We made it to 6 weeks!

We made it through our first 6 weeks!  We survived!  I kid, I kid...kind of.  The last 6 weeks have been the hardest and the most rewarding of my entire life.  I had no idea what they would be like, and in ways, it has been harder than I imagined, and in other ways much more amazing than I ever imagined.  Here are the highlights -

We are working on Babywise.
It's helping.  Having a schedule is a great thing.  As I type this I am exhausted, we had our first rough night since we started Babywise.  But, other than last night's adventure, it has been going really well!  Throughout the day, I am feeding him every 2 - 2.5 hours.  For those of you that don't know (because I sure didn't!), when you are breast feeding, you count the time between feedings from the time that you start the feeding, not end it.  Jaxson usually takes about 45 minutes to eat.  Then we change his diaper, play for a little while, and it's time for him to go down for a nap.  I swaddle him up, with the exception of his arms.  It makes him very angry when I swaddle his arms.  Then we read a story, and I put him in his crib for a nap.  Sometimes he falls right asleep, sometimes he soothes himself to sleep, and sometimes he cries and cries.  Letting him cry it out is the hardest thing!  Then I wake him up about an hour later and we start the cycle over again.  We usually have our last feeding sometime between 10:30 and 11PM.  He usually wakes up at 2:45 and 5:45 for feedings.  Last night, he was up every two hours, wanting to eat.  So, by the time I fed him and got him settled, that meant about 30 minutes of sleep between each feeding.  LONG NIGHT.

HE SMILED!!
A "social smile" as my baby book calls it.  The first time he smiled at me, I thought, Oh My Gosh, was that it?  My smile???  But I wasn't sure.  The next day, I was so sure.  It was such a sweet moment that I cried and cried.  And then I thought, hmm...this must be what it feels like to be a mom!  It was an amazing moment and I hope that I never forget it.

We went on our first grocery store trip!  It went great!  He stayed very alert and happy in his carseat in the buggy the entire time!  We've also been to Ross, TJ Maxx and Bed Bath and Beyond.  He was an angel!  I had a little trouble getting the stroller to fold down and go back into the car, but other than that our outings have been very successful!

Breastfeeding
I don't like it.  I do it though, because I know how good it is for him.  It still hurts, and I kind of dread it sometimes.  But, we are making it through!  At my appointment this week, my dr. informed me that I need to be consistently 10lbs heavier than my pre baby weight to effectively breast feed.  WHAT?  That was not in ANY of the books that I read.  And, I don't like it.  Not at all.  He said I can tone, but not try to lose any more weight, that I have lost too much already.  I'm not sure what I think about all that.  I have also had to change my diet.  Jaxson has acid reflux.  So, no caffine, dairy, eggs, green or gassy veggies or fruits.  Basically nothing good or even healthy!  So, I've been eating tons of carbs, chicken, and BBQ.  I don't really knkow what else to eat.  Hopefully this phase will pass and I can start reintroducing foods into our diet.  I ate a sandwhich with onions yesterday, and it caused a very upset little tummy.

An Evening Out
We spent our first evening with our friends!  We went to our dear friends couple's shower.  It was so much fun!  I didn't want to leave him for that long (5 hours!) and was very worried that he would wonder where I went (we've spent all day together since he was born) and that he would be confused.  Turns out, he was just fine with his Gamm-E, my mother in law.  They had a great time and he was happy as could be when we got home.  Hubby didn't really understand, he kept saying, "Babe, it's okay, he won't even remember that we left him."  haha - the difference between Moms and Dads I guess :)

Healing
I had my 6 week appointment, and am healing perfectly!  I was cleared for exercise (even though I'm not supposed to lose weight while I'm breastfeeding, which stinks), and we scheduled an appointment to put in an IUD for Wednesday.  I've heard this hurts, and they told me to take 600mg of advil prior to my appointment.  That makes me a little nervous, but I think it is the right solution for us.  Jaxson was our little surprise while I was on the pill, and we are a little scared that it could happen again, so we are going to go this route.  I'm still having steady bleeding, hopefully that will stop soon.  I made it through my entire pregnancy without a single stretch mark, and now I am getting them!  On the bottom of my breasts (gross!), and on one of my hips.  I so hope that they fade.  I'm using cream on them, and hoping that helps.  Do any of you have any advice on how to get rid of them?

So, all in all, we are doing very well.  I love this little person so much, he is the most adorable, sweetest little man I have ever seen.  Ever.  He steals my heart away a little more each day.  I can't believe my maternity leave is half way over, the thought of leaving him makes me so very sad.

I hope you are having a great week!!