4 Pounds, George Costanza, and Giving Thanks

This blog post comes a little late due to my attempt to get some online shopping done during Cyber Monday!  Cameron was SO sweet to follow a pretty strict eat, play, sleep routine today, letting mommy sneak in some online buys during her naps. J

Anyway, in other news I had my 6-week postpartum checkup last week.  4 POUNDS folks – that’s all that stands between me and my pre-pregnancy weight.  Now I have to admit that I was SHOCKED to see the number on the scale.  A little excited, and relieved, but shocked nonetheless.  How the heck am I only 4 pounds away, yet none of my jeans fit?!  I guess I’ve got all kinds of new curves, thanks to my sweet girl.  Small price to pay. J

Now, in reference to George Costanza – surely you know who he is (cue Seinfeld theme song!) – our gorgeous, adorable baby girl’s hairline now resembles that of ol’ George.  Slowly but surely she’s lost her hair, with it creeping back, yet remaining on the sides and back of her head.  Poor little thing looks just like George Costanza. 

http://images.wikia.com/seinfeld/images/7/76/George-costanza.jpg

The proof is all over her crib – tiny little hairs are everywhere!  Her dad insists on her wearing hair bows anytime we go out in public – the problem is, she doesn’t have enough hair to hold the clip-in kind, and with her head being in the 98^th percentile, most hair bows on a band leave indentions in her head.  Oh well – we obviously still think she’s the most adorable little girl we’ve ever seen. J

In more important news, we had a wonderful first Thanksgiving with Cameron Kate.  This ol’ mama was incredibly nervous about our first road trip (granted we were only traveling 45 minutes away!), but the hub’s parents were extremely accommodating and wonderful and made me feel so comfortable being away from my bubble. J  THANK YOU PAPA AND GRAMMY PEELE!  Thank you not only for the delicious food (man can my mother-in-law cook!), but thank you for giving us a home away from home and, most importantly, for loving our little girl so, so much.  This was a Thanksgiving I will remember for the rest of my life. J

Our sweet Cameron has been growing like a weed and does something new everyday.  I cannot get enough of her smiles, and coos, and all of her different sounds.  She’s just started to give me a big, gummy grin every morning when I go to get her out of her crib.  It melts my heart!  She is SUCH a good baby, really only fusses if she’s gassy or overly tired, and is pretty much sleeping through the night.  She sleeps and naps in her crib, falling asleep on her own after we put her down when she’s drowsy.  She has been such a trooper during my breastfeeding struggles, and she’s still hanging in there while I continue to try to master it.  She HATES tummy time.  She’s always “milk drunk” right after she eats, which lasts about 5 minutes or so before she wakes up and is ready to “play.”  She LOVES her playmat and is perfectly content to lay on her back and be left alone while she looks around.  She LOVES the taste of gripe water and is so cute while she drinks it.  She has the smelliest gas you could ever imagine.  Her ears look totally different from each other – just like her mama’s. J  Her “angel kiss” on her left eyelid is slowly fading, and while I thought I would like to see it disappear, it makes me sad that a trace of her newborn-ness is fading away.  She LOVES when you sing to her.  She loves to be bounced while you’re sitting on a yoga ball.  She rarely poops (such a lady!).  She likes to suck on a paci to help herself fall asleep, but doesn’t really care for it any other time.  She is perfection, from her George Costanza hair to her extra long toes. J

Can you tell I’m wrapped around her sweet fingers?!

 Playmat time!  She rolled from her back to her side! (P.S.  Notice the hairline?!)

 Heading to my checkup... The doctors and nurses loved her, too!

 Lounging with Grammy Peele...

 And then they fell asleep - so sweet!

 A quick, pre-Thanksgiving feast nap with Dad!

 Love her!

 Now a nap with Papa!

 The Peeles!

 Cheering on the Tigers!  (Obviously she didn't cheer hard enough!)

Headed to get her first Christmas tree!!

"It's Not About You Anymore"

These were the sweet words my hub said to me the other day.  (Love you babe!)  Now, I’m not sure if it was EVER about me – well, maybe it was for the past 9 months J -- but, he’s right.  (Don’t tell him I said that.)

