I feel like these documented updates might be on the boring side for, ya’ll – haha! If you have been following along and are finding these helpful, be sure and throw me a thumbs up in the comments. And if you are finding that they are getting a bit stale, tell me that as well – wink! I never thought about how long I would document the fourth trimester, hmmm…. either way. Let’s get on with my postpartum week seven and eight.

HOW I AM FEELING PHYSICALLY:

Things are as good as they could be. I haven’t been as strict with my eating as I planned on and I know I need to be and I am feeling the effects of it. My sugar cravings are off the chart – the holidays definitely don’t help with this – and I need to get it in check asap. Dear Kara, adult better, ok? Especially with the increased chances of Type 2 diabetes between the gestational diabetes and family history which I have talked about previously.

I was finally able to attend my first Barre 3 class and it. kicked. my. trash. In the best way possible of course. I am going to jump into documenting this journey fully starting at the first of the year, but you can read a small bit of my experience here on Instagram. My body hasn’t seen a workout like that in a long time and while I didn’t overdue it I was left feeling ashamed that I had such a long period of time of not taking care of myself to proud that I did it.

My mind wants to push myself harder and I am often upset when I fall short of what I should be doing with myself – both physically and nutritionally, but I have been feeling a bit down due to Brooks being extremely attached, still working through his colic and keeping up with the holiday madness. This time of year is just plain hard sometimes. Does anyone else feel like that ever? That no matter what you do it is just simply that time of year.

MY CURRENT WEIGHT:

Still nothing new to report since I have been terrible thus far at making it to my second follow up appointment. Someone please tell me I’m not alone in self sabotaging. I don’t know if it’s my anxiety or laziness or just a crazy hectic holiday schedule to currently keep up with, but I still have yet to make my next appointment. Nothing is worrying me and nothing is physically wrong so I think mentally I have kind of checked out of the whole thing. Not good, I know. With my lack of control in the eating department, I do feel that I am carrying a few extra pounds which has me a bit depressed, but not out. Baby steps, right? One step forward, two steps back. I really wish it could be leaps forward.

HOW I AM FEELING MENTALLY:

I’ve still struggled these past two weeks between getting back to work from maternity leave as well as Brooks being extremely attached to me and going through his colic (which is why I think I am still not eating properly – it’s one more thing to stress about on top of all of the other things!). It has gotten a bit dark for me on some days (this is a perfect reminder of why I don’t breast feed), but when I am able to take a nap or just have a break from Brooks it really does help. With him really not sleeping during the day unless someone is holding him, I feel like I am pretty tied up and never have free hands for anything else. He still prefers me over everyone which is normally not a surprise at his age except for when I am the only one who can calm him down or get him to sleep. So, with that, the idea of having to start work again makes me more stressed than I ever imagined.

Because I can easily become tied to the house for long periods of time due to both having a newborn and my homebody personality, I have been pushing myself to continue getting out and about – even if it’s a simple errand like Target to pick up milk. I know mentally, it refreshes me a bit and helps to be out in public, running into people we know and having that human interaction. All with Brooks tied to me of course and I am so grateful for Wildbird and their slings – heaven sent!

FEEDING:

Brooks is doing SO much better in the tummy department. His constipation is non-existent and I am so grateful to know about these two products that have truly made all of the difference for him: Mommy’s Bliss Probiotic Drops and Mommy’s Bliss Gripe Water.

We did meet with his pediatrician who, after examining Brooks, said that it is a mix of constipation and colic that had him so upset and irritable. An interesting piece of information about colic – I was always under the assumption that it’s purely a gastro/stomach thing and it’s not. It’s a neuro thing for newborns. It’s over-stimulation. They are used to life in the womb and are still trying to function in the world and learn how to self-soothe, etc. That’s why the things that calm a baby with colic are constant movement and swaying and that “shushing” noise us parents get tired of doing all the time. Go figure! It was so interesting to learn about it since we have never had a baby with colic.

Anyway, our pediatrician said that about the six week mark is when things should start to look up and from where we were when we met with him to now is a definite improvement, but we still have hard days and bumps in the road.

Brooks is still drinking at the 4 oz. mark about every 3 to 4 hours.

SLEEPING:

Brooks is still awake all day. Now, let me clarify. He will doze off and will stay asleep, but only if he can stay on someone or is being held. As soon as I take him off of my chest to lay him down he fusses and wakes right back up. This is where we have struggled the most. I have so many things I want to be getting back to and doing and accomplishing and I have to really control my frustration sometimes. I try to make sure to remind myself constantly that we are only at two months. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. We all know that is easier said than done sometimes though.

On the flip side, however, he sleeps all night. He goes down by 8:00 PM following his 7:30 PM bath (seriously, such a high maintenance and structured baby!) and we are up at 4:30 AM for a feeding. So how can I complain?! 

And it’s still a daily battle with myself to get proper sleep because I also know that lends well to losing more of the weight and keeping my sanity, but my busy brain gets the best of me sometimes.

BABY’S GROWTH:

Brooks is now just under 10 LBS and is holding his head up so much more. He is also giving us plenty of smiles which we are all swooning over. It’s been so neat to see him connect with everyone’s eyes and follow them while they baby talk to him. You forget just how incredible it is to watch.

ADVICE FOR FELLOW MOTHERS ABOUT TO EMBARK ON WEEK SEVEN AND EIGHT:

If you find yourself still struggling with things and frustrated that you don’t feel 100% back to normal, say it with me and keep repeating it to yourself…. it’s only been two months. It’s only been two months. It’s only been…. you get the point.

Seriously though, this stuff isn’t for the weak and I’m sure you are doing so much better than you think you are. Remember to be patient, remember to give yourself the space to not get to “all the things” and remember to keep soaking in the tiniest of moments. Things will only keep getting better from here and before you know it, you will be out of that “fog” and wonder why you ever struggled in the first place because things will be so good. And that is the magic of motherhood. You forget the struggles and that’s when the next baby comes along – wink!