Post Baby Body

I want to address this post to all the pregnant women and mommies out there.  I remember reading the below OpEd last summer, after seeing Kate Middleton all aglow -- hair blown out, fully made up in a designer dress and her signature wedge heels -- while introducing the world to Prince George, a mere day after giving birth.  This was before I was pregnant with Emily, yet even to me it seemed unrealistic that someone would, or should, look so "put together" after going through labor and delivery.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joy-gabriel/kate-middleton-and-the-mom-in-the-mirror_b_3672553.html

To my surprise, apparently more people were stunned that she still had a pregnant-looking belly one day postpartum than at the fact that she was made up to look like she was attending a charity luncheon instead of leaving the hospital.  I get that she's a celebrity, but it still surprised me that she didn't take a day off from looking perfectly made up.  I guess I shouldn't be so naive.

Do you want to know what I looked like leaving the hospital?  I had showered, but hadn't washed my hair, which was pulled back into a frizzy ponytail.  I was wearing loose-fitting cropped maternity yoga pants with a ruched t-shirt, under a zipper hoodie.  No make-up whatsoever and huge bags under my eyes from not sleeping for a couple days.  Shep took a photo of me before we left the hospital, which shows me sitting in a wheelchair with an inflatable donut seat between my knees, holding my sweet little baby girl asleep in my arms.  And I had a huge smile on my face.

Here's another great read that I wanted to share:  http://www.momof4istired.com/2013/11/this-blog-is-going-to-embarrass-my.html

Source

Our society is focused way too much on physical appearances, which can make it hard for anyone who feels less than their "best" self, whether it be due to weight, hair color, height, illness, a life-changing event like giving birth, etc.  Giving birth is exactly as the phrase says -- you are bringing another life into this world!  Your body formed, grew, nourished, and then produced another entire human being.  It's pretty remarkable.  It doesn't matter what size your jeans are, that you have some extra weight or stretch marks on you, or some newfound wrinkles or eye bags.  What matters is that you gave life.  Your amazing body did that!

The authors of the above-linked posts did a beautiful job of explaining why mothers should look different than they did before they had their babies, and each story brought tears to my eyes when I first read it.  I hope you'll enjoy reading these viewpoints as well; and for those of you struggling with any self-image issues, I hope these women help you feel better about your perfectly wonderful self!  Your babies love you just the way you are.

So smile your best smile, and don't think twice about what you look like before you get in that photo {click to follow link} with the littlest love(s) of your life!

xo

Postpartum Supplies Checklist

As a follow-up to the hospital bag checklist I shared a few weeks ago, I thought I'd share a list of
postpartum supplies that I found helpful and/or outright necessary upon getting home from the hospital.  Thanks so much to those of you who chimed in on additional "must haves" for the hospital bag -- feel free to leave your suggestions for all your favorite postpartum supplies in the comments section below!

For Mom At Home

• Tylenol and/or Motrin for pain relief (as directed by your doctor)
• Extra absorbent cotton maxi pads
• Granny panties
• Dermoplast spray
• Nursing pads -- I think I've tried every disposable {and some reusable!} brand out there and prefer the Johnson & Johnson brand by far; they are the most absorbent in my opinion and not itchy at all!
• Witch Hazel pads or wipes
• Lanolin ointment or coconut oil -- for use on cracked or sore nipples
• Sitz bath spray -- I loved the Motherlove spray and highly recommend it!
• Peri bottle -- To fill with warm water for washing after using the bathroom; the hospital should provide you with this.
• Nursing tanks or other clothing and pajamas that allow for easy access for breastfeeding (if applicable) -- This is something I totally underestimated... I had no idea how many of these I'd go through a day/week, thanks to getting puked on or leaking issues and not enough time to do laundry.... so get a bunch of these!!!  There are some very nice brands out there, but Target and Kohl's both have some very affordable options that you can order online for free delivery, score!
• Donut seat cushion -- Our hospital provided an inflatable one for us to take home!

