Can you decide?
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Too Big
This is what happens when you try to dress your child in clothes he's not big enough for yet:
(His legs are drawn up, so his feet are where his knees ought to be.)
This just made me giggle while he was lying there on the changing table, so I thought I'd take a picture and share.
(His legs are drawn up, so his feet are where his knees ought to be.)This just made me giggle while he was lying there on the changing table, so I thought I'd take a picture and share.
Monday, February 25, 2008
This Ain't No Lie
I think he's starting to go through a growth spurt, since he wants to eat more often.:)
Friday, February 22, 2008
Getting Back to Normal . . . Or Not
I am thrilled to report to you that as of today I can wear my wedding rings again! YAY!
At about 7 or 8 months pregnant, my hands swelled up enough to keep me from wearing my wedding rings, so I started wearing this ring, instead. This is an heirloom that I think is beautiful. I think it belonged to my great-great Aunt Ilma. It has a very pretty relief on it of flowers and leaves.
However, I LOVE my own engagement ring and wedding band. You know how you hear of some people upgrading their rings for their 20th anniversary or whatnot? That will not be me. I got exactly what I wanted when we got engaged, and I will never want a replacement. It's a pear-shaped diamond, and the bands have little diamonds all the way around. I love how classy and old-fashioned it looks.
At my two-week postpartum appointment, I asked about when my hands would get back to normal, because the swelling everywhere else had subsided. Truth be told, I was a little nervous that my finger size had permanently changed or something. But the doctor told me that by my six-week appointment, I should be able to wear my rings again. She was only a day off, since yesterday was the day I had that appointment.
Ah yes, that danged appointment. It went really well up to the end. I have healed perfectly well--you can hardly see my C-section scar, I haven't had any baby blues, etc. The doctor gave me the okay to do any kind of exercise, etc. However, at the end of the appointment, I asked her a question and did not get the answer I expected. I told her that it seems like my stomach is not back to normal. I really feel like somehow the muscles are positioned a little further forward than they were before. I expected her to tell me to do crunches or something to draw them back in. But no. Do you know what she said? She said that this just may be my new body.
WHAT?!
She said that the fascia (which I now know is the layer of tough tissue that lays on top of your abdominal muscles) stretches when you're pregnant, and after delivery, some people snap back and some don't. Apparently, in part because Noah was so big, I may have stretched this dang fascia so much that it won't snap back completely. UGH!!!
As a reminder, here's how big my belly got. (Sorry it's fuzzy--the picture, that is, not my belly--this was scanned from a print.) I saw this after the baby was born and was a little shocked at how big I was. It's of Nathan putting my socks on, since I couldn't reach my feet:
I think it's funny to compare that to JLo, who had twins (although, as Amanda pointed out, I don't think she's 9 months in this picture):
So all that to say that as resolved as I was to work out before, I am definitely more resolved to work out now! We'll just see what I can do to get back to normal. Maybe exercise will fix everything, and maybe it won't, but it certainly won't hurt. (Just to be clear, I'm not depressed about this. Just a little shocked. Noah was definitely worth whatever happens to my abs.:)
Speaking of working out, I just found out that as a family member of a grad student, I can join Harvard's gym for $65. And that gets me a membership through June. What an amazing deal! Gotta love Harvard.
At about 7 or 8 months pregnant, my hands swelled up enough to keep me from wearing my wedding rings, so I started wearing this ring, instead. This is an heirloom that I think is beautiful. I think it belonged to my great-great Aunt Ilma. It has a very pretty relief on it of flowers and leaves.
However, I LOVE my own engagement ring and wedding band. You know how you hear of some people upgrading their rings for their 20th anniversary or whatnot? That will not be me. I got exactly what I wanted when we got engaged, and I will never want a replacement. It's a pear-shaped diamond, and the bands have little diamonds all the way around. I love how classy and old-fashioned it looks.
At my two-week postpartum appointment, I asked about when my hands would get back to normal, because the swelling everywhere else had subsided. Truth be told, I was a little nervous that my finger size had permanently changed or something. But the doctor told me that by my six-week appointment, I should be able to wear my rings again. She was only a day off, since yesterday was the day I had that appointment.Ah yes, that danged appointment. It went really well up to the end. I have healed perfectly well--you can hardly see my C-section scar, I haven't had any baby blues, etc. The doctor gave me the okay to do any kind of exercise, etc. However, at the end of the appointment, I asked her a question and did not get the answer I expected. I told her that it seems like my stomach is not back to normal. I really feel like somehow the muscles are positioned a little further forward than they were before. I expected her to tell me to do crunches or something to draw them back in. But no. Do you know what she said? She said that this just may be my new body.
