One week down....18 years to go!

Week 1 was rough!  I was not quite prepared for the lack of sleep and hormone roller coaster that was to be during the first week.  Everybody tells you that you will be sleep deprived and exhausted, but living it is a different reality.  I have learned to function on 3 hours of sleep and to utilize only one hand while holding our sweet boy in my arms.

We had a slight hiccup over nursing.  Samuel was not into nursing- he would latch on, but would not suck enough to get the milk flowing.  When he was hungry, he wanted his food immediately.  He was getting frustrated and I was getting stressed out over nursing.  Considering he feeds every two hours, it was a constant battle.  I even tried a lactation consultant to help us.  The solutions she offered us helped, but in the end, Samuel still did not want to put the effort in to getting the milk to flow.  He was losing weight, so we decided to switch to a bottle of breast milk.  He LOVED the bottle; immediate gratification of milk!  Although I was very disappointed that he did not want to nurse, I am so much happier with bottle feeding; Samuel is happy and gaining weight, and everybody is less stressed out over feeding.  As my dad said, you will not win a battle of wills with a baby.

Samuel is a great baby so far.  He sleeps well and rarely fusses.  I think he has my personality- laid back and mellow.  He even sleeps in his crib at night, and has from day 1.  It has been so fun getting to know his little personality.  At just 2 weeks old, he is quite alert and focused during his awake time.  He makes some of the funniest faces; I would love to know what he is thinking.

Duke continues to be Samuel's guardian.  When Samuel cries, Duke jumps up to check on him.  Duke does not spend the night in his nursery any more, but he lays down at my feet when I am feeding Samuel in the middle of the night.  We took the dogs and Samuel for a walk around the neighborhood last weekend.  The dogs walk on extendable leashes, so for the most part they are way ahead of the stroller.  Duke circled back to the stroller, looking into the car seat to check that Samuel was in there and doing okay.  Duke is such a good big brother!

Daisy continues not to really care either way.  She still likes to sniff Samuel, but does not seek him out like Duke.  I think Daisy will be Samuel's fast friend when he is old enough to sit in the high chair and eat solid foods.  I can picture Daisy planting herself underneath his high chair, waiting for food to hit the floor.



Every day is better than the last, as we get the hang of parenthood.  One of my co-workers said that you just try to survive.  I think we are doing a pretty good job of surviving, and maybe even having some fun with it! :)

Out for our first neighborhood walk- there's a baby in there somewhere!