Sunday, May 17, 2015

John Paul's First Week

John Paul's currently having a little siesta, so I'm taking a short break from mommying to show off some pics of the peanut and do a mega fast recap of our first week together. 

We spent one night in the hospital and made it home in time for dinner on his second day of life.


John's parents arrived in town late on the day he was born. They stayed in Memphis for a few days and got lots of snuggle time in. While it was great having their help and their company, I was also ready to not entertain anymore, and to get into our own little routine, just the three of us.

We've had quite a few issues with breastfeeding, but we're powering through. Turns out my little dude has a shallow latch, at least that's what I think is the problem. We'll be seeing a lactation consultant later this week, so hopefully we'll get answers then. We saw a lactation consultant in the hospital too, but it wasn't super helpful unfortunately. For now, I'm dealing with some hurtin', bleeding nipples. OUCH. Offering up prayers!


The first two nights, John Paul just wanted to nurse continuously. We're talking 4 or 5 hours straight with no sleeping between. He sure does like his food.

We were going nearly insane with him fighting sleep in the middle of the night. It wasn't until I sang him a few verses of Hey Jude (except we sang it Hey John Paul), swaddled him in his Halo swaddler, and rocked him to sleep for another hour, that he finally zonked out. And it was beautiful.


Now we've found a bit more of a routine. He pretty much sleeps right after his feedings at night time and stays awake after most of his feedings in the daytime. We like this arrangement! Let's see how long it lasts. :)

Daddy was able to give John Paul his first daddycure. No more scratching your face, little one!


We tried out his crib for approximately 3 minutes one afternoon. He much prefers his Fisher Price Rock n' Play though. We keep it in our bedroom to keep him close to us at night. Probably our best baby purchase yet!


He loves snuggling with his daddy! And his daddy has been AMAZING! Since I'm on boob duty, Dad has taken over all diaper duty. And he's pampering me left and right. I thought I was in love with this guy before John Paul came along. I'm about a million times more in love with him now. How is that even possible?


He might not know how to smile socially yet, but he does flash us the occasional smile after a good feeding. #milkdrunk


Overall, life is good. And we're so in love. It's so overwhelmingly good.

Praise God!

20 comments:

  1. Seriously, he is so cute, and I'm so happy for you guys!

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  2. What a beautiful family! Offering prayers of thanksgiving!

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  3. I totally get the wanting the entertaining to be over part. Finding the new normal is the best! I hope your lactation consultant meeting is productive. Until then find what can soothe you the best, I liked warm compresses but that may not be comforting to you. You and John Paul will figure it out!

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    1. We've been trying out all sorts of comfort measures - warm compresses, lanolin, gel soothes, changing positions, and just yesterday we got our hands on a prescription nipple ointment. That seems to be helping a lot! We're meeting with the LC tmrw, so here's hoping for happier nipples and a better latch! :)

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  4. Congratulations! I had to smile at the photo of John and John Paul since I'm pretty sure we have a similar photo of Monica laying on John's chest.

    And good luck with the breastfeeding and lactation consultant meeting! Lanolin and cool gel pads (keep in the fridge between uses) were a hudge help.

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    1. Ooooo, didn't think to keep the gels in the fridge! Good call. :) As of right now, a prescription nipple ointment is working wonders! Aren't daddy/baby cuddles the cutest?

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  5. So sweet! Love the little newborn smiles!!
    You might look into a breastfeeding support group in your area--we have one that meets every week run by a nurse at the med center. It's been great and we didn't even really have any nursing problems!

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    1. Great suggestion! I'm on it! As soon as we move to JC (in 3 weeks -- eek!), I'm totally going to attend meetings. Really looking forward to the added support.

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  6. I hope the lactation consultant is able to help - sore and bleeding nipples sound painful! It's great that your husband has volunteered for diaper duty; it sounds like a great way to split the work.

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    1. I hope it helps too! We meet with her tmrw. And yes, its the perfect way to split the workload, though I wish his duty could be a little more pleasant. :P

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  7. Good to hear that you are all adjusting and especially helpful to have a dh who is willing to take on diaper duty.

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    1. Absolutely!! Diaper duty and laundry duty and meal duty... he's taking SUCH good care of us. :)

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  8. Wahooooooooooo! Congrats! Enjoy your little family. :)

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  9. LOVE!!! This post makes me smile so much!! What a cutie pie John Paul is!!!

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