7 Weeks with Chloe

We’ve had 7 weeks with our little Chloe Jean and I still can’t believe I have a baby girl! I feel so grateful and it still feels like I’m in a dream.

We have certainly had our challenging moments, but I feel like I have such a different perspective this time around, no matter what the circumstances are. I don’t wish for the next phase. I am really trying to fully focus on the present, as I know these moments go by so quickly. Overall, because there was a 6 1/2 year gap, we have just been trying to find our groove again and adjust to the new norm.

Personality

She is a very mellow, cuddly baby other than when she has gas- haha! Compared to Parker, I feel like she’s a bit harder to calm down and figure out, but I think so much of it has to do with her stomach (I’ll go into that all below). Outside of that, I feel like I know exactly how she will be when her personality comes through and I’m so curious if that will really be what it is. She’s just a sweetheart and she certainly has me wrapped around her finger.

Sleep

She is a great sleeper outside of 3-9 pm. Those hours are always hit or miss. But she has recently started doing anywhere from 5-7 hours stretches at night which has been so nice. We still have her in the snoo, but as I mentioned on IG, I’m not convinced that helps her sleep because she did 5 hour stretches in the stationary bassinet too. I do like how secure she is in the snoo though and it is working, so we keep using it. I also want to shout out the Taking Care of Babies sleep course (highly recommend). It helped me realize that I was waking Chloe up when she was grunting and loud at night, yet she was actually still asleep. Now she’s sleeping longer stretches, but she’s still loud so we are contemplating maybe moving her to her room soon… I’m so curious how early people have chosen to this. Please share!

Naps are the tricky one. She REALLY loves to nap while being held. She will nap in the snuggle me while next to us or occasionally in the snoo, but her longest naps are right in our arms. I know we can’t do that forever, so I’m just letting it be.

Feeding

This girl loves to eat. She’s been great at breastfeeding since the beginning and I feel so grateful for that. The part that has been difficult, is her digestion. What we thought was just her digestive system developing, quickly made me realize it was more than that (always listen to your mama intuition). She would go from being so peaceful after eating and/or sleeping, to bright red and screaming as she tried to either pass gas or poop. When she would poop, it was always only liquid and her bum was raw. Almost every single diaper had that poop (sorry for these details). And around week 3, it became an everyday, ALL-day-long occurrence. Then, a rash developed on her face, head chest, and back. I just knew something wasn’t right so we had her go to her pediatrician. She quickly ruled out anything major and said that this really seems like a reaction to what she is consuming (my breastmilk). And then she said that it is super common for babies to have this reaction when Moms consume dairy or soy (the two biggest culprits). It is the way I break down the protein. It isn’t necessarily dairy itself that she’s having a reaction to (if she were to have formula). So, long story short, I have cut out dairy and soy and we gave her some sensitivity formula. I’ll be honest, I was upset about giving her formula this early on, just given that my milk supply was great and she was a good breastfeeder. But we wanted to see if that gave her any relief and so far, I would say maybe a little!? We are only giving her 1-2 bottles of that a day though- I’m just not quite convinced it is helping. However, her skin is so much better, so I do know something is working.

Postpartum

I wanted to share more about this since I feel like it is such a huge part of the equation. I’ll take you by weeks : ) The first week was full of emotions (I never cried like this after Parker, but now I get it… mostly happy tears, but I was crying often). I was also anxious about the lack of sleep that was ahead of us. I was quickly reminded how tough it is to operate with such little sleep. By the second week, my emotions evened out and I felt more like myself. What wasn’t going as great, however, was how I felt. I had really bad congestion that felt almost felt like a sinus infection. I also continued to bleed through my third week and couldn’t really move around much without being super uncomfortable. On top of that, I’ve had some other things come up on some testing with my liver (of all things) that I’m in the middle of working through. Basically, they found elevated liver enzymes by accident and I finally got some answers from a GI doc that this can happen in pregnancy/postpartum. No one prior to this knew what was going on though and everything is sooo booked out, so I just hate to wait, not knowing how serious things were. I’m feeling better now knowing what it could most likely be from, but it was really hard. There I was, trying to care for this new baby and enjoy not being pregnant, and yet, I felt like I’ve been consumed with having to make sure I’m ok. It takes away from the experience, but I know time is key.

Overall Takeaways So Far

I think a big thing I learned this time around is to give yourself time. Let your family adjust together, don’t rush to do a whole lot, and be gentle to your mind/body. I thought we would be taking trips, going out to eat, and doing ALL the things by the second week, but none of that even sounded good after she was here. It forced me to slow down and truly soak up this time.

Favorite Baby + Postpartum Things

There are some baby products and postpartum items that I am so happy about. As most of you know, I own an influencer management company and I’m constantly hearing about great new products from our talent. I purchased a bunch of their favorite things and I’m so grateful. The gadgets we have these days are incredible!

1. Snuggle Me- this is so simple, yet amazing. I use this all over the house for her to be in safely (on the couch, on the bed, on the floor in the bathroom while getting ready…)
2. Elvie Pumps- It took me a minute to get used to these but they are incredible. I love that I can pump while doing other things around the house. These are convenient as can be and I think they are completely worth the price.
3. Owlet- This is another one that is completely worth it, in my opinion. Although I will say it is a bit annoying to put the sock on, the peace of mind is WORTH IT.
4. Belly Bandit- I purchased this to make sure I stand up straight and keep my stomach in. Since Parker, I still relax my stomach out when I stand because I’m used to it! I would always try and remember to keep my core tight, but it is easy to forget. This is a great reminder and also helps with my lower back as well!
5. Weleda Baby Products- These are hands down, the best. I love their ingredients and they are so gentle.
6. Miracle Swaddle- Both kiddos hae been able to work out of pretty much any other swaddle. This is the only one that works for us!
7. Bibs Pacifier- These pacifiers stay in SO well. I always thought the wubanub was the best, but these have proven to be better for us (plus they come in cute colors- ha!)
8. Hypervolt- This has been so incredibly helpful for muscle soreness since delivery. We’ve always loved this, but I have a whole new apprecation for it. This is a MUST buy in my opinion.
9. Supplements- I’ve been trying to keep these to a minimum, but to help with rcoery I’ve been loving my Ritual postpartum vitamin, Beauty Chef collagen, Seed probiots and 2x a week I take liquid IV (it’s great to get electrolytes in after delivery).
10. SKIMS- I have to say, their bras, tanks and lounge pants are so lovely. They have been a big favorite of mine. And of course my MasonGREY robes! I am ALL about comfort and softness.

Linking all my favorites below : )