Friday, January 18, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
yeay!
today has not been perfect although i'm so pleased with it i think i couldn't be happier even if it was. that was terribly poorly written. does anyone even understand what i was trying to say? don't judge me lawyer sarah. my dad is a lawyer too. he tried, i tried, we all tried. my english is still poor.
first, brady has been awesome. this could be his happiest day of life ever. in all of his four weeks and two days of existence. i really couldn't tell you if this is fast acting zantac, a placebo effect, or a coincidence although i will say that last night was also his best night yet. he went to sleep around 10:30 and then woke up at 2:40, and 5:50 and then for the day at 8:40. if you've had an awesome sleeper child like baby girl was, you will scoff at this. 4h, 3h, and less than 3h? terrible! but i tell you, i am one grateful person and so very thankful to my sweet boy. yesterday he slept in til 8:30 too. all of the days before that, he decided that 7-7:30 would be his wake time. so 8:30 is awesome. this is a big deal people.
and here's the thing, normally i get him up and feed him and spend the next six hours doing a dance with him of feeding, holding, trying to put him down, he wakes up, feeds, bounces, blah blah blah. it's a juggling act. and it involves a lot of crying. usually on the part of both kids, often at once. today was different though. i fed him and since he seemed drowsy after about 35 minutes of being awake, i put him in his carseat and miracle of miracles! he stayed asleep in there! for hours! i heard him stirring around noon so i got him up and fed him and gave him his medicines and stuff and put him back in the carseat (don't judge me, i know he lives in there) and we went on a walk to our neighborhood playground. he woke up twice while we were there but a 30 second stroll was enough to soothe him back to sleep. didn't even need a binky. and when we got home i just let him keep sleeping in his carseat and he didn't wake up until he'd been asleep for over 3 hours. so i fed him again and hung out with him and ummm now i'm having trouble getting him to sleep or be happy. but honestly, evenings are his fussiest time of day so that's to be somewhat expected since it's almost 5:00 right now. but he's just fussing and that's not terrible. also, he's had more and more moments of calmness today. where he's not grunting or squirming or goaning or arching his back... he's just a calm and wide eyed newborn and it's amazing! i forgot babies can be calm and quiet like that! words can not describe the joy i feel when i look at a content little brady boy. it's so hard to see him uncomfortable all the time and it feels amazing to see him happy!
other awesomeness from today includes
turning on the monitor this morning to see baby girl buck naked in her crib.
baby girl successfully being naked/wearing undies/using the potty this morning between the hours of 9:30 and 2:30, including that trip to the park.
my mother in law coming over to hang out. we had both planned on her holding and bouncing and soothing a fussy brady but he pleasantly surprised us all.
by the way, she brought us a 15 year old baby swing to try out. it's either not very good, broken, or i don't know how to use it. all are so very likely. i'm hoping to pick up a craigslist one tonight.
and now i should probably go. baby girl has been playing in her crib for at least 50 minutes and i'm watching her take off her pj's. also, have i mentioned that lately she's taken to calling us mom and dad. makes me smile every time.
first, brady has been awesome. this could be his happiest day of life ever. in all of his four weeks and two days of existence. i really couldn't tell you if this is fast acting zantac, a placebo effect, or a coincidence although i will say that last night was also his best night yet. he went to sleep around 10:30 and then woke up at 2:40, and 5:50 and then for the day at 8:40. if you've had an awesome sleeper child like baby girl was, you will scoff at this. 4h, 3h, and less than 3h? terrible! but i tell you, i am one grateful person and so very thankful to my sweet boy. yesterday he slept in til 8:30 too. all of the days before that, he decided that 7-7:30 would be his wake time. so 8:30 is awesome. this is a big deal people.
