Postpartum Week 9 by Teresa Palmer

What week

9

How big is baby

13lb

What’s something new this week

Using coconut oil for Forests dry skin. This has been an amazing addition to our rotation of natural baby products that we have been using and it has very swiftly jumped to the top of my favorites list. He has had cradle cap and dry skin and I’ve been massaging coconut oil in to his scalp and face in a circular motion using a damp warm flannel and coconut oil. It has worked wonders!

Forest has also started spitting up a fair bit more. Bodhi was famous amongst our friends for his ability to projectile vomit up three day old milk, he was little pukey palmer! All my friends knew that when they held him it meant a serious milk shower. Forest has been different in that he keeps the milk in after a feed (perhaps this is why he is fatter than Bodhi was?!) but recently this past week we are starting to think pukey palmer might be making a comeback. Watch this space!

Most challenging moment

Well to link back in to last weeks update and my horrid forgetful brain, I annoyingly forgot to repack the baby wipes on the trip to Australia! I changed Forest last minute right before getting in to the car to head to the airport and I must’ve left the wipes by the change station and forgot to put them back in our carry on luggage! So for the 13hr flight I had to wipe Forest with water and the inside of the other nappies I packed for him! I only realized once I was already in my seat on the plane too haha. To top it off he had explosive diarrhea everywhere and then would laugh each time he pooped like that, it was shooting everywhere!! All I could do was laugh at the situation and I kept telling myself, well this is a good one for the blog! Love me a good Mum Fail. Well done me.

Forest also had a really hard time with his ears and I found it difficult to calm him. He slept beautifully on the flight but after a wake up he would be pretty inconsolable for 20 mins and pulling at his ears, I would breastfeed him on and off when he would take it but he would get so worked up that he wouldn’t want to nurse anymore, so my best bet was always to walk up and down with him rocking and singing and once I got him to sleep his ears wouldn’t bother him. Despite that, we both got about 7 hours sleep. I used my frequent flyer points that had taken me 6 years to accumulate, to fly us down one way business class. I have never in my life flown business class on my own dime, it’s just too expensive, we can’t afford it plus even if we could, I could never justify spending that kind of money on a flight. (I’m also the person who won’t buy a new laptop even when the keyboard is broken and I’m lugging around a rather cumbersome plug in keyboard- Sarah Olsen still laughs at me about that one!) but this time I know I had enough points to be able to fly us one way business class, so we used the points and did it! Poor Mark didn’t sleep though as he happened to be in a seat with a bright light shining on to his face which they said was broken and couldn’t be turned off! Oh dear, I had the baby and he had the blinding light, fair trade off I spose! Meanwhile, Bodhi was an angel, he slept a ton and when he was awake he didn’t make a peep! a child who doesn’t get to watch tv in his everyday life but gets a “free for all” on planes will most likely have that experience haha no wonder why he always asks “when are we flying again Mama?!” !!

Something you loved this week

Bodhi’s Pirate and Hot Wheels party! The friends of mine who know me the best know just how much I enjoy a big kids party! I love throwing them and I love attending them! For Bodhi’s second and now third party I’ve invited ALL of his friends and their parents, anyone he play dates with and now this year there are his new preschool friends so there were a TON of kids and adults. It took me about 3 days of set up and prep and it was spread over the 2 levels of our house both indoors and outdoors. On our top level (which is level with the street) we had a lot of front yard activities like a bubble station, an art station where kids could make treasure maps, a “tattoo parlour” where I had our friend and sitter Ashley putting transferable tattoos on the kids, a Hot Wheels area on the grass, a box of pirates costumes, foam swords and a box of Pre-loved giveaway toys that Bodhi had chosen to give to his friends. Upstairs was also the meeting place for the Treasure Hunt that Mark aka Blackbeard the pirate! had written out and set up the night before. He had hidden clues all around the house leading to the downstairs sand pit where the kids dug for the treasure of hot wheels cars and other kids “loot”.

