Week 3 - out and about

Three whole weeks old. The week has absolutely flown by and it's somehow Monday again. We survived our first week with Daddy back at work this week. Dinner was still on the table every night, 5 shirts have been washed for the coming week (luckily Marmar is on hand to iron them!) and both boys were kept fed and watered and most importantly, alive. I can't believe how much more laid back it's been this time - I'd love to know what I managed to do with my days when I just had a newborn Henry, but I certainly never had dinner sorted or washing on when Mr B got home on an evening! It's not that we're necessarily doing amazingly this time around, it's more that we don't care as much when things don't go so well. If I don't get a bath on an evening or if we've eaten beans on toast for lunch three days in a row, who really cares?! If the baby's wardrobe still contains all the things he's outgrown and a pile of new clothes to sort through, does it honestly matter? So we're still feeling pretty relaxed, we've been getting out and about more, my poor boobs are out all the time feeding and Henry's still loving life as a big brother. 4 happy little Barkers. 

Weight - Archie hasn't been weighed since last Monday but I can see how much he's growing. He's totally out of all his newborn clothes now (waaaah!) and into 0-3 sizes. I'll probably take him to be weighed next week at the health visitor's clinic. 

Appointments - None thankfully! A nice quiet, appointment free week!  

Milestones - As I said, all the newborn clothes have been put away and we're into 0-3 now. He's lost his newborn, curled up, puffy look too which I'm so sad about. His features are changing and he's stretching out more every day. Why is time going so quickly?!

Personality - He's generally pretty good still. Happy to be put down as long as he's had a good feed and he's awake for longer periods now too. He had a couple of really grumpy days this weekend where he seemed to be in some kind of pain or discomfort, possibly just wind or possibly silent reflux. Like his brother was, he is rarely sick, I think he's once brought the tiniest bit of milk up after a feed but that's been it. Silent reflux does worry me a bit though because Henry suffered so badly with it before we realised what it was, so I'm definitely on high alert for that. 

Feeding - He's feeding well and often still. My boobs have finally toughened up so all pain is gone, except for if he has a long nap and they're really full. He feeds a lot in the day, very very rarely going longer than 2 hours without milk, but will go for 3-4 hours at night still. 

Sleep - Not so good this week but not horrendous either. We've had 2 really bad nights and the others have been okay - he tends to do a 3 hour stretch from 10-1 and then wakes up 2 hourly after that. He's still in his Sleepyhead by the side of the bed and he usually settles quickly in there after a feed. The difficult thing this time around is the fact that his big brother is awake by 7:30 every morning and during the week when Daddy is at work, I obviously have to get up with him regardless of the night we've had with Archie. But it's fine, I'm absolutely nowhere near as tired as I was with Henry when I was often totally delirious during night feeds, waking up in a blind panic about where I'd left my baby etc! 

Days out - We've had a busy week taking Henry to his various baby groups and stopping along the way for lots of coffee and cake too. My brother came to visit for the weekend so we went to Harvest Day at Wheelbirks for lunch on Saturday and then for a lovely Sunday roast at the garden centre too. We've still managed to squeeze in a few naps on an afternoon which has kept us all going and actually, some of my favourite moments have been during those lazy afternoons at home, just me and my two beautiful baby boys. 

Henry is still loving being a big brother and just adores Archie. He's never once been jealous, never asked me to put Archie down so I can cuddle him or play a game with him instead, nothing. He wakes up and goes straight to his baby brother every morning, constantly tells him how much he loves him, helps me change nappies, tells me what Simba's crying about (it's usually because 'he needs milkies' or 'has done a poop', but this week it was also because 'he's sad it's not Christmas yet' and 'he misses Marmar')! 

A week postpartum - I feel good still, tired, but happy. The tiredness is nothing like last time though and we're managing fine really now that daddy is back at work.

I haven't lost any more weight this week, mainly due to the fact that I'm starving ALL the bloody time. Like I just need to eat ALL day long. And that's not to mention the thirst. I'm just going with it for now, I can't even begin to think about dieting or healthier eating at this stage. Hand me the cake!