and here's the thing, normally i get him up and feed him and spend the next six hours doing a dance with him of feeding, holding, trying to put him down, he wakes up, feeds, bounces, blah blah blah. it's a juggling act. and it involves a lot of crying. usually on the part of both kids, often at once. today was different though. i fed him and since he seemed drowsy after about 35 minutes of being awake, i put him in his carseat and miracle of miracles! he stayed asleep in there! for hours! i heard him stirring around noon so i got him up and fed him and gave him his medicines and stuff and put him back in the carseat (don't judge me, i know he lives in there) and we went on a walk to our neighborhood playground. he woke up twice while we were there but a 30 second stroll was enough to soothe him back to sleep. didn't even need a binky. and when we got home i just let him keep sleeping in his carseat and he didn't wake up until he'd been asleep for over 3 hours. so i fed him again and hung out with him and ummm now i'm having trouble getting him to sleep or be happy. but honestly, evenings are his fussiest time of day so that's to be somewhat expected since it's almost 5:00 right now. but he's just fussing and that's not terrible. also, he's had more and more moments of calmness today. where he's not grunting or squirming or goaning or arching his back... he's just a calm and wide eyed newborn and it's amazing! i forgot babies can be calm and quiet like that! words can not describe the joy i feel when i look at a content little brady boy. it's so hard to see him uncomfortable all the time and it feels amazing to see him happy!
other awesomeness from today includes
turning on the monitor this morning to see baby girl buck naked in her crib.
baby girl successfully being naked/wearing undies/using the potty this morning between the hours of 9:30 and 2:30, including that trip to the park.
my mother in law coming over to hang out. we had both planned on her holding and bouncing and soothing a fussy brady but he pleasantly surprised us all.
by the way, she brought us a 15 year old baby swing to try out. it's either not very good, broken, or i don't know how to use it. all are so very likely. i'm hoping to pick up a craigslist one tonight.
and now i should probably go. baby girl has been playing in her crib for at least 50 minutes and i'm watching her take off her pj's. also, have i mentioned that lately she's taken to calling us mom and dad. makes me smile every time.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
a rollercoaster and zantac
i really am beginning to hate the blogger app. not enough though that i'm not still thrilled i can blog from my phone.
i think if i don't write down my day, i have no clue that it even happened. i know this because i'd written half a post on my phone last night and already i have no clue what i even wrote about. it is a vague distant memory.
yesterday morning with baby girl and brady was somewhat challenging as usual. but i was able to hold brady while helping baby girl use the potty (she went at 10, 11, 12, and i guess i forgot to keep pushing the egg nog because by 2 she still didn't need to go and went down for a nap instead) and we were doing alright.
a nurse from brady's doctor's office called to say that his heel poke results from forever ago came back normal and asked if i needed anything else. why yes i do. i need to schedule an appointment because i have a grumpy baby (not my actual words). and by the sweet goodness of the heavens above my doctor actually had an appointment at 2:20! she's normally booked so far out in advance this was nothing short of a minor miracle. BOOK IT! i yelled into the phone. just kidding. but i did book it and texted honey to let him know.
he thoughtfully texted back and offered to come work from home so that i wouldn't have to take baby girl to the appointment with us, forcing her to miss her nap. bless you husband of mine that would be superb. so he said he'd be home at 2 in time for me to leave. i didn't know how life saving that would be until 1:50 rolled around and i had two crying kids (one stark naked), a disaster of a home, nasty ponytail hair/no makeup/yoga pants and spit up shirt, and i was sure there was no way possible i was going to survive the migraine that had me almost in tears. life was not looking up. life was looking very very very down. migraines will do that to you. zap you of your will to live. and the sad part? i didn't even have time to pop a pill. that's how hectic this situation was.
so thank goodness my honey got home (i'd told him i would have baby girl down for nap so he could just work. ha. i mean, she'll be running naked when you walk in the door) and i somehow put in contacts (still no makeup) and threw my hair back in a high bun that i hoped looked more artsy than "i haven't showered yet today." yes, no makeup and a high bun. i was definitely going for the natural, artsy, granola look. whatever, at least my clothes were clean. brady and i were out the door and even though my head was about to burst i was happy we were going to be on time.
when the doctor came in and asked me to explain the situation i seriously was afraid to talk lest i start crying and she turn her concerns to "depressed mom is wearing no makeup and seems to not have showered in days" because how convincing would i be to tell her i just have a migraine from my crying children? i took a deep breath and said a quick prayer and somehow i was able to forget my migraine and not be on the verge of tears and i was able to tell her all of the wonderful details about brady's eating, sleeping, napping, waketime, pooping, spitup, and everything else habits. we came home with a prescription of zantac and some eye drops. and now we just have to play the waiting game and see if he gets any better.
