We have discovered over time that Bennett is quite musical. When he was little, he used to hum or "sing" himself to sleep. It was really quite endearing. I wish that I had those sounds recorded because he doesn't really do that anymore now that he's becoming more verbal. I think he was mimicking the song that I would hum quietly in his ear as an infant when he was a little restless before letting himself fall into dream land. My singing was a great calmer when he didn't want to get his diaper changed, or he had become a little fussy. I even find myself humming a tune into his ear now when he's crying because he's fallen or his feelings have been hurt. At about six months old, he would willingly spend thirty minutes or more in his jumper as long as I had my iTunes playing. Elton John and Pink were his favorites. He jumped in time!! And also - you should see his face light up when I turn on the record player. I can't wait until he starts to sing along.
But now? He's Mr. Rhythm. We have been going to a mommy and me music class called Music With Mar since Bennett was about four months old. It was a great excuse for us to get out of the house in the dreary winter months and it also provided me some much-needed exposure to grown people. I didn't do much talking with the growns (that's another post), but Bennett loved the class, and his teacher, Miss Katie, so we kept going.
One of the songs that we sing each week involves rhythm sticks. The littlest guys get red ones and the toddlers get blue ones, which are a couple of inches longer (and much more dangerous!). Bennett LOVES this part of the class. We ended up purchasing a set of the sticks for him to have at home - for "practice". (They're really for Brian to play the drums on our ottoman, but I can keep a secret if you can. shhhhhh) There is not a part of this house that hasn't been beat upon by the sticks. Brian and Bennett play the drums every day.
Bennett is getting very good. He doesn't just aimlessly toss the sticks around as if they are not attached to the ends of his arms. He taps a rhythm! He can copy us if we tap a few "notes" and he really likes to accompany the Jackson 5 or Stevie Wonder. The boys have gotten so good with the red sticks, we bought them a pair of the blue sticks today. Now the Ballmen can play the drums together and really lay down some tracks.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Winter in Buffalo
We moved to Buffalo on November 20-21, 2009. The move went fairly smoothly as we had a really great guy driving the truck and leading the teams that moved us in and out. We used Atlas Vanlines and would highly recommend them to anyone moving. All of our belongings arrived when promised and nothing was broken or missing! Granted, we put our most valuable things in our own cars, but they had the heavy furniture and I was sure something would arrive scratched.
According to all the locals that we chatted with as we were getting to know our new home, we got to Buffalo just in time as they hadn't had a big snow yet. I think the flakes started falling around the beginning of December and they didn't really stop until March. Granted, there were never more than about a foot and a half of snow on the ground at any given time, but there was quite a stretch there when we saw a blanket of white.
The real benefit of living in this area during the winter is that snow doesn't freak anyone out. There are snow plows out on the streets before the sun comes up. All major roads get plowed throughout the day even. By living in an apartment complex, we didn't have to worry about our sidewalks or parking lots either. The guys were out salting and scraping every morning. Additionally, folks around here know how to drive in the snow. Mostly everyone was slowing down and being polite on the roads. Quite a refreshing change from the hotheads in Virginia who thought snow and rain were the same.
Bennett also adjusted to the new climate well. We tried to get outside for fresh air as often as possible, but there were some days when it was just too cold to even walk to the mailbox and back. He had an audible change in his breathing if the air was too cold. He started taking these really quick, shallow breaths almost as if he were trying to avoid breathing, but just couldn't hold his breath any longer. I'm anxious to see how that changes this winter.
The one thing that troubled me regarding the winter up here is that it seemed as if everyone was hibernating! We live in a very large complex (21 buildings with at least eight units in each building, some have twelve) and I can honestly say that I didn't see a single neighbor beyond the lady who lives underneath us until about late March, early April. I felt like we were living in a ghost town! Sometimes, I would go to the leasing office, just to talk to another grown human being. Needless to say, both Bennett and I were very excited about spending time outside when Spring finally arrived.
We had two big visits during the winter months. Thanksgiving found all of the Erlandsons in Buffalo. We got our meal from Wegmans so that mom and I didn't have to cook. We ordered way too much food. Bennett really enjoyed meeting and snuggling with Uncle Ben. And Daddy-o had a good time teaching Bennett about how to build a fire.
