Elijah will be four weeks old tomorrow, I cannot believe it has been four weeks since Eli entered into our lives and changed them forever. It has really just seemed like one super long day. He is getting so much bigger each week, his cheeks are getting chubbier and his little legs are getting fat rolls- he is so precious. And despite that he is a little boy we call him beautiful and gorgeous all the time! We will transition to words like handsome when he is older.
Being a mom has been the most amazing experience of my life, it has also been the most challenging. Adjusting to all that my body went through in pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum- I have never experienced such emotional changes. I consider myself a pretty even tempered person, so dealing with so many emotions in a short period of time was hard for me. And you considering the physical changes my body is still going through, it’s weird because Eli was pretty heavy to carry and since I have delivered him it feels like I should just ‘poof’ be back to what I was pre-pregnancy. Of course that’s not how it works. I have lost half of my baby weight but there is still so much more to go, and I am so anxious to see it gone. I look at my regular clothes and just feel like I will never fit in those again.
Another challenging part is the lack of sleep and keeping Eli on a routine. We have not really mastered his routine yet; there have just been so many people around. And no one cares too much about the routine he needs when they are just there for a few minutes. Our little family has not had one day since Eli was born that someone hasn’t been by to visit or come to stay. I am absolutely ready to be home and set our family’s schedule without considering who will be coming over or if Eli will be over stimulated. Over stimulation has been one of the biggest challenges for our little man I think. It seems that people feel if his eyes are wide open then he doesn’t need to go to sleep yet- and when he misses that small window of perfect timing for a nap the next cycle is ruined. Eli has also had a hard time transitioning through his sleep cycles; it is also called the 45 minute intruder. At that point he needs to be soothed back to sleep; otherwise he cries and is wide eyed again.
I apologize if my tone seems negative, I don’t mean for it to be. I am blessed beyond measure with a beautiful healthy baby boy, a husband that goes beyond expectations to take care of both our baby and me, family that adore our son and help at every opportunity, and so many people that truly love us and want to love on us. And on top of that I love being a mom, but I don’t wanted to be honest with the challenges I have had, because I know that from the friends I have that read this ya’ll might have some wonderful insight.
