How We're Doing

I know I haven't been posting much lately, but that can't be all that surprising considering the whole new baby in the house thing.  It's not that I don't have any time since Elliot still loves to sleep, but I have had the attention span of a gnat due to my interrupted sleep so I haven't been able to put together a coherent thought lately.  Things are improving, though, so I thought I'd update.

First off, Andrew is adjusting well.  When he doesn't see Elliot he'll ask "Where's the baby?".  Or if Elliot is crying he'll ask "Why's the baby crying?".  A couple times he has wanted up in the recliner with me while I've been feeding Elliot and when I've told him he needs to wait a few minutes he has gotten upset.  The first time it happened I teared up. I don't want him feeling like I don't have time for him or that he's been replaced.  He hasn't done it lately, though, so it's getting better.  And a couple times while I've been feeding the baby he's walked up with a burp cloth and started rubbing Elliot's head and saying "Wash baby's head!".  I love that he's trying to "help".

I've been doing what I can to make sure I have one on one time with Andrew.  This past weekend I took him to the park for almost two hours so J and my MIL could clean the house.  We took the golf cart and hit two different parks (the big one a mile from our house and the smaller one behind the school next to us).  It's important to me that we have some time together because he's my first baby and I don't want him to feel like he is less important now.

We did have a little stomach bug issue on Monday and I had to go get him from daycare.  He was a miserable little munchkin that day and night, but he's doing much better now. Thankfully on Monday when he was sick he was relatively content enough to lay on the couch with us while I fed the baby:

As for Elliot, he's doing well.  As of last Wednesday he was back up to birth weight, so it only took him to 11 days to get there (Andrew took almost 3 weeks).  He is eating very well and is a hungry little bugger.  There is clearly no problem with his kidneys or bowels based on the sheer number of diapers we go through.  We've had a few incidents with shooting poo (clear across the room and onto the curtains. I'm not kidding) and I've been peed on and spit up on simultaneously, but he's doing great.

He is still very sleepy during the day, but we're working on it.  He's also been waking up an hour after eating in the middle of the night and my MIL has been having to give him a small bottle, so last night I pumped before bed and when I came down four hours later to feed him I gave him that 3.5 ounces first and then nursed him to make sure he was getting enough.  For the first time in over a week he was still asleep when I came down the next time to feed him. So I pumped one side, got Andrew's breakfast all ready, and then went and woke up Elliot and nursed him on the other side.  So last night was the first night since she'd been here that my MIL didn't get up to soothe him at all overnight.

Way too alert for the middle of the night!

Speaking of which, having her here again to help out has been a godsend. She gets up with him if he's just fussy overnight and soothes him if she can. If not I come feed him. And she has watched him for me some mornings for an hour or two so I can lay back down and try to catch a quick nap.  I'm not sure how much longer she's staying (she's been here for two weeks), but I am grateful for the help as long as we have it.

I can't believe I only have three weeks left of maternity leave (this country blows for maternity coverage).  Fortunately I will be working from home with Elliot for another 8 weeks so he won't start daycare until December 1st.  Hopefully by then we have a routine going because right now I am dreading how to handle getting the two of them (and me) ready to get out the door in the mornings.

Anyway, things are going well. I'm tired, of course, but I'm also so in love with my guys. I feel so blessed to have two beautiful healthy children and I want to enjoy every second with them.  Life is good  :)

Oh, and here I am at 20 days postpartum.  I still have 18 lbs to go to get back to pre-pregnancy weight and I can't wait to get the all clear to get back to the gym.

I'm wearing non-maternity shorts for one of the first times since Elliot was born.  My belly is still really doughy and I need to get back to lifting to tone up my arms again. I feel like most of the weight is in my legs and butt so I'll have my work cut out for me.  Oh well, it was all for a very good cause: