One Week In

James could not be more of a different type of newborn than Nathan was.  For one, James looks exactly, and I mean exactly, like I did, while Nathan was a carbon copy of newborn Jeff.  (My mother said, after holding him, that it was the seventh baby she had held to look just like that. The six of us all looked the same, to the extent that we're not really sure who this is.)

And he sleeps. For hours at a time. The first few days I had to wake him to eat. It was very unnerving to me, and I keep checking to make sure he is breathing. With Nathan you always knew he was breathing because of the fussing. James, though, only fusses when you change his diaper.  And when he gets up at night, we change him, I feed him, and then... he goes back down. No rocking, no bouncing on a yoga ball, no anxious "Is it safe to put him down or is he going to wake back up?" scrutinizing of his face for signs he isn't in a deep sleep yet.  Don't get me wrong, he is still up every 2-3 hours demanding to eat, but he has slept more this week than Nathan did his whole first month.

He also is happy, when he is awake, to just be... set down on his bouncy seat or on a blanket.  Nathan does not like this ("Mama, hold baby!") but it means I can fix Nathan's lunch or run his bath.  Sometimes you can even lay James down in his bassinet and he'll just fall asleep on his own.  (He also naps in his bassinet, instead of in a swing or being held, which means I get to spend time with Nathan and see Nathan's bewilderment at finding the white crayon "no work!")  

Nathan's having some adjustment issues- he does not like it when I feed James and will say, "No, Daddy hold baby! Mama hold Nay-Nay."  But I've taken a very lenient stance on Curious George watching during feedings which seems to be helping. Today Nathan even let me read him a book while I nursed James. 

I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and James to turn into a "normal" newborn, but in the meantime am enjoying how content he seems.  My mother left yesterday and while I cried a little right after, for today I think we are holding it together as a family of four. I'm terrified of what will happen when Jeff goes back to work but try to just focus on the fact that he is here today. We took both boys for a walk early this morning and I managed to get James in the baby carrier and Nathan in the stroller and Buster on a leash all by myself, so I'm feeling somewhat competent. We'll see.

Comments

[Beth]

That unidentified baby really does look exactly like your photos of James, but your dad also looks just like Nathan!

[hannah]

I see a lot of my dad in Nathan, too, but most people only see Jeff.

[Matthew Poirier]

It must be something with the second child. Our son is the same exact way...