Before I get into this recap, I thought I’d tell you about my labour music story.
During my pregnancy, I always read about other mama-to-be’s making a playlist on their ipods so they’d have music to listen to during labour. Genius, I thought. I need one too. And so I used my pregnancy card for the umpteenth time and charmed Eric into making me a playlist when I hit around 38 weeks. I was busy nesting my heart out and luckily he was willing to entertain my labour requests. Much to my control-freak’s chagrin, I let him choose the entire playlist. I had no clue what would be on it, but remember – at 38 weeks pregnant I was too tired to care! I just asked him to include a mix of upbeat/fast tempo and slower songs. I also asked that there be little to no classical music. I’m all for classical music at the right time, but if it’s the wrong time it can drive me bonkers. So there’s that.
He made me a playlist and since Eric never does anything half-assed, he didn’t just make me any old playlist. He made me a playlist with two separate categories: fast/upbeat, slow/chill and I’m pretty sure he spent a few hours picking the “perfect” songs. I even heard him chuckling about adding the Rocky theme song. Oh boy…
I packed the ipod along with portable speakers (you know, to blast the roof off the joint) in my hospital bag. It sat for 2 weeks in my bag and I was so happy that I would have amazing music to play during labour! It was going to be the BEST labour evaaaaa.
Fast forward to the labour. Do you think that ipod even got taken out of the bag? Of course not. Do you think I even opened my bag during labour? No again. Do you think my hospital bag even made it out of the car? Nope!!! I was in so much pain when we got to the hospital we totally forgot about my bag. Eric got it shortly after delivery when we moved into another room. Here I was thinking I needed my music to get through labour, but the thought of music didn’t even cross my mind during labour. I guess I had other things on my mind!
Fast forward to last week. Eric hooked up our treadmill in the basement so I could workout in the house. After he set it up, I dug out the beloved “labour” ipod music, and clicked play. Holy crap, this is a GREAT playlist. He didn’t let me down. Maybe next time!
Did you listen to music during your labour?
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A lot has happened over the past two weeks! When I started these bi-weekly recaps, I worried that I wouldn’t have much to write about, but I’m finding there is so much to write about. I’m actually thinking I might have to switch to weekly recaps so I can stay a bit more organized. What would you guys prefer?
During week 10, my dad came to visit for the week. It was his first time meeting Adriana so that was very special. Unfortunately, he came down with a horrible flu just prior to his arrival so that really put a damper on the visit. He felt so horrible all week long. Luckily, none of us caught it, so I am very grateful for that.
We had an exciting milestone happen this week. Adriana rolled over from her tummy to her back. She was on her tummy for tummy time and all of a sudden she just rolled over out of the blue! She did it once more that same day, but she hasn’t done it since. Maybe she decided rolling over isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?
Another thing she has started to do over the past few weeks is pouting. She sticks out her bottom lip and is so dramatic about it. I can’t handle it. I’m sure the pouting lip will get old, but right now we think it’s the funniest thing we’ve ever seen. Where do they come up with this stuff?
Adriana appears to be showing early teething signs. After reading up on it and talking to other moms, apparently teething symptoms can start months before the first tooth cuts. Around the start of week 10, she started to drool a ton. She’s been chewing her shirts and soaking them, gumming everything, rubbing her cheeks (which can be from nerve pain), fussing and crying a lot more than usual, etc. She has also been rubbing her cheeks against my nipple when breastfeeding. Maybe it’s not early teething symptoms, but it sure seems like something is up. We pulled out her Sophie the Giraffe teething toy she received as a gift and she’s loving it so far. I also ordered her an organic cloth/wood teether from a Toronto company called Ringley.ca. I will report back if she likes it!
It’s probably going to implode as soon as I type this, but sleep has been pretty consistent lately. We’re in a great routine right now where I feed her around 9:30-10pm, she sleeps until 3-3:30am when she feeds again, and then she sleeps until 6-6:30am for an early morning feed. Our overnight sessions are also much shorter now. They used to take about an hour by the time everything was said and done, but now we’re down to about 25-30 minutes per session. I feed her on one side, then Eric burps her and changes her diaper, and then I offer her the other side (sometimes she takes it, other times not).
Breastfeeding is still going well, although she gets sillier by the day. Sometimes she loves to coo and act silly when I put her on the breast to feed (unless she’s very hungry, then it’s all business). I’ll go to feed her and she will look up at me with this huge grin on her face and let out a big squeak. It’s hilarious to her! It takes her a few moments of this little game and then she finally latches on. I’ve also been making progress with breastfeeding around other people a bit more. We went to a Christmas party this weekend and I fed Adriana in the same room as everyone else (I use this nursing cover). I’m shy so this is a big step for me. I hope to get more and more comfortable with it over time. I’ve also discovered parking lot nursing! We’ve had a couple outings this past week where she all of a sudden needed food yesterday, so I nursed her in the backseat of the car in a parking lot. I also changed her diaper in the back seat! It was awkward and I thought I was going to pull out my back, but it worked. You gotta do what you gotta do!
