3 months postpartum

Happy Friday my friends!

Thanks again to my bestie for writing up her pregnancy story – she’s one tough cookie and I have a feeling her tator tot will be here soon rather than later. 

It’s been an interesting week going back to work.  It’s quite the effort to pack a diaper bag, breast pump bag, laptop/work bag, and lunch bag every day, on top of the typical household and pet duties.  Soon it will be second nature, but this week was a wake up call back to the ‘real world’ as it once was pre-soybean.  Maybe that’s worth a blog post?

On that note, I realize this blog has become very baby-heavy, but fact of the matter is that’s what’s at the forefront of my life right now.  And from the direct feedback I’ve received, readers are interested – more importantly, my friends (IRL) and family like reading those posts.  And, really, that’s the audience that I care most about.  Perhaps the blog will return to what it once was, perhaps not.  We shall see

Anyway, back to my 3 months postpartum status.  I haven’t updated much since 6 weeks postpartum, mainly because there was so little change.  I didn’t expect anything drastic anyway for a couple of reasons: breastfeeding has my body holding on to some additional fat; I’m not working out regularly or at any high intensity to garner results; I’m not eating that great and definitely exceeding my required calories. 

Here is a recap of where I was at February 8, 2012, 6 weeks postpartum:

• Weight: +10.9 lbs (down 2.1 lbs (16.1 lbs since birth))
• Ribcage: 29” (down 1”)
• Waist (smallest part above belly button): 30” (down 2” (~8” since birth))
• Hips: 35.5” (no change)
• Right Bicep: 10.75” (down .25”)
• Left Bicep: 9.75” (down .25”)
• Right Thigh: 21” (no change)
• Left Thigh: 21.75” (down .25”)

And here is where I am at as of March 28, 2012, 3 months postpartum:

• Weight: +9.5 lbs (down 1.4  lbs (17.5 lbs since birth))
• Ribcage: 28.5” (down 0.5" since 6 week status)
• Waist (smallest part above belly button): 29” (down 12” (~9” since birth))
• Hips: 34.5” (down 1” since 6 week status)
• Right Bicep: 10.75” (no change since 6 week status)
• Left Bicep: 9.75” (no change since 6 week status)
• Right Thigh: 21” (no change since 6 week status)
• Left Thigh: 21.75” (no change since 6 week status)

Workouts:

• Skinnygirl Workout 1-3x per week
• Treadmill intervals (jogging/walking) 1-3x per week for 30-45 min
• Weights 1x per week
• Dog walks daily – approx 1-2 mile

The progress is marginal, but it’s there.  And you know what?  I’m okay with it.  Sure I wish the weight loss was super easy and just melted right off, but if I have to work for it, it will feel that much more of an accomplishment once it’s off (at least that’s what I keep telling myself ) However, if I could make some progress on my thighs, that would be super because right now they are preventing me from being able to fit into my work clothes.  And frankly I sorta need those clothes since it is awfully costly to have to buy new dress pants.

Here are two shots I took last weekend:

And there you have it. My blog post on bean at 3 months will be far more interesting since he is cooing up a storm and smiling nonstop

As for the weekend, no firm plans yet.  Hoping some Thai food is somewhere on the agenda!

Pregnancy—another look (part 2)

The bestie’s pregnancy experience continued:

My third trimester was mostly filled with eating, extreme nesting, and planning for the big day.  I was really uncomfortable being so big (major heartburn, trouble sleeping, you know, the usual), but it was certainly not the torture the first trimester was, so I tried not to complain as much. 

The nesting really kicked into hyper drive in the last month or so, as I ordered (er, convinced?) my husband to not only paint the nursery, but every room upstairs in our new house.  Luckily he’s a really great guy and only gives me a pat on the head and an "oh, kitten" when I ask for yet another redesign task.  Overall he’s been really really supportive throughout this whole experience.  And it has been an experience, medically as well as all the other "normal" pregnancy stuff.  Our first medical setback was a low-lying placenta diagnosed in the second trimester.  A low-lying placenta isn’t an immediate risk to baby, but if it doesn’t grow up and away from the cervix it turns into a placenta previa and causes a c-section delivery to be necessary.  There is also the *ahem* "pelvic rest" required for 2 months when a placenta is low-lying.  Let’s just say that was my husband’s least favorite part about my pregnancy.  Luckily after the 2 months my placenta had grown up and out of the way, and we were back on track with our natural birth plan. 

