1 Month (knitting content at the bottom!)
Okay let me preface this entry a little bit. I am aware that family reads this blog, and it doesn't bother me one bit but it's important for me to say that this blog is in no way shape or form a means of communicating with my family, or anyone I know in real life for that matter. If people know me from real life and use this blog as a means to keep up with me well thats perfeclty okay with me. But when I write, I'm not writting to you. My audience is the knit blogging community, even if it's baby related thats still my audience. Many of whom I consider to be very good friends even though I may never ever even meet them in person. These other knit-bloggers, we are this very cool little community that I adore. You guys are amazingly kind, and I am saving up a fun entry on all the knits and other items I have recieved form this community. It requires Sydney being in a good mood for lots of photo taking! lol
So yeah I was saying, this blog is written to those fellow knit bloggers, we confide in each other in sometimes a very blunt fashion, it's not stuff I would likely walk up to my family members or co-workers and just shout out. Othertimes it's totally knitting related and well why would I bring that up to anyone else but a fellow knitter? So again, read on as you like but realize this isn't written with you in mind, but thats okay. This blog has it's purpose and it at times is a lot like a diary, or can be. I know this is the internet and anyone can read it so I'm mindful not to put down anything I would regret sharing later. It's more like a diary because I also write it for myself to come back and read later.
So onward to "1 Month";
It has been 1 month sense little Miss Sydney was born into the big wide world. I'm so glad I never set any expectations, it certainly helped me be less frustrated or disapointment if baby didn't do X or Y etc. Everyone said the first 2 weeks are the hardest. I have to say that's sort of a load of HOOEY! Week 1 was horrible. Not horrible in as I wish it hadn't happned, just the "hardest". Week 2 was fine. I was left alone with my husband, he worked from home. I was a zombie, fed baby, baby slept, I finally was able to sleep durring the day when she slept. Week 3 was a lot like week 2. Each week was "better" but those two weeks matched each other. Week 4 baby girl changed, grew I suppose. She had some fussy nights, we had to learn what was wrong with her and how to sooth her.
I feel bad for each person who visits us, because each week is so much better I know each visit would be more fun as time passes, but then I suppose all those visits serve their purpose even if I was tired, because everyone has come and helped us so much and everyone in our family has been so amazing. My husbands parents cooked for us, my mom went out and got us supplies when she was here and held the baby so i could sleep those first hard days. My sister just came for a visit and we went to target and I got some clothing so I could feel normal, and plus it was fun to go out with her. She also helped me clean out 2 closets in the very short time she was here, and hang photos. it's weird because I don't really want my own mother to wash my clothing or clean my closet, but for some reason i didn't mind my sister doing it. It certainly makes me want to one day give our girl a sibling because man having a sister or brother is so wonderful. It's a very different relationship. Sometimes we have thought about adopting, I think that would be a nice thing to do. We have no plans, we are just going with the flow but I think a sibling, ONE DAY lol, would be good.
Week 4 was so much better. I actually DID things while home alone. I made phone calls, I vacumed, a microwaved a meal vs just snaking on little things all day. Also this is gross but the bleeding has mostly stoppped now (women can bleed up to 6 weeks post-partum) and that makes a person feel WAY more normal! I'm only 2 weeks away from being able to excersize and pick up things heavier then 10 pounds! I've probably broken that rule when my husband wasn't looking though :)
Lets talk about baby girl, which is what I like to call her in writting for some reason. She's a doll of course, how could I say anything else but? My sister visiting was so wonderful as she has a 3 year old and 1 year old and has lots of recent experience. She held her while she was fussing and knew exectly what was wrong with her. For just a moment sometimes it makes me feel like SUCH a loser, why don't I know whats wrong with her? Why can't I be so intuitive?? Isn't it supposed to be "natural". It takes a village they say and it's kinda sad the way American society is. It's how I am comfortable. I like my house with my husband and we don't have people over very often, we arn't even that social anymore like in college. We are fine this way, but think about what people like us miss out on. All the help, the community. Sadly our nieghbors don't even know our last name and thats how a lot of my friends say theirs are too. People move often, and I think there is a fear factor there too. Heck I'm scared of my neighbor after the incident with him punching his son. And he was the neighbor who actually talked to us! Sad...
So yeah my sister, she declared baby girl a perfect baby and certainly not colicy. She said she has gas, and showed me several ways to make her calm down and fight through the gas pains. I had no idea babies farted so much! I didn't realize how hard gas can be for some of them, heck a lot of them. My sisters visit gave me confidence, confidence I needed. She called me 2 or 3 weeks ago on a bad day, and because of her I didn't give up on breastfeeding, and boy I was ready to stop totally. So she has saved me twice.
Tommorow we take baby girl to the doctor for her 1 month visit, and I hope she's gained the proper amount of weight. I'm really excited for the coming weeks when I can take her to the mall, and I'm confortable traveling with her and driving around and meeting new friends. I have found a few local mommy groups and a "baby wearing" group that I plan to attend. I can't wait to take Sydney to Knitch for the first time (though omg I don't need anymore yarn after cleaning out those closets). She's been wonderfu, this little baby. I think everything you could want or ask for from a newborn, healthy and lovable! I love her expressions, and sounds. I love how happy she is in the morning when she first wakes up. She has a good 10 minutes before she remembers she's hungry, and she's just adorable and I like to sit and look and talk with her.
