4 weeks postpartum

How far along:   4 weeks postpartum

Total weight gain/loss:  the morning i went into labor i was +23lbs.  when i got home from the hospital i had lost  8 lbs, learning me at +15.  after one week i was still at +15.  after two weeks i was at +9.  and as of right now i'm pretty sure i'm still at a +9.  i was underweight when i got pregnant though so really i'll be happy if i can just drop 4-5 lbs.  although we all know that the important thing is not the number on the scale but if your jeans fit over your hips...  (that's a joke... well, kinda.  just in the sense that i know most people say it's not the number but your health.  but for me it really is about fitting into my jeans.  i hate hate hate shopping for new jeans.)  i'm not worried about it though.  it took me 5 or 6 months to lose the weight after abigail and honestly, i think my body will just get back to normal when it feels like it.  it rarely listens to me and always does its own thing instead.

Maternity clothes:  i actually really miss some of them.  what i love though is that a lot of the "maternity" clothes i got while i was pregnant were just normal clothes but stretchier and longer than normal.  so i'm actually having a fun time wearing them on my not pregnant self.  looooove the length!  and i'm still wearing my maternity tanks and plan to forever since they're just normal tanks but longer.  i'm going to shop maternity sections now for stuff like this.  it's amazing to never worry about flashing your stretch marked love handles!

Sleep:  it's going alright.  i've had some weird dreams but not often at all.  i've typically been getting ready for bed around 9:30 and going to sleep between 9:30 and 11:30.  on a good night i'll get a few 3-4 hour stretches of sleep.  on a bad night it's more like 2.5, 2.5, and 1.5 and giving up at 7am.  the first week, i was so tired i was half asleep and remember trying to have a conversation with my mother in law before she interrupted me and said "i'll watch brady, you go downstairs and take a nap."  bless that woman i almost cried sweet tears of gratitude.  best. nap. ever.  although i think a lot of that tiredness was from the pain meds, because i've been much better since i got off the percocet.

Best moment this week:  i really don't know.  i have so many good moments.  as much as i joke about all the crying or tantrums or wanting to give my kids away, i really love them and i'm really happy with how things are going.  abigail is the sweetest big sister and despite the waking up during the night and clogged milk ducts, there are few things right now that bring me the same joy as nursing my little brady boy.  i love that time with him.

Movement:  true to his self in the womb, this kid is always squirming or moving in some way or another.  even in his sleep... which makes sense because i used to wonder when he slept since i could feel him moving constantly around the clock.

Food cravings:   milk, milk, and more milk.  i get hungry maybe once a day now although the first few weeks i literally was never hungry.  i think it is because i'm always so full on milk.  but what can you do when you're seriously so insanely thirsty all the time... even after you're nauseous from drinking so much?!  i can easily drink 20 ounces every time i nurse.  although i try not to so that i have more room for food.  also... umm creme brulee.  loving that.  

Gender:  BOY!  i'm loving the blues and greens and the little orange puppy dog sleeper he's wearing right now and that he doesn't require bows or accessories to look like his appropriate gender  

What I miss:  my pregnant belly!  i know it's way more convenient to have a [relatively] flat stomach (like how abigail can sit on my lap now!) but baby bumps are cute and fun to dress and mine just made me feel special.  i also miss the simplicity and familiarity of things with one kid but i'm getting more skilled and practiced every day!

Milestones:   i'm umm do i really have a one month old already?!  how did this happen so fast?!

Theme: the month of... oh who're we kidding?  there's no theme, we've got the whole spectrum over here.

Extra:  i feel good.  recovery has been so much more smooth this time around.  everything has been easier except the actual baby.  labor, recovery, nursing, adjusting to milk supply, looking non pregnant again, you name it.

here's part of my notes about recovery... "ten days later (12.28.12) i was basically skinny again and looked almost exactly like i did when i got pregnant, especially since i didn't have any new stretch marks this time around.  it was also the first day that i felt normal again.  9 days postpartum i still felt like i needed some motrin and could occasionally feel my stitches but by day ten i'd forgotten i'd birthed a baby.  one weird thing this time around is that if i walk too fast or pick up something too heavy, i feel something weird in my belly... or uterus?  who knows.  like a weird sort of pull.  also, nursing and milk coming in?  sooo much better the second time around.  first of all, i didn't have to have anyone teach me how to nurse this time around.  so i didn't have 20 strangers groping me or squeezing my nipples.  i had at least 6-8 lactation people groping me with abigail.  also, last time my milk came in with a vengeance.  this time it wasn't terrible.  and instead of having to force feed a newborn like last time, this time my kid actually wants to eat all the freaking time which is a blessed relief.  so i'm staying ahead of the game for the most part, as long as i can empty things in the sink or shower once a day or pump (normally 5-7 ounces) every two or three days."

if i relax and bend over, of course there's a whole lot of belly pudge busting over the waistband of my jeans, but if i stand up straight and hold my belly in, i look like i have a perfectly flat stomach.  thank goodness for modest clothes though because i've never had a bare belly worth looking at and there's no reason to stress about getting a six pack before swimsuit season.  looove modest swimsuits.  

so really the worst part is that i still feel like i got gypped out of my last two weeks of being pregnant.  i love being pregnant because it makes me feel special and i was so looking forward to being pregnant on christmas like mary in the christmas story but it turned out even better that i got to cuddle my swaddled babe instead.

taken 1.6.13 at 2 weeks, 5 days postpartum

taken 1.6.13 at 2 weeks, 5 days postpartum