2 Weeks

At 2 weeks old Noah has more alert periods throughout the day and snacks frequently. We've been back exclusively breastfeeding for about a week now without any problems.

He has been sleeping approximately two 3-4 hour stretches at night most nights, only waking for about 30 minutes to eat and then falling right back asleep. Unlike with the other two boys, we've been co-sleeping with him. With the cesarean, it was difficult up until about now to get up or move around in bed so co-sleeping has made things much easier. I don't have to wake R up to help me throughout the night. At this point, we plan to continue this sleeping arrangement for the first 6-8 weeks since it coincides with my recovery period.

I had forgotten how much of yourself you have to give up in these early days to devote every hour of the day to sustaining another little life. I've really missed going out - even to run errands or grocery shop. Today is the first day I am going to attempt to venture out on my own with Noah to our midwives appointment. I wasn't able to drive for the first 2 weeks and I'm wary of the discomfort still.

Things that have been helping me cope during these long days at home:

• Freezer meals are long gone now but were extremely helpful in those first days home when even walking across the kitchen was painful. Now I focus on simple but healthy meals
• Taking time to shower every morning and put on clean clothes
• Forcing myself to take a midday nap with Noah - usually only an hour - but something I didn't do with the other two. I have found this makes a huge difference in my energy levels
• Eating nutritious foods and ensuring adequate fluid intake. My digestive system is still not working at 100% so I've been really making an effort with this. I use the "Notes" function on my iPhone to food journal while also tracking Noah's schedule
• Jotting down a few things on a to-do list to accomplish each day - I use Notes for this too
• Reading archival blog posts from some of my favourite bloggers on navigating the early weeks
• Reminding myself that this period is short

This sweetness also makes things a bit easier.