We finally got home Friday with Karter! On the way home we stopped at Petco and picked up some treats and bones for Lionel to soften the blow of having to share our affection with someone else. Karter slept the whole way home and actually seemed to like the car. Although it may have been that Craig was driving 10 miles an hour below the limit the whole way home...
The first day alone with Karter was a bit overwhelming. I was an emotional roller coaster with feelings of joy, then anxiety, then joy, then anxiety...you get the picture. I found myself crying for no specific reason but it wasn't any surprise since I knew I had a serious lack of sleep and raging hormones running through my body. The first night went well despite the fact that he woke up every 2 hours to feed. And when I say well I mean he fell asleep when I put him in the co sleeper and I was able to get an hour and a half of sleep in between feedings. My standards for sleep have seriously changed these days...
Saturday the visiting nurse came over for and hour to check Karter out and spoke to Craig and I about newborn care. She was very informative and really helpful. Sometimes you just need to hear from someone else that things are okay before you can relax. Barb and Joe came by with lunch and watched Karter so Craig and I could nap - which was definitely well needed and appreciated.
Last night went even better than the first. Karter slept for 4 hours from 10:30 - 2:30, which amazed us, then woke every 2 hours after that. I am feeding him every 2 hours during the day and trying to keep him awake as often as I can so he'll take his "long" nap during the night. I'll let you know how that works out.....
The biggest challenge so far is changing a diaper without getting peed on. On average he has pees on me, himself, the wall, floor - anything in a 1-2 foot radius once a day. If anyone has any advice please let me know your secrets. I asked Craig to go to Babies R Us to look for a pee guard - if it even exists. It turns out it does...it's call the "wee-block", and we now own it.
Karter let's us know when he poops. He works really hard right before and you can hear the explosions from the other room! It's really amazing how loud they are...
So we're taking one day at a time and seem to learn something new about our boy every hour at this point. We're fascinated with his faces, his noises, and even the fact that he's finally here! You wait for 9 months and when it finally comes it's hard to believe. Most importantly though, we've never been happier and are so excited for everything that lies ahead.
The first day alone with Karter was a bit overwhelming. I was an emotional roller coaster with feelings of joy, then anxiety, then joy, then anxiety...you get the picture. I found myself crying for no specific reason but it wasn't any surprise since I knew I had a serious lack of sleep and raging hormones running through my body. The first night went well despite the fact that he woke up every 2 hours to feed. And when I say well I mean he fell asleep when I put him in the co sleeper and I was able to get an hour and a half of sleep in between feedings. My standards for sleep have seriously changed these days...
Saturday the visiting nurse came over for and hour to check Karter out and spoke to Craig and I about newborn care. She was very informative and really helpful. Sometimes you just need to hear from someone else that things are okay before you can relax. Barb and Joe came by with lunch and watched Karter so Craig and I could nap - which was definitely well needed and appreciated.
Last night went even better than the first. Karter slept for 4 hours from 10:30 - 2:30, which amazed us, then woke every 2 hours after that. I am feeding him every 2 hours during the day and trying to keep him awake as often as I can so he'll take his "long" nap during the night. I'll let you know how that works out.....
The biggest challenge so far is changing a diaper without getting peed on. On average he has pees on me, himself, the wall, floor - anything in a 1-2 foot radius once a day. If anyone has any advice please let me know your secrets. I asked Craig to go to Babies R Us to look for a pee guard - if it even exists. It turns out it does...it's call the "wee-block", and we now own it.
Karter let's us know when he poops. He works really hard right before and you can hear the explosions from the other room! It's really amazing how loud they are...
So we're taking one day at a time and seem to learn something new about our boy every hour at this point. We're fascinated with his faces, his noises, and even the fact that he's finally here! You wait for 9 months and when it finally comes it's hard to believe. Most importantly though, we've never been happier and are so excited for everything that lies ahead.
