Months 1 & 2

Month One

• Slept in Rock N Play for all naps and in Rock N Play in our room at night by our bed
• Hands always in tight fists
• So tiny!! I was constantly just in awe of how small he was : )
• Got hiccups a lot just like when he was in my belly
• Does NOT like to be swaddled! We stopped trying to swaddle Owen pretty quickly after realizing he would fuss and kick off the blanket and bust out of the swaddle wrap. He is much more content and sleeps better when not in a swaddle.
• Does not like pooping, which unfortunately happens a lot right now
• Makes faces, twitches, and smiles while sleeping which is adorable and fascinating to me
• Wore mittens constantly because he was scratching me while nursing, not himself too much - he would though go for his eye every now and then
• Constant feeding and diaper changes. I would wonder how can someone who sleeps so much can still be SO much work?
• Breastfeeding -Went and saw a lactation specialist twice. Trouble latching and lots of pain. Ended up continuing to use a nipple shield that we were given while at the hospital when he was having trouble latching.
• Newborn photo shoot at 5 days old
• Cody was home 3 weeks with paternity leave. VERY grateful he had so much time to be at home helping so much and taking in that time with our new son.
• We did some outings and often felt like we overdid it -for me not Owen.  My own healing took way longer than I expected. I tell people that Owen's actual birth went better and quicker than I thought it would, but all the after stuff for myself was WAY worse than expected. That is the part I do NOT look forward to again with a future child 
• Introduced a pacifier at 1 month
• Always tinkles during diaper changes! Somehow Cody is much quicker and better than I am at getting the new diaper on in time. 
• Umbilical cord fell off at about 1 month
• Screamed during that first real bath! Better after that first one
• Lots of baby acne and rashes and dry flaky skin
• At about 1 month we stopped having Owen sleep in the Rock n Play at night and moved him to the Pack n Play still in our room.

So incredibly tiny!!

Introducing Callie and Owen : )

Cody weighing and burping Owen at the lactation consultation. 

I guess all babies have moments like this, right?

Family photo before our newborn photo shoot.

1 week old!! Walking into the hospital for his 1 week screening.

1st Month Thoughts

I remember that the first week with Owen went better than I expected and the first month as a whole (the part of dealing with him -the part of my own healing and recovery was so much worse than I imagined). However week 2 at home with Owen was rough. I think everything was hitting me finally and I remember week 2 being extremely emotional and difficult and feeling so overwhelmed. There were times that I would cry before nursing him and just did not want to. Then feeling like I didn’t want to nurse him made me feel like I must be the worst mom in the world. Learning the ropes with breastfeeding was difficult and painful.  I’m so glad though that they gave us the nipple shield at the hospital because without it I don’t know if we would have continued nursing. At the beginning (really the first two months probably) I felt very isolated with breastfeeding and did not like it, but I did want to try to continue and see if we could make it work.

For a newborn who sleeps so much of the day it shocked me at how much work he still was. It felt like constant feeding and changing.  Thankfully though Owen was content to sleep in his Rock N Play. I would often hold him while he slept because I enjoyed holding him, but when I needed to rest myself or do things around the house Owen would still nap fine in the Rock N Play.

I feel like Cody and I did a good job (maybe too much actually) at not holding up in our house even that very first month. Even with it just being quick trips to Target or a brief walk outside it was nice to get out every now and then.  The first few weeks though I felt like we sometimes did too much (not for Owen, for myself) that I wasn’t ready for yet.

We were a little nervous and unsure what to expect with Callie dealing with Owen. Thankfully she has been great! Actually Callie has seemed a little skittish around him. She will quickly walk off whenever we move Owen near her. 

Cody had 3 weeks for paternity leave which was amazing.  I am SO grateful for that time he was home with us each day.  He did so much to help me and Owen and I just physically don’t know how I would have done much more by myself if he hadn’t been there.  Also of course it was awesome just for Cody to have that time to experience being a Daddy for the first time and being so involved in Owen’s first weeks with us.  

First bath after the umbilical cord fell off! Owen screamed!!

Better once the bath was over : )

Month Two

10 pounds; 22 inches 

• Starting to smile which is ADORABLE and melts my heart each time
• Introduced our first bottle at 6 weeks
• LOVES tummy time! Has been pretty strong from day one with his head/neck and getting even better.
• South Carolina trip for Cody’s Grandpa's memorial and met family. First airplane rides! Slept through 3 out of 4 flights. Cried before and after the last flight but was fine during it.
• Went back to the pediatrician because his belly button was still gooey and slimy. She used silver nitrate which dried it out and it has been fine since.
• He screamed like I hadn't heard yet when he got his 2 month shots :( which made me cry.
• Owen experienced his first Spurs championship!
• Finally found a carrier that Owen and I liked. (We tried and returned several. I already had a Boba wrap which is awesome but really warm and Owen doesn’t like anything on his head. We finally were happy with a Mei Tai carrier.)
• Started cloth diapers
• Loves to be held in a sitting position
• Does not like to change clothes or things on his head
• Right at the end of two months he started rolling from tummy to back (so almost at three months)
• Falls asleep while nursing
• Recognizes Mama (me) we think
• Coos and starting to babble
• Moved out of newborn clothes and into the 0-3 month size

Blurry but this was one of Owen's first smiles (not while in his sleep)!

Caught another smile : ) 

Month 2 Thoughts
Sadly month 2 is kind of a blur and not much specifically stands out.  I wish I had written at the time instead of trying to go back and remember now months later.

Family walk at the park.  The hat was so big on his head!

Owen and I were adjusting to being home alone consistently now that Cody has been back at work.  I do remember people seemed to continually ask me if I was bored yet or feeling antsy and stuck, but I really wasn't (and still haven't really felt that way).  Of course there are days and moments where everything gets repetitive and a little boring but overall I have honestly loved being a stay at home mom. This is exactly where I want to be right now with Owen.

Starting cloth diapers. They made his butt SO big and fluffy!

Owen still naps well in the Rock N Play and is now sleeping in the Pack N Play at night in our room. One of my favorite things is how Owen has started babbling and cooing!  He especially "talks" during diaper changes on the changing pad.  I think it's a good level and distance between our faces and he can look at me well there.  We have semi babbling conversations and I love them! It just makes me so happy and I love babbling back and forth with him.

Owen has the best daddy : )

We introduced a bottle for the first time at 6 weeks.

We're still breastfeeding using the nipple shield.  I still don't feel completely comfortable or love it but am glad to be doing it for Owen and hope it continues to get better.

Cody loves to read to Owen! 

At the end of month two we traveled for the first time with Owen.  We flew up to South Carolina for a family reunion/memorial for Cody's grandpa.  Honestly I was super stressed and nervous about traveling at this point with Owen so young still.  Thankfully it all went better than I expected.  We read that the change in pressure can hurt his ears and that sucking on a pacifier or feeding during take off and landing could help that.  So I fed him during each take off and landing and he seemed to do well.  Owen actually slept during the first 3 flights and did great.  During the very last flight back home Owen cried a lot in the airport before the flight and we were nervous it would be awful, but once on the plane he didn't sleep this time but was fine.

Bachman family group

And yes we are proudly sporting our Spurs championship shirts!! (Mine is too even though it's the only black one.)