Cate - Yes indeed! Thank goodness the birth wasnāt traumatic. I felt very well informed and fairly calm throughout the whole thing. It wasnāt the birth I expected, but no complaints at all. I definitely think being healthy and exercising throughout my pregnancy did me good. I have my 6 week check up on Wednesday so Iām excited to hopefully get a clean bill of health.
Parenting IS exhausting! Oh my word. At times itās hard to just stand upright! I find that some days I really give it my all and other days I barely survive. Itās a wild and wonderful ride to be sure.
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Itās been an exhausting few days. Hubs has been out of town for four days at a college reunion in Texas. I encouraged him to go because I feel like he needs a break (heās 10 years older than me and I feel like the adjustment to marriage/fatherhood has been harder for him!) While he was gone, I feel like I crammed more activities and socializing into the last four days than weāve done in the past four weeks!
Friday - In the afternoon, I went to āTummy Timeā at the JCC which was an enchanting class with other infants. There were seven other babies and caregivers total. In the evening, I had my best friend from grade school round on Friday for sushi and House of the Dragon. I succeeded in getting her addicted and she's signed up for HBO to watch the rest of the episodes as well.
Saturday - My mom came over to chill and Aās sister and niece stopped by on their way home from Delaware. They all ended up at the apartment together, which was a jolly combination of women all hanging out together, but a lot of stimulation for all of us (me and the babe the most I think!)
Sunday - Just me and the babe, but I tried to cram in a whole bunch of activities. In the morning while she napped, I recorded a few test videos for a company that Iām working with. Exhausting to set up and then of course, the minute I get it set up right and start talking she starts crying. Luckily I was able to get most of what I needed before she started full on wailing, but it was a close call.
In the afternoon I took us both on a 40 block round trip walk to the beauty supply store to pick up hair dye. My grays are stubborn and require special chemicals to disappear. I held off dying while pregnant because I didnāt want to expose the baby to the chemicals. My OB told me it was up to me to decide whether to dye or not because there werenāt great studies on the risks, but I opted to be safe and skip it.
I had to wait until the babe was asleep for the night (8-11PM is the longest stretch she sleeps) and lock myself in the bathroom to dye so the chemicals didnāt get to her.
Monday (today) Appointment with the ENT specialist to have her evaluated. No cause for concern, but I wanted to make sure. Our pediatrician didnāt think there was a problem, but she referred me to a specialist just to make sure. Good news and babe is completely normal.
I had to hold off feeding her for at least 2 hours before the appointment and she usually eats every 2 hours, so I knew that would be tough for her. I put her in a sling that I wear on my front so she just fell asleep on the walk up to the office. She did great overall. We are both exhausted now, though.
I had also wanted to mop the apartment before the Hub gets home, but unclear whether Iāll have the energy to get that done.
Just finished babeās 5:30PM feeding and hoping that sheāll sleep until at least 6:30PM. Iām on the Moms On Call schedule and she doesnāt eat again until her evening dinner feed after bath time at 8PM. The schedule has been a game-changer, but can be challenging to stick to!
Food for myself - Lately I find myself reaching for easy quick sources of energy: corn tortilla chips and crackers are my go-tos. Nutrition is decent like 60% of the time: steak with asparagus and broccoli is our go to meal and I try to focus on protein in almonds, yogurt, eggs, chicken, and fish. Iāll snack on baby carrots and celery. The other 40% of the time is less than ideal. Hubs loves having desserts in the fridge and he can buy them and forget about them for days on end. For me, however, my sweet tooth is my downfall and Iām like an addict with sugar, so thatās been a little challenging for me.
I must remember that I feel better when I focus on clean, AAA food and give the sugar a miss!
Congratulations! It sounds like your birth was not traumatic & I think being fairly fit & active held you in good stead there. Being a parent is so exhausting. Try to nap when you can, even though there is always so much to do with a baby. A lot can still be done when your baby is awake & you will feel better able to cope if you can nap. Thank you so much for coming here & sharing your wonderful news. I'm so excited for you! 