brady fell asleep in his carseat on the way home and stayed asleep forever. like until 6 10. i got in a shower and was able to do my hair and makeup and feed him real quick before heading to young womens since our meeting time changed this year to 6 30. i brought him with me as an experiment because evening is his roughest time and i had wanted my christopher to be able to help abigail use the potty and focus on her without stressing about a colicky baby. (ended up not even being a point because apparently she woke up and told honey she wanted a diaper and he gave in to her tantrum although i stripped her when i got home and she went in the potty for me) and because of my rough ten minutes earlier that day i was feeling particularly sensitive to him not experiencing a similar situation. anyways, brady did great at yw (it was so fun. we made little hot chocolate jars like this with hot chocolate mix, marshmallows, and peppermints and dropped them off to people in our ward) and just woke up for a little bit but was fine with a binky and settled back to sleep. for as difficult as he is in any other situation, that boy is golden in his carseat and i love him for it.
and so then when i got home, honey fell asleep on the sofa, i hung out with a naked baby girl and brady didn't wake up until it was time to feed him before bed, totally bipassing his normal witching hours. it turned out to be a pretty fabulous day. woohoo!
i think if i don't write down my day, i have no clue that it even happened. i know this because i'd written half a post on my phone last night and already i have no clue what i even wrote about. it is a vague distant memory.
yesterday morning with baby girl and brady was somewhat challenging as usual. but i was able to hold brady while helping baby girl use the potty (she went at 10, 11, 12, and i guess i forgot to keep pushing the egg nog because by 2 she still didn't need to go and went down for a nap instead) and we were doing alright.
a nurse from brady's doctor's office called to say that his heel poke results from forever ago came back normal and asked if i needed anything else. why yes i do. i need to schedule an appointment because i have a grumpy baby (not my actual words). and by the sweet goodness of the heavens above my doctor actually had an appointment at 2:20! she's normally booked so far out in advance this was nothing short of a minor miracle. BOOK IT! i yelled into the phone. just kidding. but i did book it and texted honey to let him know.
he thoughtfully texted back and offered to come work from home so that i wouldn't have to take baby girl to the appointment with us, forcing her to miss her nap. bless you husband of mine that would be superb. so he said he'd be home at 2 in time for me to leave. i didn't know how life saving that would be until 1:50 rolled around and i had two crying kids (one stark naked), a disaster of a home, nasty ponytail hair/no makeup/yoga pants and spit up shirt, and i was sure there was no way possible i was going to survive the migraine that had me almost in tears. life was not looking up. life was looking very very very down. migraines will do that to you. zap you of your will to live. and the sad part? i didn't even have time to pop a pill. that's how hectic this situation was.
so thank goodness my honey got home (i'd told him i would have baby girl down for nap so he could just work. ha. i mean, she'll be running naked when you walk in the door) and i somehow put in contacts (still no makeup) and threw my hair back in a high bun that i hoped looked more artsy than "i haven't showered yet today." yes, no makeup and a high bun. i was definitely going for the natural, artsy, granola look. whatever, at least my clothes were clean. brady and i were out the door and even though my head was about to burst i was happy we were going to be on time.
when the doctor came in and asked me to explain the situation i seriously was afraid to talk lest i start crying and she turn her concerns to "depressed mom is wearing no makeup and seems to not have showered in days" because how convincing would i be to tell her i just have a migraine from my crying children? i took a deep breath and said a quick prayer and somehow i was able to forget my migraine and not be on the verge of tears and i was able to tell her all of the wonderful details about brady's eating, sleeping, napping, waketime, pooping, spitup, and everything else habits. we came home with a prescription of zantac and some eye drops. and now we just have to play the waiting game and see if he gets any better.
