First days

February 25, 2006

Tyler is 4 weeks and 2 days old today! I'm playing a little bit of catch-up here...I want to record my experience as a new mom. This picture was actually taken the first day we had him home, when he was only 5 days old.

Week 1 - Healing myself
The first week was a little rough. Tyler was in the hospital for an extra two days so that he could be treated for jaundice. There were 5 or 6 other newborns in the hospital nursery being treated for jaundice, too, but since MY baby was in there, it was a big deal! I went home on Saturday, and my mom stayed with us the first week, while Mike went back to work. We spent Sunday and Monday driving back and forth to the hospital to visit Tyler and feed him every other feeding. While I was home, I would pump breastmilk and bring it to the nursery nurses so that they could feed him during the feedings that I missed. It was so hard seeing my little boy under those lights and leaving him each time. I must have cried at least once a day, especially when I thought of him in the nursery away from me and Mike. We were finally able to bring him home on Tuesday morning (January 31). That day, he already weighed 6 lbs 13 oz, almost his birthweight of 6 lbs 14.8 oz.

My mom was a great big help during that first week. She cooked, cleaned, did the laundry and dishes...I don't think my house was ever that clean before (or ever will be again!). My uterus was constantly cramping, not severe, but dull annoying cramps, and my episiotomy stitches hurt if I sat for a long time. So, I mostly lay down and put my legs up (to reduce the swelling in my legs), and only sat up to feed Tyler or pump. The breast engorgement hit me the day I went home from the hospital and lasted 3 or 4 days. My breasts were enormous! They were painfully hard, too. I wanted to pump all the time just to relieve the pain, but then couldn't pump too much or my body would just keep producing milk. When the engorgement finally ended, it was such a relief, and breastfeeding Tyler was 10 times easier. I used a nipple shield while engorged because Tyler couldn't latch on to my gigantic breasts!

We went to the pediatrician on Thursday, after we brought Tyler home, and he was looking good and the jaundice was definitely subsiding.

Week 2 - Family Time

The second week was a little easier, not much, but a little. My episiotomy finally started to feel better and the swelling in my legs and feet went away. I was sort of getting the hang of feeding Tyler and was a pro at changing diapers. I was finally feeling well enough to walk around and do some easy chores. Mike stayed home that week, too. It was so nice to have all three of us together! We took Tyler to the pediatrician for his 2 week check-up, and he weighed in at 7 lbs 5 oz! He's definitely gaining weight!

My hormones were still raging, and I think I cried about something or other every single day. Mike was was great about it, always there to comfort me but never getting annoyed at my roller-coaster of emotions.

That was the week that I began feeling overwhelmed, too. I was sort of dreading the end of the week, because I knew Mike would have to go back to work and I would be alone with Tyler. I didn't have a lot of confidence in myself yet and I was afraid I would mess up somehow. I also began dreading the nights and the lack of sleep. I hadn't yet come to terms with the new life we would be leading...no sleep and worrying about every little sound that Tyler made.