The First 2 Months Cliff Notes Version (or at least I'll try!)

Since I'm getting this started a little later than expected - I'm going to do quick rundowns of the 1st 2 months - I'll try to make it as short as possible! Then I'll be trying to keep this up to date from here on out!

Wow! It's hard to believe it's already been over 2 months! It's definitely been a roller coaster ride so far, but totally worth it! Let me just say upfront that if you have a tendency to be a 'freak' before you have kids...you will quickly become a SUPER freak when you have your 1st kid! And it doesn't matter how 'competent' you feel in other areas of your life, being a 1st time Mom will make you question EVERYTHING!! Suddenly you feel like a freshman all over again! Add to that an obsession with breastfeeding, throw in some postpartum hormones and you have the perfect storm for serious psychosis! Buckle up! Here we go!

So the remainder of our stay in the hospital, everything was going well. I had to stay an extra day b/c my blood pressure was still a little high, but other than that we were all good. Riley was learning to breastfeed well and doing all the things he was supposed to be at that point.

August
Once we went home....my friends and Mom were amazing! Michelle, Tara and Darcy brought us a boat load of food. Talana and Suzanne brought more food and yummy homemade desserts! Nancy brought us dinner each week the 1st month! Talana and Susan Smith brought and had lunch with me one day. My Aunt Jenny and Mary brought lunch over another day. Julian & Nicky came over most weekends.


My Birthday August 16th
My Aunt Donna & Uncle Bart came to visit and kept Riley while Kelly and I went to lunch. Then Talana brought over gifts and my FAVORITE dessert! Carmel brownies with yes - you are reading this correctly - HOMEMADE ice cream! Then Nancy babysat him that night so Kelly and I could go out for my birthday - we went to the studio movie grill. Nancy was awesome sending me pictures to my phone of my sleeping baby so I could rest easy since this was the 1st time I had left him! Jason and Emily came by to bring me and Riley presents on Sunday and hang out.

Now to my Mom - OMG! She was literally sent from heaven above! She basically moved in on her days off (which is a lot b/c she works 2 days, then she's off 4 days) during the 1st 8 weeks and served as housekeeper, cook and nanny! She literally took care of EVERY single thing so Kelly and I could spend all our time bonding with Riley! It was AWESOME! And when Kelly had to work the next day, she'd actually sleep with me and help with Riley during the night so Kelly could rest. My house has never and will never be cleaner or more organized! Now I'm having a hard time getting her to STOP and just be GiGi coming to see her grandson when she comes to visit! She automatically starts cleaning and I have to force her to stop! However, this has given me a bit of insight into where I got some of my anal retentive/control freak tendencies... :) Let's just say I got them honestly! She's also a nurse, so that definitely helps address those 1st time Mom questions as they come up! I'm pretty sure my pediatrician would be thankful if he knew how many calls she's saved him from getting!

Speaking of Kelly - he's the most amazing father!! I didn't even change a diaper until he went back to work and that was over a month after Riley was born! He's gotten up for EVERY single feeding with me even if it meant he just sat there and talked to me! I always knew he'd be a great father, but he's blown away all expectations I had! He better be careful because he's setting the bar REALLY high! This may be difficult to maintain! And Riley just LOVES him! I have definitely seen the difference in the bond between Mother and baby and Father and baby. Sometimes Father's bonding seems a little too rough for Mom, but Riley loves it so I guess it's a guy thing already!!

Now, while I was feeling overwhelmed with all my friends and family's generosity during the 1st month, we were also facing some challenges! Let's just say breastfeeding went RAILS off! Our nurse at the hospital told me that Riley would probably sense a change and become fussy and more difficult to breastfeed once my milk came in, but she didn't put it quite in the terms that made the point that ...all heck breaks lose! Or at least it did for me and Riley! He suddenly forgot how to latch on and breastfeeding became a struggle! He ended up losing weight, so we had to supplement with formula. So that may not sound like anything that BAD, but let me tell you when you're a Mom that's committed to exclusive breastfeeding...feeling like you've been starving your child is BAD! But having them tell you to supplement with formula is WORSE! They might as well be telling you to give them cyanide! Seriously...you feel like you're having to give them POISON! And you're not competent as a Mom! Then throw in all the concerns over "nipple" confusion all the breastfeeding books talk about (giving a breastfeeding child a bottle too early confuses them, and they may reject the breast) and you have the works of a total breakdown! I was committed though! And even though I had to breastfeed, then pump, then supplement with formula EVERY feeding which happened on 3 hour intervals for over 3 weeks...meaning I got less than a 1 hour break before the next cycle would begin - I did it! I felt like Cinderella Breastfeeder! They would only let me breastfeed and pump then repeat....no ball with glass slippers for me! Luckily, I had a lactation consultant come visit us toward the end of August - Judy Eastburn! She's AMAZING! She literally came to our house and in less than 5 minutes addressed every issue Riley and I were having! I told her she was the "Boob Whisperer"! And that I was giving all my friends that plan to breastfeed a consultation with her as a gift from now on!

