Attack of the Post-Baby Booty

I was recently on the 'March 2010 Babies' home board at whattoexpect.com and came across a thread regarding "after baby body".

One of my fellow March mommies referred to her newly spread hips, and cup-sized bigger boobs as a badge of honor for her bravery during pregnancy and delivery. I giggled to myself (Hubbs isn't home, and Monster is sleeping.. Oh, and LOLA doesn't judge) when I read it, because it's so true!

That badge of honor is just not something mothers often talk about to a newly pregnant woman! The scale might say that you've finally reached your pre-pregnancy weight, however your jeans still say "Heck no! We wont go.... up and higher!" There are a lot of things that happened to me during pregnancy that I wasn't really expecting or didn't notice the magnitude of change until I delivered.

Hair is another huge thing! Yes, I heard stories about fast growing, glorious hair once pregnancy hormones kicked in, and yes, that is something I enjoyed. However, something that was very unexpected to me was that my leg hairs grew at an alarmingly slower right whilst I was with child. Now, I feel like a she-man! I have furry legs every single day, even if I shaved the day before, and I'm loosing all the glorious strands from on top my head! These things are normal, but since they haven't been normal to me for over a year, the changes feel drastic! Everyday I'm in the shower, I fear I will leave it without any hair on my head!

At least these physical changes are changes I can get used to, even if it might take some time for adjustment.

Monster and his Daddy

I was finally able to get a couple shots of Monster with his Daddy the other night. It's hard to catch them both in a willing mood at the same time! I think it turned out adorably!

I love my boys! :)

The Teething Monster

When The Teething Monster Attacks... dun dun dun!

Since my Monster was about two months old I've been dealing with sopping wet onsies and tee-shirts, not to mention mine and the Hubbs clothing getting absolutely drenched while holding him. It wasn't until recently that the pain aspect of teething hit. What I dislike most about teething pain is that is usually comes on suddenly, without any warning!

For the last week or two Monster has been slightly bi-polar, laughing and happily chatting with me and his toys while mouthfuls of drool drips everywhere. Then, suddenly, like a light switch he is screaming and thrashing with uncontrollable teething pain. That sounds rather dramatic, perhaps it is, but when you have a normally contented sunshiny baby, the screaming/thrashing comes with a shocked and terrified mommy.

We've looked into various ways to help sooth Monsters gum pains: Teething toys to chew on, Hyland's Teething Tablets, Kolic Gripe Water, and Infant Tylenol but the most effective tool we've found has been a cold, damp face cloth or towel to chew on.

Seems so simple! We actually found this cheap, homemade remedy by accident. One afternoon Auntie Tg and I took Monster to the beach for a dip, and when we all got out she slung him over her shoulder where her towel was lying. He immediately started to gnaw on her shoulder, where the cold, wet towel was. It's common for him to chew and suck on the clothes over our shoulders when we hold him, but he was really going to town on this towel.

Since that day, when teething pain begins to set in, he give him a cool, damp towel to chew on before resorting to over the counter medicinal (or holistic) treatments. I'm sure this at home remedy won't last through our teething days, but for now, I'm in!

Contemplating Baby Care Guidelines

Part of being a parent is providing for your infant (or child) just what they need when they need it, whether they're able to tell you or not. I pride myself on my ability to read my child and to organize his day in such a way that he wont have to scream at the top of his lungs to tell me I'm a half an hour late in feeding him, or he's ready for his nap.

The real challenge comes in when you decide to give the responsibility of following the routine to another care giver. I'm contemplating a time in the near future when I will sadly have to return to work. Of course I plan on (unwillingly) going back to work, because we live in a two income society. I have people by the arm fulls willing to watch over my Monster for me, and are fighting tooth and nail with each other (and me) to do so.

Of course, ideally, I'd love to be able to afford only working Saturdays and Sundays so Monster's primary care givers will always be my Hubbs or I. That just doesn't seem like an achievable goal. Picking a secondary care giver, out of my armful of volunteers is my next mountain to climb.

The criteria of course would have to include someone who can follow a routine, and listen to instructions about sleep, and nutrition from my Hubbs or I. It will be hard enough dealing with the mommy guilt associated with returning to work, I would love to not need to worry about the care my Monster is receiving while I am away at work.

Commandments

I decided, whilst looking in the mirror recently that I needed to turn over a new leaf. 4 months after delivering my Monster I've reached my pre-pregnancy weight, but have yet to continue onwards.

It was nice to have a reachable goal, and the extra calories burned during nursing to kick start the weight loss. Now that my life and body has begun leveling out, I need to reevaluate my exercise routine, and caloric intake to keep things rolling... Off.

One night I was inspired to write my own 'Weight loss/Control Commandments' to help myself keep on track.

1. Thou shall not deprive oneself of the things one loves
2.Thou shall drink ones weight in water
3. Thou shall not eat past 8pm
4. Thou shall not over indulge
5. Thou shall be physically active once a day
6. Thou shall make small, reachable goals for oneself and celebrate once achieved
7. Thou shall drink a large glass of water before eating if one feels hungry
8. Thou shall always eat breakfast
9. Thou shall always eat slowly and stop once one is comfortably full
10. Thou shall always love thy food, and think twice before taking a bite

(... to be continued)

The Start of a Sturdy Monster

Monster practicing his next infant milestone. Sitting up on his own.

A Monster's Reaction to the Swimming Pool

On Thursday, desperate to find an activity to keep my Monster happily engaged we decided to test out the waters at our local swimming pool.

(I'm just getting back to blogging his reaction now, 4 days later. See previous post here).

HE LOVED IT! I knew he would, deep down, I had to have known he would. Every single evening, no matter how fussy he is, he calms down as soon as he hears the tub running. I can hardly keep him still long enough to get his clothes off. We place him in his bouncy chair on our bathroom counter to get his clothes off, all the while fighting the urge to play with this smiling, laughing baby who is kicking his legs, and stretched out arms.

We bath him in the big tub, using his mesh baby bath support thing because his infant tub was such a hassle, and so darn messy! Wow, I've really gotten off topic here, long story short, Monster kicks and splashes and has the most fun during his bath time. No toys, no friends, just Mommy (or daddy) and a little water!

Once we got to the recreation center, we stepped into the warm kiddie pool and sat down. Monster was the perfect height to stand, without being able to dip his head for a drink. He didn't spend much time kicking or splashing at the pool this trip, he was too busy marveling at everyone who was in this huge bath tub with him. We had invited his Uncle Slim, Auntie Tg, and our family friends The Taylors to enjoy this milestone with us.