Almost forgot July 10, 2009

One other thing – what is with not losing any weight?!  I mean, of all the problems to have at this juncture, it is a minor one, but come on!  I lost 12 pounds when I had Max, another 7 the first week home and as of last week I hadn’t lost another single pound!  I did lose one between last week and this week.  I think my diet needs an overhaul.  I used to be so good (pre-pregnancy and even pre-IVF) about not eating a lot of sugar or fat, and now my diet is not so virtuous.  But, still, I should have lost more than I have just based on the fact that I am breastfeeding, right?!  I still have more than 15 pounds to lose to get to my pre-pregnancy weight and more than that (more like 25) to get to my pre-IVF weight.  Running will help, but that is going to be hard to fit into the schedule until I can put Max in the jogger stroller and go out for a run.  Until then I will have to run before or after Mike gets home from work (not very appealing when he leaves at 7:30 and gets home at 8 pm and I am not getting a ton of sleep…) and on the weekends.  I am not saying I need to go on a diet (I don’t believe in dieting), just that I need to get back to my healthier eating habits.  Ugh.

Max has been sleeping (in the Baby Bjorn) a good share of the afternoon, allowing me to to get the bathrooms cleaned and the kitchen floor swept and mopped, all for the first time in at least a month, probably more.  The house still needs vaccuuming, but it is feeling a lot more under-control in here.

Max and I went to playgroup this morning, which is certainly way more for me than for him at this point.  It i so great – it’s like networking and a seminar all in one – these ladies who all have kids older than mine do have a lot of insight – I feel like it is on-the-job training for my new stay-at-home-mom job.  How else do you learn this stuff?

Max is waking up and making the cutest faces.  Maybe he’ll do some more smiling for me if I go change his diaper.

6 1/2 weeks in July 9, 2009

Six and a half weeks in, all is well and I can FINALLY say that breastfeeding is going well.  First I had sore/cracked/bleeding nipples (when your three-day-old baby spits up blood and you don’t know if it is his or yours it is never a happy moment), then a supply issue.  We finally got that resolved at about his 1-month birthday and were able to exclusively breastfeed (yay!!) and then I got mastitis last week.  I am still on antibiotics and may have a relapse at some point, but for now I am feeling good and we are exclusively breastfeeding again.  I tried to also pump yesterday and got barely drops (after nursing Max first) – I think I’ll just breastfeed for the time being.  I’ll have to start pumping when we have plans to leave him for more than a couple hours.  But since I couldn’t handle the thought of him riding with Mike instead of with me when we had to take separate cars out to the sububs early this week, I don’t think that will be very soon.

I am already forgetting a lot of the things from the very early days of Max’s life.  Mike said to someone the other day that I had commented soon after he was born that I recognized his body movements from how it felt in the womb.  I had already forgotten that bit.  I am sure there is a lot that I won’t remember from the first few sleep deprived weeks.

Max does not want to sleep unless he is being held – ugh.  During the day he is in the sling to sleep and at night he sleeps on his tummy on my chest (probably not the best, but the pediatrician was unconcerned) or next to me with me curled around him.  I feel like I am setting us up for bad sleep habits, but the pediatrician said that this is what 99% of the world’s population does and not to worry about it.  When it isn’t working for us anymore we can force the issue.  It is amazing though.  He could be sound asleep and if you put him down in the crib or co-sleeper he’ll be awake and crying within minutes.  He’s just a cuddly little baby, which I generally am happy about.

In the last week he has started smiling, and in just the last few days it has gotten really great – big smiles with vocalization along with them.  Too cute.  His smiles are without a doubt the best part of my day. 

I am in such a better place than I was a year ago – it is amazing how different things can be.  It is sometimes frustrating when he is fussy or won’t sleep when you want him to, but overall things are so good and we couldn’t be happier with this little miracle.

Oops.  He’s waking up – time for a diaper change and a snack.