So before I get to the yarn talk, 1 month... it was hard yes but once it's past and behind you it doesn't seem nearly as hard as it did in the moment. It's all a blur. I spent the time healing, and figuring out breastfeeding, and just trying to catch up on sleep. I'm looking forward to the stitches being gone and being able to TAKE A LONG HOT BATH! Or even better taking a bath WITH baby girl which I think could be fun! So month 1 is past, and I'm very sure I'll miss how small and tiny she was, but the thing is you can't apprechiate how small they are or even how much they sleep in the beggning, because your too busy just surviving. I think it gets a lot easier once you have more then 1, but the first is a pretty life altering experience.
So while cleaning out the closets I found a UFO, and I plan to finish it. I also wanted to set up a knitting project next to the glider in baby girls room so I can knit when she has to be held to sleep when she has the bad gas. So I picked the Tangled Yoke Cardi because I have the yarn and the needles readily availible. It seems like most of it is pretty easy stockinette and ribbed knitting.








Comments
Cara says;
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. Your baby girl is just beautiful!
April says;
You're doing great and Sydney just keeps getting cuter =)
mouse says;
I'm so happy that you all are doing so well - the little one looks so happy & content!
I'm glad that you are using your blog to keep records of things too so that you can look back and remember. I started a baby book (just paper and photos.. nothing fancy like a professional type scrapbook) when my son was younger and got way too 'busy' with him as he got older to keep it up. I wish I had a blog then!
On a side note.. my Chicknits bucket hat was rather ugly and not at all like the photos. I think I'm going to eventually try the felted version.
Donna says;
Thank you for sharing your little girl with us. It takes me fondly back to when my little girl really was little! Now she is busy chatting on her cell phone and IM'ing her friends. Enjoy these precious days. They will be a fond memory for you too!
Sonya says;
Congratulations with breast feeding and the baby's month. Breastfeeding and the first six weeks was the hardest times of my life. It was wonderful but so physically painful, sore nipples and painful stitches all at the same time. You are a strong brave woman! I'm so happy for you and thank you for sharing. you make me want to have a second baby.
Amy says;
Oh! I know! You really nailed it on the head on the just trying to survive part. I always thought that when I have #2 I'll be wiser and I can enjoy it more. I always enjoyed the first months in retrospect but in the moment I was just trying to survive. And it was more like - keep her surviving. I would keep her surviving and then I would do my makeup and feel "normal". I've been watching old videos lately... God I wish I could have absorbed more at the time but it really is all such a blur and just sooo freeking amazing. I am so happy for you I enjoying your knitting and baby content. I got all choked up when she was born as if we were old friends but I only just read your blog.. hee hee. You are awesome, you're baby girl is awesome and breastfeeding is HARD! But you are awesome for sticking with it!
SandyK says;
Don't worry about her having gained the "proper" amount of weight... She'll have gained what's proper for "her". She's a little doll and looks to be a healthy, happy baby. Y'all just enjoy her and cherish every minute of the ride.
tiennie says;
You're doing great! Breastfeeding is the hardest thing in the world! Remember that you've only had 4 weeks of practice - sleep deprived practice at that and your sister has had 3 years - you'll get there and learn those "intuitive" skills soon enough.
Anne P says;
She is absolutely adorable - I'm so glad you had your sister there for support. It's a complete lie that we just figure these things out by instinct - when we have to do them for the first time we need to be shown how.
I have a friend who reckons that the first baby changes your life 100%, the second one changes it 75% and after that the others just kind of muddle along.
I'm not convinced - 2 is good for me!
Bea says;
Yay! I'm so glad that you guys are finding your groove. That's great that you found a babywearing group, learning how to use a sling to carry my little boy really helped me feel normal again, because hey, I can soothe baby AND I can vacuum! or do laundry! or type on the computer! Plus it's great for those outings where you don't want to lug around a big stroller. And yay for sisters, they are so great, my sis was a lifesaver for those first few months, and don't worry, every day you spend with baby girl you will learn exactly what she needs. And congrats on breastfeeding so far, it DEFINITELY gets much easier, as baby girl gets more experienced with it, she'll be able to suck down that milk a lot faster and easier, and with a lot less gas problems once her tummy matures. Great job, keep up the good work!
Allegra says;
Happy One Month Birthday, Sydney!!! I will be writing a similar post tomorrow! Pretty cool that our little girls were born within two days of each other. It sounds like you are all doing well and enjoying it all. I don't know if you are interested, but I've been doing (almost) daily massages on Satya and I think they help with the gas and all. Plus I think infants just LOVE massage...I mean who wouldn't? The book I've been reading/using is Infant Massage: A Handbook for Loving Parents by Vimala McClure. I HIGHLY recommend it and think it would be a great present for new mamas.
Amy says;
Congratulations on surviving the first month! You have a beautiful baby. You are going a great job!
I also just want to echo two things people said about breastfeeding. I'm a doula, and moms always tell me that the first 6 weeks are the hardest for breastfeeding--if you can make it 6 weeks, you can make it for years! You're very lucky to have your sister to help too :) And like someone else said, your baby will gain the right amount of weight for her, a breastfed baby. Make sure your Ped is using the WHO infant growth charts, not the CDC ones--the CDC ones are not appropriate for breastfed babies and I see and hear about too many moms getting forced to supplement because their babies aren't on the right place on the wrong chart.
Hope your babymoon gets even better!