postpartum helpers

I ALWAYS underestimate the mental and physical toll that the first several weeks postpartum take, not only on me, but on Simon and the rest of the family as well. Babies are adorably unpredictable little angels that operate on their own (not) schedule and demand a lot of attention no matter the dark and potentially ugly hour. I do have to say that I'm a big, fat lover of the newborn stage so the postpartum fatigue and sleepless nights don't get to me TOO bad but this time around with the move ... I felt the sting a little bit more than I normally do. Also, while Bosco's delivery was one of my easier deliveries with a great recovery ... he is not what one would call, "an easy going child". At all. He must take after his mother dearest. I wouldn't go so far as to say he's colicky (necessarily and denial might be coming into play here) but let's just say the hours that he's been awake and NOT crying ... they might still be in the single digits and he turned one month yesterday.

But! It's okay. I've got an arsenal of helpers at my fingertips.

And I'm not talking about Julia.

I'm talking about that glorious bottle. I know bottle feeding is most certainly NOT for everyone but Bosco wasn't making wet diapers or gaining weight the first week (he's not tongue tied and is a great nurser :)) and so we've found a very happy supplementing medium for the time being. I nurse him all throughout the night and several times during the day but when I can tell he's reached his hangry limit, he gets a couple ounces of formula in a Munchkin (post sponsor alert! - but they really are my favorite bottles and I would've told you about them anyway, stay at home mom's honor) Latch bottle because there are only two uncomplicated parts (bottle and nipple) and he had a hard time with even the slowest flow nipples overwhelming him and these are great. So great.

And equally great? When your baby takes a pacifier. Again, not for everyone. But it is very much for me. If they'll take them. Only Julia was big on the pacifier but it was SO NICE and I've prayed in earnest that I'd have another baby that would do the same. After Simon had left on the drive to Tampa and it was me, Bosco, and Julia kicking it in the apartment until our flight a couple days later ... I was sans car (duh) but was so desperate to take a quick shower and get packed and clean (sort of) our apartment that I put Bosco in the wrap, enticed Julia with promises of a smoothie along the way, and walked twenty blocks to the grocery store to buy every brand of pacifier they had in stock.

Which, sadly, did not include these. Or the plastic succulent. Bosco tolerated a few and we got through the flight just fine but he's since made his Munchkin preference known and I have a whole drawer full of these and backups to my backups JUST IN CASE. The pacifier is one silicone piece designed with the help of pediatric dentists and is super soft against our little divo's face.

Do you hear angels singing? Or is that just me?

For a long time, he would only take a pacifier from Simon (he KNEW I had something better to offer) but now he's coming around and will take it from me and a helpful Sebastian.

God bless him.

Now if I could just train Julia to change diapers, Sebastian to make my coffee, Theo to meal plan, and Phoebe to fold laundry ... I'd be SET.

And gloriously, gloriously bored.

;)