7 weeks later..

7 weeks seems like no time at all, but i don't remember what life was like before jan 21. one day i'll write my side of the birth story, but that just seems like too much work right now. i already feel guilty enough blogging when i should be writing thank you notes! i'm starting to hear little grunts coming from the baby swing so i doubt i'll have much time. i'll just make a few notes of some current events...

• poppy is just now really smiling at us because she knows who we are.
• she's slept from 10p-4a for the past 2 nights. woohoo!!
• i survived my first week of work and my sister survived her first week of having poppy!
• we took poppy to the beach for her first time last sunday. she loves being outside.
• her first of many disney trips with her cousin, aunt, gi and myself (and uncle bo one day) is in 10 days! 

i remember when i was dumb and pregnant saying something like "my baby will have to get on my schedule.. i'm not going to let her dictate what i do and when i do it" BAHAH! ignorance. everything i do and everywhere i go revolves around 1. when she ate last 2. when she will eat again 3. the weather (don't want to take her out in bad weather) 4. how we slept (too tired to dress on most days) basically, it's all poppy 24/7. and i'm good with that for now. 

goals for this week: write thank you notes, upload pictures of poppy onto the computer because i haven't done that at all! 

looking back on the last 39 weeks

when i found out i was pregnant i immediately made the following statements:

• i will not pig out just because i'm pregnant. i will only gain the 25-30lbs you are supposed to gain
• i won't eat junk food. when i snack, it will be organic produce because what i eat feeds my baby
• i won't complain. it is a gift to be able to grow and carry a baby. a gift that so many aren't blessed with.

this is what my pregnancy was really like:

• i'm gonna go ahead and throw out a number here. because i need to own up to it...  64lbs. omg.
• chocolate milk, sugary cereal (like 4 bowls a day sometimes), ice dream cones, candy, cakes, pasta
• crying, whining, making jake rub my back and feet, making jake play with my hair until i fall asleep, begging a baby to hurry the heck up because i can't stand one more freaking night of near suffocation every time i roll onto my back for 2 seconds, making jake run some hot water in the tub so i can soak my feet... (poor jake!)

this is what i'll do differently next time:

• not eat everything that isn't moving. 
• know beforehand and mentally prepare that pregnancy changes EVERYTHING about your body.
• set more realistic expectations for myself
• walk more, whine less

things i'm looking forward to about not being pregnant:

• holding a wittle, bitty baby and being able to smell her little baby-scented head any time i want.
• starting weight watchers and getting back into my old clothes that i miss so much. i'm looking at you, jcrew cords. 
• watching jake be a dad. 
• sleeping on my back, shave my legs while standing up, being able to pick up something off the floor when i drop it, painting my own toenails, not wearing carpal tunnel gloves and being able to feel my fingers again
• pickle martinis, raw oysters and sushi 

things i'll miss about being pregnant:

• feeling a little butt pressed against the upper right side of my stomach, sitting on the couch watching poppy do somersaults
• the food!
• the smiles and "congrats" and well wishes you get from strangers out in public 
• being excused from having to do anything you don't want to do. "oh, you don't worry about doing that! you're pregnant... let me get that for you." :)
• having poppy all to myself

photo by caroline ziebarth 

jake has almost sworn off any more kids after dealing with me crying and pitching fits almost every night, but i owe it to poppy to have more kids so she can have what i have with my sister and brother. so buckle up, jake! these next few years are gonna be hell challenging! :)

photo by caroline ziebarth

love, michel