Austin is One Month Old

Wow, how much things have changed in our lives in one month. Actually I cannot believe our baby is already a month old. Time really does go by fast. Things are getting better everyday. The main reason is we are figuring everything out and we are developing a routine. We learn a lot everyday. Like have a bottle ready for Austin in the middle of the night instead of warming it once he is screaming!

Over the past month, we have had several visitors. Both my mother in law and sister in law came up for a week to meet Austin. Brian’s aunt Cathy and Uncle Tony stopped over one night to meet Austin and brought us dinner. That was really nice of them. My parents are over once a week to see Austin and baby sit as needed. It is nice to have them close by to help us out as needed. For those people who do not have family close by and have children, I cannot imagine how hard that must be. We go visit Austin’s great grandparents usually weekly. It is so much fun to see them with Austin.



Brian and I had to go to a Baptism class to learn about Baptizing Austin one night. My parent’s baby sat for a few hours while we went to the class. I was a little nervous about leaving Austin but I knew they could handle it. Austin was good for them. They enjoyed spending them with him. Now Brian and I are trying to work out the details of Austin’s Baptism.

I go to a breastfeeding support group every Tuesday. The first time I had to leave the house with Austin was challenging. I had to take a shower and do my hair and makeup. Then I had to get Austin changed and fed. Plus I had to pump. While I was pumping, Austin had vomited all over me. Then I had to clean him and myself up. I was thinking it was a sign I should stay home. But I forced myself to go and I was glad I did.




The group is nice not only for breastfeeding but to talk to other moms. Being a new mom, I like hearing of mom’s stories. It really helps. Plus it is good for me to get out of the house. Being February, it is cold out and Austin and I do not leave the house often. I actually snow blowed the driveway the other day after Brian got home just so I could be outside for a while.

Breastfeeding is going well now. Austin latches on without difficulty. I can even move around the house while feeding him. I never thought that would happen. I breastfeed him 2-3 times a day. For the other feeding, he gets a bottle of breast milk. It is working out well for everyone. I also have a lot of breast milk frozen for when I go back to work.

Our sleep schedule is also going very well. I get a nap from 9pm to midnight every night. During that time, Brian puts Austin to bed. I think its good for Brian to be able to spend time alone with Austin. Then I get up by midnight and take over Austin duty. I wake up every time Austin wakes up from there to feed and change him. He usually gets up twice after that. It really works well for us. On Saturday nights, Brian takes Austin duty all night. I really enjoy my night of sleep but I miss spending time with Austin.


Austin is more awake these days. He really likes to be with us. I swear he knows if we are in the room or not and he will cry if we are not. That happens to me every time I take a shower and Brian is not home. I do not get a long shower these days. That is okay. I am having fun taking care of him.

We have Austin’s one month doctor check up on Monday. On my Tuesday class, I weigh him. This week he was 10 pounds (he was as low as 7 lbs 3 oz)! Brian said by percentage of body weight, that would be the equivalent of him gaining more than 60 pounds in a month! I am excited to see how much he weighs on Monday. Hopefully the pediatrician will say everything looks good.

One funny thing about Austin is that he likes to put one or both hands in the air. He'll even do this while sleeping as the picture above shows. It's been a snowy weak with an ice storm, so I'm glad to be at home. Brian took this photo in the Cleveland metroparks on the way to work:

Auntie Melissa in Town

Auntie Melissa came up to visit baby Austin for a week. When she came over, she was actively involved in caring for Austin. She was not afraid to hold him or change his diaper. While she doing her second diaper change, Austin started pooping and poop went everywhere. Melissa was screaming. We cleaned it up and then Melissa went to put on a new diaper. Just before she did, Austin peed everywhere. Brian and I were not any help. We just laughed at her. Melissa's friend Laura was there too and also enjoyed the show. To top off this epic diaper change, Melissa finally got the diaper on and told Austin to behave for the rest of the week. About 2 seconds later he threw up everywhere. So within 10 minutes Melissa was hazed with poop, pee, and puke. It was hysterical. Of course Melissa’s reaction was really funny. She handled it very well. She will be a great mommy some day.

Melissa helped me out around the house for the week. She cleaned my kitchen and cooked dinner for us every night. It was awesome. Cooking these days is difficult for me but I am starting to get back into it again. I do not have a desire or time to cook. Melissa made some really tasty chicken recipes. It was nice to have her while Brian was at work all day.

In the evenings, Brian, Melissa, Laura, Austin and I would hang out. We even had our own little super bowl party together. It was fun. Life is definitely different these days. Everything we do is on Austin’s schedule and not ours.

We went to the pediatrician last Saturday. I was really nervous about Austin’s weight. He weighed 8lb 5 oz and was now over his birth weight of 8lb 1.5oz. I was so happy. I felt that Austin and I did it! I no longer need to record every feeding and diaper change. I also can stop waking him up every two to three hours to feed him. He can now eat on demand. This is excellent news! I have not given Austin any formula for almost 2 weeks now. I have worked really hard to pump often to increase my milk supply. In fact right now, I have over 40 ounces of breast milk frozen. Plus we have 12 ounces in the refrigerator for him to eat as needed. He is doing very well breast feeding and taking a bottle interchangeably.

AUBreastfeeding is a challenge. It is definitely not easy but the benefits are worth it. Because Austin has gotten a bottle after every breastfeeding, he is used to getting one. When Austin is hungry he (and I) do not have the patience to breastfeed so we fed him a bottle with breast milk in it. He screams when he is hungry and will not stay on the breast for long. He wants his milk quickly and cannot get it fast enough on the breast. This is not how I imagined things going but it works for us. Most of the time, Austin receives a bottle with breastmilk. He breastfeeds only a few times a day and still gets a bottle of breast milk afterwards. He is getting all the benefits of breast milk so I guess that is all that matters.

