Month 1

Visitors
Isaac was born at 11:55am Monday morning on November 21st. Emily and Rush stayed with us in the hospital until 9:00pm that evening. Patti and Gwin left in the afternoon. Mom and Dad came by after school and then again after community chorus rehearsal. Emily Parker came by to visit after school and Jane and Billy Orton came by to visit after community chorus rehearsal. The next day on Tuesday November 22nd, Emily and Rush came back in the morning and stayed all day. The whole McQueen family also came by including Megan, Nathan, Josh, Andrea, and Mrs. and Mr. McQueen. Joy Moore also came to visit on Tuesday and so did two ladies from the church. Ed and Billie Perkins also came by before church choir practice (church was on a Tuesday because it was Thanksgiving week). Mom and Dad came by after school and stayed until church choir practice began.

Feeding
I tried to breastfeed in the labor and delivery room before he was an hour old but it did not work. We tried again when we were in our permanent room with the help of our day nurse. It was difficult to get him to latch because he was so sleepy; when we did get him to latch he didn't suck for very long, he would just fall asleep. She said the lactation consultant would come by the next day to help us. We kept trying throughout the day. The night nurse brought us a breast pump and syringe until the lactation consultant came. The pump worked very well and we were able to put some colustrum in a syringe. We were able to feed him through the syringe but it was very hard work still because he was still very sleep and we kept having to tickle his neck to get him to open up his mouth so we could squirt the colustrum in. It took us about an hour to feed him a few ounces. The next day the lactation consultant came by and she was very happy with our amount of colustrum and she said Isaac was doing a good job of latching. She was able to get him to suck for a good amount of time. We tried again after she left but it didn't go as well without her and it was too stressful for me. I knew I would be going back to work On January 3rd and would have to pump and bottle feed then, so we made the decision to quit trying to breastfeed and just pump and bottle. The rest of the day we continued to pump and syringe feed. The night nurse asked how breastfeeding was going and we told her we had decided to quit and just pump and bottle feed. She said since we were stopping trying to breastfeed we didn't need to use the syringe and she brought us these tiny storage bottles and nipples. We put the colustrum into a storage container with the nipple and what used to take us an hour to feed him now took us less than a minute. He did super well with the bottle! Feeding was a lot less stressful after that. The pediatrician told us we needed to be feeding him about an ounce of colustrum at a time and at first I didn't think I would be able to pump that much but soon I was pumping well over an ounce. As soon as we got home from the hospital on Wednesday, Noah took all the Target gift cards we had been saving and went and bought us our own pump. We hadn't wanted to purchase the really expensive pump until we knew that pumping would work for us. I have been pumping ever since and have had absolutely no trouble with milk supply. My milk came in before Isaac was a week old and has been increasing and increasing really well. I've always been able to pump way more than he eats, so we have a very good store in our freezer. I can pump up to 10 ounces in one sitting so I'm glad we invested in the pump. Isaac is gaining weight really well too. He had gotten down to 7 lb 12 oz in the hospital from his birth weight of 8lb 2 oz but by Friday after he was born he was back up to eight pounds and when he was a week old he had surpassed his birth weight. At three weeks he was 9 lb 5oz, so he's really growing well!

Week 1
The first week was Thanksgiving week so everyone was off work. Our first night out of the hospital was Wednesday night and we stayed at my parent's house. We stayed there Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday night. I didn't go home at all those days and Noah would only go home to grab anything we had forgotten or needed. Mom and Dad have a portable crib and a changing table for Isaac that we used. It was nice to be surrounded by family. There was no way to feel lonely. Emily and Rush were there also for much of the week. On Thursday Thanksgiving day, we ordered food from Cracker Barrel. On Friday, we traveled to Scottsboro to see Patti, Gwin, and Molly. Emily and Rush met us there and we had our family Thanksgiving celebration and Isaac's first Thanksgiving.

Week 2
Noah took off the whole week after Thanksgiving break which was great. This was our first week to stay in our own home with Isaac. We were still barely adjusting to life with our new baby, and I was glad we were together. On Wednesday, Isaac went to church for the first time. Noah and I went to orchestra rehearsal and Isaac came too. On Friday, Isaac went to Randolph for the first time. I went to conduct the sixth grade choir with their accompanist. Isaac was great on both his outings, didn't cry at all and just slept. On Saturday we spend the day at Mom and Dad's house again and Emily and Rush came up. On Sunday, Isaac went to his first church service. Isaac slept through the whole service and looked so cute in his Strasburg Lace day gown. It was an overwhelming and amazing feeling to sit in my church service holding our new baby.

