Week 1: Noah is extremely alert and has been since the day he was born. He was awake more than he was asleep and wide-eyed and looking around even in his hospital bassinet. When we brought him home and put him in his crib for the first time all swaddled up, he laid there peacefully and looked to the left and the right, studying his crib bumper. Just like his dad, he was very aware of his surroundings. The same was true when we introduced him to Rylee the day we came home.
Throughout the week home, he was very patient, only giving little quiet whimpers when he was tired or hungry or wanting a new position. When tended to, he quieted down very quickly.
In addition to being alert, Noah was strong from the start! He enjoyed tummy/”Tebow” time the very first time Granna and I laid him down on his blanket. (We had just bought and read Tim Tebow’s book, Through My Eyes, where it told how he worked out as a kid to get strong. Lynn and Alex and Mom later read the book while visiting here). He first got still, then made little noises as he worked hard to lift and turn his head…all on his own by week one! His back would be hot and red and he would be breathing hard but contentedly when he was done he had used so much muscle!
He was the typical newborn when it came to feeding the middle of the night…up a lot and for about an hour each time! He would make the cutest soft breathing and sighing noises as I fed him and would sometimes stay asleep afterward. This week he even rolled from back to front with help by me holding his head and shoulders up off the ground! He simply twisted that arm, thought for a minute that he had a leg and then whoosh, swung it over.
Week 2: Granna was here and very helpful to me, allowing me to take many naps and taking an alert Noah after a middle-of-the-night feeding to hold him back to sleep. I honestly did not feel too tired for the first 2 ½ weeks and thus, did not feel overwhelmed. She also did all the housework and took Rylee out everyday. What a tremendous blessing she was to Noah, me especially and inadvertedly, to Dave as he had a happy wife.
Our Bible Study group and a couple of friends from work made dinners and stopped by to feed us and meet Noah. We were blessed with Salsa Fresh takeout, a roast, a chicken casserole, enchiladas, chicken pasta, pizza, apple-french toast casserole and bacon-spinach quiche just to name a few!
Week 3: Bath time! We gave Noah his first bath once his umbilical cord completely fell off. Dave and I both held him and tried to wash him as Granna took pictures. Noah cried through the whole thing, and being new parents that we were, we rushed and stressed a little and probably did not get him all that clean! Dave observed that the nurse who washed him in the hospital did not worry about him crying, but just focused on getting him clean. So the next time, I held him, Dave washed him and we went quick, but didn’t let his crying bother us, too much. Together we then dried him off, diapered him and got him dressed snugly in his Swaddle Me blanket (love those!) for the night, where I then feed him to sleep.
Lynn and Alex and Matthew arrived Wednesday around 2 pm and stayed until Sunday night. They came complete with car seat, base and a pack and play for Matthew. It is true family that can humbly camp out in a living room on the couch and spare mattress and shared one bathroom for five days. Alex was helpful fixing us some meals, taking Rylee out on walks and getting us breastfeeding ladies much needed glasses of water. Lynn and Alex were both very helpful with holding and calming Noah at various times, including the first night they were here and I made us a sausage pasta dinner. They also made lactation (oatmeal) cookies, too!
Marc and Amber flew in late Friday night and stayed at the same hotel as Mom and Jackie. On Saturday, the four came over and Marc held his first baby, Noah! He was sweet holding him, but did not go all the way to changing a diaper;) We had decided earlier that we wanted to take a family picture, so we were all matchy-matchy with white shirts and jeans. Since it was so hot outside, we took a very short walk downstairs to take a picture under some red umbrellas where we could all be in the shade. Afterwards, we ate at Peppers and then came back upstairs to visit some more and open presents, very nice outfits for the boys, from Marc and Amber. The babies needed to take naps, and while Noah was winding down and crying, I mentioned that I still wasn’t sure what exactly he needed or wanted at different times of day and with different cries. Amber wisely noted that even though she had had younger siblings and could remember them being babies, that every baby is different and you just have to get to know them. Later, we all went across the street and at dinner al fresco at Smithfield’s Bar-b-que. Afterward, we came back to have some of Dave’s famous banana’s foster dessert before they left for the night.
That night Noah was very upset trying to fall asleep so Lynn offered to help by holding him laying down and facing out while she swung him quickly back and forth, a move she learned from her friend Janice. I was left speechless as it took only three seconds for him to quiet and fall asleep; however, I later learned what works once does not always work the next time. I was very impressed with Lynn’s skills and patience to not feel bad with a crying baby although it made me start to feel very worried for her to leave in a few days and not have her help! The next morning I woke up really tired from the night and noticed Lynn’s sunny attitude and big smiles to Matthew despite her same experience. Another lesson I learned from her-start fresh each morning and enjoy that baby. We dubbed them Noisy Noah and Mad Matt after the night we’d hadJ Somehow, the boys never did wake each other up with their screaming and crying. We put them both down on a blanket to take some pictures. Noah was upset and Matthew, despite being the exact same way only minutes before, was giving Noah looks that said, “What is that strange noise? And Why are you so upset??” We got some good pictures, and Susan McAndrew took even more of the boys when she came to stay Sunday afternoon through Tuesday.
Sunday they all came back and we headed to the park for a short walk where we tried out our stroller and played a spontaneous game of Frisbee golf after throwing one around for a while. Alex, Lynn, Dave, Marc and me played one ‘hole’which Dave won. Dave was inspired by this time and later bought us two sets of Frisbee discs so we could play the following weekend. (We went to UNC’s course, pushed Noah in the jogger stroller up and down grassy hills and literally through some woods while Rylee played caddy and carried our discs on a mule-type pack. It ended up being the perfect activity for us since our whole little family could participate, it offered exercise, time for Dave and I to connect doing something fun and very inexpensive!) Anyway, the babies tried to stay cool and asleep in the shade with mom and Amber, but I eventually had to feed Noah outside with my cape.
Noah began to be less-patient and more of a typical newborn, getting more fussy and harder to calm. Because of this, my lack of more than 3 hours sleep at a time in 3 weeks and all the help I had received, I began to get very anxious at the thought of doing it all on my own when family and friends left town…all on the same day! Too tired to pray or remember scripture, I felt overwhelmed with emotions and worry.
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