There’s really no way to describe just how exhausting this whole motherhood thing is. My god this kid can eat. I really had no idea that I’d spend 12 hours a day with Morty (sorry, no real names here- too many freaks out there) attached to my breasts. It’s tough because all these people want to come and see and hold the baby but they always show up right before it’s time for him to eat again. I’ve been lucky though- he caught on to nursing right away. So many women have so much trouble with it and this kid latched right on in the delivery room.
Boyfiend’s family spent most of the weekend here helping out, and they were a tremendous help. They did laundry, cooked, cleaned, stacked firewood, fixed a leaking roof and let me nap while they watched the baby. My mother’s been here for a few hours the past few days and has been utterly useless. Yesterday, after breaking both of our toilets and letting a cat escape, she decided that Morty really needed some exposure to second-hand smoke. Today, she asked what she could do to help. I told her that it would be great if she could throw in a load of baby laundry ( 3 brands later and I still haven’t found a brand of diaper that doesn’t leak) and empty the dishwasher. She managed to get the laundry into the wash, but decided to rearrange flowers and stuffed animals instead of doing anything useful. At least she watched Morty while I showered.
I’m so tired.
My hormones have kicked in big time. Last night I started crying because Morty’s getting bigger. Already I just want him to stay as small and as sweet as he is. He’s such a good baby. I’m so in love with him.
I’m working on the birth story, but haven’t had time to finish it. I’ll get it up as soon as I can. For those who asked, he was 6 pounds 8 ounces and 19 inches long at birth. When we left the hospital Friday afternoon his weight had dropped to 6 lbs 2 oz. At the pediatrician’s office the next day it had dropped to 5 lbs 11 oz. He was eating all the time so I was afraid my boobs had stopped working and was really nervous.. She told me to supplement with formula which I really didn’t want to do. I fed him 10 ccs with a dropper after nursing and he seemed a lot less hungry. But then my milk came in. Monday I went to see a lactation consultant because it’s free at the hospital and they can weigh him, and he was up to 5 lbs 14 oz. After I nursed for 10 minutes she weighed him and he was 5 lbs 15.9 oz. So the boobs are working. He’s still tiny, but I can see he’s gotten bigger. It’s amazing how quickly they grow. His teeny tiny little head even looks bigger and he’s just barely a week old.
When I get my laptop back- I’m using Boyfiend’s work laptop which is really slow- I’ll post more pictures and hopefully when we get some sort of routine going I’ll be able to get online a bit more often. Thanks for all of your comments. Reading them has made me feel really good.
Anonymous | 15-Mar-06 at 8:26 pm | Permalink
Can’t wait for more baby pix. have you been calling your mother “grandma”? Or wait, you can call her “bubby” like I call mine!
E2
Tony | 19-Mar-06 at 1:49 am | Permalink
I’m sad that you didn’t actually name him Morty. But I’m guessing that it is just an acronym for his true name–Tomry.
wsn vitamins | 18-Jul-11 at 7:54 pm | Permalink
Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with some pics to drive the message home a little bit, but instead of that, this is excellent blog. An excellent read. I’ll certainly be back.