that friends and family did when William was born was bring us meals. My sister and Ryan especially made us meals as their gift to us. We were stocked for weeks! It was amazing and seriously the best gift ever. If you have friends and family with newborns, bring them freeze-able meals (individually portioned if you can). Being able to just pull out enough food for one meal was great! I'm pretty sure I didn't cook but a few meals my entire maternity leave. Pre-made meals were needed!

A few notes about William's growth: At his October 17 appointment (the first with our pediatrician), William weighed 6 lbs. 13.2 oz. (23rd percentile) and was 22 inches long (99th percentile) He quickly out grew new born clothes and even three-month clothing didn't last terribly long. The kid was (and still is) a little string bean. Long and lean!

To sum up the first few weeks, I'd say: lack of sleep...like really, non-parents--you have NO idea! Lots of crying (both me and the baby) and adjusting to our new life. Here's a glimpse at our new life, in no particular order.

He was so tiny!

William's first walk.