Hello!

Last night I got almost 7 hours of sleep (2.5 hours at a time) and am finally feeling pretty rested. Introducing coffee back into my life has been really cool and something I look forward to every morning (only 1 cup, don’t worry). I’ve washed myself every day so far except for one stretch where I went 3 days without washing my hair but a little grease is good for everyone sometimes.

Since bringing Harry (Harold?) home from the hospital, things have been pretty great. I’ve only cried 2 times (once because Sam asked me why I saved 1 egg, once because the dog looked so sad and depressed) and am adjusting to life with a tiny human, working husband, and jealous pup. Ruthie does seem to love Harry so much and is getting more adjusted every day. I try to give her lots of pets and kisses and even spoiled her with some new toys.

I’m trying to get us on a consistent feeding schedule and so far it seems to work best every 3 hours. Breastfeeding is tough stuff. Little Harry will latch on and suck for a little but then some times he’ll just sit there. He has been feeding about 30 minutes each time and def likes the left side better than the right (sorry your mom has an inverted nip buddy). Feeding time is so precious because of the little faces he makes and the baby toots he pushes out. I laugh so hard, he’s just so cute.

He did drop a bit of weight his first week (8 lbs 1 oz down to 7 lbs 3 oz) so I was feeding him then pumping, then feeding him what I pumped from a bottle (that could be a song…ya feed, ya pump, ya feed him that pump…whoop, go Harry, go Harry). That fattened him up to 7 lbs 9 oz…YAY! So now we are just trying to strictly bfeed but sometimes he still seems hungry so I give him a little bottle. Again, I’m trying to take each session as a win and remain calm/stress free. If the kid wants more food, give him more food.

The first few days I sucked at putting on diapers. He kept peeing through them (one time during a feeding and it dripped down my leg…how glam) and I couldn’t figure it out. Turns out I wasn’t putting them on high enough in the butt or closing them tight enough…I didn’t want to cut off his circulation but he seems just fine now that I’ve tightened them 🙂

Harry likes his Mama Roo and snoozing in the pack-n-play. He sleeps in his crib at night with his cactus night light and sound soother and I’m thankful we put him in there right away. His room is right next to ours so any time he wakes up we can hear him.

The weather here has been so fall so we’ve been doing some fall baking to stay busy. I made some homemade pumpkin butter and pumpkin donuts. I’m also going to whip up a batch of Grandpa Marion’s chili this afternoon. YUM. OH, I found a recipe for Tumeric Mocha Hot Chocolate I can’t wait to try this weekend. ALL THINGS FALL YO.

Other things keeping us busy…visits with many friends and family (we are so thankful for you all and the meals and chats and snuggles you’ve given), walks with Chels and Milo at the park (so nice to talk to another mom), laundry (at least a load a day due to poop explosions and spitup spills), lavender baths, Target runs, vacuuming, walks with Ruthie, closet organization, and goal planning (I want write a book I think). I could get used to this mom life thing 🙂

I am trying to take it easy and stick to walks right now but am itching to get back into working out. I really want to take 6 weeks off to fully recover but it’s hard for me to rest that long. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.

This weekend mom and dad are maybe going to go on a date…or maybe not. Sam has been so busy with work (school and his new business-squeegeesam.com check it out) so it’s nice to just hangout at home. I also want to have 1 small glass of wine but I’m SO nervous it will affect Harry! People have told me a glass is OK as long as you wait like 2-3 hours to feed but I’m still unsure.

So, that’s about all that’s new with us. Hoping to get to my parents this weekend for a hike then next week Harry is going to take his first road trip to meet my aunts and uncles and grandparents. Can’t wait.

Have a splendid weekend my friends!

XO

-Hales, Harry, and Ruth