Labor Day Weekend
Now that Judy-The Boob Whisperer - had address our problems, we were going to start cutting back on the "poison" supplementing starting in a few days....then 2 days later Riley got this little spot on his booty! Just a little diaper rash spot...no biggie, right? Oh no, not with my son! We end up in the emergency room at Children's Hospital on Saturday night of Labor Day weekend! Thank GOD my Mom and Grandmother (who are both nurses)came to town just to look at the spot and tell me I should call the pediatrician. At this point, I knew my pediatrician had to be thinking I was a totally crazy 1st time mom because - let's face it - I was!! It was also a godsend that my Mom came to town because Kelly and I would have been totally unprepared for that ER trip! My Mom suggested we take a bottle or 2 and my pump - just in case! I never dreamed we'd be getting admitted to Children's for the next 5 days for a little spot on his booty! But I also didn't understand that in babies that small their immune systems are so immature that you have to give them iv antibiotics because that's the only way to ensure their body absorbs them, so I think my Mom knew in the back of her mind that we weren't going to be coming home - she just didn't want to be the one to tell me!

It ended up being nothing, but the process was GRUELING to say the least! They poked and prodded him for what seemed like a thousand times! They did a spinal tap, he had to have 3 different antibiotics via iv's, it took them 3 pokes to get an iv started, then they had to redo the iv a couple of days later, then they ended up lancing the spot on his bottom! He had to endure more than any child should EVER have to endure! When they came to do the 2nd iv, I couldn't take it anymore and had to leave the room. It was sort of ticking me off b/c every new person would say 'This must be your 1st child' every time you would get upset about them poking and prodding him. And I wanted to say, I don't care if this was my 10th child! I'd still be upset he was having to go through this!!!

During this time - we had to wonder if he had meningitis (spinal tap), if the infection had entered his bloodstream (many days in the hospital and potentially life threatening), if they would/would not have to put him under to do surgery ,if the culture would grow some super germ (it didn't), on and on. In the end, the culture didn't grow anything abnormal so the antibiotics had already knocked it out by the time they did a local procedure to lanced the area and get a culture.

However, since they did the procedure that meant that Mom & Dad had to literally 'take Riley to the car wash' after every poopy diaper! Let's just say our son has the cleanest booty in town! We'd have to wash him in the sink and soak him in water for 5 minutes after every dirty diaper! The good news was that we didn't have to stay in the hospital the 7-14 days they initially told us! We got to go home after 5! Thank goodness because I'm not sure how much longer Kelly and I could have slept on that single sleeper chair! We would literally have to wake each other up and do a synchronized flip to sleep on the other side when our hips would fall asleep! I even slept in the crib with Riley the 1st night! Once again my Mom was our savior - she was able to go back and forth to bring us things and help out! My poor grandmother ended up being stuck at my house for 3 days while my Mom was at the hospital with us. It broke my heart to see Riley have to go through that, but I also felt very lucky that we were only there for iv antibiotics in the end because there were some very ill children in that hospital.

And don't forget....we're still on the 3 hour breastfeed, pump, poison supplement, now add booty wash cycle at the hospital! Because it's difficult to breastfeed when Riley is hooked up to an iv! And have you ever tried to hold a baby and NOT somehow touch their booty! Not EASY! So we had to take another delay in weaning off the supplementing until we got out of the hospital.

