Thursday 4 June 2015

Groundhog days

I have a confession to make.  I have no idea what to do with my two month old baby.

I mean, I know how to take care of him, obviously.  Feed, burp, bathe, change, swaddle...I've got the hang of those.  But over the past couple of weeks, my teeny tiny baby who could barely rouse himself from sleep long enough to suck on a boob has turned into a slightly less tiny baby who is now awake and alert a lot of the time.  It's awesome, of course, and there's absolutely nothing to compare to the gummy grins that I'm now getting on a regular basis.  Along with that, however, comes the need to actually do something to entertain the little guy in order to elicit said grins, or to keep him otherwise occupied and stimulated.  It's kind of making me wish that my prenatal class had included a section on children's songs and nursery rhymes, as it has become apparent that my knowledge in this area is sadly limited.  Once we've sung Old MacDonald, The Itsy Bitsy Spider and The Wheels on the Bus, I'm fresh out of ideas.  Lucky for me there's this YouTube channel that has turned 80s hair metal (among other things) into lullabies.  Now those I know!

Nothing like the dulcet tones of Axl Rose to put a baby to sleep.

Otherwise, right now my days are kind of blending into each other.  The most mentally challenging aspect is trying to figure out what order we should do things in.  Do we want to do tummy time, then walk the dog, then sing songs?  Or sing songs, tummy time, and dog walk?  Oh the variety!

I'm looking forward to taking advantage of some mom-and-baby activities in my area soon, but right now Q is still a little young for a lot of them.  I'm also sort of waiting for next week when Q has his two-month checkup and will get his first set of vaccinations before I venture out anywhere that has a ton of germy toddlers.  One cool thing I discovered is that there's a kiddie play centre within walking distance that has drop-in play during the weekdays.  Did I mention it's free for kids under 1 year?  The infant area is pretty small, since the place is mostly geared towards kids aged 2 to 6, but I'm hoping that I might meet some other moms there who are hanging out with their infants while they let their toddlers run amok.   I need to find me some local mom friends!

In the meantime, it's kind of ridiculous the sorts of things that I've been looking forward to doing since they get us out of the house.  Case in point: no one should ever, ever be as excited as I was to go to the passport office last week.  I wanted to get Q's done sooner rather than later so I wouldn't be rushing in advance of our semi-annual beach trip to Maine in July, so now he'll have a 6-week old baby photo on his passport for the next five years.  Luckily he napped like a tiny drunk so I didn't have to whip out a boob in front of everyone, although part of me was sort of looking forward to horrifying/offending a whole bunch of strangers.  Oh well.  Next time.

In other news, I got the go-ahead from my OB to resume normal activity at my post-natal checkup (which happened at 4 weeks instead of 6 for some reason) and have been using Q's nap time to squeeze in some workouts.  At first progress seemed agonizingly slow, and I was getting really frustrated and down on myself about it.  The first night that I put on my workout clothes to go to dance class I ended up in tears because of all the bulges that weren't there before, as well as the fact that the "baggy" shirt I tried to wear as camouflage turned out not to be baggy at all.  I was actually writing a whole big blog post about it in my head, but in the end I never put pen to paper (fingers to keyboard?) because I was afraid it would just come off as too whiny and ungrateful given the fact that all that really matters is that Q is finally here.  Now that a month has passed I've gradually started to see some of the remaining baby weight come off, and was pretty stoked to fit into a pair of pre-pregnancy jeans earlier this week.  Granted, they were my stretchiest pair, but still.  Which made it all the more tragic when I discovered this only a day or two later:

Inner thigh hole!!  AGAIN!!

The universe giveth and the universe taketh away, I guess.

29 comments:

  1. um, I totally wish I had thighs in that size...

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    1. And I wish I had your flat tummy. Well, before you got pregnant. ;) Grass is always greener m'dear.

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  2. You're already back to your prepregancy weight? I'm jealous because it took me close to a year to get there (and now I'm working on the IVF weight).

    For activities: I really recommend something that allows for people watching/displays. Zoos, aquariums, museums, you get the idea. Yes there's the whole social aspect, but at this age they really are more interested in being warm, having a full belly and a clean diaper and simply being near you. So take advantage of seeing some of the sights. Because once Q is mobile....

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    1. I'm not at my pre-pregnancy weight yet. This was just a very forgiving pair of jeans, which makes things all the more tragic. There's lots hanging in my closet I can't wear. Although I'm realizing that it may not be about the number on the scale anyway...my body is just shaped a lot differently now and I may never get back into some of those pants. :( Also, let's not forget that you had twins!

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  3. Hurrah, you've totally discovered the thing no one ever tells you -- that 2-4 month old babies, even babies that were desperately sought after and longed for and hard fought for, are boring. There's not much that can be done, it isn't really their fault, and you may find yourself narrating your entire life aloud simply because you need SOMETHING to do with them.

    Those lullabies are awesome. Thanks for sharing!

    [gah, LJ sign in isn't working. aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

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    1. I know, right? What the heck are you supposed to DO with them all the time? If I just let him sit in his swing while I do stuff around the house I feel like I'm neglecting his development or something. I totally narrate everything! "Mommy is eating a carrot...yum carrots! Healthy carrots!" I feel like a spazz.

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  4. I watched a shocking, disgusting amount of Bravo TV during this time. I'm sure it completely rotted my brain out. Maybe H's brain, too. At any rate, he probably thinks the only way to find a mate is to pay the Millionaire Matchmaker and attend a mixer because that show was my maternity leave JAM.
    I hit my pre-preg weight and fit into my old pants around the 6 month mark. It's different for everyone. For now, love those demi-panel maternity pants and celebrate the fact that its maxi dress season.

