It's been about six weeks already since our Peter was born! We just love him so much and are so so glad he's here and part of our family. Not gonna sugarcoat it, the postpartum time has been a tougher transition this time around. I'm not sure if there's one thing I can put my finger on. Mentally, emotionally, socially...just hard. It could partly be that the pregnancy itself was so crazy difficult. I was literally only trying to get through the next few hours and not fully able to comprehend oh, newborn coming. The current events have added an even heavier weight spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. It's just been a lot. There were already demands and obligations being placed on me after only a week or two as hard as I tried to push them away. There's been nursing challenges, more anxiety, more unexplained worry about things that normally don't concern me at all, more pressure from myself and others to feel back to normal almost immediately, and -shocker!- six kids is kind of a lot of work, postpartum or not. There were no crazy huge physical complications (besides, you know, the whole recovering from one of the hardest physical feats a body can go through thing). But the feeling that I'm just not ready yet was accompanying me most of those first weeks despite how much of me really really just wanted to get back to life as normal. Unfortunately, time and life keeps moving and doesn't care much whether you're ready or not, right? I've been trying to address and honor it, -ahem- keep my own advice in mind, and my husband and boys really did take such good care of me especially those first couple weeks.
Well, that was a cheerful summary?! God is good, though, all the time. Thankfully, that feeling is slowly easing and I'm trying to transition myself to normal life again, internalize some good lessons, and there are some really really good fruits that have come from this time, first of which, this amazing little person we made.
Our P.S. Lolek. (We decided that that will be his pen name.) Most of the time he still goes by Peter, though with every baby it takes a while to get used to using their name! It always feels a bit awkward in the beginning. Anyone else?! I'm still wondering if we'll get a nickname to stick.
This guy took such great care of me and the rest of the older boys those first two weeks. But postpartum time is exhausting for dads, too! I came out from a bath to find them like this.
Six boys is still hitting me. This baby is crazy blessed to have some really really great big brothers. This one in particular absolutely is awesome at holding and caring for him.
Meeting his Godmama for the first time.
Since he was born on a Monday, I was able to get to Sunday Mass without missing which is such a gift for me. It's always the first place I want to go after having a baby! It's such a joy to be able to share with the church family that has been watching my belly grow that yes, the baby was born!
He had a good amount of lingering jaundice so we tried to get him in the sun a lot and it very slowly cleared up. I've learned a lot more about jaundice than I had known before. Apparently there's breastfeeding jaundice which just lasts a few days and breastmilk jaundice which can last 3-12 weeks. Pretty certain he had the latter. Both are considered normal and neither are worrisome, thankfully. (In very rare cases severe immediate jaundice can indicate a liver problem and unchecked and worsening jaundice can lead to dangerous complications which is why we were keeping an eye on it just in case.)
And he's spent and still spends a whole lot of time just. like. this. I kinda forgot how intense the newborn weeks can be and how little you can do when you have your hands full of baby! Thanks be to God, he sleeps pretty great at night, only waking about twice.
This was a few days after he was born. Insert the obligatory parent acclamation of look how strong he is! Also, ROLLS.
First bath at about two weeks or so. He was quite suspicious as per his first few week norm.
Why yes, we've been eating a lot of cucumbers. Why do you ask?
I've been reading more these past few weeks than I have in years. It's been really really good for my peace and my brain. Three Fulton Sheen books and my second run through of KL.
We also had the amazing gift of becoming Godparents to this little lady, the daughter of some dear friends of ours!
Pretty much lives in this thing if we're in public. If the boy isn't wrapped in this or a swaddle, he won't be happy for long.
Seriously.
His poor face and chest were covered with this newborn rash for more than three weeks :( I've never had that happen before...normal newborn acne stuff we've had but this was way more. Not sure if it's heat rash (that's really what it looks like when I google) but it was around even when not super hot. It seems like he might just be prone to very sensitive skin at least for now. I don't like putting anything on baby skin but after it wasn't going away I tried a few suggestions from Instagram. This Tubby Todd ointment made a huge improvement in about two days but it's still kinda there.
The BEST baby onesie in general but especially for a boy born on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and with Simon as a namesake! It was sent to us by a friend bought from a Carmelite monastery near them. This was the morning of his baptism!
Speaking of which...on the feast of Saint Dominic my oldest was confirmed and my youngest baptized within the same Mass! God is so good. It was absolutely beautiful, undeserved, and all grace. We are so so grateful.
Come, Holy Spirit!
Always tears. Thank you, Jesus.
(Just passing it along, with every baby I've prayed for the few days before their baptism that he will be calm and peaceful throughout. And it's always worked! It can always be a bit stressful the hours before and during the baptism and I'm not one of those people that can let a baby cry so I'm always super grateful for that grace!)
Godparents!
I tried to have a baptismal gown photo shoot. He was thrilled.
