Our first two weeks

Goodness gracious, two weeks has FLOWN by! I love how much I’m learning about Jameson and about being his mommy but it’s also kind of terrifying that soon we’re going to have to count his age in terms of months instead of weeks. I want him to be little forever!

At his one week doctor’s appointment last Monday he had already gained over a pound from his weight the week before (8lbs, 5oz at birth; 7lbs, 11oz two days later, then 8lbs, 14oz at the one week appointment). The pediatrician was shocked and impressed that he had gained so much so quickly but I wasn’t surprised. This boy can eat! The first week of breastfeeding was really hard (and painful for me) but we pushed through, did a lot of research, went to a breastfeeding support group at the hospital to meet other moms and a lactation consultant, and now things are awesome. I’m so proud of Jameson for working with me and not giving up! And I’m amazed that my body is able to provide everything my son needs to grow so healthy and strong. God’s design is incredible.

After two weeks of Jameson, I can confidently tell you that having a baby is as exhausting as everyone says it is. Breastfed newborns need to eat every two to three hours (sometimes four at night, if you’re lucky) whether you’re wide awake and ready or dead asleep. In all honesty, though, Jameson has been awesome with sleeping at night! I mean, he sleeps basically all day too haha. But during the day he’s usually wanting to be fed every two hours like clockwork while at night he’ll usually go four hours before waking up for his first feeding. After that he’s up every two to three hours again but at least we get that four hour stretch at the beginning. It makes the rest of night much easier. 🙂 And really, who could say no to this face?

I’m convinced that Jameson is way more with it than the average newborn. 😉 I guess all parents think that, but I swear it’s true for him! Whenever he’s awake, he’s looking around at the world with a curious expression on his face like he’s trying to figure things out for himself. We’ve had so many people comment on how expressive he is and how thoughtful he seems. He turns his head to different voices and sometimes he flashes us his little smile, which is my favorite thing ever ever ever! I don’t care if it’s just gas, it’s adorable.

He’s been impressing me on the daily with his strength. He can hold his head up for pretty long periods of time (way better than I was expecting for this age) and he kicks hard when he’s angry (usually when he has to poop or when he has the hiccups). He also has a really strong grasp and his arms are super strong too (whenever I’m nursing him I have to literally pin them down to his sides otherwise he’ll shove them up near his mouth and get them in the way of everything haha). He loves being in the wrap carrier we have (aka The Papoose), laying on his side or his tummy (I thought babies usually hate that?), being held and walked around, riding around in the car, and observing the world. He also LOVES his pacifier (aka The Bink)…we were totally going to wait the recommended four weeks before trying it with him so that it wouldn’t interfere with breastfeeding, but oh man am I glad we gave in within the first week! This kid loves to suck to calm himself down and guess who was his human pacifier before we gave him the real one. I actually think it improved breastfeeding tremendously because it gave Jameson the means to self-soothe without eating way too much and it gave me a much needed break (and time to heal). Plus, look how stinkin’ cute he is with it:

We were so blessed to have Alex home with us for the past two weeks. He has been an incredible help to me (especially at the beginning when I was still in recovery mode and basically useless except for feeding the baby) and the best daddy to Jameson. Watching my husband fall in love with our son is probably my favorite thing about parenthood so far. He’s so gentle and caring with Jameson (shielding his face from the sun when we’re out, jumping up at any noise he hears Jameson make, making sure he’s not too hot or cold) and I can already tell how fun and silly he’ll be with him too. There’s something so special about a father and son and since I don’t have any brothers, I’ve been loving every second of seeing it with my boys.

We’ve had quite a lot of firsts these past two weeks! Actually everything is really a first with Jameson and it’s so awesome that we get to be there with him for all of it. Some of my favorites have been his first real bath after his belly button was healed, his first real outing (we went to my high school best friend’s wedding), and his first time at church (which was yesterday…I was super nervous about it but then he slept through the entire thing like a champ).

Every day I wake up feeling so overwhelmingly blessed to have this little boy as my son. I still don’t fully believe that it’s true and that this is my life! I love every bit of it…all the kisses I get to give him, all the adorable sounds he makes, the way he smells so good, how he calms down the second I have him in my arms, how he smiles and cries and sneezes twice in a row every time like I do. I couldn’t wait to know all these things about him and now that I do, it doesn’t even seem real because it’s all so wonderful and perfect. I love you, Jameson! You are my favorite part of every day and I’m so thankful that you’re mine.