Today was my first day with just me and baby for the whole day, while daddy went back to work (well, trainings for work...he doesn't start back until August 20). Luckily, we had the whole summer together to play with baby and spoil him...ha! We couldn't have planned it any better, I mean who gets to spend the first 3 months of your baby's life together without either parent having to work. Don't get me wrong, raising a newborn is definitely hard work, but it was all we needed to focus on. He has surely been showered with love and attention from both parents 24/7, lucky guy! So today was the first day that I was able to experience him all to myself all day long. Che's training actually started on Monday, but he came home early so it doesn't really count. However, Sunday night was the first night that I was the one to get up with baby each time for feedings. Since I am just pumping, daddy was sweet enough to give momma some extra rest and we had our shifts (daddy stayed up way later than me so he got all of the feedings before 4:30am and I would wake up with baby and play with him in the mornings while daddy slept in, which was usually anywhere between 5-7am).
So.. Sunday night was actually not too bad. Surprisingly, I awoke easily whenever Elias would start to wake up and didn't mind feeding him and rocking him back to sleep. I have actually started to enjoy those quiet times with just me and him in the dark, holding his little baby hand while he closes his eyes and drinks momma's milk from his bottle. It's crazy to think that 3 months ago I feared the night time feedings. Breastfeeding did not come easily for us to say the least, therefore all feedings in general were filled with anxiety and frustration, which I will save for another post. The past 2 nights however, he has been waking up every 2-3 hours and sometimes just needs to be rocked back to sleep without feeding. We think he might be teething, hence all the drooling and constantly gnawing on his hands.
Which brings us to....Today. It was such a wonderful day even though there were times of frustration when he would be so tired he would scream and cry and cry until finally he would drift off to sleep, only to wake up 20 minutes later. I'm not sure why he wouldn't nap today, hopefully that means he will sleep better tonight. A momma can hope. We started off the morning at 5am. I brought him to the couch and we snuggled up so close while I fed him. He must have been so comfy because he fell right back to sleep and barely drank an ounce. We slept on the couch together all cuddled up. I love sleeping with him and cherish every single cuddle with him.
***I have been trying to finish this post since I began writing on Wednesday night and here it is Friday*** (Who knew that finding extra time with a baby would be hard...sheesh!)
So, here we are today (Friday, August 10 - 1 day before Elias turns 3 months old). He is taking a nap at the moment so we shall see how far I get in this post.
I think we are starting to get the hang of our time alone together without daddy. It hasn't been easy, trying to entertain him all day long, trying to find ways for him to play by himself so I can cook lunch (I made butternut squash and brown rice for lunch yesterday, it was yummy), pump every 3 hours and do any type of chore. We have been taking walks every morning this week and it has been so nice to get out and get some exercise. Then when daddy gets home we have been going on more walks, pool time, kicking the soccer ball (all kinds of fun outdoor activities). The other day I placed Elias in his stroller and wheeled him into the kitchen so I could wash out my pump parts and then proceeded to take him out of it when I was done. Oh my goodness, you would have thought I had pinched him. He screamed his head off! I realized quickly that he thought we were going for another walk. I felt so bad for teasing him like that so off we went for another walk and he loved it! I love how he observes the trees that pass by and he squints his eyes if momma doesn't pull his shade down in time to block out the sun. He even drifts off to sleep if it is around nap time. When he wakes up, we will head out for our little walk. I have also been reading about fun games to play with a 3 month old. This morning I pulled out some spoons and tupperware and played them like drums, which held his attention for about 3 minutes. He also looked at a wire whisk for about 2 seconds with curious eyes. Yesterday, I taught him how to stick out his tongue, it was the cutest thing ever and he also learned how to pull open and close the blinds. He has been able to hold onto things when we put them in his hands, so I put the cord for the blinds in his hand and raise him up and down so the blinds open and close..ha! I will keep exploring the world with him and watch him light up with each new experience.
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