I have hesitated to update because I don't have pictures to go with this post. Sarah went back to Scottsboro, along with her wonderful camera. She has promised to send me the pictures of John coming home, so I will post those soon. I know that posts are so much better with pictures.
Anyway, here we are. Adjusting to life with two, and so far, things are going exceptionally well. I am crossing my fingers and saying lots of prayers that things continue this way.
John is a champion sleeper so far. Thank you, Lord. Anything is possible after a good night's sleep!! In fact, last night, he slept from 10:30-2:30, and then didn't wake up again until 6:30 am!!! Can you believe that? I can't. Every night I go to bed thinking this will be the night that he "wakes up." I am having to get used to sleeping in the room with him. I lie in bed listening to his little sounds, and I make myself not jump up at every sound that sounds "abnormal" to me. I tell myself to get my mind on something else, or I just begin to pray for both of my children, and I usually drift off. That is all the Lord because I couldn't sleep with Ada in the room with me. I would just lie awake in between feedings listening to her breath. It was maddening. Not this time. Scott and I have woken up the past three mornings very rested and amazed!!
He is also nursing. Again, thank you, Lord. We had everything working against us--a million bottles in the hospital, the NICU stay, and everything else, but he has not had one bottle since being home, and he hasn't needed one. Every nursing session gets better and better. I feel very taken care of by the Lord. The only problem is keeping him awake during feedings. I can get him to do ten minutes on one side, then I change his diaper to wake him up, and I might get five minutes on the other side. He does better in the middle of the night. Is this normal? I worry that he isn't doing ten minutes on both sides. I would love some feedback from other nursing moms. He seems to be a very laid back baby, but of course, he may not have fully "woken up" yet, but I will take these "easy" days to get my strength back!!
Ada is also doing surprisingly well. I can tell that she is affected by this shift in her world, though. Her emotions are definitely heightened, and she has thrown several fits over the smallest things. Yesterday she went to Kroger with me and John stayed here with mom. I could tell she was loving it, that time to be alone with me. But she has been very sweet to John, kissing him and such. She keeps saying, "he not talking." So I have to explain over and over that he can't talk yet, but that one day he will get bigger and they can play together. I think she is a bit unimpressed with him as he just lies there all day.
So...that's how things are going here. Very, very, very well, all things considered, and I am so thankful. (and goodness knows, I would tell you all the gory details if things weren't going well) Mom is still here, so I know things will get a little more difficult once she leaves.
I am so in love with my little man. I stare and stare and cuddle and soak in the smell of him. He is my precious boy, just as Ada is my precious girl. I am so thankful for these children of mine.
9 comments:
So glad that John is doing so well!! Noah was my sleepy nurser too. He still doesn't nurse more than 15 minutes at a time. And he only nurses every three hours. He is growing like a weed. We went for his two month check-up yesterday and he had gained 5lbs. in 6 weeks!!! He now weighs 14lbs!
So glad to hear how things are going!! Ada is so precious, wondering why he's not talking! Will pray that things will continue to go well, or if not, that God will give y'all the grace and strength to handle it.
LB! Found you somehow...regardless, congrats on precious John Thomas! The Lord has blessed you greatly!
What a gift you are giving little man and yourself in nursing! You are amazing. Best wishes to you and your family.
katie (bromberg...adpi...war eagle)
Just sent the pictures, hope I got the right e-mail. I couldn't get you or Mom on the phone, so I went to facebook.
LB, I had the same issue w/ KJT. It was very hard for her to get more than 10 min on each side. However, I just kept trudging along with her at every feeding. My problem was that she only wanted to eat off one side (making me very lopsided for a while). Within a couple of weeks she was better at taking time on both sides. Remember, he'll eat if he's hungry. Do NOT stress over the number of minutes. Do your best and put him back to sleep! He won't starve! He's getting the best there is, and this is wonderful news! I prayed for you while I was nursing K the other night!!! PLT!
so good to hear LB...it's so neat how the Lord has answered your prayers in circumstances that would otherwise seem to make it impossible for nursing, good sleeping, etc. It's almost like He gave you the roughest of circumstances so that glory could only be given to Him. What a great testimony to His goodness and provision!
I think it's normal for him to only eat about 5 minutes on the other side. I remember having the same questions with my two. I think 10 on one side and 5 on the other is great...especially with him only being a week old. But, you know, my nursing circumstances were abnormal for both so I may not be the best person to ask! See you tonight!
I am so, so happy for you. Truly, the Lord knew what you needed and he has blessed you immensly! I am so happy to hear that you both are sleeping well and he is eating well. Enjoy this time with your mom and your two babies... it sounds like everything is off to a great start
LB, I'm going through the same nursing thing...I wasn't able to nurse Andrew, so this is my first successful (so far) breastfeeding attempt. I'm not sure how the dynamics work, either. Emily will nurse a good 10-13 minutes on one side, and she's done. So I've just been going back and forth from boob to boob, taking turns. I'm not sure when to get her to nurse on both sides. But I do know that the babies will eat when they're hungry, and stop when they're full. I feel like the baby is a better judge of nursing than the clock. As long as he's able to poop and pee, is gaining weight, and goes right to sleep after he feeds, then I'm sure he's getting enough!
So glad he's a good sleeper- so is Emily!! I feel like this second baby is a world of difference from the first, and I do think its because we're so much more relaxed this time around, and the babies pick up on that!
Good luck with everything, I'm liking reading your posts to see that we're going thru the same things, being that our babies were born just days apart!
LB, So happy to hear how well things are going! I agree with what everyone else has already said, I think 15 minutes is great! And what a great sleeper, that little man of yours!!
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