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1 day: 8 pounds 7 ounces (initial pediatrician visit)

3 days: 8 pounds 4 ounces (AABC postpartum checkup)

5 days: 8 pounds 15 ounces (circumcision/new pediatrician visit)

8 days: 9 pounds 7 ounces - 75% (recheck on the circ. stitches)

15 days: 10 pounds 6 ounces - 95% (2 week visit at both pediatrician and AABC, same weight)

His two week check-up was today… Dr. W said, before she came into the exam room, “What a chunk! Holy Moly!”  I guess she was looking over his chart.  She’s very pleased with his weight gain, his circumcision healing, everything.  He’s a happy healthy guy.

Korben currently fits into size 3 month outfits.  Yes, he is only 2 weeks old.  I know.  Huge.

My two week check-up was also today at AABC.  I saw a midwife I hadn’t seen in a very long time, Lauren.  As she read over the charts about the birth (and afterbirth) she informed me that I had hemorrhaged and lost quite a lot of blood.  I mean, I knew I’d lost a lot of blood but wow.  No wonder Jenny had me “just keep talking” to her while she hooked up the IV and gave me shots of pitocin and other things to try to get the placenta out.  Anyhow, they’re calling my insurance company to see what’s covered as far as long-term birth control (5 year or 10 year… we’re talking LONG term) so I may be getting something done in a month, depending on the $.  I’m almost 100%, other than the sleeping bit.  Nursing is going well, though I constantly have a “could be better if” stream of thoughts flowing through my mind.  OBVIOUSLY, I don’t need to worry about it.  15 ounces gained in 7 days when the average is a mere 6 ounces per week.  I know (and hope) that he will slow down!

I’ve reached the point of new-motherhood where I start to second guess things.  For example… Nursing.  Yes.  I am second guessing what I am doing, despite having successfully nursed two boys for a cumulative total of 28 months.  I know what I am doing.  I know how it works.  I know that Korben is a MUCH BETTER nurser than Lowell was, but I am still doubting it this time around.  Every baby is different.  Every nursing relationship gets off to a different start.  I know I know I know.  And typing it out makes me feel foolish to be second guessing it.  BUT.  I am, nonetheless, and I seriously need to stop.

Korben only nurses for 3-6 minutes every 1.5-2 hours, one side only.  There’s no 20-minute nursing sessions going on here.  No sir-ee.  He mostly acts like he’s done when he’s done.  ”No thanks, mom.” but I know there’s still hindmilk in there and I know we’re still working out the demand-supply relationship (and will be for another 5 or 6 weeks at least) and I feel like he should be camping out on the boob for 15 more minutes.  There are a sufficent number of poopy diapers and more than enough wet diapers.  He, obviously, is gaining weight like a pro (hel-lo! 8 ounces OVER his birth weight on day 8!) SO… I need to relax about that.  It really does drive me nuts.  I think maybe his latch could be better, or maybe I should be pumping (but pumping this early on would totally screw up my demand-supply balance with his needs)… SEE?  Even seasoned moms have doubts about the nursing thing, too.

In other areas, he co-sleeps with us, between us, like a pro but refuses to be put down anywhere alone and still (i.e. his crib) for more than 20 minutes without getting very upset.  I’ve worn him in my ellaroo wrap for a bit today and he did great in it, though I’d like to try the moby wrap soon.  Swaddling works really well in the afternoon but at night, forget about it; it totally pisses him off not to have access to his hands.  This little man had his hands up by his face the whole time he was baking.  I bet.  

We’re still in paper dipes with him because of the stitches on his wee-wee.  Dr. W said they would start falling off on Wednesday but they’ve taken until today to start dissolving.  I don’t want to put him in cloth until the stitches are gone and won’t get caught on the fleece lining or the cotton prefolds.  We’re still using gauze/vasoline until they’re gone, though we probably don’t have to anymore.  I still don’t like to look at his little man part.  Not that I enjoy looking at little man parts.  It’s just that his looks so… Nevermind.  

David returns to work on Monday, though he will only work a half-day due to appointments that Korben and I have for our 2 week checkups and my not wanting to take the big boys with me.  The appointments are at 2 P.M. and 4 P.M. which, of course, fall right during naptimes. THAT?  That would not be fun.  A cranky preschooler, a cranky toddler, the first day on our own… not a formula for a happy day at all… thankfully, David is willing to camp out at home so the older two can get their naps and be the adult here in case, you know, the middle one spontaneously bursts into flames.  Or something.

Me?  I am about 90% back to normal.  I still have hip pains at night when I try to roll over side-to-side too quickly and I still need to sit down to put on my pants, but other than that I feel great.  There’s also the girly-issues that come with lack of estrogen but, thankfully, there are some feminine products out there to help with that so I don’t have to resort to the estrogen cream that I used the first time around.  And, NO, I am NOT back into my pre-pregnancy clothes yet.  I haven’t even tried them on, to be honest.  Just being able to walk has been enough for me so far!

I am really looking forward to going to church in the morning with my family.  I’m so thankful that our church has an awesome nursing room and I’m planning on just camping out in there with my sweet little 2 week old for the duration of the service while the boys go to their “classrooms” and David can visit the big-people service.  It would be nice to sit next to David but getting out of the house will be SO, so, good.

I’m doing quite well on the recovery end of things.  I even slept a little on my right side last night before getting stuck in that position and unable to move back to my back without pain, but I did eventually and am up and around today like normal.  I think I could even conquer a flight of stairs.  But I’m still bleeding and it’s nearing 2 weeks.  At this point after having had Lowell, I was already back into all of my pre-pregnacy clothes, and the more I think about it, the more I think my experience with Lowell was supernaturally easy and this is normal as opposed to my experience with Lowell being the norm.  He was such and easy pregnancy and birth and such a hard baby - we have more normal now - uneasy pregnancy, hard labor and birth and a sweet cuddly baby.  God certainly balances it all out in the most interesting of ways.

I sent David away to get us lunch so I could manage all 3 boys for once.  James is going to drive me nuts next week; I can already tell.  Lowell will be easy as long as James doesn’t attack him and Korben will be an armful.  :-)  I’ve always thought it would be so much easier to have them all 3 at the same time.  Of course, in the long run… not right at first.  This year-and-a-half-apart business makes discipline and playtime so complicated!  

Korben is crying… maybe I’ll continue my thoughts later…

So about Friday … Korben had his circumcision on Friday and it didn’t go well.  He ended up with stitches holding his little pee-pee together and I was very upset.  I wasn’t upset AT anyone or anything, just upset that it had to happen to him… that he was in pain… that his most delicate little part was now considered a “wound.”  And I didn’t want to talk about it. But he is doing better now.  Much better.  The stitches should start falling out around Wednesday or Thursday and by next Monday we will probably be able to stop using the vasoline and gauze.  

Oh!  and one more thing… I didn’t get a picture of it but his belly button stump fell off today!  :-)  Hooray! 

Here’re three pictures of Dave getting some horseplay in with James and L-man.

This is my first attempt at adding a WP gallery to a post.  I know there are some duplicates; I was in a rush uploading them and got some of them twice.  Click on a picture to enlarge, then you can use your arrow keys to cycle through them.

The great news: Not even a week old, and already back to his birth weight of 8 lb, 15 oz. Up from 8 lb 4 oz on Wednesday. Woo-hoo!