2 weeks

dear hugo,

two weeks already! we are all feeling so much more alive this week! everyone is recovering from the labor — not that it was so terrible, but it was long and a lot of work. it really wipes you out! so getting lots of naps and resting last week was the right ticket — at least for the two of us. gus seemed to do just fine, papa was a bit wiped out, and calum decided the best way to deal with being tired was to go to bed and get up early. this week we all seem to be back on schedule and you, my little friend, are awake for longer and longer periods every day. you are really enjoying getting to see your new world.

so we’ve ventured out a little this week. gus proudly brought you in for share time at school. he was so proud (and shy) and his classmates were so excited. it was so fun to show you to all the kids who used you grab my belly and ask if you were kicking, if you were going to be a girl or another boy! and then you will have THREE. BOYS. you mostly slept through it all, which was smart.

we had a newborn hat fashion show this week

you’ve nearly finished molting, which is nice. your nose — the only place where you’ve really had any baby acne (and then, just whiteheads and which one of gus’ classmates noticed and noted “wow, his nose is sparkly!”) is clearing up — and you are rounding out. it doesn’t seem like you’ve lost any hair or gained, but we’ve started to notice that it has a kind of coppery gleam. we’re incredibly curious to see what it will look like as more comes in. your face looks so much more baby-like this week and so much less newborn. your cone head was gone by the end of the first day and your little creepy old person hands are fleshing out as well. it’s not that i mind, really, you are quite lovely, but it’s crazy to think we will never have another newborn again. newborns, the are in and out like flash.

from divya

you continue to sleep for long lovely stretches! which is good for rest, but bad for boobs. once again i got a plugged duct. this one lingered long enough for me to call in for an antibiotic prescription after much conferring with a very good LC friend. and then right after dinner my fever broke and my chills and aches were gone. i didn’t pick up the antibiotics after all and a few days later the plugged duct was gone. whew. i would have taken the antibiotics had i needed them, but how nice not to have to need them.

from alex

you love the wrap and sleep and nurse in it like a champion. calum is a bit put out that he doesn’t get to ride in it anymore. i don’t think it’s jealousy of you as much as it is plain old laziness. please me, though, i would rather ride than walk myself! you don’t mind the car much yet either as long as you are well fed. i hope that holds!

your brothers get to hold you longer these days and so does your papa and that is wonderful.

accidentally stolen from gus’ old daycare

you’re a little bit of a spit upper and i think it’s because i need to burp you. oops. i didn’t have to do that for your brothers very often, so it’s not something i think of to do. but of course it’s all a drag to try to burp and fart, so we’re going to work on incorporating that into the routine.

gus’ old hat from good friends toni and ross. also STOP STOP WITH THE FASHION SHOW ALREADY OMG STOP!!!!

we even went to papa’s work fundraiser one evening. he was so pleased to have you there. everyone was quite delighted to meet you. you, of course, slept through it all. even so, it’s nice to have you so portable that we can occasionally do these things. it’s particularly nice for papa to have us there.

we still nap several times a week together and that is lovely. i will miss that when papa goes back to work in a few weeks — and not just because i’ll be tired! there is nothing quite like snuggling with a wee babe for a quick midday nap.

two weeks

as always, i love you dearly, little one!

love,

mama

1 week

dear hugo

the first week home and already you are deeply loved. your brothers can’t get enough of holding you and neither can your papa. the tough part is that you need to sleep and eat a lot, so the holdings are few and far between and short besides. even so, any non-mama snuggle is greatly appreciated.

tiny baby legs from our midwife

you are a great sleeper! at least one 4 hour stretch each night. this means LOADS of sleep for a tired mama and i actually feel pretty great, all things considered. the breastfeeding is going very well and so is the pooping. although onions disagree with you, it doesn’t seem like much else does, which is nice. i don’t mind cutting things out of my diet, but it’s nice to have someone whose guts can handle a bit of life for a change.

you don’t seem to have particularly sensitive skin, either, which is great too, since it scares the bajingo out of you when you pee without a diaper and wakes you up. it was quite hot a few days this week, so we kept you bum out as much as possible to keep you from getting a heat rash. this was good for your bum, but not so good for your napping. also one time you had an amazing projectile poo across the kitchen floor. your brothers were astounded. it’s since cooled back down and we keep some lanolin on your bum just in case, but you seem to be doing fine in that department. good news. you also molted a lot this week, which was creepy, but normal. and your lost your umbilical cord too. fast!

so alert when you are awake!

we had you weighed and measured about 36 hours after you were born and although you’d stretched out to 20 1/2 inches, it appears you’d dropped to 6 lbs 6 oz. there was some concern all around, but you were still nursing around the clock and my milk hadn’t fully transitioned from colostrum to mature breastmilk yet, so we didn’t panic and figured we’d weigh you again in a few days and see. by day 4 you were back up to 7 lbs 2 oz. hmm. probably the day 2 weight check was a bit off, but even so, you were back up to almost your birth weight already, and by day 6 you were at 7 lbs 7 oz. already up over your birth weight, whew.

you had your first bath and you liked it until i actually put you in the water (although nursing and having water poured onto you was okay). i took you in so we could both cool off. it’s okay, you will like the water more when you are bigger. but it was nice to rinse some of the hot weather off together for sure.

