Week 4: Week of Independence: With family gone, I had no choice but to take the dog on a walk myself, Noah in tow! This was one of the best things that could happen as it forced me to get my day started in a routine, get out of the house and get some exercise. Not to mention we’d leave the house at the time Noah was getting fussy needing his first nap…the stroller being the perfect thing to (quickly and easily) lull him to sleep! I also quickly learned that he would continue to sleep to the sound of water while I took a shower when we got back, ensuring a daily clean!
This week as I was talking to Granna on speakerphone when Noah was doing Tebow Time, he rolled front to back all on his own (his one arm was already under him from rolling onto his tummy, making it a little easier)! He did it about ten more times that hour, but then has not showed it off since (I guess he’s trying to be humble;).
I definitely bonded more with Noah this week than in the other weeks. However, I would still say I was mighty sleep deprived, so much that every time he needed to be put down for a nap, I was thinking more of getting it over with so I could nap, too, rather than enjoying the cuddly moments leading up to it. All that changed once I started getting more sleepJ
Week 5: Lane and Fritzie came to visit on Saturday and Noah was less alert this time for them than the day he was born, sleeping the whole four hours they were here. This didn’t stop them from holding him, though and gazing at his sweet face. Fritzie, of course, was admiring his red hair. We all went to a really nice Italian restaurant we’d heard about, Daniels’, and enjoyed a delicious meal. I was glad that there was no Sunday lunch crowd there and that Noah slept in his carrier the entire time. He got a compliment from the waitress for being such a good baby, “You’d hardly even know he was there.”
Noah finally started doing a longer initial sleeping stretch during this week, about 5 hours between feedings, which means I got about 4 hours sleep at one time before being up every hour with him until the morning light. This was really encouraging and made me feel so much less fatigued, especially if I got a nap in with him later in the day. He just kind of did it on his own, nothing on my part to get him to extend his time. I’m sure the Lord enabled him to learn this skill during this week to help me because Dave ended up getting a bad flu complete with cough, sore throat, headache and body aches and was thus not able to help one bit with Noah in the evenings. He even went two entire days without holding him. It was then Dave decided to move out to the living room to sleep and stay away from Noah, which ended up being a great fix to him being sleep deprived and me only trying to quiet Noah with the breast at night rather than stop and think of what he really needed. Dave also had to go to Asheville for work, so I went about 48 hours taking care of Noah all by myself and imagining what Lynn and Meagan go through every time their firefighter husbands go to work. He also started smiling this week, especially in the mornings, and I was able catch one on my camera, too, which we used on his birth announcement card.
This week brought some challenges, too, as he was still real upset trying to fall asleep for naps in the daytime. I’d have to walk him and sing to him before sitting on my bed and hold him until he was in a deep sleep before transferring him to his crib or my bed so that I, too, could nap at the same time. I was able to enjoy this time holding him, though, because I was not so tired anymore that all I wanted was for him to sleep so I could, too. I read a few books this way that Dave had got from the library including “With the Old Breed,” a WWII book that made me pity the mothers of those soldiers and never want Noah to go to war! Kind of a strange book selection while holding a sweet newborn, but both make you appreciate life and put my challenges in perspective.
Week 6: I have prayed different names of God over Noah for different occasions (or just picked one randomly before I saw the need for it) and have then seen the Lord manifest it in his life...already! I've prayed for God to be his Savior, his Prince of Peace (at night, when screaming in the car to calm him on our way home), his Shield (from illness and obnoxious noise I didn't know was going to be present at our wonderful neighbor's-He cleared the crowd and made it so we sat outside), and the last two days, Everlating Father (to keep watch over him after I stopped watching as I put Noah on his tummy to sleep last night).
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