Weeks 1-2: August 18-31, 2015

Hospital Stay: So great!

We arrived at the hospital at 4:30am on Tuesday, August 18. Finn was born that morning at 8:10am and we checked out at 10:30am on Friday, August 21. We probably could have left that Thursday but while we were at the hospital I was able to focus on resting and since Finn had just gotten circumcised on Wednesday, we were also happy to have the extra help caring for him. Michael and I have said that it’s probably going to be a rude awakening for us to have kids in the US because the level of care and the quality of everything at the hospital here is so high.

The other thing that was good about our hospital stay is that I feel like it allowed me to bond with Finn a little more before bringing him home. It’s hard to put into words but until Finn joined our family, Colt held 100% of my maternal love and I almost felt protective over that – over the space that he had in my heart. Of course my love for Finn doesn’t take anything away from my love for Colt, but the reality is that Finn’s presence does force me to split my time, energy, and even just who I’m looking at from moment to moment, so in that sense Finn does compete with Colt. Therefore, it was good for me to have a few days just with Finn in order to bond with him and let him find his own unique space in my heart as well.

On the flip side of that, the hardest thing about our hospital stay for me was missing Colt. We only had him come to the hospital to visit for an hour or so on Tuesday night so I was away from him most of Tuesday and then all of Wednesday and Thursday before we came home on Friday. Michael came home and spent a couple hours with Colt each day and I knew he was doing great, but it was definitely tough to spend that much time away from him.

Finn Medical: Praise God – healthy boy!

Weight: 7lbs 15oz. At birth on Tuesday morning, Finn weighed 7lbs 11oz. By Thursday he had gotten down to 7lbs 4oz but by that following Monday he was up to 7lbs 8oz. We just went to the doctor again yesterday and he had gotten up to 7lbs 15oz.
Height: 51.5cm or a little over 20 inches tall.
Clothes: Newborn
Diapers: Newborn
Other: The baby acne is in full-swing and his skin is super flakey. Yesterday (day 13) Finn lost his umbilical cord (always so gross). Also, Finn has a hemangioma located in his lower left abdomen. It’s below the skin but above the muscles so it looks like a hernia sticking out. It’s benign so for now we are just watching it and time will tell if it needs to be removed or if it will work itself out.

Feeding: I’m very thankful it’s going great!

Nursing is going really well – very similar to how it went with Colt. We have been feeding around every 3.5 hours during the day (normally we have to wake Finn up to keep this schedule) and then we feed on-demand at night, generally every 5-6 hours. He eats about 10-20 minutes total (5-10 minutes per side).

There was definitely some pain/discomfort in the first week but I do think it has been easier this time around than with Colt. I’m not sure if it’s just because I knew what to expect so I haven’t been freaked out by anything or if the engorgement truly hasn’t been as bad but either way it’s been fine. Also, similarly to last time, I have been over-producing again which is a problem that I’m thankful to have. I have withheld from pumping and my body is definitely regulating itself but sometimes (especially before bed when it’s going to be a longer stretch before I feed again) I’ll manually express a couple ounces after feeding just to get more relief and to help myself last longer since Finn will normally give us pretty good stretches at night. Finn is a little bit of a sleepy eater and sometimes struggles to latch in the beginning when the flow is really strong so feeding him is usually a pretty wet and messy affair (getting better though!). Plus, he always spits up during and after. Colt was just the same way so I realize it just means that I’ll have another baby who is permanently in a bib.

Sleep: Praise the Lord, so far, Finn is a great sleeper! He is still in the sleepy baby phase so we have to work to keep him up during the day but at night he’s sleeping really well – we are only getting up once each night to feed. Plus, since my mom is here and getting up with Colt each morning at 7:30, I am sleeping in and feeling quite well-rested! (Thanks Gigi!)

Schedule: We are starting to move from a routine to a schedule. Of course each day/night is a little different but we are more or less on the following schedule:

8:00 am First morning feed followed by long awake time to establish “day” time.
12:00 pm Lunch feed.
4:00 pm Snack feed.
7:30 pm Dinner feed followed by bath and long awake time to start getting him ready for a good night’s sleep.
9:30 pm Final feed – if possible awake for 1 hour after.
10:30 pm Bedtime for Mom, Dad and Finn.
3:30 am Night feed then right back to sleep.

Finn: Finn’s looks and his personality/demeanor reminds us so much of Colt as a baby. He is a super sweet, calm and chill little guy.

He rarely cries except when he is cold getting his diaper changed or in the bath – not his favorite!

I was going to wait to introduce the pacifier to him just in case it affected his ability to nurse well but I caved on our first night home from the hospital and just like his brother, Finn instantly liked the paci. That being said, he definitely goes for his hands (whenever they aren’t covered by gloves) and has already amazed me with his success at getting his thumb – something Colt never really figured out.

Mama Postpartum: Whew-wee!

Although the healing/recovery process has been light years easier than the c-section recovery, the first few days still felt rough. There were just so many things that I wasn’t expecting or that were different this time around. My back felt bruised from the epidural, the cramps I would get while nursing during the first couple days were brutal (I’ve heard that they get worse with each child?!), I was s-o-r-e from the delivery and even worse than the pain, I was mentally super freaked out by it all. I had never gone through anything like this so I was constantly texting girlfriends or googling things to see if what I was feeling/experiencing was normal.

The other side of postpartum recovery is the hormones and mine were absolutely all over the place – definitely worse than they had been with Colt. I think I cried every day for the first week and bonus, they also caused my skin to break out. Oh, and days 3-5 I was randomly really swollen (apparently the uterus is trying to get rid of it’s extra fluids and sometimes that can cause you to swell) and I was super hot all the time – especially at night. Add to all of that a post-baby tummy and week 1 was not a pretty picture.

Of course a sweet baby makes it all worth it and by this point, 2 weeks in, I’d say I feel almost totally back to normal.

Other notes on the week: The first week was full of special moments including meeting our sweet new baby Finn, introducing Colt to his new little brother, having my mom arrive and spending time with friends.

Colt has been awesome with Finn and is very sweet to him. He is so gentle whenever he touches him and loves to hold him, pat him and give him kisses. I think Colt realizes that Finn is here to stay and he doesn’t seem to mind. Colt knows that he is a big boy and Finn is a little boy or a little baby and he loves to remind us of that all the time.

Although he is an awesome big bro, we have seen Colt act out in other ways. I think it was partially due to all of the changes and chaos (us being gone at the hospital for a few days, then coming home with a new baby, then my mom arriving) but he has been giving us a tougher time – more tantrums, more easily frustrated, slower to obey, more “Mine! My toy!” attitude… but we are working on it and it already seems to be improving. We are trying to still set aside special time with him each day and Michael even took him to São Paulo’s “drive-through-zoo” last week which he loved.