Our Story: Month 1

Month 1: Baby!

Age: 1 month

Weight: 11 lbs. (I've never been one to brag about the size of my babies because every baby is so different - BUT I will say that our pediatrician could almost not believe how much weight he had gained after only 1 week. "Superhuman" she said... his line on the projection chart was almost completely vertical - he's blowing the projection lines out of the water. Yikes! Grow baby grow! Actually wait no, stay little forever please.)

Major calendar events: Meeting Aunt Em and Nana; Daddy's birthday

Milestones: He's pretty good at balancing his head but still a little spazzy... he has also had a few smiles but at this point I'm not sure if they are actually in response to anything or just random.

Sleep: Sleeping great! He can go to sleep on his own fairly easily and will typically wake up twice between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. (We have had a FEW nights of only waking up once so hopefully we are close to that being the norm for a bit - I feel like a new woman when I only have to get up once in the middle of the night as opposed to twice!)

Likes: Eating, sleeping and being snuggled!

Dislikes: Having a wet/dirty diaper!! (Heidi NEVER complained about needing a diaper change so this is new for us! Literally 90% of the time that Wells is fussing - it's because he wants his diaper changed!) He also isn't super into bathtime yet... but usually we bathe him before he's supposed to eat so perhaps he's just mad about being hungry!

Best moment: "At this point I would say him being born was pretty clutch" -Ryan when I asked him what Wells' best moment so far has been...

Worst moment: Super long story... but we had to go through the same goat rope with Wells as we did with Heidi - we were allowed to be discharged after night 2 in the hospital, but because his bilirubin levels were high we were required to make a follow up appointment with our pedi to have that checked the following day... unfortunately for us that next day was a Saturday. We spent the WHOLE morning running around between the pediatrician's office and getting the runaround at the hospital... hours and hours of no one knowing where we were supposed to go or who would do the test... we finally ended up in the right place but the phlebotomist had a tough time with her first stick - poor Wells screamed and screamed for 10+ minutes as she rubbed and squeezed his poor little foot and heel trying to get more blood to come out. (After about 2 minutes I kept thinking "just restick him already!" but I think she was trying to avoid another stick... seemed like the easier less-painful option for all parties involved...) Eventually she did stick his other heel and finally got enough blood for the test. My poor baby had some beat up heels for his first few days of life. It was tough to watch but being a mom toughens you up pretty quick, so I held it together and just did my best to comfort him. (If the sticks had been that traumatic with Heidi I would have REALLY lost it. With her I was already crying because I was looking at her feet and thinking about how they had been inside of me kicking my belly just a few days beforehand.)

Eating: Nursing every 2-2.5 hours... I have tried SO hard to get this guy to go 3 hours between feedings but, DANG he is one hungry dude! He is much more efficient than Heidi was though - he typically only nurses for 10-15 minutes TOTAL, whereas she would take 30+ minutes. The biggest struggle we have had so far is that it's tough for him to keep up with the flow. I literally have enough milk for 6 children and my letdown is fast, so he usually ends up choking and gagging if it's been longer than 2ish hours since he ended the previous feeding. As Ryan says, "it's like drinking from a fire hydrant" at this point... so hopefully between things leveling off naturally on their own AND Wells getting a little bigger and able to handle that much milk this will improve over time. Until then... I will continue to go hang my boobs over a sink and let them spray milk out on their own for a few minutes before letting Wells have a go ;).

Things I want to remember: I have forgotten about all of the little whimpers, gasps, heavy breathing/panting and other little noises that newborns make. I love those! I also want to remember Wells' first latch after he was born (see below!)

OTHER: So I wasn't sure if I wanted to publicize anything about this BUT the experience was so positive and I feel like I would have liked to know this information beforehand myself so I'll go ahead and talk about it...(Wells-maybe when you're a little older I'll remove this for your own sake...) CIRCUMCISION. Yes, let's go there. (Or as a friend once referred to it: "getting his pencil sharpened" - hah!) The decision to circumcise was not really one that we needed to debate in our house - Ryan and I were both on board with the decision to do it from the beginning for many reasons (which I am happy to discuss privately if you're curious). The procedure was done in the hospital the day after Wells was born. A doctor came in to our room and explained the procedure, how long it would take, etc. (Takes about 10 minutes, but they keep the baby for roughly 2 hours total.) The method used at our hospital was called the "plastibell method" (HEADS UP: this Wikipedia link does include 2 non-graphic photos.) Essentially, baby comes back after the procedure with a little clear plastic ring on which will fall off within a week or so. Many other moms/parents had scared us about the "recovery" from the procedure, saying that baby boy would end up screaming his head off every time he had a wet diaper, that we would need to use tons and tons of vaseline and that he would be in a lot of pain. But I have to say, this method was FABULOUS. Almost no follow up care is needed (aka no vaseline, cream, pain medication etc.) and Wells NEVER acted as though he was in any pain at all. You would honestly have never known that he even had it done!! If you ever find yourself in this situation and you have a choice as to which method is used - I HIGHLY recommend the plastibell method. Although, we have never experienced other methods, at this point I feel that this is the best/easiest/least painful one for baby AND mom and dad!

Month 1: Mama

First of all, I think it is very important that I reshare what my post-partum experience was like after having my first baby (read about it HERE). Knowing what I know now and looking back at what sort of mental state I was in then...I do believe that I had some degree of post-partum depression, even though it lasted "only" 8-ish weeks. I never put myself into that category because I didn't fall under the 3 symptoms that I was told to look for... but I truly was hardly able to function or care for myself. It's important for me personally to never forget about that experience and I also think it's crucial that I continue to always share and talk about that time for other mamas. It was intense and extremely isolating.

