Chet, Mr. Serious, is two weeks old today.
It’s hard to imagine our house without him at this point. His noises have blended nicely into our already noisy house. He is a jabber jaws like the rest of the men in my life. He continues to be an incredibly laid back baby despite all the dog barking (thanks to a now neglected doggy) and Pokémon talk (thanks to a crazy big brother).
There are definitely some things that I’m still try to get adjusted too….
- Night time diaper changes? I can’t figure out what works best for Chet. Fortunately he isn’t fussy when he has a wet diaper. I’ve tried changing him before I feed him, but he always seems to make a mess of his diaper when I do this during the feeding. I’ve tried changing him after feeding, but this seems to wake him up. I’ll probably figure it out by the time he is sleep through the night.
- Life outside of the house? Leaving the house is still a stressful task for me. We’ve had two doctors appointments and one trip to target and all 3 of them were exhausting. Home is definitely home sweet home at this point. It’s too hard to figure out feedings, diaper, and avoiding germs. We might camp out in the living room for the next month.
- And my biggest hurdle….Breast Feeding. A few days ago, I would have told you I have finally met my match. I was ready to throw in the towel physically, but my brain and emotions wouldn’t let me. Remember those cracked nipples I told you about last week. Well they are no joke. I spent two days in tears every time I feed him. I even cringed when he would start to wake up because I knew it meant he would want to eat. Once he latched on, it slowly became less painful. The boy has an incredibly strong suck reflex. He is not a gentle eater. I also think I had him latched on improperly. He wasn’t getting enough of my nipple in his mouth. Since we’ve corrected his latch, my nipples are healing. They physically look better although they are still cracked (just not as deep at this point). It is also only mildly painful (compared to earlier in the week) when he initially latches on. I don’t have to close my eyes, tense up my entire body, and hold my breath whenever he latches on. Everything I read said the two-week mark is the turning point. I certainly hope we are heading down a happy road and they continue to heal. I’m so jealous of the moms that can use a free hand when they breast feed. I’m still afraid to move once we are in a good position because I don’t want to mess with a good thing.
In spite of all my issues with breast-feeding, Chet isn’t missing a beat. We had his two-week check up this morning. He got a clean bill of health from the doctor. He is also now weighing in at 7 lbs 14 oz. Nearly ONE POUND more than his birth weight. (Did I mention he loves to eat!). He is also growing a lot. He is now 21.25 inches, more than an inch of growth since birth. And we loved the pediatrician and all the staff. YAY!
Two weeks with Chet has made my body have absolutely no time clock. It has made my heart grow a hundred times bigger. I don’t know what we did before he arrived. And I still want 10 more babies (cracked nipples and all!). And while I’m dreaming big, I’d also like to win the lottery so I don’t have to go back to work.
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(And I really need to start taking more pictures. He already doesn’t look like a newborn to me.)
Kristy Maute 
Awwww! Time flies!!! Hope the feeding gets better!!
And we are SO different! The day after we got home we headed to Target! I covered her up good and kept strangers away, but I can’t stay at home!!!! Even in the cold I’d at least walk to the park. Or find some sort of errand to run. I think with two, though, I’ll be camping out due to exhaustion!
What a great update to read! Glad to see it’s all going so well. I wouldn’t want to come back either…look at that face! I have to giggle to myself because Chet is almost to the weight and height that my manchild was when I gave birth (7lb 15.5 oz and 22″ long) and they were making me come in every other day to get ultrasounds to count amniotic fluid and saying he was a small baby. Earlier in March, he was born on the 25th, they said he was only 4lbs. Yeah, I’m sure he gained almost 4 lbs in 3 weeks. Silly doctors. Well, that was almost 18 years ago…glad technology has advanced a bit. Both our boys are very healthy and that we can be grateful for!
Well, we miss you at work even though we know you don’t miss us! Hahaha. Survivor is almost back. I set up the tribe even though I’m sure you and Christian won’t have time to play with us. I’ll send ya the link anyway…just in case!
This post is just what i needed 🙂
I can’t get over how much Chet has changed. So cute!
Hang in there on nursing. With my first, my eyes would water every time he cried because I knew it meant nursing and pain. I can promise you it does get better. Better latch sounds great, but trust me you’ll be carting him around nursing/cooking/talking on the phone in no time. Nothing helped me more than talking to nursing moms who experienced the same things…. Clearly you are doing a great job. Way to go on weight check! It gets better 🙂 So much better 🙂 Chet’s super cute, and so are his “brothers” puppy too.
Amen to the lottery!! Still trying to figure out how to make that work. And the 10 more babies. 🙂 Ain’t it the greatest?
Don’t be too hard on yourself with the breastfeeding. Give it your 110%, which I know you are, but ultimate goal is for mommy AND baby to be healthy/happy and enjoy their time together. But I know you really want to do what is nutritionally best for him. Totally applaud you babe!
I ran a couple miles with absolutely zero pain at 6 week post-delivery but I also didn’t continue to run as long into my pregnancy as you (stopped at 20 weeks but I did the running precor all the way to the end but that is not the same as really running). You’ll be fine! If you walk some and run some, that’s still better than not doing the race at all. I know a friend just made sure to pump before a tri we did together and she was ok for 1.5 hours of the race. If you walk a lot that will make the race longer maybe the pain from engorgement will make you run more so you can relieve yourself! lol. Also, an extra sports bra would probably be a good idea. Plus, by 8 weeks Chet’s schedule should be better…maybe close to 3 hours between feeds. That should give you more wiggle room to squeeze in your race. GOOD LUCK!