Bros

Can't Stop the Clock

My time is up. Six weeks has flown by in the time it takes to snap your fingers. Today I go back to work. It's absolutely amazing to me how I have absolutely zilch desire to do so. You see I LOVE my job and LOVE where I work and LOVE who I work with. But having # 2 has totally changed me. I'm now content to gasp....stay at home. Even after Grayson I was ready to get back into a routine. But now, not so much.

Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for my job. And even more grateful for the child care situation there. (Both kids are down the hall being watched by a friend with other staff kiddos. I can visit whenever I want. I can breastfeed Sawyer at every feeding. I get to have lunch with each of them each day. Seriously....it's a dream). So I don't really want to complain. Just want to lament at how time flies and I'd love to stop it. Sawyer is already growing so much and changing before my eyes. Grayson gets to be more of a little person every day with new mannerisms and phrases and fun. Someone make it stop!

As I type this morning #1 is going well. Sawyer woke up to eat at about 6:45, then went back down and is still asleep. I then showered and ate breakfast...then G woke up. He's now finishing up his breakfast while watching Mouse and is dressed and ready to go. (I got my hair done while he's eating) I'm almost ready to go...just have to do the make up and clothes thing. Lunch was packed last night so all that is left is getting everything and everyone in the car and going.

Deep breath. I can do this.

The Post Partum From Hell

I've gotta say. This time the post partum 6 weeks have been quite a doozie. Sawyer's delivery was a breeze and he's a pretty good baby. But he sure has put my poor body through the loop.

First came all the back problems. I was down and out for 1 week, and then spent 2 days a week in physical therapy for 4 weeks. Not fun. Although, I'm happy to report all is just perfect with my back now.

Next came my body not quite healing as it should from the delivery. I was back at the OB at week 3 and week 4 with healing issues. I eventually ended up on an antibiotic to combat an infection that was beginning. So issue number 2 solved.

And now...issue # 3. Which takes the cake so far. I've had crazy intestinal issues for a week. I've also had awful pain in my chest that feels like heartburn on crack every 2 to 3 days. I'm left crying and writhing in pain for about 15 minutes each time until it relieves itself with the most heinous burps I've ever heard. It seriously is just as bad as the mid stages of labor I've experienced prior to epidural.

So, yesterday morning was spent in the ER, getting tests and various bloodwork to figure out what the heck is up with me. An ultrasound revealed the culprit. Gall stones and sludge. I now am referred to a general surgeon to talk about having my gall bladder removed sometime soon. That appointment is on Friday.

Now from what I read and hear, this surgery is supposed to be a breeze. It's done laproscopically and I probably will even get to go home the same day. But still, it is surgery to have an organ removed. I've never had any surgeries other than the d&c's for 2 of my miscarriages. And I'm sure I won't be able to breastfeed for a bit due to the anesthetic in my system and such. So, this should be interesting...and not fun.

All Things Are Not Created Equal

Um. I have a problem. Over the past 2 weeks it has been getting bigger....and smaller at the same time. You see I have an um...a lopsided situation.

Boobie A is a good deal bigger than boobie B. This means for some odd reason I'm producing differently on each side. I've tried doing some of the tricks I've read online....having S start each feeding on the smaller side to stimulate it more and I'm pumping on that side after most feedings (when I'm near my pump and not on the go). So far it doesn't seem to be helping. And I know most other people can't notice it but I feel like it's glaringly obvious. Which is embarassing.

I'm not sure what the culprit is for this. With G, everything remained nice and even. And S doesn't prefer one side to another. He spends the same amount of time on both for the most part. Although it is a vicious cycle. Now that side B is smaller, it creates less milk, therefore he spends less time on it. Not sure how to correct that at this point.

So ladies...any other advice out there for my girlies? I used fenugreek with G for just basic milk production, so I'm tempted to try that out again. But I remember smelling and sweating maple syrup when I was on that, which wasn't so pleasant.

Has anyone out there ever had to use an actual drug to stimulate things (like Ra.glan)? Or are those types of things only prescribed when production is an issue on both sides?

Help!

All About Sawyer

Hard to believe my little dude is 1 month old. Let me tell you a little more about my mini man and what I know about him after a wonderful month.

He LOVES to eat and is a little chunkster. He is 1 month old and already growing out of 0-3 month clothes. He only stayed in newborn diapers for about 10 days then moved on to 1's. And I haven't bought a ton of those, because I think 2's are on the horizon in the next few weeks. At his 1 month appt he is in the 75th percentile for weight.

He's not a bad sleeper. We've settled into a routine of him going down somewhere between 7 and 8 p.m. for the night. He then wakes up normally around 1...then again around 4:30 or 5. The other night he went 8 hours though from 7:45 to 3:45. Which was awesome. It would be great if that repeated itself...but I'm not holding my breath.

He's a well behaved little man. His general demeanor is pleasant. He's pretty happy just relaxing in the bouncy seat. Unless that is he's having stomach issues/gas, in which case, he's not happy unless he's being held.

He goes back and forth between bottle and boob just fine. This makes for one happy mama. I've been able to go out on a few dates and have the sitter do his last bottle for the evening. He takes it like a champ, and comes right back to the boob for the next feeding without any problems. He's also had 2 nights with dad as mom has had some girl time with her sisters/mom and with the MIL.

He has a serious case of baby acne. I won't lie. It bothers me. I wish he had a nice smooth complexion...but I'll get over my vanity on this one.

He's quite the sucker. He likes his fists, my fingers and his pacifier. We've already graduated from the green ones they give at the hospital to the Nuk. Thankfully I saved a whole bunch from Grayson and didn't need to purchase any new ones.

He actually likes taking a bath. This one is funny to me because Grayson absolutely hated it and screamed through it each time. Sawyer loves it and gets all calm and quiet. It's kind of sweet.

Here are some shots from his 1 month photo shoot at Pic.ture People. Enjoy!

What Goes Up Must Come Down

Boy do I have a little piggie on my hands in Sawyer. He eats. He eats a lot. One nice benefit of this, is that the pregnancy poundage seems to be shedding a little quicker this time.

With Grayson the weight loss was a slooooooooow road. I think for a combination of factors. 1 - He didn't eat as much...just was a smaller dude. 2 - I think milk supply never got off to a great start since I had to establish it with pumping while he was in the NICU. 3- It was hard to get into the eating right/working out and getting down to pre-pregnancy weight mind set when I knew I just wanted to be pregnant again, and soon. Why work so hard when the ultimate goal was to put it right back on?

So this time it's different. Different baby, different milk production, different mentality towards losing it. Sawyer is 4 weeks old tonight and I am down 27 of the 50 lbs I gained. Now, this is still a long long way from where I need to be. But when Grayson was 8 weeks old, I was only down 25 lbs of that same 50. So I consider this huge progress for me. Right now I'm still going down 2 lbs or more a week, and hope that sticks for a while. Plus, soon I'll get the all clear to work out again which will be nice.

And on the workout front, I've just registered myself for the Disney World half marathon in January. I'm going to be running it with my college roommate while will be great. Now, I'm not really a natural runner. I ran all through high school and college, but never enjoyed doing it, just enjoyed the end results. And I've never done a race that long. And I am crazy out of shape. But, I think this will be a great way for me to lose the rest of the pounds and I love having a goal in mind. I'll start training in September. Should be fun and awful all at the same time.

But for now...I'm grateful for my 27 and look forward to getting the rest of this off and being in my clothes again.

So what do you think? Do they look alike?

Sawyer.....3 weeks old. Hanging at the pool

Grayson.....3 weeks old...hanging at the pool.

Same outfit....different poses.
So.....do they look alike?