State of the baby - 100 days
While we're not from the Asian continent in the least, I can see the wisdom of celebrating the first 100 days of a baby's life. So many things change, and we've gone from completely wiped out and at the end of our rope to establishing a routine that seems to be working in general.
Things I enjoyed:
- holding a tiny little man for hours at a time in the hospital, just keeping him warm.
- watching Craig care for him at all stages.
- first smiles.
Things I did not enjoy:
- getting the hang of nursing.
- screaming fits when he hadn't gotten the hang of his insides yet.
- being completely wiped out due to lack of sleep.
Things I would do again:
- have a baby? While Craig's apparently hesitant, I don't have any doubt that I eventually want at least one more child. I've always felt that only children must have been lonely growing up, so I've never even considered only having one baby.
- use the midwives at the hospital. It was comforting to know that the emergency care would be there if necessary, but I pretty much got through it with Craig's help. Even proven, I don't think I'd go further than a birth center near a hospital, and Craig would probably prefer the hospital.
Things I would do differently:
- maybe have someone at home, at least a little each day, for the first week or two. This idea really bothered me the first time, but I think it would be a really good thing next time. I think supporting everything by himself was way too much for Craig to handle on the lack of sleep he shared with us, and we both sort of crashed.
- take the full three months off of work, even if we think we can't afford it. I think we could really have used the other month to bond more and not make the transition to bottles so quickly. Little man's having a little trouble switching back and forth, and I wouldn't want to hurry another baby. I also feel out of touch with Jonathan sometimes, and wish that I'd gotten to share more of the time when he's getting to know his environment and caretakers. I feel very much that I'm missing out on that.
I think that's the short summary so far. He's a happy little guy when his tummy isn't bothering him, and I look forward to a time when my time with him isn't 97% nursing and we can play more.
Things I enjoyed:
- holding a tiny little man for hours at a time in the hospital, just keeping him warm.
- watching Craig care for him at all stages.
- first smiles.
Things I did not enjoy:
- getting the hang of nursing.
- screaming fits when he hadn't gotten the hang of his insides yet.
- being completely wiped out due to lack of sleep.
Things I would do again:
- have a baby? While Craig's apparently hesitant, I don't have any doubt that I eventually want at least one more child. I've always felt that only children must have been lonely growing up, so I've never even considered only having one baby.
- use the midwives at the hospital. It was comforting to know that the emergency care would be there if necessary, but I pretty much got through it with Craig's help. Even proven, I don't think I'd go further than a birth center near a hospital, and Craig would probably prefer the hospital.
Things I would do differently:
- maybe have someone at home, at least a little each day, for the first week or two. This idea really bothered me the first time, but I think it would be a really good thing next time. I think supporting everything by himself was way too much for Craig to handle on the lack of sleep he shared with us, and we both sort of crashed.
- take the full three months off of work, even if we think we can't afford it. I think we could really have used the other month to bond more and not make the transition to bottles so quickly. Little man's having a little trouble switching back and forth, and I wouldn't want to hurry another baby. I also feel out of touch with Jonathan sometimes, and wish that I'd gotten to share more of the time when he's getting to know his environment and caretakers. I feel very much that I'm missing out on that.
I think that's the short summary so far. He's a happy little guy when his tummy isn't bothering him, and I look forward to a time when my time with him isn't 97% nursing and we can play more.