brady fell asleep in his carseat on the way home and stayed asleep forever. like until 6 10. i got in a shower and was able to do my hair and makeup and feed him real quick before heading to young womens since our meeting time changed this year to 6 30. i brought him with me as an experiment because evening is his roughest time and i had wanted my christopher to be able to help abigail use the potty and focus on her without stressing about a colicky baby. (ended up not even being a point because apparently she woke up and told honey she wanted a diaper and he gave in to her tantrum although i stripped her when i got home and she went in the potty for me) and because of my rough ten minutes earlier that day i was feeling particularly sensitive to him not experiencing a similar situation. anyways, brady did great at yw (it was so fun. we made little hot chocolate jars like this with hot chocolate mix, marshmallows, and peppermints and dropped them off to people in our ward) and just woke up for a little bit but was fine with a binky and settled back to sleep. for as difficult as he is in any other situation, that boy is golden in his carseat and i love him for it.
and so then when i got home, honey fell asleep on the sofa, i hung out with a naked baby girl and brady didn't wake up until it was time to feed him before bed, totally bipassing his normal witching hours. it turned out to be a pretty fabulous day. woohoo!
And these are my thoughts in pictures
I don't have many pictures of Brady compared to what I took with Abigail. Why? Because he starts crying when I out him down. Should he ever read this I want him to know it was because I was loving him and holding him and not because he's the second child.
Don't you love when you turn on your video monitor and see that your toddler is completely naked in her crib? I sure do. So glad her bed was dry.
Today was Brady's first time in the sling. It worked for about 20 or 30 blessed minutes. Maybe he can learn to love it?
I saw his swing at target today. Isn't anything "also a seat"?!
Don't you love when you turn on your video monitor and see that your toddler is completely naked in her crib? I sure do. So glad her bed was dry.
Today was Brady's first time in the sling. It worked for about 20 or 30 blessed minutes. Maybe he can learn to love it?
I saw his swing at target today. Isn't anything "also a seat"?!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Realizing a dream
I bought baby girl a little potty forever ago. Like back during the summer sometime. She was really exciting about using it and I was daydreaming of how great and fun this would be. Well, long story short, the next six months were filled with a whole lot of trying to potty but not actually making it happen.
What do you do when your bike desperately wants to go potty but sits on there time after time after time after time and always stands up and looks in and says "no pee pee? I want to go potty." Because I was at a loss. I tried every search I could think of but google failed me and only brought back stories of children that didn't want to potty train. I was so sick of my child never being able to earn her potty reward (a mini marshmallow). So I got her up from nap yesterday and when she saw me go to the bathroom she exclaimed "I wanna go potty too!!!" And sat down on her little potty. And tried and tried and we read book after book. Then I heard Brady crying downstairs so I made a new plan.
We spent the rest of the night hanging out in the kitchen diaperless, with a pink potty and a stack of books taller than Brady. I gave baby girl a sippy of egg nog mixed with milk and she chugged the whole thing. We read books on the potty and waited. Forty five minutes later it happened! We jumped and cheered and it felt so good to give baby girl those two tiny marshmallows (I would have given her fifteen if I thought that was a good idea). And then she ran back to her potty and sat down and said "I wanna go potty again!" Ha. So I gave her another sippy of egg nog to chug. It worked.
She went one more time (she'd actually stayed on her potty while Christopher and I sat down at the table for dinner) and it was adorable that during our prayer I heard her sweet little voice announce that she went potty. Sure enough! So now I'm hoping that this will give her a little more confidence going forward. We shall see.
Ps- my main motivation? She looks soooo cute in tiny little undies! You've never seen anything so cute in all your life!
What do you do when your bike desperately wants to go potty but sits on there time after time after time after time and always stands up and looks in and says "no pee pee? I want to go potty." Because I was at a loss. I tried every search I could think of but google failed me and only brought back stories of children that didn't want to potty train. I was so sick of my child never being able to earn her potty reward (a mini marshmallow). So I got her up from nap yesterday and when she saw me go to the bathroom she exclaimed "I wanna go potty too!!!" And sat down on her little potty. And tried and tried and we read book after book. Then I heard Brady crying downstairs so I made a new plan.
We spent the rest of the night hanging out in the kitchen diaperless, with a pink potty and a stack of books taller than Brady. I gave baby girl a sippy of egg nog mixed with milk and she chugged the whole thing. We read books on the potty and waited. Forty five minutes later it happened! We jumped and cheered and it felt so good to give baby girl those two tiny marshmallows (I would have given her fifteen if I thought that was a good idea). And then she ran back to her potty and sat down and said "I wanna go potty again!" Ha. So I gave her another sippy of egg nog to chug. It worked.
