I can’t believe that Levi was born four weeks ago and that in three days he will be one month old. While I am still adjusting to the dramatic change in our lifestyle, it’s getting harder and harder to picture our lives without him.
{my photo taken today}
Little Levi turned 3 weeks old this past Tuesday. An easy-going baby, I think he’s going through a growth spurt because he’s been unusually fussy these past couple of days. It also seems as though he’s starting to really look around and check out his surroundings. He’s definitely more alert than he was last week! Unfortunately, he often chooses to be alert and awake when we want him to be sleeping (nap time and night time), and when he’s overtired it’s that much harder for him to fall asleep.
It’s hard to believe that on Monday I transition from “new mom” to “working mom.” Thankfully, I get to ease back into it with two weeks of part-time employment. Since I work from home I’ll still get to be with Levi, although I hope to find a nanny who will come to the house and help out. JB and I briefly considered bringing him to nearby daycare center, but I just can’t stand the thought of being apart from him so soon. I’m addicted to that face!
When did you go back to work after having a baby?
At Levi’s two week check-up last Tuesday, the pediatrician gave us the green light to begin taking him out in public. His first stop? The supermarket! (JB and I still need to eat!) Because we fed and changed him before leaving the house, Levi slept for most of our shopping trip. He was so well behaved!
This weekend Levi experienced Costco for the first time. When he got a bit fussy towards the end, we popped a pacifier in his mouth and he conked out. A trip to Target was also on the agenda that day, but first we had to bring Levi home to feed and change him. Eventually I hope to be able to tend to Levi’s needs while out and about but right now the process of feeding/changing my little man can take up to 45 minutes and typically results in breast milk dripped all over me and him. Neither of us are ready to take the boob show on the road.
How did you handle those first outings with a newborn? How old was your baby when you began running errands with him?
{my photos: top photo taken at supermarket; bottom photo taken at Costco}
Two weeks ago, when Levi was just six days old, Corrie Suhr from Kameron Bayne Images came to the house for a newborn portrait session. If you remember, Corrie also shot our maternity session. The resulting photographs from that afternoon exceeded my expectations, so I was eager to see what magic she’d work on Levi.
I’m proud to say that Levi was a natural in front of the camera. I fed him right before Corrie began shooting, and he stayed sleepy and content for almost two and a half hours. He allowed the photographer to manipulate his tiny body into sweet little poses and even gave the camera a sly smile from time to time. Since he wasn’t wearing a diaper, we did have a couple “open air” incidences — he peed once on JB’s lap and once on top of a table — but Corrie warned us that that might happen, so we were prepared with burp cloths, towels and wipes. Thankfully, there was no projectile poop during the session, just a couple of giggle-inducing “sharts.”
Again, I’m so glad we chose to have Kameron Bayne Images photograph Levi as an itty-bitty newborn. Although I will be taking plenty of pictures throughout his life (I’ve already taken about 2,000 on my DSLR and almost 550 on my iPhone), I wouldn’t have been able to capture such precious images of Levi so young. Even a week after his delivery I was still tired, sore and hormonal. I was in no condition (nor do I have the skill set) to stage such an artistic session, and I know I will forever cherish the photos Corrie took of him that morning.
Click here to see additional photos from the session. Corrie will be back when Levi is six months old to take another set of portraits. By then he will be so big!
{Top image of Corrie snapping an iPhone photo of Levi taken with my iPhone.}
While I take some time to bond with my little man, please enjoy guest posts written by moms and moms-to-be from some of my favorite blogs. Today, I’m happy to introduce Claudia from Aux Petits Oiseaux!
Hello Bunny and Dolly readers!
I’m Claudia, and I live in Montreal (Canada). I enjoy writing about motherhood on a blog called Aux Petits Oiseaux (a French expression that stands for a sentiment of great joy). I recently gave birth to a baby girl named Alice.
Like most pregnant women, the thought of not being ready to take care of a child haunted me regularly. Until the very end, actually 3 pushes away from Alice’s birth, I said to the nurse, “When you put her on my chest, you have to stay next to me since I’m not ready to hold a newborn!”
Welcoming a baby, especially a first child, obviously implies a lot of adaptation. You basically dive into unknown waters. I don’t consider myself an experienced mother, after all, Alice is only 14 weeks old. However, I would like to share with you a very personal realization that made my life much enjoyable.
When we got home with Alice things went pretty smoothly. I quickly had a well established routine and, lucky me, I could easily understand her needs. That being said, taking care of Alice also brought some frustrations:
“You want to eat? But I’m too shy to breastfeed at the restaurant!”
“ You request a clean diaper? But I just started to eat lunch!”
“ You need attention? But I’m talking with my friends!”
“ You are not sleeping? But it is 5:30 am!”
Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure that during that time, I was not ready to let go of my old life…my more “self-centered” life.
One day, I looked at Alice and made a strong commitment to her. I was going to be ready for her, in my actions but mostly in my attitude towards those actions. This initiative allowed me to fully accept my new role as a mother and now I know that I’m 100% ready! Even at 5:30am, when Alice is not sleeping, I wake up with my bed head and my bags under my eyes, and I smile. Yes, I smile at Alice because I made a commitment to her, and I fully intend to respect it for the rest of my life.
And after 14 weeks, I fully mastered the fine art of eating lunch, with my friends, while breastfeeding, in a restaurant 😉
When did you feel “ready” to be a mother?
{image from Claudia’s personal collection}
