Monday, July 7, 2014

Being a Mommy Week 1: What No One Warns You About

I'm in this weird place in my life where there is always (and I mean always) something in my shirt, whether it be a bag of frozen peas (after feeds), a warm pack (before feeds), a baby (during feeds), or pumping parts (between feeds). And with this 4 step process, we're getting no more than 1-1.5 hours of sleep at a time. It's hard, but it's worth it, and gives me more time to stare at a constantly changing miracle. Somehow I can function on this limited amount of rest, but I don't know how; I've always been a 9-12 hours of sleep a day kind of gal. I'm actually a little nervous any time someone tells me something, because I don't think my brain is functioning at a high enough level to retain short term memories. At least it's functioning way higher than it was when I was on the Mag. 
Several people have asked me what it felt like to be on Mag. You know that moment, after you've been drinking all night, when suddenly you realize you've had way too much to drink, and if you don't go to bed immediately, you know bad bad things will happen? Your eyes start to get real heavy and it's takes an extra mile to process how to do the simplest of things like unbutton your pants or untie your shoes? Well that's what being on Mag felt like to me, with the added bonus of being crazy hot all the time, like I was having early menopausal episodes. 
To make matters even more fun, we've been sleeping on the couch since we got home from the hospital. Severely limited to the amount of times I can go up/down the stairs while in acute recovery from surgery, with everything vital to survival down stairs except our bed, it just makes sense to camp out.....especially since I wouldn't be able to lay flat in a bed or even on my side if I wanted to, due to incision pain, so a reclined positioned is my only option.
I still have a ton of swelling, partially because of my blood pressure, partially due to labor, partially from getting pumped up with IV fluids while in the hospital. I expected that. I also expected the things I'd been warned about......like having to wear pads that simulated diapers, and being just as elated as I am exhausted, taking minutes of sleep when I can get it. What I didn't expect is that part that no one ever tells you, like how jiggly your body will feel when your skin is still trying to spring back to it's pre-pregnancy state, so I'll forewarn you. Be prepared to be grossed out by yourself every time you take a step and your legs/stomach feel like a bowl full of Jello. Why is this, the most shocking thing of all, the part that people omit?
This boy doesn't know what it's like to not be held or constantly kissed. He refuses to sleep well unless he's either on our chest or in our lap, but I love it. I guess that's why it's call the fourth trimester. 
Everyone is over the moon and wishes they could be with us all the time, so I started a hashtag called #DillonADay, to make it easy to keep friends and family in the loop of funny little things he's doing, outfits he's wearing, and how much those squishy cheeks are growing every single day.
Callie, the dog we were most worried about accepting the new family addition, has taken on this bizarrely mother-like role in our house. She comes to tell us when Dillon is crying, does her best to soothe him by licking his head as soon as she can reach it, and even tried to come with us when we were taking him out of the house for the very first time for his Pediatrician appointment.
Poor buddy got his circumcision done this week. Although it was a little earlier than I'd like, the only other option was later than optimal. He must not have been very happy about it either, because he decided to pee all over his outfit I had just dressed him in before the appointment, then have a huge blowout at the office. Patrick volunteered to change him, and I knew something was wrong when he called me from the men's restroom. "Did you pack any extra clothes for Dillon? He peed all over his second set already." Little stinker!!
I'm so glad we opted out of having the circ done at the hospital and had a urologist perform the procedure instead. Dr. S was amazingly kind and patient, making sure everything was done with the upmost care/precision and that Dillon felt no pain in the process. My only beef about the experience would be with the billing department, but when are they ever NOT a pain in the ass?
And with all the doctors appointments to motivate us out of the house, thus began our conditioning to having a travel friendly baby. We knew he loved the car (only crying at the stop lights), but would he love his Sakura sling? YES!
Next on the list.....sports. It won't be long before this little guy will be going with his Dad to Baylor games, so we thought it's never too early to get him sporting the gear!
 

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