Today is Colt’s 1 month birthday! Happy 1 month my love!

I think our weekly updates are going to transition into monthly ones, so here is my summary of the first month.

Colt Developments: Sweet boy, you have changed and grown so much this first month!

When we first met you, you still needed a little help learning how to breathe and you would hardly open your eyes. Now you are spending lots of time each day alert and awake, following people and objects. You aren’t QUITE smiling just yet, but you give lots of little smiles and smirks that melt your mom and dad’s hearts just the same.

You have definitely grown, but I’m not sure by how much. You were born at 6lbs 12 oz and got down to 6lbs 2 oz. I think you’re around 9lbs 5 oz but we’ll get an official weigh-in on Friday with the pediatrician. You developed a little baby acne last week – it looks better this week but it’s still going strong. It’s totally normal though and just means that your pores are opening up!

You are still so sweet and laid back. You don’t cry much and when you do, it’s generally pretty easy to comfort you. You enjoy walks in the park, rides in the car, being held, baths, eating and sleeping. You also really like being sung to and bounced.

You smell like heaven and are so soft to snuggle and kiss. I just want to breathe you in.

Eating: You are a great little eater! Right now you are eating 5-6 times per day — every 3-4 hours during the day and every 4-7 hours at night (from the start of one feed to the start of the next). You’re great both with me and the bottle. Your only issue is that you are getting a little feisty in the evenings and making feedings a little tricky, but we get through it! I love how God created me to take care of you and make food for you, and feeding you is such precious, sacred time for me to share with you.

Sleep: Your are an all-star sleeper! You have been great at sleeping in your crib from day 1, which is great because in our little apartment we don’t really have any other options! You sleep longer stretches at night and takes naps throughout the day in between feedings.

This was the first week that we didn’t have someone (your dad or Gigi) sleeping in your room on “night-duty” to bring you to me for night feedings and to do night diaper changes, etc. The first night I slept less than 3 hours because I was up with you and constantly watching you on the monitor, running into your room every so often. Last night was better (I got 5 1/2 hours of sleep) but I think I might need to start napping when you nap during the day!

Schedule: We aren’t on an official schedule yet, although we have been pretty consistent with our routine of feed & change – awake time – sleep time – repeat. The cycle is usually 4 hours but fluctuates a bit from day-to-day. Your dad likes to try to maximize his time with you though, so we are starting to try for a more consistent wake-up time so that he can spend some time with you each morning before he heads off to work.

Mom: It’s amazing how much your body can change in a month! During the first week I felt like I was experiencing a very slow recovery, but by this point I basically feel back to normal. I am still following orders not to lift heavy objects and I haven’t exercised (other than going for walks), but in a couple of weeks I should be able to do that too.

Motherhood has been the most amazing experience of my life. I don’t want to say that it hasn’t been difficult, because of course it has been, but I would say that I don’t think it’s been any harder than I would have thought. And mostly it’s just incredible!

One of the most fun parts of being a mom has been seeing your dad be a dad! Colt, your dad is so crazy about you. I have heard him slip (more than once) and say that you’re the love of his life! (Although don’t get any ideas – that position belongs to me!) During those first 10 days before my mom arrived and when I was having a really hard time doing anything, your dad took care of you in every way possible with the exception of feeding you. He slept beside your bed, dressed you, changed all of your diapers, burped you, snuggled with you and loved on you like crazy. I think he really bonded with you during that time, and ever since he returned to work he just soaks up every possible second he can get with you when he’s home. I send him pictures and videos of you all day, and he even insisted we get a camera that will allow him to check on you during the day from his office (or wherever). You look a lot like your dad and I hope that your character and heart take after him too. He is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of guy, and you and I are so lucky to have him in our lives.

Little love, I am so madly in love with you. All day I can’t stop staring at you, marveling at the miracle you are. It feels like a weighty obligation to have a boy – to raise a man – and I pray that you will grow to be brave and kind with a heart that beats for the Lord. I pray that God would draw you to Himself quickly and fiercely, and that you would love others as an outpouring of your relationship with Christ. I pray that your life is long, full and fulfilling, filled with love, adventure and laughter. I pray that you have big dreams that come true. You have made mine come true.

Week 4: July 29 – August 4

41 Weeks! (Colt at 4 weeks old — Aug. 4, 2013)

Colt Medical: Sweet boy is still happy, healthy and doing great, praise the Lord!

