Back to the Land of the (Somewhat) Living
I'm back! I'm back!
I hardly need to update anyone, or post pictures,
deleva and
gaviedrummerhave done an amazing job documenting the past several days. It occured to me this morning that if the activities of last week happened to the characters on a TV show, it would have to happen during sweeps week or a season finale. The grandma of one of the main characters dies then the day after her funeral the couple have a baby? Such melodrama. People would roll their eyes.
We are functioning on extreme sleep deprivation at this point. I find myself dozing off here and there, and I'm so tired I go straight into dream sleep, dream I'm having a conversation with someone, then wake up somewhat and answer people who aren't even there. It's wierd.
Madeline is so beautiful and perfect. I am completely in awe of her. I can't believe this little person was living inside me! It's the strangest thing. Even though this is my second, it has been so long since Elias was this tiny, and I can barely remember. I'm sure the sleep deprivation of that time blocked a lot of it out, too!
She is settling into some regular patterns. She eats about every 2 hours now. The feeding situation has been strange. I have been breast feeding as much as possible, but because of my reduction surgery 13 years ago, I am not able to get much milk out. So we use this goofy supplemental feeding system that gives her formula in addition to the milk she can get from me.
And by the way, I hereby nominate Gavin for "Father of the Year." No joke. He is covering so much at home, in addition to taking care of my sorry self (can you believe people actually CHOOSE to have c-sections??? They must be out of their frigging MINDS!). The last 2 nights when Madeline got a little fussy he took her out to the living room and rocked her back to sleep. I told him to wake me up in a couple hours and I would take over so he could get some sleep, too. Both nights, I woke up 4 hours later, and came out to find him dozing in the rocking chair (still rocking, mind you) with Madeline sound asleep on his chest. I would take a picture, but since he was in his boxers he would probably kill me, but trust me, it's one of the sweetest sights you could ever see. Madeline also loves sucking on his fingers for some reason (she sucks on mine too sometimes, but she prefers Gavin's) and we have found that sometimes when she refuses the breast she will take the feeding system off of his fingers. He gave her 2 feedings that way last night. He is also an absolute pro when it comes to burping her. He has the perfect rhythm and he can maintain it for ages. I suspect that being a drummer has something to do with it!
He helped me take a shower last night, which is not one of the more pleasant chores, as I need help changing my dressing and I have to hold my little drainage "grenade" so I only have one hand and I need stuff handed to me. He has been subjected twice to baby pee running down his arm and just kind of laughs it off (and then runs to wash his arm!). I appreciate him so much. He does so much, so selflessy. I am so lucky to have my little family. Even Elias has stepped up to the plate. He has done everything we have asked, no whining, no complaining. He has done it cheerfully, from unloading the dishwasher to switching over the laundry even to cleaning his room (okay, he whined a little bit about that one, but he has been working on it all day and made some incredible progress).
And in case you are wondering how the heck I have found the time for such a long post, I have had to take a few breaks during its composition to change a poopy diaper, attempt a feeding (we resorted to finger feeding again, she was kind of cranky) and help Elias for a part of the room cleaning (mainly me helping consists of sitting in his room and keeping him on task). So the days are busy, and we don't get much sleep but I absolutely adore my family, and if this was how Maddie had to come out to keep her safe and sound, then that's okay.
She is asleep right now in her little vibrating sling thingee that my mom got her for the baby shower (it doesn't vibrate right now though, because we need a D battery). She is wearing a diaper and has kicked off her little receiving blanket-- it's kind of warm in here. But she has this little frown on her face like she is concentrating, and her little foot sticking out just melts my heart. I love her little feet. Her toes are just magic, and she has these long, thin fingers that are so delicate and beautiful.
Okay, I'll stop. But trust me, she's perfect.
I hardly need to update anyone, or post pictures,
deleva and
gaviedrummerhave done an amazing job documenting the past several days. It occured to me this morning that if the activities of last week happened to the characters on a TV show, it would have to happen during sweeps week or a season finale. The grandma of one of the main characters dies then the day after her funeral the couple have a baby? Such melodrama. People would roll their eyes.
We are functioning on extreme sleep deprivation at this point. I find myself dozing off here and there, and I'm so tired I go straight into dream sleep, dream I'm having a conversation with someone, then wake up somewhat and answer people who aren't even there. It's wierd.
Madeline is so beautiful and perfect. I am completely in awe of her. I can't believe this little person was living inside me! It's the strangest thing. Even though this is my second, it has been so long since Elias was this tiny, and I can barely remember. I'm sure the sleep deprivation of that time blocked a lot of it out, too!
She is settling into some regular patterns. She eats about every 2 hours now. The feeding situation has been strange. I have been breast feeding as much as possible, but because of my reduction surgery 13 years ago, I am not able to get much milk out. So we use this goofy supplemental feeding system that gives her formula in addition to the milk she can get from me.
And by the way, I hereby nominate Gavin for "Father of the Year." No joke. He is covering so much at home, in addition to taking care of my sorry self (can you believe people actually CHOOSE to have c-sections??? They must be out of their frigging MINDS!). The last 2 nights when Madeline got a little fussy he took her out to the living room and rocked her back to sleep. I told him to wake me up in a couple hours and I would take over so he could get some sleep, too. Both nights, I woke up 4 hours later, and came out to find him dozing in the rocking chair (still rocking, mind you) with Madeline sound asleep on his chest. I would take a picture, but since he was in his boxers he would probably kill me, but trust me, it's one of the sweetest sights you could ever see. Madeline also loves sucking on his fingers for some reason (she sucks on mine too sometimes, but she prefers Gavin's) and we have found that sometimes when she refuses the breast she will take the feeding system off of his fingers. He gave her 2 feedings that way last night. He is also an absolute pro when it comes to burping her. He has the perfect rhythm and he can maintain it for ages. I suspect that being a drummer has something to do with it!
He helped me take a shower last night, which is not one of the more pleasant chores, as I need help changing my dressing and I have to hold my little drainage "grenade" so I only have one hand and I need stuff handed to me. He has been subjected twice to baby pee running down his arm and just kind of laughs it off (and then runs to wash his arm!). I appreciate him so much. He does so much, so selflessy. I am so lucky to have my little family. Even Elias has stepped up to the plate. He has done everything we have asked, no whining, no complaining. He has done it cheerfully, from unloading the dishwasher to switching over the laundry even to cleaning his room (okay, he whined a little bit about that one, but he has been working on it all day and made some incredible progress).
And in case you are wondering how the heck I have found the time for such a long post, I have had to take a few breaks during its composition to change a poopy diaper, attempt a feeding (we resorted to finger feeding again, she was kind of cranky) and help Elias for a part of the room cleaning (mainly me helping consists of sitting in his room and keeping him on task). So the days are busy, and we don't get much sleep but I absolutely adore my family, and if this was how Maddie had to come out to keep her safe and sound, then that's okay.
She is asleep right now in her little vibrating sling thingee that my mom got her for the baby shower (it doesn't vibrate right now though, because we need a D battery). She is wearing a diaper and has kicked off her little receiving blanket-- it's kind of warm in here. But she has this little frown on her face like she is concentrating, and her little foot sticking out just melts my heart. I love her little feet. Her toes are just magic, and she has these long, thin fingers that are so delicate and beautiful.
Okay, I'll stop. But trust me, she's perfect.