3 Weeks of Abram

       I knew raising a child would be hard, but I had no clue how hard! I had every intention of documenting each week in the beginning and then each month from then on...well here are the first 3 weeks because if I don't write about them during this nap they may never be heard from again. Honestly, that may not be a bad thing...

WEEK 1 & 2:
       If you couldn't tell by my last paragraph, I have not had the easiest time adjusting to life as a family of 4. After delivery I had some recovering to do, and had lots of trouble getting our little guy to latch on and breastfeed. We decided to stay 2 days in the hospital to work with the lactation consultant more.

       We thought we had gotten it all under control, but the first night we were home Abram screamed the ENTIRE night. The next day we realized he was always hungry and had stopped having any type of dirty diapers {every mother's worst fear when worried about not supplying enough milk}. After finding out that he continued to lose weight we decided to supplement formula along with feeding and pumping...I cried about this every day for most of the day. 

      First pediatrician appointment...he rides so well in the car and pee'd on himself at the appointment :)

     Then after severe engorgement, no supply still, an ob visit, an infection, a visit with the lactation consultant, lots of warm showers, massaging, ice packs, a little bit of cabbage {that stuff is crazy}, trying to feed him while he screamed bc nothing was coming out, skin to skin, and pumping every 2 hours for a week... I finally started to produce a little. Could I finally stop worrying!? Nope! Within three days of continuing to do all of that on top of taking herbs, my supply was gone! 

       I cried and beat myself up for days {I still do on occasion} at the thought of not being able to provide nutrients for my child, and HAVING to give him formula exclusively. That is not the way it was supposed to be...the way I had read about in books...the way I had planned! My body just wasn't ready this time around. My OB gave me orders to stop trying {along with my lactation consultant and pediatrician} before I did more harm than good. That is when I realized that the WHOLE first week and a half of my child's life was consumed with breast feeding, and I was missing out on my time with him.

       Matt gave him his first sponge bath in the kitchen while I took a few photos.... He is a pretty laid back baby, but hates being naked

     It is a good thing my doc ordered me to stop trying to breastfeed/pump because that night I ended up spending 5 hours in the ER with minor complications from the delivery. Again, my body was just not recovering as well as I would have liked...all of my systems were out of wack. The next few days I just took it easy and tried to recover while FINALLY starting to bond with my baby over a bottle of formula, a kiss, a cuddle, and a little bit of dancing to music. He was being fed and was happy. By his two week appointment he was back up to his birth weight! He turned two weeks on Thanksgiving Day! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

WEEK 3:

       Matt's family came to us for Thanksgiving and did the entire meal for us. SO THANKFUL! It was a great weekend of relaxing for everyone, and Matt's sister got to meet Abram. I made myself feel a little better about not breast feeding with a glass of moscato and a trip to the outlet mall with the girls. It felt good!

       Week 3 has been a week full of baby. Our poor guy has been having a lot of stomach pains and gas issues. He is on his third type of formula {trying out soy}, and the pediatrician is working hard with us to figure it all out soon. We are not sure if he has an allergy/sensitivity, colic, or if his digestive system is still trying to work things out. All we know is that starting this week he started eating erratically, screaming for food anytime he was awake, then screaming as he curls into a ball and his face turns purple. Our saving grace has been Dupois Colic Medicine from a natural pharmacy near our hometown. When we give it to him he finally sleeps and behaves like a normal baby that is free from pain. For such an easy pregnancy, we have had a hell of a first 3 weeks. I am hoping we get on track soon! The only way I have stayed sane is through tons of family/friends/doctors support and walks outside with my boy.

       Trying to take in the good with the hard...On Monday, we were able to get his newborn pictures taken with Kelli Nicole Photography. She did an amazing job and I am so excited to see all of the pictures! I am also pretty sure she is the baby whisperer.

One of the pictures taken by Kelli Nicole Photography

       After the shoot, Abram had his first outing to a restaurant with mommy and daddy. We do not bring him anywhere with a crowd right now because we would rather not risk him getting sick, but it was a beautiful day and we were able to sit on the deck of a restaurant by ourselves, under the 400 year old oak trees. We soaked it up!

Still my blue-eyed boy...behaving while we ate