A Month

My baby boy is a month old (give or take)!  While that might not sound like much, it's a major milestone for us.

Chinese traditions dictate that the end of the first month ends an initial isolation period for mother and baby while they recover and get stronger, respectively.  While a bit antiquated-sounding, I think it is warranted in a cold (for So Cal) and germ-y world, regardless of how much cabin fever I've had. While he needs shots and such before we can paint the town, things will slowly make their way toward normal after this point, just in time for the year-end holidays.  Thanksgiving had been super low-key, and although I liked not having to commute everywhere that day, it was a bit too quiet.

I'm missing out on holiday luncheons in exchange for not having enough time or hands to eat, but no matter how tough it is, it is worth it.

I admit that due to how he was delivered, I'm sometimes not really sure whether the doctors just handed us some random baby, which of course is a ridiculous scenario. Overall, I still can't believe this was my little passenger all those months!!

Speaking of which, baby boy has yet to have a blog name.  I am trying to keep his identity relatively protected (since he has no say...), so for now, I'm calling him "Tuesday," because not only was he born on one but because while I was pregnant, Tuesdays marked the beginning of a new week once the OB changed my due date based on an early ultrasound,  Tuesdays used to mean a sigh of relief.

"Tuesday" has gained almost two pounds since birth.  He also has some briefly successful tummy time and is only screaming during SOME of his diaper changes now.  He's learning to enjoy bath time. Sometimes, he smiles, though who knows if those are real yet or not...

This also marks one month of my post-partum period.  My follow-up appointment was this week. I started feeling better a couple of weeks after "Tuesday"'s birth, but there are still random bouts of pain and general abdominal weakness.  I am allowed to exercise again, though no ab specific stuff for another month or so. I celebrated that day by doing a brief YouTube workout and hope to squeeze in activity here and there for the sake of my sanity. Admittedly, even brief workouts make me sore, even though I tried to be active while pregnant. It kind of fell apart in the third trimester, though.

I am still adjusting to not being pregnant anymore, which strangely is taking longer than I thought. Not having a bunch of doctor appointments will be weird!  Besides that, I still can't fit my wedding ring. I thought me sweating a lot (glamorous, I know) would take care of it, but I'll give it some more time before running off to resize it.

There are so many other unexpected things that came up this month. First, I wish I had prepared more for baby care and nursing, and though I did read, it's nothing like doing. Not sure if I could have really done more besides pay more attention to the other parents around me.  Also, I am surprised that I've been eating SO much, partly due to me being tired and lacking self control. This is even true in the middle of the night when I'm up fit feedings.  I guess the noshing is needed, so I've been packing away one-handed snacks like these from Uncomplicated Foods. Yum! 

I still have a couple of months until my next race, right?! I can't imagine time freeing up, but I know/hope it will. I think I just need to get the hang of things, so they will take less time. And of course, maybe the baby will cooperate, too??

Finally, being alone with a baby is tough! Just when you think you've done it all and can take a break or do something else, the squealing begins anew. I mean, the tasks are not inherently hard, but being on alert without breaks is taxing. I'm not one of those who can "sleep when baby sleeps" because helloooo paranoid. Almost makes client surveys sound appealing, which is not what I imagined. 

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FTC Disclaimer: I received a sample of this product and was not otherwise compensated to provide a particular opinion.