Two-Week Check Up

Today was a big day in Orion's life (and ours) for several reasons!
The biggest one for me is that today was our first day home 'alone'- just baby and me. It started out kind of tough, because I had to get us both up and going... I nursed Orion before getting out of bed, and once he was fed and mellow I hopped into the shower. He started fussing, though, so I didn't quite get through the morning routine before he was ready to eat again. I did at least manage to get my hair braided, though, which is a lot more comfortable on warm days when I have a lot to do. We came downstairs and by then the cats were fussing at me, too, waiting to be fed and let out. The turtle and fish needed some love as well in the way of food and tank lighting... so I ran around for a minute getting everyone situated before sitting down to nurse Orion again. At that point I was pretty hungry, but knew I'd be on the couch for a while under baby. Thank goodness for Netflix 'watch instantly' as I hung out with My Name is Earl for most of the day. I did finally manage to get some breakfast and even did some laundry once Orion was settled and napping after his second breakfast.
It occurs to me that babies are a lot like Hobbits in their eating habits. Hobbits love to eat and have many meals a day with snacks in between; the food agenda is something like Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevensies, Luncheon, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, and Supper. I can't imagine what Hobbit babies' nursing habits must be like - around the clock feeding!
Russell came home in the afternoon and we had lunch before heading out to our 2-week check up at the Birthing Center. Both Orion and I checked out fine, with just a couple minor issues. Not surprisingly, my uterus is still measuring quite large due to the fibroids. They are shrinking but obviously not totally gone, though it'd take an ultrasound to find out how big they are and their placement. I also got some of my stitches removed, and things are healing well. I will, however, have some damage that can't be totally resolved but won't affect how things work in that area. I won't go into details there... Sort of a bummer, but no big deal. Also, I'm almost down to my pre-pregnancy weight already! I do want to lose some more inches, though, as pants still don't quite fit right...
Orion is doing well - he's up to 7lbs, 12 ounces, so he's already over his birth weight. The midwife, LeAnne, said he was doing really well considering how much weight he lost initially. He didn't do so well on the hearing screening, but I'm not worried about it as I've seen him react to noise too much to believe he's got a hearing problem. The machine thing they use is rather dinky, and the nurse didn't seem like she was really on her game either (she kept checking the wrong ear...). We need to go back to the Birthing Center sometime this week to have them try it again before we get referred to a hearing specialist. This time they want me to come in when he's really knocked out asleep, as him being awake and making noise can also affect how well the machine works. Not a very good diagnostic, if you ask me.
After our appointment we stopped by the wonderful (if pricey) boutique attached to the BC. I got some desperately-needed nursing bras and some gripe water for Orion, as he gets some serious hiccups and that can make him cranky.
Finally we headed home with a stop at the grocery store to pick up some basics and do the WIC shopping for the month. This was Orion's first trip the grocery store, which he slept through. I think he was out after all the poking and prodding at the BC, but he was cute and angelic through the whole trip. He did attract a lot of attention from other shoppers and the cashiers and got lots of compliments. People were surprised that we were even out of the house, but I was pretty happy to see more of the world than the sights from my couch.
We're home again and settling in... Russell's making an awesome dinner of "random stir-fry" with all the veggies he found in the fridge, plus some mashed potatoes. I am, once again, acting the dairy cow and nursing our little munchkin. He's a good baby - I'm sure glad he's here!