Six Weeks Postpartum

Today was my 6 week follow up visit at the Obstetrician's office. I was glad to see Dr. Polender again! It may sound silly, but over these past 9 months, Colt and I feel like we've become friends with her. When she came in the room, she hugged me, and presented us with the cutest t-shirt for Cash. It says "Delivered With Care by Dr. Polender". Love it! Cash was a well behaved little gentleman during our visit. In fact, he's been sleeping most of the day today. I think he might be getting a little bit of a cold. He was congested last week, but after having the humidifier in the room, and a few "sessions" of sitting in a steamy bathroom, it seemed to be going away. When I brought him to see my mother at work the other day for her birthday, he was sounding congested again. I kept him home from church tonight as its been really cold and rainy all day. I'm hoping all of this sleeping is helping him to fight off a cold. I'll probably check his temperature when he wakes up again, just to be sure. I love how I'm basically talking to myself, but typing it out for the world to see my thought processes. :) On to the happenings this week in "Babyland".

Cash is 6 weeks old today! I know I say this in pretty much every post, but time is really flying by. He is continuing to grow out of more and more outfits. Those onesies that were just a little bit long on him a few weeks ago are now becoming a little bit tight and the snaps are starting to strain. His little sweatpants that we stocked up on in the first few weeks are quickly becoming to tight for his growing belly. Last night, he wore some 3 month pajamas. I can't wait to debut one of his 3 month outfits on Sunday at church. I tried it on him last night and just started laughing because he looked so adorable. We've started to use a lot of our "baby stuff" this week that had previously been sitting in the closet, awaiting Cash's arrival. We got a play mat for "tummy time" and we let him try that out one night. He seemed to be indifferent about the playmat, but showed a profound dislike for tummy time. He tried the Bumbo seat last night and loved it. He's still a little bit to young to sit up by himself, but did well holding himself up for about 30-60 seconds at a time. Moe loved that Cash was on his level. Another baby related item that I've gotten some good use out of is my sling. My mom bought it for me at TJ Maxx or Marshalls or one of those types of stores. I think I've seen them at Ross as well. Its black and white, and its by Infantino. At first, I wasn't sure how much I'd really use it, but I really wanted one. I have to say, its been awesome! I made dinner last night, and put Cash in his swing so I'd have both hands free. It seemed like every two minutes, he'd drop his pacifier and I'd have to trek back over to the swing and put it back in his mouth. After a while, this became very frustrating. I remembered my sling that was sitting in the closet, and decided I'd give it a whirl. I put it on and laid him down in it, and after about 5 minutes, he had fallen right to sleep. I had used the swing one time previously in a similar situation when I was trying to wash bottles, and he had the same reaction. The sling holds him up close to my body in a position that cradles him, so he feels secure, but I have free use of both hands! I'm still in love with our swing. Its one of the best purchases we've made. I don't know if I've mentioned its "special feature" before, but my favorite thing about it is the seat part comes off, and it allows you to snap his carseat/carrier on to the base. Its great for when you're coming in from the car, and you don't want to wake the baby, you can just stick his carrier on the swing base, and start it up! Its also got a built in sound machine of nature sounds, fast music, slow music, and a heartbeat noise, as well as a jack to plug your I-POD into for a more personalized playlist. The only downside is that the motor tends to be a little bit loud, but not so loud that it wakes the baby, or annoys us. The first motor that came with it was very loud, and after complaining to Babies-R-Us, they gave us another one free of charge. The swing is a little bit pricey, but we saved up our gift cards for it, and its been worth every cent. Speaking of things that a pricey, DIAPERS AND WIPES! I underestimated the amount of diapers we go through in a day. Maybe its a new mother thing, but I'm always paranoid about leaving him with a wet diaper even if its not super soaked. We still buy the "expensive" diapers (Pampers Swaddlers), but we've switched from the Pampers wipes to the Target brand. The Pampers wipes were soft, and did the job, but I really didn't like the packaging. Every time I tried to get a wipe out, I'd end up pulling 3 or 4 out, and having to put them back in the box after I was finished. I tried the Target wipes, which are much cheaper and I feel like they do a better job! They've got a little bit of a "ply" (I don't know how else to describe it--but looks somewhat like a paper towel). They're still pretty soft, and the best part is that the containers have a smaller opening, so its easier to pull out one at at time. For a box of like 700 or 800 wipes, its $11! I also bought several of the smaller packages of about 80 wipes which are only $2. I got one for the diaper bag, and one for the pack-n-play changing table which is still in our bedroom. I can't believe I've dedicated this many words to Target wipes...anyway, they're awesome. Cash's sleep schedule has improved significantly over these last few days. I sincerely hope I'm not jinxing myself. Colt and I have been going to be earlier which could be the cause of Cash's better bedtime schedule. He's been waking up about 2 to 3 times per night, and going right back to sleep after I feed and change him. Its been wonderful!