That being said... my post-partum experience this time with Wells has been an absolute dream! Recovery has been so easy and the hormone crashes have been minimal. I have been extremely functional! Even while I was in the hospital I was in almost no pain. (Nurses always find it so strange that I didn't want any medication for the pain during the days following... but why would I take something if I wasn't hurting?? Is everyone in extreme pain? Does everyone take pain meds regardless? I am curious!)

What DID hurt like heck was the uterine contractions that would occur every time I nursed. The hormones released when you breastfeed help the uterus to contract and "go back" to it's former size, but with each pregnancy (allegedly) this gets more and more painful, as your uterus gets less "toned". Within about 30 seconds of Wells latching, I would get what felt like INTENSE menstrual cramps that would last for a few minutes. Oh my gosh it felt so gross and hurt pretty bad (honestly, worse than my labor!) I did try taking Motrin at one point to manage that pain, but I didn't feel like it helped enough to continue with it. That cramping finally stopped about a week or so later.

Other than the cramping, I would say my pain level was probably at a 1 or a 2 - just mildly sore. I walked myself out of the hospital, arms loaded down with bags and gifts.

Time to go home!

As we were driving home, I remember telling Ryan how normal I felt (physically AND emotionally)... I felt ALARMINGLY normal... so normal that I was concerned that it was all going to come crashing down on me... and HARD. Luckily, it never did (at least not at this point anyway). The first few weeks, I would get weepy and a little overwhelmed in the evenings, mostly just when I was tired and hungry...and there were still a few times where I would just cry for no real reason...but it all has been extremely manageable up until this point. I think it is also a little draining going from one extreme to the other so many times in one day - I go from "I can TOTALLY do this whole 2-kid-thing!" to "There is NO WAY I am going to be able to handle having 2 kids!" about 600 times per day. It's exhausting. But the more time that goes by the less frequently I fluctuate and the less time I spend in the "there's no way" zone... although I don't think anyone ever totally stops feeling like they sometimes just can't handle 2 kids (until there's 3 haha!)

I also want to talk a little bit about breastfeeding. Some history on this... prior to having my first baby, I was very apprehensive about breastfeeding and quite honestly I felt a little weird about it (click here for more on that). Then, after sticking it out for a full year, I posted a follow up post about my experience and how my thoughts had changed. After breastfeeding for a year, I knew I would miss that special time I got to spend with my girl, but I was pretty excited to not be responsible for growing OR nourishing another human (at least for a few months anyway HEHE). I don't really recall Heidi's first latch (nor did I even care at the time) and all I can remember about our first few weeks/months was just how painful it was and what a leaky mess I was.

Going into it this time, I knew it would already be a little bit easier just because I would already know what I was doing. (I was also hoping that I wouldn't leak quite as much as I did the first time...and wasn't sure if it would be as painful or not.) Although, I was not dreading breastfeeding again or anything, I definitely wouldn't go quite as far as to say that I was actually looking forward to it or super excited about doing it again. HOWEVER... the second I felt his gentle tugging I immediately fell in love with breastfeeding! I never ever EVER in a million years thought that I would be someone who would love the actual act of nursing my babies. (In fact, I used to want to smack people like that!) Our birth photographer was able to stick around for a while after Wells' arrival so I made sure to cue her when I was ready to nurse him for the first time. I'm so excited that we got pictures of his first latch. When my milk finally came in a few days later I was even more excited. I was constantly calling Ryan over to come look at the ring of excess milk leaking out between Wells' lips and my boob as he gulped it down. Seeing this brought me an amazing amount of comfort - just knowing that he was getting the best kind of nourishment that he needed from me (and PLENTY of it!) and that made me so happy. This second go round with breastfeeding has been vastly different (emotionally) and I am completely infatuated with the experience. I did experience SOME pain the first few days of breastfeeding, but nothing compared to what it's like the first time (your nipples hurt SO bad!!) I also think that having kids so close together helps with this - when I started breastfeeding Wells, it hadn't even been a year since I had stopped nursing Heidi.

I used to think that people who just came home with a baby and lived happily ever after were lying... but I have learned this time that with the Lord it is possible. The preparations that we made spiritually for labor and delivery have certainly carried over into postpartum and He has truly provided for us - not only emotionally but also physically as well. At 4 weeks postpartum, my body almost looks like Wells never happened (even in the "downstairs" area if you know what I mean!!) I never in a million years dreamed I would be leaving the house to go grocery shopping 5 days post-partum. I never thought I would be this functional this quickly after having a baby. I never pictured myself running errands and taking 2 kids out in public together just weeks after coming home from the hospital. My body has sprung back like I never dreamed it could after having a second baby and I know that this is the Lord proving to me that he truly reigns over ALL - not just some things but literally EVERYTHING. This experience (including labor and deliver - which I am excited to share soon!) has brought new meaning and given me an entirely different understanding of "ask and it shall be given unto you". He deserves all of the credit and I am so SO grateful for all of his blessings. I serve an incredible, loving and merciful God and He is good.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7

(P.S. - I will discuss how Heidi has adjusted this first month in a future post!)

Here are a few pictures from our first month with this cutie!

Heidi LOVES her brother!!

First family walk!

Love that hair!!!

Meeting "Uncle" Chris!

I love sleep smiles :).

First bath!
(Also - you can see that Wells has a hematoma on his head [his left, our right]. This is a pocket of blood between the skin and the skull. It will partially get re-absorbed and the remainder will calcify. Eventually, his skull will catch up to whatever portion ends up calcifying. But this hematoma makes his head look very misshapen - it's not a conehead!)