Thumbsucker

I'm not sure how mum had time for us 3 kids. Between feeding and waketime I feel like the time in between is so minimal. I need time to relax but it's hard to keep up with the housework too and cook all the meals. And just when I start to really get into a project, it's time for Shaun to wake up again and then the cycle starts all over again. But I love being a mum. Watching Shaun grow and change and learn new things every day is incredible. What a miracle children are!

Shaun found his thumb for the first time last night. He was stirring in his crib so Craig went to check on him and his whole thumb was in his mouth and he was sucking away. I saw it today and it's so cute! His little fingers curled around his nose...
I have cleaning to do and I'll have to go through his clothes soon and pack away what's too small.

Back on the Saddle

We are so lucky! Shaun is such a good baby! The only glich was on Wednesday; he was waking up only 45 minutes into his nap all day and I finally realized it was because he was hungry. Must be going through a growth spurt. We were shopping in Conestoga Mall today and Shaun slept the whole time. He seems to adjust to whatever we're doing.

Craig and I were talking tonight about dropping the 11PM feeding and moving it to earlier but after I read in Babywise that most babies are 3 to 5 months old when that happens, we decided to hold off a while. Shaun is just so hard to wake up for that feeding!

I was writing some new schedules out tonight that we may use once Shaun moves into a flexible 3-4 hour routine. I think it's going to take a lot of experimenting and adjusting to see what works best for us. It's a bit harder for us because Craig's shift is so different than the norm. We don't actually get going until 9:30 at the earliest. I'll have to see what works the best.

Tomorrow we're going to Wayne and Leah's for the afternoon. Chris came back from Colorado last night. It will be nice to see him again.

And our photos are scheduled at Zehrs for this Thursday. I haven't even begun to decide what we'll all wear. I hope Shaun smiles nice for his photos. We're getting 3 poses for $25. Good deal!

My nipples are completely back to normal. I haven't worn breast pads for about a week too and I'm not leaking either. I've even gone braless a couple of nights.
We had sex today for the second time since Shaun was born. It was 100X better than the first time which was last weekend. I guess I just needed a couple more days to heal. Mum told me that with all 3 of us she didn't get her period until she was DONE breastfeeding and we were completely weaned. That would be nice! Although it would be nice to get pregnant in the late spring and I'll still be breastfeeding then. We'll have to see. I'm a little afraid of how we'll do financially but look at other families who are making so much less than Craig and they survive on one income. I'm confident we could make it work, it would just take some adjustments, just like everything. Besides, how does the saying go... nothing worth it is easy to obtain. Something like that. Basically, being a stay at home mum won't be easy and financially it will be challenging but that's what is best for the kids and it will all be worth it in the end. We'll make it work!

The Adjustment is Complete... For Now

Life has stabilized. We're all on a pretty good schedule now. Shaun eats every 3 hours with his first feeding being at 8AM. After his last feeding at 11PM he usually sleeps until at least 5AM. Although last night he woke at 2:30AM hungry. I think it's because he didn't get enough from the bottle at 11PM. He's so cute to watch when he's eating though and he takes the bottle so good. I've been pumping quite a bit so Craig is going to start feeding Shaun his last meal. I think Shaun is getting ready to move into a 3 1/2 hour routine and I hope he starts extending his nighttime sleep soon. Even sleeping until 6AM would be nice... then I can -- actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I know what I need to do. Once Shaun is consistently sleeping until 6AM I can move his last feeding back to 10:00 or 10:30 so that he eats at 5AM still and then 8AM. I think, though, that his schedule is going to be a bit different from other people's because of our schedule. We don't actually get going until 9 or 10AM.
I went and saw Dr. Raby yesterday for my 6 week appointment (even though it's been 7 weeks). She did a Pap spear and also said my uterus is back to normal. We talked briefly about birth control and prenatal vitamins. As far as birth control goes, the pill can affect quantity of breastmilk so that's not an option. She suggested barrier methods: condon and foam. Although, as long as I'm exclusively breastfeeding the chance of me getting pregnant is next to nothing so I'm not sure we'll use anything. Dr. Raby also said that I have to continue taking my prenatal vitamins as long as I'm breastfeeding and add an extra mg of folic acid when we're planning on getting pregnant again. I asked her about weight loss too and she said I could proceed with that whenever I'm ready so I'm going to my first meeting tomorrow night. I'm so anxious to get back to my goal weight!

Much Ado About Nothing

So motherhood is amazing. I've had a few low points and I seem to take my stresses out on Craig at the end of the day but for the most part I'm completely enjoying baing a mum. I love picking him up and hearing him stop; I love how content he is after eating; I love that he smiles at me when I smile at him... it's just amazing!
I've come to realize though, that I'm way too hard on myself and especially hard on Craig. I'll harp on the smallest things that are totally worthless to even worry about. Like the other night, Craig went in to settle Shaun since he was fussing and left the night light on when he left the room - no big deal at all, right? Well I came downstairs with Shaun and immediately started complaining to Craig about the light. He just looked at me but didn't say anything. Thinking about it now, why did I say anything at all? Who cares? I've noticed that he'll check with me a lot before he does stuff relating to Shaun. I think it's because he's worried I'll freak out over whatever he does. On one hand I really appreciate that he checks with me because he realizes that I'm working hard to get Shaun on a schedule and stuff but on the other hand I feel like he feels like less of a parent - insuperior to me. I don't want it to be like that at all!
He's such a great dad. He talks so funny to Shaun and does diaper changes and ALWAYS kisses him before Shaun goes for a nap or Craig leaves for work. He's adjusted so well and goes to work and works hard all day and then comes home and helps as he can with Shaun. Yet I still get angry that he's watching TV and not helping me. But ask me what I want him to do and I probably won't know. It's strange. I think we just have to spend more time talking to each other and not like "how was your day". It's just hard to find the time. We'll be fine it's just going to take some time to adjust.