In December, the Allmans came down for a Christmas visit. We were sad that Cindy and Trevor couldn't join Oma and Grandpa, but had a good time with the grandparents. Cindy was able to come down during one of her Spring trips to London and Trevor will be in Ontario in October, so we'll get to see him then. We are so fortunate that Bennett gets to spend so much time with extended family, despite living far away.
Today was a very brisk day - a hint of the Autumn to come. I was explaining to Bennett on our nightly walk that Autumn is my favorite season because the temperature is just right and you can sense that change is on its way. Now that Bennett is a little older, I'm hopeful that we won't feel quite so cooped up this Winter - we'll keep you posted.
According to all the locals that we chatted with as we were getting to know our new home, we got to Buffalo just in time as they hadn't had a big snow yet. I think the flakes started falling around the beginning of December and they didn't really stop until March. Granted, there were never more than about a foot and a half of snow on the ground at any given time, but there was quite a stretch there when we saw a blanket of white.
The real benefit of living in this area during the winter is that snow doesn't freak anyone out. There are snow plows out on the streets before the sun comes up. All major roads get plowed throughout the day even. By living in an apartment complex, we didn't have to worry about our sidewalks or parking lots either. The guys were out salting and scraping every morning. Additionally, folks around here know how to drive in the snow. Mostly everyone was slowing down and being polite on the roads. Quite a refreshing change from the hotheads in Virginia who thought snow and rain were the same.
The one thing that troubled me regarding the winter up here is that it seemed as if everyone was hibernating! We live in a very large complex (21 buildings with at least eight units in each building, some have twelve) and I can honestly say that I didn't see a single neighbor beyond the lady who lives underneath us until about late March, early April. I felt like we were living in a ghost town! Sometimes, I would go to the leasing office, just to talk to another grown human being. Needless to say, both Bennett and I were very excited about spending time outside when Spring finally arrived.
Today was a very brisk day - a hint of the Autumn to come. I was explaining to Bennett on our nightly walk that Autumn is my favorite season because the temperature is just right and you can sense that change is on its way. Now that Bennett is a little older, I'm hopeful that we won't feel quite so cooped up this Winter - we'll keep you posted.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Bennett has the sickies . . .
We have been dealing with what many affectionately call a "summer cold" for the last week. Bennett's nose has been running like a faucet! He is starting to cough a little and has the cutest sneezes. However, it hasn't stopped him from eating (he weighed in at 23 lbs 8 oz at the doc's office this morning!) or trying his hardest to walk.
Unfortunately, I am also a little sick (yuck!), so our days have been spent at home for the most part. We haven't been able to make it out to our playgroups or music class, boo. I just want to make this go away as quickly as possible. It's really hard to watch him writhe around in his sleep or wake up often due to coughs when he has recently been a really excellent sleeper. Also? He's waking up at 6:30 am now. He was getting up at 7:00 - 7:30 am. I'm not sure if it's related to the sickness, or just a change . . .we'll see, I suppose.
In other news - I have applied for two jobs. The first is with a local therapeutic agency called Gateway-Longview. They are a residential facility for troubled kids in the greater Buffalo area. The job I've applied for is Visitation Specialist. I understand the responsibilities to be related to helping the families have successful visits with each other. Secondly, I learned from my WM classmate that there was an opening for a psychologist in the Clarence Central Schools. I have applied for that one and then learned that it's quite different than the job I held in Virginia. They're looking for someone to serve as a school psychologist, but in a very specialized classroom and only part time. I checked with the personnel folks today and they said they should know who they want to interview by late next week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it works out. I really miss being in the schools.
I have been spending a bit of time on a local mom forum and they are all chatting about how their kids start school next week. They are discussing traditions surrounding the first day and the unbelieveable requests on school supply lists (NINE 24-packs of crayons?). It has made me quite nostalgic and also sad that this will be the very first EVER first day of school that I do not get to participate in. I have had (and loved!) a first day of school every single year since I started kindergarten back in 1980 (or so). Sigh. I'll just have to take notes about what folks are doing so that I'm ready when Bennett hits the books for the first time!
Unfortunately, I am also a little sick (yuck!), so our days have been spent at home for the most part. We haven't been able to make it out to our playgroups or music class, boo. I just want to make this go away as quickly as possible. It's really hard to watch him writhe around in his sleep or wake up often due to coughs when he has recently been a really excellent sleeper. Also? He's waking up at 6:30 am now. He was getting up at 7:00 - 7:30 am. I'm not sure if it's related to the sickness, or just a change . . .we'll see, I suppose.
