Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Baby growth spurts are no joke!

To sum up the last 24 hours, it's 1:00 pm and I was just standing in front of the refrigerator door, still in my jammers, drinking apple juice from the container. Yes. I'm certain you can picture it in your mind.

Nolan is going through a growth spurt, which equates to my normally mind-tempered baby converting to the behavior of a ravenous shark in fish infested water. He wants to feast what seems like 7 billion times a day. Nothing keeps his bottomless pit of a stomach full. So far today he's eaten 30 ounces of breastmilk, a steak, baked potato with butter and sour cream, green beans, a piece of chocolate cake, a little more breastmilk to wash all that down, and a few Sour Patch Kids. Needless to say, my kitchen is trashed from all the cooking he's been doing.

Crap. Now he wants waffles.

Yesterday was my "official" due date. All afternoon I thought about the post I wanted to write about becoming a Mama early. Nolan and I went for a walk, hung  pictures in the living room, did laundry, and took an evening drive through the park. It was such a productive day, and I had actually showered and didn't have baby puke on my shirt. SUCCESS!

But then someone decided he was at an AYCE (All You Can Eat) buffet, and the chaos began. If he wasn't eating, he was filling a diaper, and if he wasn't doing that, he was whining to be held, or sleeping (For only an hour or so at a time). Then he would scream for food like I haven't fed him since his birth. As soon as he started eating, he would calm down to my "normal" baby, then go to sleep for an hour or so only for the process to begin again later.

Eat, sleep, eat, sleep, eat, sleep...You get the picture.

At 4 am, while I was pumping, and feeding him a bottle (more on that later), I came up with two universal truths about being a new parent....

1. At the newborn stage, that baby is your BOSS. He or she decides when you sleep, when you eat, and how many loads of laundry you do that day. It's not like you can reason with a 7 week old. We are on a very consistent schedule, but growth spurts = insanity.

2. Breastfeeding is HARD WORK. I really thought it would come naturally to me, but because Nolan got used to a bottle while in the NICU, he just doesn't nurse very well. So, I pump...and I pump...and I pump some more. I'm hoping as he get's older, he'll improve his nursing skills. But in the meantime, my Medella pump, and a sink full of unwashed pumping parts is my reality. I'm fully aware that the decision to breastfeed is mine, and mine alone. Jake would be totally supportive if I waved the white flag of surrender. But I'm not ready to give up. Even though it's a challenge, for me it's worth it. But I wanted to document how hard it is. Mama's who breastfeed for any length of time should be given an award. Preferably one covered in chocolate.

Being a Mama is such a fun adventure. Today is just one of those days! :D

My baby is currently asleep, so I'm going to go eat a spoonful of Nutella, and take a power nap!



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