Being a new mom is like being in a time warp. The days seem to drag, but yet time is going so fast. I want to document every single moment and remember all of the little things because babies don't keep, but it's hard. I have so many thoughts and feelings that when I go to write a blog post, I just get overwhelmed with where to start.
Let me start with thoughts on the newborn stage. Postpartum is hard. Like really hard. I was a labor and delivery nurse and I knew a lot about postpartum, but I still wasn't prepared with how hard it would be. You are learning how to take care of a baby and how to breastfeed all with a lack of sleep, crazy hormones, recovering from birth (or surgery), and it's freaking hard. There were a lot of days where I barely got any sleep and Hudson would just be crying non stop, I would just sit on the couch and feel overwhelmed and cry. Or Hudson would fall asleep on me, and I didn't want to wake him up so I would end up skipping meals, holding in my pee, not showering, etc. Basically being stranded on the couch for hours at a time. Trevor works night shift so when he's not working, he's sleeping. Even though you are with a baby all day, you are lonely. And I felt like I was stuck in a bubble that I couldn't escape, honestly. It felt so overwhelming to leave the house with him by myself. In fact, at about 2 weeks I took him down to my mom's house by myself and then we went to the greenhouses to pick up some annuals. We had a great day, but when I got home I just started bawling because I was so stressed and overwhelmed by the day. It's hard to explain when you've never been there, but if you've ever had a baby i'm sure you understand.
Now that Hudson is 6 weeks, I can honestly say that I've reached the light at the end of the tunnel. My hormones are finally balanced out and i've stopped randomly crying (yay!). I started traveling alone with Hudson more and more and I can say that i'm getting really good at it. The other day we went to the grocery store together for the first time. I wore him in a baby wrap on my chest while I pushed the cart and things went great! The more I get out of the house with him, the more confident I become. I feel like i'm finally starting to conquer this mom thing!
Our days are starting to fall into a routine, and that is helpful for both Hudson and me. I've found that by doing things the same day after day, Hudson starts to learn the routine and he becomes easier to soothe, put down for a nap, etc. Here's what a typical day at home looks like for us.
6:30-8:30am: We wake up based on when he needs to eat, but it's generally in this time frame.
8:30am: Get out of bed, get Hudson changed and dressed for the day. I'll take him into the kitchen and put him in his bouncy seat whileI make coffee and eat breakfast.
9:00am: Tummy time! While Hudson is content, i'll put him on his tummy on his playmat. After tummy time, he's usually getting sleepy.
9:30am: Once I see some sleepy cues, I'll put Hudson down for a nap. The first nap of the day we practice sleeping in his crib that way it's a familiar environment. He's currently sleeping at night in a bassinet beside our bed. For the first nap, i'll swaddle him and put his sound machine beside him and just lay him down. He can put himself to sleep.
10:00-10:30am: While he's sleeping, I usually take a shower, blog, drink another cup of coffee, throw some laundry in, etc. He usually will nap for a half hour to an hour for his first nap of the day. He will wake up and eat, and we will just hang out in the living room for a bit.
12:00pm: If it's nice, we've been going on walks down the road. Timber will come along and walk beside us. Hudson usually will nap in his stroller.
1:00pm: Eat, hang out and watch TV, etc. Sometimes it's hard to get Hudson to sleep in the afternoon so this part of the day we will just go with the flow and i'll try to get him to sleep again however I can.
4:00-5:00pm: By this time, Trevor wakes up and I make supper for us. Hudson usually just hangs out in his bouncy seat while we eat supper.
6:00pm: Trevor leaves for work
6:45pm: We start our bedtime routine. Every other night Hudson will get a bath, and he loves it! After a bath we will put on jammies, sometimes put lotion on and do a little baby massage, and if he is content I will read him a short book.
7:00pm: After a book we will go into our bedroom, turn on the sound machine, and I'll feed him. After he eats I'll swaddle him and put him in his bassinet. He knows his bedtime routine by now and realizes that it's time for bed, so I usually don't have a problem putting him in his bassinet when he is awake and he will put himself to sleep for the night.
7:15pm-9:30pm: I will quickly pick up around the house, load the dishwasher, finish laundry, vacuum, and then enjoy a little bit of quiet time by myself.
Hudson will sleep anywhere between 5-8 hour stretches at night. A couple nights in a row we got lucky and he slept 7-8 hour stretches! It was heaven. We are still working on getting him to consistently sleep for long stretches. He is only 6 weeks old, so he's still learning.
Now that we have a routine down, it's hard to believe that i'm supposed to go back to work in a month. I'm so thankful that Trevor's income allows me to stay at home with Hud. We will have to MAJORLY budget and cut down on things, but for me it will be worth it to be able to stay home with my little guy. I'm planning on going casual and only working a few days a month.
Hudson is now starting to show more personality. He started smiling about a week ago and it's the cutest when he looks at me and flashes a toothless grin. It makes my mommy heart melt.
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