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Week 1 With Rosalind

It feels a little bit surreal still that we are a family of six. SIX!

And that I have two elementary schoolers. Weren’t they just toddlers?

In the ten years I’ve spent sharing bits of life on this site, my first three kids had a “Week 1 with ___” post so I don’t think we can skip it this time.

Week 1 at home with Rosalind happened later than anticipated when she arrived 11 days late. But we did bring her home from the hospital at just 21 hours old (just half a night in the hospital!) so there’s that.

Newborns are the very best. I remember thinking women who said this were lying when I was struggling so much with baby #1. That first newborn stage was NOT the very best. But, when you remove my big stressors and pain points (no pushing at delivery, no breastfeeding) and add in years of infant experience, it is a night and day difference between baby #1 and baby #4.

Best parts of the week:

  • Snuggling a newborn. She is the sweetest little thing and there is nothing better than having the only item on the agenda to be holding her for a few hours.
  • Introducing Rosalind to her siblings. I’m not sure these three have ever been so excited for anything. They all wanted to hold her. They all wanted to touch her. I spent a lot of that first week fighting for snuggle time with her because everyone else wanted to hold her each time we came downstairs.
  • Naps. Ben was home the first week and mostly was in charge of playing with the kids. My mom was in town and mostly in charge of running the household. I was mostly in charge of the baby. I’d sneak in a morning nap most days after some mediocre nights.
  • The burrata, tomato, and balsamic glaze toast my mom made for my dinner one night.

Hardest parts of the first week:

  • I struggled with the chaos of all the children being home in those first days of sleep deprivation and physical recovery. I was easily overwhelmed and touched-out when one child wanted to snuggle while I was feeding the baby and listening to another two kids talk about their day.
  • Getting up in the middle of the night is hard! Especially when the baby needs things and your own body needs attention. Week #2 was much better physically and week #3 is promising to be even better.
  • Milk coming in. I’m not nursing or pumping this time around and day 5,6, and 7 were not very comfortable. I finally took a Nyquil on the 7th night and that helped a lot (or maybe things were just getting better at that point anyway).

Things I want to remember:

  • Westley (age 3) saying “I like it” as he looked at the baby.
  • Westley singing the entire “A, you’re adorable” song to her on the couch.
  • Snuggling Lincoln while he is snuggling Rosalind.
  • Adelaide’s “star student” poster with her interesting fact, “I have a new baby sister!”
  • Heading home from the hospital 21 hours after birth and Ben wanting to stop by the park to see the big kids who were out playing (and me, who wanted to go home to some peace and quiet and get settled before everyone else got home).

Most used items:

  • Halo sleep sack swaddle: always and forever
  • Kyte sleeper + Goumi sleepers: New-to-me brands this time around and much better quality than the cheaper Amazon + Carters ones I have. The fabric is softer but also the zippers are just much better which makes life easier for middle-of-the-night diaper changes.
  • Frida Moms Peri Bottle: This is a step better than the hospital one and well worth the $15.
  • Adult Diapers: A must-have. I ordered generic ones off Amazon but wish I’d gone with something like this in a boyshort cut instead.
  • Kindred Bravely loungewear: Anything from their bamboo line is my FAVORITE but I haven’t gone wrong with anything yet.
  • This fuzzy robe: Only $25 on Amazon and so cozy.
  • Kindred Bravely nursing tops + nursing bras: So comfortable + supportive.
  • Motrin: Around the clock.
  • Taka: Daily vitamin drink with just enough caffeine for a pick-me-up after a sleepless night.
  • Doc-a-tot: We were given one of these and love it for lounging + napping in. We also use it for diaper changes downstairs. I keep a mini crib sheet on it so I don’t have to wash the actual cover as often.
  • Belly band: This is a maternity support belt but I’ve been wearing it post partum to help stabilize my core and it helps a lot (and its more comfortable than the one I have from the hospital last time around).

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