I started writing this post last week but never got to finish it! Happy New Year everyone!
So anyway, here we are again, on this roller coaster ride called Newborn Baby!
Koby is now 5 weeks old, and what a gorgeous little man he is :) I'm so thrilled that we are now complete as a family. He has the most precious little face, I have been lovingly gazing at it almost non-stop since he was born LOL!
The first 2 weeks were awesome, he really lulled us into a false sense of security. He fell asleep like a dream - couldnt keep him awake! Although he was a bit fussy during feeds, the fact that he almost straight away started sleeping 5, 6 or 7 hours straight at night was amazing. His day sleeps were at least 2 hours. I felt great, getting at least 5 hours of continuous sleep at night will do that :) Plus I had time through the day to play with Skye.
Then at around week 3 he hit his first growth spurt, and it all went downhill from there. Suddenly he was REALLY windy, burping and farting constantly! EXTRA fussy during feeds, not latching on properly, crying straight after feeds, and started waking up every 1-2 hours. Constantly wanting to be fed, like every hour or two (they call them "frequency days", and by the end of it I feel like I've got no milk left at all). Waking up 2 or 3 times at night for feeds and more screaming. Constantly wanting to be held etc etc.
Phew - its exhausting. Poor Skye has been watching a LOT of TV lately :(
I remember going through all this last time with Skye, so yes I knew it was coming but I suppose I was hoping that he wouldn't be quite as demanding as Skye was!! The trouble is, you start questioning everything that you're doing. Is it something that I've eaten? Something I drank? Have I not burped him enough? Am I not wrapping him tightly enough? Is it my milk? Is it my fast letdown? Is it the position I'm feeding him?
And of course, everyone has an opinion on what you should and shouldn't be eating. The joys of breastfeeding. Some say that anything that gives YOU gas/wind, will make the baby windy. They say to eliminate all dairy, wheat, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, citrus fruit/juice, cucumber, peas, capsicum, tea/coffee, chocolate (!!!), tomato, nuts etc - honestly, the list is endless. After a while you start to think "What the hell CAN i eat??"
If you go by what you read on the internet, you can pretty much eat rice, and chicken.
I went through all this last time, eliminating everything suspicious from my diet - I did it for a month or more, and you know what? Nothing changed! Skye was still a windy, colicky, refluxy baby. The things that fixed it for Skye were:
a) time
b) baby chiropractic (but then it might just have been a coincidence and good timing)
c) introduction of solid foods at 4 months
d) being able to sit up on her own at around 4-5 months
I keep reminding myself that the hardest time is the first 12 weeks or so. And Koby is now 5 weeks old , so we're over a third of the way there already hahaha...
Skye has been an absolute little trooper. She loves her little brother! She is always wanting to kiss and cuddle him, and wanting to watch his nappy changes, help with his baths. When we do our bedtime routine and say our goodnights and I love yous, she always says "Lub you Koby!" unprompted. So sweet, especially since little Koby is taking up so much of mummys time at the moment!
She's been having her moments though, I knew it would be much harder with a toddler and a new baby, but nothing prepares you for the constant demands from both. And the extra tantrums because the toddler isn't getting as much attention. To be fair, its only on the days when Koby is very unsettled, but its still tough nonetheless.
Anyway, growth spurt is over now and he's back to just waking once a night. On Tuesday night he actually slept straight through from 9.10pm until 4.50am - and I slept the entire time too! Amazing what a difference a full nights sleep can make :) Koby had his first chiropractic adjustment today too :)
Personally I've been feeling fantastic. I recovered really well from the birth, actually I felt pretty much back to normal by a day or two afterwards. I'm still wearing some materntiy pants though, which is annoying me. I've gained a bit of a spare tyre around the belly which I really want to get rid of ASAP. I've lost 11kgs so far, so I've got about 6kgs to go to get back to pre-pregnancy weight. Breastfeeding is helping but I'm not getting any time to myself to exercise - some days I do manage to get both kids to sleep at the same time but I tend to just want to collapse on the couch for 30 mins, or hang out some washing or something, rather than get on the treadmill. I have managed two training sessions in the last couple of weeks, but its not a priority right now!
So my plan for the moment is to shed as much as I can, slowly, by keeping my food under control (I'm not dieting, just trying to keep my meals healthy and not eat junk!). Biggest problem is that when I'm tired I reach for sugar, bad news! The other challenge is remembering to eat, because when you're caring for two demanding little people, you tend to sort them out and then forget about yourself. Then get so hungry that you end up eating a lot of stuff you probably shouldn't.
Anyway, thats my latest news!
