We're in Maine! I think it has rained everyday so far. My dear Watson went through his first week of orientation and now the real thing starts up on Monday. Apparently this summer semester is the very hardest. The advice previous students gave spouses was to pay attention and make sure their spouse takes a break from studying every now and then. Apparently there is enough stuff to learn that you could study 24/7 and still not be fully prepared for the test.
My mom left today. She was amazing. She unpacked my ENTIRE house. It would have taken me months to do it. I was in charge of unpacking my bedroom and by Thursday mom finally came in and did it because I was making no progress :). But hey, I feed my baby a bagillion times a day and change his diapers too, so....I do stuff.
We've already met some great people - neighbors, ward members, class mates etc. I think we'll like it here. We are both trying to figure out how we are going to do everything. How do we take care of ourselves, our family, and all the day-to-day essentials? I'm not really sure yet, but I guess we'll give it a go and find out soon. If you remember, please keep us in your prayers. The truth is, we're going to need all the help we can get. I think we're scared to death.
I'm feeling great physically. Still a little rocky emotionally though. Hormones. New baby. Big move. I'm not sure what to blame it on, but I'm a little sensitive. Our biggest scare right now is that we're not sure what to do for medical coverage for Redd and me. We will apply for Medicaid but it could take up to 6 weeks for them just to review the application....so, not sure what to do in the meantime. Hopefully we get that figured out.
Redd is adorable. According to my scale, he weighs 8 lbs. He's a little gassy so that means fussy at times, but really he isn't bad. He eats and then sleeps or sometimes he likes to be awake looking around, but I don't have to always hold him in order for him to be happy. He doesn't like to be cold, so baths, lotion, diaper changes and clothes changes are all really frustrating to him. He does that cry where he doesn't breath for a few seconds almost every time he gets his diaper changed. I don't like that very much.
We made it through all this crazy stuff and now we just have to endure the challenges ahead. It seems like everything has worked out so far, so we should expect things to work out from now on as well. Before we know it, this will all just be routine.
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| The kitchen. We bought that pantry because there isn't enough cupboard space. |
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| View from the front room. |
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| Our purple couch. I'm not complaining, it's my favorite color. |
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| Sleeping with daddy. |
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| Lighthouse selfie! |
Wow! you guys are tough cookies, that's for sure! The lighthouse pictures are stunning. I feel like everyone has it different and therefore has to do it different. But everybody told me the first 6 weeks were the hardest, emotionally and physically, and I had to agree. So my advice is don't be hard on yourself at all and do whatever self care things you can to get through this summer semester. And maybe a space heater just for bathtime? Or diaper warmer if he really hates the cold ones? I know, sometimes, you just think, "they will just have to get used to it and be ok" and that's ok, too :) Love you guys so much, thanks for putting up pictures! Can't wait to see more of your adventure!
ReplyDeleteAbby so fun to read your thoughts I should check your blog more often! I feel sad we didn't get to chat more last week. Oh my goodness you have had quite a ride the last month! If anyone can do it all you can! The first month or two after childbirth is rough in so many ways. Sorry it seems like we took you all away more than we helped while we were there! Hopefully Redd will be a sleeper soon -that would help! Mine did significantly better at about 2 months. You and Kam and Redd are so awesome! We are all wishing we could still be hanging out there with you all!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you blog! I love the way you write and I can't wait to hear about all of your adventures in Maine. What a great mom you have to be there with you and help you unpack. And what a great mom YOU are to that cute baby. You're doing such a great job and of course you will be in all of our prayers. We love you so much!!!!! You can do this!
ReplyDeletePS... That couch is killer awesome.
ReplyDeleteGosh, I remember feeling all those feelings when we moved to Mississippi. And somehow everything worked out as it was supposed to. You guys are so great and everything will work out because the Lord is on your side!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the little one. He looks just so sweet. I don't want to overwhelm you, Abby, but just thought I would pass along some info that helped me a ton with Ensley since I had a struggle with Emerson sleeping through the night. I skimmed through "BabyWise" and fully read "Bringing Up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting." I loved the latter book because it had a lot of fun stories and information about things other than sleeping. Emerson slept through the night at 9 months, but Ensley slept through the night at 10 weeks. If you don't have them at your library or just don't have the time to read (because a new mom barely has time to go tinkle, right?), I'll just summarize them real quick, but take it with a grain of salt and do what works for you and your family. BabyWise talks about feeding your baby on a schedule (eat, play, sleep, repeat), but the real tip I got from this book was to give your baby full feedings...no snacking. The good info that helped me a ton was from the bebe book. It said that the French babies all sleep through the night around 2-3 months. The reasoning for this is because their mothers give them 5 minutes when they wake in the night to work out whatever may be bothering them, instead of just hurrying and nursing them. If after a few minutes the baby is still crying, they would then feed them, but at least giving them a bit of time allowed them to get back into a sleep cycle and not depend on nursing to go back to sleep. Oh, if I would've done this with Emerson I wouldn't have lost so much sleep!
Anyway, I debated sharing this for a few days because I SO don't want to throw info at you and overwhelm you in any way, but also thought I would've wanted someone to tell me this type of stuff when I was a new mom. Take it or leave it. You are a great mom without someone passing on stuff.
Good luck with all the newness. We hope you have such a great time in Maine, regardless of the hard things you'll have to go through. You guys are in our prayers!