Life with a newborn is the most joyous time...and one of the most difficult times. Even though I have done this twice before, it has been 3 1/2 years since I have had a newborn, and it seems I have forgotten everything since then! Taking care of someone so little and fragile can be scary....is he eating enough? gaining enough weight? having enough wet and dirty diapers? is his belly button okay? why is it taking so long for his cord to fall off? what about this whole circumcision thing??? (this caused me great amounts of stress!) why won't he sleep? why is he crying so much? is he breathing? why is he breathing like that? is his jaundice level getting better? are his tear ducts okay?...it goes on and on! (I'm a natural worrier, can you tell?!) Thankfully, Jonah is a very healthy baby. He is breastfeeding well, wanting to eat every 2 hours. I spent the first couple of weeks sleeping on the couch, with Jonah beside me in his bouncy seat or in the bassinet. It was just too uncomfortable for me to stretch out in the bed. I think the hardest part of taking care of a newborn is definitely the lack of sleep. I got very little sleep the first few weeks. Like 1-2 hours at a time...that is NOT enough for me! Jonah spits up a lot and has some tummy aches. One night, he cried for 5 hours until we finally put him in the car and drove to Wal-Mart for gas drops. Poor little guy! My recovery was rough...I had an allergic reaction to the steri strip tape and had a terrible itchy rash all the way across my incision, I got an eye infection that made my eyes all red and itchy (miserable!), and then just all of the regular breastfeeding issues and trying to recover from a major surgery...all of it put together was almost more than I could handle. After a trip to Urgent Care and Dr. Ledbetter, thankfully I started feeling better after a couple of weeks.
These are some pictures taken during Jonah's first week at home. We were so blessed by our church family to receive meals throughout most of the month of September. It was so nice to not have to worry about what we were going to eat for dinner. The girls adjusted very well to their baby brother coming to live with us! Sure, they have had a few little meltdowns, but overall they have done great. I love these pictures of Mackenzie holding Jonah. She is going to be a great big sister!
Grandma & Grandpa came up on Friday to see Jonah again...they just couldn't get enough of him!
This was Jonah's first bath...he was not happy about it AT ALL! He definitely lets us know when he doesn't like something.
The instant I wrapped him up and picked him up, he stopped crying!
Happy to be warm and clean!
Having a little heart to heart with Daddy!
I love this picture! Brian is so happy to have a son!
This was on Sunday morning. Madison woke up asking to hold baby brother.
Still fascinated with his nose!
On Sunday, Poppa & Louise were on their way back from Missouri and stopped by for lunch. 
This was the day before Mack started Kindergarten at Regent. She was reading to G-Ma from her reader that she will bring home each day from school. Jonah was listening too!
Jonah has blended into our life very easily! Madison was making him some cookies.
I keep telling the girls that one of these days, he will be chasing them all over the house. Mackenzie has already said she is going to get a "No Boys Allowed" sign for her door. Oh, boy!
Jake Romoser came by to see Jonah one day. He is going to college at OBU so it was so good to see him.
One Week Old Already. He still sleeps a whole lot, but when he is awake, his eyes are so bright and alert. They are still very blue...hoping they stay that way!
Jonah is looking at me like, "Please help me!"
This picture makes me laugh...you would think it was 32* in our house as much as I have him bundled up!
On Wednesday, we went to Target to look for some clothes for me...nothing fits me. It is very depressing, but soon enough I will be able to start exercising and get back to normal.
\
These are some cute pic's I took with my phone during Jonah's first week at home:
One of my favorites! Look at those pretty blue eyes!
How am I supposed to get anything done with this sweetness happening?! The laundry & dishes can wait! Thankfully, I had lots of help from G-Ma, Grandma Baldwin & Daddy, so I got to do a lot of this.
This was exactly a week after we brought Jonah home, on a Thursday. The girls were both at school and I was enjoying some quiet time with him. I wish I could just bottle up the feeling of holding him and feeling his soft little cheek on mine.
No comments:
Post a Comment