First Month

The first month was a ROUGH one for us. When they say you forget about the newborn phase, it is SO true. Plus, it is so much harder when you have another one at home that needs attention. All Greg and I seemed to remember was the happy moments and we seemed to forget the exhaustion and lack of sleep a little too quick. Blake did not sleep and when he did, for short periods, it came with the “eeeh eeh” sound constantly from his mouth. Blake was a very colicky baby so we spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make him stop crying. Was it the breast milk or formula or lack of food or too much food? Was it reflux or was this normal? Does he hurt, is he tired? And of course, HOW LONG WAS THIS GOING TO LAST?! It was all just so exhausting.

I was a mess the first week coming home from the hospital. I think all I did was cry. So many tears. I had horrible baby blues-way worse than the first time. I think it was worse because not only did Blake not sleep well, but Grant was also waking up at 4 am most mornings because he apparently did not want to miss the party. After a few days in of just constant crying, I called my cousin Tracee, and she said “YOU NEED TO SLEEP!” So I spent two nights with my door closed and fan up high so I could not hear and just slept. After that, the crying finally stopped. It is amazing what a little sleep can do for your mental sanity.

Cuddling with some of the grandparents!

I came home from the hospital and Grant seemed to have aged years. He looked like a big boy instead of my baby. It was another hormonal feeling, but I missed Grant. I felt like I had just lost my little best friend. My momma’s boy was favoring his dad and it made me so sad. So I took him for a mommy/Grant date one day to get a cookie after daycare. He broke my heart once again when he got up to leave after seconds of this “date” because he wanted to go home and see Daddy. It took a few more weeks but eventually Grant warmed back up to his mommy and his became a momma’s boy again.

Blake also had some minor health issues that needed to be addressed in the first month. He had jaundice after birth due to a different blood type than me. So that needed to be monitored to make sure his level did not get too high. Luckily, it was just below the level for treatment and that went away on its own. Our pediatrician also noticed a heart murmur at our first doctor’s appointment so we had to follow up with a cardiologist. At the cardiology appointment, they noticed 2 holes in the heart. The good news was the doctor said they were completely harmless and should go away on their own.

We had maternity pictures a week or so after Blake was born. It was a chaotic experience to say the least. Being 22 months and hangry was a bad combo and Grant did not want to cooperate and Blake ended up pooping on her carpet. With the exhaustion, Grant’s tantrums and my mommy brain, we did not end up taking any pictures with just Blake and I. Completely forgot. So I had to pack him up and drive back to Indianola a second time to get those. In the end, we ended up getting the pictures and they turned out, thankfully, but it was an introduction to our crazy life as a family of four.

We took Grant to the pumpkin patch while Aunt Randi watched Blake so we could have time with just Grant. He loved it and didn’t want to leave. It was just what Greg and I needed after such an exhausting few weeks.

It took Grant awhile to warm up to Blake but we were able to get Grant’s first kiss to Blake on camera!

Amidst our chaos, we celebrated Greg’s 38th birthday! We enjoyed dinner out and he got his favorite, angel food cake, for dessert!

Blake got this nasty open sore on his bottom. We tried all diaper creams and nothing worked. And he pooped CONSTANTLY! Every time we changed his diaper there was poop in it, even after only a few minutes of changing him. So it was impossible to heal. This didn’t help our constantly crying baby because I am sure his bottom hurt also.

At his one month appointment, I expressed all of my concerns about his colic, his bottom, his “eehh ehh” noises during sleep, his crying after feeding, and lack of sleep. The doctor started us on reflux medicine and I stopped dairy to see if any of this would help.

Even with the roughest month of our lives thus far, we are still so blessed to have this cute little boy with us. He had the cutest dimples and is quite the cuddler. Greg and I are both optimistic that this will get better and we will (hopefully) be getting more sleep soon.