Lucky Number Seven

Today, Sugar Bear is 7 weeks old!  Woohooo!!  Happy Bday!!!  And in those 7 weeks, she has grown so much… as in she gained 5 pounds.  5 pounds.  To put it in perspective a little bit, the average 4 month old weighs about 13 pounds.  And that’s where my 7 week old is.  The doc said she was in the 85th percentile for weight gain at her age.  Sugar Bear is a CHUNK!

In these past 7 weeks, I have also changed significantly as well.  Some physical changes.  Mostly mental.  Here’s a quick rundown:

At the hospital:  Obviously this was the worst part physically.  Let the healing begin!  Mentally, it wasn’t so bad.  I had people bring me things as I wished.  I was constantly loaded with orange juice and social interaction.  I even had a little call button on my bed for my midnight snack desires.  The best part?  Sugar Bear slept almost 24 hours for a couple of days.  Apparently that’s normal for newborns.  Entering into a new world is hard work, and they need their rest!  It was fabulous.

Weeks 1 & 2:  Hell weeks.  No one tells you how intense those first couple of weeks are.  Day 1 of being home, I forgot to take my pain meds.  That was fun.  I guess I was just so used to the nurses popping pills in my mouth at the hospital, that I forgot to take them on my own.  Oh and I was clinically insane for a while too.  The lethal combination of my old pregnancy hormones, birth hormones, and the ever-incoming breastfeeding hormones are no joke.  I had pretty bad anxiety about my lack of sleep, which probably caused me to sleep less.  And I cried ALL the time.  I thought I would be Captain Crazy Pants forever.  My family, Phil’s family, and our roommates were a huge help.  They cooked and cleaned for me.  They encouraged me when I was having difficulties breastfeeding.  They were lifesavers.  What’s better than a lifesaver?  An incredibly patient and kind husband.  Phil encouraged me in the Lord and took over the mom-job so that I could take naps.  He even took me on a super romantic date soon after she was born.  We got to share a fabulous glass of white zinfandel.

Weeks 3 & 4:  Much better!  The hormones were starting to balance, so I was starting to mentally feel normal again.  I also went to a mom’s group during week 3 and met lots of other young moms and their babies.  Interaction with other adult humans in similar life stages was medicine for my soul.  I also had my 4 week check up with my OB.  Everything healed nicely.  My postpartum mountain that I thought was impossible to get over was finally shrinking!!

Weeks 5 & 6:  Returning to normalcy.  I felt physically and mentally normal now.  I even went for a run!  Lol I slowly jogged for like 30 seconds and almost puked.  Gotta start somewhere I guess.  Sugar Bear went from eating every 3 hours during the day to every 1-2 hours.  I thought it was a growth spurt.  Then it never ended.  And she used to nap so good in the early days.  Not sure what happened there either.

Week 7:  Lucky Number Seven.  I say lucky because I have finally figured this parenting thing out!  You ready for it?

Being able to improvise and adapt….with patience.  Seriously.  There is no formula to getting it right.  I’ve tried and failed so many times to put her on a schedule.  I thought I had the answer to so many new mom questions.. then another wrench is thrown into the equation.  So I give up trying to figure it out.  My strategy, for now, is to roll with the punches.  And newborns like to punch.

Oh yeah…I have always told myself that I would NEVER be a mom who dresses my kids in pink, frills, or big bows.  That changed too.