3 Weeks with Baby & Bringing Sexy Back Wk1

3 week old Savannah

My how things have changed! I'm waiting for Savannah to finish her 8am eating/pooping cycle so I have a few minutes to start this post.
I think my days of multiple posts in one week are gone for the time being. What kind of mom has that sort of time?
And I have a freaking nanny!! I can't imagine what it's like to have to do a bunch of house work with a newborn.

So, will have to combine a couple into one.

First, Bringing Sexy Back 1:
Week 1 of 26: lost 3 lbs
Total to date: 3 lbs
Lbs away from goal: 34

No exercise this week unless you count lifting and carrying my now 11 lb baby!
Food: Very healthy. I actually feared mid week it was a little too healthy and was affecting my milk production. Had to add a couple of mid day snacks, like fruit, corn chips and cashews.

Savannah on her way to first doctor's visit

I'm unwillingly off heavy amounts of dairy as Savannah doesn't seem to like it when I eat anything dairy heavy -it makes its way to her milk.
The weight seems to still be coming off on its own and I think I can thank nursing for the time being.
Will add light walking beginning later this week.


Savannah and life update:

***pause for baby clean-up time***

Ok, back...6 hours later.  I didn't realize how much time flies when you have a baby!!

So, updates around the house...
I'm still not handing over much baby care to the nanny.  I'm comfortable with her changing diapers from time-to-time (while I monitor) and sitting in front of baby, staring at her, while I shower. Believe it or not, that's progress in my book...I'm ever-so-slowly allowing others to have contact with my "precious" (in my best Gollum voice).
She's doing a fantastic job managing all other household activities. When we brought Savannah home, we had a household "meeting" where we explained to her that we needed her to become a house manager.  She's getting the hang of what that all involves.

Need to take more of these type of pictures

Hubs is back at work.  This actually made for good quality bonding time with baby.  Also led to a downward spiral involving nursing the first few days because I wasn't sleeping much and baby was "cluster feeding."  He's really been an awesome husband & daddy through this adjustment period.  Seriously - what kind of husband volunteers himself to go buy nursing bras without the wife even asking?  An awesome one!  I think the saying is, "Happy Wife, Happy Life".  Well, I'm getting happier and more relaxed every day and a great nursing bra certainly contributed to that happiness.

Taking a break in between feedings

We're 3 weeks in, Savannah changes a little every day.  She's now 11 lbs and 23 inches long.  I've seen  3 month olds that look more like newborns than she does.  Her features are really starting to become more pronounced, though I know we're months away from when we can really pinpoint who she looks like.  From the eyes-up  though, she's already all daddy!

Nursing has been a battle...let me say that again....NURSING HAS BEEN A BATTLE!
I was so close to giving up a few days ago and just shoving a bottle with formula in front of her.
First, the "latch" wasn't right, which caused an immense amount of pain.  This led to a horrible, HORRIBLE feeling of me not looking forward to feeding her.  I can't think of another more sincerely panic-stricken moment involving my body than negotiating pain vs value of her nursing.  I started really feeling sad and guilty about not looking forward to feeding my own baby, especially when all you read is about how wonderful it's supposed to be - bonding time...blah, blah, blah...

I quickly began fearing she wasn't getting enough food.  She would feed for over an hour, stay put, feed some more...  I would begin to pull her off me and the crying would start.  This could go on for 4-5 hours until she got sleepy.  Then, her doctor confirmed her weight gain and growth was great...baby girl is growing strong and getting enough food.
Still, the pain would not stop!  I then feared I was producing too much, leading her to not properly latch on/drink.

Even Teddy is trying to find his place in Savannah world

Finally help arrived in the way of a wonderful La Leche League lactation expert.  Without charging, she visited me at home yesterday and like magic, everything started improving.
The pain is starting to subside, Savannah is a happy, satisfied baby and I no longer fear feeding time.

That's been the biggest motherhood hurdle so far.  I'm finally beginning to feel better from the c-section, though I stupidly set my recovery back by a few days by trying out a medical girdle my sister suggested I use.  As soon as I put it on, the pain that had gone away almost a week before, came back with a vengeance.
The pain is starting to subside again, but I was pretty ticked off I caused myself pain by following unsolicited advice...what I swore I would not do!  See, this is why I promised myself I wouldn't accept that type of advice!

Also, I've realized that for the first two weeks, I was genuinely in love with my child, but had no time for the frills involving having a new baby.  My focus was entirely on getting her enough food, making sure she stayed healthy.  I'm starting to relax a little (especially since the great nursing debacle seems to be calming down).

New dog beds to make them feel loved

I haven't pulled out my good camera to take a ton of artsy pictures.  I've taken at least 2 a day on my phone or iPad.
I don't feel guilty about it.  I think my priorities have been in the right place.  I've been a concerned, over protective parent.  I'm starting to relax a little and every day, we get to know each other a little better.  I see a little personality start to develop.  It's pretty wonderful.

I'm vowing to keep the camera handy from here on out...especially now that she's mastered the art of eating and can finish off a meal in 15 -20 minutes instead of an hour...every 2 hours.  Do the math?  Yeah, I wasn't getting any rest!

It's been quite an adjustment - even the dogs have changed the way they behave.  Teddy, our most spoiled dog, has become calmer, more solitary, maybe even a little sad.  Maggie has become completely maternal and follows us around when Savannah is crying as if to make sure we're not hurting her.  We're all finding our way through baby world.

Here's to making a jolly path to the one month mark!
 Ahhh!! Savannah's almost a month old!!