She went one more time (she'd actually stayed on her potty while Christopher and I sat down at the table for dinner) and it was adorable that during our prayer I heard her sweet little voice announce that she went potty. Sure enough! So now I'm hoping that this will give her a little more confidence going forward. We shall see.
Ps- my main motivation? She looks soooo cute in tiny little undies! You've never seen anything so cute in all your life!
Monday, January 14, 2013
The audience
Baby girl still sets up her favorite trains to watch her eat. This morning it was Gordon, Ben, Spencer, and Spencer's tender. And this random pink bug too. They offer excellent company.
Also, if anyone has any news about Thomas there is a reward of three baby girl kisses. Thomas went MIA last week. He is blue and has the number one painted on his side.
Also, if anyone has any news about Thomas there is a reward of three baby girl kisses. Thomas went MIA last week. He is blue and has the number one painted on his side.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
still not graceful yet, but my kids are alive and unharmed.
did i ever mention the time when the christmas tree fell on baby girl? it was within a few days of having brady and i was in bed nursing him or something when honey went to take a business call in his office. and wouldn't you know but baby girl was playing hide and seek under the christmas tree in our bedroom and managed to tip it over! luckily it fell mostly on the bed and baby girl could get out okay but seriously?! of course honey steps away for a moment and a tree falls down on our kid.
so this evening i left honey at home alone with the kids while i went to a youth fireside from 6-8. he texted me as i left and told me everything went well but when i got home he also told me that brady hadn't slept while i was gone (he seems to wake up from whatever his afternoon nap is and then stay awake and be grumpy and fussy for several hours until 9:30 or so) and i could tell it was wearing on him just a bit. so i had a few things to do real quick but ten or fifteen minutes later i heard my honey call out to me "brady needs you!" which is our code for "i'm done with this kid and it's your turn now!" (we started using that with baby girl without realizing it but it works well so she doesn't know she's getting passed off for grating on our nerves) so i took over brady (and consequently baby girl too... because she seems to go wherever brady goes and because she's super clingy and attached to me since he was born) and brought him to our bedroom to nurse him in bed. and then to burp him, bounce him, and whatever else him to try to make him happy and comfortable. meanwhile honey was in his office or something... who knows what but i told baby girl not to disturb him because he was taking a break.
so while i'm trying to help brady, super attentive big sister baby girl (i swear i love that she loves him so much but it does sometimes drive me juuuust a bit crazy) starts climbing on my bed side rails to reach over my nightstand to get brady a binky or nose drops or who knows what because she seems to think she always knows just what he needs to stop fussing (which is pretty much all the time) and i kept telling her to stop (this only happens fifty or a hundred times a day) climbing because it's dangerous and brady doesn't need anything right now and blah blah blah of course she's not listening. and then i'm telling her she needs to be careful because she's going to knock the lamp over and then christopher walks in the door just in time to see baby girl knock the lamp over and hear the lightbulb inside crash and shatter into a million pieces all over brady's clean clothes and blankets (i dedicated that corner to him for the time being because his room is all the way upstairs and i'm too lazy to actually go up there for naps, diaper changes, etc.) and ummm, that didn't make honey happy. he might have looked like he wanted to punch someone. or throw something. so, deciding that he needed another break (while he was cleaning up shards of glass) i took the kids upstairs to the play room (have i mentioned that baby girl thinks the playroom is actually called the ball pit? "i want mommy and abigail to go play trains in the ball pit!" ha) and we stayed there for a long time. long past baby girl's bedtime. because honestly, i know what it's like to need a break and i wanted honey to reap the benefits of it.
eventually my son fell asleep without waking up two minutes later. and eventually (like at 10:00), my daughter got to bed.