In other news - I have applied for two jobs. The first is with a local therapeutic agency called Gateway-Longview. They are a residential facility for troubled kids in the greater Buffalo area. The job I've applied for is Visitation Specialist. I understand the responsibilities to be related to helping the families have successful visits with each other. Secondly, I learned from my WM classmate that there was an opening for a psychologist in the Clarence Central Schools. I have applied for that one and then learned that it's quite different than the job I held in Virginia. They're looking for someone to serve as a school psychologist, but in a very specialized classroom and only part time. I checked with the personnel folks today and they said they should know who they want to interview by late next week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it works out. I really miss being in the schools.
I have been spending a bit of time on a local mom forum and they are all chatting about how their kids start school next week. They are discussing traditions surrounding the first day and the unbelieveable requests on school supply lists (NINE 24-packs of crayons?). It has made me quite nostalgic and also sad that this will be the very first EVER first day of school that I do not get to participate in. I have had (and loved!) a first day of school every single year since I started kindergarten back in 1980 (or so). Sigh. I'll just have to take notes about what folks are doing so that I'm ready when Bennett hits the books for the first time!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Food
I had decided during my pregnancy that I really wanted to breastfeed Bennett as long as I could, because I had learned so much about the benefits to his development from those nutrients. And also? It's free! and readily available! Or so we thought. My supply dried up pretty quickly and we were only able to nurse for about two and a half weeks. I was pumping like mad and only getting a tablespoon after fifteen minutes on each side. We decided to stop that madness when it started to feel like a full time job. He'd gotten the good stuff for a while, we didn't want to stunt his growth by not supplementing. He transitioned to the formula quite well - and luckily, we were able to use regular old formula - nothing special. It seems our guy has an iron-clad stomach.
I had also done a lot of reading about what to do when it came time to feed him solids. It seemed to me that the most logical option was making his food myself. Early on he just got single veggies steamed and pureed.
Bennett started solid foods around four months or so. He was showing serious interest in our plates and the eating process earlier than that - but we decided to follow doctor's orders and wait until 4 months. We tried rice cereal first and had some 'meh' results. He wasn't all that interested. So, we slowly started introducing other "safe" solids. First up - sweet potatoes. YUM! Gimme more, mama. He loved the sweet potatoes. Great! What next?
We made carrots, corn, peas, green beans . . . you name it, he ate it. He especially loved zucchini! That was a huge surprise to me because I do not care for the squashes. When we gave him blueberries for the first time it was like we'd given him chocolate! I wish I had video of the energy boost it gave him. I couldn't stop laughing. He also really liked apples and pears.
Around eight months, we moved to more complicated meals - and added yogurt. He likes chicken and pork and turkey. He eats things with leeks and onions. He chows down on greek yogurt every day and he's eating oatmeal and cheeries every morning. At this point, he's eating four solid servings a day (oatmeal and fruit in the am, greek yogurt after his morning nap, a veggie of some sort after his second nap and then a "meal" around dinner time). Soon enough, we'll be able to give him smaller portions of what we're having for dinner.
He has also eaten bread, small pieces of steamed carrot, little pieces of cantalope, watermelon and strawberry, as well as little sips of my cereal milk. He begs for the cereal milk anytime he sees me with a spoon! We are trying our very best to avoid giving him sugary treats and he does not eat processed foods (except for the puffs that he had for a couple of months to work on his pinchers). He also refuses to drink juice, but drinks about 24 extra ounces of water each day (this is in addition to the 24oz. of formula!). He is certainly hydrated.
I had also done a lot of reading about what to do when it came time to feed him solids. It seemed to me that the most logical option was making his food myself. Early on he just got single veggies steamed and pureed.
Bennett started solid foods around four months or so. He was showing serious interest in our plates and the eating process earlier than that - but we decided to follow doctor's orders and wait until 4 months. We tried rice cereal first and had some 'meh' results. He wasn't all that interested. So, we slowly started introducing other "safe" solids. First up - sweet potatoes. YUM! Gimme more, mama. He loved the sweet potatoes. Great! What next?