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    1. I've just been rocking the yoga pants. Pathetically, any time I've tried on maxi dresses or skirts they're way too long for me and there's no way I'm paying to have something hemmed that only cost me $20 bucks at Old Navy.

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  5. It's nice out so maybe take a lot of walks? Unfortunately my maternity leave was during Chicago's polar vortex so there was little walking outside with Izzy. But I remember being like, okay so what do I do with her now? Do you baby wear at all? Maybe if you wore Q while doing things around the house you wouldn't feel guilty about getting stuff done? :-)

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    1. I've been doing tons of walking, partially because now that I'm home all the time Buddy thinks we're going for a walk anytime I pass the front door. He starts barking and won't stop until we go out. I've got a Boba wrap that works sometimes, but Q needs to be in a good relaxed mood already in which case he'll fall asleep and I can do stuff. But if he's at all fussy, forget it, he just loses it even more in the wrap!

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  6. It's so challenging before you find --- and can go to --- mom group activities! Meetup.com CHANGED MY LIFE. Hail meetup.com. I now occasionally have adult conversations (about babies) and make jokes with other adults (about being a mom) and have a reason to brush my hair. (I still wear maternity stretch pants and often look like I am just roaming around wearing something close to pajamas, but my lipstick is back!) Before finding mom groups on meetup, and when S was the same wee age as yours, I went to a lot of bookstores---used bookstores, B & N---even though I couldn't really stop and browse, it felt nice to be around books. Also went to a ton of museums and art galleries, because he seemed to really like gazing at the paintings. Gymboree has a fantastic birth-6 month old class that S absolutely loves. Baby-and-mom yoga level one is usually age 0 to walking. I also read a lot to S, even if it was an adult book, just so my brain would not atrophy....at one point, I was reading aloud a novel that was probably sixth-grade level. We are trying hard to stick to the no-TV-until-2-years-old rule, which is tough, but I think it is for the best, as anytime he sees a screen in passing, he cranes his neck and turns into a mute zombie, staring open-mouthed....but I am secretly jealous of moms who have that outlet. Oh, another thing---we started him with a soft skip-and-hop activity center when he was about 2 months old---they lay under plush toys and sort of jig around a bit. Giving baths is another good time-sucker (and so fun) as well as extended goofy-time on the changing table (for some reason S loved interacting on the changing table, I think it was a good distance for seeing our faces clearly). In any case, it is tough, and sometimes I racked my brain, amazed at how much I looked forward to going to the Starbucks drivethrough or strapping him onto me and going to the grocery store.

    Now that we are regularly meeting up with people, I feel spoiled. My job is to meet up with cool ladies and their babies at historic parks, petting zoos, and beaches and have picnics. If I ever feel wiped out and whiny, I remind myself of this.

    I'm so glad you are getting those grins now. It's the best!

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    1. Yeah, we (well, I) have been trying to stick to the no TV thing too. Which is tough for me, because I always have it on even if I'm not watching, just as background noise. I've started turning it off because a) there's crap all on during the day and b) same as you, I've noticed Q staring at it whenever he can crane his neck during play time on the floor or whatever, and it totally mesmerizes him. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't given in to a quick five-minute baby TV zone-out when he's being particularly fussy, though. I'm planning on picking up a baby floor gym ASAP, and we also have great conversations on the change table (what is it about that change table?).

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  7. This is very interesting. It's exactly the topic that I am going to talk about at my presentation next week to all the bumps... eh, expectant moms. What to do with your babies? How to talk, sing songs, play, and read. Maybe you should come to listen. ;) All joking aside, how I wish someone would give you a manual of how to do all these things with a baby. No one teaches you and you have to fend for yourself.

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    1. No kidding?? I totally want to come to that!

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  8. I don't know if there's something similar where you are, but they have groups here at the CLSC for 0-6 months and 6-12 months, which are a lot like what Isabelle is describing. You sit in a circle and sing to your babies and then discuss safety or sleep or nutrition, or whatever the topic that week is. It's good for getting out, giving you ideas for activities, and meeting people, so...three birds?

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  9. You've already gotten out of the house for dance class? wow good for you!! I'm just thinking about signing up again now. It's so so good to do things for yourself.

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  12. I too have Groundhog days. ;) Mav LOVES his developmental mobile. It gives you 20 minutes of entertainment to add into the rotation. http://www.amazon.com/Tiny-Love-Classic-Developmental-Mobile/dp/B00DJQOREC

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  13. haha. When I read this I tried to remember what I did with AJ at two months and.....I have no idea. I think my mom came over a lot and helped entertain her.
    With some exceptions, I find baby books and music boring. So there's not that much singing or reading around here. I put together an (ever evolving) playlist for AJ on her iPod however. So we have dance or sing alongs sometimes.
    Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much. Q will become more interactive and curious about his environment soon, and then you can take cues from what he likes to do.
    Good for you for adding back activities for yourself, too. Your body may never be quite the same, but good health looks good on everyone. Keep having fun!

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  14. I remember stressing about what to do with the babies the first few months. Shouldn't I be doing something to stimulate and entertain them???? What the hell do you do with these things?? The floor gym was great. They loved staring at everything and eventually grabbing the toys.
    I also worried I was scarring them for life by binge-watching "Breaking Bad". I figured out how to face them away from the tv so they couldn't turn to see it, but they could still hear it.
    How the hell were you exercising 4 weeks after a c-section? You are my hero. Seriously. I could still barely stand long enough to take a shower at 4 weeks. I think it was a good 12 weeks before I could manage some light exercise. Sadly, I have found that even at pre-pregnancy weight, my clothes still don't fit. Everything is just all shifted around. Sigh.

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