one week down, a lifetime to go

It’s hard to believe that a week has already passed. James Michael is one week old, and we’re slowly getting our groove. The first couple days were rough. I knew I’d be sleep deprived, but I thought I’d get more than 1.5 hours a night. The first night in the hospital, it seems like staff was coming in every 30 minutes to an hour to check me or the baby. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful they were so attentive, but it didn’t leave much chance for sleep.

When we finally got home, I was so anxious now that a little life was in my hands, that it was also hard to sleep because I kept an ear out the whole night listening to him.

But day by day I’ve begun to relax and realize that James Michael is a resilient little creature. He’s definitely thrived since bringing him home. The goal for his two-week pediatrician’s appointment is for him to be back up to his birth weight of 7lbs 6 oz. With the way he’s nursing now, he’ll have no problem with that. He’s got the same appetite as his daddy.

Since it was so warm today (64 degrees!), we took a short walk around our parking lot with Uncle Patrick as our escort. I think the 10 minutes of sunlight did JM some good, even though his eyes were closed the whole time.

Now that I’ve gotten enough sleep to function on, I’m feeling quite good. I’m itching to do something active, but am making myself rest a few more weeks. I’ve lost 23 lbs in the first week, the majority of it in the first couple days after delivery, so I only have a few more pounds to go. I’m sure I’ll start to lose some muscle mass soon, so I can’t wait to start CrossFitting again mid next month.

I’m so thankful my mom has been there to help me out the first week. She’s made me healthy home-cooked meals, helped me bathe JM, done laundry, organized the nursery and generally kept me sane.