The first week of Crew's life was pretty overwhelming. My mom stayed after the birth for a few days and was a LIFESAVER! She cleaned the house, fed me, held Crew between feedings, changed diapers, etc. I don't know if I could have survived without her! I was really exhausted and was trying to recover from the after effects of childbirth - it hurt to sit, it hurt to stand, walking was a chore..., let's just say it was rough. Breastfeeding was a bit of a challenge, but not more than is typical. It took a couple of days for my milk to come in, which created some all-night nursing sessions. And when my milk DID come in, the engorgement lasted a couple of days and it was hard to get Crew to latch on. By the end of the first week breastfeeding was becoming easier and I was starting to heal physically.
Week two was an improvement. I got out of the house a couple of times and took Crew to the doctor for his PKU shot. That was a terrible experience because he started to get hungry right before they poked his heel, and when I asked if I could feed him they said the PKU shouldn't take very long and I should just feed him afterwards. Well, half an hour of Crew screaming at the top of his lungs while the nurses squeezed tiny drops of blood out of his little heel made me regret giving in to the nurse's suggestion to "just wait and feed him when we're all through." Lesson learned. I will be one of those moms who gets her way when it comes to my little guy.
Crew also went in to the doctor during his second week to get his frenulum clipped. That's the little piece of skin under the tongue, which in his case was preventing him from sticking his tongue out past his lips. That appointment went so much better than the PKU! For one thing, Spencer came, so I wasn't there by myself. And Crew didn't cry at all when they gave him the numbing shot or when they clipped his tongue. The bleeding was pretty minimal as well. He can now stick his cute little tongue way out!
Week three: steady progress! I was now able to sit pretty comfortably in almost any type of chair, we took Crew to church, breastfeeding was well established, and I finally felt like I was getting the hang of things. I even felt good enough to teach my primary class. I went grocery shopping with Spencer and Crew, and once by myself while Spencer watched Crew. And I visited the elementary school where I used to teach. It was fun to see the teachers and some former students. And of course everyone loved Crew!
We are now halfway through week four. Crew is sleeping a little longer between feedings at night, which is very helpful for me. Spencer has been sleeping in the other room on our futon so he can go to work every day. But soon he would like to try sleeping in the bedroom again now that Crew is not awake all night. I just want to be sure at least one of us is well rested every night.
I can't quite fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans yet, but I have a pair of pre-pregnancy khakis that I can get into. My stitches have healed up and I don't have any problems with sitting anymore. Hooray! Crew is getting a little faster at breast-feeding, but still comes unlatched now and then when he is fussy. He almost never spits up. He's getting chubby and is just as handsome as ever!
I'm sure there is a lot more I should mention about these first few weeks of Crew's life, but I'm not sure how much longer he will stay asleep, and I feel like I need to take advantage of his nap and take a nap of my own! So that's all for now. We sure love our little guy!