This week however, he did develop some baby acne on his face – poor little guy! He also had a super stuffy nose the other day so we used our awesome snot sucker (thanks Sara!!) and it cleared everything out! I’m excited to visit the pediatrician on Friday to weigh him again, but he seems to be growing really well. Colt is becoming more alert with longer awake-times, and this past week we started doing some tummy-time which he loves! He’s lifting and turning his head and loves looking at his surroundings.

Feeding: Colt is still a great feeder, eating every 3-4 hours during the day and every 4-7 hours at night. Feeding continues to be some of my favorite time with him – he makes such funny little sounds and faces that just melt my heart!

I pumped for the first time on Wednesday because I was curious to test it out and I wanted to introduce the bottle so that we would know we could have that as an option. Pumping felt really funny but it was super easy and worked great (thanks to Lori for my amazing pump!!), and Colt took the bottle very easily.

I was glad that I had figured it out because on Friday Colt seemed to have a smaller appetite and I ended up in a lot of pain, but pumping (+ hot compresses) was really helpful. Thankfully everything seemed better by Saturday, but Saturday night I pumped so that Michael could feed Colt for the first time too!

Sleep: This week I started feeding on-demand during the night to let Colt sleep for longer stretches, and I think we have all been enjoying the extra rest. At night he will usually sleep somewhere between 4-7 hours at a time which has meant that I’ve only had to wake up once or twice to feed at night, and getting those longer stretches of sleep has been key. Colt continues to be a great sleeper and really hasn’t had any fussiness this week. We generally lay him in his crib while he is still awake and let him fall asleep on his own. It’s so funny to watch him on the monitor because he will just lay there in the dark, totally silent with his eyes wide open until he gets sleepy.

Colt’s Personality: Colt continues to be super chill and incredibly awesome. The “witching hour” / fussiness that we were seeing glimpses of in week 3 never really seemed to come to fruition (so far!). He will definitely let out a yelp or cry if he’s upset, but he’s quick and easy to comfort which keeps our life pretty easy. He is SO precious and we just can’t get enough of him!!

Mama Updates: I’m still feeling great and absolutely loving being a mom. It is so much fun and so fulfilling – I never could have imagined how amazing it would be.

Activities: Colt had lots of fun this week! He loves bathing, strolling through the park, the mall and our neighborhood, but here are some highlights from the week:

Colt, my mom and I visited Parque Ibirapuera and walked around with Brett and Jana. Although the walk through the park was a total success, getting there proved to be quite the scene — first I set off my car’s alarm and we spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how to fold our stroller, then we drove around the park forever trying to find a good place to park. After finally parking, we spent 5 minutes trying to unfold the stroller and then another 15 trying to get the carseat out of the car! Thankfully I have patient friends.

We also visited Michael at his office this week! It was so great introducing Colt to all of Michael’s coworkers as they have been so sweet and excited for us during this time.

Stand up desk and a baby. Nbd.Michael’s office building:After our visit, we went across the street for lunch, and then my mom and I strolled around the mall (Shopping Iguatemi) for a bit, and stopped by Sharon Harper’s favorite store – Gloria Coelho.

Friday night we went out to dinner in our neighborhood at Rouge.

After grits and eggs on Saturday morning, we all walked down the block to our weekly feira (or street market) to pick up some fresh fruits and veggies for the week.

And I wore our baby carrier for the first time!

Later that afternoon, for a little change of scenery, we drove about an hour to a little artisan town, Embu das Artes. We strolled around looking at lots of crafts and wood furniture, and stopped to enjoy some ice cold chopps, yummy Brazilian appetizers and great feijoada.

Then yesterday we celebrated Colt’s 4 week birthday with a trip to our park – Parque do Povo – with the Hudson fam!

Visitors: During week 4 Colt visited with my mama (Gigi!), Uncle Joe Harper, Brett Coppens, Jana Pearl, Trent, Paige & Mailey Jane Hudson, Michael’s whole office and Ana Paula Pinho.

Thoughts: It has been so incredibly special and fun having my mom here over the past 2 1/2 weeks, and I am SO sad that she had to leave today. I have loved sharing this special time in my life with her, I have loved watching her get to know and fall head over heels for our precious boy, and I have been SO thankful for all of her help. She has cared so well for my family and me and I honestly can’t imagine having done it without her! My sweet mama has made us so many delicious meals, kept our apartment looking great, stayed up late each night with Colt and gotten up in the middle of the night to bring him to me for feedings, she has changed a million diapers and generally taken care of all of us. And more than anything, she has helped give me the confidence to know that I can do it as a new mom — after all, I have the best possible example.