We made carrots, corn, peas, green beans . . . you name it, he ate it. He especially loved zucchini! That was a huge surprise to me because I do not care for the squashes. When we gave him blueberries for the first time it was like we'd given him chocolate! I wish I had video of the energy boost it gave him. I couldn't stop laughing. He also really liked apples and pears.
Around eight months, we moved to more complicated meals - and added yogurt. He likes chicken and pork and turkey. He eats things with leeks and onions. He chows down on greek yogurt every day and he's eating oatmeal and cheeries every morning. At this point, he's eating four solid servings a day (oatmeal and fruit in the am, greek yogurt after his morning nap, a veggie of some sort after his second nap and then a "meal" around dinner time). Soon enough, we'll be able to give him smaller portions of what we're having for dinner.
He has also eaten bread, small pieces of steamed carrot, little pieces of cantalope, watermelon and strawberry, as well as little sips of my cereal milk. He begs for the cereal milk anytime he sees me with a spoon! We are trying our very best to avoid giving him sugary treats and he does not eat processed foods (except for the puffs that he had for a couple of months to work on his pinchers). He also refuses to drink juice, but drinks about 24 extra ounces of water each day (this is in addition to the 24oz. of formula!). He is certainly hydrated.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Grandparents
I'm going a little out of sequence here, but I had some thoughts I wanted to share about the people in Bennett's (and our) life/lives.
Brian and I are both fortunate to have both parents still living and *gasp* still married to each other! That's two sets of functional grandparents for Bennett. We used to live close to the Erlandson grandparents, now we live close to the Allman grandparents. (For the record, we do not live near either uncle.)
Both sets of grandparents love to visit, which is wonderful, because Bennett is getting to take full advantage of these relationships. Granna and Daddy-o live in North Carolina, which is far away from Buffalo! For the first three weeks of Bennett's life, my mother - Granna - was able to stay with us in Virginia to help Brian and me get settled into our new life as a family. It was such a relief to have someone with experience and patience there to take the early morning shift and to help me stay sane when my milk ran dry. She cooked, she cleaned, she ran errands, she held baby. Daddy-o came for a few days as well, both right after the birth and then later in November for our move up North. We were quite thankful to have a doctor in the house during his visits!
We are also lucky to have another medical professional in our cadre of grandparents. Brian's mother, Doris, or Oma, is an obstetrics nurse. YAY! She provided countless hours of support during my healing and post-partum days. When she and Leonard, Grandpa, came to visit the weekend after Bennett came home, our house overflowed with love. It was obvious that the latest addition to our families was lighting up every heart in the room.
Now that we are in the northeast, we are able to travel to Canada for monthly visits with the Allmans, and have even been able to meet extended family. Bennett loved spending time with his little cousins Korbyn and Kayden. Brian and I were overjoyed with Bennett's laid back attitude to these new folks. He played very well with everyone.
We were also able to take a trip to Georgia and North Carolina back in late June/early July. Again, Bennett wowed us with his social skills. New people were coming at him left and right every single day. For the most part, he just rolled with the punches and threw smiles to everyone. The only squawks came when Gene Jones surprised Bennett from behind when in the middle of a very large crowd of adoring fans at Elkin First United Methodist. Granna was proudly showing him off to all her friends. He was able to calm down quickly, and continue to meet his fans.
Even though we do not live in the same city as our families, a phenomenon that most of Buffalo does not know about, we are so fortunate to have families who love us and travel to spend time with us. We look forward to spending more time with each of them so that Bennett can learn where he comes from.
Brian and I are both fortunate to have both parents still living and *gasp* still married to each other! That's two sets of functional grandparents for Bennett. We used to live close to the Erlandson grandparents, now we live close to the Allman grandparents. (For the record, we do not live near either uncle.)
Both sets of grandparents love to visit, which is wonderful, because Bennett is getting to take full advantage of these relationships. Granna and Daddy-o live in North Carolina, which is far away from Buffalo! For the first three weeks of Bennett's life, my mother - Granna - was able to stay with us in Virginia to help Brian and me get settled into our new life as a family. It was such a relief to have someone with experience and patience there to take the early morning shift and to help me stay sane when my milk ran dry. She cooked, she cleaned, she ran errands, she held baby. Daddy-o came for a few days as well, both right after the birth and then later in November for our move up North. We were quite thankful to have a doctor in the house during his visits!
