Postpartum Part 2: two weeks out

People are asking what it's like to have a newborn during the coronavirus global pandemic of 2020. The truth is that it's scary. I am worried of course about passing this (and every other) virus around. I am worried that if I'm not exclusively breastfeeding, baby is not getting the antibodies from me that he needs to develop his immune system. I'm worried that if I feed him refrigerated breastmilk or even breastmilk from a bottle, he's not getting the freshest possible breastmilk directly from the breast, then he's not getting the immune-building blocks that he needs. I don't know if these are worries grounded in fact and science, or just worries in a vacuum of knowledge. Since I can't attend La Leche League or other breastfeeding support groups, I'm left to just assume whatever I think is right. Even though I have "The Womanly Art..." book, I don't have time to read it right now. It's all we can do to pump, wash dishes, do laundry, feed baby, change baby, catch a nap, REPEAT.

Sun (3/22) Our hospital had quiet hours from 1-3 pm and I am implementing them in our house postpartum. If I need to scroll on my phone, sit on the toilet, take a shower, listen to my noise generator, sleep, etc. I get those 2 hours to myself. Or cuddles between me and bebe. But no human convos. No annoying singing. No internet (YouTube, Netflix). It has been nice and I hope to keep doing it.

I would say that about 14 days postpartum: I stopped taking the pain medication, my milk let down (leaky breasts), and I removed the steri stips from my surgery. Not gonna lie, I cried afterwards, not because it hurt but because I was literally sliced open from hipbone to hipbone. It's not how I wanted my baby to enter the world and it feels like crazy to have gone through 22 hours of labor first for nothing. All those people who asked me "when is your scheduled C-section" were not crazy, I should maybe have just had a scheduled C-section.

Now that it is April, things have not completely returned to normal yet. Obviously, I am organized enough to get out my laptop and post this blog, but this is really the first time I feel my head is almost above water. I've been ravenously hungry. Like I have to eat every 3 hours just to feel less like a wolverine. I am also drinking 3-4 Liters of water per day. My mom left on Sunday, March 22nd. Since then, it's just been me and dear husband with the baby.

Finally, I am very proud of the inventory that I did of our fridge and freezer. I just started using MyFitnessPal again and setting weight loss goals as well as programming in some of the new recipes we've been cooking up since the birth. I'm very hungry for protein so the two things I've requested are meatloaf and egg burritos. Due to my C-section and COVID-19, dear husband has decided to exhaust his 6-week paid paternity leave all in one big block. Unfortunately, he will have to take sick leave and/or personal holidays in the summer when/if we do our Nebraska trip, but the trip is taking a back seat to dear son's hernia surgery (which has not been scheduled yet, but we are hoping to have it done sometime in June). Dear son's circumcision may or may not be infinitely postponed / canceled.

Every day there is just one thing that I like to do. For example, inventory the fridge. Or vacuum the floors. Or put away boxes of diapers. If I find one block of time to do one thing, I have to be very happy about that. If I am unable to find one block of time to do one thing, I have to be happy with that too. I also try to go for a walk each day. If that doesn't happen, it has to be OK. Expectations must be managed. If the baby is sleeping and eating, everything is great.

we have just a few plants in containers...ummm yeah

Today is the first day that there are carpenters doing work on the exterior of our rented condo. They have asked us to have our pets confined and for the patio to be cleared. We also have to take caution when entering and exiting our front door and garage between 7am and 3:30pm Monday through Friday. This work is expected to take 3 to 5 days, so we're hoping it isn't too much of an inconvenience. The problems are: dog, sleeping baby, hammering, sawing, plants, poop, pee, COVID-19. It's going to be fine.

Now, we have to have the window shades closed so that my boobs are not on display for the workers. It kind of sucks because we were trying to expose the baby to as much natural light as possible during the day so that his circadian rhythm is stimulated and he sleeps through the night (which has been working). I'm a bit concerned that he will get confused now. Maybe I should just go upstairs when I need to get my boobs out. Problem solved!

A light in the darkness is my Fit4Mom group. They have 2-3 activities planned each day that involve either working out, coffee chat, creative time, story hour, game night, etc. It is such a relief to connect with other moms (via Zoom) that have survived this newborn stage and to hear their perspectives on it all. They've assured me that being quarantined with a newborn is much better than being quarantined with a toddler or even a teenager. It's great to have maximum snuggle time with our little baby, and to literally be missing out on nothing since everything in the outside world is also shut down.