Life Update: Three Weeks as a Family of Four

We are slowly but surely figuring out life with a newborn and a toddler. Miss A went through a bit of a reversal period in her "big girl" behaviors but has already steadily regained them. We are both sleep deprived to the max and feel like it will never end. However, we have a healthy boy who seems to be adjusting fairly well to life outside the womb!

Oliver does have some stomach issues like excessive gas and possibly constipation. He has plenty of wet and stool diapers daily but he is always grunting and making odd faces. Sometimes his stomach gets rock hard and he seems to be uncomfortable. We have given him gripe to help relieve his stomach pains (and hiccups) but we are going to talk to his doctor about it soon. He doesn't cry for long periods of time though. I can pull his legs up close to his stomach and/or simply lay him on his stomach to relieve a lot of gas. I feel like these are normal baby problems but I never experienced these issues with Miss A.

He eats well and often. I am breastfeeding him every 2-3 hours around the clock. He is a good sleeper... but has his nights and days mixed up. He sleeps a good 16+ hours a day like the average baby.

Miss A really likes her little brother. She likes holding him and giving him kisses. She also loves being mommy's big girl helper. She needs to throw every diaper away and bring me anything I want... from diapers and burp clothes to lanolin and nursing pads. She is such a great help.

The first two weeks with Oliver were overwhelming for everybody. Miss A was getting woken up by Oliver's cries around 4-5am. She would stay awake and then both of them would take turns crying once the other fell asleep. It was probably the most miserable part of this whole experience so far. Miss A also started having some accidents and went potty in her pants about five times. She told us that she needed to go potty and then refused to go. She also started refusing to try to go potty before naps and bedtime. Luckily her sleep and potty issues are subsiding and she is back to being a big girl. We threatened to put diapers on her and that pretty much did the trick!

Daddy had only a few days off while we were in the hospital and then a weekend off after Oliver was born. He is sleep deprived and has people at work asking if he is okay... I am the one who wakes up all night and does the feedings and diaper changes but unfortunately he is a light sleeper. He hears Oliver cry, grunt, cough, poop, fart, etc. Oliver will sleep between feedings about 75% of the time but he tends to have a solid, awake period around midnight and an occasional awake period sometime in the early morning. It makes it hard for Bill to get a solid night of sleep before a long day of work. Last night was rough and he only got a solid one hour of sleep before he left had to wake up at 4:30am for a 12 hour shift. He left a note on the counter that said the following:

Monny, 

I have gone away for an extended period of pain and suffering. See you at dinner time. 

Love, Bill. 

My poor hubby. :( Not sure what to do about his sleep deprivation other than have him sleep in another room or at another house occasionally... 

Mommy's update is rather inflated right now because I just had a cup of coffee. I am beyond exhausted and getting plain irritated by waking up every 2-3 hours for what has now been three weeks. Let's rewrite that. I HAVE BEEN AWAKE EVERY 1.5-3 HOURS FOR 21 CONSECUTIVE DAYS. (And I do not see an end in the near future!!) This has resulted in many meltdowns and moments of despair. Then, I grudgingly make coffee, take a few sips, and realize that Oh, it's not so bad. I can do this.

Besides the normal, must-fight-through-and-conquer sleep deprivation part of raising a newborn baby, I have numerous additional complaints that I feel is necessary to release into the World Wide Web. 

Ready. Set. Go. 

I am tired of sensitive, engorged breasts that constantly soak my bed sheets at night with milk. I am tired of sore nipples though thankfully they are not cracked or bleeding. I am tired of having to take a shower every morning to rid the sticky, milk stench that coats my body. (I hate daily showers right now because it means my hair will be a complete mess without spending at least 30 minutes of time on it. I don't have that kind of motivation. I can't simply put my hair up because I have a constant headache... Shower cap? Ugh.) I am tired of being skinny again and still not able to wear clothes due to breastfeeding. It's cold and I am tired of never having a shirt on. I am tired of having to wear a bra 24/7. I am like a milk fountain without it! Did I mention my breastfeeding goal is one year? I am tired of my flabby body and desperately want to start working out again. I am tired of the constant headaches I keep getting and can't rid due to lack of sleep. My carpel tunnel syndrome symptoms are returning once again so now I have to make time for 25 minutes of daily wrist/elbow exercises. I am just tired and desperately need 4 or 5 hours of sleep in a row to recover. 

Now that most of my complaints are out, I am still happy to be a family of four! I feel very blessed to have a beautiful, angel bug daughter and a squeaky, puppy-like son. I will be much happier once I can truly bond with my children after getting a little more sleep. [[Even if I sleep all day and night and simply wake up every 2-3 hours, it does not help! I NEED CONSECUTIVE HOURS OF SLEEP!!! And I am stubborn so until I get that I will not be happy. Okay, untrue... But still.]] I am happy to officially know that I only want 2 children and can 100% agree with my husband on that. :) I am VERY excited about getting a more permanent-- long term-- no pill or shot type of birth control. The kind that lasts five years... Then we can do the permanent option after that... 

I hope I have not offended anybody on my realistic update of life with a newborn again//family of four. It is definitely not all sunshine and lollipops as others' Facebook updates make it appear!! But there are those beautiful moments as well. Like right now, Oliver is sleeping through a case of the hiccups in a super cozy outfit. He is adorable and melts my heart a lot of the time.