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I’m working on my blog post of Isaac’s birth, but it’s taking some time to figure out how much I want to say in the blogosphere.

In the mean time, here are some reflections on our first three weeks with Isaac Allan Judd.

– he’s a good eater!  It  is so helpful to have a baby who wants to breastfeed.  He will now root, using his whole body to lunge and army crawl along to get into a good position.  If he’s on Brian’s chest waiting for me to get ready to feed him, he’ll scooch down  looking for a good place to latch.  Usually he ends up sucking on Brian’s arm just below his sleeve, but any part of his hand will also do.

– as a result of being such a good eater, Isaac is doing great in the weight department.  He was born 7 lbs 8.3 oz, and normally babies lose up to 10% of their body weight in the first week, then take another week or two to recover.  Isaac was 3379 grams (7 lb 7.2 oz) when he was dismissed from the hospital after 38 hours, and was up to 7 lbs 14 oz on his 5th day when we went to see the pediatrician.  By his 13 day checkup, he weighed 9 lbs 3.5 oz.  It seems that he’s getting bigger every day!

– Isaac lost his cord stump at one week.  This means we can now button his onesies, whereas before we had to keep them open to make sure the cord got good air circulation.  Now he can wear all those cute outfits we’ve been given!

– We like going for walks.  We’ve walked around the neighborhood, in the forest, and on the bike path.  There are interesting sounds and smells to experience; even when Isaac is bundled up in his carrier he always seems to need a nap after we walk.

– Isaac can turn his head from one side to the other during “tummy time” and he seemed to follow my finger to turn his head.

– Naps are important.  For everyone.  Sleeping starts whenever Isaac goes to sleep after 9pm and continues as much as possible until 6:30am, or whenever he decides to do a morning cluster feed.  Usually Isaac will sleep for 2-3 hour stretches, so we get at least 6 hours of sleep each night, and a nap during the day.  We survived our first middle of the night cluster feed from 1 – 3am.  Having a smiling little face who is clearly content to have a full tummy and dry diaper does wonders to offset the feeling of tiredness.

– Slinky seems to be handling the new arrival pretty well.  He tries to get in some lap time when he can, and doesn’t seem too concerned if he’s sharing with Isaac, even if the little guy squirms and cries a bit.

– Grandma and Grandpa Woodmansee came to visit, and we’re pretty sure they were immediately smitten with the little guy.  He liked being held and learning new voices and faces.  We went out for our first restaurant meal with Isaac.  He was quiet through the whole meal, and just decided to wake up at the end to make sure we got our check quickly.

– Grandma Judd is visiting for Thanksgiving.  She is teaching Isaac about football (go Lions!) and makes a really good play mat when she’s reclined on the couch.

– We’re really liking cloth diapers.  We have just enough to enable us to wash them every other day.  The sprayer Brian installed on the toilet to hose away the solids works great.  And we’re both becoming experts at diapering.  Already we are folding down the back a little less, and we’ve let the covers out a few snaps as well.  Plus the bright covers are fun – this one has earned Isaac the nickname “snortin’ tartan.”

– Isaac is pretty good at self-soothing. He has found his thumb (at least once!) though any part of his hand works well enough.

In terms of my recovery, it’s going well.  I spent the first 5 days in bed, as per our midwife’s strong recommendation, which seems to have been great advice.  I only wandered downstairs a few hours a day, usually for dinner and a walk to the mailbox.  After that we moved down to the sun room, so Isaac naps in his pack and play (when a grandparent isn’t around to hold him!) and we have my “nest” set  up on the love seat.  I was able to walk a mile within a week, did a short jog a few days ago, and felt like myself today for 2.8 miles in the woods.  I’m back within 5 lbs of my pre-pregnancy weight, though it’s definitely been re-distributed a bit.

In summary, we’re settling into parenthood and enjoying our time together immensely!