As you all probably know by now, Joshua Roger has finally arrived! He was born on his due date, December 29, after putting his mama through 3 days of painful contractions (from sometime Friday afternoon until Monday afternoon when he was born). He was well worth it, though! And while I started out wanting an all-natural birth, I was very glad for the epidural when I got it. I wouldn’t have had enough energy to push otherwise, because I pretty much hadn’t slept since Thursday night. Once the medication was in place, I was able to take a nap and woke up feeling pretty refreshed.
The birth (after medication) was one of the coolest moments I have ever experienced. It still seems surreal to me that this little human being was inside of me. Surprisingly, I wasn’t scared at all — just very excited.
I tried nursing for a couple of days, but we had a setback in the hospital on the second night. The little man was very hungry and I didn’t have any milk for him. Once the nurse gave us some formula to feed him, he was very happy. We’ve been feeding him formula ever since. I felt really guilty about it at first, especially when he had some trouble with gas while on the regular Enfamil. However, he seems to be doing well now on the gentle formula, with gas drops, and he’s very content most of the time.
Joshua had a two-week check-up today and is growing according to schedule. He has grown an inch (from 20 to 21 inches) and gained 6 ounces (from 7lbs 13oz to 8lbs 3oz) since he was born. He’s in the 50th percentile; I’m not sure if that’s the right terminology but 50% of kids are bigger than he, and 50% are smaller. Sounds good to me. He seems very strong and alert when he is awake. And of course, I think he’s just the cutest baby in the world — my biased motherly opinion!
It’s not easy taking care of a newborn, but so far so good. Kevin and I should be old pros in another month or so. 🙂
