Today is Chase's 2 week birthday so I thought I'd take a break from the picture-only post and add some text to update you all on all of his developments during the past two weeks. I don't want to jinx myself, so all of his accomplishments are caveated with "so far."
Sleeping: When we first came home from the hospital, Chase was sleeping most of the day. He's now spending less time sleeping, although still getting in many (I can't count in my sleep-deprived state) 1-3 hour naps throughout the day and night. Overnight the length of "naps" is variable- in the beginning he was on a 3+ hour naps (so I had to wake him up to feed him) but last night he slept for 1.5 hours max. We're keeping the room dark during the night and changing diapers by the light of the nightlight and trying to stimulate him during the day, but he's still only 2 weeks old. He no longer likes to have his arms in the swaddle, so they probably also wake him up. I've given in to letting him sleep in our bed when he's too fussy to sleep in his bassinet. I try not to do it very often but this morning, when I was exhausted from him being up all night, and it was the only place he would sleep, idid not hesitate let him sleep with me.
Eating: The litle guy is a champion eater. He now wakes up to eat and eats heartily- until he falls asleep. He was back up to his birthweight last Friday (6lbs 5oz) and up to 6lbs 12oz on Tuesday, so he put on 7oz in 5 days! Breastfeeding is going well- I'm comfortable and he is getting better at latching on right away. I've even fed him in public under my "Hooter Hider" (nursing smock) at the park. The worst days were the days in the hospital when we were surrounded by knowledgeable nurses and lactation consultants. I'm glad we were able to get it down (knock on wood) before we came home.
Diapers: We should have bought stock in Pampers because we go through about 15 per day. You can tell when he's trying to poop, but sometimes he waits until right after you put a clean diaper to do a monster poop. That is always awesome.
Skills: He's just starting to focus on faces and some toys on his gym, as well as Mueller and Madison. Today (after last night's fussiness) he's doing pretty well with his pacifier.
2 week Post-Partum Update: Even with a C-section, I'm feeling really good. When I first came home, my incision would hurt when I tried to sit up or get out of bed, but now it rarely hurts. I'm trying not to walk up and down the stairs too much. We've been walking some- Yesterday Chase and I were out for 45 minutes and I felt fine. I could feel my muscles engaged as if to say "oh yeah, we remember the whole exercise thing." I have a Dr's appointment tomorrow so hopefully I'll get some more information on what I can do. My only other physical symptom is night sweats from the hormone withdrawl.
I'm up 13lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight (so I've lost about 14), which is not bad. Ironically (because everyone said I was "all baby"), I gained a lot of weight in my hips and legs, which means my pre-pregnancy clothes don't fit yet. I didn't realize that I would still look pregnant after the baby was born (it was like a 6 month baby bump!), but I got myself a
Belly Bandit and my stomach is getting pretty flat. I highly recommend it!
Emotionally, I am also doing very well. I'm not going to lie: When I'm sleep deprived or exhausted in the middle of the night and Chase is awake AGAIN, I definitely feel overwhelmed. But Stephen has been great about making me sleep, and having our parents here gave me some time off to sleep. In general, I'm very happy. A little stir crazy, and sometimes frustrated that I can't get more done during the day, but in love and very happy.
And now, some pictures...
We tried a better park; Chase was still not impressed
Another tummy time attempt:
Sleeping. During the day (sigh):
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