Hi Everyone! Sorry I’ve been a little MIA lately. Evidently, having a baby will do that to you!
Today, our sweet baby boy, David James, turns 1 week old. He was born at 11:37pm on February 16th, and since then I’ve been soaking up all his newborn baby goodness – and honestly I have NO idea where the time has gone – it’s absolutely crazy.
So let’s start off with the fact that he is THE BEST BABY EVER. I don’t want to jinx myself – but I mean really – he is SUCH a good baby. I find myself constantly thanking God for blessing us with this sweet little angel. That’s really the only way to describe him. During the day I find myself holding him and just staring at him for hours in between feedings. I think it’s normal – any new mom gets it – but at the end of my days, I can hardly explain what I’ve done and how the day passed by so quickly. Maybe it’s that I’m nursing right now every two hours – round the clock – but my days just slip away right now.
Anyone else feel this way when you first brought your baby home?
Anyhow, I figured that it was about time that I give you a little bit of a life update. I will be sharing David’s birth story – just like I shared William’s – but it is going to take me a while to write it, so I will probably share it for his 1 month birthday.
Feelings I’ve been feeling:
- It’s going wayyy too fast. The third day home, my mom came into the living room to find me sitting on the couch, holding David, just looking at him, with tears streaming down my face. “Em – are you ok?” she asked… and I replied, “It’s just all going too fast… I feel like he’s getting SO old SO quickly… I feel like I just want more time… I want time to slow down.” >>> And then she asked, “Have you taken your placenta pills today?” :/ Placenta Pills or no Placenta Pills… watching my boys grow up is the best/worst thing in the world. I want to keep them little forever – but I know it’s just not possible.
- How much better it is the second time around. I legitimately feel – kind of – badly for firstborn children. I am one – so take that for what it is. It’s interesting. I just feel that I am such a better mom this time around – I almost feel like I cheated William a little bit. I couldn’t help it, I just did. I freaked out over breastfeeding, I was a nervous wreck, I said yes to everyone who wanted to come visit, I drove myself nuts, and I didn’t appreciate the small moments. This time around, I feel calm, I feel collected, and I feel very much in control – it’s a nice change – and I am sure David can feel it too.
- Worried for William. The adjustment to having a new sibling – honestly – isn’t going so well. You would never be able to tell from the photo below, but I’m going to keep it real with you. I had no idea that the hardest part about having another child, would be the child we already had at home. Part of it is his age – he’s almost two – but our usually well behaved toddler has turned into kind of a nightmare overnight. He wants to be held by whoever is holding the baby at that moment, he throws things to get a reaction, he lays on the ground and screams, he ignores the fact that he has a sibling, and just yesterday – get this – he bit his teacher at school. So yeah, I’m worried. In my spare time I’ve been trying to read up on what to do, so we’ll be implementing a few changes this weekend, and approaching things a little bit differently. I know, I know – these things are normal. But they’re not normal for William – and I want to be sure he’s getting the time and attention he needs. I will say – every day gets better, and this morning we had a little bit of a breakthrough, so…. fingers crossed.
- Thankful for my mother. My mom has been an absolute saint. She took a week off of work to stay with us – and I don’t know what we would have done without her. She’s in her mid 60s – but you would NEVER know it – I swear to God the woman is the energizer bunny. Whe I went into labor she picked William up from school, and stayed at our house with him over the next two days to be sure his schedule stayed the same while Joe and I were in the hospital. She brought William to the hospital to meet David for the first time. And when Joe and I had nothing left, she was stripping our beds, doing our laundry, cooking our meals, and making sure that William felt special. <<< She started having special “hot cocoa” time with William every afternoon. <<< How adorable is that? She came to all my appointments with me over the past week so Joe could keep working, and she’s always telling me how beautiful I look – even though I know I’m beyond haggard. 🙂 Today is her last day with us, and even though she’s just 30 minutes away, I really don’t want her to leave.
Products I’ve been loving:
Now to the good stuff – all the things I’ve been using to get me through. It’s no surprise that having a baby will make you need a couple of things – daily – that you don’t normally use. Things like nipple butter, nursing bras, and a boppy… to start. Also the first few weeks at home with a new baby are very feeding centered – these little creatures eat every two hours – and it can take a lot out of a new mom if you’re not prepared properly. That being said, I’ve compiled the top few products I’ve been crazy about lately and hopefully it will help any of you moms-to-be out there!
My Post Partum Corset: This is the product I get THE most questions about from moms-to-be. I am obsessed with mine and I really think the corset helps to get my tummy back in shape faster than if I didn’t wear it. I start in a size Medium for the first few days after birth – and then I move to a size Small. I started wearing mine the day I got home from the hospital – yes it was uncomfortable – but I can’t believe how much it has helped already. The corset helps with skin firmness, ab and back support, and I think it just has a shrinking effect in general – as it helps your muscles remember what that are supposed to do, and where they are supposed to be. FYI — breastfeeding doesn’t hurt your post baby body either. I read somewhere that you burn up to 20 calories per ounce of breastmilk that your body creates. Well… let’s do the math. I feed David 12 times a day… he eats about 2-4 oz in a sitting… SOOOO…. that’s about 500-1,000 calories my body burns – A DAY – just by feeding my baby. And I don’t even have to leave my bed. So between the corset and the breastfeeding – you’re in for serious belly shrinking – I promise! 🙂
Shop it here:
Everything Else:
I know it’s short, but I hope you enjoyed this little life update and found some helpful info as well… if not… everyone loves some baby photos – so I’m sharing a bunch of those as well. XooX