Week 3
Noah went back to work this week and I stayed home alone with Isaac. Though I had been really scared of staying home alone with him, by the time Noah actually did go back to work we had already begun adjusting and everything went really well. This week, Isaac and I went to school every day. On Monday and Tuesday we went to sixth grade choir practice to practice for the choir concert on Thursday. On Wednesday, Isaac and I went to the middle school assembly in the afternoon where I conducted the sixth grade choir. He also went to church orchestra practice on Wednesday night. He stayed in his car seat right next to the harp for almost the whole rehearsal, but after an hour and a half he got hungry so we went out to the hallway to eat. On Thursday, Isaac and I went to sixth grade choir practice and then that night Isaac went with Noah and me to the choir concert where he sat with Noah and slept through the whole concert. On Saturday, we went back to Mom and Dad's house and Emily and Rush came up. On Sunday, Isaac stayed all day with Emily and Rush while Noah and I went to Gadsden for a harp gig. He also went with us that night to the dress rehearsal for the Living Christmas Tree.

Week 4
Isaac had a doctor's appointment on Monday. He did very well. We stayed inside the house more this week than we did last week. On Wednesday Noah went to the Living Christmas Tree dress rehearsal and I went to the Love feast dress rehearsal and Isaac stayed home with his grandmother McQueen. On Thursday, Emily and Rush came to Huntsville and Isaac went with them to his first performance of the Living Christmas Tree. We didn’t have anyone to watch him for the Friday performance but that night we found someone who was willing to sit with him during all the performances. We are so grateful to Mrs. Gattis for holding him during the performances. Isaac went the Living Christmas Tree on Friday night and then again on Saturday afternoon. On Saturday night he stayed home again with his grandmother McQueen. On Sunday he went to Sunday school with Noah and me for the first time and then to his second church service. He went the Children’s Tree later that afternoon and then to the last performance of the Living Christmas Tree that night.

Week 5
Sunday night I got yet another fever, so Monday, Isaac and I just stayed home while Noah went to school to give his exams. That night we went out with Mom and Dad to eat and saw several Randolph families. On Tuesday, Noah, Isaac, and I went to the Randolph faculty luncheon and that night Isaac and I went to the Arts Department Christmas Party while Noah stayed home and graded exams. We missed Noah at the party but it did him a world of good to not only stay home but to have Isaac and me out of the house. Isaac did great at the party! He was even awake a majority of the time and didn’t fuss at all.

Sleeping
At first we were pretty sure Isaac had his days and nights mixed up. He could sleep up to five hours during the day but was a little fussier at night. He is gradually getting away from this. He is now starting to have way more awake times during the day. We are trying to stimulate him both showing him toys and putting him on his tummy time. He is very interested in light. He likes to look at our Christmas tree which has the twinkling lights. He also likes to look at his chain link toy and his little red helicopter rattle. He just got a new toy that lights up and he will look at that one too. Even though he isn’t thrilled with tummy time, he is doing a good job of lifting his head especially when he is being held on someone’s chest. He loves his pacifier too! He wants to eat pretty much every two hours though. Noah decided to try and give him some formula to see if that would fill him up more and make him sleep for a longer period of time during the night. At first he didn’t like the formula and wouldn’t take it. One night he ate two bottles of formula but it didn’t help him sleep longer and then the next night he spit up the entire bottle, so Noah isn’t pushing the formula anymore. Despite that, he is sleeping a little better. He wakes up at 2am and 4am and then again at 6am. He is less fussy as well, so things are definitely getting better.

Temperament
He is a great baby. He fusses a little but he is not a crier at all. He is content even when awake. He likes his swing and is fine to just sit in it and swing. He loves being held and is perfectly fine with anyone holding him. He is also fine to be set down in his bassinet and fall asleep on his own. He has been doing a great job of quietly sitting through performances and church services and rehearsals. Though he is still a little on the fussier side at night and because he is beginning to be awake more he is beginning to get a little fussier all the time, I would still say he is a great baby.

Baby Blues
Before Isaac was born, Noah and I were both a bit worried about post-partum depression. The first two weeks were really hard, but even then, I was progressively adapting better and better and have still been adapting better and better. I would say my baby blues only lasted for two weeks, which is amazing!! It was really hard to adapt to being a mother at first. When he was first born and the doctor put this screaming wet thing on my chest, I was completely overwhelmed and had no idea what to do at all. The whole time, the nurse was warming him up and cleaning him up and he was screaming, I felt so much pressure that I was supposed to someone how have some magic touch that would calm him down. Mom was the one who was actually able to get him calmed down right after birth, and I felt much better once he stopped screaming. The first week, we stayed at my parent’s house and I definitely felt overwhelmed and extremely anxious. It was hard to keep control of my emotions and I don’t want to dwell on this too much. Suffice it to say, I’m glad that first week is over. He was precious, we have lots of great beautiful pictures to remember how tiny and cute he was, but I’m glad we are both growing together. I’m glad I only had the baby blues and they only lasted a couple of weeks!