One week old. One week down. One crazy week!

Marek was born on Saturday night and we came home from the hospital on Monday morning.  Their policy would have allowed another day, but I was bored, the boys were bored and Ryan was pretty bored too. 

I came home to a wonderfully clean house, with all the laundry finished and a lasagna ready to bake for dinner.  Ryan has done an amazing job with the boys and the house, which can't be easy, considering he was just thrown into the details of our daily routine (really, I swear I'm not crazy, but there's a gazillion things to keep straight as you go through the day and missing the timing of just one can lead to a pre-schooler peeing his pants during naptime).  With the way he's jumped in to help deal with the house and kids and meals and me and the baby, I'm pretty sure I have the best husband ever right now, so all you single ladies can just give up, Prince Charming is already taken. 

So far this week, we've handled pre-school, doctor appointments for weight checks, a trip to Pump it Up, more doctor appointments, a grocery trip, a Babies' R Us trip, pre-school again, more doctor visits, and an afternoon of bowling.  Even with a new baby, we've been just as busy as ever with Pete and Chester.

On to the baby related news:  Marek is eating well and gaining weight.  I cannot sufficiently express my joy over this but many of you know how badly I struggled feeding Pete and Chester.  At the Navy Hospital where Pete was born, I was told he was a "big baby" (at 8lbs 10oz- the smallest of my children) and would have blood sugar problems because he hadn't eaten 3oz of colostrum in the first two hours after his birth.  There's so many things wrong with that, but I had no idea, and instead he was given bottles of formula until my milk came in three days later.  By then we had no chance of getting his latch right and he ended up hurting me when nursing directly and mostly ate bottles of pumped breast milk.  Chester's saga was a little different, his latch was inhibited by a tight frenulum, but the result was the same, he totally mangled my nipples, leaving me cracked and bleeding for months.  He also had poor weight gain, so we supplemented Chester with bottles of pumped breast milk.  Finally I have a child who seems to be on the right track. Marek has already regained his birth weight by day four, and I have no new significant damage to my breasts.  This is how breastfeeding should be and I am forever grateful to BG, SBH and the lactation counselors here in Beverly for everything they've done to get us on the right track this time. 

Caution: graphic breast details- skip this paragraph if you don't want to know.  Thursday, after meeting with the Lactation Consultant, I was sent to a breast surgeon who numbed the nipple and sliced the scar tissue that had been covering a milk duct for over a year, since Chester mangled me.  As soon as she did it, the pressure released and the gobs of old milk that had been stuck behind the skin came out like stepping on a toothpaste tube.  We are hoping it won't seal over the opening again as it heals, but it already feels a million times better when Marek eats.

I even had a chance to enjoy a girls' night out with SH, LG and LK on Friday night, though I guess it wasn't a true girls' night, since Marek came along with me.  And this afternoon, there's a spouses' club board meeting for me to attend.  I'd say we're settling right in, even though I'm still using my two hands to feed the baby, and therefore can't quite surf  the internet like I could while I was pregnant! 

With all three boys napping, I better get to sleep too.  Having a newborn in the house is just about the same as being pregnant with two poor sleepers and third-trimester insomnia, so I'm grabbing naps whenever I can!
And now for the gratuitous baby pics!