2 Weeks Post-Partum

Technically two weeks and two days. I wanted to document all of this at exactly two weeks, but the day got away from me on Saturday and I barely managed to take Tommy's weekly picture. Let's start with pictures.


My stomach is still going down and I think most of the fluid and pregnancy "stuff" is gone, so it's going to be all diet and exercise to get my pre-pregnancy body back. I rejoined Weight Watchers on Saturday and started tracking points yesterday. I weighed in at 173 pounds yesterday and set my first goal for 164 pounds. I think I need to lose about 15-20 pounds to get back into my size 8 pants, which is my goal for my return to work date. I have 10 weeks to lose the weight and tone up. I already packed away my maternity clothes, but can really only fit in to one or two pairs of my jeans, both a size 10. I'd love to just throw on a dress some days, but I kind of forgot how difficult it can be to breastfeed while wearing a dress, so I'm sticking to pants and nursing friendly shirts.

This past weekend my bleeding finally subsided and I haven't had any more painful contractions, thank the good Lord because those suckers KILLED. My heartburn has been gone since little Tommy came out. It always amazes me how quickly it just disappears. This time I got the worst heartburn during labor and ended up taking meds to get rid of it so I was thrilled when it was gone after birth.

Breastfeeding is going really well and I've been using coconut oil instead of lanolin and it's really helped heal my cracked skin. Tommy has a great latch and strong suck which took some getting used to - it's like having a snapping turtle latch on. I call him the snapdragon when he latches. But I'm thankful for another baby who nurses so easily because I wouldn't want to repeat Stasa's initial breastfeeding experience. He was cluster feeding in the evening and then giving me some good stretches of sleep, like three sometimes four hours at night, but now he's taken a leaf out of Lexi's baby book and seems to not want to miss a single meal. This past weekend he ate just about every hour and a half. Of course the two week growth spurt is probably also to blame for the increased demand, but I thought the same thing when Lexi was a baby and that girl never missed a feeding and didn't sleep through the night until she was about 10 months old. But I won't mind if the little man is that way. He's so relaxed and goes into a milk coma after eating and once I move him to his own room I'm sure I'll sleep better.

Yes, he's still in our room. Yes, I've eaten my words from four or five years ago. I said I wouldn't have the kids sleep in our room, but after having kids and then having a slight choking scare with Stasa while we were in the hospital I ate my words and Stas moved into our room for the first few weeks. Well, really we slept on the couch with her on us for the first two weeks, then moved her into our room for another week. Lexi stayed in our room for the first two weeks and then we moved her to the crib. I think I'll probably keep Tommy in the bassinet in our room for another couple of weeks. While he does go into a milk coma he also tends to spit up long after eating (even with lots of burping) and we're both a bit paranoid that he'll choke so I feel better having him right next to me. And because he's right next to me I wake up at the slightest noise and like all new babies he makes a ton of little noises and grunts "eh eh eh" in his sleep. At least I'm able to nap during the day and that helps me feel a little more human.

Oddly enough this pregnancy and recovery has been the easiest so far. I was definitely more tired this time around, but that's only to be expected when you're pregnant and running after two young kids. Tom and I agreed that having to keep the girls on their schedule after Tommy was born has really helped us keep a normal schedule. When Stasa was born we were sleeping during the day, up at night and it was really hard to transition back to our regular schedule. We were better when Lexi was born, but this time has been the best schedule-wise. Routine has been one of the keys to success for us with the girls. And it's probably also why I feel like my normal, although somewhat sleep-deprived, self.

One week later

Tommy is now a week old. Yesterday was his due date and I still can not believe that he's already been with us for a full week and yet it feels like he's been with us forever. I love having a boy in the house and ::knock on wood:: this kid is so chill. He cries when he's hungry or when he pees, but for the most part he's content to just hang out on us for a nap or lounge in his swing. He tolerates his big sisters mauling him and forcing him to take his pacifier, but that's a whole post on its own.

We took him to the pediatrician on Monday for his initial check up and he weighed in at 7 pounds 7 ounces, down from his discharge weight of 7 pounds 15 ounces. Of course my milk hadn't yet come in at that point so we weren't too concerned about the weight loss since he was nursing around the clock and was still having plenty of meconium poops. Tom was worried about Tommy's color and thought he was a bit yellow, but the doctor said he looked okay and just to keep feeding him and take him out in the sunlight when we could.

We went back in for a weight check on Friday and he gained 6 ounces! Back up to 7 pounds 13.5 ounces and his color was much better and she said there were no jaundice concerns. His circumcision is also healing nicely and as soon as that gross umbilical stump falls off we'll be able to give him a proper bath, which he desperately needs - the sponge bath isn't cutting it.

