SO TIRED

Ross and I are tired. So tired. I know, everyone out there is saying, "Duh," or "It's your own fault; you had the baby." But wow. We were sort of prepared for the middle of the night feedings but we weren't really prepared for middle of the night crankiness (or middle of the day crankiness for that matter.) It's funny how three days ago when I heard Chase crying I was shocked at how loud he was. Now, I'm totally used to it. I guess these first few days and weeks home are trial and error to find out what works for us and for the baby (and to try to establish a good routine for Chase.)

I'm feeling pretty good overall. I was prepared for needing healing time but didn't realize how sore my muscles would be in my back, neck, and legs. I actually had a problem during delivery that we didn't realize until the morning I was discharged from the hospital. Apparently the baby's head was pushing on a nerve in my pelvis pretty hard and it ended up affecting some nerves in my left leg. I didn't notice it at the time because I had the epidural, and I didn't realize it was a problem until Tuesday morning when I still didn't have feeling in half of my left leg below the knee. I am told that it is not a side effect of the epidural, that it occurs, though rarely, in women who haven't had one. The main problem is that I have a bit of a limp and that it could take weeks to get back to normal. I can tell it is getting better - gradually - because now instead of being totally numb it's starting to feel like pins and needles. Basically, it hurts a bit and is numb a lot and I can only walk as fast as 2 mph. (So how am I supposed to lose my baby weight?) And honestly, even if it is an effect of the epidural, I am still all about getting one again!

I have to say how helpful it is having my mom here and how awesome Ross has been this whole week. He is just as tired as I am, and he's usually the one who takes the baby when he's cranky but not necessarily hungry. He's been lucky to have this whole week off from work and school. He has to go back to work tomorrow, and I'm not sure if he's bummed to go back, or excited to be back to the outside world no matter how boring his job is. And it's nice having my mom to hand over the baby to when necessary, and for helping us with general housework and errands.

No matter how hard these first few days have been, we have a super cute baby! It's been worth it.

Hungry face

I had to throw in a picture of Maggie! She was a little curious and rambunctious the first day we brought Chase home, but she is being so good now! She's still curious, but she understands that she needs to be gentle around him.

This was the first successful time in the swing. We are hoping Chase will like it more and more.


I have my daddy's "sleepy eyes."

And my mommy's long arms!

I love it when daddy walks around the house with me.

With Grandma Nelson