We had it pretty good at the hospital. The food was yummy, with large meals (a whole pitcher of hot chocolate with my breakfast? Dessert with every meal? Yes, please!) that I shared with David. :) Ezra was great at the hospital, and I enjoyed most of my nurses (though not a big fan of the one that stayed with me for two days). My mom and the kids brought these lovely flowers to me in the hospital. Eli drew happy faces with his initials on one side of a card, then the name 'Bob' on the other side. :) It's funny, after the baby was out, the kids were fine that his name was Ezra, and no longer called him Bob. (Though both kids still sometimes rub my belly and ask about Bob in the belly, haha.)
My mom had stayed the couple nights at our house with our kids. She did a TON of work around our house during that time--scrubbing our burners til they shined, getting a stain out of a curtain, organizing some messy cupboards and drawers, cleaning the carseat, etc. She even took the bassinet out of the garage, took it all apart and washed it, then put it all back together. These were HUGE blessings to me! Coming home to those things finished was such a burden off my shoulders. It was so fun to see the kids and how happy they were that we were home.
But even with the help we had, it was hard to come home from the hospital and be on Mom Duty. That first evening at home with the kids was rough. Eli was difficult and I was an emotional wreck. Thankfully my emotions didn't stay downtrodden. My mom has come a couple more times to help do some deep cleaning and help with the kids. She's such a hard worker and gets so much accomplished. I am so lucky and grateful for all of the help she has given me. David went back to work about a week after the birth. I was dragging my feet letting him go back, but we managed to survive on our own. :) While he was home he did a few fancy photo shoots of Ezra. I'm excited to share them after he finishes editing them.
1st evening at home
G&G Hayes came for a visit when Ezra was 6 days old.
First bath. His cord stump fell off in less than a week. He cried during the bath. This picture was funny to me. He's holding on to David's hand like he's saying "Please don't let go!"
My recovery from the birth really wasn't bad this time. My swollen legs/feet stayed painful for over a week and then were finally back to normal! Hooray! I've never thought of myself as having skinny legs, but boy they sure look skinny now compared to how HUGE they were before! Breastfeeding stopped hurting in less than a week, and I haven't had trouble with engorgement. I was taking the kids on our morning outings just over a week after delivery. It's hard to be up so much through the night feeding the baby. And then sometimes the time up is extended due to diaper changes, hiccups, fussiness, etc. It takes a lot for me to fight back my impatience and snappiness with David and the kids on little sleep. Usually the late afternoon/evening is when I feel my most sluggish and really struggle to not get cranky. Eli and Clara have both definitely been whinier/fussier lately, which really eggs on my nerves. Eli gives me lots of "UGGGHHH!" when asked/told to do things, and also responds with, "This is the most hatefulest day I know!" Clara gets upset because I tell her "not to shove the baby's paci in his mouth," or to "rock the swing/carseat more slowly please." She wants so much to help with the baby, and doesn't appreciate being told how or when to help. She's also coming to that stubbornly independent age, and is starting to push limits and disobey, when she's always been very compliant before. So I feel a bit like I have my hands full. :/
Sleeping in his bassinet in our room. He only ever wants to eat on one side at a time. So feedings can often be quick (he seems like an efficient eater for a young guy), but sometimes (especially at night) he's ready to eat again 1 1/2 hours later.
He loves the carseat! Woohoo!! This makes life so much more manageable and doable. He happily sleeps in there for the hours that we are out and about. Love!
Ezra has a scream, but he mostly just gives it when he's overtired, not when he's hungry. Sometimes he fights sleep at home a bit, a little in the morning and then has a fussy period in the evening. Thankfully he takes a paci. I generally don't mind breastfeeding all that much. But I do hate when I've fed him and he seems done/settled/satisfied, but then a little while later he's upset and screaming a lot. I know he's tired, but then I wonder, "Oh, is he a bit hungry still, too?" It's just so frustrating to not know how much milk he's getting each feeding, to feed him again not long after a feeding, and to sometimes have to be a human pacifier. It can definitely feel burdensome to be the only one who can feed/comfort the baby.
He is SUCH a noisy sleeper at night! Sooo much LOUD grunting, it's crazy! Any time he's fighting sleep he gets especially loud and grunty, then will start screaming until he's really passed out. It generally takes feeding him again, or several paci replacing's for him to finally settle and pass out.
Eli loves his brother and calls him his "twin." :) When we go places and I pull the stroller up near Eli (who's always talking to a stranger), Eli comes over and pats Ezra and proudly tells the person, "This is my baby."
Clara and Eli like to play "baby.."
Clara loves playing with Ezra when he's having tummy time.
Right after a bath. He's always very content after he has a bath. And very handsome!
So cute and chubby passed out, :)
Ezra is really a sweet and snuggly baby. He hardly spits up at all, and we have yet to have a blow-out (fingers crossed). So far I'm enjoying him as a newborn so much more than I did the other two. I know the fact that this is my 3rd plays a big part in that. I feel much more confident in my knowledge and skills this time around. I think also knowing that he is our last baby helps me to enjoy him more, and to take in and notice the sweet little things. We stopped swaddling him after Night 2 at home because it's such an annoyance to mess with and he was doing fine without it. I HATED the dependency on swaddling in the past, so that will save me a huge amount of stress and hassle if he's never swaddled.
She loves to hold him and give him hugs and kisses.
He's a big sleeper and seems to always fall asleep while eating. He's having more and more awake and alert time in the day. It's fun to interact with him during those times. He makes the cutest smiles after he's fallen asleep at the breast and has fallen into a "happy milk coma." I can't wait until we get his first awake smiles!
Daddy and Ezra snuggles
Poor baby's already had his first minor cold. It was just a stuffy nose for him, but of course a stuffy nose for a newborn is still tricky. We've been propping him up on his boppy to sleep to help him breathe better. We gave him tylenol a couple nights when it seemed like he was in pain with a sore throat or something. He's doing better now, but is pretty stuffed up early in the morning.
Wearing the cute outfit given to him by Emily and Pooch.
I took this video of Ezra right after he rolled over for the 1st time! 3 weeks old and rolling over! Such a strong little guy.
We are all so in love with this sweetie of a fellow, and grateful he has joined our family.
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