One Month

It's been one whole month now since C entered the world. So, here are some thoughts and highlights about the last month with our newest addition.

He certainly hada bit of a rough start, with his broken clavicle and breathing issues, spending the first six days of his life in the NICU. It was kind of nice for me, as I spent much of time in the hospital with C, receiving free room and food service while I was there (courtesy of the hospital-- nice!). My mother-in-law and Nick mostly took care of my older two boys. So it was rather like a mini-vacation for me.

All-in-all, not a bad experience as hospital stays go. Wonderful doctors and wonderful staff. I only really had two complaints: 1. Having to wear gloves all the time to handle my baby (at least they weren'tthe old-fashioned latex ones with the icky powder in them); and 2. about three days into his stay, C developed a diaper rash which I am still working to get rid of. I think it's from a yeast infection, coupled with being in disposable diapers and not being changed right away every time he pooped in the NICU. Not that I can really be upset with the nurses; they had at last six other babies to deal with, too, and babies can be pretty stealthy with their poo, too.

Since bringing him home, it's been a good experience so far. A little stressful and exhausting at times, but generally I have been really enjoying this baby. I've hardly had any pain breastfeeding this time. And C is a pretty easy baby, much moreso than Z who was definitely "high needs" (and still is). Really, our biggest challenge so far has been the diaper rash as mentioned before; everything else has been pretty "hunky-dory."

I'm feeling really good. No signs of post-partum depression this time, which is a relief. I was in tears almost every day when Z was a newborn, but this time I feel genuinely happy, confident, and well-balanced between relaxation and productivity.

Last night was C's first night where he wasn't pooping every single time he woke up (typically about 2-3 times per night), which was a nice change. He still needed diaper changes, as he was sopping wet; but no poop irritating his poor bum means swifter recovery from his rash. Though he made up for the no-poop-all-might by giving us one massive blow-out diaper this morning. But I don't mind. And by the way, cloth diapers are THE BEST at containing massive blowouts; if C had been in a disposable at the time I would have had poo all in my lap and down my leg and C would have been going straight to the tub.

It was nice having my parents and my little sister come to visit last weekend for C's baby blessing. We made good use of our time together, I think. Only downside is C got used to being held a lot more often, including during naps, so now we're having to "wean" him off of being held all the time. But that's okay; I'm still glad my family came.

The weather is warming up, and the boys and I have been on a few walks, which is fun. So far C's slept through all of them, but by this summer he should be more alert to actually enjoy being outdoors more.

Z, being a physical boy that he is, tries to be affectionate with his baby brother; which would be great, except Z's idea of being afectionate with his baby brother usually includes a series of pokes in the face, and an attempt to squeeze the life out of the poor kid by practically laying on top of him in an effort to give him a "hug."Also, whenever the baby cries both boys want to try holding their brother to comfort him, and it's hard for them (especially Z) to understand that their holding their brother is unfortunately NOT what the baby needs in order to stop crying. But it's sweet that they want to try, and I will often let them hold the baby for several seconds before I take him back to nurse him or change his diaper.

C is already starting to wear some 3-6 month clothes, though most of the 0-3 month clothes still fit him, too. He has a noticeably long torso and shorter legs, just like his older brothers. It will be interesting to see how much longer he fits in his infant carrier/carseat; seems like Z was only in it for a couple of months.

Time to end this post, as C is growing fussy. Happy one month anniversary!