Week 9 Post Partum Vlog by Teresa Palmer
What week
9
How big is baby
14.3lbs
What’s something new this week
Her singing and imitating all the noises. She actually started do this a few weeks ago in sporadic busts but it’s really become her “thing” this week. One of us will be looking down and her and talking to her and she imitates us back, trying out all her noises and coos. If we make an “ooh” sounds she does it back. If we sing to her she starts singing too, holding her notes! It’s so stinking cute, she gets all smiley and proud of herself. She loves it.
Most challenging moment
She still only feels the prolonged comfort with me, so if she cries I am the only one who can comfort her. Mark, Isaac or my mum can for a bit but usually she just wants mama. I think it’s because the mama instincts kick in and it’s just a knowing feeling, I breastfeed her, I’m the one mainly taking care of all her needs and with that comes the more intimate knowledge of your baby’s routine, wants and ways of being comforted. She is the type of babe that just wants her needs met when her needs arise. She gets frustrated if someone is just guessing or trying to figure her out. Her emotions are more intense than the boys and she get pissed off is someone is reading her cues wrong!
I see my mum go through all the things it could be and generally Poet is just tired and needs to be helped to sleep. I find this challenging because I’m noticing mum gets stressed out when she can’t calm Poet and Mark gets bummed that she won’t settle with him, but ultimately they understand that she’s just going through a mama moment right now. It’s also hard to be the only one who can calm her as it means leaving the boys if I’m in the middle of something with them to go to her. I know they understand and it’s all a part of the juggle, but it’s easy to make up in my head that the boys thinks Mama spends too much time with the baby. I know, they love her so much and I’ve been explaining how when they were little it was the same way, they actually don’t even seem to notice but of course the curse of the old mama guilt rears it’s ugly head!
Favourite moments
This RV trip!!! Its been utterly epic and such a wild adventure. I think we’ve really found our way with it and it’s become our new family tradition. I’ve been writing for hours and hours each day in the RV so it’s also been an amazing work trip for me. The kids have been having a blast and we’ve been staying in KOA RV parks which have been fantastic because they’re so kid friendly and have tons of fun kids activities. RV camping is officially our new family passion! At the moment of writing we are on Day 4 of driving, we are in Washington. The Oregon coast was such a highlight, it was stunningly beautiful. The redwoods were gorgeous too and it’s so lush and green right now. This time has all been about family and I just can’t explain how fun it’s been. Messy and crazy, but all in all it’s been one of the highlights of my life as a parent.
Mama time
Tons! Funnily enough, the kids all have each other and they’re hanging so much that I’ve had a ton of uninterrupted work time. Well, that’s not entirely true. Po girl needs me whenever she isn’t sleeping, so we’ve had lots of nice connection time which has been lovely to come up for air for.
My body / What am I eating
Ooof not great! Haha I’m so bloated and just feel a bit sluggish with a headache. I’ve been eating terribly which is obviously why I’m feeling like this! I’ve been eating a bunch of packaged snacks that we’ve brought on the road and small amounts of fruit, but not much. Corn chips, mamee noodles, beyond burgers from Carl’s Jr. and fries, popcorn, salt n vinegar chips, I mean a really yucky diet right now. The kids are eating better than me because they’ve at least been eating the fruit. I’ve been off fruit lately, so basically it’s been a week of junky food. It’s kind of the fun of an RV trip though. When we are home again, I’ll be back on the health train!
What’s working
My new nappy cream system! I got this new cream from the Pump Station called Bourdreaux’s Butt Paste. It’s mega strength and then on top of the cream I pat in the Australian white clay to form a completely impenetrable film, I then add in an extra absorbency sheet that Grovia makes. I have to wipe the excess off whenever I change her so I know it’s staying on and the pee/poop isn’t touching her skin. It’s working like a charm, her butt hadn’t ever been this clear yay! The small victories haha
Checking In
I really can’t believe our baby girl is 9 weeks old already, it has just completely flown by... I know everyone talks about how fast it goes but this feels seriously rapid. She seems bigger every morning and we are loving all the ways in which she is evolving and learning more about the world. Her little personality is so evident. I’ve been loving getting to know her more each day. This past week, she’s decided that she is a babe that wants to face outwards in the world when she used to only want to be held to our chests, or be permanently attached to the boob. Now she doesn’t mind looking around and out, it calms her when she cries. She is a magic little addition to our family and we feel as though she has always been here.
