1 week

I started this post yesterday, but it didn't get finished until now. It's impossible to blog and nurse at the same time.

Can you believe a week has already passed? Everything is going so great and he is the easiest baby. The adjustment to having a newborn has been so easy for us (thanks to the help from our mothers!) and I'm starting to feel normal again. His umbilical cord fell off today, so we are going to start cloth diapering as soon as he plumps up enough to fit into his one-size Flips. I can't wait! Here is what our lives are currently (and happily) wrapped up in:

Breastfeeding: Before I gave birth, I read so many stories of women having a hard time breast feeding, whether it be from low milk supply, sore nipples, incorrect latches, there was always so many pieces that had to be perfect in order for a successful breastfeeding story to come together. I tried to research as much as possible, bought the La Leche League's book- The Womanly Art of Nursing (which is very biased toward  natural birth but has some good information once they finally start talking about breastfeeding... I'm not sure if I recommend it!), and knew that there were many resources out there if we had problems. It turns out, breastfeeding as been really easy for us! Every labor and delivery RN at SMH is a lactation consultant, so while I was in the hospital, I got support and my questions answered at any hour of the day. They even sent a nurse to our house to check on us within a week from coming home from the hospital. I have not experienced hardly any soreness, but we went through a couple of days where Eli would get fussy while trying to latch because I was engorged, but we are smooth sailing now! Yesterday afternoon, I laid on the couch with him cuddled up on my chest, and when he would start rooting around, I'd flip on my side and feed him. We alternated sleeping and eating (with a few diaper changes in between) for hours, and it was wonderful! I am loving everything about the experience!

Sleeping: Eli loves to sleep! I actually have to wake him up to feed him sometimes. His favorite spot to sleep is on anyone's chest, but a close second (when we can stand to put him down) is his vibrating bouncer. He even does pretty well in his pack 'n play (which is where he sleeps in our room) but he has to be swaddled. The sleep sack that we got keeps him cozy for about an hour, but he always seems to break out of it. I think I'm too scared to wrap him tight enough. Eli is letting me sleep in 3-4 hour stretches, and he naps all day, so I usually nap with him. Jonathan can even study at home since Eli doesn't really cry. We got so lucky!

Diaper changes: The boy is a machine! I have lost count of how many diapers we are going through a day. He doesn't mind getting changed at all, but he likes to kick his feet into his diaper. I'm still trying to figure out how to beat him and get the diaper out of the way (without getting poop everywhere) before he gets in it, but he's fast! I have not got pee'd on while changing his diaper, but I have been when he's had his diaper on. I learned that the direction it's pointing is very important!

Postpartum recovery: I finally started feeling good yesterday. It makes moving around so much easier and I finally can concentrate completely on Eli instead of concentrating how to maneuver my body in the least painful way. I had to have an episiotomy because Eli's head was turned the wrong way and the cord was wrapped around his neck twice. We had to get him out of there! It definitely made recovery difficult, but I thought I would be sore for much longer than just a week. The stitches should dissolve in 3 weeks, but I can't even tell that they are there now. The baby weight feels like it is melting off of me so far. I've lost 18 pounds since having him, so just 10 more pounds to go. Breastfeeding really helps the uterus to contract down to it's original size, and I feel like each day that I wake up, my stomach is smaller. I am not doing any dieting or exercising at all for right now. I read somewhere that breastfeeding burns the same calories as running 5 miles a day. I hope that is true! It's fun and amazing to see my body transform back... but I'm not sure that it will every be the same as pre baby, which I am totally fine with!