Cloth diapers and first bath

I started using cloth diapers during the day this week and it's going really well. I've been trying out all the different kinds we got. The All-In-Ones (AIOs) are super convenient, but they take FOREVER to dry once you wash them. The Pocket diapers are also very convenient and fit quite well (plus they dry faster) They seem to leak about as much as the disposables. The big surprise is the prefolds - you have to change them a bit more frequently, but they leak less than disposables and are surprisingly easy to use and to clean.

Something I didn't really realize about cloth diapers - most baby clothes (onsies, specifically) are made with disposables in mind so they don't take into account the bubble butt the baby has when you use cloth (cloth diaper = baby's got back). As a result, he's wearing a lot of t-shirts during the day.

JJ had his first bath this evening. Boy, did he hate it! I thought babies were supposed to like bath time. You'd think we'd dipped him into molten lava given how much he screamed. Once it was over, he seemed to think that the lotion and towel phase was pretty cool, but boy he sure didn't like the water too much.

Yikes - home alone

Well, this is it - my first day home alone with el-bambino. John's off to work and Mom left yesterday. Eek!
So far, we're doing ok - I even got some laundry and dishes done! We may survive yet.
It's amazing to me how little time I seem to have these days. I spend at least 8hours feeding the boy, and then there's diaper changes, clean up, and soothing. Hmmm...guess I shouldn't be surprised there's not much time left over.

Never rains but it pours....

Boy, sometimes it just seems like the only luck we have with this house is bad. While I was in the hospital with JJ, the spa guys came out to fix the leak in the spa. A huge amount of money and days later, the leak isn't fixed, the cement is ripped up in front of the spa and it's leaking even faster. Next, our kitchen sink backs up on a Friday evening (why do appliances never break on a weekday?). We have to call a plumber to fix it after John and my Dad try everything else (got to have a sink to clean bottles/pump parts etc.) Then, while John and Dad are checking out the ducts in our attic, Dad slips and falls through the ceiling in the half bath (he's ok, thank goodness!!). So we have ice cold air coming into the house through a hole in the ceiling that's got to be fixed. All of this with a newborn in the house, trying to cope with lack of sleep, and all that. Oh! And let's not forget the cats. The day before we leave for the hospital, John puts a cat door in the garage so they can have thier litter boxes out there. Well, apparently, they didn't care for that too much and 2 of them started using the dining room as a litter box - GROSS! I think we've finally got that issue fixed, but John's had to steam clean the carpet in that room multiple times (like he doesn't have enough else to do right now). Sometimes, it's just everything all at once....

2 week appointment

Great news! JJ is doing fantastic - his weight is back to his birth weight (8lbs 5 oz) and the doc says we can move to exclusive breastfeeding now. Hooray! Even better, we don't have to keep waking him up every 2-3 hours to feed him. I'm hoping he'll decide sleeping through the night is a good idea :)
My appointment also went well. I'm cleared to start walking and doing light yoga (as long as it doesn't involve any ab work). Still not allowed to lift anything heavier than the baby or drive. Sigh.
Life with a newborn has definitely been an experience. The sleep deprivation makes everything kind of fuzzy and frustrating - normal decisions (like what to have for lunch) seem like some sort of insurmountable horror. Thank goodness my parents are here helping out. Actually, I should say, doing everything since "helping out" doesn't really cover it. Mom has cooked every meal, done all the laundry, changed sheets on the bed, dusted, vacuumed...it's a life saver! And Dad has helped John with all sorts of big lifting chores around the house while still working. They both watch JJ when I need a nap. I don't know how I'd've survived this long without all this help.

The most unexpected thing so far is my near terror that the boy will stop breathing while sleeping. He's in our bedroom in his bassinet next to my side of the bed and sometimes I wake up just to check and make sure he's still ok. I don't know why I am so worried about this, but I really am. The doctor says he doesn't have any of the risk factors - I wish I could stop worrying so much.

JJ's Photo Shoot

JJ got his newborn shots done today (http://www.timelessbykelly.com/). He was SO good (and only peed on me twice ;) ) Afterwards, we went to PF Chang's for his first eating out experience. He managed to sleep through the whole thing. Whew!
The photo shoot was fun, but I was exhausted afterwards. John keeps reminding me I just had major surgery, but it just seems like I should be able to do more. Oh well - guess I just have to be patient.

Why are new parents obsessed with poop?

I'll tell you why. Because at the hospital, they make you record every diaper change you have, including details about the TYPE of poo involved, whether it was wet and how wet it was (I should've expected this since nurses seem to have an unhealthy interest in my excrement when I was in for surgery previously.). Now, there's a good reason for this. They want to see how long it take the meconium to pass, make sure the little guy isn't getting dehydrated, and to make sure that all systems are go, as it were. After 3 days of being asked every 2 hours about your child's diapers as well as being asked to keep a LOG of the events, it's no small wonder that new parents come home with poop on the brain. John actually set up a form so we could continue to track diaper changes and feedings for the first couple of weeks to make sure everything was still going well. While this might sound odd and a bit OCD, I have to say, it's a great idea. When you're new at this, sleep deprivation really makes you forget things like, oh, when's the last time you fed/changed the baby and should you be checking on that again.

Catching up - Birth, Breastfeeding, and Becky

I went in for my scheduled C-section early on 2/7. We got checked in and through all the paper work quickly. They wanted to give me a combination spinal block and epidural, but were only able to give me the spinal. After they got me on the table, things went pretty quick. I started to feel a little sick due to the drop in blood pressure, but they were able to give me something for it. It was a little scary at first - I could smell something burning and realized that it was *me* (they use a cauterizing tool to keep the bleeding to a minimum during surgery). At one point I could feel all sorts of tugging and pulling and pushing. John says that the doc reached in to get JJ and he "made a run for the north). Guess he didn't want to come out! At 8:01am, I heard him cry for the first time. It was so wonderful I started to cry too. He is my special miracle and I am so blessed to have him. We spent 3 days in the hospital before they sent us home. He was slightly jaundiced, but not enough to keep us there.

My Recovery
I've recovered very quickly from the surgery. It was so much easier than my myomectomy! About 3 days after we got home, I was walking out of the bathroom and nearly doubled over in pain. I barely made it to the bed and John immediately called the after hours number for the doc. After talking with them on the phone (and crying my eyes out), we determined I was having uterine contractions, as my parts and pieces were reassembling themselves. I hadn't been taking my pain meds because I wasn't in any pain, so when they contractions hit, they were truly awful. I haven't had any more serious pain since then (and I have remember to take my meds, even if I'm not hurting). I find out on 2/21 if I'm cleared to work out again! Hooray!

Breastfeeding
Unfortunately, my colostrum wasn't enough for JJ, and he lost 1lb 2oz by the time we left so we have had to supplement. Breastfeeding was initially very difficult - he is a bit of a sneaky feeder, looking like he has a pefect latch, buth actually having a shallow one (just pooches out his lips, the little sneaker). I toughed it through, and ended up with awful scabs all over my nipples - but they healed up right away when I got home. We are both better at the breast feeding thing now, although we still sometimes have a bit of a fuss if he decides it's been too long since his last meal. I've been pumping as well as breast feeding, so my milk production is way up and I'm hoping the doctor will let me have him on breast milk exclusively after his 2 week check up.

First Family Portrait