I survived. Everyone did, in fact. Not to sound super-millenial but I should get an award for that, right? This is the first week with a newborn.
So I had a baby! Violet Love was born July 25, 2020 at 6:31 a.m. I won’t go into the (gory) details of my birth story in this post but maybe one day. This is dedicated to our first week with Violet.
She’s an absolute angel. I love her with my whole heart and then some. But man this is not easy stuff.
Let’s go by category shall we?
Breastfeeding
Ok so this is one I knew would be hard. My main concerns I wrote down on my “birth plan” for the hospital were pain management and breastfeeding. Because I know I have never had pain like that before and I’ve never had someone drink milk from my body either. Pain: managed. Breastfeeding: extreme learning curve you can’t 100% prepare for.
She latched at the hospital here and there but was also on formula for a little while because her blood sugars were low in the beginning. (See my gestational diabetes post for all about that) She got her numbers up quickly and we didn’t have to stay any extra time at the hospital but I was concerned about nipple confusion. But honestly she was doing well with both!
Then they just give you your baby and you have to figure out things on your own at home. I was given enough knowledge about latching and positioning and making sure she was breathing that I felt like I had it. But man was every feeding different.
Just as soon as I thought I got it down, the next feeding she would FREAK OUT and not want to latch. Or she would latch and then fall asleep. My milk came in but I was bleeding. I had blisters, engorgement, and achy pain everywhere. All in the first week!
Needless to say there has been lots of crying with everyone involved. But there’s my one solid rock, my dear husband, encouraging me along the way, letting me know that it’ll get easier and better and this is not forever. He’s gotten me everything I need from sips of water so I don’t have to let go of my two-handed grip on the babe, from making sure he gets two cartons of my favorite ice cream so we don’t run out too quickly.
I don’t know what I’d do without Nate.
Sleeping
This one is a little tricky because Violet is a very good sleeper. She’s currently taking a nap in her crib and she sleeps well in her bassinet by our bed at night (at least the last few nights, I should say). I’ve mastered the (premade) swaddle and we even have gotten used to the pacifier! We were those skeptical, first time parents who waited til her first check up to ask the doctor if it was ok to give her the paci.
So what I really want to talk about is sleeping for me! Why am I so tired! I need to be constantly reminded that my body is recovering from pushing a 8 pound human out of me and that my body is changing more that adolescence.
So we do a late night feeding, a mid night feeding, and an early morning feeding. Nate then gets up with her (cuz he seriously sleeps through everything, bless his heart) and he takes the morning shift while I get a couple more hours of sleep. I always wake up sweating, drool all over my face wondering what year it is.
It is insane what my body is adjusting to. How can one small squishy baby completely flip your world upside down?! I am just so happy and thank God every day that she is well fed, happy, healthy and so so so loved she doesn’t even know.
Visitors
So if you don’t know already I am writing this during the COVID pandemic. And the hospital regulations still allow no visitors to the delivery or after. I had Nate by my side and that’s it!
We were very happy to have visitors right away. Nate’s parents flew in from out of town and this is their first grandbaby so they wanted to meet Violet as soon as possible!
There has not been a day in this first week that we have not had a visitor. Now hear me out! I am not complaining! Every loved one got to hold her and take their time here at our house. People brought meals and bought dinners. Family was cleaning for us, helping with appliances and vehicles. There was so much joy in this house every day.
I would just cry watching other people look at her and dote on her. I got to harbor her for 9 months and I could finally share her with everyone who had been waiting so long to meet her.
But I was tired. My body was going through a lot. Our family dynamic had just changed so drastically. Everyone kept telling me to go lay down (and OH MY WORD I should have!) but I have major FOMO and I was not about to miss a thing.
When we had slower days with (almost) just us, I appreciated the cuddles, the staring into mommy’s eyes, the drunk milk faces even more! This tiny lady is such a treasure and I’m so glad everyone else thinks so too.
If you are a mother or a parent reading this then you know there’s so much more that goes into that first week home. You just became a family of 3! The weird pains you never knew existed all over your body. Realizing you have to eat too. Saying yes to help! How much laundry a small child accumulates. Trying to keep some sort of schedule. Using your brain and remembering things.
I know I’m no expert! I have SUCH a long way to go. Every day is different and that’s why I’m taking everything one day at a time. I’m SO blessed to have an incredible support system, a super cute baby, and everything I need to care for her. We have prayed for this beautiful child every day for so long and she’s finally here.
Ok if I keep talking about how much I’m in love with her, I’m not going to be able to see the computer screen from crying so much. These hormones are no joke! Oh and on cue, she is awake. Gotta go kiss those cheeks.
