Multi-tasking

I've perfected the art of multi-tasking over the past week. I can't even count the number of other things I'm doing as I also type this blog post. It's a very efficient, however not very relaxing, way to live. But I like it all right!

We are still settling in over here. Pretty soon my life should become more well-rounded, and I should have other things to write about besides the baby...but for now, he's my only material for blogging. It would help if I could walk with a normal gait, drive a car, or have enough stability to carry a baby. All in due time, I suppose. Yesterday was a very 'active' day around here. I spent a couple of very frustrating hours battling Baby G to reverse some bad habits I'd created with breastfeeding (and I think the effort paid off, thank goodness), then I shopped (very slowly) at Fry's while Dylan hung out in the car with G, and then we headed across the street for dinner with my brother and his family and my cousin and her family. It felt nice to be normal-ish again. Even if we don't go anywhere, I try to go outside and get some fresh air every day just to feel renewed.

With any luck I'll regain full mobility soon. With no luck at all, it could be weeks or months. My thought is that it won't be too much longer before I'm back to normal because my leg changes every day. Today it seems a little worse, which is because I can feel it better, and man is it sore. I think I pulled muscles and ligaments, besides the nerve injury. Next time I will not forget how incredibly inflexible I am when I am numb and in position to deliver a baby. Also, now that I've done some more reading, I think the nerve damage was due to my large-ish baby moving through my pelvis rather than from over-extending my hip and leg. I'll spare you the details, but it would make sense with the way things went during the delivery.

Squeezing out a poo?

Finally one with me and the baby!

Tired baby, jealous dog.

All aboard? Choo choo!

Right now, I'm getting pee on the bedspread.

Daddy snuggles.

So now that we've been home for almost a week, I've thought of the things that have surprised me, and the things that haven't, with life in the postpartum phase and caring for a newborn. 

Things that DON'T surprise me:

The amazing love you feel for the tiniest human in your life. To me, Gavin has the most perfect little peanut face, and he's the sweetest most snuggliest little guy ever. We just love him. I was told I would feel this way, so I'm not surprised by it, but it is definitely a new thing.

Dylan said last night that this baby is like a full-time job for two people. He and I have completely different perceptions on what having a full-time job entails, and I've mentioned before that child-rearing is not a job, but rather a huge and time-consuming responsibility...but that really sort of sums it up. When I start taking care of the baby on my own more frequently, I might have to revise my daily activities (blog less, do less laundry, eat less often, maybe skip a shower?, etc), but having a newborn at home requires a tremendous effort, as expected. 

Being a mom is harder than being a dad. Dad gets to hold a happy or sleepy baby while he watches pre-season football, plays Xbox games, does a practice Fantasy Football draft, or whatever. He changes some diapers and does a lot of cuddling, and since he can stand and walk with the baby, he rocks him to sleep a lot. Mom gets a fussy, hungry baby and has to wake up all night long, and when baby is with dad, she has to keep things in order around the house, schedule appointments, deal with insurance changes, apply for birth certificates, do endless laundry, etc. It really gives you a whole new definition as a woman, and I'm not complaining. Keeping the house together and multi-tasking are what I'm good at doing. I'm very, very thankful to have such an attentive and helpful husband, and I'll take what I can get. I've been told by experienced mothers that this is the way it will always be, and that's okay. I feel a lot of reward and fulfillment in taking care of a family, and I didn't expect it to be any other way.

I like being here, all cooped up on little sleep with endless tasks, better than I like being at work. It's difficult and sometimes not that enjoyable, but I like this role. Ask me about this again in a few weeks or months, and I may be singing a different tune, but as difficult as it is I prefer it over the usual grind. I was told I would feel differently, but I always knew I would feel this way. Then again, my baby is only 9 days old, so we shall see...

Things that DO surprise me:

Breastfeeding is a pain (but for me, luckily, does not cause pain). I knew that new babies needed to be fed constantly, but goodness does it ever impede the flow of daily activities. I wasn't very good at it at first, but I'm doing better about nursing as often as possible. It's going more smoothly now, but this guy has high demands for food. Any tips for producing more milk for this hungry fellow besides constant nursing?

How does so much pee get outside the diaper? So far we've done mostly disposables to keep the umbilical cord area comfortable before switching to cloth diapers, but we've gotten a lot of pee on a lot of outfits. I guess he's well hydrated!

That unintentional smile the baby makes when drifting off to sleep is so darn cute.

I believed everyone when they said that having a newborn at home makes you sleep-deprived and leaves you with little time to do anything else. But I never truly understood why that was. The reason, I believe, is the constant need to feed. But that's okay...I have watched many episodes of The Good Wife, browsed Pinterest, kept up with the news, done some reading about babies, and much more while providing nourishment to Baby G. I do feel a bit cooped up here, however, but in general my spirits are good (after the initial shock of bringing home the baby) and it's all fine by me since I know it won't last forever. I spent a lot of time preparing for baby to come home, so the house is clean (but not for much longer) and we have plenty to eat for now.

I am determined to get a baby announcement out before too long. I'm just waiting till we capture the perfect shot. I thought I wouldn't care about this too much until I found my bearings a little more. But I DO care.

Sleep deprivation isn't the worst thing ever. I always wake up on my own when Baby G needs me (rarely does he wake up or cry), but it's still hard to get out of bed and do the routine. The daytime hours, though, aren't that bad. I don't feel like a total zombie...just tired. I'm lucky that I've been able to fit in a cat nap about every other day. It would be every day if I would just slow down for a minute, but there's just too much to do.

So that's our current status around here, but I'll wrap this now since I could go on forever. Looking forward to one day posting a picture of something or someone else, but right now this consumes me. Off to the new daily grind!