About that natural birth plan… I have been afraid of giving birth almost my whole life, but after getting pregnant I for some reason became very attached to having a natural birth.  Perhaps I was just more afraid of getting a catheter in my back for the epidural, or of getting sliced into for a c-section, than having things happen naturally.  Or maybe it was hormones guiding my decisions.  Either way, I was on track to go natural and haven’t wavered in that desire throughout the pregnancy.  But I think rule #1 in pregnancy and childbirth is that you should expect things to go in an unexpected direction.  No pregnancy or birth is the same, and it’s really really hard to try to have any sort of plan.  Which brings me to our second medical setback.  At our second formal ultrasound they noticed my amniotic fluid was low.  It’s not a huge problem to have low fluid levels in the second trimester, as long as they’re not actively decreasing, so they had me come back in for a re-check a week later to make sure the level was stable.  In that week I read that the cause of low fluid levels isn’t known, but they think dehydration can be a contributing factor.  So I spent the week drinking water like it was my job, determined to get my fluid levels back up.  But no dice.  Fluid level at the next ultrasound was the same, so at least for me dehydration was not a factor.  However the fluid level wasn’t dangerously low and wasn’t decreasing, so it was something of note, but no danger to baby for now. 

As it turns out, amniotic fluid levels actually naturally decrease in the third trimester as you approach your due date.  Unfortunately for us, our little Tater Tot (his name is Tate) really liked to use my stomach as a pillow and was unable (or unwilling) to flip into a head-down position prior to the fluid levels getting so low that he couldn’t flip if he wanted to.  So at my 36 week check-up my OB and the ultrasound tech said that the levels were too low both for him to be flipped manually (an external version) or for him to flip on his own, and that we’d have to schedule a c-section.  Additionally, my amniotic fluid levels were approaching the danger level, meaning we may need an immediate c-section if they drop again soon.  So not only was I left to grapple with the loss of my natural birth plan and being sliced into (not excited about that), but I was most likely also not going to get the predictability of a scheduled c-section.  My brain kept screaming "What the HECK!" as the gravity of the situation sank in.  But I tried to focus on the positive.  I’d be getting my kiddo earlier than I thought (which I’m really happy about), and all the inconveniences could be handled.  I went back to work after the appt. and wrapped up all my projects the best I could, letting everyone know that I’m still here but I could be gone tomorrow so they should plan accordingly.  Even my mom has said she has a bag packed waiting by the door so she can fly out at a moments notice (from the west coast!  I have to coolest mom ever).  So it’s not the end of the world.  So long as the baby is healthy, I will consider this adventure a success story.  But it has been an adventure!!  The only thing common from pregnancy to pregnancy and birth to birth is that no two are the same.  That’s what makes life great though, right? 

That’s all for now.  I’ll update you all on the end of our tale when it plays out in the next few weeks.  And I promise the dramatic conclusion will come with cute baby pics. 

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Thanks bestie – wish more than anything I could be there with you and for you!  I cannot wait to see you in May and meet the lil tator tot and have our boys be future friends forever

Pregnancy–another look (part 1)

Hello blends!  It’s been a while since I guest posted on Shanna’s blog, so for those of you who don’t know me, I’m S’s bestie who relocated to Boston a year and a half ago.  We were lucky enough to get engaged on the exact same day (not planned), married only 4 months apart (ok that was planned), and also get pregnant 4 months apart (not really planned, though we were both "trying").  What can I say, we like to do things together!

 

Well since S has filled you in on the wonder that was her pregnancy and birth will the little Soybean, she thought it might be cool to give you another pregnancy story.  It’s amazing how two similar ladies, both pregnant with little boys, can have such different experiences!

Unlike S, I had really icky morning sickness for the first 3 months of my pregnancy.  My diet consisted of mostly crackers during the day, and cheesy rice at night.  Sounds fun doesn’t it?  I never actually threw up, it was just like being extremely hungover for 3 months.  Let’s just say work over that period was a real struggle.  I kept thinking, how do women do this?  And just when I started to enjoy my second trimester and being able to eat more regularly, I got sick, not once, not twice, but FOUR times.  Oye.  One I think was a bad reaction to the Tdap vaccine, one was a violent stomach flu, and one was a cold that lasted more than 3 weeks. 

I finally started to pull through all the icky times near the end of my second trimester.  Throughout the first and second trimesters I was on the low side or around average for weight gain.  But once I got feeling better, I really started to eat.  I mean, really really eat.  Every time I went grocery shopping it was like a kid that just got back from fat camp.  I would pick up all sorts of treats that I would never normally eat, like a canister of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls – which doesn’t sound all that bad until you hear that I baked them on a Sunday and consumed the ENTIRE batch before noon.  Uh, that can’t be normal right?  Well, all that wonderful indulgence means that I gained 44 lbs throughout my pregnancy (I’m currently at week 36 and seem to have stopped both the crazy overeating and the rapid weight gain).  The average woman gains 25-35 lbs, so 44 is certainly *above* average, and not in an "oooh I got an A+" kind of way. Luckily I’m 5’7", so although I feel like a whale, I carry the weight rather well and am able to convince the unknowing bystander that it’s all belly.  It’s not, but who am I to correct them? 

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Stay tuned for part 2 of my bestie’s story.  She recently got some very interesting (?) news!