On our lower level outdoors we had the sandpit with the hidden treasure, the pool was the Pirates “High Seas” with a blow up pirate ship, blow up swords and water pistols for pirate pool battles and we used our indoor playground that just so happens to be pirate themed anyway, as the kids pirate ship. We had a vegan feast of mac and cheese, soba noodle salad, a bunch of bagels and spreads, a kale, avocado and sea veggie salad plus drank Kombucha’s, Zevia, Honestkids juices and coconut waters plus we gorged on gold chocolate pirate coins amongst plenty of other snacks. Such a fun afternoon! I love throwing a wild kids party where there are a ton of children, activities, places to run and go crazy and it’s a chaotic and messy adventure! I’m sure it would be some parents worst nightmare but it’s truly my bliss!

Once the party was finished we opened presents and then only had 2 hours until the car picked us up for the airport to go to Australia. We quickly packed, jumped in the car and the boys both passed out (kind of perfect for the long flight!) an EPIC day haha.

Mama time?

No time for that this week! Between Bodhi’s party, blogging, last minute Oscars dress fittings, travel to Australia and Bodhi’s first day at his Australian school, it’s meant I’ve had no time to myself to relax. It’ll happen soon though!

What am I eating?

Green juices, chocolate protein shakes, smashed avocado sandwiches, bread bread bread and more bread! Carob bears, Marks AMAZING ratatouille, pizza and mangoes and passion fruit for breakfast.

What’s working?

This week Bodhi attended school in Adelaide for the first time. I CRIED as did Mark. The school we have chosen is absolutely magical and for us, its beyond any other schooling experience that we’ve come across. It’s the exact environment that I love to see Bodhi in and Mark and I were both so moved by the school that we have been so emotional about it. I want him to be here year round attending this school but I know that’s impossible so it’s also been bittersweet. I love the philosophy and the way the teachers communicate with the children, they celebrate each child for their uniqueness. Bodhi has been showing some clingyness lately and I was completely overwhelmed by how beautifully he transitioned in to this school without having the need to have me close. It was certainly the way the teachers engaged with him, their calm and kind energy. I’m so grateful to have found this place.

Forest is such a contended baby, very go with the flow and easy. He likes to be snuggled, he loves eye contact and to laugh with us, he loves to be included and held, to have Mamas milk and to sleep for 1 hour periods before having awake time. I really understand his needs now and allow him to guide me towards what he wants, it’s become much less of a guessing game. Flexibility has been working too, just having really fluid and open days here in Adelaide with the family has been lovely and again, as usual, Adelaide is so beautifully recharging for us. Love being here so much. I feel so grateful that we have two very radically different life experiences in LA and Adelaide and I really feel as though I want both for our kids, it’s such a nice combination.

My Body

Finally got my butt to the gym! I felt really strong to start off with. I did the rower and then went on to do some abs on the bounce ball, squats and lunges with weights, planks and then a couple of interval runs on the treadmill before Mr Forest decided he needed me! My mum was sitting with him in the front lounge of the gym but I heard him cry so I stopped my workout (I got about 20 mins in) and I went to him to breastfeed. I even got in my last set of squats with him in my arms!

Checking in

I’m just LOVING spending time with my parents. Seeing my Dad with the boys and even just hearing that he has Bodhi’s picture as his Ipad screensaver really emotionally affects me. My dad who is actually such a big softie always pretends he doesn’t reaaally like kids that much but to watch the effort he makes with them is so lovely and totally gives him away that he in fact loves being with children, time to give up with schtick already Dad! Today he caught the bus to attend Bodhi’s preschool birthday celebration, plus he always brings a treat for Bodhi, something he remembers that Bodhi likes. To see the way both my Dad and Bodhi’s eyes light up when they see each other is magic. Dad also gets all teary eyed when he holds Forest too. He is such a loving and affectionate Grandpa. Tonight Grandma arrives home from Indonesia and so we are all going out to The Garden of Unearthly Delights at the Adelaide Fringe Festival.

I’m really cherishing this time together, life is so precious and I can really enjoy moments like these when I’m practicing a state of being truly present. It has meant so much to me. To only worry about school and my family and fun activities to do in Adelaide is incredibly refreshing. LA is so much more busy and the energy is very frenetic, there is always works stuff floating around and tons of things that always need to be done. Adelaide is much slower paced for us and when I’m here I feel like I don’t want to go back, but I know I’ll have to continue to find ways to incorporate the calm energy of Adelaide in to our daily lives in LA, it’s possible!