Playing catch-up

*waves*

Oh hai! I'm the bad blogger who disappeared into mommydom. I continue to mentally write blog posts--witty, informative posts filled with all of my newfound, bountiful wisdom... and then promptly forget them.

So here I am with a few minutes to myself, so I'm going to try to throw together a halfway coherent post to let you know how things are going.

First, the behbeh... She is magical. She eats and sleeps like a champ. We go 3 1/2 hour stretches at night, eat/change dipe, and we're right back to bed. LOVE LOVE LOVE that! And hello? She's hella cute!



However, the one thing I was NOT prepared for was how challenging breastfeeding would be. I took a class before I gave birth that came highly recommended, so I felt pretty prepared and determined... And then my LO arrived with a voracious hunger and vampire-like sucking ability.

The lactation consultants in the hospital were less than helpful (one was downright condescending) so the day after we got home from the hospital, I marched myself (okay, technically DH drove) to the local breastfeeding center where I took my class for some assistance. That plus some YouTube'ing of BF'ing videos and we were back in business--greatly improved, but still painful.

Tonight a friend suggested that I look into a nipple shield to help me out while things are healing up and after seeking further advice from some very helpful friends, I was on my merry little way to Target and returned home with the shield in hand and proceeded to finally have a pain-free feeding. WOOT!

Anyway, let's round out the Mah Belleh Fridays with a final Mah Belleh report...



How far along? Lilly is 2 weeks, 5 days old. By the time I left the hospital, I was down about 14 lbs and probably looked like I did when I was 25-28 weeks pregnant. Within a few days (wearing my beloved Bella Bands and doing the abdomen massage my sister suggested) it has continued to flatten out. I'm actually very pleased with how everything's going back to normal. I'm down about 23 lbs now, with about 10 to go.

Stretch marks? OMG, you guys--none! I'm still waiting for something to appear but so far, so good. Still giving mad props to my Burt's Bees Mama Bee Belly Balm--and I'm still using it. My skin is actually snapping back nicely.

Sleep: 3 1/2 hour stretches, usually from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. Whoohoo!

Best moment this week: Coming home from Target with my nipple shield and having a pain-free nursing... You have no idea!

Movement: I thought I would miss being pregnant, but having her on the outside immediately erased those thoughts. I don't even think about it because I still feel very much connected to her.

Food commentary: Pardon my voracious breastfeeding hunger. It is so out of control, it's sort of embarrassing, but I'm still losing weight so whatever! I will enjoy this while it lasts.

Labor Signs: I actually didn't have many labor signs. I had Braxton Hicks every night (they'd be 5 minutes apart) and then one night BAM--Water broke!

Belly Button in or out? Mine never really popped out much, it just had a little lip that jutted forward. It's back in, but shall we say... sort of "cavernous"? It's shrinking up, though.

What I miss: Nothing actually. My heart's never been so full.

What I am looking forward to: Every day that I get to stay home with this little bugger. Did I mention that she's magical.

Weekly Wisdom: Make good friends with a wonderful, supportive, smart mommy community. I cannot say THANK YOU loud enough or often enough for all of the insight, support, and love we've been given.

Weekly WTF: WTF breastfeeding? Why do you have to be so painful!? Isn't this supposed to be some beautiful, natural experience? I'm sticking with it, but dang! Can't a girl catch a break?

Nesting madness: We are all nestled in and happy as clams.

Milestones: My baby is up over her birth weight again! We went to the pediatrician's on Monday and she was 9 lbs and measuring in the 90th percentile for height, weight and head circumference. Go Lilly!!

I have written this post a million times in both my head and my heart

And here I am to finally say it--She's here. My baby girl is here!


And there she is, my friends--my 10/10/10 baby (shocking, eh?) All 8 lbs, 11.4 oz and 21 inches of her. And yes, there were 28+ hours of natural labor involved... All totally worth it for my little snuggle bunny.



I'll post a full birth story later, but I felt like I was being totally blog-neglectful by not letting you know that she's here. The past 9 days have been the most glorious, heartwarming experience ever. She eats like a champ, sleeps pretty well, and makes my heart explode with pegasus unicorns and rainbows every time I look at her.

So there we are--one big happy family at last.


XOXO

We've come a long way, baby!

Tomorrow is my due date. I am due with a baby tomorrow. Today is October 8th and tomorrow is the 9th. My pregnancy ticker says I have one day left and my little monster icon has crawled past all of the flying bats and into the creepy tree with the sunset behind it.

No matter how I say it or try to visualize it, it's still very surreal. I guess my continued denial is still a very powerful thing--which is good because I could still be looking at being pregnant for, oh, the next two weeks or so. I have my next midwife appointment on Tuesday and if I haven't had a baby yet, we'll schedule an ultrasound and NST for the next week when I'm 41w. If the testing comes back fine (and continues to) they'd let me go to 42 weeks (maybe +2 days?)

Yes, I'm still at work. Yes, (for the most part) I feel pretty good. No, I'm not terribly anxious or afraid. Just disbelief... Lots and lots of disbelief.

How far along? 39w6d!!

Stretch marks? I have looked and looked, lifted my bump, looked underneath. Every time I *think* I may see one, I can't find it again later or discover it's just a vein. Curious to see if I'll have any "aftershock" stretch marks" or ones that I just can't see yet.

Sleep: Earlier this week was rough. Lilly dropped on Sunday, which sent my hips into a tailspin Monday/Tuesday--but it's gotten better. DH had a hard time sleeping a few nights because I was moaning in my sleep. Oh well--payback for his snoring, eh? Last night I slept well and he said I barely moaned, just a few sighs. Whee!

Best moment this week: DH and I went on a date, held hands and everything. I couldn't help but keep the receipt from the restaurant in case I went into labor that night that I'd have a record of our last meal together before baby. ;-)

Movement: She's slowing down a bit as she's running out of room, which I hate. I like all of the pushes and rolls and it freaks me out if she's quiet for a little while. I'm just so used to her being a bundle of activity and constantly throwing a foot to my left side and watching the foot bump roll around. Hilarious!

Food commentary: Since she dropped, my appetite has been back a bit. I'm more "snacky" than I've been in awhile and since I hadn't gained weight in a few weeks, decided to enjoy it.

Labor Signs: No such luck. I have BH contractions throughout the day and by 5:00 p.m., they're usually 5 minutes apart. Once I lay down for the night--WHAM! Gone. I have not decided if I'm willing to discuss my cervix or mucous plug on here, but suffice to say neither have made significant progress.

Belly Button in or out? AACK! There is a little lip that pokes out sometimes, depending on what position she is in! ICKY!

What I miss: Everyone not looking at me like I'm a walking time bomb.

What I am looking forward to: People not looking at me like I'm a walking time bomb.

Weekly Wisdom: Um... I've got nothing. I'm not that smart, apparently.

Weekly WTF: WTF, due date? HOW ARE YOU HERE?!!

Nesting madness: Oh yeah! Last weekend DH decided to tear apart our bathroom! We had planned on remodeling it earlier this year, but other house issues got in the way, so he decided to suddenly do a "quick refresh." Some spackling, paint, new vanity, hardware and accessories later... We've got a refreshed bathroom! ($5 says he paints our other bathroom this weekend, he is a nesting fool!)

Milestones: MY DUE DATE!!!!!!!!