Two Becomes Three

Three weeks ago on January 20th after a long day and night of labor, Luke Michael Fox was born 3 days late at 10:25am at 8lbs8oz via c-section (more on that in a different post) and our family of two became three! Becoming parents was so surreal, even while I was in labor it still didn't seem like I was going to be a mom at the end of it. It wasn't until I heard his cry that I really believed that Luke would ever be here, but I am so glad that he is.

Since then, we have been adjusting to parenthood and a lot less sleep! Since I had an unplanned c-section, I spent four days in the hospital instead of two which was really helpful because I did not think I could handle our stairs yet. Brendan and our families was such a blessing especially during the first week because I really couldn't get out of bed even to use the bathroom without being in extreme pain. Before we had Luke, I knew Brendan loved me and that I loved him, but as I watched him interact with Luke and as he helped me do everything in those first few days, I really grew to love him even more. He served me so well by helping me with everything from getting out of bed and showering to bringing Luke to me to let me feed him and changing all of his diapers those first few days... He's still better at changing diapers than I am, although I'm quickly catching up. Whenever Luke went to the nursery for tests, you could usually find Brendan at the window looking at him.

For only being 3 weeks old, Luke is a pretty active guy. He likes to kick his legs and look around. He loves his swing, but is still getting used to seeing himself in the mirror. After around 1.5 weeks of thinking that day was night, we sort of have him on a schedule although he's still up every few hours to eat. He had some gas problems especially the second week which made him so uncomfortable that he wouldn't be awake without crying which was so frustrating for me that I couldn't make him feel better. After talking to some of my other mom friends, I purchased some infant gas relief drops to see if that would help and he has been a completely different baby.

He has already met both of his grandparents and gets visitors almost every day... he sleeps through their visits most of the time though. His favorite activities include sleeping all day, pooping... especially right after I change him, eating, and spitting up on me. Lately he's been going through several outfits a day and about 15 diapers... since I had a c-section we decided to hold off on cloth diapering until I was a little bit more recovered.

I have had a pretty difficult time adjusting to motherhood. Coupled with the hormones and exhaustion,  there have been many times in the past few weeks where I felt defeated especially  during the times when Luke would cry for hours and I couldn't tell what was wrong or calm him down. There was one day when Brendan went out to the store and Luke literally cried from the time he left until he got back 2 hours later and I just sat there crying and holding Luke trying to calm him down. Luckily, I have friends and family to encourage me and assure me that I'm not the only mom to feel this way. Despite the moments where I doubt myself, I have many more moments of joy and happiness as I watch Luke grow every day.

Time is already flying by and Luke is already over 9 pounds! He definitely is taking after his dad with his long body. He has trouble wearing some newborn onesies because of his long torso and ends up wearing a lot of 3 month ones, and his pjs are already getting a little short in the arms! I have a feeling he's going to be taller than me by about 4th grade. I am so happy that this little guy is a part of our lives now!