Tuesday, March 29, 2011

I'm Different



Every time I read about a postpartum guideline, I think how very sad I would be to be treated that way. The most recent was about limiting the visit to 15 minutes like a time nazi. I would feel so dismissed and like I wasn't worth my visitor's time--like I was putting them out--if someone did that to me. Yes, there are times where I want short visits, but if I actually invite someone over for a visit (very rare in the first place), 15 minutes isn't going to cut it.

I am a social person. I hate how isolated I felt after the birth of my second. I didn't want to be alone with her (especially switching from one baby to two!). I have no problem nursing around people (so if you're around me, you have no problem with it either, or we won't be seeing each other much). I loved having my MIL come out to see the kids after they were born--and we didn't use to get along at all. And one of the highlights after Naomi was born was the baby shower a few days later.

If you're just dropping something off, someone will meet you at the door or your car, lol. But don't be scared to invite me out just because I just had a baby. I'll say no if I'm not up to it. But don't just squee and run. I like to share my babymoon. Maybe I'll feel different after I finally get a natural birth. Only time will tell.

Mostly, this was so I'd quit wanting to post frowny faces on all those guides!

Are those guides accurate for you? Did you want people to just leave you and your baby alone during your babymoon?

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Hi, everybody

Sorry about dropping off the face of the earth, but I've been a bit busy... creating life.

I'm 7 weeks, 5 days pregnant. Remarkably, I got pregnant on the first try. We didn't think that would ever happen. My first little girl took 18 months of trying before I gave up--right after getting pregnant ;) My second was 8 months with two losses in the meantime and required supplements. So, I'm going to be a nervous Nellie for who-knows-how-long while I go from pregnancy milestone to milestone.

I'm having a yucky first trimester, but since a friend has hypermesis gravardium (where you puke endlessly, end up having to go to the hospital to be hydrated, etc.), I don't really see it as that bad. I take morning sickness vitamins and have only puked once, even if I spend about 80% of my waking time feeling like I'm going to and being afraid of it, because I'm exhausted, weak and can barely tolerate much food.

On the night I ovulated, I had a dream. This dream was so interesting that I overslept and had to tell a friend all about it. I wrote it down as a micro-fiction and that friend told me I should make it into a book. I laughed, because that seemed so silly, but the worm was in my head and I decided to write a short story.

Exactly 3 weeks later, I had over 100,000 words--a full novel. I wrote an average of 5,000 words a day (my daily goal) and put in 8-14 hour days on it. I was driven and I enjoyed it. I felt so fulfilled and productive. I've never written like that in my whole life. All the while, this little bean in there grew, implanted and started the road to becoming a baby. My little muse. My muse has always taken maternity leave when I get pregnant, so having him go into overdrive was strange and welcome.

So I've neglected my blog, dramatically and I'm sorry. But I'm also not sorry, as I had quite legitimate reasons. I don't know how active I'll become, since not a lot has really come up, parenting-wise, lately, that isn't already super-blogged. I'll eventually cover car seats and the new recommendation, but that's for another day. Today, I want to go lie on the couch and veg out, trying to forget about the ever-present nausea and overwhelming cravings for potatoes.