A few weeks ago, little Roman turned 6 weeks old. The sleepless nights have made the last month and a half blur into one giant blob of memories, but it has been worth it. Six weeks marks the unofficial “end” of the postpartum healing period, even though I don’t see my doctor until next week. My labor and delivery was so sudden, fast, and easy that I was feeling great within the first week of being home. Since then, I’ve been having major cabin fever being trapped at home and am trying to get out more.
I have loved getting to know my little guy over the last 6 weeks. He has a big personality for such a tiny baby. He came into the world awake and alert, and has remained that way ever since. Compared to his older brother, he’s a much easier baby. He eats wonderfully, predictably, takes good naps, and sleeps fairly well at night. He’s very expressive and talkative for his age, taking after his older brother in that way for sure. He loves being cuddled, lifting his head up, being sung to, bright windows, lullabies, and staring at Mommy. Some of his dislikes include baths, changing clothes, Daddy holding him too long, loud noises like doors slamming closed, and being hungry for more than 2 milliseconds.
It’s a good thing he’s an easygoing little boy, because approximately 50 people have come to visit and hold him and talk to him over the last month. Some of his favorite people are his two grandmas, who have doted on him since day 1. He’s also fascinated by anyone who wears glasses.
The cats seem to have accepted him as a member of the family, despite their immense disappointment that the fancy nursery wasn’t build for them. They enjoy sleeping in his crib (which he doesn’t use yet), on the rocking chair, in his stroller, and in the pack-n-play. They aren’t terrified of his screams anymore, and if I don’t respond to the baby fast enough, they’ll run over to him and get in his face to make sure he’s ok. They are being excellent fur brothers.
Logan, on the other hand, has had his ups and downs. While he adores his little brother, he is extremely jealous of the attention – mainly how the baby uses up 99% of my attention and is constantly attached to me because I’m nursing. It has also been hard on him to see my parents shift their attention from him to the baby, even though they still do plenty of special things just for him. He was the first grandchild, and now he’s not the only one on the throne. He even suggested (jokingly, according to him) that we put Roman in the garbage because he was crying too much. And yet, other times he surprises me with the depth of his love and compassion. Like yesterday, when I was at the end of my rope with a clingy baby who had screamed for almost 2 days straight, and Logan played with him and cheered him up every time he started crying. Or about a week ago, when I left the room for a minute and heard him scream “MOMMY COME HERE!” I ran back into the room, expecting some disaster to have happened, but instead Logan had taken Roman off the pillow I had him propped up on and stuck him in his lap and was singing to him. Moments like that give me hope that the transition from one to two kids isn’t impossible.
The beautiful thing about Roman’s entrance into the world is that it was a joyous, celebrated occasion. I’m now part of a huge extended family network who have all pitched in to help our family and love my baby boy. I had to keep Logan’s labor and delivery a secret, and that made for a difficult transition into motherhood. Visitors were minimal, my friends were all off on their own adventures and left me behind, and I had to figure out my new identity as a parent on my own while navigating my changing relationship with my own parents. This time, I feel that I’m able to fully embrace the joy and happiness that stem from bringing new life into the world. I was worried about how I’d love another baby as much as my firstborn, but Roman has made it easy. If it were up to me, I could spend a whole day just holding him and listening to him breathe. His smile makes my heart skip a beat, and his playfulness makes him easy to interact with.
Although he has only been here a short six weeks, part of me feels that he has always been a part of our family.
