Brain Dump

Lia is with Grandma right now so this is my chance to update.  Things are going well.  Lia was four weeks old yesterday (!!!) and we celebrated by doing some Christmas shopping.  It's actually easier for me to take her out to run errands than to stay home and try to get things done around the house.  She likes riding in the car, and I pop her into my wrap once we get somewhere, and we have a grand old time browsing around.  The only downside is that it's starting to get cold here so it's tough to run errands at several different places, in and out of the car. It's much easier to just head to the mall but the mall only has so much....

Our nights have been a little tough lately, mostly rough on Robert since he takes the early evening baby shift.  Lia's been Grumpy McFussypants from about 7:00 to 11:00 at night lately.  I know it's typical, and it does help to remind myself that it's a phase, it's temporary, and it's very very normal.  But it's also tough to deal with a screaming infant.  She wants to nurse pretty much that entire time, which is frustrating for me, but it's also frustrating for Robert when he's on duty since he can't really placate her with anything.  (Although she does reliably calm down to the "Oscillating Fan" noise on the White Noise app for the iPhone.)  But, last night went a little better.  I think we were both more patient and gentle with her, and knock on wood, she seemed to respond to that.  Regardless, I'm anticipating her six-week birthday since I keep hearing that babies get easier by then.  (Gonna be pretty bummed when she doesn't magically turn into Angel Baby in one week, six days from now!)

And in light of the evening shenanigans, we've been talking about starting to supplement Lia's diet with formula.  On one hand, it'd take a load off of me (I'm pumping like a maniac now to put together her evening bottle), I think we'd all end up ultimately getting more sleep, and I think we're going to have to  put her on part formula anyways when we're apart for two out-of-town trips in the spring.  On the other hand, I don't want it to be the first step on to a slippery slope that ends with her getting 100% formula in a few weeks.  (I don't have any issue with formula, honestly, I just like nursing - and its convenience and price - so I don't want to stop yet.)  I've been going to a new moms' group at the hospital where I delivered, and they all had some nice insight, and R and I have been talking it over, so we'll hopefully make a decision in a few days.

So, I need some pictures of the baby to post up here but I don't have any super-recent ones, so I'll just post my update.  Four weeks after giving birth, I feel pretty much back to normal.  My endurance is low but I'm definitely stronger and I can walk uphill again without dying.  I know I've said this before, but I was terrified of being pregnant.  I read every "Symptom of Pregnancy" list and thought I'd get every single one and by the end of the nine months I'd be a swollen, hemorrhoidy, hairy, gassy, stretch-mark clad hormonal beast.  I wish someone had told me that it's not necessarily that way.  I never got: morning sickness, hemorrhoids, UTIs or yeast infections, high blood pressure, varicose veins, crazy cravings, out-of-control appetite, out-of-control mood swings, painful Braxton-Hicks, or incontinence.  I had only very mild general edema, intestinal disturbances, heartburn, and increased appetite.  I was terrified of stretch marks, and I have none on my stomach or anywhere else but a few on my boobs (which mostly appeared after delivery, ironically enough).  I was pretty tired for most of the first trimester, and by the very last two or three weeks of the pregnancy, I was pretty exhausted too.  I also struggled to keep up with my (mostly) daily walks and I could tell that my body was just having some trouble carrying around all the extra weight by the very end.  But all very normal and very manageable.  Really, it wasn't that bad.  I ended up gaining about 40 pounds (maybe more but I refused to step on a scale the last two weeks so I'm just going with 40!), which was of course more than I'd wanted to, but I lost 20 of it by a week after delivery.  Another 5 dropped off the second week, and now I'm just waiting for that other 15 to disappear.  I hear it won't until I wean Lia, but I'm determined to get back in shape and hopefully shed at least some of that extra weight sometime soon.  Soon-ish.  Maybe after the holidays.  ;)

Recall: delivery day

One week postpartum

Two weeks pp

Three weeks pp

Four weeks pp

Most of the change happened in the first two weeks and I expect improvement to go slowly from here on out.  Hopefully soon I'll post pics of Lia and her development, which is way more interesting!