Friday, March 4, 2016

TRUE LIFE: Living with a Newborn


Living with a Newborn: It is both incredibly amazing and incredibly hard.

Incredibly Amazing: The little LIFE that you carried in your womb for 9 months and that you birthed into the world, is now safe and sound earth-side and is YOURS forever —— also incredibly amazing and could be another blog submission of its own is how stinkin’ CUTE they are — which, let’s be honest, is WHY they can get away with half the stunts they pull that make living with a newborn kinda sorta incredibly hard ;)

Incredibly Hard: That same little precious life now enjoys long bouts of crying for no reason, peeing on walls during diaper changes, and living like a vampire by sleeping during the day and wanting to party and stay up at night

Case in point — here is a typical day in our household that is shared by the following roommates:
Me, Hubby J, Two Labs Jackson and Bella, and then the star of the show, 3-Week-Old Lawson

7:00 AM - Lawson wakes and is ready to eat, Dogs are exhausted from a long night of wake ups and refuse to get out of bed - J getting up 

7:15 AM - Diaper Change, Clothes Change

7:30 AM - I attempt to pump while J gets ready for work and tends to Baby Law

8:00 AM - J has left for work and I am now solely in charge (Terrifying! What if I break him?)

8:15 AM - Baby in one hand, coffee in the other (maybe a couple of sips, if I’m lucky)

8:30 AM - Attempt to set Baby Law down as I try to make breakfast

8:32 AM - Baby Law caught on to my scheme and lets out a loud squeal - clearly not digging his swing!

8:33 - 8:45 AM Console and try to get Baby Law happy again

9:00 AM - Second and sometimes third attempt at breakfast (L is finally dozing off for a nap)

9:05 - 9:10 AM - Scarfing down breakfast (maybe a piece of toast - no time to make the the eggs) as fast as I can while I watch and wait for L to wake up at any moment

9:10 AM - Ahhhh, breakfast complete. L is sleeping. Time to get some chores done.

9:11 AM - “Yeah right, Mom” I imagine Baby Law thinking as he stirs from his slumber and reminds me that it’s time for his second breakfast. Chores can wait.

9:12 - 10 AM - Feeding, Diaper Change, Fresh pair of clothes, Singing, Rocking, Tummy time, Snuggles with Mom, and finally L drifts back to sleep

10 AM - 12 PM - An incredibly amazing 2 HOUR NAP (done by baby, not me)
Although this is when I should be sleeping, like a knucklehead I use this time to catch up on cleaning, laundry, work emails, etc -- Although lets not kid myself. I look at work emails and get distracted before I end up being able to reply to them. Must go wash the poop out of the baby blankets!

NOON - Another feeding, another diaper change, and quite possibly another fussy baby.

12:45 - 1:30 PM - Outdoor Vitamin D time via stroller in the backyard - pausing to play fetch with my other two children (Jackson and Bella - our just as needy labrador children)

1:30 - 2:00 PM - Baby decides he’s over the backyard and is hungry again — feeding, diaper changing, playing the staring game with momma ensues (I love this part!...as long as he stays happy!)

2:00 - 3:00 PM - L is wide awake. Not interested in a nap right now. Not interested in being sat down in a bouncer, in a swing, or on his tummy. He just wants to be held and burped and stare at his mom. I oblige :)

3:00 PM - It’s time for ELLEN! Yes, the TV show. No matter what kind of day I’m having, this gal always makes me smile and somehow makes it better. Fortunately, Baby Law seems to have a mutual respect for this because he loves to snuggle up and sleep on my chest for the hour-long program

4:00 - 7:00 PM - During this time frame is when J gets home from work and gets his well-deserved Daddy & Baby time. It’s also the time where I get to sit down and pee without a baby monitor, or without being in a frantic rush because I hear a crying baby in another room. I also even sneak in a couple of minutes in a hot shower and jam some loud Destiny’s Child tunes. Better hurry though. Is that a crying baby I hear? Following my shower and another feeding for L, J and I take turns handing off the baby to do things like cook dinner, check the mail, play with the doggies, pick up the house, etc. I also try to fit in another pumping session before bed, as we well as a quick walk around the neighborhood with the whole family. Once dinner is devoured (one-handed mind you - because again little babes is always up from a nap at the EXACT MOMENT we get sat down to have a meal), we then try to start winding down the day with some adult conversation, an oatmeal bath for L, another feeding, diaper change, and pre-bed swaddle session.

8:00 - 10 PM - Lawson’s favorite time of the day to be fussy for no apparent reason. He has been nursed, been changed, been bathed, been loved on, been held, been snuggled, been bounced, been burped, been sang to, been hugged, been kissed, been prayed over, been kissed some more. The truth of the matter is, the kid just ISN’T tired at this time no matter what we try. And really, it’d be cool with me to stay up and party with him during this time if he was a chill little dude and wanted to catch up on Netflix with me. But no, these two hours are more often than not spent trying to console our loudly crying baby. Pacing the floors of our house with our two labs right on our heels making sure we aren’t harming him. Night owl, colic, or normal nighttime infant fussiness? Who knows. Who cares. It just breaks my heart when we can’t get our precious little person to stop crying for at times, what feels like hours on end.

11 PM - Okay, praise Jesus! Baby L is finally calm, content, swaddled and is laid down in his bassinet. Time for J and I to hurry and get to bed ourselves! Love you! Mean it! Goodnight!

1:00 - 1:45 AM - Baby Wakes, Feeding, Burp, Rock back to Sleep (J’s shift)
3:00 - 3:45 AM - Baby Wakes, Feeding, Burp, Rock back to Sleep (J’s shift)
5:00 - 5:45 AM - Baby Wakes, Feeding, Burp, Rock back to Sleep (My Shift)
NOTE: Not all feedings go smoothly as planned. Sometimes Lawson falls asleep mid-dining, or gets ultra fussy from gas filling up his tummy. So, some feedings to back down to sleep last about 45 minutes. But some last longer. Similarly, some nights Lawson goes longer between feeding sessions, and then other times, he wants to wake up every hour on the hour. Either way, I'm just happy as heck that I have the MOST AMAZING partner in all of this and helps me in every way he can.

7:00 AM — Time to wake up and start the day all over again!  Tired. Eyes Puffy. Hair a Mess. Breastmilk and Spit up all over PJs. Roll over and see the little angel face that makes every single moment of mommy-hood worth it.

There ya have it. An extremely generalized day for us. Some days are amazing and some days are incredibly hard. Some days I get through the day with all smiles, but then other days I break down and cry as often as my newborn. Regardless of how the day went, ALL DAYS are so appreciated. We are so in love with our little. We are so blessed to have him, hold him, and be his parents. I cannot imagine a more beautiful and precious little soul and I look so forward to being is momma and sharing a beautiful and precious little life with him.




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