Gains and Losses

Zane is just over 2 weeks old now - it seems both so long and so short a time to have had him with us. We are completely delighted with him every day!

Admittedly, some of the nights have been challenging (especially when he sleeps only 4 hours in a 10 hour stretch of night), but he is very good about only fussing when he needs something. Much of his awake time is spent looking around and quietly contemplating life. Though there are new challenges every day, generally we are settling into a life with Zane as the center of things quite quickly and comfortably. Here's a quick rundown of our personal gains and losses since Zane's arrival:

Gains:

cuddles, coos, and smiles - I admit that Zane is probably not responding to us directly (yet) with his smiles, but they are among his many expressions (and they aren't all caused by gas)

ounces - after losing nearly a pound in the hospital, Zane weighed in at 8.3 pounds today (a gain of a pound in one week)

family time - Paul and I have spent much quality time with one another, with Zane, and with his family in the past 2 weeks and it has been such a wonderful bonding experience.

Losses:

Sleep - many hours lost for Paul and I, but we're surprisingly capable of functioning when sleep deprived.

weight - I am nearly 10 pounds UNDER my pre-pregnancy weight, and can happily report that I now fit into my regular clothes (and shoes) again, so there is no need to shop before returning to work in January :)clean house - despite my efforts to clean a bit each day, we seem to be surrounded by clutter since Zane's arrival. The combination of more stuff and less time to put everything away properly has taken over for now; I can only hope that as time progresses, I can manage the clutter better.

So far, the gains clearly outweigh the losses (though fitting into my regular clothes is still a high point for me this week). Here's a photo of our darling boy before we had to tear him from his slumber for a visit to the pediatrician this morning and another from a naptime yesterday: