week one

Hard things:

• Night one at home. Ok, nights one and two were pretty rough. Friday night was insanely overwhelming. Crawford just wanted to nurse all.night.long. and I couldn't take it. Turns out, my milk hadn't come in yet (and it didn't until Monday... no one warns you that that is possible!), and the poor boy was hungry! About 3am we got a hold of an on-call nurse from the pediatrician's office, and she told us to supplement with formula. Thankfully, it worked and Crawford went to sleep about 5am. He took a bottle without any problem, and we supplemented with formula (after each breastfeeding) until going to the dr Monday. You never had nipple confusion and always preferred the breast over the bottle. Thank goodness!
• David not being home. He went back to work on Monday because my sister had this entire week off work (she starts a new job next week and had time off between the old and new one), and she offered to be here to help. We wanted to take advantage of her offer and save David's time off for when there isn't anyone else around. The realization of David leaving really hit us on Sunday, and the melt-downs began. We both spent the day in quite a funk just dreading the inevitable. I guess we prepared ourselves for the worst because we've all done really well and had a great week.
• Change. The realization that newborn babies aren't necessarily fun and that staying home for 6ish weeks (darn RSV and flu going around...) may be pretty lonely and that changing 20 (yes, 20!!) diapers and countless outfits (of the baby's and mine) a day gets tiring, well... that is hard to swallow. Our day on Sunday was riddled with tears. 
• Keeping up with your "schedule". Sarah recommended the Baby ESP app for my phone, and that has been so helpful, but dang it's hard to figure out and remember how often should I feed you/should I keep you awake between feedings/how can I get you to sleep longer stretches at night/etc. The first few nights were trying, but we have all gotten better as the days have gone by. Each day is still different from the previous ones so who knows what tomorrow will hold, but for now I'm pleased with our progress! I'm feeding you every 2-2.5 hours during the day, trying to keep you awake as much as possible (often to no avail), "cluster feeding" in the evenings and crossing our fingers for night time :). You've been getting up 2 times at night for a diaper change and a feeding, and you go right back to sleep. 

Fun things:

• Aunt Duck. Ash called Crawford her little duck the whole time I was pregnant, so we decided it would be a cute aunt nickname for him to call her. Also, Chase is going to be Uncle Bill (his name is William Chase). He isn't thrilled about it, but we're going to make it stick. Ashley has been here all week, and she has been the biggest blessing ever. Not only does she love our boy nearly as much as David and I do (if that's even possible), she has been the greatest servant I could have asked for. She has changed more diapers, done more laundry and made more meals than I could have imagined I'd have help with during this first week! Crawford is seriously going to miss having her around to love on him, but I'M going to miss her company more than anything (and I'm crying as I write this!). Chase even got to come up on Wednesday and work from his company's Chattanooga office for two days while he hung out with us in the evenings. It has been such a fun week together. 
• Friends who visit (and bring sweet gifts!). Jodi and Greg came on Sunday, made us dinner, cleaned our house, walked our dog, and let me cry (lots!) to them. They were exactly what we needed exactly when we needed it. Becca came to spend the day with us AND take hours of newborn pictures of Crawford. Leigh and Max came over and brought the ingredients for pomegranate margaritas! It was an awesome surprise. Kara and Ryan were in town for the weekend and got to meet C! They brought dinner, too! All the Bryant kids (including MS and Pat, who were in town for the weekend too) came to meet their new little buddy. John was so cute to be sure that he was dressed in appropriate "baby safe" clothes. Becca Hart, Aunt Pat, Anna C., and the list of people who have called and texted goes on and on and on! I think I'm going to really appreciate company in the coming weeks when I'm home by myself, and can't go many places outside the house!

• Going to the pediatrician. Ashley left Birmingham at the crack of dawn Monday morning so she could be here in time to help us go to the pediatrician's office. Thank goodness she was there! I don't know if I could have done it without her. The dr was awesome. We've had to switch doctors because of an insurance snafu, so I was nervous about seeing someone we hadn't actually met before. Dr. Brannon was so wonderful and reassuring though. Crawford weighed 5 lbs, 14 oz when we left the hospital on Friday, and by Monday he was up to 6 lbs, 5 oz! He had gained 7 oz and was above his birth weight! I was so excited, and the dr was so encouraging that I was doing a good job feeding him.
• Breast feeding. You're pretty great at it! I love that this isn't something we've had to struggle with because it is such a sweet time together. I haven't minded letting other people hold you all day long because I know that no one else can have that special time we get together.
• Mommy friends that I can go to for advice. I posted one question on facebook on day two at home, and got 40 helpful responses (and one not-so-helpful-not-so-encouraging-to-a-3-day post-partum-mama that got deleted :)) and a dozen lengthy messages! I was overwhelmed with all the good info! I've texted tons of questions to lots of different friends, and I've inundated my in-person mama friends with even more inquiries! I'm so thankful to have lots of people to learn from.
• Face time. Since Ashley was here all week with her iPhone (I don't have one), my parents got to see loads of the little man. We face-timed with my mom, dad, brother, Courtney and Chase all pretty frequently throughout the week. They just watched him nap or look around, and we all could have spent days that way! We've introduced all of David's family to Crawford via face time since none of them have been able to be here yet. 

Things we've learned about Crawford:

• You love to sleep on your side. I put you in your crib and you immediately roll onto your right side to sleep. 
• You occasionally find your pointer finger and suck on it. It's adorable. 
• You hardly cry. I'm not even exaggerating. You're sometimes unhappy, but you rarely voice it by crying. Even when you wake up at night, you just chill in your crib until I hear you and get you up. Thank you for that!
• You sneeze an awful lot. I don't know if this is typical, but it's seriously cute.
• You are more sensitive to light than to sounds. Harley freaks out and barks at people outside the window, and you don't even flinch.
• Speaking of Harley, you guys don't seem to notice each other. I'm sure you will one day, but for now it's super nice that he is being pretty chill and low-maintenance. He does tend to linger near wherever you are. I'm pretty sure he knows you're something special.
• You are a tiny heater! You definitely got that from your daddy. 
• So far, you like your car seat, take a paci (Nuk brand) and tolerated the bath. You're really a laid back little dude. 

There are so many details to your little life even in this very first week. It amazes me how drastically our lives have changed, and how much we love our new normal!

Oh, and there's no way I'll keep up with a post for each week. Ha! I'll do my best.