First Cold

Well, we made it to Week 8 before our Sweet Potato caught her first cold.  It's inevitable, I know, but you can't help feeling super guilty that you couldn't keep her in a bubble with temperature controlled sterile air.  :(  Luckily she hasn't had a fever and the coughing/sneezing has been minimal.  Aside from glassy, weepy eyes and a bit more congestion than usual, her appetite is much the same and she's smiling and cooing when she's not sleeping (which is admittedly more frequent as she fights the infection.)  Oscar the owl, the baby humidifier, has come through for us and with a dash of peppermint oil, he's created a soothing sick room.  A little extra cuddling and unlimited kisses also seems to help.  I read that most babies catch 7 colds in their first year so let's hope this is as bad as it gets...

In other news, we're all looking forward to the myriad of festive occasions as we introduce Tempest to family and friends.  This means we needed some new seasonal wardrobe items for all three humans in the family. 

Men have it easy.  Babies, too.  Nursing mothers?  HA!  Hahahaha clothes in my closet are useless right now.  Useless!  Unless it's jeans/leggings or a giant tunic, it doesn't pull/zip over my boobs.  I got remeasured because I couldn't understand why I kept popping out of two of my larger nursing bras and let's just say I've crossed over into Playboy territory.  I didn't even know they made bras in this size and I certainly didn't know that I'd be wearing something that resembles an early Victorian medical harness to keep me decent.  I was always the girl with the unremarkable, appropriately sized, small-to-medium bust.  Where did these grand tetons come from?!  I'm now on the hunt for anything that comes in stretchy fabric with the perfect modest v-neckline.  Can't do turtle necks, crew necks, or boat necks without looking like I might just topple over.  Falalalala.

So there you have it: in between snot sucking with the NoseFrida and wiping the boogers out of Sweet T's eyes, I'm doing lots and lots of online browsing because nothing would suck more than subjecting myself to an actual fitting room.  :shudder:  The next hunt is for a winter cape unless I want to be walking around with unbuttoned coast all winter.

6 Week Check-Up

Somehow, inexplicably, it is November 1.  When did that happen?  I feel like we just brought our Sweet Potato home from the hospital last week.  It has been 6 full weeks today that we've been living as a family of four.  I'd say we're pretty well adjusted at this point but every day brings some new discovery or new tweak to the "routine" - a term I use loosely - that it is futile trying to be rigid in our schedule.  I'd say we have a general outline of behavior and activity and as long as everyone is sleeping a bit and eating enough, we're good to go.  Bring on the holidays!

Wednesday was my postpartum appointment so I drove the 45 minutes in rush hour to get my clean bill of health.  It was nice to see Tempest's announcement up on the (very crowded) wall of babies.

 

Can you spot it?  Hint: upper left hand side.

Seeing Dr. Garfinkel again was a nice full-circle medical experience, even if I miss Dr. Convery after seeing her pretty much weekly up to the end of pregnancy.  I showed him a picture of Tess in her skeleton costume and he laughed.  Then we talked through my options for keeping the endometriosis at bay and he decided that for me, the lowest dose combination pill will be most effective.  Usually, women in my situation who aren't actively trying to get pregnant in the next 6 months will take a progesterone only pill if they are breastfeeding but he gave me Lo Loestrin instead which is a relatively new BC pill with only 10 mg of estrogen.  The addition of the low level of estrogen will not affect my milk supply but it will be more effective, in his opinion, for preventing the regrowth of cysts or adhesions.  I asked Dr. Garfinkel what my innards looked like since he saw inside my pelvis most recently and he didn't seem terribly concerned that there had been any significant regrowth from my IVF cycle.  Yes, my ovaries are pinned behind my uterus and attached to my bowel but we knew that.  I have two sample packs of the pill that I will try for the next two months and see how things go.  Did I mention I won't get a period until I "want to have one?"  That's kind of amazing.  Fingers crossed! 

I don't go back to see the gyno (weird to say "gyno" and not "OB" now) for 3-4 months and then after that, just for my yearly pap.  It will be strange not driving up to Morristown all the time.  What will I do with myself?  This shift is as profound as they say: once the mother is declared fit and life for her resumes as normal, it's all about the baby.  You, the vessel, have healed and the primary concern becomes the little life you brought into the world.  I honestly count my blessings that I was more or less back to myself a week after giving birth.  Thank you, universe, for that bit of good fortune.  In the words of the good doctor, "You're back!  You can now do whatever you want to do."  (That's code for green lighting marital relations among other recreational activities.)  Good stuff.

In other events this week, Tess wore all four of her Halloween outfits beautifully.  She was a rock star during the seemingly endless photoshoots I subjected her and Oscar to - he was pretty amazing, as well - and now we can annoy the hell out of friends and family by posting one million photos of our gorgeous children on facebook.  

 Happy First Halloween!

Yes, the very thing I swore I'd never do, I'm doing.  I've converted to mombook, minus the incessant status updates that no one wants to read anyway, and I can't really say I'm sorry.  Like it or not, facebook is the chief mode of photo sharing in my social circle and it's certainly how my extended family stays in touch, as no one seems to pick up the phone anymore other than to text photos to each other.  A sign of the times or laziness?  Doesn't much matter but I've had to swallow my lofty ideals about not having a digital footprint for my infant daughter if I want anyone to feel like they are a part of her life and get to know her across the great chasm that is the state of Pennsylvania.  (Don't get me started on that.)

With her first major holiday behind us, we have two biggies coming up and as well as two group family introductions that will serve as debut parties for Miss Tempest.  In short, after a month-and-a-half of hibernation, we get to dress her up and show her off.  The child has no shortage of clothes or smiles, that's for sure.  Once she physically meets people, I think the online stuff will start to feel less bizarre and disconnected for me.  The bottom line is, Tess is a real live member of two families now, even if we don't see each other all that often.  I want her to form relationships that will grow into a tangible network of love and support to last a lifetime.  She'll be melting adult hearts and cooing to her older cousins in no time.