We are also lucky to have another medical professional in our cadre of grandparents. Brian's mother, Doris, or Oma, is an obstetrics nurse. YAY! She provided countless hours of support during my healing and post-partum days. When she and Leonard, Grandpa, came to visit the weekend after Bennett came home, our house overflowed with love. It was obvious that the latest addition to our families was lighting up every heart in the room.
Now that we are in the northeast, we are able to travel to Canada for monthly visits with the Allmans, and have even been able to meet extended family. Bennett loved spending time with his little cousins Korbyn and Kayden. Brian and I were overjoyed with Bennett's laid back attitude to these new folks. He played very well with everyone.
We were also able to take a trip to Georgia and North Carolina back in late June/early July. Again, Bennett wowed us with his social skills. New people were coming at him left and right every single day. For the most part, he just rolled with the punches and threw smiles to everyone. The only squawks came when Gene Jones surprised Bennett from behind when in the middle of a very large crowd of adoring fans at Elkin First United Methodist. Granna was proudly showing him off to all her friends. He was able to calm down quickly, and continue to meet his fans.
Even though we do not live in the same city as our families, a phenomenon that most of Buffalo does not know about, we are so fortunate to have families who love us and travel to spend time with us. We look forward to spending more time with each of them so that Bennett can learn where he comes from.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Ten Months
Dearest Bennett -
I'm writing this post on August 14, 2010, two days AFTER you celebrated your ten month birthday. I thought it would be prudent to document some of the amazing accomplishments you've made in ten short months. Most incredible is your gross and fine motor skill development. When we build towers out of your blocks, you delicately pluck one off the top rather than barreling into the tower to knock it down. You love it when we knock it down, sure, but you like to remove the blocks one at a time. We're still working on getting you to build.
You're days away from walking by yourself! You have been pulling up on us and the furniture for a while now, but in the last two weeks, you've started cruising forward rather than sideways, and you're beginning to step on your whole foot instead of just your toes. We are so proud of you!
You love to eat, son. We've tried to offer you a wide variety of fruits and veggies and so far, we haven't found anything that you flat out refuse. There was that one time you didn't like the applesauce that i made with cinnamon, but in general - you're pretty sophisticated in your palate. Lately you've been eating a lot of oatmeal with cherries, cauliflower (!) and chicken with mixed veggies (including leeks and onions). I make all of your food except for the oatmeal, which we get from a powder. You don't like juice, which is a bit inconvenient because you are frequently constipated. I think it's the iron in the formula, so we have cut that back a little bit and make sure to give you plenty of fruits and lots of water throughout the day. In a couple of months, we will begin to wean that formula totally. I'm looking forward to your being able to have cow's milk!
You cut your first tooth on your five month birthday. Your second tooth came the next day. Your Granna was quite surprised when she was letting you teethe on her finger and you bit her with your sharp little fang! By now, son, you have EIGHT teeth. Four on top and four on the bottom. They're perfect, according to the dentist. Yes, you've been to the dentist already. Of course, you charmed everyone in the office. What's new?
Ah, sleep! You have been sleeping through the night for about a month. It is so nice to know that we can put you down (around 8p) and you will sleep until about 6:30a or so. Every now and then you might cry out, but you're definitely able to put yourself back to sleep. You're so good at it by now, that I have turned the sound off on our monitor so that dad and I can sleep well too. Thanks so much for this gift! Your naps are regulating, as well. You take two each day. Each is at least an hour, most of the time they're closer to two hours each. It gives me a chance to get some quiet time because when you're awake, I like to be playing with you.
Both your dad and I love to snuggle with you. You have become a super affectionate little boy. The look on your face when you hear dad's keys in the door each evening is pure unadulterated love! When you hear that rattle, you drop whatever you are doing and look straight in the direction of the door, and freeze. As soon as you hear his footsteps coming up the stairs and his keys rattling, you crawl as quickly as I've ever seen you crawl to the gate at the top of the stairs. You then try your damnedest to climb the gate to get to your dad. He is grinning just as widely as you are. Whenever you are excited about something, whether it's seeing one of us, one of your grandparents, or feeling proud of something you've done, you buck like a little horse. It's a lot of fun to watch if you are sitting or standing at the rails of your cage . . . a little more treacherous if you are in one of our arms. We have to squeeze you extra tight!