WHAT?!
She said that the fascia (which I now know is the layer of tough tissue that lays on top of your abdominal muscles) stretches when you're pregnant, and after delivery, some people snap back and some don't. Apparently, in part because Noah was so big, I may have stretched this dang fascia so much that it won't snap back completely. UGH!!!
As a reminder, here's how big my belly got. (Sorry it's fuzzy--the picture, that is, not my belly--this was scanned from a print.) I saw this after the baby was born and was a little shocked at how big I was. It's of Nathan putting my socks on, since I couldn't reach my feet:
I think it's funny to compare that to JLo, who had twins (although, as Amanda pointed out, I don't think she's 9 months in this picture):
So all that to say that as resolved as I was to work out before, I am definitely more resolved to work out now! We'll just see what I can do to get back to normal. Maybe exercise will fix everything, and maybe it won't, but it certainly won't hurt. (Just to be clear, I'm not depressed about this. Just a little shocked. Noah was definitely worth whatever happens to my abs.:)
Speaking of working out, I just found out that as a family member of a grad student, I can join Harvard's gym for $65. And that gets me a membership through June. What an amazing deal! Gotta love Harvard.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Shelfari
Has anyone noticed my nifty Shelfari bookshelf on the right? These are a few books I have enjoyed and recommend. Definitely check out "Father Elijah"--it's basically an apocalyptic Catholic thriller. That sounds cheesy, but it is superbly written, the characters are very real, and the spiritual truths are real and extremely well-presented, too. It's several hundred pages, but you will get sucked in and won't be able to put it down. I think I've read it about five times, and everyone I've recommended it to who has read it has loved it.
Many of you probably already have Shelfari accounts. The neat thing is that one of the guys who started the company is the brother of one of our friends, Caleb (the Caleb of "The Hugs" blog). Shelfari is pretty nifty--check it out!
Many of you probably already have Shelfari accounts. The neat thing is that one of the guys who started the company is the brother of one of our friends, Caleb (the Caleb of "The Hugs" blog). Shelfari is pretty nifty--check it out!
Six Weeks Old
Noah is six weeks old today! He is getting more and more interactive, which means he is more and more fun. And Nathan and I are discovering that we love him and are attached to him more and more as time goes by. He has truly become part of the family.
These pictures just don't do him justice at all. The kid is so stinkin' cute. I will work on getting those smiles on camera. He will just grin at you with his mouth wide open and be so delighted with the song you're singing or, I don't know, your hairline. :)
He really is a strong little kid. I am taking a mom and baby class at a local maternity store, and the instructor showed us the way to help them make the most out of tummy time (as shown in the picture--if you prop them up, they're not grinding their face into the floor). She used Noah as a demo baby to show everyone how to set the babies up, and he was holding his head up and looking around like a champ. After a while, she looked down as he was still going strong, and she exclaimed, "Look at him!" [Insert proud Mom face here.]
He is still fussy sometimes, but it's getting better. Lately we've been having trouble getting him to sleep. It's like he's fighting it--he gets swaddled as soon as he's tired, and just as he starts to drift off, it's like he realizes what's going on and starts to cry and arch his back. Then you have to calm him down until he gets sleepy again. Any tips?
These pictures just don't do him justice at all. The kid is so stinkin' cute. I will work on getting those smiles on camera. He will just grin at you with his mouth wide open and be so delighted with the song you're singing or, I don't know, your hairline. :)
Here he is in Aunt Deb's cute outfit:
Tummy time is fun!
Tummy time is fun!
He really is a strong little kid. I am taking a mom and baby class at a local maternity store, and the instructor showed us the way to help them make the most out of tummy time (as shown in the picture--if you prop them up, they're not grinding their face into the floor). She used Noah as a demo baby to show everyone how to set the babies up, and he was holding his head up and looking around like a champ. After a while, she looked down as he was still going strong, and she exclaimed, "Look at him!" [Insert proud Mom face here.]
He is still fussy sometimes, but it's getting better. Lately we've been having trouble getting him to sleep. It's like he's fighting it--he gets swaddled as soon as he's tired, and just as he starts to drift off, it's like he realizes what's going on and starts to cry and arch his back. Then you have to calm him down until he gets sleepy again. Any tips?
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