And on the Solemnity of the Assumption we finished up our 33 day Consecration of our sweet Peter to Jesus through Our Lady. We took an impromptu mini-pilgrimage for the event down to a newly appointed basilica a few hours away from us.
Given to Mary on the Solemnity of the Assumption at a church named after her :)
We've done the Saint Louis de Montfort consecration to Mary for each of our babies, ending it on or around their baptismal day. It's the same one my husband and I did individually when we were single, and the one we did together for our marriage that ended on the eve of our wedding. I can't explain it but that consecration changes everything.
The next day we celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary and Peter being one month old with doing nothing and then getting to bed early.
(Sneaky cheek peek indicating that no, NOT actually pregnant.)
BUT we got to get out a few days later to celebrate my cousin's wedding! And Peter got to tag along.
This lovely lady is the beautiful midwife who helped these three enter the world. What a gift she's been to our family!
Our Peter, how we love you. At the grand old age of six weeks, I get the sense that he's a bit more on the serious side but time will tell. We're just starting to get some real smiles, though, which cause all of us to lose our minds and call everyone in the nearby vicinity over to see. None of which, of course, I can ever seem to grab a picture of so this grainy blurry shot will have to do for now. I'll take it.
Some of you can appreciate the amount of effort that went into taking this picture so perfect, it is not BUT IT WILL HAVE TO DO.
Thank you for sharing!i love seeing some snippets of your life with a new baby! also, I love that John Paul could be the godfather! so many blessings!
ReplyDeleteMe too. So grateful we could have it happen. Thank you!
DeleteLoved all of this!! Yes to the awkwardness of new baby names-- our John Paul was supposed to be nicknamed "Jack", birth announcement and all, but we just couldn't get used to it and he's still John Paul. ;) Also, that baby scapular onesie!!! <3 <3
ReplyDeletePrayers for you as you continue to recover. I wish we could all just call postpartum a 6 month time frame...instead of people expecting it to be all over at six weeks! Sheesh.
I like the way you think :) And thank you for the prayers!
DeleteI loved this update...and I think the last picture is perfect!
ReplyDeleteParticularly loved the Baptismal photos. and oh my what excitement, Confirmation and Baptism all on the one day!!! Five of our children are godparents for their siblings and it is such a blessing. I also am for a couple of my siblings, something I take seriously too.
ReplyDeleteIt really is so special. I'm so so glad we were able to have it happen!
DeleteWhat a beautiful post. Congratulations on the new baby! I saw the instagram picture of your 6 boys and thought, Wow! 6 boys! and then realized that I have 6 girls and that my kids looked like that at one point as well - all in a row (I also have 3 boys). :) I need to find t-shirts like that even though most of them are grown up (they will no doubt think I'm crazy).
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to consecrate your children/marriage/lives to our Lady. So beautiful.
We are a nick-namey family as well. Sometimes it happens when they are first born but with other ones, it takes time and doesn't develop until their toddler years.
God bless your healing process post partum. It's not easy to purposefully stop yourself and rest in order to heal. It's easy to just jump back into the swing of things because you feel the need to. It looks like you have help available to you so take advantage. Plus it's wonderful to just have "hands full of baby" (when they are sleeping peacefully) to stop and breathe. They grow up faster than we all realize. I am already at the point of having "hands full of grandbabies". :)
Thank you so much! I actually made the shirts with plain t-shirts and iron on numbers from Hobby Lobby. Super cheap! :)
DeleteThank you so much for this update. It’s a breath of fresh air to read this, after so many . . . Other things. I adore the number t shirts. He looks heavenly and I smile whenever I see his cute, chunky rolls.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I am in my postpartum period, I am much more deeply sensitive about the news. I usually have to go into hibernation for awhile to keep my sanity. It's like I just brought this new, completely helpless person into the world whom I love so fiercely, and I need to be reassured that this child will be safe in it. I have been praying for you and other postpartum mamas in a special way, especially with the news of the grand jury report coming out so soon after you've given birth.
DeleteI appreciate that so much. Yeah, the postpartum time is so tender emotionally, especially for me when I hear or think of anything that involves children suffering. I've kept myself from reading too many of the evil details and have had to consciously build up somewhat of an emotional and mental wall to keep from entering into something that wouldn't be healthy for me right now. Thank you for being in tune with that and the prayers!
DeleteI feel you Mama. I'm a Catholic homeschooling mom to seven boys.. Almost 16, 11,8,6,4,2&11 months. It's a beautiful and challenging journey. I do home birth and my last one was 52 hours God bless you. I'm on Instagram @kathsiao if you ever want to chat.
ReplyDeleteGetting used to names is so hard! And we've always known our children's names pretty far in advance. It's just a matter of sort of letting them settle into them. I think this baby (10 months!) will end up Zibby...? I call her Lizzy sometimes, too, and I still like Roo. But I thought maybe she'd be a Bess and she's just not mellow enough for that. She's too beam-y!
ReplyDeleteHahaha! Too beam-y!!
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