Monday, April 16, 2012

We're Here


He was born in January, and I was instantly bonded to him. My life is full, happy, and busy.

I was high-risk, having to get weekly sonograms. His birth-weight was low, and I was induced on my due date. Labor was painful, fast, and relatively easy compared to my first one. There was no time for an epidural. I did not breastfeed because I wanted to go on all my RA meds right away to stave off a flare-up. I do not feel guilty about that decision because I can hold my son and play with him - something I would have never been able to do otherwise. He sleeps very well, getting up only once at night. We let him cry it out at first, and it worked well. I just do not have the strength to hold my son all day, so crying it out was our solution. I do not feel guilty about that either, since the whole family is very well rested and I am presently functional.

I had such a different experience with first child. I tried to breast feed him and follow attachment parenting all while battling a debilitating flare-up. That was a disaster, and I learned from it.

My in-laws stayed with us until daycare started. When I was in pain, they could care for my son. They could hold him. They could do chores while I slowly recovered. Now that maternity leave has ended, the in-laws have left. I am learning how to manage my family, my house, and my job. I'm not saying its working well, but it is "working". All the kids are fed, clean, and in bed - at least for tonight.

7 comments:

GMP said...

Congratulations! What wonderful news!Best wishes to you and your family.

Amanda@Lady Scientist said...

Congratulations!! I'm so happy that Sparky has a little brother :)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!!! Your boy is wonderful. I hope that you have truly given up the guilt and do not feel bad for your parenting decisions. What works in one family doesn't work for others and vice versa.

I gave up the guilt with my second child and it has been a much better experience than the early years of my first child. Making the conscious decision not to feel guilty, while hard to do was the best decision I've made in years.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!!! so glad to know that everything went well! so grad to see that you are doing well! so glad to see you back in your blog!

EcoGeoFemme said...

Congratulations! So glad to hear it's going well!

ScienceGirl said...

Congratulations! Best wishes on continuing to make it work, clean&fed kids in bed is good!

Karina said...

Congratulations! That is great that you were able to change things for the better this time around. It's so helpful to me to read about how other academics cope with the challenges life throws at them. You are an inspiration!