I took comfort in knowing that better days are ahead of us...I think it is totally normal for you and your partner to feel stressed and tired while you are adjusting your lives and your relationship to parenting. Without communication and talking through your expectations you could end up resenting each other but the most important thing that you can give you child is two parents who love each other...yet another great piece of advice I was given recently.
I can only imagine that is must be hard for a man to adjust and they say that it comes naturally to a woman so it is easier for us to adjust, it is still tough but we manage because we have to.
I feel as though our relationship definitely took some strain during these first four weeks but after some open communication and expectations things are looking up and I am amazed at what a good job Wayne is doing and the confidence he has gained just from me giving him that little bit of space to figure our tiny boy out all on his own...I guess breathing down someones neck can just add to their lack of confidence.
I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am to have my mom and to have Wayne and his recent helping out, it has given me some extra time to sleep in the mornings and have some "me" time when he comes home in the evenings.
A tired irritable mommy isn't giving 100% of herself and is not giving her child the best during the day so trust me, "us moms" appreciate ALL the help and time out that we can get.
Things have been a lot better this week and I am Grateful with a capital G.
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| 4 weeks old |
How Big?: 4.800 kg and 56 cm. According to the sister he has gained 300 g too much but she isn't too concerned about this.
Clothing Size: Still newborn clothing. We have a cupboard full of clothing and I am dieing to dress him in some of his 0-3 outfits but at the moment they are still a little bit too big. He has worn most of his newborn outfits, even if it is only once. Sometimes we get to change him twice if he wets himself, but that is not often and he has only recently started refluxing occasionally and if I don't manage to catch it in time it ends up on me and him.
Eating: This week after seeing the nursing sister his "eating plan" has changed slightly as she has told us to change his formula because after feeding him a 120 ml bottle he would squeal when it was finished and we would take the bottle out of his mouth. We are slowly weening him off the Similac and onto the Novalac. She said we might experience some tummy issues with the change but we are holding thumbs that this isn't going to be the case. She has changed his eating as by week 6 she wants us to get him into a full routine so he ends up sleeping right through....I will not argue with this.
Sleep: He is sleeping roughly 3 hours between most of his feeds now and the aim is to eventually get him to 6 hours between feeds which means he will then be sleeping for roughly 5 hours at a time. He sleeps in his bassinet but funny enough he sleeps the best in his pram. When he falls asleep with his dummy in his mouth we often find the dummy handle over his nose and I have caught his pushing it like this himself on more than one occasion.
Clothing Size: Still newborn clothing. We have a cupboard full of clothing and I am dieing to dress him in some of his 0-3 outfits but at the moment they are still a little bit too big. He has worn most of his newborn outfits, even if it is only once. Sometimes we get to change him twice if he wets himself, but that is not often and he has only recently started refluxing occasionally and if I don't manage to catch it in time it ends up on me and him.
Eating: This week after seeing the nursing sister his "eating plan" has changed slightly as she has told us to change his formula because after feeding him a 120 ml bottle he would squeal when it was finished and we would take the bottle out of his mouth. We are slowly weening him off the Similac and onto the Novalac. She said we might experience some tummy issues with the change but we are holding thumbs that this isn't going to be the case. She has changed his eating as by week 6 she wants us to get him into a full routine so he ends up sleeping right through....I will not argue with this.
Sleep: He is sleeping roughly 3 hours between most of his feeds now and the aim is to eventually get him to 6 hours between feeds which means he will then be sleeping for roughly 5 hours at a time. He sleeps in his bassinet but funny enough he sleeps the best in his pram. When he falls asleep with his dummy in his mouth we often find the dummy handle over his nose and I have caught his pushing it like this himself on more than one occasion.
Movement: Wiggle wiggle worm...his arms, legs, head...they never stop moving and beware because he will headbutt you. His eyes are now darting all over the show this week. He is staring and exploring his surrounds constantly. He loves to lay in his superman pose.
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| Our little Superman |
Milestones: He went to his first restaurant with mommy and daddy this week and he was so well behaved. First time he had a diaper blowout and it was MESSY.He sucked his thumb for the first time and that was such a proud moment for mommy as silly as that may sound to some of you...once you have your own baby you will experience moments like these. He has definitely found his tongue this week as well - so cute!
Excitement this week: Wayne had some spare time in the day and the three of us got to spend some QT together, we went to grab some sushi at a local restaurant and it was nice to get out with my boys. His first thumb suck brought about a lot of excitement in our house - proud moment.
Nappy changes and bath times are getting a little better, there are times where he hardly cries at all. Occasionally he still screams blue murder but I feel things are improving here.
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| Our little monkey at bath time |
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| Isn't this just the cutest? He sleeps like this often on my chest. |
Four weeks post-partum: This week I lost the 2 kg that I gained last week but I feel huge and the fact that I am not eating regular small meals isn't helping. I kind of eat when I can at the moment and this needs to change, fast. I really want to go to the gym, yes I get that I am going to appreciate these first few weeks with Camden and I shouldn't be making gym or dieting my first priority but 2 hours out of my day to de-stress at gym( be this at gym or at home) and shower can be done while he sleeps. I don't sleep or rest in the day so I don't feel me training is going to be a crime and I could really do with this me time. There is nothing like gym to put things back into perspective.
Physically, I am suffering with back ache and my ovaries are aching, it is rather unpleasant.
Other than that, this has been a better week all in all.
Much love
Physically, I am suffering with back ache and my ovaries are aching, it is rather unpleasant.
Other than that, this has been a better week all in all.
Much love
