Obi's first week at home

More than a few times this past week, I've been amazed thinking about how each person I've ever seen was born.  Someone was pregnant with them and someone gave birth to them.  The universality of birth and newborn care has brought me some comfort this week.  I am not the only person to have ever done this! 

It hasn't been bad, at all really.  I'm just dealing with lots of extra hormones and lots of time at home with little "real" accomplishments (like laundry, food, cleaning, etc).  It is a constant cycle of feeding, burping, changing, sleeping, waking, feeding, burping.... etc. I'm looking forward to the days of a schedule and routine so I can have some predictability in my life.  Yet I always here people say how it goes so fast and cuddle with your newborn while you can.  So I'm trying to do that.  Already, we have a one week old.  Only 3 more of what I just did and we will have a one month old!  

I've been able to sneak a shower in nearly every day thanks to naps in his bouncy seat in the bathroom.  Today was my first shower before noon!  Since dad's been back at work this week, I've found that it helps to have something to break up my day.  We've taken walks a few evenings as a family and we walked Obi to a BBQ at a friend's house last night.  Getting out helps and I'm SO thankful for the nice weather. 

Today I might be brave and actually take him somewhere in the car.  I'm thinking I'll get a 1/2 price Starbuck's frappacino.  I might end up driving further just to go through the drive through Starbucks-- but that's OK.  I'm looking forward to it!  Tomorrow I'd like to go to a breastfeeding group at the hospital and have him weighed before and after eating just to see that something is working.  I don't know when it's "OK" or acceptable to bring a baby out  in the world-- but I think it'll be helpful to me so we're going to do it.  Ben and I are trying to keep in mind that this baby has joined our lives (and yes, drastically changed it...) but we can still do normal things.  

But really, he's gotten good 2 or 3+ hour stretches of sleep at night before waking... and I wake up more than him!  I've woken up several times thinking he's in my arms or in our bed and get slightly scared when I can't find him.  I have to get up to see him in his crib (which is only 5 steps from my bedside) just to assure myself that he's there.  I've read a few places that that can be common the first few weeks.  

The comments about his hair are never ending!  I love it.  Here's what we did after his first at home hair washing.

And it was such a blessing to have my aunt and a couple cousins to come Sunday and take some precious newborn pictures.

  This is a favorite and pretty much sums up my life lately... holding a precious little baby while he tries to eat me :)