Still Balding

I had planned a post on hair loss but G beat me to the punch. There are things you don't know when you get pregnant. Someone at work just happened to mention that my hair would fall out in clumps after I gave birth. I did not sign up for that! I am sure my husband appreciated 9 months of a hair free home though. My hair has now been falling out for three weeks. It started right after my son turned 4 months old. I have an awful habit of raking my hair with my fingers, I always get at least 1 hair. It is like a compulsive tic, usually I get 10 hairs. Will I have any left? I honestly didn't notice that my mane looked any nicer when I was pregnant. By the way, this tic will freak others out - they to do not know that postpartum's long list of pay back includes bald spots! Perhaps I should weave a bird's nest.

When to start solids...

When your little one turns 4 months old the pressure for solids starts... people start asking you if he is on solids yet. There is a rumor out there that rice cereal at night makes babies sleep longer. BUT every scientific study proves it doesn't. What do you do when your pediatrician tells you that that is true though. Supposedly, an infant is ready to swallow some where around 5 months and 1 week. On the other side you have the breastfeeding champions with their banner for 6 months of only breast milk. Like many things in the parenting realm you are not given a one size fits all answer, it is your choice. We will probably start on some weekend between 5.25 and 6 months. We said we were going to start several times after work but then we get tired and forget. I will give you updates!
We started sleep training last night so that will be our main focus for the next two weeks (remember if you have a baby that slept through the night early to NOT complain about other sleep issues, the sleep deprived will want to throttle you!).

Soon I will be bald

When you are pregnant, your hair gets thicker - nice bonus, right? All the pregnancy books talk about it. Of course, they fail to mention that a few months after your baby is born all your nice, thick hair starts falling out. Every time I wash or brush my hair I lose a handful or two, and now that my son has taken to grabbing and yanking my hair every chance he gets, I figure it will only be a few more weeks until I'm as bald as he is.

Time for a Hotel Night

Signs you may need a night away from baby, a hotel night:

• You pour your cereal into your water glass in the morning, not the bowl you set out
• You open the car door to get out of the car into oncoming traffic
• You keep replacing words in your sentences with completely unrelated words
  
• You have not slept for 8 hours in a row for 4.5 months
• You pumped at work with the blinds open to the outside world
• You pumped at work without putting the bottle on the pump, only noticing when you tipped forward and got milk on your hand and clothes
• You have since pumped at work and forgot to put the bottle on 3 more times - thankfully catching it before the tip forward
• You can't spell you own last name when asked to spell it over the phone
  
• You meet a Realtor to see a house and you are waiting at a different house on the same street
• You keep telling everyone that you have a 4 month old who does not sleep through the night in hopes that they will excuse the confused look on your face

Yes, all these things happened to me in the span of two weeks. After hitting "bottom" on Thursday night, a hotel night gave me enough rest to slightly resemble a human again. No not 8 hours (I had to pump!) but enough for now. You better NOT tell me I look tired!

There is no need to state the obvious

We know we look tired. WE ARE TIRED. If after knowing this, you still feel the need to tell us we look tired you run the risk of "accidentally" being poked in the eye with a binkie.

The only exception to this rule is the sentence "you look tired, let me take the baby so you can take a nap."

P.S I am the mother of a good sleeper and I have a helpful husband. if you tell the mother of a bad sleeper or colicky baby, the mother of multiples multiples, a single mother, or a mother who has more than one child under the age of 5 she looks tired you could be seriously injured.

Recovery is a bitch, part II

Following up on MamaMeg's post...

I debated about bringing this up, but honestly, this is one of the biggest "Things I Wish I'd Known" thus far, so if you're squeamish about blood and girl parts, just STOP READING NOW.

I was ready for the blood during delivery. I'd been in the delivery room a couple of times with family members, so I knew what to expect (although I still want to know how we ended up with blood on the chair behind my bed - can't figure out that trajectory). But I didn't realize that following the birth I'd have what is essentially a 5-6 week menstrual period. Yeesh. And every time you go to the bathroom there's a cleansing/pain relieving ritual you have to go through. Forget taking a quick pee. Those days are over for awhile.

And did I mention that you can't use tampons during this time? Yep, you're stuck with maxi pads, and at the beginning you need BIG ones. Not fun. You're already uncomfortable walking and sitting due to your downstairs trauma from the birth, and then you factor in the maxi pad and you develop this really attractive bow-legged waddle.

To top it all off, one of the signs that you're supposed to watch for so that you know if you're bleeding too much is, I kid you not, passing "blood clots bigger than a golf ball." Holy cow! 

If you can read this post and still want to have a baby, you're probably ready (or else completely warped, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt).

Breastfeeding and Working

... can be a challenge.

I have been back to work full time for 3 weeks now. Thankfully, I have an office and some schedule flexibility because I am a supervisor. I pump three times a day.

First Lesson - Stress on the job makes pumping hard... it just doesn't go fast if you are stressed so grab a book and try to relax.

Second Lesson - EVERYONE knows what you are doing... it is a fact of life... oh well.

Third Lesson - Trying to do something away from work at a workshop or conference is trying. You need to call ahead and have them find you a place. It may be an awkward conversation but it worth it that day. You will already have enough issues getting yourself and all your parts out the door, you don't need to worry about where to hide. Breaks aren't going to line up so you will miss programs and networking but oh well. Don't forget your cooler.

Working and breastfeeding is hard, working full-time and breastfeeding is harder. You will want to give up and some point. Vent to someone, hey vent to us, so you can go a bit longer and when you can stand it no longer... don't beat yourself up. You can still try and do 4+ feedings at home. Goodness knows that it is going to be the cleaning of bottles after work that is going to be the end of me.