How has it already been two weeks? I told Jason the other day that I’ve always been baffled by people who say things like, “I forgot to eat lunch today!”

Who forgets to eat? How is that possible?

Well, I get it now. Time with a new baby seems to fly by — which is so confusing because we’re actually doing so very little. I mean, besides sustaining a tiny human life and all.

Which turns out — is actually a pretty all-consuming job! Things have changed so much in almost two weeks so I’ll start from the beginning.

In the hospital

In the hospital, Hudson was a total champ — which was fitting, because he was born on the first day of the Olympics. Our little guy didn’t cry for any of his shots or really much at all, other than when he was hungry. And like his mama and daddy, when he is hungry — it’s serious! He’s like a tiny Tasmanian devil until he’s located and latched on to his food source, twisting, grunting, flailing limbs and generally freaking out. But insert milk, total calm ensues. It’s hilarious and I sort of hope it never ends.

Likely due to his general enthusiasm and commitment to food and eating, we got lucky on the nursing front and he latched right away. It’s definitely not easy and is an all consuming job at the moment, but I love knowing I’m giving our little dude what he needs, and I’m grateful that it’s working out for us.

I felt surprisingly great following the delivery. Hudson was super sleepy after the delivery, so I was able to get enough naps and shower daily, resulting in me feeling pretty good, all things considered. Family stopped by each day we were there but tried to get in as much “three of us” time as we could. Our little man is definitely surrounded by lots of love.

At home: the first week

We left the hospital mid-day Sunday and actually walked home — something we’d talked about doing but didn’t think was likely to happen. Strolling out the door into our neighborhood with our babe was the most surreal feeling and I’m positive we’ve never walked slower or been more cautious at crosswalks.

We kicked off our time at home as a family of three (plus cat!) with an epic nap that became pretty much the hallmark of week 1 at home. Jason worked from home the whole week and it was so, so nice to have that time together. We limited visitors and just focused on enjoying the time and figuring out our new, littlest resident.

Luckily, our condo is within a block of a big Whole Foods and Target, so Jason did daily supply runs, cooked us dinners and generally held down the fort while I worked on feeding our little milk monster. He is truly the best husband and father already.

We had a lactation consultant come by the house because I was concerned that he was only eating for about 10 minutes at a time (and hey, it’s covered by insurance…!)  only to find out he is just a super fast eater and was actually doing great: back up above his birth weight by day 5 and weighing in at over 9lbs!

On Friday night, my best friend and her husband came over with their daughter who was born 7 weeks before Huds. It feels like we’ve been waiting for.ever. to see our babies together and even though they pretended not to know the other one was there… they are definitely on track to be BFFs any day now.

Sunday night we celebrated the end of a full week at home with a cautious (but thrilling!) stop across the street at one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants to enjoy a late afternoon glass of wine and appetizer with Huds snoozin’ away in his bassinet stroller. Taking a newborn out of the house for the first time was pretty intimidating, but a rip-the-bandaid-off situation and of course, totally worth it. I finally got my late-summer glass of rose on a patio and I’m happy to report it was everything I’d been dreaming of! We almost ordered entrees but then a few little squeaks from Hudson sent us packing back home before a full-fledged hunger-driven freakout could kick in — this new mama is not ready to tackle nursing in public yet.

The week wasn’t without it’s struggles: cluster feeding and the hormone-driven emotional rollercoaster ride weren’t pretty. But mostly, it was bliss: just staring at our perfect little man and tentatively taking a few brave walks around our neighborhood. I will always be grateful for the memories of that time together: seeing my husband nap with Hudson snoozing on his chest (and okay, the cat on my feet) is a top-3 life moment, for sure.

“Is this real life?” Week two at home

Saying “all good things must come to an end” seems trite and overly negative but… I have to admit that phrase was ringing in my head come Monday morning when J had to head back to work. In some ways, we were ready to find our new normal, but popping our little bubble of happiness was not. easy.

To ease the transition, my mama came to hang with us Monday. We rubbed the little milk monster down with a sponge bath (which he seems to tolerate, if not mildly enjoy) then headed out for a walk to my beloved Olive Park. It was a cooler day (which I appreciated because I am still SO. HOT. all the time) and being out near the water was so refreshing. Now a veteran of eating in public with the babe, we headed back to D4 for lunch while Hudson slept then came home for his “lunch.”

Most days, though, it’s just me and Hudson, getting to know each other — which I love, and never want to end. A routine is still a bit far off for us, but he’s usually up from his “nighttime sleep” between 7 and 8, and is hungry! The amount that he sleeps during the day has varied wildly this week, sometimes refusing naps for hours on end and other days I can barely get him (let alone keep him!) awake to feed him every few hours. In between, we’ll work on some tummy time, do little sponge baths, take a thousand variations of the same picture of him, and soak up lots of cuddles.

Speaking of tummy time, Hudson can fully turn his head from side to side! And when I hold him against my chest, he’s usually bobbing his head back to show off his cool new neck-strength moves. I keep asking him to slow down, but he seems on track to be as active as I suspected when I was pregnant with him.

Our weight check on Thursday confirmed that our active little man is growing as much as I’ve suspected: he tipped the scales at 9lbs, 13oz — just a few tiny ounces shy of being a 10-pounder. Grateful that he’s healthy, of course, but again: slow down please, Huds! I want him to stay my snuggly little newborn forever.

Despite my pleading, every day I see more little changes. A big one this week was that his eyes seem to have opened up out of nowhere: they look so much like my husband’s eyes and are so big and bright.

My recovery has been slower than I’d have liked (probably true for everyone) so my dreams of long walks along the lake are on hold for a while. I’m trying to remember to enjoy these days of guilt-free lounging in bed all day, which will likely be few and far between once they’re behind me.

Whew. And here we are on his 2-week birthday. In some ways, I’ve done less this week than I have in… years? Ever? No dinners out, no cooking, basically 0 steps on my pedometer and I’ve barely even watched TV. But really, these last two weeks have been the biggest, most exciting, most fulfilling days of my life. Seeing Hudson wake up from a nap with a huge stretch and his funny little squeaks, or watching him lock eyes with my husband at night — I am totally, helplessly in love and I still can’t believe that my husband and I made such an amazing little person. I probably will never really be able to wrap my head around that.

Two weeks ago today we’d just met him for the first time. And now, I’m going to pull him out of his little bassinet for an early “dinner” while we wait for J to get home and we can start our weekend together. Life is good. Here’s to week three 😃