Monday, June 16, 2008

written at one month...

...but it's taken me till now to get his one month pictures cleaned up and posted. anyway--here's the one month post, complete with images at last:


how to structure this? i was thinking i would write monthly updates on the baby in the form of letters to him, but that's dooce's thing, and i don't want to copy the master... so, i think i will just give a progress report.

baby laugh
yesterday was the end of our first month with baby kieran. he's a total cutie, and, for the most part, a pretty laid back baby. of course, as i write this, he is sleeping on my chest because today, he's needy and won't tolerate being put down even for a second. i think we are entering a new phase. but then, that's what you are always doing with a baby, right? just when you think they are settling into something resembling a routine, everything changes.

yawn

out like a light
for the first couple of weeks with the baby, we were in hardcore survival mode--doing well to remember to eat. it seemed like all i did was breastfeed and take him to the pediatrician's office. he wasn't gaining weight in spite of eating all the time, so i ended up supplementing with some formula a few times a day, which i am still doing. he's a huge eater, and i am just not making enough milk for his voracious appetite. the lactation consultant at the pediatrician's office made me feel like a total failure--she's NOT my favorite person. the consultants at the hospital were all fantastic, so her attitude and poor advice were a bit of a shock. i admit that i cried my way through the baby's first bottle, but man--i am so over it now. anyone who says breastfeeding is not a full time job has never done it. i want the baby to get all the benefits of it, so i keep on truckin' with it, but i keep feeding him formula, too. at some point in the next week i will try to start pumping some of the time as well in preparation for going back to work in july. not looking forward to that AT ALL. but i digress...

little hand
so the baby started gaining weight and has not looked back. he's getting rounder and chubbier every day--i swear he visibly grows with every nap. he does all the things babies do--eat, poop, sleep--lather, rinse, repeat. he has long periods of being alert and checking out his world, and has from day one. he sleeps for long stretches at night, thank goodness, so i am not as sleep deprived as i expected to be. when he does keep me up at night, i just nap with him during the day, which seems to work out. his favorite place to sleep is on my chest. he has learned the sound of my voice and his daddy's voice, and he has come to smile when he hears us or we talk to him. that's awesome! he is cooing, gurgling, and laughing more and more every day. and to keep things balanced, he has also become more needy and fussier. he still has that newborn cry, which has to be the sweetest cry on planet earth. i will be sad when it's gone. he's beginning to lose his newborn reflexes, although he still sleeps in a curled up little bean when he sleeps on my chest. he's cuter every single day. (maybe i am a little biased?)

sleeping in our bed
for me, the hardest part of this whole thing has been a lack of contact with this hippie. the hippie and i are cuddlers--we sleep curled together and we hug and touch each other a lot. and with the baby here and demanding so much of my time and attention, there has been a lack of physical contact with his daddy. it's wearing thin. the other night, i put the baby down in his basket, and he was content there for a few minutes. the hippie hugged me and just being held by him without the baby between us made me cry. don't get me wrong, i am not depressed or anything. i love the baby and could not be happier with how he turned out and how he's growing and developing. but i am definitely still hormonal and in need of some physical comfort myself. that part's kind of hard. but we will adjust, and the baby will become less needy--i know this.

watching the ceiling fan
i am a lucky woman. i have a happy, healthy baby. i have a man who loves me and the baby both. i am healthy myself, and my recovery from the surgery has gone far better than expected. we live in an awesome area to bring up a baby. all is well here in new baby land.

ps--here's a link to the updated set of kieran pics. enjoy! :)

7 comments:

Samantha said...

He is extremely cute Jackie, I'm so happy for you!

Anonymous said...

So glad to hear that everything is going so well. And I'm happy you had the good sense to ignore that lactation specialist. Some of them are WAY overzealous. I couldn't make enough milk for my guy either, and formula has not turned him into an ax murderer.

Baby is adorable! And how smart of you to still love and crave your hippie guy. Most new moms are so swept up in the baby, the poor father gets relegated to diaper duty only.

Rebecca said...

hooray for month one. that's horrible about the lactation consultant. why can't they hire people who are caring and kind? sounds like you have a sweet baby boy on your hands. i hear that it gets better, but can't speak from personal experience as am in that way currently.

Unknown said...

Hi Jackie,
I'm so glad that you and Kieran are doing well. Reading your blog, I almost started crying for you all the stuff you have dealt with it seems. I hope everything just gets better and better. Your little guy is gorgeous! Congratulations to you and the hippie!
Hugs, Janie Bevens

Jenny Massey said...

Love, Love, Love the hand picture! So sweet.

Hey, I know you are BUSY, but if you have time, I was tagged on my blog and thought it would be interesting to hear what you have to say too. So, if you get a chance - check out my post here. http://emjayknits.blogspot.com/2008/06/ive-been-tagged.html

That will also give you a chance to see the new/old blog.

Milli said...

It made me smile like a goon to read this post.

Kristin said...

He's so precious! I'm jealous that Bailey got to see him before I did! Thanks a million for taking care of MY baby. I hope she didn't keep Jason up too late. :0) She is a night owl...often awake long after the rest of us. At least that nap resulted in a bit of a rest. We broke down and called last night and she was up giggling with the new set of girls...imagine that! THANKS, again! K