For Baby At Home

• Diapers and wipes
• Clean onesies, pajamas, swaddle blankets & burp cloths
• Gentle/unscented clothes detergent -- See how your favorite products are rated by the EWG here.
• Lots of love and cuddles!

For Your Home

• Pre-made meals in freezer (or takeout/delivery menus from restaurants) for hungry parents
• Hand soap and hand sanitizer (for guests who wish to hold the baby!)
• Extra toilet paper, paper towels, and tissues

{In case you find it helpful, here is the list in printable format.}

These aren't really supplies, but rather some more just-home-from-the-hospital-postpartum-tips-and-advice I wanted to share:

• Be sure to drink plenty of water and eat healthy meals!  While taking care of baby, it's easy to forget to take care of yourself, so put someone else in charge of feeding you for the first few days or weeks if needed since you'll likely be in charge of feeding baby.  You might find it helpful to keep a filled water bottle along with some healthy snacks that can be eaten easily with one hand (e.g., dried fruit, nuts, snack bars, etc.) near your feeding station chair to grab during middle-of-the-night feedings and those times when your baby falls asleep in your arms.  :)
• It also goes without saying to get as much rest as possible, but that's often easier said than done!  Many people advise new moms to sleep when baby sleeps, but I didn't really find that possible.  It must've been all that adrenaline running through my system, but I just didn't feel tired though I'm sure physically I was.
• It might see daunting at first, but try to get outside for a walk or some fresh air at least once every day.  Don't worry about what your hair looks like, whether or not you've showered, or the fact that you're still in your pajamas from last night -- fresh air does a mind good, and some gentle walking will help blood circulate to your lady parts which can promote faster healing!
• Finally, don't be afraid to set expectations (and recruit your partner to help enforce ground rules if needed!) when it comes to visitors in the early days.  While I'd never advise anyone to turn away free homecooked meals or offers to do laundry, it's important that mom gets a lot of quiet time for physical recuperation after getting home from the hospital, and it's important for mom, partner and baby to get some family bonding time too!

Once labor is over, the real fun can begin!  Enjoy every moment with your new precious bundle.... the time passes far too quickly!

So tell me..... what did I leave off my list????

Postpartum Reflections

{Originally written on June 23, 2014 -- Sorry for the late posting!  I was originally waiting to post this until after I shared Emily's birth story but that took a little longer then I expected!}

In the first couple weeks after Emily was born, I did a lot of staring at her.  Who am I kidding, I still do.  ;)  But while she slept cozily in my arms, I realized a few things about my childbirth experience....

Labor & Delivery

I expected labor and delivery to be harder than it was.  Yes, my delivery was dramatic {and some might say traumatic} but aside from "the Pitocin incident", I think it was generally easier than I'd imagined.  Yes, there was pain, but thanks to modern medicine it was mostly bearable and more important, fleeting.  By the time Emily came out, I honestly didn't care about what I'd just gone through.  When Shep calculated the number of hours I'd been in labor and pushing, I was shocked.  It didn't seem that long while I was going through it.  I guess I was so distracted by the thought of meeting the newest love of my life that not much else phased me!  I recall Dr. R. express surprise at how I was smiling and making jokes during labor and praising how long I pushed for and how I "never complained once" throughout the long process.  I reminded her about my Pitocin crying incident, to which she thought my response was "appropriate".  Wow, I guess if a doctor with decades of years of experience delivering babies thought I did a good job at keeping my cool, that's something to be proud of!

Recovery

This is the category that surprised me the most.  Perhaps my 3rd degree tear {ouch!} is to blame, but my physical recovery was much more painful than I realized it would be.  Sure, I knew that my lady parts would hurt after squeezing a watermelon-sized baby out of a much smaller opening.  But, I didn't realize the extent to which that pain and soreness would affect daily functioning -- going to the bathroom, taking a shower, bending over, sitting down, lifting my leg up to put pants on...  I didn't feel like a fully functioning human until almost several weeks after Emily's birth, and didn't feel 100% back to "normal" until Week 5-6.

