1 week old

A week! How has is already been a week since this little guy entered the world? It seems like just yesterday, but a million years ago at the same time. I feel like I've known him all my life. We informally celebrated by having lunch with grandma Shelley yesterday. It was a very lovely day.

2am with a belly full of milk and a dry butt. 

He is an excellent baby. He's very calm and relaxed and everything we could ever ask for. He rarely cries. I know he's hungry because he'll fuss a bit. He doesn't care for having his diaper changed. He nurses about every 2 hours. His latch is beautiful. Night time is going well since he's not a crier. He wakes up between every 2 and 4 hours, nurses, gets a clean diaper and is fine. Sometimes he'll be awake still, but is content to just snuggle me while I go back to sleep. 

I feel like I have so much to say about him, but I can't manage to verbalize any of it. A new baby, a new addition to a family is such a beautiful thing: a gift, a journey, a blessing. I can't begin to describe the feeling of one's own heart growing to make more room for more love for a new person, but it's miraculous. I didn't know how it would be possible to love another baby the way I love Stella. I feared they'd have to share love, but I was absolutely wrong. 

Cloth diapering is going well (Erik's even been helping wash them!). He fits in all his newborn diapers and probably will for quite some time. Sweet pea has the chickenest of chicken legs!

On Monday, Ian had his first pediatrician appointment. He's perfect in every way (of course, I didn't need anyone to tell me that). He had a touch of jaundice and we did a day on the bili blanket. That was no big deal. His numbers were: 19 on Monday, 17 on Tuesday (after the day on the blanket), and 15.4 on Wednesday. He weighed 6 pounds 4 ounces (a very, very acceptable weight loss) and we discovered that he's much shorter than we had though. Sheryl measured him at 20", but at the doctor he was only 18 3/4". He's a shorty like sister. His head circumference is 12.25". He'll go back next Thursday for his 2 week check up. 

Monday, he also visited the chiropractor for the first time. She mentioned that he just had a slight rotation of his spine and got him straightened out. He slept right through his adjustment. Why do babies need chiropractic care?

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1 week post partum

153 pounds (-12)

(my memory card in my camera took a crap the day he was born, so selfies for the blog it'll have to be ::ugh::)

It's funny to look at pictures of me from the past week because from birth to now I get progressively more tired looking. We've been going to be kind of late and waking up with Stella around 7. The sleep I get is pretty good though. 

I think I can finally talk about cravings again. Since Ian's been born I've craved grilled cheese and apples, New York style cheesecake, Olive Garden and plums. I eat just about in the same schedule he does (every 2-3 hours). There simply is no hunger like that of a nursing mom. I try to drink 150 ounces of water a day. 

At my midwife appointment on Tuesday Sheryl said everything looks and feels excellent. My uterus is shrinking back down nicely and my vulva/bottom area looks wonderful. She commented that if another medical professional happened to look down there and I told them I had a baby a week ago they wouldn't believe me. My bleeding is incredibly light. Not even heavy enough to compare to a regular period. 

I felt like my regular self right away after birth, but if I over did it doing anything I could definitely tell. A week later I'm easing back into doing a little more and I still get tired. Erik was an amazing help the first 5 days or so while I was on orders not to do anything. He did everything without being asked and would tell me to go sit down if he caught me up doing anything. As I've jumped back in his help has diminished a little. I definitely still need help and will probably have to nudge him along with gentle reminders from now on. 

My belly is mostly down. It's just kind of wobbly and that's alright with me for now. I'm not worried about it at all. I wondered if I'd notice any new stretch marks after he came out, but I don't seem to have any. All that's there is what I got from Stella. 

I'll try to write my birth story soon.

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy

Ian David

6 pounds 9 ounces 

18.75 inches long 

August 6, 2014 at 10:36 am

He is perfect in every way and we are so incredibly in love it is ridiculous. He's a very calm baby and an excellent nurser already :)

He arrived after a very short, rather loud, but calm labor in our bed at home into my hands. 

38 weeks

38 weeks

165 pounds

I'm sure glad I didn't gain a bunch of weight in the beginning of this pregnancy because I'd be seriously screwed right now! I think what I'm adding now might just be water weight  

I'm finally starting to notice my belly looking different from when I was pregnant with Stella in the last few weeks.

I'm starting to feel done. I'm not quite so full of energy anymore. I have plenty to do what I need to do, but not much extra. 

I woke up no fewer than 6 times to pee last night. I think I woke up about every 2 or 3 hours. (Maybe my body's way of getting ready for feeding baby?)That sucked. With all the layers on our bed it's been pretty uncomfortable. I've been sleeping alright other than waking up to pee. 

I'm still not having much swelling. If we're outside for too long when it's hot I notice it increase, but when I get back in air conditioning it goes down. 

Baby is definitely getting more cramped. It's starting to become a bit painful when he changes positions and gets his butt up in my ribs. Last night we were sitting in bed and he got so squished up in there I was having a hard time taking a breath.

Thursday after I posted about baby dropping, I got curious. I decided to see if I could check my cervix myself. I was certain it would still be posterior and I wouldn't find it. Much to my surprise, it was right there plain as day. I felt and a finger definitely fit in. It was very short (maybe 1 cm deep) and soft. Then, I felt something solid! It was baby's head! Holy crap, there really is a baby in there and he really is going to come out! I don't know how many finger widths are how many centimeters, so I can't even begin to determine that. I'm dying to hear Sheryl's official thoughts on it today. 

I've been having cramping here and there, off and on all weekend. It never gets regular and only happens once or twice throughout the day. I've definitely been trying to encourage this. I've sat on the birth ball a lot. I had to beg Erik to have sex with me Sunday night. Yesterday I was kind of nauseated all day. I was fed and hydrated, but I still just felt like I gagged whenever I ate or thought about food. I had some diarrhea in the morning   I'm never around people so I doubted it was the start of a bug. Things are definitely beginning to happen. I guess the less I have to do when the actual time comes, the better. 

My appointment wasn't until 1 o'clock today! Why did I make it for so late?! It was a pretty uneventful appointment. Sheryl doesn't think I'll make it to 40 weeks. I don't either. I don't think I'll make it to 39. Last week she mentioned stripping my membranes this week, but she didn't mention it today and I didn't bring it up. That's alright. He'll be here soon enough. 

• Blood pressure was good
• Baby is head down
• Dilation: 3
• Effacement: 80%
• Station: -2