One Month of Laurie

I'm currently lying in bed with my little guy snuggled up beside me and I should really use this time that he's sleeping to nap myself, you know, the whole 'sleep when they sleep' thing. But I know that the minute I try to close my eyes, he'll start demanding another feed; Laurie has a sixth sense for knowing when mummy is trying to do things that don't involve him.

Case in point: He's just started to stir, burped and is now trying to latch on to my t-shirt! He knows!

Bear with me...

Okay, now he's happily nursing, I can continue.

I thought I should do a quick run through of the first four weeks of Laurie in the hopes that I can start blogging a little more frequently about how awesome my son is. And other things of course.

Week One was mostly spent getting to know the little guy and most of this was done in hospital. That kind of meant that once we were discharged we had to relearn who we were in our normal home environment.

I'm going to do this in bullet points since it's easier.

• The journey home was uncomfortable for me since it was the longest I'd sat upright since I'd had him. Probably not helped by the detour to Tesco and Boots as I searched for a hand pump.
• Laurie didn't stir from the moment we fastened him into the car seat to the time we got home. I sat in the back seat with him and occasionally poked him to check he was still breathing.
• His first visitors were in the Co Op car park where I was sitting in the car with him while my Mum and Mr Click went to pick up essentials. His next visitors were our next door neighbours when we arrived back at the house.
• We had our first midwife visit and I was loaned a pump which I DID NOT get on with.
• He also had his first visit from Mr Click's parents. They loved him, of course.

Week Two dawned and we started to settle into a routine of sorts. Some days we didn't leave the house, some days I didn't get dressed, some days I did but only long enough for the midwife visit and then I was back to jammies.

• We celebrated it being exactly one year since Laurie's conception. That was kind of weird, holding my nine day old son and knowing his life had started exactly one year beforehand.
• I finally did my last injection for the foreseeable future. I'd been put back on clexane after the birth due to blood loss, transfusion and lack of movement putting me at risk of clots.
• We had more midwife visits, Laurie continued to very slowly put on weight.
• He also started to develop his own little routine, giving us 3-4 chunks of sleep at a time through the night. He's been pretty consistent about this ever since which is awesome. I'm actually getting more sleep now than during pregnancy!
• We got him registered. That felt like such a big deal to me. Just seeing his name written out in full makes me smile. Afterwards we went out for lunch, this was my first proper trip out, and I psyched myself up for feeding him in public. He slept the whole time.
• I realised that my pre-pregnancy clothes fitted me again! Just in time to venture out for another lunch, which once again, Laurie slept through!
• His Naini did lots of knitting; first a trio of woodland creatures (two hedgehogs and a squirrel) and then a cute little pixie hat. She also did lots of dog walking, washing up, laundry, ironing, vacuuming, general reassuring, baby cuddling and comforting, and taught us how to give Laurie a bath. I don't know what we'd have done without her!

We began Laurie's third week feeling fairly confident that we were getting the hang of things.

• Of course then we said goodbye to my Mum which meant we had to settle into a new routine with one less pair of hands.
• That day I also sent Mr Click to his band practice so I spent about three hours home alone with the baby. It was kind of scary and also wonderful too. I spent most of the time trying to get the washing up done; I got as far as putting the washing up liquid in the bowl. It was a successful evening.
• We had our first health visitor visit before Mum left. She picked up on his jaundice so later in the week we had a visit from a midwife to do a bilirubin check, which then led to a paediatrician call, which then led to a hospital appointment for the following week. This was a little alarming though we didn't actually think there was a problem. Spoiler alert: There wasn't.
• Laurie started getting really alert and aware of the world around him. He's developed a fascination for the strings of cards up on the wall, the curtains, the pattern on my in-laws' sofa. His eyes seemed to get a shade lighter too. It was amazing to see how he changes from day to day.
• He also had a bit of the snuffles, poor guy. We got this saline nasal spray which he hated. The more we used it, the better he came to recognise the spray bottle and started crying before we could get it in his nose. It took two of us to do it in the end. Happily he was only snuffly for a couple of days.
• My Mum and Stepdad bought us our travel system and we'd been using the car seat every time we went out with Laurie, but we'd not taken him out in the pram until this week. I was finally feeling up to walking a more substantial distance so we took a stroll to town and back. It took about 90 minutes because people kept stopping to see the baby and talk to us. It was great.
• We also got our Ergobaby carrier. I'd tried Laurie in the fabric wrap sling and he responded like I was torturing him. He fell asleep in the Ergobaby carrier and I was able to cut Mr Click's hair while I carried the baby. We're planning some short walks on the estate in the coming weeks.
• And Laurie's little personality is coming out in spades. Remember when I was pregnant and his stuck his foot up his nose on the scan? Well he's still just as much of a little goofball. On his three week birthday we couldn't help but behind even more aware of what a cheeky little guy he is. I can't wait to see how this side of him develops.

On his three week birthday, the start of fourth week with us, Laurie had his first trip off the island.

• This was as a result of the bilirubin check the previous week. Rather than driving we took the train and bus, with Laurie in the pram. I had my first experience (or four) of breastfeeding in public and he mostly slept. His appointment went well too, though he was thoroughly unimpressed at having his blood taken, otherwise I think he enjoyed the day. And he got his first (but not last) experience of being out in the snow.
• Then things got a little crazy with the weather.
• My Aunt and Nan came up for a visit, then got stuck in Scotland (though not on the island unfortunately) because of the weather. Laurie and I were snowed in for the rest of the week. It was just too deep and icy for us to safely get out, though luckily Mr Click was able to venture out on the Friday for more supplies. I read a lot and got kind of stir crazy from watching so many films but there was little else for us to do.
• It was kind of funny to see Laurie's reaction when we took him to the window first thing each morning, it would be so bright that he could barely open his eyes. He'd just look really puzzled by it each time we went to the window.
• I invested in a second-hand breastfeeding pillow from the local Facebook resale page. This thing is a godsend. I'm able to feed Laurie whilst retaining the use of one, sometimes two hands. The biggest thing this enables me to do is actually use a knife and fork again rather than trying to do things one-handed.
• Laurie also likes to be held. To start off with I was trying to put him down in the Moses basket whenever he fell asleep, but inevitably he'd wake up and start crying; sometimes it'd only be a few minutes, sometimes we'd get an hour or more. Kid just likes to be cuddled. The pillow means he can dose off and still feel held close, but I have my hands free. To be honest, I love holding him and I love that the place he's happiest to fall asleep is my arms. He'll only be small and cuddly for a little while so I intend to get as many cuddles in as I can now.
• I think it won't be much longer before we get a real smile from him as well. He's coming so close. His eyes look like little inverted brackets and he opens his mouth real wide. His Great Aunt brought him a little monkey wooby and I've been bopping Laurie on the nose with it; most of the time he gives you his little proto-smile back. I can't wait to see it for real and figure out what we need to do to bring it out.

And now we're closing in on the end of his fourth week with us.

He's doing so well and growing so fast. The last month has both gone so quickly and so slowly. It's all kinds of surreal and incredible.

And a little part of me still can't quite believe he's mine!