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.