one week: being a newborn is hard work

there’s not much else to report. it’s most just nursing and pooping and sleeping and snuggling right now — and we like that just fine. keep growing, little lover!

love, always,

mama

39 weeks 2 days (may 26)

after much deliberation, hugo shevek colvin shenk finally consented to being born at 9:05 pm, may 26, at brigham & women’s hospital at 7 lbs 5 oz and 19 inches (he uncurled to 20.5 by the morning of may 28th). he has what may be medium brown hair and newborn colored eyes. possibly jeremy’s nose.

there are many hot and contested debates about his looks. i don’t see any resemblances yet, personally, but i will concede he’s a rather lovely guy regardless. he’s awfully pleasant and sleeps well and is much adored by his older siblings. frankly, he’s quite perfect in every way.

birth day cake

39 weeks 1 day (may 25)

labor. lots of labor.

39 weeks (may 24)

we were supposed to have a midwife appt the day before, but the mw needed to reschedule. that friday morning i had some bloody show. i told jeremy and we both were surprised but excited. nothing was happening, so everyone did their daily routine. i texted the midwives and emailed the doula. then cal and i did some grocery shopping and i did some other last minute laundry and other chores around the house.

it felt like a lot of waiting, not knowing if/when labor was going to start.

jeremy had already planned to come home early that day to come to the appointment. i was going to pick him up from the T on our way. as the time for the appointment drew neat, i began to feel very restless. i thought it wouldn’t be a great idea to drive. i felt too antsy to sit in traffic for 15 minutes. it seemed like it would just be forever. the midwife came here.

everything looked fine. while we chatted, i noticed an occasional twinge in my lower back, but they were spaced too far apart to be anything definite.

jeremy went to pick up gus and some friends came over to hang out for a bit after school.

i timed the twinges. they were regular, but 10 min or more apart. probably labor, but still very very early.

we had dinner. we did bedtime. jeremy and i made up the birth room. i called the midwife and then we went to bed. early labor had started, but the best thing to do at that point was get some rest.

our last 4 person family photo

38 weeks

we’re rather behind now, but even so…

i got my appetite back this week. enough to eat four pieces of birthday cake at a party we went to that weekend. too much sugary sweetness, but satisfying in it’s own too-much-junk kind of way. between the cake and the baby dropping a little and being able to smell and taste food and not much heartburn i was back up to 149 that tuesday at gus’ appointment (he has a plantar’s wart we are trying to remove) at the pediatrician’s that week where i weighed myself just out of curiosity. 

i also started feeling tired that week. and that thursday, after sitting on the curb in the schoolyard waiting for jeremy to come home from the cape and watching the kids play until the school’s family health and wellness night started, when i stood up my lower back hurt A LOT. so much that i suddenly got very upset and told the kids and jeremy, “WE HAVE TO GO HOME. NOW.” we were all hungry anyway, so it was fine, but i was a little surprised about how upset i suddenly was about the whole thing. i thought to myself, “hmm. i had better pay attention to how tonight goes.”

but when we got home and ate and i got to rest with a pillow everything was fine, so i didn’t think any more about it.

 

9 1/2 months

i didn’t gain this time. or maybe i even lost weight. it’s hard to tell with the midwives’ two different scales. but i was 144 or something. or maybe even 141. in any event, having that horrible cold and not being hungry definitely impacted the weight gain — for me. the baby is growing right on schedule of course.

although my belly hasn’t dropped yet, the baby’s head is getting further engaged in the pelvis. you can tell by where the fundus is (lower) and where the head is (lower!). i can feel it in my back more and on my cervix. it’s not unusual to be feel pinched when i get up to walk somewhere. ugh. good times.

i continue to feel pretty great, though. lots of energy and no aching back. that continues to feel a little strange, i must admit. i’m not complaining — i’m just surprised.

my appetite is coming back, yay! and my sense of smell, hurrah! i still have a bit of “pregnancy cold” which just means being a little stuffy and occasionally nose blowy, but that’s to be expected and is totally doable. ah it feels good to feel good again! even the kids are well on the mend. whew.

the weather has been up and down. we’ve been getting out on the beautiful days and getting creative on the yucky ones. even with feeling energetic we aren’t even taking “big” trips to the museums. i’m just trying to be conscientious about how much energy i might have left and trying not to push it. we’re starting to say no to favors and commitments. it always feels funny to say no when the baby is unlikely to come just yet, but (a) it’s wiser to conserve energy and (b) well, we just never know, so it’s wiser to play it safe, just in case.

but everyone around us seems to be getting impatient — including jeremy and the kids. i go through being tired of worrying that everything is fine (this is one active little person! so when the baby is still for a long time i worry a little, as pregnant mamas are wont to do) and enjoying these last few quiet moments with the little one tucked safely away inside. on the OTHER hand, the little one keeps changing positions, and i feel bad — there is probably not enough room! i think this is going to be a long one. and in fac, the last visit we discovered the stinker had turned posterior. sigh. be still and be in a good position, baby!

but i feel pretty calm about when this baby is going to be born — it’s going to come when it’s ready and i’m not feeling in a rush yet. at this point, there are really only so many more days it can be, so i’m just feeling like, well, they come out eventually, you know? crazy to think we will have THREE little monkeys around these parts before long, though!