You have also really taken to the water. We go to a swim class on Saturday mornings and you just love the water. You've put your face in voluntarily and don't fuss when we have you "jump" off the edge. You like to "swim" to me or your dad. I really hope that this comfort level continues as you get older. Being able to swim and finding enjoyment in it are great tools!
We are both so proud of you, Bennett. You are gentle with other babies. You are charming with most adults. You are so easy to get along with, it's a bit alarming! We are very much looking forward to seeing the boy you'll grow into.
Love you,
Mama
 |
| Playing in the pool in London, ON |
You're days away from walking by yourself! You have been pulling up on us and the furniture for a while now, but in the last two weeks, you've started cruising forward rather than sideways, and you're beginning to step on your whole foot instead of just your toes. We are so proud of you!
 |
| Eating blueberries in April, 2010 |
You love to eat, son. We've tried to offer you a wide variety of fruits and veggies and so far, we haven't found anything that you flat out refuse. There was that one time you didn't like the applesauce that i made with cinnamon, but in general - you're pretty sophisticated in your palate. Lately you've been eating a lot of oatmeal with cherries, cauliflower (!) and chicken with mixed veggies (including leeks and onions). I make all of your food except for the oatmeal, which we get from a powder. You don't like juice, which is a bit inconvenient because you are frequently constipated. I think it's the iron in the formula, so we have cut that back a little bit and make sure to give you plenty of fruits and lots of water throughout the day. In a couple of months, we will begin to wean that formula totally. I'm looking forward to your being able to have cow's milk!
You cut your first tooth on your five month birthday. Your second tooth came the next day. Your Granna was quite surprised when she was letting you teethe on her finger and you bit her with your sharp little fang! By now, son, you have EIGHT teeth. Four on top and four on the bottom. They're perfect, according to the dentist. Yes, you've been to the dentist already. Of course, you charmed everyone in the office. What's new?
Ah, sleep! You have been sleeping through the night for about a month. It is so nice to know that we can put you down (around 8p) and you will sleep until about 6:30a or so. Every now and then you might cry out, but you're definitely able to put yourself back to sleep. You're so good at it by now, that I have turned the sound off on our monitor so that dad and I can sleep well too. Thanks so much for this gift! Your naps are regulating, as well. You take two each day. Each is at least an hour, most of the time they're closer to two hours each. It gives me a chance to get some quiet time because when you're awake, I like to be playing with you.
Both your dad and I love to snuggle with you. You have become a super affectionate little boy. The look on your face when you hear dad's keys in the door each evening is pure unadulterated love! When you hear that rattle, you drop whatever you are doing and look straight in the direction of the door, and freeze. As soon as you hear his footsteps coming up the stairs and his keys rattling, you crawl as quickly as I've ever seen you crawl to the gate at the top of the stairs. You then try your damnedest to climb the gate to get to your dad. He is grinning just as widely as you are. Whenever you are excited about something, whether it's seeing one of us, one of your grandparents, or feeling proud of something you've done, you buck like a little horse. It's a lot of fun to watch if you are sitting or standing at the rails of your cage . . . a little more treacherous if you are in one of our arms. We have to squeeze you extra tight!
You have also really taken to the water. We go to a swim class on Saturday mornings and you just love the water. You've put your face in voluntarily and don't fuss when we have you "jump" off the edge. You like to "swim" to me or your dad. I really hope that this comfort level continues as you get older. Being able to swim and finding enjoyment in it are great tools!
We are both so proud of you, Bennett. You are gentle with other babies. You are charming with most adults. You are so easy to get along with, it's a bit alarming! We are very much looking forward to seeing the boy you'll grow into.
Love you,
Mama
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Memories (part 2 - coming home)
We were discharged from the hospital after spending two nights. Like I mentioned previously, we were able to stay at the hospital until around 3 or so because it was the middle of the week and there were not many new admissions to L&D. Also, the pediatrician, Dr. Hanzel, was a little late coming to discharge Bennett. No problem, sir. I was willing to take all the help we could get! Bear in mind, I also had no trouble taking all the free stuff I could get my hands on, since we were technically paying for it anyway. It wasn't like they were going to give the next gal an open bag of pads, anyway.
