First Weeks

I always imagined the first week with a baby to be the worst. I knew I would be instantly in love, but expected to be sleep deprived and stressed. I had images in my mind of me, Ty and the baby all crying simultaneously. Turns out, that wasn't the case at all.  Largely in part to the fact that we had a lot of help. They say it takes a village and in our case, it did.  My mom stayed with us the first week, which was amazing. Having three sets of hands to care for a newborn is the perfect amount.  Plus, as a new mama it turns out I really wanted my mom.  It was so nice to have her here to take care of me while I took care of Owen.  She cooked, cleaned, grocery shopped and took the baby at 5 am when Ty and I were at our wits end.  Our village of helpers extended far beyond my mom; everyone was here to help out. Chris and Kari walked Jake, Rachel cleaned my bathrooms, Erin baked cookies, Kelsi and Aaron brought food and essential baby products, Paula made us a freezer full of delicious meals and Steve loaded our cupboards with Trader Joe's goodies. Having such an amazing network of support eased the stress of a newborn and got us through that first week as smoothly as one could hope for. 

Owen definitely did his part in helping that week go well.  I was really worried about breast feeding, as I feel like that is what really makes or breaks the first few weeks. He latched on and feed like a champ the first hour he was born.  He fed and slept well and has such a sweet temperament, I couldn't ask for an better baby.   

The other thing that was so nice about that first week is I had nothing to worry about except my little man.  My focus was 100% on him and nothing else mattered. As the weeks have gone on life has picked back up and I now have to juggle house keeping, cooking, paying the bills, making appointments, etc; but I got to put all of that on hold for the first week.  I took a bath and plucked my eyebrows on day five and my mom vacuumed while I soaked. With my OCD personality, having my house cleaned made it the most relaxing bath ever. 

I'm not saying it was a walk in the park, but we had a lot of great moments among the demands of caring for a newborn.  Owen peed with pretty much every diaper change, the first time on his face, multiple times on the wall, changing table and floor. My mom and I laughed on the couch listening to Ty call out from the nursery as his changed Owen's diaper and pee went everywhere....  Ty got a little delusional one night at tried my breast pump on himself.... Rachel, my mom and I watched my boobs double in size as Owen nursed and my milk came in..... I sat on the couch and cried as I held my sweet boy, overwhelmed by how full my heart felt and my love for him. 

Right around the two week mark was definitely our low point. My mom was gone, Owen was getting fussier and my hormones were going crazy. I was either freezing cold or one thousand degrees, moody and exhausted. Luckily, it was pretty transient and week three brought much relief. 

We are humbled and incredibly grateful for overwhelming love and support we received to make it through those first weeks.  Not only for the family and friends that were able to be here, but for the gifts, cards, calls, Facebook messages and visits. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, these special moments and gestures made all the difference.