If I remember correctly, these were the words he said to me when I was complaining that my pre-pregnancy clothes still don’t fit.  You see, I feel like I’ve lost quite a bit of my weight, I’ve been getting back to running, and paying attention to how much I’m eating (as much as you can while breastfeeding)… and yet these hips are still quite wide.  I can slip up most of my jeans, but the buttons just seem MILES apart.  But I wasn’t complaining about my hips – I was complaining about these JUGS.  (Yet again, I apologize to all of the men who read this blog.)  They are out of control.  Like, they don’t sell a bra that fits me in most stores.  And I have to wear two sports bras when I run.

         Like I said – Out.of.control.

And so even while my hips will continue shrinking, chances are, my JUGS will not.  So all of the shirts and sweaters and tops that I try on just do not fit.  And as long as I continue breastfeeding, I’m not sure if they ever will.  And when I was complaining about this to my hub, who I secretly hoped would reply, “Well, just go shopping” – his response was, “Well, it’s not about you anymore.”

         And… he’s right.

         It stopped being about me at 8:19pm on October 10^th.

         And it has been absolutely wonderful living a life that’s not about me anymore. J

Which is why, my friends, I failed to post last week.  I didn’t have the luxury of stopping what I was doing to update the blog because a certain someone needed my undivided attention.  So I definitely have a lot to update!

Since my last post, our little girl is now over a month old – crazy!  At her one-month checkup, she weighed 11 lbs 4 oz – less than week later when we were back at the doctor for blood in her stool (everything is fine by the way!) she was up to 11 lbs 13 oz – No wonder she’s snugly fitting into three-month clothing!  She is in the 95^th-98^th percentile for her weight, height, and head circumference.  Man oh man I love our big girl. J

The doctor told us we’re still not supposed to take her to crowded places until she gets her vaccinations at her two-month checkup… so no Black Friday shopping for Cameron.  But I have gotten a lot better at taking her out and about!  This week my goal was to take her out of the house each day… we made our way to Target, Stein Mart, the mall, and even for our first outside run with the jogging stroller (with two sports bras on, of course).  We’re making serious progress!

C has also given the hub and I some serious sleep – she’s gone for 6ish hours overnight!  Who knew what uninterrupted sleep could do for a soul!  While she’s not following the same pattern/schedule every day or night, she is showing trends of 4-6 hours of sleep each night, which is awesome.  She’s also falling asleep on her own in her crib – such a big girl!  Our goal was to be able to put her down drowsy, but get her to soothe herself to sleep (without crying it out)… and we’re very proud of how well she’s doing. J

She also had her first poop in the bathtub.  The hub was holding our wet baby over the tub and we were both looking at the mass of poop floating around, laughing uncontrollably.

C and I have both managed to develop thrush – yuck – which I’m hoping will clear up and help ease the struggles I’ve had with breastfeeding.  She’s also on medicine for reflux… And since we’ve gotten her on these medicines, she just seems so much more content.  Hopefully we’ve remedied whatever was causing her discomfort.  She is starting to smile, and coo, and make all sorts of noises.  I love just laying on the floor beside her while she’s on her playmat, watching her discover the world.  I now know that when you’re a mom, it’s all about the little things. J

Speaking of being a mom, it’s time for me to get back to my girl.  As much as I’ve enjoyed the “me” time of sitting here, drinking coffee and updating this blog – I’ve got to get back to my daughter.  Because SHE it what it’s all about. J

 Bailey trying to lay with Dad like Cameron does!

 Check out those cheeks!

 Who you lookin' at?!

 1 Month Old!

 LOVE

 Go Tigers!

 Happy Dreams

 BIG Girl!

 Someone LOVES her swing!

 A quick visit with Meme!

 Passed out on a Friday night... I had NO clue he took this picture!

 My lil' cupcake

First run in the jogging stroller with mom!!

