Odd and Ends

• First things first, our little guy is 1 month old!

• Prison Break is back! This is one of my ‘guilty pleasure’ shows. I admit the acting is less-than-stellar, but who cares when you’re looking at Wentworth Miller! Hotness! And speaking of shows, I’m also glad that America’s Next Top Model is back especially since Project Runway just finished this season. I miss Tim Gunn!

• We Are Scientists is my new favorite band. They rock!

• So I’ve been at home for almost 5 weeks now and sometimes, I get bouts of cabin fever. Having a baby will add at the very least, 30 minutes to your prep time whenever you go out. It takes me about 30 minutes to get ready to dress him, buckle him up, gather his things, and put him in the car! And so far, my little rockstar baby has the tendency to do a huge-ass, stinky poopy whenever we leave the house (as in right when we’re out-the-door and he’s already strapped in to his car seat!). Heck, going to Starbucks isn’t the 2-minute drive I’m used to. But once it gets warm out, he and I will be taking nice walks around the neighborhood.

• I’m still wearing my Citizens of Humanity maternity jeans. Gah! I gained about 34 pounds during my pregnancy. I lost 12 pounds immediately after giving birth. Right now, I don’t know how much I weigh, but it isn’t as important as fitting into my regular clothing! I tried on my Seven jeans the week after I gave birth but alas, they couldn’t even go past my hips! I’m not in a rush to lose weight since I’m not even supposed to be doing any heavy exercise until 6 weeks after giving birth. My real goal is fitting back into my clothes –especially my work suits! Right now, I definitely have the “mom body” –you know, the thickened waist, pot belly, living in sweats (check out the pics below)! The hubs jokes about buying me “mom jeans.” Egads! No way.

Me at about 35 weeks

Me, 3 weeks post-partum

• Here in the U.S., exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first 6 months of a baby’s life. And there are a lot of women who adhere strictly to this recommendation and lecture you if you even mention formula! As for me, I do breastfeed, but I supplement with formula. My only gripe is that this little guy has a HUGE appetite and has to nurse for a looong time before he feels full. I swear, he would be latched on to me 24/7 if I let him! He eats constantly, and I just cannot keep up. I am supplementing with formula to keep both him and I happy. As an added bonus (other than its’ health benefits to baby, of course), it does burn about 500-600 calories! (Of course, you're supposed to eat an extra 500 calories as well just for this purpose).

  
  
• I’m going to my first show post-motherhood next week! I’m going to see The Editors at Webster Hall on March 30th! Oh yeah! I’m also planning on playing guitar again (so far, it’s been in the basement) and working on writing songs. Of course “planning” is the operative word here...because I just came to terms with the fact that:

  
  
• Maternity leave is NOT a holiday. One of the major things I’ve had to realize is that maternity leave does NOT mean I’m on vacation. When I was still working and looking forward to taking time off, I had all these things I had planned to do (especially since I thought the little guy wouldn’t be here until early March!). I thought I’d have a lot of free time to take care of home projects (e.g., sorting out my paperwork and organizing my home office or having the time to re-organize my closet). The reality is that now I only have a few hours here and there for myself –and these hours don’t come consecutively either! So I have to do things piece-meal and see what kind of chores I can sneak in during the day while the baby sleeps (which is really not a lot).
  

• “One of them” –I went to Panera Bread the other week for a late lunch (as in past 3 pm when we finally got there) and took the baby there in his stroller. To my surprise, there were a good number of women there also with their kids in strollers. A few looked at me and smiled. Welcome to the club?! I realized that I am officially “one of them!” I didn’t think I’d be one of those women in shops, looking harried, baby-in-tow! Now, I know why they look harried! I used to feel bad for those women (yes, I had an attitude about stay-at-home moms and scoffed at them). Now, I actually enjoy being a stay-at-home mom and dreading the day I'll have to put the little guy into daycare! Raising a kid is hard work! I definitely have a lot to learn.

Motherhood. Mayhem. Musings.

3 Weeks Ago:

• I was shopping at Bloomingdale’s and browsing through Theory’s spring collection.
• I was tying up loose ends at work and managing files to transfer them to my replacement.
• The hubs and I were still working on the baby’s room.
• I thought I still had a couple more weeks to go until the baby’s arrival.
• I got 7-8 hours of glorious sleep every night.

2 Weeks Ago:

• The hubs and I brought our baby home from the hospital! It was a quite a scary drive knowing you have precious cargo in the backseat! I'm still aprehensive about driving with him in the back!
• I actually felt like a full-fledged mom when we had to bring little Jacob to the hospital because he had jaundice –-he was given phototherapy and had to stay overnight in the hospital until his bilirubin levels went down. Even though this is a normal occurrence, I still felt so bad and worried over him!
• I only got about 4-5 hours of sleep (and non-consecutive and that!)
• My boobs hurt! (but they still have not gotten bigger. Phooey) Breastfeeding is not an easy task.

1 Week Ago:

• I can actually multi-task while breastfeeding! I can read a book or eat a snack (some of the time, at least).
• I take pictures of Jacob on an almost daily basis.
• I got about 6 hours of sleep (still non-consecutive).
• I actually got out of the house, ran errands, did some shopping (for baby essentials) and left Jacob and the hubs at home. They were still in one piece when I got back. I drove my car with the windows down (in 40-degree weather) and my music loud!
• We started calling our parents lolo and lola!

Today:

• I actually made breakfast for myself. But then had to eat it while breastfeeding the little guy.
• I actually cooked dinner for the hubs and I!
• I completed some medical forms to add Jacob under my insurance.
• I changed his diaper about 9-10 times today so far –including one poopie gone awry! I had to rinse out a blanket and everything!
• I washed my hands at least 10 times today. Talk about dry, chapped hands!

* * * * *

So it’s been about 2 weeks or so since I’ve given birth. This whole “mom” thing is quite a formidable task and my days as mom are so different from my pre-parenthood days. I have a son. Craziness. It’s weird because I find myself calling the pediatrician’s office and saying “I’d like to make an appointment for my son, Jacob.” It's still a little surreal to say "my son." Even though it's weird for me to say "my son," I immediately felt like a mom during my stay at the hospital. I even missed my little baby when they would take him back to the nursery for a few hours! I especially felt like a full-fledged mom a few days after giving birth, when we had to take Jacob back to the hospital because he had jaundice. At that point, there was no turning back. Now, my days and nights are spent taking care of this little guy. It’s not easy and we’re still getting used to each other. But one thing’s for sure –we’re already in love with our little guy and he’s growing fast! He’ll be 3 weeks old come Friday and he already looks quite different from the day we brought him home!

Jacob - 3 Days Old

Rockstar baby! Check out his hair after a sponge bath!

Getting some tummy time...

My little bunny...

I'm doing a poopie on the Boppy!