Motherhood...7 Weeks In

So I've only been doing this "mom thing" for about 7 weeks. I have to say it is both the most fulfilling and hardest thing I've ever done!! The first few weeks were difficult, getting up every 4 hours to feed Matty. My mom and dad came to help on the weekends, and them taking over 1 overnight feeding was SO helpful. We may have gone crazy without them!!

Our little man is growing up so fast! He's started to smile at me and Matt.

He loves his Mets Mickey Mouse (thanks Aunt Chaunte!) And he's starting to interact more with us. We started more scheduled naps this week and they have been going well.

There have been several things I've learned over the past 7 weeks that I think you can only learn...not be told. My main complaint? All the conflicting information! It is no wonder first time parents are confused. Not only are they sleep deprived, but they are getting a lot of information (much of it conflicting) really fast.

For example:

Breastfeeding is best. Your colostrum is the only thing baby needs. Just kidding, your baby is losing too much weight or your baby is jaundiced (and every medical professional knows milk doesn't come in on day one) -- you need to supplement with formula. But be careful giving him a bottle because that could confuse the baby and then he might not breastfeed anymore because he'll be used to the bottle, but remember breastfeeding is best!!

OR

Make sure you know how much your baby is eating. He should be eating between 20-30 ounces a day. Yes, we know there is absolutely no way you can tell how much your baby is eating if you are breastfeeding without having a scale to weigh him before and after, which is absurd because it's expensive. You don't need that. The only way to be completely sure (and if you want to stick with breastmilk) is to pump and feed from a bottle. But be careful pumping because pumping can hurt your supply, unless you're trying to build up your supply, then adding a pumping session can actually help your supply because it sends a message to your body that you need to produce more milk, but remember that baby is more efficient at getting milk out, although he'll probably eat less than what you pump. So pumping is good...except when it's not.

HOW is a new parent supposed to keep up??

The best advice we've gotten is to listen to everyone and do what you think is best. That's good advice, but how do you know what is actually best? Sometimes I think I'm overfeeding the baby, but the next day I worry he's not getting enough. AHHHH! In the end, it probably doesn't matter what you do as long as baby is happy and healthy, and Mom and Dad are staying sane.

Nevertheless...I love my little guy so much! I am loving the quality time I'm getting with him. Every day brings a new adventure and something new that each of us learns about one another.

I'll leave you with some of his newest pictures...

Eating was just TOO tiring!!

"Are you talking to me?"

In our next post...look forward to Matty's two month stats! He is a growing boy!!!

Until next time...