Pain

No, I’m not talking about the pain of my recovery – I know you’re sick of hearing about it, and to be quite honest, it’s starting to be a distant memory… I’d always heard that you quickly forget about the aches and pains associate with pregnancy, labor, delivery, and recovery – which only makes sense, or else why would people have the courage to have more than one?!  And since having another already seems like a wonderful idea, that must mean the amnesia is setting in. J

Anyway, the pain I’m talking about is the bone-deep ache I feel anytime I am away from my girl.  When have I been away from her, you ask?  Well, there’s the date night hub and I had when my mom was in town… I didn’t make it through our date without shedding tears.  And then there’s the breakfast date we had yesterday while my brother and his wife were in town… a short trip to IHOP (classy, I know) left me DYING to have C back in my arms.  (Though I thoroughly enjoyed the pumpkin pancakes! – thanks for babysitting D & J!!)  And finally, there are the moments when she’s asleep, or in someone else’s arms – I miss her!!  If it were up to me, I would hold C 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the rest of her life – or at least until she’s 18. J

I know, I know – I realize how important it is for the hub and I to escape for some dates, for me to live a life outside of my daughter, to find time to bathe… but truth be told, I never knew I could love somebody so much… it’s the kind of love that makes you ache in your bones – a love that gives you the greatest sense of happiness you’ve ever felt – a love that makes you feel so fulfilled, so full of joy that everything else around you slowly fades away and it becomes all about my sweet Cameron Kate.

         What did I do before she existed?

Today, I have to come to terms with the fact that she’s 4 weeks old – holy cow!  Time needs to SLOW down… hub and I were saying yesterday that this has been the fastest 4 weeks of our lives, and I imagine it won’t ever slow down again.  It kills me inside to think that my maternity leave is already 1/3 of the way over.  I’m trying not to think about it, trying to soak in every moment with her because I can’t imagine not being with her all day everyday.  Stay-at-home mom sounds like the ideal job right about now. J

We’re doing well in the Peele house, slowly transitioning from survival mode to figuring-this-out mode.  I’m trying to get to know our girl, what her different cries mean, how to suit her needs… and while some days and nights are better than others, I really feel like we’re starting to make a little progress.  We have her 1 month checkup this week and I can’t wait to see how much she weighs!  As any breastfeeding mom knows, you live and die by your baby’s weight gain.  Come on CKP!

Speaking of breastfeeding, I have to say that it is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, one of the biggest commitments I’ve ever made.  To be quite honest, before she came along, I thought, “I’m gonna breastfeed for the first year!”  Ha.  Now I’m taking it one day, one feeding at a time.  It is TOUGH.  Any mom who’s done it can tell you – it’s one of the most selfless things you'll probably ever do for your child, and I fully intend on doing it as long as possible… but as rewarding as it is, it has been a physical, mental, and emotional battle.

We had a wonderful weekend with Aunt Jamie and Uncle Dame!  Aunt Jamie made us the BEST present – it’s a book of all of my blog posts throughout my pregnancy!!!!  There is no way I can ever thank her enough for giving me something I (and Cameron) will treasure forever. J  They also spoiled C with lots of love and spoiled the hub and I with a delicious dinner and with taking over the 3am bottle.  We were very sad to see them drive away yesterday, but look forward to the holidays!

Before I go wake up C from her nap, I have to toot my horn for 2 reasons… First of all, I attempted my first solo outing!  We loaded up and headed to Babies ‘R Us – I figured if she decided to throw a fit in the middle of the outing, that was a good place for a baby to cry.  We survived!  This weekend the hub and I took her to Lowes and to the mall… while the mall gave me quite a bit of anxiety (all those people!  all those germs!), it was so nice to get out and about as a family of three.

The other reason I need to toot my own horn is that I hit the treadmill for the first time today!!  C went down for a good nap, so I strapped on my tennis shoes, squeezed my squishiness into some workout clothes, and got my butt moving.  While I haven’t officially been “released” by my doc, I figured I could monitor based on my pain.  I was able to alternate between speed walking and slow jogging, followed by lunges and squats – all of which felt quite foreign to this out-of-shape body… but it felt GOOD.  The burning in my lungs, the muscles in my legs – it was like coming home.  (Even though I had the video monitor beside me and stared at it for the entire duration of my workout.)  Hopefully I’ll be able to find time during some of her naps to get myself back in shape – first I guess I’ll have to see if I can even walk tomorrow since my legs now feel like jello!

Ok, remember when I said I missed her while she was asleep?  Time to go wake up my girl…

 As promised... CKP in her Halloween costume!

 Me and my girls (See Bailey!)

 :)

 A quick visit with Grammy Peele!

 Sweet girl

 Someone LOVES her Uncle Dame!

 And her Aunt Jamie!

 4 Weeks old!

Just watching a little tv :)