One Week*

It's hard to believe that one week has passed since the birth of our little peanut. Where did the time go? I can't believe that we have survived the first week of having this guy in our lives. While there have been so many challenges and times when things have been so frustrating I end up in tears, I wouldn't trade any of this for anything. Lucas is nothing short of a miracle in our lives and while adjusting has been hard, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love snuggling with my baby every chance I can get and kiss his perfect little cheeks no less than 1,000 times a day. And his sad little cry when he starts to get upset? It breaks my heart every single time. The hormones have been the hardest thing to battle, sending me into fits of tears at the drop of ANYTHING. Most of the time, they are happy tears, because I truly cannot believe how wonderful this all is. But basically, I am a hormonal disaster, good and bad, but dealing with it every day!

Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding has been a challenge, to say the least. We did OK the first couple of days in the hospital, with some help from an amazing lactation team. That streak continued the first night home. We were having good sessions where he would latch and hold on for a good amount of time. Then day two came, and it all went downhill from there. Nursing sessions became a struggle for both of us, and there were often tears on both ends. It got to the point one day where we had been fighting to nurse for so long, that I gave up and gave him some formula. I wasn't proud, but the kid needed to eat and at that point, I didn't care where it came from. I then called and set up an appointment with one of the lactation consultants at the hospital so that we could get some help.

What we found out was that we weren't necessarily doing anything wrong. There were some basics changes that needed to be made [the way I held the baby, positioning, etc] but after doing a normal nursing session with the consultant, we weighed him on their fancy scale [we also weighed him before hand] and realized that he was, basically, not getting any milk. Like, at all. The LC then noticed that his frenulum [the little flap of skin attached to the underside of your tongue] was way too short and that this is what was likely causing us all of our issues. So, a referral was put in, and tomorrow afternoon we go to get that little thing snipped. Hopefully, all will go well and the peanut and I can get back on track to a healthy nursing regiment. In the mean time, we have continued with our nursing sessions to keep up the practice, but I am also pumping & supplementing at every feeding. My supply is not great due to only pumping so I am looking into starting some herbs to hopefully help with the supply as well as starting a stock pile, since I go back to work in 9 weeks.

Sleeping
Sleeping has been good. This kid sleeps round the clock, to the point where I am constantly checking books and websites to make sure that he isn't sleeping TOO much. But I am quick to remind myself that he is only a few days old and that this is normal. The first couple of nights were rough because a) he was constantly hungry [for obvious reasons!] and b] we don't think the bassinet we have in our room is working out very well. Because he has been getting more food through supplementation [both breast and formula to fill in the gaps for now] he is sleeping for better stretches at night, i.e. a normal three hour stretch vs. up every hour like he was when we first came home. We have also resorted to putting him in the swing at night in our bedroom which is also helping out tremendously. He loves his pack and play sleeper, but we keep that out in the living room since we are there most of the day.

For me, the best part about sleeping has been the ability to SLEEP ON MY STOMACH. Oh man, I missed this so much. The three hour stretches I sleep at night are far better for me than any stretch I got while pregnant, simply due to the fact that I am more comfortable. Stomach sleeping = best. thing. ever.

One Week Post-Partum 
I am, for the  most part, feeling pretty good. The long labor took a lot out of me the first couple of days, and I am still very sore from some of the complications. One week after delivering Lucas, however, I am down to my pre-pregnancy weight, having lost 20 pounds so far. I am pretty happy with this milestone, and am looking forward to getting the OK to start working out again [but will say that those 20 pounds came off all on their own, through delivery, breastfeeding/pumping and my body doing it's natural thing. I have done nothing this week besides a couple of walks and staring at the kiddo!] But for right now I am focusing on eating well, staying hydrated and recovering as best we can. The walks that we have gone on have been slightly strenuous but will get easier with time. Anything more than that is just a glimmer in my eye at this point.

I need to do his newborn photos but this week has been busy with appointments galore. My plan is to do them this weekend while he's still so squishy and soft, and when we have a little more time. It's hard trying to fit them into our schedule when he is eating every two to three hours. But I can't wait for all the things I want to try and hopefully they will turn out great.

Thank you to everyone for all the support that I received both here and via twitter. This week has flown by, and I know that it's just going to go by quicker. We are both so blessed and so happy to have this new addition in our family!