I am SO in love I know this because I have not swam in 3 weeks and I could care less (OK OK…no I do care and can not wait to get back in the pool…but I am OK with not swimming right now). And I feel SO lucky to have two special guys in my life to love!

This is hard…but not hard they way I thought it would be when everyone told me it would be hard…your life will change, it will not be easy, forget training…is what they said. Loving something so helpless who relies completely on you so much…that is what is hard.

He sleeps, he eats, he poops and pees A LOT. He LOVES a good back rub and loves to stretch it out. He loves his Mommy and Daddy. He smells better than anything…better than chlorine.

We are falling into patterns finally….

The feeding has been the most challenging thing so far. Breastfeeding is NO JOKE. The first few days we took the approach of don’t wake a sleeping baby. Leo slept all day and was up all night ravenous. We thought he had his days and nights mixed up! Went to our first pediatrician appointment and Leo was under his birth weight…which it is completely normal for babies to drop up to 10% from the birth weight in the first 2 weeks. The pediatrician, Amy, said we need to wake him every 2 hours for feeding. We would do this and come back in 2 days later for another weight check. At the next check Leo had gained an ounce…SIGH. We were to keep feeding him every 2 hours directly from me and also pumping to get the extra bits out…give everything to him…and come back in a week for another weight check. At the next check he had gained about 2 ounces…major SIGH. And how was I even supposed to know how much he was even eating when he was feeding directly from me?! I stressed big time about this. Amy now told us to pump only and log the actual amounts for 24 hours…and come back in the next day for another weight check. While doing this little experiment we realized my milk supply may just not be enough for him…so middle of the night we made the decision to supplement with formula…we went 50 breastmilk/50 formula. Went in the next day and he had gained about 3 ounces! finally we had a winner. For the few days after that I had him feed directly from me while supplementing with formula at each feeding. I noticed more and more what a lazy eater he was…falling asleep on my boob after 5 minutes…I was having trouble keeping myself empty. Sooo seeing as how he wanted the faster flow from a bottle and wanting to be in control and knowing how much he was getting at each feeding we made the decision to just pump and supplement with formula. My supply also seems to be increasing now. And we bought a pediatric scale…Leo was at 7lbs 6 ounces this morning! So we are finally on track here…will see what Amy says tomorrow…

Sleep. We feel pretty lucky. After the last evening feeding (7-8pm) we wake up at 11-12pm for the next feeding, and then 2-3am for another feeding, and then the first morning feeding is 5am. So really only two middle of the night feedings. And we have realized that I am a wreck for the first part of the night, while Matias is a wreck for the later part of the night. So he takes the first feeding and I take the second. For awhile we were all getting up. I enjoyed the quality family time but we started becoming somewhat delirious. And Leo is a good little sleeper. After his feedings we swaddle him and put him down and he rarely fusses.

How is Mommy feeling? Breastfeeding is crazy making. I am like a freakin bottle…I see why you go on maternity leave cause this is a full time job. I feel like I am getting my body back (breastfeeding I believe has really helped with that). I am down to goal weight…which is 10 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight (I imagine my new boobs weight at least 3 pounds as well)…so I don’t want to loose anymore but just want things to redistribute a bit. I began walking the day after we got back home from the hospital and I am now up to almost 5 miles! much more walking and I will be up to a marathon soon (anything worth doing is worth overdoing right?!) Went into the OB last Monday and hoped to share how good I was recovering and get the go ahead for more workouts (especially swimming). not so much…she wants a full 6 week recovery…even though my incision is looking great you never know what is going on inside after a c-section. So 3 more weeks of walking only. Then the DeLaneys (my docs for life and parents away from home) came for a visit the other day…said there was no reason why I could not start to spin on my trainer…so tried that this morning…felt Amazing! yeah! So will add that in with walking for the next 3 weeks. Luray Sprint on August 19…going to give it a go!

hmm…and I could be ready for round 2…Leo 2.0?

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