The first 2 weeks

Today Lana is 2 weeks old, and I just wanted to jot down some thoughts and memories so far so I don’t forget them. So this post may be kind of list-y and seemingly random, but that’s life with a newborn and toddler right now.

Lana:

• Belly button scab fell off Friday night, November 2, at 12 days old. Thank heavens; I hate those things. It looked a little raw and sore that night, so Ryan put a bandage on it, but it was fine by the next morning. Still has a tiny piece of scab at the bottom, but overall looks great. I’m glad she got a good belly button too, just like Della did.
• Is a great baby so far. Sleeps a lot with some good awake stretches during the day. Night time wake-ups are roughly 11, 2 am, and 5 am before we’re up for the day. The “up for the day” time has been around 8 so far since Ryan and my mom were here, but now it’ll be whenever Della wakes up. That is usually 7-7:30 if she doesn’t wake up when Ryan goes to work at 7, so hopefully that will continue. Any extra minutes of sleep I can get are precious.
• Besides a trip to the doctor’s office at 4 days old, had her first outing with Mama, Dada, and Della at 5 days old. We walked over to our local Municipal Clerk’s Office so Ryan could vote early and I could turn in my absentee ballot. No way was I going to stand in line at the polling place on Election Day with a 2 year old and a 2 week old, thank you very much. Then we walked up to Sendik’s, our neighborhood grocery store, which was Della’s first walk destination as well. It ended up taking me about an hour and a half to complete a super easy walk, though – I forgot how slowly I had to move.
• Had her first bigger outing this past Friday, again at 12 days old. My mom, Della, and I took Lana to visit Ryan at work, then we all went out to lunch. She took her first bottle there too, and had zero problems.
• Has been nursing like a champ from the start, fortunately. We already have a good stockpile of frozen breast milk going again, which pretty much started as soon as we got home from the hospital. She was 7 lbs. 7 oz. at birth, left the hospital at 7 lbs. 4 oz., was 7 lbs. 8.25 oz. at her 2 day post-hospital dr. appt., and was all the way up to 8 lbs. 5 oz. at her dr. appt. last week, just shy of 1 week after her first visit. The doctor said she likes to see babies gain about an ounce a day at this point, and Lana has doubled that. Moo.
• Is very strong. She has been able to lift her head off your shoulder and look around since she was born. I’ve only done a little tummy time so far, but I’m not concerned at all with all that movement on her own.
• Had zero jaundice. Della had it just slightly when she was born, but Lana hasn’t had a trace of it.

Me:

• Feeling great, aside from the utter lack of sleep. I had just a small tear during labor, which I assume is healing fine since I’ve had/felt no complications. I took ibuprofen for the cramping from breastfeeding in the hospital, but haven’t taken any pain medicine since then.
• As for that lack of sleep thing, I’ve been trying to take naps during Della’s nap to help. Lana is almost always sleeping then too, so that works out well. On the days I don’t get one, I just try to go to bed early, like as soon after Della does as possible.
• Down 24 lbs. as of this morning. I gained 36 total this time, up to 185.5, and today I was down to 161.5. I was able to get my regular jeans on and fasten them by the end of last week, but I’m actually wearing them today. That’s mainly because my favorite maternity pair was in the laundry today because Lana sprayed poop all over them last night; they are still super comfortable.
• The milk machines are finally getting used to having a baby use them as her source of nutrition multiple times a day again. They were pretty sore that first week or so, but lanolin has really helped.
• Just hoping to get in a good groove as Mama of 2 starting this week. The first week Ryan was home, then my mom was here all last week, so this week will be the real test as I’m on my own. Pray for my sanity, ha! I did have a little test today since Ryan is up in Green Bay at the Packers game, and I think it’s going ok. I did weather one rough patch – 2 kids screaming, a bassinet full of baby shit yet again, and the oven timer going off all at the same time, but we survived. I learned a good phrase from one of my friends on Facebook – “10 minutes of suck”. She is very right – I can handle 10 minutes. And this didn’t even last that long.

Della:

• She is the best big sister ever. She has this adorable little mantra she says whenever Lana starts crying or gets fussy – “Don’t cry baby. It’s ok. I’m the big sister. It’s me, Della.” It obviously doesn’t all sound exactly like that, but that is what she’s saying. 😉 It seriously melts my heart every time I hear it and just makes me smile.
• Is a wonderful helper. She throws diapers away, helps burp Lana, has learned to put her stool in front of the bathroom sink to get Lana’s little washcloth wet, and loves to watch me do everything for the baby – feed her, pump, change her diapers, etc.
• Does get a little upset sometimes when Lana’s really screaming, but fortunately we can calm her pretty easily. I just remember to give her lots of extra hugs and kisses, since this is such a huge change for her too. It makes me sad to think that any of this is causing stress for her. It’s so different not having her be my only focus now, and I just don’t want to let her down at all.
• I think genuinely does enjoy having Lana around. I was worried she was going to be resentful of having a baby in the house, but so far she’s been incredible. She’s such a great kid. I just hope I’m strong enough to be a good mom to both her and Lana, giving Della the continued attention she needs as a growing and learning toddler without neglecting any of Lana’s newborn needs.

So that’s the first 2 weeks in a nutshell. Ryan is of course an amazing dad of 2, just like he was of 1. My next goal is to get Lana’s birth story written down. Let’s see how long it takes me to get a chance to do that…