Sleep

Shep and I always joke that the only hobby I have in life is sleeping.  Needless to say, I was terrified of the lack of sleep, and how it might affect me.  Sleep deprivation, after all, is no joke -- anything that is used as a torture tactic is no walk in the park.  I'm not sure whether the lack of sleep I experienced during most of my pregnancy and especially during my last trimester primed me for the sleepless nights of new motherhood, or whether "new mom" adrenaline is to thank, but I didn't sleep more than a dozen hours the entire first week of Emily's life and I honestly did not feel tired.  I didn't sleep the night or day I was in labor, nor did I sleep a wink my first postpartum night in the hospital.  I think I was awake for over 48 hours straight and could not fall asleep, nor did I feel like I needed to.  I got maybe 1 hour of sleep during my second postpartum night and a maximum of 1 hour of sleep each of the first 2 nights we were home from the hospital.  But shockingly, I didn't feel it!  It wasn't really until the week leading up to her 4 week birthday that any fatigue hit me... but even so, it isn't nearly as bad as I'd once dreaded it to be.  In fact, I almost pop out of bed when I hear my little love start to stir or cry... in a way, she energizes me!

Breastfeeding

During my pregnancy, I was very worried about breastfeeding.  What if I didn't produce any milk, or it hurt, or I didn't know how to do it right?  To my great surprise, Emily latched on like a champ as soon as I got into my recovery room after her delivery, and she kept on latching and feeding like a pro for the first several weeks.  It wasn't until about 20 days after she was born that I started having some issues with her staying latched.  She would pull off, bob her head back and forth, and other fun things that made me question what the heck she was doing!  But, so far we've soldiered on through it and I'm counting on this temporary tricky patch to disappear like a designer dress on the clearance rack at TJ Maxx.

All in all -- every step I've taken to get to this point has been sooooo worth it, just to get to hold my sweet little snuggly in my arms.

10 Days New

I cannot stop taking pictures of this kid.... She is just too darn cute!!!

We are getting along pretty well so far.  Emily is still eating like a champ, makes the most adorable faces, and constantly surprises us with the interesting noises she makes.  :)  She only takes cat naps lasting about 60-90 minutes if we're lucky throughout the day and night, so we're running low on sleep, but hanging in there.  I think I only slept a total of 10-12 hours the entire first week of her life.  Surprisingly, I don't feel super sleep deprived, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before it hits me like a brick, so the past couple days I've tried to take little naps after I feed her while daddy holds and cuddles her.

Today was a sunny, warm say, so we went out on our first long walk in her shiny new stroller.  She slept nearly the entire time, waking up on the way home because she was hungry.  I was a bit hesitant to take her out so soon, but when we left we saw 2 other babies from our building born the same week as her out and about for their own strolls, so that made me feel a bit better.  We kept a shade over her so that the sun didn't bother her and strangers couldn't really see or get near near her to touch her.  It was a nice change of scenery getting out of the apartment, even though it seemed going on that 1 mile walk required more planning and time coordination than a NASA rocket launch.  ;)

As for me, I'm finally starting to feel more myself, physically.  After having super-sized swollen feet and ankles for over a week, they're finally back down to size.  I was also able to wear my wedding ring today for the first time in 2 weeks, which is nice.  My after pains have seemed to simmer down and I no longer need to take Motrin every day, so that's a relief as well.  And, I can finally climb into my {unusually high} bed without the help of a step stool.... score!  Emotionally, I'm definitely still experiencing the lovely postpartum hormone shift which has me tear up very easily, but that's to be expected.  Overall, I think I'm on the right track to recuperation with no major complaints!

I'll be back later this week with Emily's birth story details and to announce the winner of our baby hunch poll!  In the meanwhile, HAPPY JUNE TO YOU!!!