Conrad is nearly 10 days old and life in the Hammons’ household seems to have hit a stride. We’ve been so blessed by our friends and family with meals EVERY SINGLE night since we’ve been home and even a few breakfasts! We’ve been getting a reasonable amount of sleep and we are loving the time spent bonding with our sweet baby boy.
Despite warnings from friends about the difficulties of bringing home baby number two, we feel that bringing a second child into the world has been much easier than it was when Quinn came into our lives. Obviously, we are reaping the benefits of experience. We are much more confident and have a better understanding of baby’s cries, which definitely helps.
My recovery: So far, my recovery has been so much easier than it was with Quinn. Maybe that’s because I knew what to expect this time. I’m still bleeding lightly. It’s just enough that I have to wear a panty liner. I incurred a small tear during delivery that required a couple of stitches, which made the first few days postpartum a little uncomfortable. Fortunately, the stitches aren’t bothering me at all anymore and they are dissolvable, which is fantastic!
Weight: I gained 28 lbs in my pregnancy with Quinn and came home from the hospital only 6 lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight. With Conrad, I gained about 20 lbs and I expected to come home from the hospital weighing very close to my pre-pregnancy weight. No such luck. The day we came home from the hospital, I weighed 9.5 lbs more than I did pre-pregnancy. Today, 10 days after delivery, I am 4 lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight, which at this point I’m probably carrying around entirely in milk! I am an over-producer of milk, which as a nursing mom is a great problem to have. But holy engorgement!
Postpartum bod: My abdomen is mostly back to it’s normal size, but squishier than normal. And the sight of me trying to squeeze into my pre-pregnancy jeans the day after we came home from the hospital made for a good laugh! A girl can dream, right? I’m still living in sweatpants and work-out leggings. If I want to get fancy, I’ll throw on a cute top (like this one I just picked up from Anthro) with my maternity leggings and booties. My stretch marks and linea nigra will both be discolored for a while, but they don’t bother me. I’m still having to do once daily injections of blood thinners, which have left me with some sweet bruises on my legs and back. Only a few more weeks of that!
Conrad’s weight: Conrad was already back to his birth weight just 3 days after birth (most babies don’t achieve this until 10-14 days after birth)! We had to take him back to the pediatrician yesterday for a swollen eye (which is fine) and he weighed in at 7 lbs 1oz- one half pound above his birth weight! Now that my milk is in, he feeds for 4 minutes on each side. Quinn vomited profusely as a newborn and it took us several weeks to realize I was overfeeding her. So far, so good with Conrad.
Conrad’s sleep: He is an easy baby who seldom cries. He’s sleeping 2-4 hours between feedings at night and needs to be rocked back to sleep about half of the time. Our biggest struggle right now is that he wants to have a nipple in his mouth while he falls asleep. We allowed Quinn to have a paci, but found that it was equally as much of a headache as it was a help. So we’ve decided to try to avoid it with Conrad. We’ll see if we stick to that.
Belly button stump: Still holding on, but lifting on the sides like it wants to fall off. On that note, his circumcision is almost entirely healed too.
Quinn: I was so worried leading up to delivery day that we may not have prepared Q enough for the changes ahead, but she has handled the shift in her world so seamlessly. She still adores her baby brother and, with the gentle touch of a 3-year-old, is constantly showering him with kisses and “pets”. She doesn’t seem bothered at night by his crying and by some miracle she has been sleeping past 8am the last couple of mornings. Life is good!
Outings: We met my dad and step-mom for lunch two days after we got home from the hospital. We’ve made several Target outings, a trip to the mall and park, and we’ve taken both kids to lunch several times. Today, I’m planning to get out for a pedicure with my mom and sisters and will bring BOTH kids with me.
