What’s New: A birthday, a nurse-in, and improved hygiene

During the first few days with a new baby, you (or at least I) can stay in the same clothing, forget to brush your teeth, and continue grinning no matter how many bodily fluids find themselves on your person. Nothing else matters when there’s a precious, tiny new person in the world. I treasured those first few days in my milk-stained robe and wouldn’t have traded them for a single thing. I’m still taking it easy, and enjoying near constant baby snuggles, but this morning I noticed a distinct shift. My shirt was wet with milk. Baby Elliot had gone for an extra wee between diapers and a bit of that had found me, too. I felt less than fresh for other reasons, of which I’ll spare you the details. As I sat in my/our own filth sipping my coffee, I found myself growing increasingly impatient for the end of the nursing session. When that moment arrived, I went immediately upstairs, handed sweet Elliot to his daddy, and explained that I’d be back as soon as I scraped a layer of filth off myself. Scrape I did, and I felt much better and have been back to snuggling both of my little loves ever since. I suppose this is a sign that I’m feeling like myself again, whatever that means.

For the first two weeks of Elliot’s life, he and I went almost nowhere by car except for the pediatrician’s office, but this week we’ve begun going on all the outings I usually enjoy with Annabelle during the week. It’s nice to have the chance to get used to doing these things

with two children while Andrew is still around to help. It should make parenting two much less intimidating when he goes back to work. I did take one trip out with both children alone, and I’ll admit I was rather terrified, but it turned out to be quite pleasant. The daddy’s birthday was this week and he wanted to see a movie, so he went off with a friend and the children and I took the opportunity to run to the grocery store and pick up ingredients so we could surprise him with a cheesecake and a special dinner. We ended up going out to dinner, because by the time the cheesecakes were ready (had to do a vegan one, too!), we were a bit short on time for dinner prep, but all in all, I’d call it a successful day alone. Annabelle and Elliot both fell asleep on the way home and when I looked back, they were holding hands in their car seats. It felt like quite the accomplishment for me!

Not a lot has changed with Annabelle this week. She’s definitely still adjusting to her new reality, especially the part that involves sharing me, but for the most part she really does seem to adore her brother. She’s not only willing to help with all aspects of his care, but actually follows me around insisting on helping. At other times, she still prefers to pretend that she,

too, is a “tiny [new]born baby.” After her mat went untouched for several weeks, she started doing yoga again regularly, and she’s also asking almost daily to go out on the porch, where she plays quietly and contentedly alone.

I can definitely feel us all settling and finding our rhythm as a family. A babymoon is a beautiful thing.

As usual, I’ll leave you with a bit more mamatography.

 

 

___

I would truly love to hear about your week, too, so link up your own post if you have one!