Boy! Do those first two weeks with a new baby kick your butt!
Ryan and I both mentioned we felt like we'd been hit by a truck.
I'm pretty sure my life will be 10 years shorter now!
So, given that background I'm going to do my best to remember what happened during those weeks but honestly they are a bit foggy to me.
1. Hospital Stay
I think the best way to summarize this is "Grand Central Station"
Seriously, why do so many people need to come in and out of a new mother's room?
There is the nurse, on call doctor, my doctor, resident doctor, medical equipment check guy, housekeeping, lab work people, and my personal favorite the newspaper person.
This wonderful person would come in at like 7 am every morning to bring us a newspaper.
I dreaded that knock!
No, I don't want a newspapaer.
I want to sleep while my baby is still sleeping.
I think I'll be okay if I don't know about the current events for the next few days.
Don't get me wrong it was nice to have a nurse on call for those first couple days being a new (slightly paranoid) parent, but I'm so glad that Jake is my only alarm clock now.
Also, please explain to me why 3 people need to come in within the hour to push on my stomach and tell me that my uterus is shrinking at the normal rate.
Isn't once enough?
Anyway I'll get off my soap box and move on.
Jake did awesome in the hospital.
I mean the first night he slept for two 4 hour stretches.
He sure knows the way to his mom's heart!
2. The First Week Home
It was sooo nice to come home.
It just felt so much more relaxing.
My mom arrived about 10 minutes after we got home from the hospital.
It was so nice to have her here.
My mom and Ryan were saints that first week.
They took turns sleeping with Jake in the front room so that I could have some grunt free sleep.
Newborns are incredibly noisy sleepers!
My mom was awesome.
She cooked, cleaned and even let Ryan and I get out for a couple short outings to help us feel human again.
Jake was back to his birth weight at his appointment the day after leaving the hospital.
What can I say that boy loves to eat!
3. Elder Anderson's Homecoming
After the first week my mom headed back to Indiana.
We decided to go with her and surprise the rest of the family.
That way we could be there for my brother's homecoming and for my dad's birthday (I think we brought him the best present, but I'm biased!)
Jake was such a trooper and slept the whole way except for a couple stops to eat.
It was the first time we got to see Mike in person since he left on his mission and it was awesome!
He gave a great talk and Jenna did an amazing job with her musical number in Sacrament meeting.
We could all tell how much he had grown on his mission.
I wish I could have spent more time with the family during that trip but between feeding Jake and taking naps I didn't have much time left for socializing.
Hopefully the next time we get together I won't be such a zombie!
4. Week 2
Week 2 was tough!
It was nice to be home and back in our routine but we were still exhausted.
Plus, Ryan had to prepare for his defense that Thursday.
On top of that I think Jake had a growth spurt.
He was fussy, difficult to get to sleep, and wanted to eat all the time.
I was seriously starting to wonder what happened to my angel baby.
Thankfully that phase didn't last!
At his two week appointment he had gained another pound (8 lbs. 15 oz.) and grown an inch (21 inches).
He is in the 68-83 percentile in all categories and is a really proportional baby.
As Ryan and I say we have a Hoover eater on our hands!
I can't believe how fast he is growing.
I just want him to stay little forever!
So we survived the first 2 weeks.
I've been told those are the toughest so hopefully it will be all down hill from here.
If not I'll probably die an early death from the stress of it all!