The first few days (read: weeks) at home are kind of a blur now. I was VERY sore from the tears and the attempts at breastfeeding. Thank goodness my mom was living with us for a while. She and Brian were so good at making sure that I took my medicine on time and that I was taking care of myself. I didn't get to lift anything! I barely got to make my own coffee. In hindsight - I shouldn't have complained. I know it will be doubly bad if we do this again since there will likely be a toddler who will be demanding attention!
The key things that I remember from those first weeks were:
1. I was either nursing or pumping every hour on the hour. I seemed to have low supply and was unable to change that no matter what I tried. My nipples cracked and bled and hurt like hell. We kept trying though, because Bennett seemed to figure out how to latch on and I knew that my milk was best for him. After two and a half weeks, though, we all gave me permission to stop. I would pump about a tablespoon each time (if I was lucky) and that was from both sides combined! We'd add that to the formula we made for him in the hopes that he'd at least get some of the nutrients I made in each feeding. Because he was growing like a weed and not losing any weight, we figured he was getting what he needed. What a relief it was to pack that pump away! I will certainly try again if the opportunity comes up, but I will also go into it with the knowledge that formula is not the worst thing I could do for my baby!
2. I do not heal quickly. Not at all. I had three or four 2nd degree tears and LOTS of stitches. I was bleeding for at least six weeks and in the first couple of days at home shed three golf ball sized clots. I am not easily grossed out by biological stuff . . . that not only grossed me out, but it scared me too. I had to show the first one to my mom because I wasn't sure what it was. Ick. Things still aren't 100% normal, but at least I"m relatively pain free now. I'd say that it took about 8.5 months for the majority of the pain to disappear. Next time I plan to do a couple of things differently. First, I've already purchased some cloth feminine pads and will use them for postpartum support rather than the disposable ones. Nothing like paper catching on stitches! Secondly - I will speak with my doctor more quickly about pain management. I waited until we had been in Buffalo for a couple of months before bringing it up.
3. It is not a good idea to move to a different state just after you've given birth. My mom and Brian would spend hours every day packing up our belongings because we moved to Buffalo when Bennett was five weeks old. It's actually rather serendipitous that Bennett arrived early because he would have been even younger for our move if he'd arrived on time. And i would have been in no shape for moving. As it was, I was not able to help with the packing other than to agree or disagree with choices being made by those two.
4. There was nothing more pleasant than having Bennett sleep on my chest. Many hours each day were spent in just such a position. We had a sleep positioner that we used between our pillows for him, but many times, I just had him sleep on my chest when I was in a semi-reclined position. Especially during the normal waking hours. He and I sat in the rocker or our club chairs just snuggling with each other. It was grand! He's still quite the snuggler and I'm so glad! It feels so good to have his little arms around my neck.
Up next: Winter in Buffalo, NY.
The first few days (read: weeks) at home are kind of a blur now. I was VERY sore from the tears and the attempts at breastfeeding. Thank goodness my mom was living with us for a while. She and Brian were so good at making sure that I took my medicine on time and that I was taking care of myself. I didn't get to lift anything! I barely got to make my own coffee. In hindsight - I shouldn't have complained. I know it will be doubly bad if we do this again since there will likely be a toddler who will be demanding attention!
The key things that I remember from those first weeks were:
1. I was either nursing or pumping every hour on the hour. I seemed to have low supply and was unable to change that no matter what I tried. My nipples cracked and bled and hurt like hell. We kept trying though, because Bennett seemed to figure out how to latch on and I knew that my milk was best for him. After two and a half weeks, though, we all gave me permission to stop. I would pump about a tablespoon each time (if I was lucky) and that was from both sides combined! We'd add that to the formula we made for him in the hopes that he'd at least get some of the nutrients I made in each feeding. Because he was growing like a weed and not losing any weight, we figured he was getting what he needed. What a relief it was to pack that pump away! I will certainly try again if the opportunity comes up, but I will also go into it with the knowledge that formula is not the worst thing I could do for my baby!
3. It is not a good idea to move to a different state just after you've given birth. My mom and Brian would spend hours every day packing up our belongings because we moved to Buffalo when Bennett was five weeks old. It's actually rather serendipitous that Bennett arrived early because he would have been even younger for our move if he'd arrived on time. And i would have been in no shape for moving. As it was, I was not able to help with the packing other than to agree or disagree with choices being made by those two.
Up next: Winter in Buffalo, NY.
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