What I've learned in 2 weeks

So this was our first time as parents and I'm not going to lie, we were scared, anxious, and worried we would do something wrong. The first few days home went pretty good. Collin was mostly waking up every 2-4 hours to nurse, and Dustin took baby duty and slept on the couch in the living room with him, bringing him in to me to nurse, diaper, and lay back down when he showed signs of hunger. I was pretty much playing Human Bottle at night, which worked because my C-section pain seemed to be worst at night, and I was keeping my legs elevated to relieve the massive swelling I had from the fluids pumped into me at the hospital. My legs, thighs and feet were so swollen that my pregnancy stretch pants barely fit, and I had to wear Dustin's stretched-out thong sandals because nothing else fit my feet. My legs were so bad that they were actually rock hard, and I thought they would end up splitting open from the pressure. I had actually left the hospital the same weight I was when I went in, which was pretty discouraging when you've gained 60 lbs! A good note is that after 2 days of elevation, I managed to pee out 25 lbs of fluid overnight. Yes, 25 lbs. And since then I've lost another 5-6 lbs, putting me halfway to where I need to be. We all need little things like that to offer encouragement, especially when we're told not to exercise for 6 weeks, and not to diet while breastfeeding.

Those feelings I mentioned were even worse in me, because Dustin's 10 days off from the Navy started the day I went into labor, so he returned to work on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday he was gone all day for an Army physical in San Jose, 2-3 hours away. And he worked again Wednesday and today. Given that he works 14 hour nights (and that's if he comes home on time), I was on full-time baby duty for 5 days straight and it's starting to wear me thin. I don't know how single moms can do it alone. Collin goes on crying spells from 10 PM to 4 AM, and in the case of today he didn't stop crying every time I put him down until 4 or 5 PM, when I got a nice hour-long nap. It's amazing how such a short nap can change your ability to cope with the world. Every time I laid Collin down, he was quiet for 10 minutes if I was lucky and then started crying again. And I cried with him, begging for just a half hour of uninterrupted sleep.

Finally, last night, I pulled out the Fisher-Price Rainforest Swing that was gifted to us at the baby shower. He actually slept for 2 hours, with just a single cry or whimper here and there. I was amazed. I always heard it's not good for babies to sleep in the swings, but searching around the internet I can't find anything that supports that. I am finding a lot of people use the swings to get them to sleep until they are 2-3 months old and they start being able to sleep through the night on their own. I'm at the point where I try to keep him in his Pack n Play as much as possible, but if he starts up and I'm starting to get delirious, I'm letting him sleep in there.

To close, here's a few things I've learned in the past 2 weeks:

- I can do a lot more one-handed than I previously thought

- I can last on catnaps a lot better than I previously thought

- Nursing is a lot more taxing than you would think, and I'm really envious of formula moms who can actually get a good night's sleep when someone is watching the baby for them

- Following that, having a pump will be a lifesaver for me, and I already started saving up milk today

- If you like an outfit a lot, babies will pee or spit up all over it the first chance they get. If you don't like it, it will be spotless all day

- With boys, ALWAYS COVER THE PEEPEE DURING CHANGES! I can't stress that enough. Also, a towel or blanket under then on the changing table is worth it if you want to avoid pee going up their back and all over their clothes

-Babies will sleep when it's the least appropriate and you won't be able to wake them up no matter what you do. They'll also stay awake and/or wake up when you are praying for them to sleep

- Babies REALLY ARE poop-sleep-eat-cry machines!