The fourth trimester is known as the period after having a baby and it basically encompasses the physical, mental and emotional changes you go through as a new mother. I thought pregnancy was tough and I thought birth was tougher but, no, it is newborns that are the hardest!
Hospital Days
When you are in the hospital as a new parent, it is the safest and most-helpful place you will ever experience. There are experienced and trained nurses and doctors, in a safe environment, who are able to teach you and help you through how to deal with a baby.
Ryan and I had no idea, so we greatly appreciated the support in understanding how to bathe our new baby, change his diaper, feed him and so forth.
Did you know newborns eat like every two to three hours? Yes, sleep is for the weak! And even more so when you are recovering from an emergency C-section.
The first day was a blur of counting pee and poo, and food, and trying to sleep in-between. My first day, post operation, wasn’t too bad—mostly because the drugs from surgery stay in your system for 24 hours. So I was moving around and many people were surprised. For me, not having a 10-pound baby inside of me felt like heaven! I could finally move (mostly).
Eventually, though, the hospital stay must come to an end. I mean, literally (they will not just let you live there, with the nurses helping you raise your baby).
Instead, Ryan and I had to go home and hope that we could “keep him alive.” What was strange was leaving the hospital with a baby and not having anyone check that we were qualified to be parents. Like, shouldn’t someone double-check that we know what we are doing? Nope. If you can have sex, you can be responsible for another human being.
Home Sweet Home
Our first moment getting home was introducing our dogs and cat to the baby. It went rather well. None of the animals like a screaming baby, so we weren’t too worried about them eating him.
We set things up, unpacked our hospital bags … and then it dawned on us … we were parents, with no one making sure we didn’t kill him. We were in for a wild ride.
Over the next number of days, we received amazing care from the Yukon health-care system, with doctors and midwives and nurses checking in on Maverick and I. Unfortunately, he wasn’t eating well or putting on weight, and he started pooping blood. The pediatrician established that it was a cow’s milk allergy and we switched his formula. It was not a pleasant time watching our baby scream in agony, but now that he’s been on his new diet, he is a regular, happy, hungry little baby who is growing heavier every day.
Myself, on the other hand … I had multiple post-op complications, with my C-section, making the recovery process difficult. And anyone who has read my stories knows that I run at a high range of fast and hard and that I like to be active. Six weeks and I am not allowed to lift more than my baby or drive a car even! And all of this recovery while dealing with a screaming infant who needs to eat and be changed every two hours. There were lots of tears. And, mostly, wondering why we decided to have a child. Why would anyone in their right mind want to experience this? Maverick won’t remember our sleepless nights or our care for him, yet we still have to do it anyway!
People keep saying it’s worth it, but I don’t really understand—yet. I’m not an overly motherly type. I never grew up thinking I’d be a mother, so the bonding experience has been difficult. But slowly he is growing up to look less like an alien and more like a human, with smiles and silliness, even if the screaming gets to us.
Figuring It Out
After my complications and Maverick’s change in diet, we were both on the mend. And, slowly, we started doing things. It started with little walks out of the house. Since I’d given birth, the snow had melted and the trees were budding. It was amazing to be outside again.
As we got more confident in how to feed him and change him, we started doing longer trips. We started with little downtown trips to Walmart. Then we visited Carcross and Skagway. We would go out to lunch and just enjoy being human … sometimes forgetting that we had a baby (particularly when he wasn’t crying).
As we progress and watch him grow, we keep thinking that we have things figured out, but, well, things change. It’s hard to keep up and remember that it isn’t just us anymore. We have this little human to help to grow into a good person, so wish us luck in nurturing him and helping him grow!
