Week 7 Post Partum Vlog by Teresa Palmer
What week
7
How big is baby
12.4lbs
What’s something new this week
We travelled back to LA this week and introduced Poet to her big brother Isaac! It’s been really beautiful watching them together. He knew exactly how to be with her to get her to sleep, and didn’t want to stop carrying her around. He said, “Yes! Finally. I have a sister!” Haha. He turned 11 this week and I just can’t believe what a big boy he is now. He is just so loving with the biggest heart. He is funny, sensitive, sweet, highly intelligent and totally cheeky. All the wonderful unique parts to him that make him the gorgeous boy he is.
Most challenging moment
The jet lag hasn’t been fun this week. Myself, Mark, Bodhi and Poet have all handled it really well. Forest on the other hand has been staying up till 11, waking up in the middle of the night every other hour to play and then sleeping in till 10am with naps at random times! I found slime all downstairs in their room this morning smeared into the jute after a midnight slime session yipeee! His middle of the night wake ups have been disturbing Poet too. It’ll calm down in a few days I’m sure.
Favourite moments
We had a great birthday celebration for Isaac. We watched him in his school play and then headed out to dinner at our favourite LA restaurant to do cake and chat. All of us together, the blended families and the step grandparents. My mum and Isaac’s stepdad’s parents came along too, it was just so lovely to focus on Isaac and shower him with love, reminiscing about all the things we have done with him.
After an initial two days of transitioning back into life in LA, we have all really settled back in and I’m reminded of all the things that make this place such a beautiful second home for us. Very happy to be back in LA and just love the chilled environment here. I know things are about to ramp up for me work wise so I’m just enjoying this time!
Mama time
When Poet is sleeping I’ll have mum or Mark watch Forest (Bodhi is at school) and I’ll take a bath and catch up on work in the bath (I’m writing this in the bath right now!). Forest usually end up in here with me, but he is so busy playing with his toys I can still get some work done!
My body
I feel really great! I’m starting to feel back to my old self now, although I just don’t feel strong, I’m going to start doing 5 mins of light ab work a day to see if I can help restrengthen my core. I have about 10 weeks left until I’m on camera for A Discovery of Witches. For continuity reasons, I have to look pretty much the same as I did in Season 1, as we begin Season 2 on the same day as we finished last season. I’ve been so gentle on myself and haven’t focused on getting back to the way I was. I haven’t been restricting food and I’ve just been listening to what I’m craving. To me, that feels like the healthiest way to get my body looking the way it was before my third pregnancy, without the pressure. Slowly but surely!
What am I eating
Smashed avocado toast, Lovewell chocolate smoothies just to replenish from all the breastfeeding, green juices, spinach artichoke dip and corn chips, and popcorn.
What’s working
We are using a combination of things for our night time sleep routine, and it is working for us. We alternate between the Sleepea swaddles and the Merlin Magic Sleepsuit depending on which she feels happiest in, and place her to sleep in her Dockatot. Or if she is happiest in the SNOO, we will start the night there. Right now we are getting a great stretch from 9-2:30, and then she wakes again at 4:30 and will sleep through till 7. I feed and change her at each wake.
Also working are the cloth nappies! Thanks again Rachel from @OwlBabyStore for helping us out on a moments notice with that!! Life saver. Whilst yes, to be fair they’re less convenient for us as a travelling family than using the disposable and bio nappies we were using before, but we feel great about making the switch. Not only for the environment too but also because her nappy rash has finally gone! It has been a doozy and boy is her skin sensitive. We did 2 more days of nappy free when we got to LA and then since have been using an amazing Australian White Clay with the brands Little Innoscents and as a nice drying powder at each change to get rid of the wetness and voila bottom is healed!
Checking In
I watched Ride Like A Girl last night. It’s a movie that I star in playing Michelle Payne, the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup. It’s being released in September and I was sent a link to watch it. I had been hearing about the amazingly positive response to the film but in all honesty, I really struggle to watch myself in anything I’m in without being self critical, so I had put it off for a week or so to get in the right headspace! I finally decided to watch it with my husband and best friends staying with us. I just loved it.
Rachel Griffiths has done an incredible job telling Michelle’s story. I only hope that all young girls around the world can watch it. It is one of the most empowering films I’ve seen for young woman. My husband and best friends cried almost the whole way through, I bawled at the end, haha! I was even more moved thinking about the impact this kind of film could have on my daughter. The adversity, prejudice and backlash that Michelle faced just because of being a woman in her male dominated industry was immense. I won’t give away more than what I already have but I’m just so excited that this kind of film has been made and that thousands of young people around the world can too be inspired to follows their dreams despite the hurdles they face. I’m so proud of Michelle, Rachel and the whole team on RLAG, it just really struck a cord with me now that I too have a daughter. I hope that when it comes out you have the chance to see it too and that this story resonates with you as much as it did with me.