Our First Week with a Newborn

I seriously can’t believe our little man is already ONE week old!

Time flies when you are having fun {and not getting much sleep!}

Actually, getting sleep hasn’t been too bad, I can’t really complain – Brooks had 2 nights that were a little challenging but other than that he has been such an awesome, easy-going baby {knock on wood}. Charles & I are having a blast getting to know our little guy, he gets more alert, opening his eyes a bit more each day and little bits of his personality have started to shine through.

It’s hard to really prepare for what life will be like post-pregnancy, once it was time for our little bundle of joy to come home with us. Of course I thought about it, what it would be like and how our lives would be changed, but until it’s time to take him home with you, its hard to really know what to expect.

Today Baby Brooks is 9 days old, but we took him home from the hospital with us last Friday – so he has been home with us exactly one week. I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts on our first week with a newborn.

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1- I am obsessed with my baby. I seriously can’t take my eyes off the little guy. Awake, asleep, crying, staring back at me – I can’t get enough. And when he sneezes – that’s literally my favorite thing in the entire world. He makes the most perfect AHchoo sound, and I die a little bit each time he sneezes because of his cuteness. Seriously.

2 – Breastfeeding is hard. Again, another thing you can’t really prepare for until you are in the moment when you are actually ready to do it. Sure, I went to breastfeeding class, read some books, did my research, but until my baby was handed to me in the delivery room to feed for the first time, I didn’t really know what the hell I was doing.

I worked with some lactation consultants in the hospital & have attended a local breastfeeding support group in my area to help answer some questions & concerns {and to meet other new moms!} and everything is going well, but breastfeeding is hard. Being the sole food provider for my little man, 24/7 is a lot to handle – It’s something I want to do but I didn’t really realize how all-consuming it would be. The first week was pretty rough and things are getting a little easier each day but still, it’s not easy.

3. It’s a Numbers Game – Our life currently revolves around so many numbers the first week – we have been tracking each feeding, each diaper change and his weight like crazy people. The first week is all about hitting that certain amount of wet + poopy diapers, feeding a certain amount of times each day and making sure he is gaining 1 oz. a day. I have been trying out a few different apps for tracking all this but if you have any favorites you love, please let me know!

4. I miss sleep – Real sleep for me is a thing of the past. Sadly, I wasn’t able to really stock up on it during the last few weeks of my pregnancy because I was pretty uncomfortable but having a newborn makes me wish I stocked up on some more sleep. Now that Brooks is here, it’s hard for me to get some real sleep – Aside from waking up every 2-3 hours for nursing, I find myself waking up just to check on him, make sure he is ok and watch him sleep.

What seems to be working for us this past week is that I have been sneaking up to bed around 9 or so after a feeding to get an hour or two of sleep in, without the baby in the room, while Charles hangs out with Brooks downstairs. This way if Brooks is fussy or up a lot during the night, at least I have an hour or two of sleep in my pocket!

5. Soak Up Every Moment – I think it goes without saying that I have been doing my best to soak up every single moment with Brooks. We have experienced so many firsts already this week with the little guy and there are so many more firsts to experience together in the future – I keep reminding myself to stop and soak up each moment, because even though Brooks is only 9 days old, he is still growing up so fast, right before my very eyes!

It’s hard to really put into words how amazing our first week together as a new family has been – I can’t describe the feeling, its been a bit of a blur at times but also some of the most incredible moments that I will remember forever.

Here are a few more photos from our first week together – I am planning on sharing Brooks’ birth story next week, so stay tuned & follow along on Instagram for more baby updates! 🙂

Disclaimer – Brooks does not sleep in bed with us,

Charles snuck this photo during some morning cuddle time

Jackson & Brooks’ first meet & greet

balloons from  family friends

finally have his name up in the nursery

i’m obsessed with kissing & smelling my baby.

baby fingers.