Thursday, December 19, 2013

7 Weeks with Max

This was supposed to be a one month post, then a 6 week post, and now here we are, almost two months out from Max's birth!  Oh well--better late than never.  

Max has been the sweetest baby, right from the start.  He was an absolute dream for the first month! Especially compared to Andy, who I'm realizing we should have submitted to the world's hardest baby contest. :) Max slept a lot, we had to wake him up to eat at night (?!), he'd just sit and chill without being held, he didn't scream for hours a day for no reason...all things that were new for us. We just kept saying to ourselves, "Is this what most newborns are like?!" He had the sweetest temperament.  That being said, I still had a really difficult time.  I'm just not one of these women who has a baby and is out with makeup on running errands the next day!  It's taken me a long time to feel more like myself, but things are getting better.  Hands down, the biggest challenge of the month was nursing.  We had such a difficult time with Andy, but I think this even rivaled that experience because of how painful it was.  We've dealt with issue after issue: severe nipple damage from a bad latch, the bad latch led to poor weight gain for Max, we used a SNS (supplemental nursing system) for a couple weeks but it just made Max lazy (and feedings took 1.5 hours...that was fun), heavy overproduction...I could go on.  After spending a fortune on lactation specialist visits and after almost giving up every single day, we have finally arrived at a point that I kind of enjoy nursing!  And Max is gaining plenty of weight now, so all is well.  I am soooooo grateful it all finally came together, because I didn't think it ever would.  I ended up loving my nursing experience with Andy so much, it would have been really hard for me to miss out on that with Max.

Other things to remember about the first month: My sweet mom came to visit and help for a week! I'm convinced we wouldn't have survived without her.  She did an incredible amount of cooking and cleaning and was such an emotional support to me.  I'm so grateful she came.  Oh...we also MOVED when Max was three weeks old.  Is that insane or what?  I don't recommend it.  I didn't even really do anything and it was still super hard.  Cameron pretty much boxed up the entire house and coordinated the entire move.  My incredible mother-in-law flew in to help me fly back with both boys.  She literally flew in in the morning and then hung out at the airport until I got there and then flew back with me.  Plus, she brought all sorts of amazing snacks and activities for Andy so I could just focus on Max (and the 1+ hour feedings we had in the airport bathrooms pumping, using the SNS, etc...lots of fun).  Is she incredible or what?!  Speaking of incredible people, we had so many wonderful people bring us meals, help us move, show up to clean our house, etc.  We are so grateful for good friends who supported us during such a hectic month!

A few things stand out about Max the first month or so.  He loved to suck on my finger!  We waited to introduce a binky because he was having so much trouble nursing, so my finger played substitute.  He didn't really like Cameron's finger--only mine.  He looked so funny in his clothes! He preferred the fetal-like position of his legs up to his chest, so his legs were never in his leg slots.  And his arms are super long, so they were much longer than his sleeves.  He has beautiful, big eyes that are really wide. It makes him look really surprised.  He has blue eyes that look a lot like Andy's.  He is cuddly.  He loves to be swaddled.

How has Andy handled being a big brother?  He had a lot of trouble in the beginning.  He didn't really do anything mean to Max, but he threw a whole lot of tantrums.  For the most part, he ignored (and still ignores) Max.  I think he missed our old routine and all the things we used to do together.  He seems to be doing better now, though he still doesn't want to touch or hold Max.  I'm looking forward to when we can resume more of the things Andy and I used to do together.  I'm still getting the hang of two kids, so we spend most of our time at home where he watches more TV than I care to admit!
The boys with my mom.
Milk coma!
Andy thinks this bouncer is for him.
I think they were watching Madagascar II for the 1,000 time.


The one time Andy "held" Max! :)
You can see how long his arms are here.
Max and I with some of our BFFS, Cami and Oscar.  Max and Oscar are only 8 days apart!
First bath! 
Mom's finger=yum.
Awwwww.
Maxwell Mark with Grandpa Mark.
Max with Grandma Kathy.
Max with Grandpa Greg.
Max with Uncle Brendan.  I've always said Max looks like Brendan.
I had to throw this in because Andy is just so cute.
Moving on to month two! The past few weeks with Max have been easier in some ways and more difficult in others.  Easier: nursing!  I already pretty much covered that.  He's a speedy eater, usually done in under ten minutes.  It's great!  I also need to give a shout-out to my nursing show of choice: Grey's Anatomy.  I'd never seen it before. I started at the very beginning and I'm further in than I care to admit.  Also, we feel more adjusted altogether.  Harder: Unfortunately, he's seemed to lose his easy-going temperament the past few weeks.  It seems like he's having a lot of digestion pain, so I'm trying to drop dairy to see if that helps.  Or it could just be that he's moving out of his newborn phase and he's a bit more aware now?  Or maybe it's because he's a little congested?  Whatever it is, we hope it gets better soon.  The poor thing spends most of his awake time crying and squirming.  His sleeping isn't great either.  The first month of his life, he'd easily take four hour stretches at night.  Now he's up at least every three hours, oftentimes more.  I'm pretty exhausted. It'd be nice if we could get him down to only waking up twice a night.  His napping could also use improvement.  Lots and lots of cat naps, whereas he used to take good long naps.

Other things about Max:  He loves baths!  He's always happy in the bath.  Andy helps me rinse him off--it's pretty cute.  Max also loves driving in the car.  It knocks him out in 2 seconds flat.  We love it because he usually stays asleep for a couple hours.  Max has the most beautiful, long lashes.  They were white when he was born, but they're turning darker, just like Andy's did.  He's getting the most delicious rolls of fat!  I love chubby babies, so I'm thrilled.  He loves his binky, which we introduced at the end of the first month.  We also gave him a bottle for the first time around then, and he took it like a champ.  He tolerates tummy time better than Andy ever did and is getting so good at holding his head up!  He's been in 3 month clothes for a few weeks now and is filling them out nicely.  He started smiling at about 6 weeks; I'm probably biased, but I think he has the sweetest smile ever.

We love our sweet, cuddly Max and are so glad he's part of our family!



We are obsessed with his smiles!

3 comments:

  1. That smile!!! Oh he is soooo cute. He sounds a lot like how Sam was as a newborn. I can't wait to meet him! :)

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  2. You are right! That is a killer smile! :) What a cutie! Sure hope we get to meet him when we're in UT for Christmas. You poor thing with all the nursing trauma. That sounds awful. So glad it worked out in the end. Also, don't worry too much about Andy's tantrums. Kaden went through a SUPER awful tantrum phase right after Everett was born, but he's since gone back to normal. Before you know it, Andy and Max will be best buds!

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  3. I'm so glad to hear things are better! Yay! And he is so handsome! I really can't believe how grown up he looks! I love it! And I hope he sleeps for you soon...mama needs her rest! I want to see you guys while we're here:-)

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