Thorns and Roses - Newborn Edition

Cannon James Christensen

March 2, 2017

5:30pm

7 lbs 12 oz

20.5 inches

I don't even know where to begin - I HAVE TWO KIDS! Crazy. The past two weeks have been full of so many emotions. Elated by the safe arrival of Cannon. Shocked at how well Lydia is handling all of it. Grateful for all the kind words and treats and gifts. Overwhelmed by how long it takes me to do anything these days (double the diaper changes, double the bag packing, etc). Frustrated by the chaos of major house problems - see below! Grr. But mostly I'm just feeling so in love with these two sweet spirits and my adorable husband. We are officially a gang of four!

 

Nursing probs.

He is OBSESSED with baths! He instantly calms right down and snuggles up in the water!

Day 2 home from the hospital! 

The day after we got home - our first walk altogther! (Very short lived - it was freezing.)

Nana and her grandbabies :) 

Thorns: 

- Sleep, obviously. Cannon slept 5 hours straight the first night home so I thought I was in for a treat. Nope! He's up every 2 hours. He's not getting full feedings at night so then he wakes up hungry again. And then Lydia wakes up around 6am! Ahhhhhhhhh.

- On a related note, feeding. The first week Cannon nursed like a champ! It was so easy and felt totally natural and I was stoked. But the last 4-5 days he's been super fussy every time he eats! Which gives me total anxiety because he pulls away in pain after 5 minutes and then he's hungry again an hour later. I've tried cutting out caffeine, chocolate, broccoli, etc. but it doesn't seem to be making a difference. I just barely started pumping and he seems to be doing better with the bottle? So we'll see. Hopefully this gets resolved asap because I cannot just sit and nurse all day! Any tips from moms out there who dealt with this?

- HOUSE FLOOD x2!! Old houses may have charm, but they also have a slew of plumbing issues. Our basement flooded three days ago, and after hiring all these different companies to clean/sanitize/fix it, the basement literally flooded AGAIN two days later. I am dying you guys. I have a newborn and a toddler and my entire basement is out of commission.

Roses: 

- Lydia is in love with Cannon. I was worried she'd be jealous or want to hurt him or she'd be mad at me. But honestly she's been a champ! She's adjusted surprisingly well to not being able to constantly have my attention and help. She wakes up in the morning and runs over to Baby Cannon's bed and starts giggling. And she loves listening to him burp, ha. Granted there are more random tantrums, but those are manageable. I can't wait to see their little friendship develop other the months and years. 

- My sweet husband. Even though he's swamped with school, every night he makes it a point to sincerely ask how I'm doing and listen to all my ramblings about poop and sleep and milk and talk through things with me. Thanks babe. 

- Cannon passed his hearing test! In the hospital his right ear didn't pass, so we were a bit worried even though they said it's normal not to pass the first time. I took him back to the audiologist last week and she said his hearing is perfect! Hallelujah. 

- My mom. She spent 10 straight days serving us. She deep cleaned our bathrooms, cooked us wonderful meals, packed Michael lunches (he never gets those normally from me, so he was pretty stoked! ;) ), she cuddled Cannon when I needed a nap, and most of all she played with Lydia! What would we do without our mothers. 

- My sister Olivia took the cutest newborn pictures! With Lydia we hired a professional, but we wanted to save money this time and Olivia is super talented so it worked out perfectly. Also, shout out to my mom for jumping up and down in the background so Lydia actually smiled (she had been FREAKING out - haha). I will post all these soon! 

- All in all just too many blessings to count. We seriously have the nicest neighbors and friends! We feel so loved. Thank you all for the texts, meals, messages and gifts. Even though we are sleep deprived and a little stressed about his eating, we are so grateful for this incredible new spirit in our home.