16 Week Update – My Postpartum Journal – Part 5
Hi Friends! Happy Monday 🙂 It’s been a while since I’ve updated you all on Miss Scottie and our postpartum journey this second time around so I thought I’d give an overview on what we’ve been up to and include a few pics down below!
Scottie is doing great! She just turned 16 weeks old and I’m truly enjoying her age and this time so much. She is smiling, laughing every now and then, interacting with her brother more, and last night she rolled over from back to front for the first time! She still has a ways to go as far as rolling from her tummy to back but somehow she figured out going back to front first – haha.
About two weeks ago, we started leaving her arms out of the swaddle for her naps because I knew we’d have to make the transition to no swaddle soon with her being close to 16 weeks. The parenting book I use as my guide on things like this recommends dropping the swaddle at 12 weeks, but she was not even close to being ready or even close to rolling over at that point so we decided to wait a few weeks. I was SO nervous to drop it at night time, because she is a great sleeper and I didn’t want to disrupt that (especially now that I’m back to work)…but it went as smoothly as it could’ve! She didn’t skip a beat. I’m sure it’s because we waited a little bit longer AND she loves to suck her thumb, so she actually slept better once we dropped the swaddle. It’s funny, because the minute you feel like you’ve got a good rhythm with these babies, they’re usually ready to move onto the next thing, and you have to figure out how to master something new all over again. But we’re doing our best to let her show us when she’s ready for these things and then we just go with it!
I also feel like we’ve finally gotten to a really comfortable and non-stressful place with Shep and the whole “going from being an only child to a big brother” situation. He has always been pretty sweet with her and is *mostly* careful around her – but the emotional aspect of having him go from being my baby to not the baby was really challenging for all of us. I would say that was one of the hardest parts of going from 1 to 2 kids for me (so far). I was obviously so happy to have Scottie and would never ever change that – but there was a piece of me that felt guilty and sad that that time in our lives where Shep was my sole focus and entire world had passed. He is only newly three years old – but he seems so much older, and seems so big when he’s sitting next to Scottie. It took a few months, but I do feel like we’re in a place now where it doesn’t feel as strained from a splitting-my-attention standpoint. I have definitely noticed a shift that his feelings are no longer hurt when I have to prioritize her, and he understands better / is comfortable in the new routine. He has really adjusted to his new role as big brother, and it makes my heart swell with pride.
I’ve also transitioned back to work after taking a 12 week maternity leave. It was so much easier this time around than when I did it with Shep. I was an emotional wreck going back to work with him (even though I worked from home then and he was going to be there with a nanny – which is the same situation we’re in now). I really struggled trusting his safety with other people and it was also difficult for me to wrap my brain around someone else being his primary caretaker for 40 hours / week. I wanted to experience all of his little moments and it broke my heart that I couldn’t be there with him all day every day. Part of that was definitely the PPA, other parts were probably just him being my first kid. All that being said, once I got back to work I felt better for the most part, and it was good for me to get back into my routine. This time around, I was definitely sad not to get to spend all day every day with Scottie – and that 12 weeks is just a short / crazy/ challenging-but-beautiful time in our lives…so it was a bummer to have that come to an end. That being said, I knew in my heart it would be good for all of us and that she would be loved and well taken care of by our nanny. I also still get to see her a few times a day when I nurse her. I try to schedule my meetings around her feeding times and when I can’t, the nanny gives her formula or frozen breastmilk. It’s so nice to have those 20 minute windows throughout the day and I know that I’m very blessed to be in the same house as her while she’s this age.
Well – I’d better wrap things up and move onto the next task 🙂 Below I’ve included a few photos of our lives the past few weeks that you can check out! Thanks so much for reading and supporting Motherhood For Me – it truly means the world. If you haven’t already, I’d love and appreciate you if you’d subscribe to our email updates and share MFM with a mama friend!
xoxo
Kaci
Shep got a new scooter from his aunt and uncle – he loves it!
Shep turned three at the beginning of March! Even though we couldn’t have a big party like we wanted due to COVID, we still got tons of Paw Patrol decorations, had cake, a little bounce house he could jump in, and tried to make it as special as possible. He had a ball!
Every birthday I try to get us all matching shirts to go with the theme LOL
Scottie’s says “Little Sister of the Birthday Boy” – so adorable!
Trying to soak up as many snuggles as I can!
Shep and Eric taking some time to color together one afternoon after work
We gave potty training the old college try for a good day – then failed miserably. We’ll try again soon? :/
I got out of work early one day and took Shep to a park while the nanny took care of the baby. It was so fun to have “just us” time!
Most mornings I feed her in my bed and then we snuggle before I pass her off to the babysitter
Scottie loves Lucy and Lucy loves Scottie. Every time Scottie sees her she squeals and is so smiley!
Girlfriend drinks a HUGE BOTTLE before bed. We do formula for her bedtime feeding and she usually drinks 10 oz in one sitting! Milk drunk is an understatement.
Such a big girl sitting up with help from her rocking chair!
This girl randomly just started rolling over this past weekend! She thinks it’s hilarious!
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