They say it’s extremely important to still focus on your marriage after having a baby, because it’s very easy for that baby to consume your entire life. You find that your daily conversions are more about poopy diapers and toys rather than anything resembling adult conversation. Normally, that’s just wonderful because that’s what being a parent is all about..but sometimes you need some husband and wife time and that is exactly what The Captain and I did this past Friday night…at 8 1/2 weeks in we had our first official date night. v
First thing we needed was a babysitter. We are lucky enough to currently live close to my in laws and my mother in law was kind enough to agree to watch our little guy. So that part was easy. Next, I wanted to make myself a little pretty (which is difficult with this horrendous hair on my head desperately needing a haircut…but I digress..). It felt nice to get dressed up. I haven’t gotten to do that much lately and I enjoy it. Then came making sure the baby’s scheduled worked out so he had eaten right before we left. That way he’d be content and wouldn’t need a bottle until right before his bed time. His schedule didn’t work out exactly..but I was able to “top him off” before we left. This left him in a nice milk coma for nana. She was bummed he wasn’t awake, but I reminded her it was either a milk coma or a cranky hungry baby!
As much as I was excited to go out, it was also hard for me to leave him. It’s not that I was worried about leaving him with my mother in law, it’s that I hate leaving him in general. Because no matter what I am always thinking about him when I’m gone. Definitely bitter sweet. The Captain and I went to a nice Italian restaurant in a neighboring town. We had some wine with dinner, although I didn’t have too much (which is way different for me!). I definitely wanted to hold back because although I do love to get wine drunk…I doubted it was worth the hangover when I had to be up in the middle of the night feeding the baby, and I really had no desire to “pump and dump”. So a little wine to relax was perfect. Dinner was yummy, and The Captain and I laughed and talked like we usually do. Although we did talk about the baby, we even ventured on to more adult topics! Yay for us!
We really stink at making dinner last a long time. We had all 3 courses, and took our time and were still home at 9:45. Ya, we are losers. We tried though! We came home and to our surprise our little cherub was still awake! It was lucky that I didn’t really drink at dinner because after a 6 oz bottle he was still hungry! So I quickly thanked nana and went upstairs to nurse him to sleep. I thought maybe he’d be full fast, but not our guy. He nursed on both sides and it took a good 20 minutes for him to nurse to sleep. I am pretty baffled at how much milk he is actually getting when I nurse, or how much to leave in a bottle when I go. I guess it’s just trial and error? I do hope he can drink from a bottle before bed…let’s hope this doesn’t become an ongoing problem!
After he was down, Captain Awesome and I opened another bottle of wine and relaxed. Our night out was great and it was nice to just enjoy each others company. We will have to be sure to do that again sometime soon. It’s definitely healthy on the marriage!
Yea for you!!! It was hard for me the first couple of times we left our little guy with a sitter, but it is SO important to keep the romance alive in your relationship with your husband! We now have a “date night” once a month. We mark the date on the kitchen calendar and look forward to it all month long. It’s so nice to reconnect and enjoy each others’ company without worrying about the baby.
What a wonderful night! Well deserved ?
On the nursing, remember nursing isn’t just about milk for the baby. A bottle is not the breast of his mother. Many times he will get a bottle and still want to nurse (a lot at times) not long after. Silly babies.
agree- I think this is super important to make sure to put your marriage first, b/c if you 2 aren’t happy, baby will know it. Congrats on Date Night, keep it up!
Date nights are so wonderful and I’m sure they are even more important once you have a baby! Don’t worry about not staying out so late because you had a great time together, so that’s all that matters.