2 Weeks

Somehow I've managed to survive to see Jillian reach the ripe old age of 2 weeks. I haven't had quite enough sleep to write a coherent post, so we'll have to settle with a smattering of random thoughts.

• Having a newborn is hard. Yeah, I know this is sort of a "no sh*%" statement. I knew it would be, but it is the sort of thing that is impossible to understand without experience. I've never felt so incompetent, nervous, guilty, stressed out and yet insanely happy in my life, although it gets a little better every day as I gain confidence. I haven't had a tearful melt down yet, which I'm rather surprised by. On the other hand, my appetite has seemingly disappeared, which is downright bizarre for me. Normally I'm the poster child for stress eating. It is just as well though, because I have no time to eat these days anyhow.
• Newborns come with a ton of paperwork. There is getting the birth certificate, getting added to 2 medical insurances, getting short-term disability paperwork submitted, completing a battery of tests from hearing to labs, and scheduling and going to doctor's appointments. Oh and I loved how the nurse at the hospital handed me a book on caring for my newborn to read in my spare time. I could not have imagined a busier, less relaxing hospital stay.
  
• Jillian's appetite on the other hand is voracious. Today at her 2 week appointment, she weighed in at 8 lbs 13 oz...a gain of 11 oz over her birth weight.
• Breastfeeding has not gone as planned, largely because of her NICU stay where they supplemented her with formula. She has taken to the ease of the bottle, and the only reaction my breast gets is relentless screaming. I am pumping so she is getting breast milk for about half her meals. I admit it is tough though, because I really loved the connection of breastfeeding and I despise pumping. If Jeramy wasn't here to encourage me, I would have given up a week ago.
• I've noticed that she is more awake this week than last. Less fussy (knock on wood) too. After a feeding she likes to hang out and stare at me, which is fine except for the middle of the night.
• I mistakenly assumed that babies fall asleep on their own and are happy to sleep in their crib or bassinet or whatever sleeping arrangement is provided. Jillian must be rocked to sleep, and if she is not sufficiently asleep when you lay her down she'll be up again within minutes. As such the only way we've managed to get sleep at night is together in my recliner in the living room. While I'm not exactly thrilled with this arrangement, I am getting sleep this way. I just hope to figure out a more suitable alternative in the next couple of months.
• Every day it seems like I learn a new trick for getting things done with a newborn. If she wants to be held but I need to do the laundry, I can put her in the sling. If I want a shower but she wants to hang around looking at me, I put her in the bouncy seat in the bathroom. If I feed her in the boppy pillow, I have a hand free to do whatever I want.
• Jeramy has been working 60 hours a week and it appears that this will continue for at least the next month. Normally I'm a big fan of overtime and the extra money it brings in. However, we both wish the timing might have been a little better.
• Luckily I've had a lot of help. Last week, somebody came over to help out for a little while every day. This week, somebody will be here every other day. While I didn't think I'd need the help before having Jillian, I quickly changed my mind. It has been nice to have the luxury of working up to doing everything on my own.
• I'm reading The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp. I absolutely love it. The techniques described really work, and the first chapter alone has made a huge difference in the past couple of days.
  
• Jillian's BFF (Rebecca Marie) was born last Thursday. Amazingly our friends Jenny and Jeff have somehow been on the same life timeline as Jeramy and myself. I've gone to school with them both since 7th grade, they were also high school sweethearts, they got married less than a year after us, and now we have had baby girls within 9 days of each other (I was 8 days late and Jenny 10 days early). We visited them on Sunday and snapped some pictures. Doesn't Jillian look huge in comparison?
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