Sorry for the radio silence/lack of posting over the past few months. I don't really have an excuse. I've been over here just lounging around, watching tv, painting my nails and eating bon bons. HA! Yeah right! I've been chasing a small human around and haven't opened my computer except to pay bills. Look at my neglected piggies (if you dare)...they speak for themselves.
Remember this post? I really thought I captured it all and then small things kept popping into my mind. So, I wanted to get them all out there for you. Someone reading this is about to get pregnant. Someone is embarking on their 3rd trimester. Someone is about to pop and someone is in the sleep deprivation of those first few weeks and may need a laugh or to know they're not alone! Read on!
4th meal: Late night or middle of the night feasting. When breastfeeding, you burn a LOT of calories and need to keep yourself fueled up! I was ravenous. Mostly in the middle of the night. I had forgotten about it later, but those first few weeks were serious! We had some awesome friends come by and drop off an assortment of groceries and those are what I craved at 2am, 3am, 4am. Wheat thins, pudding cups, babybels, Gatorade, apple slices, coconut water or LOTS of tap water...(no picking and choosing, that was the full meal). I also had a friend make the most FABULOUS lactation cookies and I had one of those every night too! (No-bake cookies-with cocoa, peanut butter, oats-work well to boost your supply, if you can't find a good lactation cookie recipe or don't have the energy to make them.)
The first night I indulged in this delightful feast, I was alone in the kitchen after putting the baby back to bed and I just kept pulling things out of the cabinet and fridge. I felt like I was secretly being filmed for one of those shows like My 600-lb Life. In subsequent nights, I had Kevin fetch my snacks after we changed the baby and I'd eat as I fed her or just after. That worked out nice!
So, stock up on snacks, or maybe you'll have a food fairy drop off the motherlode like they did for us. You'll be happy to have something in the house for those late night feedings when you're so, so, hungry!
Strange new moles/skin tags: I noticed these soon after birth, but don't think I asked a midwife about them until a week in or our 6 week visit post-birth. In my armpits, crotch and on my boobs were these flat, but raised up things, dark in color, that looked like a new mole or even a skin tag. They were strange. I thought they were the new normal. In fact, I remember asking the midwife about them and then saying, "I just thought once you were a mom you started getting strange things like these." She laughed! And then assured me they were from hormones. They disappeared. I don't know when. They went as fast as they came and I haven't thought about them since...until now.
And the biggest reason for making a Part 2 of this post...
The best thing about pregnancy, hands down, was not having a period. The best thing about breastfeeding, hands down, was not having a period. I thought as long as I continue breastfeeding, I'll keep that period away. Wow, was I mistaken!?! I really feel gypped! Your period will return whenever it damn well pleases. I enjoyed 16 months period-free. 16 incredible months. They were the best months of my life. And my period didn't just come back. It decided to rear its ugly head when I had our child strapped to me in the Ergo and we were running from terminal to terminal with no time to spare to catch a flight. Not ideal. Not prepared. Not what I bargained for.
So, don't be me. Don't rely on breastfeeding to ward off aunt Flo. (Don't rely on breastfeeding to not get pregnant either..seriously! That would be a BAD plan.) Don't plan that the rest of your life will be period-free. Although, I'm really channeling Michelle Duggar right now! I would continue to pop out kids to and fro if it would prevent me from ever having that time of the month again.
And if you're one of the lucky ones that nurses for 12 months, 18 months, 24 months and doesn't get the crimson tide, I hate you officially! I said it! Dang your voodoo magic! I don't hate you, I'm just super jealous of you and dislike you a lot!
So, there it is! Part 2.
In other news, this week is National Midwifery Week. Thank a midwife for their work! And if you've had a hospital birth/experience that was anything but amazing, and you're in the Raleigh area, I suggest you check out Baby+Co. Cary. They are THE BEST! Birth is supposed to be beautiful! Even if the result is a tired, hungry lady with rando moles and a raging period.
Oh, I also read a book since my last post, recommended to me by another mom: The Sh!t No One Tells You: A Guide to Surviving Your Baby's First Year. It was entertaining. If you're going through this stage of life and want a laugh, it's not a bad one to read. Good luck!
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