Literally just published the two month post, right?
I think this is just how it's going to go with a second baby!
Here's month 1, month 2, and her birth story, if you missed anything.
I kinda think she didn't sort herself out until month two just because she had four different caregivers in month one. That's really weird to think about, but she spent so much time being taken care of by Scott, then by grandmothers, and eventually I took over. So, I mean, no wonder it took us a bit to get a routine. I also couldn't wrap my head around her arrival when she was born. I was okay with Scott taking care of her right then.
I was talking to Scott the other night and he said he wishes I would look at him the way I look at Sutton (LOL). To which I had to admit that, for the first few weeks, I was pretty indifferent toward her. I hate saying that, but it's true. It's a result of the traumatic birth, no doubt. I think I was still in shock. My birth with Wells was so SIMPLE and EASY. To think that it came down to the wire to get Sutton out safely while I kept nearly passing out during a c-section still boggles my mind.
I have to say, I'm still mad at the hospital. I literally have dreams about it. I hate that. I hate that I had a midwife instead of an OB. I hate that I was treated like a unique case throughout my whole pregnancy because I was 35-36 years old and then they forced me to induce. Then instead of doing a last ultrasound (which I was told they would do) to see what position she was in, they just judged by my stomach. Like, maybe they would've caught a problem earlier and we could've avoided the trauma aspect of the whole thing.
I hate that they basically forced me to be re-admitted to the hospital for blood pressure that wasn't even that high, and then gave me toxic doses of magnesium that made me sicker than I'd ever been. They just shrugged their shoulders and said yeah, we know that. I really hate that Scott had to advocate for me because they wouldn't listen. I hate that I don't trust the doctors and nurses in this hospital at all; I'd never heard a bad thing about OB/maternity here before.
My sister-in-law very recently had a birth experience that also falls into the 'traumatic' category. All I could tell her was that I feel differently from day to day about it.
It was entirely worth it to get this baby that I stare at so adoringly, but it was all so unnecessarily difficult.
We're only three months in, but she is an absolute joy. I never understood what parents meant by that. Like, of course Wells is a joy... now. But he was not a predictable baby. I never knew what he wanted.
Honestly, this could just be because he was the first and I figured a bit out since then. But, she has made it really easy. I don't have to troubleshoot all day or all night long. Like, we definitely had a few rough nights the first week or so after Sutton was born, but that went on for much longer with Wells. I remember Scott and I fighting over setting up the bouncer at midnight when he was about three weeks old because we just could not get him to stop crying. "Troubleshooting" was what a lot of Wells' first year felt like to me.
So, really, Sutton has just been incredibly predictable from about one month onward.
Now. I won't call her chill in the sense that she has a particular yell that means hungry. Also, one for "pick me up" and "change my diaper". But man, she's easy. She just wants to eat and kick and snuggle and sleep.
Wells was our little traveler so he and I went through a lot together; I cannot imagine wanting to relive that with another baby (driving across the country at 5 months, staying in hotels, at relatives' houses, moving...). So hopefully I don't have to put just how easy of a baby she is to the test any time soon. I will keep our simple little routine going for as long as possible.
She loves to eat and she's doing 5-6 oz at a time, instead of 4 oz, at this point. I'm really focusing on full feedings and not letting her become a snacker because that leads to being awake all night as I have experienced in the past.
She still does take a pacifier but it's not a must-have. She prefers her thumb, to be honest. She usually spits the pacifier out and moves to the thumb.
I really take any and all sleep expert advice with a grain of salt right now because they still recommend swaddles for as long as possible and she had had it with the swaddle by 3 weeks old. She's been in a regular sleep sack for at least two months now. We've got two of these exact ones. My mom also sent a super lightweight one but it doesn't have a brand on it. I don't remember if we moved Wells to a sack that early but man, I love them.
Sutton has fallen into a pattern of bath around 6:30pm, bed around 7pm, dreamfeed around 10pm, and up around 6:00am. I'll then feed her and put her back down (sorry, survival mode over here) and we'll be up for the day around 8 or 9am. (Wells still gets up at 6am and stays up, so he gets the iPad to watch Netflix while I sleep. I'm not even going to apologize for this one. He wants to be in bed with me, so the TV isn't an option. I set his breakfast on the counter for whenever he wants it, feed the dogs, let them out, make coffee, let the dogs in, and then go back to bed.)
Sutton is adorable! I appreciate your honesty about the birth and the experience since. Motherhood is absolutely wonderful but it's not all sunshine and rainbows.
ReplyDeleteShe is just so darn cute!!!.... Our daughter's middle son is 11 & she still is mad at the hospital for how they handled her delivery too. Its OK to still be upset.
ReplyDeleteShe is just too cute! Also, that last pic of her and Wells, it may not be the "perfect" intended photo, but that's definitely a keeper! They look like they're conspiring. :) And I'm still so sorry about your entire hospital experience. I can't even imagine, and yes, like the PP said, it's still OK to be upset!
ReplyDeleteSo wasn't so much a swaddle kid either, she just wanted to have a sleep sack or something on the stay warm. I am still so mad for you for the birth experience you had. We had an emergency situation with Zoe, and the immediate rush to get me to the ORD was scary....but it wasn't traumatic like yours. I don't understand how doctors can just be so nonchalant about stuff. These are peoples lives.
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