Gigi – thank you for this amazing visit and for all you’ve done for us! We miss you already and can’t wait to have you back (with Dad) in November!!

Week 1: July 7-13, 2013

Hospital Stay: It was amazing!!

We were at Einstein Hospital from Sunday morning (1am) until Wednesday around noon, and it was amazing! Einstein is one of the nicest hospitals in all of South America and we were so blessed to be able to have our little boy there. Everything about the hospital is nice, but it’s the level of service that really pushes it over the top. There are nurses just for baby and nurses just for mom and all of them are fabulous! They are so enthusiastic and act like your baby is their favorite and the cutest, like you are the best mom, and like they want nothing more than to keep coming by your room to make sure every little thing is going well.

We generally kept Colt in our room to hang out during the day, but let the nurses bring him back and forth for feedings at night so that we could rest a little more. Although Michael helped out a couple of times with diaper changes and bathing so as to learn how, the nurses changed all the diapers and did generally everything for us which was great!

Beautiful flowers sent from Gigi & Pasha Zais!

The view from our hospital room

Hospital reading

Colt Medical: He’s a healthy little guy!!

On Sunday (his birthday!), Colt spent a couple of hours in the NICU making sure he knew how to breathe properly. Thankfully, they told us that once he got it figured out, it’s not something that he would struggle with again, so we were happy when he was brought to us around 4pm, never to return to the NICU.

Tuesday was a big day for Colt as he had his Hepatitis B immunization shot and his circumcision. He is super tough and hardly cried for either! Later that day we learned that he had a little jaundice so he spent some time under the tanning lights that day/night, but on Wednesday they said he was doing great and wouldn’t need any more treatment.

Treating his jaundice under the lights

We left the hospital on Wednesday afternoon and on Thursday we took Colt for his first appointment with the pediatrician where, again, he was a total champ! Apparently his weight had gone from 6lbs 12oz at birth to 6lbs 2oz, which was a smaller percentage of weight loss than normal which made us feel good and assured that he is getting the nutrients he needs. He also went from 47cm at birth to 49cm on Thursday, although maybe he just wasn’t fully stretched out the first time…

Friday we took him back to the hospital to meet with his pediatric surgeon to check on how the circumcision was healing and we are thankful to say all is well on that front too!

Feeding: Nursing has been painful but awesome!

Nursing has been going really well. It has definitely been a little painful – especially in the beginning – and the 3 days that my milk first came in were NOT comfortable, but all of that has been totally manageable for me and SO worth it to be able to feed my sweet boy. It still hurts some, and my body is clearly still learning how much milk to produce (as in, it’s currently way over-producing), so even though I am ruining a ton of shirts right now, I’m very thankful that this is the problem we’re having. 

Right now we’re on a pretty predictable 3.5 – 4 hour feeding schedule, and he does about 15-20 minutes total (8-10 per side). This seems short and spread out to me (especially because we started out with hour-long feedings!), but everyone at the hospital and our pediatrician said it was totally fine. He is making lots of big diapers and is at a healthy weight, so he must just be an efficient little eater.

Sleep: I’ve been surprised at how not-that-bad sleep has been for us. Although we are waking up to feed a couple of times during the night, Michael and I still get pretty good stretches of sleep in. Also, Colt is an awesome sleeper. We have had him in his crib for most naps and all night-time sleep since we came home and he’s done great with it. He’s so calm that even if he isn’t asleep when we put him down, he’ll just hang out until he falls asleep and he almost never cries.

Colt’s Personality: So far he has been a pretty amazing baby and we feel super lucky. Like I said, his feeding schedule is pretty predictable anyway, but when he gets hungry and ready to eat, he’ll make little grunts and movements for a good 10-20 minutes before he will cry for it. This is very helpful for us and allows us to know when to feed him before he gets upset. He basically never cries out of tiredness and just kind of falls asleep when he needs to. The one thing that he definitely does not like though, is being cold. When we change his diaper he usually cries for a minute or two, but he is a quick soother and the second that a new diaper is on and he starts to feel like he’s getting dressed again, he stops. He behaves similarly with bath-time — cries for a minute when he gets undressed but quiets down as soon as he’s in the warm water. I’m a little nervous that he is still just new and “waking up” and that he might transition to a more feisty personality, but for now Michael and I are VERY happy!