Our biggest challenge over the past few weeks (and really, the past 11 weeks) has been finding a balance with our relationship. Eric and I have a lot of love and respect for one another, but sometimes it’s easy to forget that we’re on the same team. Sleep deprivation and hormones are no joke. It’s easy to be snappy and bicker for no good reason. So we’re trying to work on things and not take each other for granted. My friend told me that her and her husband have weekly meetings where they talk about everything from their children, to schedules, to their relationship. We gave it a shot and let me tell you it was so refreshing. We spent half of the meeting talking honestly about our relationship and parenting (what’s going good, what we can improve, how we can help each other) and the other half about our business. I think it’s going to help us a lot and we plan on continuing these weekly meetings into the future. It’s amazing how just a bit of communication can make all the difference.
Exercise: After getting into spin classes around week 8 and 9, I fell off the spinning bandwagon. When my dad came to visit during week 10, I didn’t make it to any spin classes. I didn’t want to wear myself out given there was a chance I could catch his flu. So I took that week off exercise. The week after, I decided to start working out in the basement on my treadmill. Since Adriana still isn’t taking a bottle, it’s a lot easier working out at home. So now when she naps I squeeze in my workout.
Here is what I’ve been doing:
Treadmill Hill Workout:
Warm-up for 2 minutes
1-10 minutes: Speed 4.3 mph, incline 8%
10-20 minutes: Speed 4.3 mph, incline 9%
20-30 minutes: Speed 4.4 mph, incline 10%
Cool down for 2-3 mins
It might be a walking workout, but don’t let that fool you. The hills and fast pace have me covered in sweat and out of breath!
I’m also doing these resistance/weight workout videos every other day:
10-Minutes Pilates Butt Workout (via FitSugar)
Madonna Arms 10-Minute Workout (via FitSugar)
I LOVE these two videos. In just 10 minutes each, I really feel like I squeeze in a great workout. The beauty is you can do them anytime, anywhere. For the Madonna arms, you will need a set of 3-pound and 5-pound dumbbells and for the butt workout you will need one 5-pound dumbbell. I’m loving getting my strength back!
Bottle feeding: We ordered the Comotomo bottle based on some of your suggestions. It has great reviews for babies who don’t take to bottles easily. She still hasn’t latched onto it yet, but we are going to keep at it (both with me out of the house and in the house). I think I have a fast letdown reflex, so we might also try ordering a nipple with a faster flow to see if that’s what she prefers…it’s all trial and error at this point!
Favourite game: I started sticking out my tongue at her to see if she would stick hers out at me. She is so captivated by my tongue sticking out! Sometimes she will stick it out back at us. It’s SO stinkin cute.
She loves: diaper changes, mornings, eating, daddy’s silly faces, snuggles/being held, mamaroo, playing airplane, bathtime, Christmas trees/lights, black chandelier in our bedroom (she grins at this thing)
She dislikes: nail clipping, ear cleaning, eye cleaning, gas pains
Nicknames: squirmy wormy, monkey, milk monster, werewolf
New postpartum symptom: We are both losing our hair! I knew this day would come…sniff, sniff. My hair got so thick during my pregnancy, and it’s starting to fall out now (especially around the forehead area – my hair stylist said this is so common). It’s the circle of life, I suppose. Adriana’s hair has also thinned out a lot! It seems to be coming in a lighter colour, so it’ll be interesting to see how it grows in.
Eye colour: Still blue, but they have changed from navy to a lighter blue now.
“It’s not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can’t tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself,” – Joyce Maynard.
You and Eric could not possibly look more content in that beautiful family picture! Glad to hear everything is going well. Adriana’s first Christmas is just around the corner!
Please do weekly recaps! My baby is three weeks old so I like reading your “preview” of what’s to come.
Oh also, I didn’t take my iPod out of my bag during labour either!
I love the updates! Weekly would be even better. My son started showing signs of teething around 2 months; drooling, fussing, all of it. I got him a Baltic amber necklace around 4 months and within 30 minutes the drooling stopped and he started giggling at who knows what in the back seat of the car (we put it on him at the store and weren’t even home yet). With the exception of bath time and other water adventures he’s had it on ever since and hardly shown any teething signs. His first tooth finally popped through at 6 months and at 22 months I just found a 2 year molar almost all the way in and I had no clue he was even close to that. I swear by the necklace and wish we’d gotten it sooner.
As a hopefully someday Grammy I would love weekly updates to get reacquainted with the world of babies and parenting little kids. Grown up kids, all too familiar with all that!
Enjoying the baby updates! I’m expecting again and it’s fun to read your posts and remember what the early weeks can be like! I found it very difficult to breastfeed in public and unfortunately I could never master using a nursing cover, but I discovered these AMAZING and very discreet nursing tops and I LOVED them! I bought a couple tanks to wear under other shirts and some long sleeved ones and if I knew I was going out and would need to breastfeed in public I always wore one. You should check them out, they made a world of difference for me when it came to nursing in public. http://www.momzelle.com/nursing-clothing/molly-nursing-top-1491.html
Weekly updates would be fabulous! I had my first baby October 30th and love reading about how things are going with you and how you’re coping with the various challenges. I also appreciate your readers helpful comments and suggestions. It gives me some confidence and lots of ideas to try. :)
Also, I’ve started feeding him in front of almost everyone lately. I get lonely hiding out in someone’s bedroom while the parties go on without us! Lonely wins out over modesty for me! lol
Yes to the weekly updates–I love reading what’s going on!