so this evening i left honey at home alone with the kids while i went to a youth fireside from 6-8. he texted me as i left and told me everything went well but when i got home he also told me that brady hadn't slept while i was gone (he seems to wake up from whatever his afternoon nap is and then stay awake and be grumpy and fussy for several hours until 9:30 or so) and i could tell it was wearing on him just a bit. so i had a few things to do real quick but ten or fifteen minutes later i heard my honey call out to me "brady needs you!" which is our code for "i'm done with this kid and it's your turn now!" (we started using that with baby girl without realizing it but it works well so she doesn't know she's getting passed off for grating on our nerves) so i took over brady (and consequently baby girl too... because she seems to go wherever brady goes and because she's super clingy and attached to me since he was born) and brought him to our bedroom to nurse him in bed. and then to burp him, bounce him, and whatever else him to try to make him happy and comfortable. meanwhile honey was in his office or something... who knows what but i told baby girl not to disturb him because he was taking a break.
so while i'm trying to help brady, super attentive big sister baby girl (i swear i love that she loves him so much but it does sometimes drive me juuuust a bit crazy) starts climbing on my bed side rails to reach over my nightstand to get brady a binky or nose drops or who knows what because she seems to think she always knows just what he needs to stop fussing (which is pretty much all the time) and i kept telling her to stop (this only happens fifty or a hundred times a day) climbing because it's dangerous and brady doesn't need anything right now and blah blah blah of course she's not listening. and then i'm telling her she needs to be careful because she's going to knock the lamp over and then christopher walks in the door just in time to see baby girl knock the lamp over and hear the lightbulb inside crash and shatter into a million pieces all over brady's clean clothes and blankets (i dedicated that corner to him for the time being because his room is all the way upstairs and i'm too lazy to actually go up there for naps, diaper changes, etc.) and ummm, that didn't make honey happy. he might have looked like he wanted to punch someone. or throw something. so, deciding that he needed another break (while he was cleaning up shards of glass) i took the kids upstairs to the play room (have i mentioned that baby girl thinks the playroom is actually called the ball pit? "i want mommy and abigail to go play trains in the ball pit!" ha) and we stayed there for a long time. long past baby girl's bedtime. because honestly, i know what it's like to need a break and i wanted honey to reap the benefits of it.
eventually my son fell asleep without waking up two minutes later. and eventually (like at 10:00), my daughter got to bed.
 |
| this is what my nightstand looks like... nose drops, nail clippers, binky, and currently MIA nose sucker hang out on the window sill so they're within reach when i need them. ps- thanks for the lamp, ashley! luckily it made it through this unscathed. |
 |
| and this is the current state of things. sometime tomorrow i will skillfully text honey and ask him if that area is safe. anyone have tips for making sure your onesies and sleepers are free of tiny glass shards? |
wanna know the great part? somehow i kept my cool with baby girl. she and brady did so well last night and all day today (in my opinion) that i'd stock piled enough patient parent points to help me handle my night of two gorgeous children crying (often at the same time!) and still feel compassion for them, myself, and my dear husband. there's always blessings to be found.
is anyone else enjoying this mini series on "carrie is handling this two kid thing like she's stumbling through the dark in flippers and a straight jacket" or is that just me?
is anyone else enjoying this mini series on "carrie is handling this two kid thing like she's stumbling through the dark in flippers and a straight jacket" or is that just me?
Saturday, January 12, 2013
I got two kids
anyone familiar with the book and song "i got two dogs?"
we own it, and while we haven't read it a ton, baby girl recently picked it up and we read/sang it the other day. and since then i can't help but sing to myself, "i got to kids, baby and brady..."
and honestly, it comes together quite easily...
i got two kids, baby and brady,
always go together like a binky and a baby
baby's a girl, brady's a boy,
playing on the floor is what they most enjoy,
and on and on. it's really quite fun to come up with lyrics.
anyways, "there's nothing i'd trade for my baby and brady!"
*this post kinda requires that you know the song... sorry bout that.
Too cold
I had gotten excited a while ago when I saw there was a free zoo day on a Saturday. We can go as a family!
Or not. This weekend is too cold for anything except hanging out in bed with this guy.
Or not. This weekend is too cold for anything except hanging out in bed with this guy.
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.
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| taken 1.6.13 at 2 weeks, 5 days postpartum |
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| taken 1.6.13 at 2 weeks, 5 days postpartum |
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