Friday, March 25, 2011

Nugget's First Few Days

With pictures:
I was stranded in the basement for the first week. Karen wanted me to have the best possible recovery and this meant no stairs and as little movement as possible. I had to walk by taking baby steps and keep my knees together. Coby was extremely worried about what was happening to me during the labor and after. I could hear her howling while I labored and eventually she just took up this position in the bedroom window well. It was so cute, she would sit there for hours watching me and Jack. She was so happy when we finally introduced her to the baby and she could see for herself that I was alright. As hard as it was to stay downstairs for a week, it was really worth it. Whatever I was expecting from Vajayjay Destruction 2011, I have to admit that after only a week and a half, things feel like they are back to normal downstairs. I am sure things aren't actually all the way back to normal, but the fact that I feel normal is kind of amazing to me. I am now on "modified" bedrest. I can now come upstairs, once! So I come up in the morning and bring everything I need (or someone else has to go down and retrieve it for me) and then I stay upstairs all day. I mostly sit on the couch although I can move around a bit. I can take short walks around the neighborhood which was super exciting to me! I am trying my best to be a good patient. Karen says the better I stick to this recovery method these first two weeks, the easier time I will have with my next pregnancy and the biggest benefit is that I will be more likely to retain my bladder control into my old age. Score! As you can imagine, I have had to rely heavily on others during this recovery period. Which has been tough for me. I just want to be useful. Bret came to stay for a week and she was amazing! She brought me all my meals and held Nugget so I could take short naps and showers. She hung out with me in bed and watched movies with me out in the living room. She kept reminding me to keep my knees together and scolded me for standing up for too long. She was really wonderful. 


Karen is like the baby whisperer. Jack will cry when anyone changes his diaper or his clothes, but when she is touching him he is totally content. And he is kind of a show off for her. She was asking about whether he had peed yet, so he wet his diaper. Then she was asking about the color of his poop and all of a sudden he started pooping....which makes me crack up by the way. 6 months ago baby poop would probably have grossed me out more. But now it makes me hysterical. I think it is because when Jack poops he grunts and then you can hear it squirt out. Some of you are like 'eeeww' and others know exactly what I am talking about. I also think it helps that his poop looks like playdough right now. It is yellowy orange and doesn't smell so it is like it is warming us up to the idea that we are dealing with poop. I have also been pooped on, which made me bust up too. Andy and I thought he was all done pooping. Oh were we wrong. Suddenly there was a geyser of poop headed my way. I couldn't stop laughing. It was too funny. Ah how I have grown up...yet not at the same time. 


Jack and his Auntie Em. 


Okay so I have been trying really hard to set Jack down. It is really hard though. He loves to be snuggled and I love to snuggle him. But I also know that he can't be attached to me 24/7. His prom dates will really not appreciate that. Thanks to the Moby wrap he can stay close to my heart all day while I do laundry, eat, and go for my short walks. I promise to make a better effort to start laying him down more though.....here is proof that it has happened before. 


Jack and Aunt Bret! She really deserves a post dedicated to her awesomeness. She has been such a sweetie and I am so thankful that she was able to be here for the birth. Even if she is way more familiar with my lady parts than I would have originally liked. One morning we were laying in bed together and she said 'you just make me really want to be a mom'. It was such a sweet sentiment. But I got up to go to the bathroom and took a look at myself in the mirror. I came back in the room and said 'I make you want to be a mother? I am wearing a retainer, my hair looks like I was electrocuted and I am pretty sure this is poop on my shirt.....I am just such a beauty queen right now'. We laughed uncontrollably for a while over that one. 


Jack's first bath. He was not happy. He is quite an interesting little fellow. When he got his vitamin K shot he didn't make a sound. He didn't seem to notice. Then when Karen poked his heel and proceeded to squeeze gallons lots of blood out onto the testing form he was calm and quiet. But when you rub him down with warm water, lotion or heated baby wipes, you would think he was being tortured. He turns red and gets so upset he is barely breathing. I really hope that he starts liking baths and realizes that being changed isn't the worse thing in the world.  


Aw sad lip. 


Our first car ride. We took Aunt Bret to the airport and Jack slept the entire time. He did awesome. 


Trying out the swing. Look how ginormous the lapbelt looks on him. hahaha. 


Look a picture of me and the baby. I do exist. 


Big yawn and a patient big brother. 


Daddy's boy already. 


Three generations. Grandpa was so excited to know that the family name would go on. 


Grandma Charlotte couldn't wait to get her hands on him. 


Josey stops by for a visit! 


Daddy doesn't mind that your arrival prevented mommy from getting him a birthday present. He seems pretty happy just to hold you and tell you all about all the fun stuff you are going to do together. 


Happy baby. 


Okay don't tell the midwife, but we snuck out to dinner for Andy's birthday. Don't worry we kept everyone away from the baby. Luckily it was like 'babies night out' because every table seemed to have one. So people weren't that interested in ours. He just slept through the whole thing. We did have to nurse in the bathroom before we went home and I started to get OCD hives as I looked at the changing table in the bathroom and decided I would rather change him out in the car. Man have I turned into a crazy already.  


Daddy's birthday steamer pot! Two whole lobsters and clams and sausage. 


Jack and Great-Aunt Steph. 


Jack and Crazy Great-Grandma. 


Jack and Grandma Cathi. She was so wonderful and helpful. It was hard to see her go back home, but at the same time we have to put our solo-parenting to the test. 

5 comments:

  1. LOTS of pictures - I'm in heaven! I love that you can see his face better in the pic you got of me holding him.

    Love his little red face in the bath pic. Silly boy. :)

    Good news that your lady bits are feeling much better. I'm happy for you! (even though it feels weird to congratulate you on that *LOL*)

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  2. Love, love, love all the pictures! The picture of your puppy was too cute also. Everyone looks so happy and at peace! Well, except for maybe little guy during his bath. Ha!

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  3. Nurse in the bathroom.... um no! Honey you nurse where its comfortable, its a restraunt, everyones gotta eat :) YOu all look perfect! So happy for you

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  4. You guys are doing AWESOME!! I am so happy for you, and I miss you. I wish I could come help out, of course I'm sure you appreciate me staying away with the last of the toddler winter germs. I can't wait to come see you soon though. And I totally agree, it takes doing it to get comfortable, but bring the nursing cover and nurse OUT of the bathroom. I'll punch anyone in the nose if they look at you funny ;) but I never had a problem. Love you!

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  5. Baby farts make me crack up too! And the rumors are true... solids bring a whole new "dimension" to diaper changing! LOL. Cadence pooped in the bath tub for the first time the other day.... too funny. Jack is so cute and it looks like you are a fantastic mommy!

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