nathan - 2 months old

Nathan turned two months old today and will be 9 weeks tomorrow. Where has the time gone!? The days are starting to fly now by as we settle into a routine and have started to fill our weeks with activities, groups and classes.

Nathan has changed so much in the last month. He weighed 9 lbs 10 oz two weeks ago, so he is probably well over 10 lbs now! He is really alert and can focus on things farther away than just in front of him. His hearing is getting more sensitive too; he is constantly looking to see where different sounds are coming from. He loves to give big cheesy smiles and I think he isn't too far from laughing because he does this cute silent laugh thing which is hilarious. Overall, as long as his tummy is full and he isn't tired, he is a really happy baby. Last week he started to take interest in his hands, staring at them and putting them in his mouth whenever possible. I keep thinking he will start sucking his thumb (which I am not against) but he hasn't figured out how to do that yet. 

Breastfeeding is going well and has gotten much easier in the past month. Nathan only nurses for about 15 minutes each time and then can go up to 3 hours in between feeds, which feels like forever compared to hourly feedings that he was doing not so long ago. We have introduced one bottle of formula at 10pm so that my husband can give it while I get some rest. This has really helped with the sleep deprivation and most days I don't feel too tired. Nathan's sleeping is also improving slowly and he often only wakes up once in the night now for a feed around 3am, but most nights  he wakes twice, which still isn't bad.

I visited work today for the first time with him and he did really well! I expressed some breastmilk which I brought with me to feed him in the office and he took the bottle perfectly then fell asleep in my colleagues arms, which was so adorable. I can't believe I am already a quarter of the way through my maternity leave! On Wednesday we booked his place at the nursery where my husband works and luckily they will allow us to be flexible with days as long as we give them 6 weeks notice. It seemed like a really good environment and it's great that father and son will only be around the corner from each other (I'm jealous!). 

My mom arrives this weekend to spend a full 2 weeks with us and her grandson. She is so excited and so are we. I'm sure he will get lots of cuddles from Grandma! 

Here are some of my favourite photos from the past month...

Bath time 

Silent laugh

Finding his hands

Family walkies time

Enjoying time with mommy

nathan - 4 weeks

Today Nathan turned 4 weeks and wow have the last 4 weeks been insane. I'm not going to lie and say it has been easy because it hasn't. I have had to get used to less sleep, less independence, and raging hormones. In addition I have been recovering from a horrible delivery so it has been a rough ride. I think I have cried everyday so far at least once, but each day seems to get slightly better and when Nathan smiled for the first time a couple days ago it all of a sudden made all the stress and craziness seem worthwhile.

Nathan weighed 8 lbs 1 oz on Wednesday so he is gaining weight well. Considering I am exclusively breastfeeding this is very reassuring. The breastfeeding is difficult mainly because I am the only person who can do a feed so can't get any assistance from my husband. There have been moments where I wanted to throw in the towel and start formula, but something inside me has forced me to persist with the breastfeeding. Hopefully it will get easier as Nathan's tummy gets bigger. Currently Nathan is sleeping at most about 2.5 or 3 hour stretches throughout the night. This means I am up at least 3 times during the night and it's exhausting! I am going to set myself a goal of breastfeeding for 6 weeks and then see how we are going. 

I have still been meeting up with my antenatal group and it has been great to be able to vent and speak about any issues we are having informally. All the new mum's seem to be struggling with one thing or another, and it's really comforting to know I'm not alone in trying to figure out this motherhood thing.