I feel like a human again!
I finally got my energy back! It’s been back for about a week now, actually. I wanted to wait and see if it would *stick* before blogging about it.
For those of you keeping score, that means that it took me seven weeks after my baby was born to really start feeling like a human again, instead of a robot.
Caring for a newborn 24/7 is exhausting, fyi. And, going from no kids to one kid is the biggest adjustment I’ve had to make to date. I’ve seen other bloggers say the same thing, and that gives me hope. Especially since some of them have 4-5 (or more!) kids.
No matter what you do to prepare, you can’t fully prepare for your life with a baby until you’re actually doing it.
Johnny is still nursing at least every 3 hours ’round the clock, and I’ve adjusted to that finally. I think there’s gotta be something hormonal going on, because if anyone other than a parent of a baby can sleep only 2-3 hours at a time and still function, they’d have a major sleep disorder.
It feels really good to be able to cook a meal, clean something, go out in public, put on normal-people clothes, etc. For the first six weeks, I pretty much lived in pjs or loungewear.
To his 3-day doctor’s visit, I wore the most ridiculous thing. You’d be embarrassed for me if you saw me. I was wearing black velour lounge pants, a green and black-striped tank, a robe-like tan sweater, and black snow boots. Oh.My.Gosh, ridic. I was semi-aware of my fashion crimes, but I didn’t care. It was cold out and I had just given birth.
Part of the adjustment period, no doubt, is for the new mommy to get used to her hormonal changes (major!), sleep deprivation, and caring for her baby. But also, I think the baby grows a ton during the first few weeks. By 6-8 weeks old, he’s a bit more mature and slightly less needy.
For example, Jonathan now has pretty good head control. It’s easier to hold him with one arm. When he was first born, his little bobblehead meant he could barely sit in his car seat without tipping forward.
So yeah, things are pretty good now. Oh, and the fact that he smiles at me really helps 
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I’m so glad you’re feeling more human.
I was also impressed with how accurate that 6 weeks of recovery idea seemed for me. (About the beginning of the 7th week or so I noticed I really was feeling better, too — I don’t even think I realized how off I felt prior to that though.)
My fashion sense is still taking second place to utility, heh.
Johnny is adorable! What a great expression you managed to catch on him there! (And doesn’t the smile just make you feel wonderful? Oh my, it’s always so precious.)
Oh my gosh, Kacie — what a handsome little devil! So precious. I think they’re made that cute so we don’t go totally nutso on them when they wake up every 3 hours
I was picking up food from a restaurant this weekend and a couple walked in with a 2 or 3 year old boy, and then twin babies in carriers (the dad had one in each hand). They were so little and were both fast asleep. I asked how old they were and he said 1 month. The hostess approached them and said, “Ok….so it’ll be 5?” And the dad said, “You’re telling me….” Haha! Can you imagine 2 at the same time…plus another little one? Oh man. Anyway, can’t wait to see more pics!
I’m with you on the 6-7 weeks til you’re normal. I figured the 6 weeks of maternity leave I had would be awesome bonding time.. little did I know I’d NEED that time to hobble around and recover myself–and I didn’t even have a c-section. (not to mention sleep deprivation and nursing and pumping enough to go back to work with a supply.)
Why oh why does our country only give you 6-8 weeks of maternity leave? Makes me want to move to Europe to those countries that give you 2 years. Paid. *sigh* Mothering is a wonderful job. Sure would be FANTASTIC to even get paid for it.
Congrats! I haven’t been reading my frugal blogs in a while so I did not know you had a baby! He is so cute!! Your blog is an inspiration!!
Peggy