12 Days In

His hair goes all spikey right after a bath

Has it already been 12 days? I initially planned to write a one week update, but that day came and went so I aimed for a 10 day update. I guessed I missed that one too. Oh well, if I don't do this 12 day update, who knows when I'll have time to write.

It has been a long 12 days, but I'd do it all over again for that wonderful, warm feeling you get from holding, snuggling and kissing a newborn. I didn't realize how much I've missed nursing until the very first time Ethan nursed right after the birth. He latched on like a champ and so far everything has been fantastic. I think a big part has to do with me knowing what it should feel like. In the early days with Maddy, I was so worried that the latch wasn't right (when really it was fine) that I got so stressed about it all. I think we're off to a good start and I'm sure other parents of newborns will agree that nothing beats the "drunk on milk" face.

The drunk on milk face

During the first couple of days Ethan definitely had his days and nights mixed up. He'd sleep through the day and be up at night. Luckily, I think he's got that sorted out and we are enjoying about a 3 hour stretch of sleep at night. For a couple of days we thought that he slept too much. We'd have to wake him to feed and even then it was hard to get him to spend a period of time awake. When he is awake, he totally surprises us with his strength. Sometimes when I hold him over my shoulder for a burp, he'll push with his arms and hold up his own head and neck. I don't know if that's normal, but it certainly wasn't something that Maddy ever did. He reminds me of E.T. when he does this and opens his eyes to look around the room at the same time.

Maddy has really taken well to her new brother. She loves to kiss him and takes good care of him. She's been really helpful around the house by bringing things for us. One time though, Josh asked her to take a diaper to the garbage (she loves to put thing in the garbage for us). She ran away saying "No dada, no it's dirty!" Then she came back a few minutes later and took it to the garbage. I guess she had to think about and pysch herself up for the task. For now she doesn't seem to be jealous but we'll see how things go when Josh goes back to work. One trick we've learned is to give her foods that take a LONG time to eat and let her take her time in the highchair.


I've learned from experience that this first month goes by very quickly and soon it'll be time for Josh to head back to work. I'm trying to hold onto to every minute the 4 of us have to bond as a family before Josh's parental leave is over. It's already slipping by too quickly for my liking. I know we have so many people to introduce to Ethan, but that will come in time. For now, I just love having him all to ourselves.