Thursday, July 12, 2012
"I Will Survive"
This past month has been absolutely crazy, yet absolutely amazing same time. I was given the most beautiful gift of baby Luke from God and I could not be happier. I have always dreamed about having a family with a boy and a girl and God has fulfilled that dream. When we found out we were having a boy I said "I can now die happy because I will have one of each" and I still feel that way today. Of course, I don't plan on dying anytime soon but that was just a statement of contentment. However, there have been times this past month where I felt like I was going to die.
I knew raising two kids was going to be difficult but wow...this is hard! I also remember the first month of Natalie's life and how hard it was on not only me but Chris as well. I knew this first month was going to be difficult but when you add an infant to an already hyper and active toddler... things got a little hectic.
From the very beginning Natalie has been very helpful with baby Luke but she's also always been excited when around him. This means loud and more loud. Luckily baby Luke has adapted pretty well to her noise but I still get a little frustrated when she's constantly noisy around him. But during the last month she has gotten a lot better.
My life has been completely different this past month but it has been a joy. I'm working on 4-6 hours of sleep a night, late showers in the afternoon (if any), no make-up or hair fixed and no naps. I've made it to church three separate times and gone out to the grocery store with baby Luke a few times. These outings are really important to me because they make me feel like myself again.
I've been feeding him about every three hours during the day and every 4 to 5 hours at night. During the morning and early afternoon he is really good about taking a nap after a feeding but evening time is his fussy time. In fact right around dinner time is his most fussy time which makes me chow my food down in a hurry. I'm not sure if this is good or bad! I haven't taken any seconds from the table but it gets me a little anxious during the eating process. It also makes me snack a lot after dinner which is frustrating when you're trying to lose weight. I still have about 10 pounds of baby weight that I need to take off PLUS an additional 30-40 that I want to take off just beacuse and I'm working on that by eating correctly. Hopefully in the near future I'll be able to exercise more frequently which will help with this process.
As far as sleeping g,oes Luke has done really well at nighttime sleeping in 4 to 5 hour shifts. During the day I try to stick to a strict three hour feeding schedule and so he is lucky to get an hour and a half at a time. I have tried to make the daytime naps happen in his crib however a lot of times he likes to be held or take naps in his bouncer chair and swing. I'm really trying to work on "Babywise" and getting him to fall asleep on his own in his crib but it has been an uphill battle. I knew the first month was really just more about surviving and this second month I will start to focus more on the "Babywise" practices.
Another thing I'm going to start the second month is the bottle. I've been trying to pump a lot so I will have a lot of milk stored up for him but it is time to try the bottle with him. When he was two weeks old and my mother was here, we tried to give him a bottle and he hated it. I'm hoping now that he's older and wiser he will like it more. We will see! I've been fortunate enough to not have to supplement with formula and I only hope and pray that the second month will be the same. With Natalie I was able to only breast-feed until she was six months old and I hope that I can reach that goal with Luke. But if you have seen my other blogs you know he is a growing boy so I'm not sure that will happen. Again, we will see.
Overall this month has been strictly survival but I made it! I'm adjusting to having two kids more and more each and every day and I know it'll only get better. I am very lucky that Chris is a teacher and is also off this entire summer and can help me adjust better to this change in my life. He has been phenomenal in taking care of both kids and there's no way I could've done any of this without him. Thank you honey and I LOVE YOU! I am one lucky mama!!
Luke is only one month old and it has been the best month of my life. I cannot wait to see what the next month and even year bring to this family. Luke is a gift and a blessing to Chris and I and we are grateful to God every day for giving us this precious baby boy!!
Now more than ever
God is good… All the time!!!
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