Colt says, “Go Eagles!! Thanks Matty M for sending me such sweet BC gear!”

Mama – Post Pardum: Surgery recovery has been super TOUGH.

Thankfully everything else has been going so amazingly well, but during the first week, I was having a really difficult time recovering from the surgery. I had a lot of pain about an inch or two above my stitches, concentrated mostly on the right side. It was very intense and was the worst when I was walking around or doing anything. The pain was so extreme that it pushed me to tears every single day.

On Friday, when we were at the hospital visiting the pediatric surgeon, I ended up crying in his office because I was hurting so badly. He asked me about what I was feeling and then said that, although it is not his area of expertise, he felt like it was an abnormal amount of pain to be in given the length of time since my surgery. He advised us to go to the ER after our appointment just to have it checked out. We agreed that it would make us feel better to do that, so we went to the ER. The doctor who examined me first said she thought it sounded like I had internal bleeding causing pressure to build up, but after an ultrasound of the whole area we were relieved to hear that they couldn’t find anything wrong. The doctor said that the healing process is different for everyone and for me it just seems to be a slower, very painful one, but that over time I should be feeling better. We talked to my doctor and she advised that we get something to help relieve and distribute the pressure so I got something similar to Spanx and that has been somewhat helpful.

Due to the amount of pain I was in for the first week, I would spend almost all day in bed. This has meant that since coming home, Michael has had to do EVERYthing. For the first week, he did every diaper change, every bath, every outfit change, he brought Colt to me for every feeding, he prepared and brought me every meal, cleaned up every dish, brought me my phone, my computer, my chap stick, helped me get dressed and undressed… it’s been unbelievable. And all the while, he is still having to do work from home. He has had an AMAZING attitude and promised that he loved it and could do this for the rest of his life, but emotionally, it was very difficult for me to be unable to help or be a part of taking care of our son in those first days. I wanted so badly to do all of those things but the reality was that I just wasn’t able to. Thankfully, I am married to Superman and he has already proved to not only be the best husband of all time but also the best dad.

I’m happy to say that as of Monday, I have been feeling much better. I’m still resting and taking it easy, but the intensity of the pain has decreased to a much more manageable level, so I’m able to be up and about a lot more. Also, we moved my mom’s flight up and she will be getting here tomorrow which will be awesome. She would have come sooner but frankly we still needed to send her some things to bring down for us and we felt like I might need her more once Michael returns to work in the office next week.

The other side of post-pardum is emotional, and I certainly felt it! I have felt very very happy, but was just crying at the drop of a hat. It seemed like I couldn’t look at Colt for more than a minute or tell Michael that I loved him without tearing up. The past day or two I have felt more like myself, but I am so overwhelmed with love and joy and thankfulness that I sometimes think my heart is literally going to explode. Michael and I agree that the love that we feel for Colt is so much more intense than anything we could have imagined, and my love for my son only makes me love his dad and love the Lord that much more. So many blessings and so much to be thankful for.

Visitors: Our SP friends and family are the BEST!

We have been beyond blessed by the friends and family we have in São Paulo. They have been so over-the-top in taking care of us and have provided us with the most incredible meals (I’m talking gourmet-style), tons of groceries, and lots of sweet visit time. 

Visitors for week 1 have included: Joe Harper, Paige, Trent & Mailey Jane Hudson and Trent’s parents, Tom McElwee, Suzanna & Jeff Jones, Jana Pearl, B Coppens, Bryan Rakowski, and Josh Ayers.

Coming Home: On Wednesday, I felt mixed emotions about coming home. At the hospital you just know that everything is safe and taken care of, and to be honest, I was worried about Michael since I knew that I would be of no help when we got home. At the same time though, I was excited to get home and just be a little family of 3!! It is what we have been dreaming about and imagining for so long, and sure enough it really has been incredible!

So, on Wednesday afternoon Michael packed up all of our things, helped with one final diaper change, and then drove his wife and son home! I was hurting a lot when we got home so I sat down while Michael gave Colt a tour of the apartment, ending with his room where he laid down in his crib for the first time!

Although it’s been a ton of non-stop work for Michael, and a lot of pain for me, being home as a family, just the three of us, has been absolutely out of this world amazing. It is so much fun and I can’t imagine Colt ever not being part of our family.

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