1) So far Gemma has been a dream baby. She sleeps a lot and very well. I nurse usually twice per night and only because I start to feel uncomfortable and need to wake her to get a little relief. I don't expect this wonderful thing to continue, in part because I fear being too terribly optimistic and also because I know from experience that all it takes for a baby to change sleeping habits is for mama to settle into the established pattern...2) In spite of the good nights, I look like death-warmed-over all morning long. What is this? My face gets puffy and I have bags and circles under my eyes. I look a lot worse than I feel, which I suppose is far superior to feeling worse than one looks. It irks me, because when I go out of the house with six kids I want to bear witness to the world, and the witness I want to bear is not, "This is what your average mom of a large brood looks like." Know what I mean?
3) I've been blown away by the sweetness of friends and family in bringing food to us. I have cooked two dinners in the last ten days, not counting the defrosted-beef fiasco. This is better than any baby shower. So if you know a mom with multiple young kids having a baby, skip the cute baby outfit unless you don't live near enough to cook, and bring her a meal. I can just about guarantee that it will be more greatly appreciated.
4) Little girls have nothing to hang onto. In the continuing saga of potty-training Dominic, I have found yet another reason to be glad that Gemma is a girl. Because Dominic still has "wet accidents," and because it is summer, he spends a lot of time wearing only a pair of underpants these days, and he and Adrian seem to be hanging onto their boy-bits just about anytime their hands are not otherwise occupied. It would seem that diapers are thick enough to make this difficult.
5) When I think of how many photos I have on disks and such to be printed out on photo paper and placed in albums, I want to hide. The last photo in the album is of Adrian at age one. It is apparent that I am even worse about keeping up with photos than I am with bank statements...
6) I need to look at my bank statement.
7) I have been suffering from plummeting hormones, the result of which, besides various physical symptoms, is a general unpleasantness. If it is my duty to get my family into Heaven, then I am doing it, or at least shortening their Purgatory. I have been oscillating between dopey-and-in-love, weepy, and unbearably irritable for the last week. I am trying to keep a better grip on myself until things in my system normalize.
Please visit Jen at Conversion Diary for more Seven Quick Takes Friday.
Congratulations on the birth of Gemma!
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking the exact same thing as you on #1. My baby boy has been waking up 2 maybe 3 times per night and I don't want to do anything to change or jinx that. I'm counting my blessing and praying that the peace continues for both our families.
Cool damp tea bags on the eyes help with puffiness. Make sure you are getting enough water. Nursing, as you well know, can get you dehydrated. If you are feeding twice at night and your body is lacking fluid its going to hang onto fluid, ie bloaty puffy. Drink lots of water so your body will let go of fluid.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jane! I was much better at staying well hydrated during pregnancy than I have been since. This might well be my trouble.
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