Jackson was born on October 10, 2014. The first eight weeks have been so exciting and rewarding, and of course, challenging!

Honestly though, I was expecting life with a newborn to be incredibly difficult (and the first three weeks are still a bit hazy), but Jackson is a very relaxed, sweet, and healthy baby.  I’ve been trying to live by the “fourth trimester” philosophy of not relying on schedules and just letting Jackson eat when he’s hungry, sleep when he’s tired, and so on. It definitely made the first few weeks much easier, although now we can usually figure out what he wants.

Lando and Rascal have adapted to life with Jackson very well. We started preparing them while I was pregnant. Rascal can’t jump onto the couch, so we stopped lifting him onto the couch whenever he wanted. He got used to sitting on the rug by our feet. It is very sweet, actually, he tends to sit by the feet of whomever is holding the baby. Lando has gotten more patient waiting for walks (at least with me), but we are still working to reduce his barking! Luckily Jackson is not terribly disturbed by barking chihuahuas. I’m glad that Lando and Rascal have each other for company, as I am less available to pet and snuggle them. That is just temporary, though!

A few things that have helped me immensely these past few weeks:

• Company!  Paco stayed home with me the first 5 weeks. My dad visits most days, and we had a lot of friends and family visit during those first weeks. Short visits from the outside world are very refreshing.

• Support. Breastfeeding can be much harder than most new mothers realize. Jackson and I have had a relatively smooth ride, but I found that going to a lactation support group was immensely helpful. Even if you think things are going well, they are full of insights that can make it even easier and make you more comfortable and more mobile.  I have also been going to La Leche League meetings, which is great for the sense of community (Jackson is hanging out at the park in the picture below).

• Baby carriers.  Jackson loves to be carried in a carrier and walked/bounced/danced around. The Ergo (pictured below) is awesome for going out and longer walks, and I have a ring sling which I wear around the house, and which is perfect for throwing in a diaper bag. In general, I feel much more comfortable taking him out in a carrier than the stroller at this point. It’s one less thing for me to worry about, and if you’re going to stores, it doesn’t involve taking the stroller in and out of the trunk.

Happy holidays!