Well in my last update I said I hoped the next time I blogged Jude would be here..and he is! He's 2 months old now..but oh well! Now I have lots I can discuss. :) I thought I'd share some questions I get the most after I've had Jude. 1) How is Jude doing? 2) What's it like with two babies now?
To answer the first question, Jude is doing pretty good. He's my sweet baby and he really does like me a lot! He looks a lot like my brother when he was a baby...which I guess all my babies are going to look like my brother...and Justin! Oh well..I like them so it's okay. I tried nursing for the first time with Jude. I didn't nurse Luke and I thought I would give it a try this time. The first week seemed to be going pretty good. He was doing great eating and latching on, but soon I was in lots of pain (I won't give details but I was super sore) I tried lots of things, including exclusively pumping, but that just became exhausting and with a two year old I didn't have the time for that. At the third week I decided I just couldn't do it and we switched to formula. I will say this..I really did love nursing Jude. It really was such a sweet experience and I do wish it would have been easier and not so painful for me...and yes I know it may have got easier but I just could not handle that at the time. But I hate the guilt that I felt afterwards. I told myself when I starting trying I would not feel guilty if I did have to stop..but I did. I hate that women have to feel that way about not breastfeeding. It's unfair...of course I want the best for my baby! And not breastfeeding does not mean that I don't. Jude is nice and healthy and gaining weight on formula. I do miss nursing him at times (I don't miss the pain) but I do hope maybe with our next baby it will turn out differently...but I have no problem going to formula if I have to. I feel that God has given doctors the wisdom to know what to put in formulas that our babies need. Anyway...enough of that. Jude has been struggling a little bit with his reflux. He's been on two different prescriptions and we had to end up changing him to a special formula. He's doing lots better with that. Luke had reflux bad too...but he was never in pain like Jude is...poor baby. Jude sleeps great at night...7-8 hours now. He actually has slept good at night since he's been born..usually going a 4-5 hour stretch. But there are some days where he has problems resting during the day..and wants to be held. And that can be very difficult when you have a two year old. He's doing lots better now though...he seems to make progress every week. Luke is getting use to Jude a lot more now. I think he's figured out he's here for good. He seems to like him...most of the time he doesn't even pay attention to him.
Now for the second question...what's it like with two babies? I'll answer this one with some advice and things I've learned over the last few weeks.
-In the beginning you may not get a shower...for a day...maybe two (sorry it happens)
-You may realize at the end of the day you didn't brush your teeth...then you go brush them..or just go to
sleep.
-Sleeping is such a wonderful thing!
-Cry when you need to...and you will need to..for no reason at all. Just do it..you will feel so much better..trust me!
-You will forget what day it is....month...maybe even year. I couldn't believe when April was over...really..I was so shocked. I still can't believe it's May.
- There were and still are some days I feel like all I did was feed a baby and spank and get on to the other one...which is probably true.
- Take a nap when your babies do! (if you can get them on a schedule when they both are..thankfully I was able to do that) I needed that nap during the first few weeks.
-You may go a week or so without cleaning or doing laundry and you start to feel that your house is gross...but it's okay. Which leads me to my next point:
-This is advice that I'm still learning, but don't overwhelm yourself with house work...laundry, cleaning..etc. Those things can wait...rest if you need too..play with the kids. But seriously I still need to work on this...I've been better over the last week or so...but I do get overwhelmed with the things that need to get done..I just know eventually they will!
- Make sure you try to make some time with the first baby, even if it's just for 10 minutes. I could tell a huge difference in Luke if I hadn't sat down and paid attention to him or done something with him. As long as I got a little time in there he would do good the rest of the day. It was really hard in the beginning but lots easier now!
- I have never been more thankful for my husband than in these last few weeks...seriously. I don't know how I could do it without him. He's such a good Daddy and help for me. I like him a lot.
- I am also super thankful I live close to my Mama. I so need her during this time and so thankful she loves my babies and loves to help and keep them. She's great...and I love her dearly. And I'm also thankful for my sister...she's been lots of help too. I just love living close to my family.
-Have a friend that you can talk to that you can relate to/complain/cry...whatever! Seriously..this helps so much. I am so thankful for my sweet friend Kim. We have such similar lives and I know I can just call and talk to her and she knows exactly how I feel. If you don't have someone you can call and talk to...you can talk to me! I would love that..really.
-Make time to spend with the Lord...reading the Bible/praying. This is something I am still working on myself as well. It is really hard to find a quite time during the day..I know...except for nap time and in the early weeks you are so exhausted you need some sleep! But I know my days are so much better when I do sit down and at least get that special time in with the Lord. It helps so much. Luke will usually leave me alone if he has a movie on or a TV show he likes.
-Try and get a babysitter or a family member to watch your kids every now and then so you and your husband can go out. I know I am blessed to have my mom and sister close and I know they love keeping my babies, so Justin and I can spend some time together. It really helps our relationship so much when we can get away...and it's okay to do that! Don't let anyone make you feel guilty...your baby doesn't have to be attached to you all the time...I promise. He/she won't even know you were gone...sorry but they won't.
-Ask your husband for help if you need to. This is something I struggled with in the beginning. I know Justin was willing to help me, but I felt so guilty asking him sometimes because I felt this was "my" job to take of our kids. And while yes, I do stay at home and I am the primary caretaker of our children and love it..Justin and I are also a team and we are here to help each other. And he is a great helper, by the way.
-This is something that I now try to do..in the beginning I wouldn't worry about it so much, but making a schedule helps me a lot. I try to work out what days I clean what...Mondays: clean floors Tuesday: clean bathrooms...etc. I never try to clean everything in one day...if you can..great..but that would make me crazy! I try to spread things out. This helps so much.
I think that's somethings I've learned and I am still learning over the last 8 weeks. I am no expert at this Motherhood thing..it's hard..extremely hard some days, but it is so rewarding and I love taking care of these babies...and my husband!
One more little note...I've started Weight Watchers again and working out. I'm starting my goal of losing this baby weight. The working out part I enjoy and actually hasn't been too hard. But staying within my set amount of points is hard! I know it will get easier as I go along..I'll keep an update on my progress. :)
