First Week at Home
Our first night home Cooper did wake up twice to Nicholas’s crying from the living room. Happily we can report that he slept through the rest of the tears the remainder of the week. Cooper is so good with Nicholas, he loves to give him soft head touches and sweet kisses on the head. Cooper is also very good at letting us know that Nicholas needs to eat from the “boob” whenever he cries.
A few times Rob fed Nicholas using a syringe with a feeding tube attachment and his finger to give him the colostrum drops I had pumped. He was able to experience the sucking power Nicholas has at just a couple of days old both on his finger and how the syringe would move down without him pressing on it. Today my milk has come in so it looks like the pumping in the hospital paid off. I am not sure any of us would have been very happy if it had taken 7 days to come in instead of just 3, especially Nicholas 🙂 A babies stomach grows almost doubling in size these early days which is why it can go from needing just a few drops each feeding to full ounces.
On our second day home I was feeling so good that we even took a slow family stroll to the mailbox and I did the stairs a couple of times. With the first surgery I was stuck upstairs for nearly a week so only having one day at home before taking a walk outside is a great example of just how much better I feel this time around. Nicholas had his first poop (bright yellow breast milk color instead of the black meconium) today.
This week Rob was super Dad and took Cooper to PEPS and toddler group while Nene, Nicholas and I hung out at home. Having all that play time with Daddy wore Cooper out. This super tired head position has been captured before when he was just 2 months old.
Wednesday we had a scheduled appointment with the lactation consultant to check in on how feeding was going. Nicholas weighed in at 9lbs 3oz so he is definitely growing (he left the hospital weighing 8lbs, 15ozs, 3 days ago). It is really hard to hear Nicholas cry because he has actually lost his voice and his scream is very hoarse. The upside is that this new cry is a few octaves lower than the original. His baby acne is drying up and looking like freckles on his cheek which is extra cute. There is dark hair on his shoulders and the edge of his ears. We were treated to a dinner where he slept the entire meal.
Thursday, at this point sleep deprivation has definitely set in and we started taking naps when Cooper does in the afternoon. Nene has been super grandma and taken Nicholas the first few hours in the night to give us a couple hours of solid sleep before continuing the every other hour feedings. We love that she is a night owl and Nicholas definitely loved the snuggles!
I took my last Percocet today and now just take ibuprofen. I wish I would have read the side effects sooner as I have been super stopped up and look forward to feeling back to normal. The water retention that started during pregnancy with Cooper just happened yesterday, 3 days after delivery, making my ankles and left wrist pretty swollen.
