Since I’m so behind on weekly updates, I’m going to lump them all together.

Postpartum update

Week 1 and 2 Photos (I totally forgot to take front ones for week 1- we were so exhausted I’m surprised I actually took a picture). Click on them to see large.

Since there has been no change, I won’t be posting further pictures. However, once I start working out, I might resume the progress shots if there’s any noticeable change that can be seen through photos.

 

Recovery

My recovery has been amazing. Honestly, there was not much to recover from. I had no pain, super light bleeding that virtually stopped after the first week. My butt was sore for a bit from pushing and sitting on my glider all day long but nothing bad enough to even take ibuprofen for. I had no afterpains, or any other pains. My body was sore for a total of two days after we arrived home and then I went back to feeling completely normal.

Body

My belly took about a week to contract back leaving me with a nice fat-ish stomach for week 2 and 3.
After delivery I immediately lost 20 lbs and since then not much at all. It actually took me a week to even remember to weigh myself.
At this point I still have 17 lbs to loose to get to my pre-pregnancy weight but I don’t see myself taking the time to actively work on it until Lexi is out of her fourth trimester.
Luckily it doesn’t really bother me – I’m happy with how I look for now. In a month or so I’ll start trying to slowly get toned and fit again.
One thing that has been strange (and does need to be worked on soonrer than later) is the layer of fat left over from the pregnancy. I have never in my life had a fat roll on my stomach when sitting down. It’s not necessarily my “accomplishment”, to be honest- it’s that my body just doesn’t store fat in my stomach area. Legs-yes, but not my abs. So it was almost “cool” to be able to grab onto something squishy there (cool for one second and then it had to go).
The almost four weeks of exclusive breastfeeding have done nothing to reduce my fat stores or weight, probably because of my mom’s cooking and my mostly sedentary lifestyle (I either breastfeed or lie down with Lexi all day so that she’d sleep)

What else? My boob size has exploded like predicted. Hubby is digging it!

Oh stretch marks! I’m happy to report that I got out of the pregnancy battle unscathed!
I was hoping I wouldn’t get any but I really didn’t think I’d be so lucky!

Whether it’s mostly genetics or the diligent use of Mama Mio oil and proper hydration helped, I don’t have a single mark on my body.

My linea negra is still partially there but I figure it’ll fade over time.

Emotions

Again, it seems that, just like in pregnancy, postpartum hormones have not been messing with me much.
Of course, the initial weeks have been more emotional than normal. Of course, the pain and challenge of breastfeeding coupled with lack of sleep did mean I was frustrated easily, however it was nothing out of line. Times when I got upset and frustrated would have been just as frustrating and upsetting whether I had given birth or not (trying to teach a proper latch while in horrible pain at every latch-on, not understanding your new baby’s cries yet, all the usual suspects of being a first time mom).
Possibly my pleasant birth experience and non-existent recovery are responsible for lack of baby blues or maybe I’m not that susceptible to hormones ( I never got emotional during pregnancy either). And now that things are getting figured out I’m happier than ever.

Having a newborn

It’s really not THAT hard, taking care of a newborn. They have limited needs and desires and all you have to do is cater to them. That is if you’re properly set up with familial support, financial security, no rush to get back to work, etc. Of course, as soon as you introduce an “extra wrinkle”, things can become hard to handle physically and emotionally: twins, health issues, difficult recovery, single mom, no family around, another kid, having to go back to work.

What makes it hard even in an ideal postpartum situation, however, is lack of experience.
Not knowing whether your baby’s cry means she’s hungry or sleepy, not knowing if she’s in pain, not knowing if what you’re experiencing is normal or there’s some kinda of problem, not knowing if fast breathing, coughing, spitting up, extended belly, red rash, loud cry, frequent feedings, grunting while sleeping are normal for newborns (all normal btw). That’s the hardest thing! Worrying that your baby is ok is the most difficult part of taking care of a newborn (unless you have one that just sleeps all day and doesn’t bother you with “issues”)

We have dedicated ourselves to keeping Alexis as comfortable as possible even though it means breastfeeding every 30-40 min during the day or waking up every hour at night or holding her all day because that’s the only way she’ll nap and baby girl needs her sleep.

Alexis Update

week 1

week 2

week 3

{organic footie is by Finn&Emma}

She’s been doing the following things since week 2:

• smiling
• holding her head well during tummy time
• oohing and aaahing and even a few agoos
• attempting to talk to us ( you should see her mouth move and her little brain trying to figure out where her tongue  goes)
• being a demanding little girl (ok, she had this one downpat since birth)

New week 3 developments:

• her gaze follows objects and people
• greets me with a smile 70% of the time
• has a very strong grip
• finally notices objects in the mirror
• slept a “whole” 2.5 hour stretch at night (woohoo!)
• took her first “mommy and me” bath –  It is SOOOO the way to bathe her. We both get into the tub and she lies on my chest while Andrew washes her. She enjoys it SOOO much you should see it! At the end of a bath, I take her and float her in the water- I think it reminds her of the womb.
• finally liked her Moby and took her first trip into town to pick up sushi while hanging out in her wrap, got a ton of attention from passerbys and slept  right through it all
• has developed a really funny demanding pre-cry (I’ll post a video some time)- it’s a one syllable ”AH!”

 

General preferences:

• LOVES after nap stretches ( potyagushki)
• is mesmerized by her black and white board
• finally paid attention to her first book: The Circus McGurcus
• if in the mood, really enjoys full body infant massages
• really doesn’t like going to sleep.  Who wants to miss out on all the action?
• the boob is her BFF! She eats and eats and eats and then wants more!
• has improved her latch immensely. It was  difficult training her but it’s so worth it
• loves talking to us. We have full on “conversations” with that girl.
• doesn’t mind her diaper being dirty. If she wasn’t a loud pooper, we’d never know she has a dirty diaper.
• loves her grandmas

What we’ve been up to this week:

• reading a ton of newborn and baby development book ( luckily I have a ton of time while breastfeeding and a nook app on my iphone). FYI, I’ll be making a list of worth while books the same way I did for pre-pregnancy and pregnancy here (which still needs to be updated, since I read a lot more than listed)
• not taking showers
• eating more sweets than I should :)
• taking every opportunity to snuggle with my baby
• taking more photos than I can ever go through and yet feeling like I haven’t been taking enough.
• took our first family photos and totally sucked every single one of them up. Wow, self-portraits with a newborn is a bitch and Alexis is way too needy of a girl to ever pull it off. I can’t imagine having someone else take photos either because she doesn’t give us a second of a cute face when we need it.