Postpartum Week 2 by Teresa Palmer
What week
2
How big is baby
8lb 12oz
What’s something new this week
Smiles! Well actually we got his first dream smile on camera last week at 4 days old, but this week we can lock eyes with him and say something to him with a big smile on our face and he will smile back.
Most challenging moment
Christmas shopping! We spent so many hours shopping for Christmas presents that my back got really sore. I had to keep switching from using the Solly Baby wrap to our Baby Bjorn One carrier (we also have the Ergo but I find BB One carrier easier to get on an off & I LOVED using it with Bodhi!) I couldn’t get my back feeling comfortable and I was finding it awkward to breastfeed in both carriers because he is so little still. I have to perfect the wrap technique I think so he can nurse easier!
Also getting Forests passport for our return to the US was quite the mission and B was having a I-needed-to-nap-2-hours-ago meltdown in the post office. I think we were there for 2.5 hours so somebody had to resort to Super Ted YouTube videos (that rad kids show from the 90’s!) oh and maybe some Caramello Koalas hahaha
Something you loved this week
Christmas! Mark and I both agreed that it was the most magical Christmas we have ever had. Bodhi is at the most beautiful age for Santa excitement, I was so moved by his giddiness over Xmas. My husband is also SUCH a Xmas geek, he loves the tradition so much and goes above and beyond to make it extra magical and special for the kids. He wrote a letter from Santa to Forest and Bodhi, he set up all the Santa presents in the most amazing way, hung and stuffed the overflowing stockings and played non stop Christmas music! We were both so happy to be celebrating our first Xmas with Forest too, even though he slept most of the day he was wide awake for all the presents and was peacefully observing everything. My whole family were together and we just ate great food and shared laughs and some pretty awful Kris Kringle presents!
We also took the kids to watch La La Land at the Moonlight Cinema in Adelaide. We had a picnic with our friends and then the boys fell asleep about midway through the movie. It was so sweet watching them together, I had a very out of body experience as I told someone about my “two sons” I’m still getting used to saying that I’m a Mother-of-two, its been very special.
Mama time?
A daily bath is my Mama time and Mark got me a bath bomb from Lush so he let me have an hour long Xmas morning bath where I listened to my podcasts and relaxed! Also we have been trying to get Bodhi to sleep earlier so that Mark and I can watch a movie, we have managed that once this week which has been really nice!
What am I eating?
JUNK!! Haha it’s been pretty bad this past week leading up to Christmas. Lots of sugar the past 3/4 days but prior to that I was eating healthier whole foods based nutrition like cacao smoothies, watermelon salads, tomato salads, vegan flat breads and vegan meatloaf. Also we have had the bomb vegan vanilla slices from Cherry Darlings in Adelaide too. Super yummy. Back to healthy next week haha!
My Body
My body has been feeling great, I’m back to feeling like myself again. My abs are still separated and I haven’t got any strength in my stomach but I’m definitely feeling good. Next week we are going on a 9km hike to Mt Lofty with the kids which will be my first bit of exercise since Forest was born. The post-birth bleeding has almost totally subsided and I don’t feel sore anywhere now. I’m not too lethargic because we have been sleeping well enough and my skin has also brightened. My skin was looking very grey and dry towards the end of my pregnancy and now everything is coming back looking a little more alive! I can’t fit in to any bras anymore, it’s crazy how many sizes your breasts grow when you’re nursing, it’s back to dressing for large bras and nursing pads for me!
Heading out on the biscuit with Bodhi!
What’s working
Right now co-sleeping is working for us. I remember it worked best for us with Bodhi too. Last time we had the Arms Reach Co-Sleeper which ended up just being used more as a side barricade instead of his bed! Now the Bednest is doing the same thing. He has laid in in maybe for 5 minutes haha! Forest sleeps on his back next to me and I just roll over and breastfeed him when he wants to feed (he makes an “Eeeh” sounding noise when he wants to nurse) I have to sleep with just a sheet and no pillows anywhere near him. We have a kin sized bed so everyone has plenty of space. We follow Safe Co-Sleeping Guidelines and so far it has meant everyone has been getting really great sleep. You can read more about co-sleeping here. He will feed for about 20 mins and then sleep about 3/4 hours then that pattern continues until around 8am. Then we wake up and start our day. We are breastfeeding on demand too, so we choose no routine, we just allow him to show us his needs and we follows his cues closely to meet his feeding/sleeping/playing needs.
Reflections
Mark and I have been reflecting on how lucky we are to have the privilege to raise children. It’s so incredible to watch their personalities develop. It’s been a week of deep connection between all of us, getting used to the dynamic and seeing how everyone fits in, being open to challenges that arise and embracing all the incredible things that come with having another child. I’m so happy for Bodhi, to see him in his element as a big brother, it just warms my heart. Its also so nice seeing how much my family have been enjoying having Forest in our lives, especially seeing my parents with him.
It’s really been even more fun than I imagined so far, I think when you can liberate yourself from everything being perfect, routined or “just right” you can really get present and enjoy the moments as they arise; all the sweetness, connection and the love as well as the dysfunction, the tiresome moments and the times where we just don’t know what to do and have to take a stab in the dark. I love all of these messy, stumbled, confident and serene moments because really its just the imperfect greatness of motherhood.