Maybe it's because this is our third time around or maybe it's just him, ::knock on wood:: but Tommy is a great nurser and sleeper. He eats anywhere from every hour and a half to every three hours and sleeps in between. I feel like I've come such a long way with breastfeeding when I look back on my initial experience with Stasa. I'm so happy that I stuck with it because I learned so much about proper latch and ways to increase my supply. Although even with his good latch my poor breasts are cracked and in pain and the round the clock feeding isn't giving them enough time to heal, BUT I replaced the lanolin I was using with coconut oil and OMG it's made a huge difference. Not only does it smell amazing, it soaks into my skin faster and is helping heal the cracks fast. I also got another new product to help catch the milk from the non-nursing side at each feeding. I have always needed to wear breast pads since my breasts never seem to get the message that both don't need to letdown when the baby is eating. And since I letdown on both sides at each feeding my pads were getting soaked with wasted milk. I happened across this new product, Milkies, and thought what the hell, let's try it. I'm so glad I bought it because I've been catching one to two ounces of milk at each feeding - just from letdown!

I definitely wasn't looking forward to the sleepless nights, but don't feel as exhausted as I thought I would. Of course having Tom take over during part of the night and naps in the middle of the day help me feel more rested. And we haven't yet faced the first growth spurt and I definitely remember how awful it was during the six week spurt. But for now I'll celebrate the sleep I do get.

I'm happy that we came home a little early from the hospital because it let me dive right back into our routine with the girls. I've been pretty active since coming home and have even managed a couple of short outings with the boy and Tom. My bleeding has gone down a lot, but I'm still having sporadic post-partum contractions during feedings and OMG those suckers are PAINFUL this time. The first few days I literally had to breathe through them all lamaze-like just to get through the pain. I finally stopped taking ibuprofen a few days after being home, but those first few days I was counting down the hours until I could get my next dose of meds, even though it seemed to do nothing.

I'm trying to remember my pre-pregnancy weight and I think it was around 155 or something, but I know I weighed in at 163 pounds at my first appointment for this pregnancy. I stepped on the scale today and was 172. Not too terrible for a week out. I've been eating relatively healthy foods, sticking to Greek yogurt and berries and spinach smoothies for breakfast, a lot of salads and fish for lunches and dinners. But I've also had my fair share of unhealthy foods- a couple of pints of Ben and Jerry's, pizza dinner, and Wendy's for lunch. Once my milk supply regulates I'll be rejoining Weight Watchers since I was successful last time using that to lose the baby weight. And after I get the all clear at my six week check up I'll start up with the elliptical and ab ripper again. For now I'm just trying to eat as healthy as I can, but still allowing myself treats and am going to start taking some longer walks with Tom and Tommy next week.

Here's me at one week post-partum. Not too bad, though I still look four or five months pregnant. I did pack away my maternity clothes yesterday because I don't want the temptation to wear oversized clothes and need some motivation to get back into my regular clothes. I'm still wearing yoga pants or leggings every day, but am back in my regular shirts. I'll eventually try squeezing myself into a pair of jeans, but for now I'll stick with my stretchy pants.

A DIY Maternity Shoot

We spent our day today documenting my baby belly. Well, not the whole day, although we started in the morning and didn't really finish until late afternoon, but that included multiple breaks for kid time, lunch time, nap time, and many wardrobe changes. Tom helped me out with most of the pictures and played photographer for me and then I made use of my remote while he took a break. He didn't realize how exhausting it can be shooting someone else. Here are my favorites.

28 Weeks Pregnant

I'm changing the format up a bit this week. I follow quite a few blogs and a lot of the pregnant moms try to keep it interesting by posting the same questions each week. Here we go:

How far along? 28 weeks (yay third trimester!)
Total weight gain/loss: Who knows. I haven't really been paying close attention to my weight gain, but my doctor did tell me that it would be okay for me to gain a little more than I have.
Maternity clothes? Most definitely, but I'm still on the hunt for work pants. I picked up a pair of more casual black pants I can wear to the office and a pair of black skinny pants, but I'd like some more suiting material pants.
Stretch marks? No new ones, just the same old ones I've had from growth spurts as a teen.
Symptoms: Exhaustion. And recently my hip/butt area has been in pain. I think maybe I have a pinched nerve or something because my left leg occasionally goes numb, but laying on a heating pad definitely helps.
Sleep: Usually pretty good if I actually make it to bed before passing out on the couch. Although last night was a rare night of sleeplessness thanks to both girls being up from about 2:30 am to 4:30 am.
Best moment this week: Winning an award at work! And hearing the baby's heart beating at the 28 week appointment. I'll never tire of hearing it.
Have you told family and friends: Loooooong ago, although some are still just now discovering that I'm pregnant.
Miss Anything? Occasionally I miss wine. Especially when I've had a long and trying day.
Movement: Like a kickboxer. LOL This baby is stretching out like crazy and really responds when the girls talk to it or if Lexi hugs my belly.
Food cravings: No consistent cravings, but I have been wanting sweets this week.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.
Have you started to show yet: Yep!


