Maverick: 2 weeks old

This little boy is just the sweetest. We all are completely smitten with him. He has been so good so far. Even with the kids being sick and having so many visitors and bringing about this huge change in our home, the transition has gone really well. At two weeks I feel like you are starting to crawl out of survival mode and see the world again. 

Just a quick note about me: my recovery has been awesome. Probably my best one yet, although it's hard for me to remember because I tend to block out this phase. I still have a good chunk of weight to lose that I am anxious to do but physically I feel great and basically back to normal. Emotionally I also feel good. I've tried to take things in stride and be level headed and enjoy these early days with my baby. 

Now back to Mav man:

WEEK 1: 

-The day after getting home from the hospital, Maverick's first outing was taking his siblings to the doctor! Although he didn't make it out of the car... My mom stayed with him while Paul and I took the kids in and found out they had croup. We got some medicine and were directed to keep the baby quarantined-- brother and sister didn't like that at all! Having sick contagious kids and a newborn equals stress. Monday night was rough between him being fussy and the kids not sleeping well either.

-Tuesday: I took him back for another bilirubin test because he was slightly high leaving the hospital. They did a heel prick and then squeezed it to drain the blood and he didn't make a peep! No reaction! So tough! We got the results back and everything looked good. That night went MUCH better. We kept him awake more during the day and tried a few tricks at night and it was 90% better... Thus everyone was 90% happier.

-Wednesday the kids were pretty much over their croup and we told them they could hold the baby again. They were so happy to snuggle the baby and not be separated!! He has been sleeping in our room for most naps and at night in the "Rock and play sleeper" little cradle thing and it's awesome.

-Thursday he got to meet Papa! My dad came to town and showed up sporting a festive "Mavericks" t shirt. He stayed until Sunday and we loved having him here and that he got to meet Maverick.

-Friday: One week old! Maverick celebrated by having a huge blow out in my bed. This kid can poop!! He poops ALL THE TIME. Pretty much every diaper I change is messy... and it's a lot of diapers. It's actually quite amazing to me. And they are stinky! I swear he poops more than both my children combined.

WEEK 2:

-During week two he started getting tummy aches. The poor dear would probably never cry if he didn't get these tummy aches. He's had a hard time settling down for naps or falling into a deep sleep and it got worse throughout the week. It was frustrating because nursing had been going really well for both of us and I was really trying to embrace it. So, I did a lot of research and tried cutting things out of my diet, giving him gas drops, making sure he was getting enough thick milk when nursing, etc. Most of my research said they get gassy tummies just because they haven't developed as much yet and you just have to wait it out. It's so sad to see him cry out in pain. I talked to the doctor about it and he said to keep doing what I'm doing.

-He also gets hiccups all the time, pretty much after every time he eats. This one didn't surprise me too much because he got hiccups all the time in utero.

-He has been eating every 3.5-4 hours and sometimes will do a longer stretch at night. He's nice and quiet when he sleeps and is a great sleeper when he's not having a tummy ache that is keeping him up! The night time spacing has gone really well because even though I go to sleep late I'm only really up once in the night. Although I'm still super tired.

-Besides tummy aches, he doesn't cry much except for when he is trying to get his business done and when he gets really hungry. He has a really squawky/squeaky cry (it gets more normal if it gets to be a big cry but he doesn't often work up to that point) and I have literally thought their was a bird around a few times before I realized it was my baby in the next room!

-On Wednesday mom left, after being here for two weeks. It was SO nice to have her here while the kids were sick and we were needing so much help with them! She cooked and cleaned and canned and did all sorts of things for us and I am so grateful!!

-We had his 2 week doctor's appointment on Monday (the 22nd) and his stats were:
weight: 8.7 lbs. (40%)
height:21.25 inches (75%)
head circumference: 14.5 inches (73%)
Tall and skinny! Although we were happy to see that he had gained weight since birth and he stats are great!

He really is such a good baby! He is very good natured and is passive with his big brother and sister. His looks change every day but he is definitely his own little person. He seems so sweet and calm thus far and I can't wait to keep getting to know him!