Lil Monkey Week 2

Today marks 2 weeks for our lil monkey. It was been so awesome spending time with him and watching him grow.


Lots has happened over the past week:

• My breast milk has finally completely come in so feedings are a breeze now and we aren't worried anymore about him getting enough to eat.
  


• His skin complexion is getting a little darker. We can tell he is going to be pretty light but he is getting a little color now.



• He has a few awake periods here and there where we get a chance to play and talk with him. He certainly does still sleep a lot but we get some time here and there to get to know him.



• We can't tell exactly how much but it is clear he is growing and gaining weight. He no longer fits his newborn onesies and is starting to almost fill in the next size up, but still has plenty of room to grow with them. We have a doctor appointment this afternoon and will find out his new weight then. When he was born he was 6 lbs 10 ozs and at his last appointment he only went down to 6 lbs 7 ozs. It is expected for newborns to actually lose weight at first so that was okay. Now we are hoping that he has at least put that weight back on if not gained more.



• Oh and he is making the cutest noises when he sleeps. Even caught him laughing in his sleep a few times. Okay so I know they aren't real laughs yet, but they were still adorable. Gotta love him.

Lil Monkey Week 1

Alright folks. As you know by now our little Ty has made his appearance and is now functioning out in the real world. Like most moms I want to share each and every little detail about my perfect little angel so we begin our documentary today by sharing our experience of the first week of his life.

Firstly, becoming parents for both Chris and I has been an awesome, beautiful and trying experience. Any first time parent will tell you that the first week is a hard journey that takes patients, endurance, strength, courage, determination, encouragement, support, prayers ... okay it takes a lot. We found that out for ourselves also this week.

It all started early Thursday morning when we left the birthing cottage and headed home with little Ty just 7 hours after his birth. That is a decision I would never change and so grateful we had the opportunity to do that. However, I will admit not having the extra helping hands of knowledgeable nursing staff was a little trying. But we pushed through and I really believe we became more confident and empowered after being able to survive that first night/morning on our own.

Learning how to handle, change, feed, bath and play with him has been great. Sure there isn't too much interaction besides the feeding and changing right now but Chris and I have learned to make the most of those moments and really capture his development. We really have seen tremendous growth in just this one week.

Our biggest fear this week was the beginning of each feeding. Little Ty is such a sleepy baby that it would at times take us almost an hour to wake him to eat. We of course were very concerned and scared that he would just keep sleeping and not get enough food. After consulting our pediatrician and hearing his advice we have been much more relaxed about it. Thankfully that problem didn't last too long. Once my breast milk came in and Ty began eating more he is more alert, active and has actually finally begun to wake up on his own when the time is right. Huge step for us.

Other than that the our little complete family has been bonding and sharing this time together getting to know each other and reform our family. We were blessed by Chris' family coming to spend the weekend with us and meet little Ty. It was so nice to see them and have them get to enjoy little Ty. But now Chris and I are back by ourselves and making real progress adjusting to our new lives as parents.