Emerson's First Week!

Emerson was quite the busy lady during her first official week of life! Between doctor's visits, friends and family visiting, and getting to know mommy, daddy, and big brother better, her days were very full! Here's a recap of her week and how she did at home:

Her first night at home was glorious - she slept for six hours straight! We knew this wouldn't be a nightly occurance, but it's been close. Over the last week, she has been averaging four hour stretches at night which is just fantastic (and our pediatrician has no problem with letting her go more than three hours eating because she's putting on weight at a rapid pace - more on that later)! There has only been one night where she did the typical newborn cycle of waking every 1.5-2 hours. She's been (for the most part) sleeping well during the days too and there have been several days where both her and Ethan are asleep at the same time (major parent points)! The first two weeks is a "do whatever it takes" mentality meaning I'll nurse her whenever she cries, nurse her to sleep, etc. No lie, anytime this baby is awake she is rooting so she's been attached to me A LOT! She's a very quick eater at night - usually 20 minutes and then will go straight back to sleep. During the day is a different story where it's more like a 40 minute session with plenty of snacking sessions too. But again, all that is okay because we are weeks away before she falls into any sort of schedule/structure.

 

Can you tell they're siblings? =)

 

Checking on baby sister

The adjustment with Ethan has been great. Has he tested his boundaries with us? Absolutely. But, he's also getting his molars in which has played a huge role in any fussiness/acting out. His one molar on the bottom came in the week Emerson was born and now the other side is coming in too (along with another bottom tooth). We were never worried about him being jealous or striving for attention. He loves his baby sister and is constantly asking to hold her. For the most part he is very gentle and we try and teach him to only touch her body (hands, belly, feet), but he is obsessed with touching her nose, ears, eyes, and head. There have been several times where he will start off being gentle, but then gets really excited and it leads to more of a hit so he has to be closely monitored =) He's always been concerned when babies cry and that's still definitely the case with Emerson. We just tell him baby sister is hungry or needs a diaper change and then he seems okay with it. People are right when they say watching the interaction between your babies is one of the most gratifying experiences...and to think we're only two weeks in! It just melts my heart when he goes over to the pack-n-play, peers over the edge, stretches out his arms to hold her, and tries to say "baby." Look at these sweet pictures...be still my heart:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We definitely forgot how stinking hard it is to change a newborn's diaper when they are so wiggly and their legs are still scrunched up! I laugh at myself just about every time thinking what an amateur I look like! One big difference between baby one and two is how much cuddle/snuggle time they've received. With Ethan, I had nothing else to do but lay around with him on my chest at all times (and because we were so locked down on the couch with his feeding needs). I've noticed with Emerson the minute I get her to sleep I put her in the pack-n-play so I can get other things done (taking care of Ethan, laundry, etc.). I have tried to do more skin-to-skin with her during Ethan's afternoon naps just to soak up the baby snuggles while I can. Several people told me how different and BIGGER Ethan would look to me once we brought baby home...boy were they right! I swear he's grown a whole inch and looks like a completely different baby to me! (I know, I know - he's not a baby anymore...but calling him a toddler sounds...old). I carry Emerson around who is light as a feather and fits across the length of my chest and then rock my boy to sleep who is like a sack of potatoes and his limbs are dangling off me. My little man!! I think the first week at home was harder on me than Ethan with not being able to pick him up. All I wanted to do was just cuddle with him and smother him with kisses.

My first bath!

On Monday, Emerson had her first doctor's appointment along with a lactation consultation. Emerson has a tongue tie (something that can interfere with nursing), but after watching her nurse the lactation consultant doesn't think it's an issue right now. We may have to end up clipping the little string underneath the tongue at a later date, but for now she's good (we had Ethan's clipped at one month). Her official weigh-in at four days old was 6 lbs. 3 oz. and 20 inches long.

 

Tuesday was a relaxing day at home and Wednesday was full of visitors. Jennifer, her baby Emersyn, Uncle Dave, Aunt Arynn, cousin Hutch, and Papaw all came over in the afternoon for a very fun and active play date! It was sooo good for Ethan and I don't think he stopped laughing the entire time!



 

One of my best friends, Saumya, came by that evening to meet Emerson which was such a joy because she was only in town for a day. Thursday we packed up both kids and headed to the doctor's to get my stitches removed. It was so fun showing baby girl off to all the nurses who had been taking care of me for nine months! Friday and Saturday we spent out at my parents house which was a great change of scenery. Ethan always has so much fun playing outside and it was nice to have an extra set of hands to give Eric a break (plus it was a fun way to spend Emerson's first holiday - 4th of July)! Laura, John, and the kids were in town and we were so grateful to spend time with them both days. Aidan and Sydney are SO great being the older cousins and are seasoned pros at holding newborn babies! Sunday was a day of much needed rest as we prepared for Eric to go back to work the next day.

 

 

I took Emerson back to the doctor on Monday for a quick weight check. I had some concerns about how she was nursing due to her latch, but the scale proved me wrong! At ten days old (and one week after her last weigh in), she tipped the scales at 6 lbs. 13 oz.! I couldn't believe it! Not only had she surpassed her birth weight (goal is to have weight back on by two weeks), but she only surpassed the goal of gaining an ounce per day. My breastfeeding experience is completely different this time around and proving to be wayyyy easier so far. Hope she and I can keep up the good work!

Our entire first week wouldn't have been possible with my amazing husband. Even the nurse reminded us that when you get home from the hospital, pretty much everything falls on the husband due to the lifting/driving restrictions for me and trying to heal my body. He was super-dad with Ethan taking care of him from sun up to sun down - taking him to the pool, going for long walks, being outside as much as possible, taking care of all this meals, bath times, etc. I don't know who had more fun - Ethan or daddy =) Eric mentioned how much fun he was having because these were all things he doesn't normally get a chance to do.

Overall, our first week together went so much better than I had anticipated. We've got amazing friends who brought us meals, incredible family support, and two beautiful, easy-going kids who make life pretty darn easy on us. Feeling extremely blessed <3

Look at my long, skinny legs!

Haha.