Baby is a: surprise!
Belly Button in or out? In, but that's to be expected since it remained an innie throughout both of my previous pregnancies.
Wedding rings on or off? On and hopefully they stay that way.
Happy or Moody most of the time: It depends on the amount of sleep I manage to get, but mostly even tempered or happy or even slap happy.
Looking forward to: An adult brunch this weekend without the girls and some clothes shopping for me, again without the girls.

27 Weeks Pregnant

It's going. Nothing new to report this week. I'm fairly sure the baby is now head down because I'm feeling more movement in my pelvic area instead of on my sides. I have an appointment next week, so I'm sure I'll have more to share after that. I also haven't heard back yet about the results from my glucose test so I can only assume that all is good. Which also means I'm not testing as anemic this time and don't have to take any iron supplements. Yay!

My belly's slowly growing, but I do feel like I'm not as big as I was with Stasa or Lexi. Maybe it's just my imagination though. I haven't even really tracked my total weight gain this time and just figure I'll gain what I gain and once I get the all clear I'll rejoin Weight Watchers and start exercising.

26 Weeks Pregnant

I was struck down this week with a full day of horrible nausea. Like couldn't even be awake laying still without feeling ill nausea. So I spent most of Tuesday asleep and finally felt better when I woke up the next day. Honestly it would have been better had I just been able to actually get something out of my body instead of just having that sick feeling.

Today I spent more time than necessary getting my hour glucose test done. The lab was so disorganized and the staff had such bad manners that I ended up emailing the company a complaint. At least it's done. Hopefully I pass - mostly just so I don't have to sit for a three hour test.

In other news I feel like my belly is getting stretched out, but it's not really showing like it's grown that much.



I look tired in both because I am. LOL I'm not sleeping well and half of the time I end up falling asleep on the couch which means I wake up mid-sleep cycle and then can't go right back to sleep. And then my brain starts wandering and I end up thinking about how I got bit by a spider and then I start thinking about spiders and then I can't stop thinking about spiders and then I kiss going to sleep goodbye because there's no way I'm falling asleep now that I think there are spiders everywhere. ::sigh:: It's a vicious cycle.

24 Weeks Pregnant

Although this week was longer work-wise than the past few it still seemed to fly by. Or maybe that's just me being positive because it's now Friday. One of the problems I've been having lately is what to wear to work. I'm down to one whole pair of work pants that both fit and flatter my figure. I have a few other work maternity pants, but they're from previous pregnancies when I was bigger/heavier and they don't fit quite right, so I'm still on the hunt for the perfect maternity pant for work. The other problem is I've run out of bras that fit properly and I'm too cheap to go out and buy new ones that I'll only wear for a few months. Instead I'll just keep making it work.

And since my bras aren't fitting quite right I assumed they had somehow caused me to have an ingrown hair or some sort of something on my back where the strap falls. After a few days of pain and watching this thing grow in size I went to the doctor and found out it was an infected spider bite. Awesome. Yet another reason I hate spiders. And Tom was busy DEFENDING the spider, being all "the poor thing was just defending itself because you probably tried rolling over on it." Um, what? How about you be on my side instead of the spider's? Stupid spider. Now I'm on an antibiotic for the next week and am treating the pain with hot compresses and a heating pad.

My next appointment is next Thursday and then I have one more monthly appointment after that before I go to biweekly visits. And by the time I start biweekly appointments, my friend Anne will have her new baby to snuggle.

New Year's belly

21 Weeks Pregnant

And a shot from last night's holiday party - I convinced Tom to put on the glasses. :)

Almost 20 Weeks

18 Weeks, 4 Days

Almost four months

2 Weeks Post-Partum

Don't judge the exhausted look on my face. I know I look like I've been brought back from the dead. You can thank my daughters for keeping me up all night. Anyway, here's my belly 2 weeks post-partum. It's definitely still jiggly and squishy, but is going down a little bit more everyday. I have about 9 more pounds to lose before I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight. As soon as I get the all clear from my OB I'll start working out to tone everything up. 

And here's my 2 week post-partum list:

1. Heartburn is gone! Although it was immediately gone the second Lexi was born. 

2. Breastfeeding this time around is much much easier. Lexi is a natural and I knew what to expect this time. 

3. Sleep is somewhat non-existent right now. Lexi's an around the clock eater once the evening hours hit, but I'm sure it'll get better soon.

4. I feel great. I felt like my normal self while I was still in the hospital and now that I've hit the 2 week mark I can start being a bit more active. 

5. We're still alive and happy.

38 Weeks, belated

Oh hey, belly.

37 Weeks

Bigger and bigger

My 30th Birthday!

Attempt #1 at a picture with Stas:



Attempt #2:



We finally gave up and just took a shot of my belly (which is also my 36 week belly picture).



Oh look who decided to try to be part of the family picture. Lunatic wanted nothing to do with pictures and just wanted to play in my shoes.



See?

35 Weeks

34 Weeks

33 Weeks

32 Weeks