Friday, February 19, 2010

New to Mommyhood

I am a living breathing mommy....and I LOVE IT! God is good and given us such a little miracle, and I thank Him everyday for that. My spirits are bright and I am in love.

Time tables: I have to admit that I never understood when all of my 'new mommy friends' managed to disappear off of the radar. It seemed that the minute my friends had a baby, they would not resurface for quite awhile...well, now I understand.

When you have a newborn, you are put on a time table...more like a grid. This grid is strictly regimented with time slots. Eli is eating every two hours on that grid, and the feeding schedule is from the start of one feeding to the start of another. So, if he eats for 45 minutes, that allows me 1 hour and 15 minutes to do something in between. Therefore, every decision and 'to do thing' must be accomplished in these little windows of time. Perhaps I want to take a shower...that is a window. Answer e-mails, do laundry, eat, update a blog, write in a baby book, or....oh yeah, SLEEP. Needless to say, it gets very tricky to get everything you want to do done.

However, I can say 'That an Iphone is a mommy's best friend'! This sweet little invention has rocked my mommy-world. It has become my heartbeat...my brain...my sanity..my link to the outside world. I use it most often for the breastfeeding and diaper counting applications. It also functions for my many lists (to-do, grocery shopping, pumping schedule, ect), it has also come
in handy with facebook and emailing. :)

First Bath: Eli had his first bath on Thursday. It was a pretty standard 'first baby sponge bath', with a little surprise. I had pulled out one of Keith's favorite baby shower gifts, a cookie monster hooded towel, for Eli's first bath. As Eli was getting sponged down from head to toe, he decided to leave us a little surprise. No, I am not talking about a 'pee-pee', but a major 'poo-poo'! Ha ha...it was classic. So, we went through two towels in our first bath. Also, after spot treating cookie monster there is still a little spot to mark our memory. Keith is slightly upset that cookie monster has a battle scar, but I think it is great.

Lioness: I just had to put a 'blurb' in about being a lioness, because my claws came out. Keith and I were trying to relax around the house with Eli when the doorbell rang. It was an obnoxious 'Grill Master' sales rep. I was sure to tell him we were not interested and had a sleeping newborn inside. Then, when our doorbell rang 2 minutes later, and I stomped to the door fuming. A second 'Grill Master' salesman was standing at the door, to which I told him that we had our fair share of reps coming to the house. Then, I explained to him that we had a newborn inside and to take '8301 Laughing Waters' off their list of houses to visit in the future.

First outing: On Eli's 'one week birthday', Keith and I thought we could manage a trip to Target. See, I desperately needed nursing bras and tanks, as I had no wardrobe to support my new lifestyle. We went in to make a few exchanges and shortly after Eli was into a cry...which somewhat calmed down. I quickly b-lined to the bras and picked out a few sizes. I rushed to the dressing room and started trying them on. Keith had Eli in the cart outside the room, when Eli started to cry. I guess it was pure 'animal instinct' but when I heard my baby crying at a distance, it made me crazy. I felt like a grizzly bear that could hear her young crying as a predator approached. My heart leaped from my chest to get to him. It was many minutes later before I selected my bounty, hit the register, and were out the door.

Breastfeeding and company: I LOVE breastfeeding. I think partly because I didn't know if I would be able to, and partly because it has been great bonding. I have to admit that it is not exactly the 'easiest thing'. It can be painful in the beginning, takes away more of your sleep, requires 'you' for everything (versus Keith being able to feed him), but most of all it can be mentally taxing. There is a lot of pressure that is put on a mom to know that she is the full support for her new baby. His growth and success is totally riding on my ability to keep a schedule and produce milk for him to eat....talk about pressure.

The upsides significantly outweigh the down. I love that he 'needs' me. I love that I am 'the answer' to what he is looking for. I love that I am 'his love'. And, I love the time that we get together. Like I mentioned before, I get 'this time' every 2 hours. However, I think my favorite moments are when we have to take ourselves away from company and have time together.

Keith and I have been very fortunate to receive a lot of visitors that have wanted to meet Eli. We have enjoyed eating with, sharing stories, and hanging out with friends and family. But, low and behold, Eli can not make it through a visit without needing to eat. So, I get to have the pleasure of stealing my baby back from his 'new fans' and whisking him away to a private room where he is all mine. :) Call me selfish, but those moments alone in a quite room, just he and I, are some of the most precious moments for me.

Other Adventures:
Just a few other 'shout outs' to mention to document Eli's first two weeks of life. We have had one pediatrician appointment (tomorrow will be our '2 week check-up), in which Eli discovered himself. There was a mirror along the wall in his room, and he could not stop staring at himself (picture above). He was mesmerized! Heck, if I was that good looking, I wouldn't want to stop staring either.

Also, we went our on first 'walking adventure' with big brother Winston and big sister Dottie. It was a great break for the 'other kiddos', because Eli's crying has taken a toll on them, as well. It was a perfect opportunity for them to clear their minds, pee on everything, and enjoy the outside. Eli, however, didn't get the hang of it until we were almost home. He cried for the entire walk, and when we calmed down outside our door step, we extended our journey. While this was a great idea in theory, it was a REALLY BAD idea for my 'recovery'. I set myself back a good week post-delivery. (note to future mommies: don't push yourself after delivery, even if you think you are better.)

Well, that is it for now (actually, a post that has been piling up). I will do my best to keep everyone updated on our new adventures and so forth. We appreciate everyone's support....it has been amazing!

2 comments:

KRiSTiN said...

Love these pictures!

Glad that BF is working out for you!! It's SO normal to love the "my baby needs me" feeling that goes along with it.

I STILL feel the way you felt in the dressing room. If I hear one of the kids upset, I have to fight myself (and usually lose) to go to them, regardless of Scott being there. Because no one can fix ANYTHING like Mommy can. :)

Mat-n-Amanda said...

I am so glad that nursing is working out for you. There is definitely a lot of pressure about nursing, but the reward is so worth it! I know exactly what you mean with the whole bonding experience. I love it.