I've thought a lot about what traditions I want to start or continue now that E is here. What kind of childhood do I want him to have? What parts of my childhood do I want him share vs what will we start that's special to our little family?
A Day in E's Life
Remember when I kept a diary for a full day when I was pregnant? It was a peek into what early life was like between me and E. Now that E's physically here, I thought I'd do it again. Because who isn't curious what I do all day on maternity leave?? (spoiler alert: it's not that exciting and it's super repetitive)
An Escape to Maine
Last week we accomplished something amazing! We packed up the THREE of us, and took off for a week! It took two weeks of making lists and slowly gathering everything we thought we might need, but we did it. I'm a little worried for our future since even our huge car was packed full, and there wasn't much we took that we didn't need.
My Favorite Pics of Us
Two Months
As of 7/28/2017
Nick Names: Bubba, Bubby, Buddy
Height: 22.5 inches (32nd percentile)
Weight: 11 lbs, 8 oz (38th percentile)
Head: 15.5 inches (66th percentile)
Special Outings: Two more movies (Despicable Me 3 and Spider-Man), a visit to Becca, BBQ at my boss' house, 4th of July Carnival
Visitors: Danielle, DJ & Wyatt, Aunt Raina and Cousin Zaida, Tom's Parents
Loves: Baby crinkle paper, bouncer seat, anything patterned
Hates: Car seat/Driving in the car, gas pains, being tired
Reset Week
After a busy week last week, and a busy one coming up, I decided that E and I could use a quiet week at home focusing on a reset. We almost went to a movie on Monday, but E had a morning meltdown that let me know it would be a bad idea. (Of course it was the first movie I was actually looking forward to see... sigh)
Late at Night
It's 1:15. You're supposed to be asleep but you're not because a poorly installed diaper just caused a total outfit change. I'm walking you to sleep in a dark house but you're not quite ready. Don't think I don't see you peeking at me through half open eyes to see if I'm still here. I hear your giggle too. I don't need the lights to know you're smiling at me. Maybe because there's spit up on the floor by the stairs. I should remember that before Tom wakes up tomorrow, but there's no way I'm risking setting you down right now to clean it up. It's been 4 passes around the kitchen island since your eyes have opened.
Where We're At
It's been a long week, and we're spending a bit of time trying to recover from it.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been exhausting. It started off with a visit from E's other grandparents, and continued with a trip out of the house every day this week, when normally we only leave once. All three of us are requiring all of the naps to get back to normal!
Naptime Snuggles
E's Best Buddies
I'm not sure if E will be an extrovert or an introvert yet. I go back and forth all the time with what I think. He's a Gemini like me, and usually needs a lot of time to recover from any outings we have (of course that could just be a baby thing). On the flip side, he loves social interactions and is always wide eyed, taking it all in.
How Quickly Things Change
I'm still adjusting to how different my days look now. No more dressing up in business casual. No more commuting. No more meetings and presentations. No more interacting with other adults. Instead I'm home all day with this tiny human. Oddly enough, my days are actually less predictable than they used to be.
I have no idea how long E will sleep, or where. If it's going to be a day full of crying, or if I'll be able to get things done. And I'm still surprised at how quickly things can change. For example, this was a small chunk of a recent Monday:
Celebrating the 4th
Proving Us Wrong
I feel like E might be one of those people who when you tell them they can't do something, they're going to work non stop until they can.
Case in point, I just mentioned that we had his one month check up. At the check up we learned he was ity bity, and discussed a few developmental milestones that he hadn't quite hit... yet.
In Search of a Doctor
I always knew that one of my jobs as a mom would be to advocate for my children. I just didn't think that it would start so soon!
When I was pregnant, Tom and I did a lot of research on things we'd need once E was here, one of which was a pediatrician. We found a practice that was RAVED about, we even attended a new parent's night there to get a feel for it. It seemed like a great fit, and so we scheduled our newborn appointment there.
One Month!
E's one month update!
Nick Names: Bubba, Bubby, Buddy
Height: TBD (at our appointment tomorrow)
Weight: TBD (at our appointment tomorrow)
Special Outings: First Movie (Cars 3), Hiking at Breakheart, Random Shopping Trips
Visitors: My parents, Aunt Joanie & Brookie, Nicole, Stephen & Alice, Aunt Raina
Loves: Warm baths, Eating, Sleeping in someone's arms
Hates: Being cold, Gas pains
The Day I left the House
When my doula came for her postpartum visit, I talked to her about how I didn't think I'd ever do anything this summer but sit on the couch with the baby. She told me to take two weeks to do absolutely nothing, and not feel guilty about it, and then to get up and start doing things.
Ever the overachiever, I took four. To be fair, I did leave the house and go on adventures when Tom was home, I just didn't do it alone. I guess it's easier to justify doing nothing when the day before we'd gone on a hike, or to a farmer's market, or shopping.
A New Normal
I had to go into the city the other day.
It's weird, I've only been gone 3 weeks, but already everything is foreign. I got off at the same T stop I used to get off at every day for work. And already it felt as if I was getting off at a random stop in a different city. Nothing seemed familiar and I felt lost, even though I knew where I was going.
First Few Weeks
Heading Home
E was born Sunday morning, which meant that we headed home from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. I thought it was going to feel weirder than it did, but I think because every part of this process has seemed surreal, this wasn't any different. I still don't think it ever set in that I was pregnant, I'm just continuing that denial now that E is here. I swear sometimes I look down at this little baby in my arms and just think "WHO GAVE ME A BABY!?"