I did listen to music during labor… I didn’t think I’d want to, but my husband put on Spotify and found some Brahms string/piano quintets to listen to. (I’m a classical pianist…sorry!) It was exactly what I needed, though I will say that at one point he apologized that Spotify wasn’t playing the movements in the right order. I looked at him like he had three heads and said ” Do you think I care about that right now!?” It would be like listening to an album where the songs were out of order.
I’d also like to know more about your return to exercising–I went for my first runs this week, and it felt pretty good.
I love these updates, Angela! And I feel like they are going to be so much fun for you and your family to read and look back on in a couple of years :) Your story about the music for labour had me laughing out loud!! And I love that you and Eric have weekly meetings with each other, my BF and I do something very similar and it makes a world of difference! It’s great knowing we are on the same page and we both always feel great after!
Beautiful family photo by the way – you guys must be getting so excited for Adriana’s first Xmas!
I know I’m pretty late to be asking this question, but I only found you maybe two weeks ago. I’m curious about how being vegan and pregnant went for you. One of my biggest concerns is about if I’ll be able to maintain nutrient intake and gain the right amount of weight and all that while eating a vegan diet. Also, how does being vegan effect breastfeeding?
Hi Elizabeth,
I recommend reading my two posts on supplements and protein, and of course always talk with your doctor!
http://ohsheglows.com/2014/05/05/my-prenatal-supplements/
http://ohsheglows.com/2014/05/07/sample-high-protein-vegan-menu/
Thanks girl :) I’ll definitely be spending a lot of time in conversation with the doctor and my husband about it. I’m just glad to know it’s possible after all :)
Do you have a recommendation for a home treadmill? I’m in the market but haven’t pulled the trigger because I keep getting overwhelmed by the options (and the expense).
I love your baby updates!! My vote is for once a week (if you have the energy/time)… it’s such a joy to hear about your journey. Thanks for sharing!
Still loving your baby updates (I know, I’m like a broken record haha). It is so wonderful that you and Eric sit down and openly and honestly discuss everything that needs discussing. I think more people would benefit in doing so, especially when a newborn is thrown into the mix! You two look so very happy in that picture. I’m so curious what Adriana’s hair and eyes will look like a few months from now! My brother’s hair was red when he was born, but it soon turned brown. It’s wild how those things happen.
Invest in some nice breastfeeding tops if you are shy. the Swedish brand Boob makes amazing tops and you can nurse discretaly everywhere. After 3 kids, ill nurse pretty much anywhere, but i still love my tops.
Celebrate the hair loss because it means hormones are changing and that is when the weight started to fall off. I mean fall off, it was crazy! I lost like a pound a day for a few months, well ok maybe not a pound a day but you get the idea. I love reading how it is going!! Such a wonderful blog!!
I am loving your baby updates, keep them coming! My two are 9 and 7 now but reading about all your trials, tribulations, happiness and wonders, it brings it all back in a flash. They truly are amazing times. All your updates will be so wonderful to look back on, for you both and for Adriana when she’s older. Imagine what fantastic advice it’ll be if she is a Mom! Such a gift! You are an inspiration Angela! Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year xx
I would LOVE to read weekly updates! I enjoy your baby updates so much, two weeks is always too long to wait!! Your labor music story is hilarious, funny how certain things just fly out the window when you’re in the thick of it! Adriana is soooo precious, I think you’re doing a wonderful job as a new mom to her.
Thank you so much for being so open about your pregnancy and new journey in parenthood. I appreciate your honesty and find all your posts super insightful!
Oh yeah, lots of stress about the playlist and no, never came out of the bag. The second time around, my bag was not nearly as full!
Love these updates! Weekly would be great! It’s so awesome that you do this. I have post-its and notepads and such with scribbles about what my babes were doing at what age. Need to get it organized and neat!
You sound like an awesome mother and wife. That’s great that you and Eric can acknowledge what your relationship needs and DO IT! It’s a hard time for a relationship, that’s for sure
You seem so relaxed about motherhood, like you were meant for it. Man, in the first few months, I was such a mess! I would have freaked out if anyone sick was planning on visiting. And when we went for our first road trip with my little guy at 3 months, nursing him and changing him in the back of the car nearly made me want to cry. It took me 5 months to breastfeed in the same room as someone who wasn’t my husband!
Maybe next time around I’ll be far less afraid and full of anxiety.
I love these posts. For some reason, it makes me recall the good parts about those early months, mess though I was. Weekly updates would be great :)
I love to read all about Adriana – she is such a cutie. I had to laugh at your labour music story as I did have music to labour to – Bon Jovi, which my midwives all found crazy. It was perfect, a little bit of fast, a little bit of slow and then I remember at one point, I’m sure I was in transition then, for them to just “SHUT IT OFF!!!!”. My doula says that to this day, she is brought back to my labour whenever she hears Bon Jovi.