I am adjusting to motherhood fairly well. I was nervous on how I would do having to stay in the house all the time. I have enjoyed my time alone with Austin. It has been really cold outside so I really don’t have a desire to go out. I am amazed how busy Austin keeps me. By the time I feed him, pump breast milk, and change him it is time to start the process over again. He gets little naps and some playtime in there but I do not get much else accomplished. For two days, I have wanted to write this blog and have not been able to find the time to do it.

I am enjoying spending time with Austin. I know he is not going to be little for long so I want to treasure these moments I have with him right now. If he wants to lie on my chest for an hour, I let him. I don’t worry about things I could be doing because it’s not worth it. I will get the other stuff done eventually. Austin is what is important right now.

Brian has been wonderful. I know I have said this before but I really could not do this without him. He spends all evenings with Austin so I can get other stuff done and take a nap. Brian takes very good care of Austin. I never worry when he is taking care of him. Our society has a stereotype that moms are the ones who should know and do everything. I think that is crazy and from the very beginning we have been in this together. I have learned many things about Austin from Brian. I know some dads that are not involved in the care of their children. Brian is definitely a hands on dad which is great.

We have also developed a sleep schedule that seems to work for us. I get a nap in the evenings for a few hours. Brian is in charge during that time and I don’t worry about Austin. Around midnight, I take over so Brian can sleep the rest of the night. Austin goes to bed right now around 11pm. Then he gets up around 3-4am for a feeding and diaper change. Austin then gets up around 7:30am for the day. For being only 3 weeks old, I think that is awesome. The only thing that sometimes does not go well for me is if my pumping schedule is different than Austin’s feeding schedule. Then I don’t get as much sleep but that is okay.

Brian was really nice to me last night. He let me sleep all night and he took care of Austin. That was the first time since he has been born. I am not working right now so it should be me up all night with him but I was really tired. I only had to get up last night to pump but did not have to feed or change Austin. It takes us about an hour to feed him, burp him, and change his diaper before he goes back to bed (usually). It takes me about a half hour to pump so there are some nights I can be up for over two to three hours depending on how things go.

I am going to make dinner now and spend some time with Austin. We will see what this week brings. It was nice to have family from out of town visit to help, but now we're settling into our own routine on our own.

Things are getting better

This week is going much better. Breastfeeding is going pretty well. In fact, I have not had to give Austin formula since Tuesday (as of Friday). My milk supply has come in. I am still pumping and feeding every 2-3 hours but it is working for us. I also got a hands free pumping bra that is awesome. This morning I was able to feed Austin a bottle of breast milk while pumping. I definitely could not of done that without the hands free pump bra.


My mother in law came into town last Friday. Over the weekend, she made us several meals to freeze. Now I can just take them out of the freezer and bake. That was extremely helpful. Also her and Brian went to the grocery store and got us lots of food. I don’t know what I was thinking before my pregnancy ended but I was not prepared on the food front. The first week home with Austin was difficult. Plus we did not have food to eat. One night we had macaroni and cheese only for dinner. I did not have anything to go with it. This week has been much better. I am eating 3 healthy meals a day and we have snacks in the house for me too.

Also this week my mother in law cleaned my house, did laundry, and cooked dinner for us. It was extremely helpful because it allowed Brian and I to get into a routine without having to worry about the house. Brian and I are still learning what works best for Austin. We have a nighttime routine down but are still working on the daytime routine. Austin usually eats at night at 11pm, 2am, and 5 am. I can now feed him, change his diaper and have him back to bed within an hour. I think that is pretty good. The first week it took me two hours!

Last night was a bit of a challenge for Brian. I went to take a nap from 9pm until midnight. I thought that Austin would be going to bed too. However Austin had other plans. He kept Brian up until midnight. He kept being hungry, pooping his diaper and spitting up. Brian got to change him a lot! Let's hope Austin learns to go to bed earlier.

Today is my first day home all day alone with Austin. At first I was not so sure about it but I think I am doing good. We are trying to get a schedule down. We woke up at 8am. Then I fed him and changed his diaper. We had tummy time and read books for a while. I was able to keep him up until about 11:30am. Then I placed him down for a nap. This way I could get things done around the house and take a shower. I am going to let him sleep for about 2 hours then get him back up to eat.

On Tuesday, I went to a breastfeeding support group. It was good for me to get out of the house and hear other women’s issues with breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is a lot a work and definitely a challenge. While there I was able to weigh Austin. He was up to 7lb 13 ounces. At first I read the scale wrong and I thought it said 7lb 1 oz. I freaked out! I could not believe he was still losing weight. But like I said I read it wrong and he had finally gained weight (he was born at 8 lb 1.5 oz and lost weight down to 7 lb 3 oz). We go to the doctor tomorrow. Hopefully he is back to his birth weight. We also want to ask if we need to wake him up to eat or just let him tell us when he is hungry. That answer may depend on his weight. Austin's hands aren't as big as Brian's yet, so he has some growing to do!

Melissa is on her way up to meet Austin now. We are excited for her to get here. I am sure Austin and her will have fun. This next week Melissa will be here with me. I am looking forward to it. We should have a good week together with baby Austin.

The Cavs are not doing well, but that just meant that their announcer Austin Carr had time to say hi to Austin.

Pregnancy Progress Photos

Brian took my picture every week throughout my pregnancy. The final picture was taken the night before I gave birth (39 weeks). The very last pictures (40 weeks) were taken 1 week after Austin was born. I was fortunate and within the first week after giving birth I lost 18 of the 28 pregnancy pounds I gained.



Here is a side view showing my belly grow:



Both pictures are animated GIFs and should sequence through the weekly photos. They are very large images (10MB and may take a while to load).