Postpartum Week 6 by Teresa Palmer

What week

6

How big is baby

11lb 11oz

What’s something new this week

We had two 6 hr stretches of sleep yahoooo! Forest was going about 3 hour stretches and then Monday he had a 6 hr stretch from 8:30pm-2:30am. Tues and Wed we switched from the SNOO’s small swaddle to the medium swaddle and he went back to 2-3hr stretches, last night we put him back in the small swaddle and we got another 6 hour stretch. He was just a little too small yet for the medium swaddle I think, so hopefully he will continue these stretches of sleep as they are GLORIOUS after only having 2-3hr stretches at night haha I’m also smart enough to know that his development is constantly in flux so what happens one week will be different from what happens the next, let’s just hope this sleep continues though!

Most challenging moment

Forest had a fever Saturday night whilst we were at the Sundance Film Festival. We felt so far from home and just being such a little guy I was so nervous that he would need a doctor and we wouldn’t have one there that we knew. We stayed up through the night just monitoring him and he ended up being fine, he definitely was fighting off my sickness for a couple of days there but he has been fine the past couple of days. Bodhi on the other hand has gotten really sick and is a coughing, snotty little man, despite that all he talked about doing was going “ski-ding”, so we took him on a small ski adventure!

Something you loved this week

I LOVED bringing Forest with me everywhere at Sundance. I was there promoting Berlin Syndrome so I had a bunch of interviews to do. It was wonderful that I could bring him with me all day, he just snuggled in to me while I spoke to journalists, I breastfed, changed him and burped him all while answering questions about the movie. I loved that we are in a climate now where especially in the industry I work in, that working Mums are so embraced and well catered to.

Mama time?

I haven’t had a ton of Mama time this week, although I had my friend Hayley come and be with Forest while I got rid of a bunch of stuff in my closet, so that felt like a wonderful purge! When my home is cluttered my mind feels cluttered too, so it’s nice to have less stuff, it feels very cleansing.

What am I eating?

Chocolate banana bread in the mornings with avocado toast, a protein smoothie for lunch, butternut squash dip and sourdough bread and I’ve been cooking pasta with sundried tomatoes, olives, broccoli, tomato sauce and pine nuts for dinner.

What’s working?

Now that I’m not sick it’s been so much easier, the baby carrier has been so helpful to cater to both boys, so that Forest has been close and Bodhi still gets my attention. Also this week Forest has decided that he enjoys both the Mamaroo and the Fisher and Price baby swing so I can alternate between the two if I need to put him down to do something for Bodhi, or just the dishes, go to the loo etc.

We have also got our nighttime routine down pat- I breastfeed Forest around 7:30, leave him with Mark upstairs then come downstairs with Bodhi, brush teeth, read books in bed and do “snuggly cuddly” where I lie with him until he nods off about 8:15pm, then I go upstairs, grab Forest, give him another feed and a burp, wrap him in the swaddle and put him in the SNOO, both kids asleep by 8:30pm yayayay!

My Body

My body feels back to its normal self, apart from my breasts, they’re definitely a lot bigger! I’ve been pretty tired but I’ve forced myself to just relax with the boys and have really chill days which has been helping. I’m such a go go go person that celebrating this other side of myself has been really important. I’m also starting to exercise as of next week, I have a yoga class scheduled which I’m really looking forward to.

Checking in

This week has been absolutely lovely! It’s just been the 4 of us having a really slow week, the days feel nice and long because we aren’t filling them with tons of activities. It’s been nice to just get in to the routine of preschool, after school soccer, cooking and just being together. I’ve been loving the quiet nights after the kids are asleep and we snuggle up watching a show (what do we watch now the OA is finished?!?) everything feels really special right now AND my mum is arriving in town this Saturday to be here for Bodhi’s party (Pirate AND Hot Wheels themed!) and she’ll be here for my birthday which I’ll be spending AT THE OSCARS!!! Whaaaat?! What a DREAM. So I’m very excited to have my Mum in town, I’m excited to do this years awards season (which have all been a first for me) and the best part is getting to watch my littlest guy grow so big! Life is lovely.