Cash is still continuing to smile more and more everyday. He has been chuckling in his sleep from time to time, but still hasn't laughed in his waking hours. He loves being talked to. I love watching his eyes get really wide when I talk to him and give him kisses. He has been getting really close to Colt in these past few weeks also. I'm so thankful that Colt is home with me, because it really gives Cash some great bonding time with his Daddy! Cash just stares up at him when Colt holds him. Colt has even developed some of his own little tricks! He was watching me nurse the other day, and asked me what I was doing when I had to move Cash around to wake him up to finish eating. I explained what I was doing, and Colt said, "When I feed him his breastmilk bottles, I twist the bottle around in his mouth to wake him up." So cute! I love that he has his own "style". He is a great father. I met my friends Jozi and Kristin at International Plaza last week with Cash in tow. It was the first time I brought my travel system stroller out, and the first time I went out with him by myself (other than to my parent's house). The travel system stroller doesn't fit in my car, so I had to take Colt's Jeep. Cash was sweet as usual, and made the outing really easy. When we were leaving the mall, and walking back to the car, he started fussing. I knew he was getting hungry, but I didn't have time to nurse him in the car, as Colt needed the Jeep back for a gig. He started crying pretty hard by the time I got him in the car. He calmed down a little bit when I started to drive, but started back up after a few minutes. I tried the radio, which didn't work. I tried talking to him, which worked somewhat, but not completely because he wanted me to hold him. Finally I started singing..."Jesus Loves Me" to be exact. He was completely silent! Its his new favorite song! By the fifth or sixth time through, my mom called, and I thought he was sleeping, so I answered it. As soon I started talking to her, he started fussing again, although not as bad. He LOVES to be sung to, especially that song. Its cliche, but I can't think of a word to describe watching him grow and change other than amazing. Its amazing.

I've been thinking a lot this past week about the changes having a baby has made in my life. This week has felt a little bit like the calm after the storm. I've really started to feel like I'm coming into my own with this whole motherhood thing. I'm becoming more confident with taking him different places, and even taking him out by myself. When people say that motherhood changes your whole outlook on life, and the way you've viewed things in the past, they aren't kidding! Colt and I were watching an episode of my guilty pleasure..."16 and Pregnant" last night. In case you've never seen it, its pretty self explanatory. Its a show about teenagers who are pregnant, and how it affects their lives. On last night's episode, the father of the baby was a horrible little brat of a boy who was very disrespectful to his girlfriend's mother. While in the delivery room, he picked a fight with his girlfriend's mother over his ridiculous behavior. He made his girlfriend scoot over in the hospital bed because he wanted to lay down, he told her that men must have a higher pain tolerance than women when she was suffering through a contraction. He asked for an "estimate of how long this was going to take", and finally told the mother that he was number one in the girl's life, and she was number two. Nice guy! Anyway, this kid's behavior had no real effect on his girlfriend, and she didn't defend her mother at all. After the baby's birth, the mother agreed to sit down with her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend (the father of the baby) to try and sort things out for the sake of her grandson. The boy was completely disrespectful again, telling the mother that he was number one in her daughter's life, and that she would never be as important as him in her eyes. She got up from the table and went to the bathroom and just cried. The daughter followed her in there, and half-heartedly asked what was wrong. The mother said the boy was completely disrespectful and she didn't think they should be together anymore. The girl said that it wasn't her mother's decision to make and that she couldn't protect her from everything in life. The mother looked defeated and said, "Unfortunately, I know that's true." I sat there thinking, "Of course she knows that's true! Don't you think if she could have "protected" you from getting pregnant and having a baby at 16, she would have?!?" Before you have a baby, you see yourself as your own person. Maybe its because I'm still so early into parenthood, but its hard for me to look at Cash as his own person. He's my baby. I know that God created him, but I'd like to think I had a pretty important part in facilitating his development. He came from my body. It must be so hard when your child grows up and is disrespectful or is making decisions that you don't agree with. Do you still view them as your baby, or by that time do you see them as their own person? It makes me cringe when I think about times growing up, that I may have given my parents grief about "making my own decisions", or made decisions that they didn't agree with. That must've been so frustrating for them! I love the fact that having Cash has really opened my mind up to different ways of thinking. I have always been very close to my parents, but I've felt even closer to them now that I understand what having a child feels like. Its the craziest love.

On a lighter note, Colt and I have been talking lately about having more children. Not anytime soon mind you, but we've had the conversation. When I was in the hospital, I remember telling my mom that I don't know how people do that (give birth) so many times. It was exhausting! She said, just wait...in a few weeks you'll have forgotten all about the pain and stress, and you'll want another one. Its true! I have already forgotten about the pain! Although, I still want Cash to have time to be my baby, before we open our home to another baby. I was sharing these feelings with my Obstetrician, after she asked me when were going to have more children. She shared the same sentiment, saying, "Its amazing how quickly God allows those memories of the pain to dissolve, or else women would never have more children!" So true! That being said...don't get excited, Cash is only 6 weeks old!!!

Well I suppose I better go try and get something done around the house before bedtime...where to start? Haha! Thanks for reading!