Not 39 Weeks - Postpartum Check In

Today at 9 o'clock I got a text from Baby Center that said "you are 39 weeks pregnant."  Sigh.  Its still unbelievable to me that, not only is Benjamin here, he has been with us for the past fourteen days.  I never got to worry about not going into labor before my (evil) doctor pushed an induction.  I never got to take last pictures of a ridiculously pregnant belly.  I never got to go into work days from my due date and make everyone worry I was going to have the baby under my desk.  I never got my farewell maternity leave cake!

Obviously I wouldn't change a thing and I'm glad Benjamin is here and healthy.  Just, wow, how did this happen?

There's so much I want to write about.  My birth story (nearly done).  Our postpartum hospital stay.  All things Benjamin, etc.  But for now, since it's easier and on my mind, I want to write about my postpartum recovery.

Weight: This has been a pretty awesome side effect of giving birth. Despite not really gaining weight during my pregnancy, I lost over twenty five pounds within days of having Benjamin.  I'm now about twenty two pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight.  And people I've seen or who have seen pictures of me on Facebook have not been shy about pointing it out. I'm really hoping I can maintain this weight until at least my six weeks postpartum appointment and then start working on dieting and working out to lose a little more.  Once upon a time (i.e. seven years ago) I was a healthy weight and I'd love to get back in that range.

Mental Health: Good.  Also better than expected.  I am still trying to reconcile the tragedy of my sister in law's death with the joy of the birth of my son and frankly I'm not sure I'll ever be "over it" exactly but I just try to enjoy each day and be thankful. I had Benjamin's placenta made into capsules and I really think taking them has helped my moods stabilize.  I'm basing this on the very thin anecdotal evidence of the one day I forgot to take my capsule my moods were a little more out of control.  I always said even if placenta encapsulation has absolutely no medical value, for $150, it was a risk I was willing to take and I'm glad we did it.

Just like the anxiety I experienced during pregnancy, I feel most anxious at night, particularly when my husband and I start sleeping in shifts.  I am grateful that I have been getting a decent amount of sleep but it's just not the same when you are used to going to sleep whenever you want and sleeping as long as you want.

I was able to attend my regular Friday therapy session at only ten days postpartum.  It was important to me to keep the appointment because I'll be leaving Benjamin with my husband to go on my job interviews this week.  More on that below.

Physical Health: I'm taking iron pills right now because I'm slightly anemic, and they are awful.  But I stopped taking pain killers day ago.  I don't have any vaginal pain.  I'm still bleeding and it gets heavier depending on my level of activity.  I assume my stitches have healed since I haven't felt them.  I get tired from standing long periods of time but that may be due to the whole reduced sleep factor.

Co-parenting: Going well.  We are mostly bottle feeding so it has allowed us to give each other breaks, which is nice.  DH sleeps a solid block of five hours at night in a row, while I take usually two shifts of three hours.  During the day it's much easier since we are both rested.  H did a little work starting the second day back from the hospital so that he wouldn't be too far behind and didn't have to charge his vacation time.  Starting today he is "back" on a part time basis for the week, but it's nice that he's still physically here since he works from home.

Maternity Leave Thoughts: I was enjoying watching The Today Show for a while but it's ironically very repetitive.  It's weird not being at work on a Monday.  It's weirder still thinking I may never return to my current job.  I have a certain level of guilt about that for some reason (then again I feel guilty a lot lately!).  In addition to the long awaited job interview that Benjamin's birth threw a kink in, I just got a call today from another agency and I'll be interviewing with them on Friday.  I don't want to count my chickens but if I were a better man, I would wager that some agency will snap me up by the time my maternity leave is up.  If I get a new job before DH (who has been interviewing for months) I will just laugh.  Wish me luck.