October was both incredibly challenging, and perfectly blissful. We brought Winona home to Sam and Susan's guest house a few days after she was born and settled right in. Taylor stayed home from work for the first week, and the second he only went for half days, and it was so nice to have him around. Winona is lucky girl to have him for a papa!
Winona came out on the big side, and with the biggest appetite! She was constantly nursing or sleeping, and the amount of snuggles and cuddles she received is ridiculous! At first we thought she might have colic, because around week 2 she started being soooo fussy and nothing would calm her down. But my BFF mentioned her sister's baby's being sensitive to dairy, and since I had another couple weeks before we saw Winona's Dr. again I decided to try cutting it out of my diet to see if it helped. Enter, angel baby Winona, who never cries, doesn't have a 'witching' hour, sleeps at night for 6-8 hours a stretch, and is, over-all, the happiest baby alive! And she was so much happier that I didn't even notice that I was missing dairy in my diet! Which, if you know me at all, is extremely surprising; my top three food groups being cold cereal, milkshakes, and cheese.
Every one told me two things: One, that nursing would be the hardest thing ever and that I was going to hate it and have to force myself to get past the first few weeks. Two, that I was going to hate my body and it would take at least 9 months to lose the weight I had gained.
One: FALSE. Winona latched on perfectly the very first try, just minutes old! And sure, we had some over-supply issues (while feeding her on one side, I would hold one of her diapers under the other and literally fill the thing up with milk!), and some sore nipples. But those things really only lasted a week, and hello boobs! Plus, whatever hormones my body was producing while I was nursing Winona made me soooo happy. Endorphins! Feel good stuff!
Two: FALSE. I never was upset about my body! Yes, I gained 52lbs. Don't try and tell me I was all baby, I wasn't. My face. MY FACE, guys...PUFFY. Super puffy, fat face. My smile? totally not my smile, and when I got home from the hospital? Still had an extra 40lbs at least, still didn't have my skinny face back, definitely didn't fit in ANY of my clothes (boobs, butt, belly.) But you know what? I gave birth to the most perfect human on this Earth. I gave life to the sweetest, squeakiest, squishiest baby alive and she's half me, and half the man I love most. She is perfect, and my body is so incredible for being able to carry her and birth her, and I'm proud of my body, and when I was still carrying around the weight I was happy with my body. Also, I recognize I'm probably lucky, because I did lose most of my weight very quickly, but I attribute a lot of that to the fact that I went to the gym 6 days a week right up to my due date, I ate healthy and never let myself use any pregnancy excuse to go crazy indulging my "cravings". I have extra width in my thighs, my boobs are heavy and not perky, and I have a layer of loose skin on my stomach that I don't think will ever go away. I LOVE MY AMAZING, STRONG, body that brought my Winona into this big beautiful world!
Winona at one month old:
11 lbs 2 oz
22 inches
15 inch head
ahhh you made me cry! Love it!
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