One Month

Milestones:

-Dr. says he has incredibly strong muscles!

I can't believe little Benjamin is one month old today! He seems to change and grow every week and he just keeps getting cuter. Momma is completely sleep deprived and delirious but happy and grateful for it all! As of last Friday, at 3 1/2 weeks old, Benjamin was 9lbs. 12 1/2oz., so almost a pound over his birth weight. My guess is he will be out of his newborn clothes in about a week. He is also almost outgrowing his newborn cloth diapers, which usually go up to 6-8 weeks! We are so incredibly blessed to have this little guy in our lives and we just sit and stare at him all the time in amazement. :)

I've definitely had my breastfeeding challenges, as I briefly mentioned in my previous post. After the mastitis, I had a brief period of a few days where I thought all was well and finally got the latch down. Then all of the sudden I started seeing painful blisters and it was excruciating. Turns out we got thrush, which isn't uncommon since I just went off antibiotics. So back to exclusively pumping and to the pediatrician for some meds. We are both on meds now and doing much better, but probably won't be 100% for another week or so. Thanks to my BFF Kristen for showing me the information on APNO (All Purpose Nipple Ointment), which is a compound cream that a pharmacy can make and it is a miracle cream, not just for treating thrush, but also for cracked nipples. It is a combo anti-biotic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fungal and my breasts are thanking me. :) The good news is that I started breastfeeding again and it is virtually pain free...yay!! I had many moments of tears and pain and wanted to give up so many times but am so glad that I stuck with it.

I also want to say that I understand when people say it takes a village. I seriously don't know what I would do without my mom! During the first week I had the help of her and my sister and grandma that were here from out of town, which was great. My mom also came up for over a week straight to help around the house and is the sole reason that I ate 3 meals a day. She even took a few night shifts so that I could get some sleep (even though I still had to get up a few times to either feed Benjamin or pump). Rob also took as much time off from work as possible, but when you own a business you can't slack off too much! He's been such a trooper and has really picked up the slack by taking care of the house and making sure I get fed, since I'm pretty useless right now. He's also now a pro at changing diapers, which he had never done before. I LOVE watching him be a father to our little guy...it's priceless.

Benjamin watched his first football game and I think he really enjoyed it. :)





We also tried to take some naked newborn pictures. It was pretty funny and he did end up pooping on his cousin, Brooke. Good times. :)

We finally got the nursery finished so I wanted to post some pictures, along with some recent Benjamin pics. I also want to add that the green blanket on the crib is an organic blanket crocheted by my sister and the paintings on the wall are done by her to match the nursery as well. She's so artistic! Enjoy!