I wanted to jot some memories down, for many reasons, but especially to remember and be able to empathize with and tell my kids how much we loved, learned and survived those first weeks with them joining us.
Mostly we were sleep deprived but on cloud nine... We simply LOVE having Tyson. We can't get enough of all the joy he brings. He is just so cute, and we love every little thing he does and learns and we are those normal proud parents for sure. And yet, at the beginning, there were definitely some ups and downs trying to get back to normal life. But I think that's to be expected when you have a baby, right?
Andrea's recovery: It took me about 6-8 weeks to fully recover, but each week got better and better. Those first few were pretty tough just with healing while trying to take care of a newborn mostly alone. I was in pain and exhausted, really, and slept when Tyson did mostly, but couldn't always fall asleep in the day. It seemed almost impossible even to just get a shower when he was sleeping so it sometimes happened at 2pm! That first week I had to visit Ty's doctor 2x and mine once, so I was out almost everyday (lucky to have Jan and Holly two of the three), and once on my own - I felt like super mom that day, and felt the pain afterwards too! As far as pain, yep, it definitely took some time for my body to heal so it was painful even to just walk or go up and down the stairs. I wasn't cleaning or cooking, but I could at least do the dishes and pick up here and there after the first few days. My mom came and helped clean up the house on the second week, a big help. Oh and I almost forgot! My emotions were crazy those first 2 weeks! I could barely keep it together most of the time. I mean, because of the hellp syndrome, I visited my midwife that first week of recovery and as soon as she asked how I was I just broke down and cried! And I'd cry for happy and sad things, commercials, worry about Tyson or just who knows! I think I have a handle on it now ;). And unrelated, I haven't started exercising, but for now, all the weight came right off within a week, so I don't "have to" but I do miss it, and we are hoping to get something at home soon so I can get some time for that.
Breastfeeding: This was hard, I won't lie. I wanted to quit and got close most days. Really, like every day it seemed to be getting worse and worse. Tyson was a happy little baby, but it was ME who had all the problems. He was eating, but I was in a lot of pain. I had no idea it would be that bad, and I think part of it was my inexperience. He was latching and such, but not big enough sometimes and really I called him a pirana because he'd jump for the food and was really really rough with me! One side got all the issues and I ended up with mastitis on the second week (thank goodness my mom was here). I actually found out I was sick after I passed out while taking a really hot shower - yikes! But I didn't get hurt fainting luckily, just got more and more sick till the medicine started working. Mastitis is really horrible, especially only a week after delivery, so I was lucky to have mom's support when I just needed more sleep and blankets. The pills made Tyson a little stomach upset so that led to more spit up and just more fussy by the evenings. We survived though and both of us were happy to be off the pills after 2 weeks. And I've watched carefully to make sure it doesn't come back! And I was still in pain and having issues so I called, googled, and talked to everyone trying to figure out if my experience was normal - I just wanted help to get it better during those first few weeks - but no one really could help or say it was okay, and I was left to just figuring it out. I still had pain and decided to try a shield on one side. That helped a ton! I did that for a month, and watched daily, not seeing anything heal, but one day, it just had all pretty much and my midwife told me to try it without going forward, so that we are sure Tyson gets enough food. And then there was a little more pain, but finally at week 8 I felt good and happy that I stuck with it! Finally could wear normal clothes and go out in public and even use a cover while feeding. Goodness, that took forever.
Adjusting to a newborn: The first two weeks Tyson had his days and nights backwards, so we all got a little less sleep trying to keep him happy. Looking back, it doesn't seem too bad. We all were on less sleep for sure, but we made it through the toughest of those days: waking up for feeding every 2-3 hours, poop/pee going everywhere during diaper changes (probably mostly because of our inexperience?), and a few nights when he just cried and we even called the doctor because we didn't know why. And let's be honest, we called the nurse's several times - from his continual sneezing those first few weeks, or something was swollen, is he eating/latching, congestion, etc. I remember many days and nights just walking back and forth along the hallway just trying to calm him down so he didn't cry, especially by the night he was pretty fussy for a few hours before bed, but he wouldn't sleep unless I just walked back and forth forever (and I was still barely walking, so that wasn't the funnest). Those nights were probably some of the harder ones as I had been good to make it through with Tyson all day, and then the night he'd be fussier sometimes, and David would be down studying, but he'd come up and hold him for a bit just to let me relax or rest for a minute. And once Tyson would fall asleep we'd stick him in the swing and I'd lay down on the couch next to him. Those days sometimes seem like a dream, but they went by and we all learned a little more on how to do this next time I think :), who knows.
Tyson growing: After we got the hang of a baby, haha, that's funny since we still are new at this, and no where near great at it... The next thing to worry about was if Tyson was growing enough? Once we started leaving the house, we got a lot of comments, "oh he's so small!", "are you sure he's 6 weeks old", "wow, my baby was much bigger"... Not cool people. I worried a lot - is he getting enough? And again I called, googled, met with the doctor, went in and weighed Tyson a few times - but didn't really get an answer, we just had to decide things were okay. At 2 months he's in the 10th percentile for weight, and that is okay. He's 50th percentile for length. To be honest, I could still worry about it, but not going to. He is a happy baby, eats every 2 hours in the day, and by 6 weeks he was sleeping 6 hours straight at night, and at 2-3 months he got about 7-9 hours straight if all went well.
Hanging at home: This was the best part! That first week, David was in school, but not studying yet so we had each night to just play with Tyson, eat food that wonderful people brought us, and then sleep when we could. We kept it quiet and David was great to help with whatever I needed when he was around, and we'd both try to catch up on a little sleep at least. The first Saturday was great because it was the first day David was home with us both since the day we came home from the hospital. We didn't do our normal errands too much, unless David would run to the store or I would to grab something needed for me or Tyson. I know just a few days after getting home I had to go to Walmart because my milk had come in and I didn't have pads yet! That was a long trip for me, in pain, and almost in tears, why I went or thought I could, no idea! But it was fun when we just would hang out and hold Tyson or watch him sleep or take turns walking down the hallway to calm him down. I wanted to take pictures, but was too sore/tired and also wouldn't be in them since I wasn't fully ready for the day. But we did manage to take some of Tyson and also got a foot and hand print somehow, that took an hour!
David at school: As mentioned above, David jumped right into school. He got a few hours of sleep each night those first few weeks and would have to sit in class all day, and then study all night. He sat next to students who complained about being tired because they went on a midnight hike or something like that, and he'd just turn to them and say, really? I have a 5 day old baby! Top that :) But even with such little sleep, he was happy when he came home and was really good to help me out however he could. He empathized with my pain and then also we both spent all of our texts, phone calls and time together talking about Tyson - if we were worried about something or just happy that he was around. David would get random picture texts of something on Tyson and asking, is this normal? Did you see this when you were here yesterday, should I call the doctor? Haha.
Well that's it for now, but definitely many more adventures to come with these boys in my life! And hopefully while I'm being "real" about the hard things we encountered, it was totally worth it and I hope it is conveyed that we definitely are willing to take the hard to have this cute little boy with us. We love you Tyson!
first bath
first story
He is so cute! Glad you survived those first few weeks. Tyson is lucky to have you!!!
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