The silver lining in the hospital stay was that Riley started smiling and cooing while we were there! And since Kelly and I were with him 24/7 we got to see every single one during that time! Talk about a smile melting all your worries away!! It definitely did that! And there is no sweeter sound than that of a child when they first find their voice! It was so funny because he'd have to get all his arms and legs going as fast as possible, then he'd udder out 1 little sound! This was also the beginning of 'the howl' that Riley and Dad would share! But that deserves a post all to itself with a video!

Week of Sept 6th
Riley's grandparents on the Sterne side came down from Maryland to visit a day or so after we got home from the hospital. Things were still a little hectic with the sleep deprivation, breastfeeding, pumping, supplementing and booty washing but we had an enjoyable week. We were even able to squeeze in a few outings between our 3 hour cycles! Riley got a little spoiled by Grandma Bonnie literally holding him ALL DAY, so he had some withdrawal symptoms the following week when they went home! :)

Week of Sept 13th
The next week we finally had a chance to settle into a bit of a routine. Riley started sleeping in his own bed, and we started our morning walks around the lagoon in our neighborhood after his morning feedings, and he was only waking up 1 time around 1am to eat during the night.

Weekend of Sept 19th
The next weekend Aunt Courtney from Missouri came down to visit. She's my best friend, and her visit couldn't have been better timing wise! She's a former neonatal nurse and mother, so she really helped me to see how far Riley and I had come with breastfeeding and scheduling! That really helped boost my confidence! And we upped our daily walks to 4 miles each morning while she was in town, something Riley and I are still doing now!

Sunday, Sept 21st
The night Courtney went home - Riley slept through the night!! This may sound like a wonderful thing for new parents, but it's bitter sweet the 1st couple of times! You aren't expecting it, so when I woke up and saw it had been over 9 hours...I elbowed Kelly and said 'OMG, it's been 9 hours since Riley ate!' He asked if I had checked on him, and I said 'No! I'm scared he's not breathing!' As Kelly went to get up, a cute little sneeze came through the monitor...then a loud WAIL that said FEED ME NOW! Kelly just turned and looked at me and said 'Well there's your answer!' This same scenario played out a couple of more times until I decided it was GREAT that he was < 8 weeks old and sleeping through the night! Maybe I should too!!

Thursday, Sept 25th
The following week we took our 1st long road trip to the town where I grew up - Grand Saline - so Riley could meet his Great PawPaw Travis and PawPaw Bill - my grandpa and Dad. Oh yeah, my Dad ended up having to have open heart surgery the Friday after Riley was born so other than being there when Riley was born he hadn't had a chance to see him! I'm happy to report he's doing VERY well! As he says - he'll be in beach shape and ready to take Kelly on in beach volleyball once he's done with his rehab. And the silver lining is that he stopped smoking on the spot! My Mom stopped smoking earlier in the year because I made it very clear there would be NO smoking around Riley!! Plus, I want them to be around to see Riley grow up! After meeting his PawPaw's, we spent the rest of the day with GiGi. Riley did great on his road trip too! He slept most of the way!

Rest of the Month
The rest of September we worked on our feed, wake time, sleep time 3 hour routine. Riley & Mommy continued to sleep through the night! During wake times, he watches his mobile, we go for our daily walk, do tummy time, just sit and talk, read books - he loves to look at the pictures, he watches his 1 and only channel - Baby1stTV (I swore he wouldn't watch tv until he was 1 year old, but this channel is my exception - Courtney turned me on to it!) That is one thing I've quickly figured out - no matter how many books you read or what you have in mind - your child will QUICKLY prove you wrong and make you change your entire game plan! Just like he did with his entry into the world by being 3 days AFTER my due date! ;)

Oh yeah, I got to go on a few more solo outings this month too! Talana & I saw Mamma Mia at Bass Hall, a group of us went to see 'The Women' for Michelle's birthday, we had a Bills' watching party for Darcy's birthday and I went to my usual monthly girls' dinner at a new restaurant called Screen Door!

Wow! I think we're actually caught up on the highlights of the 1st 2 months in 'The Life of Riley'. I can already tell my son is going to be "High Maintenance" if the 1st 2 months are preparing me for the rest of his life! But I guess he gets that honest!

If you've made it this far - you're a super trooper! I'll try to keep future posts much shorter and to the point now that I'm caught up! So check back often to see what's going on in 'The Life of Riley'....