The first 2 weeks of l'Ari (I've turned a French stone in my sleep deprived state of life) have been en liess! Baby blues? Not a chance! (I credit breast feeding hormones. Thank you oxytocin and prolactin!) Broken sleep? No problem (I've got the keen ability to nap...). Aches and after birth pains? Pssht...handled (thank you Ibuprofen, Tylenol with codeine, sitz baths, and witch hazel pads!) . Sibling rivalry? Nothing but love. Dinner? On the table (thanks to my husb on paternity leave and my Mama's group for providing me with some frozen meals! Along with many other goodies!). Cleanliness of the house? White gloved perfection (or just too distracted to care at this point).
Breastfeeding issues? Ari and I are a TEAM! It's like we're the poster people of La Leche. Seriously though, I'm actually impressed with our ability to do this...for 2 weeks straight! With every wet/poo diaper I pat myself on the back that I can breastfeed! At Ari's 2 week appointment he measured at 23 inches (grown 2 inches!) and weighed 8lbs 9oz (gained just under a pound). Making him around the 50th percentile for weight and above the 100th percentile for height.
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| We get about 3 hour stretches of sleep at night. It's a start... Otherwise I'm nursing every hour or 2... |
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| So, you're the daddy 'round here?! |
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| "To split yourself in two, is just the most radical thing you can do." Ani Difranco |
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| The other day Ari was fussing in his car seat. I asked Milo to talk to his brother to help soothe him. Milo turns to Ari and says, "It's okay, Ari. Mommy's here. Daddy's here. and Milo's here!" It was a moment for me. On the occasion that Milo wakes in the middle of the night -possibly from some bad dream or maybe a cat hacking a hairball from under his bed- I go to his room and tell him mommy and daddy are here. I'm so glad that this not only soothes him back to his pillow to sleep, he remembers it. And he used these words for his brother. Le sigh... |
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| I live with these guys. Me love lots. |
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| and I wear my husbands boxers sometimes (I've lost all but 5lbs of the "baby weight!")...Classy Comfort for the "inbetween stage." |
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4 days afer birth, we took Ari to a check-in/up appointment. His skin,when pressed, turned yellow. So we had blood drawn. His bilirubin was 16.3. At 17 he would have been readmitted to the hospital for light therapy. Instead we were able to go home with the instructions to feed-feed-feed so he can poop-poop-poop. We also sat outside in the early morning/late afternoon. 2 days later his numbers were down to 13. Doc says in his rough Indian accent, "We aren't going to worry about this jaundice anymore...." |
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| He doesn't remember how much he hated the swing when he was an infant. Now? It's a freakin' riot! |
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| Psst...mama, I'm hungry! |
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| Why, yes, that is my 3y.o. playing Call of Duty: Black Ops. Probably not the most age appropriate game... Probably. |
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| This couch has gotten a lot of love. |
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| Pretty much the best thing in the entire universe times infinity. |
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| Taking Ari out at this age has proven to be a large case of "show and tell." But me, de Milo and the husb must leave the house! And with that comes alot of "Wow, he's so tiny!" "You forget how small they are." "How old is he or she?" "Look at the little baby!" "Now THAT is a newborn." and one... "In my day, we didn't take the baby out in public until after many months." |
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| Burrito de Milo. Milo has observed many swaddle sessions with his little brother. So, one night, he requested the same. |
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| Laundry is nothing short of Insane. I'm impressed with the amount of clothing a newborn goes through, along with the 3 other folks that reside with him. Milo enjoys "helping" out... |
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| On Ari's 2 week post birthday -day, the husb and I took him out to dinner. With white linen napkins and appetizers and salad and shrimp and scallops. It was a fancy time. Fortunatly we were surrounded by seasoned parents who didn't mind a baby in their fancy restaurant date night atmosphere. Course, Ari stayed on the boob for most of the experience... |
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| so far...so cool... |
