How Am I doing? 6 Weeks Postpartum

It's so true what they say, that while you are pregnant all the attention is on you; but as soon as you have the baby its like you don't exist! Ha! Well I thought I would take a minute to update everyone on how I am doing after having a baby. I'm actually writing this about 7 weeks postpartum but forgive me again for being so behind.

Giving birth was probably the most amazing experience I've ever had. It was so incredibly physical, emotional and spiritual all at the same time there's no way to really describe it. And the best part is afterwards you have a precious, beautiful baby! So even though my delivery was difficult, looking back I actually loved the miracle of giving birth to my son and I'm so glad that Steve and I got to share that.

The recovery, however, is another story. Nobody really talks about how difficult the recovery after giving birth is. I didn't even really give it a thought before I had the baby. Well it sucks, big time. I felt really awful right after labor and for about the first two weeks I was home. It was just major pain all the time, not being able to do anything and being really tired. All this on top of trying to figure out this new mom thing! It was exhausting! But luckily I have a great support system and both our families were amazing and helped me through that time.

On top of all that Steve had to go back to work right away. We brought Baby Steven home on Friday and Steve went back on Monday. It was really hard not having him home. My amazing family came over and helped but its not the same as having the daddy of your baby there. It was really hard for me missing him during the days. Then, a few weeks later, Steve went back to school 2 nights a week. That has been extremely hard having him gone all day and night those two days. Its a huge adjustment and I'd be lying if I said I'm fine with it but I'm coping.

About a month after giving birht I noticed the pain started subsiding and I really started to feel more like myself. I got my appetite back and could go up and down the stairs in our home and didn't have nearly as much pain. Finally after 6 weeks, I feel normal again and can do anything I want to. So that is really a relief to have my strength back (even back to before being prego) and having all the pain of labor go away. I went to my 6 week postpartum OB visit and everything is great! So yay!

As far as how our lives have changed after the baby, its completely different. Baby Steven is the center of our world and I mean that in every way. Its incredible how life changing having a baby is; and its 24 -7. There's no break (unless a wonderful mother or other person comes to give you a break). That little man runs the show. There are so many wonderful and fun moments with him but there are also a lot of tired, frustrated, upset moments too. Like I said, I'm coping. :) But really its totally worth it. He is an amazing blessing. I mean just look at him.

As far as our marriage, its pretty much totally different too. I think our relationship changed drastically after I gave birth. It was like we grew so much closer just overnight in that amazing experience. We were very, very happy together in the hospital and in the first weeks Baby Steven was home. But after that, reality set in and we had to start to figure out our new roles and responsibilities. It has been difficult and frustrating at times but we are both trying to make it work out the best for everyone. We are a family of 3 now and its a challenge some days and an amazing joy other days. But, like I said before, its totally and completely worth it. :) :)

Happy Father's Day

This month we had our first father's day in the Riegerix house and it was pretty awesome. It was really great to have Steven in time for our first Mother's and Father's Days this year. Steve was pretty excited about having his first Father's day. Here are some pictures of Steve as a daddy.

Matching overalls...so cute!

His little Colt's fan!

We also got a chance to spend some time with both our families too which was great. Baby Steven got to spend some time with both of his grandpas! Such a lucky boy!

All 3 generations of Steven Riegerixes! Pretty cool!

So happy Father's Day to all the daddys out there, new and old. And all the grandpas too! We love you!

2 Years Together

A few weekends ago was our 2 year wedding anniversary. (I'm so behind on blogging, please forgive me!) Its so hard to believe that Steve and I have been married for 2 years already! It really seems like not that long ago that we were getting married, but at the same time it kind of seems like we've been married forever. Here we are on that happiest day of our lives...

To celebrate our anniversary we wanted to keep it low key since we haven't ever left Baby Steven with anyone and really haven't been away from him since he was born. Both of our parents offered to babysit which was so generous. We thought we weren't going to do anything at all but at the last minute decided to go out to dinner. I'm really glad that we went, although it was kind of hard leaving him for the first time. Of course we completely trust our parents, but I think it was just that it was the a short time. (Mostly for my sanity!:) But it is important for us to celebrate our relationship, so I am really glad that we did it.

We went out to dinner and it was really nice. It was nice that it was just the two of us. We had a great dinner together and reminisced about how we met, when we were dating and our wedding. It was actually really fun talking about those memories. Of course we talked about the baby! We got a chance to really talk about how our lives have changed since he came along and also how our relationship is changing. I think it was really good for us to be able to talk about that stuff.

We agreed not to get each other anything, but of course Steve didn't follow that. He brought me home some beautiful flowers which was a total surprise! They were some gorgeous red roses and also some calla lilies. Steve said that he remembered the calla lilies from my wedding bouquet. I was really impressed he remembered that! What a sweet heart!

I have really been blessed over the past two years by my relationship with Steve and I feel very lucky to have him. We both agree that we have grown a lot in our time together and I think we will continue to grow. He's a great guy who loves me and takes care of me and I feel really grateful to have such an amazing husband!

Steven's First Year - One Month

I can't believe my little bitty baby is one month old! He's still a pretty little baby, but definitely bigger than when we brought him home from the hospital. Its bittersweet watching him growing up already. But we have had so much fun this month.

Baby Steven aced his 1 month doctor's appointment. He is now 22 7/8 inches long (why don't they just say 23 inches?) which is the 90 - 95 percentile for his age. So, he is a very long baby. We are so not surprised considering how tall his momma and daddy are. He is now 10lbs 2 oz, which means he's gained almost 3 lbs since leaving the hospital! He is at about the 70th percentile for weight but the doctor said that is totally fine. Good job buddy! Doesn't he look super long in these pictures!?!

This first month baby Steven has been up to all kinds of things. He has been sleeping a lot, as newborns do. In his sleep he sometimes sucks in his lower lip which is so cute. He also likes to randomly stick his arms in the air in his sleep. (Steve refers to this as his zombie pose.)

He hates to be swaddled and much prefers to have his arms free when he sleeps. And for the most part, he like to sleep with his arms up above his head.

When baby Steven is awake, he has been learning a lot about the world around him. He is very alert during the day and wide-eyed, looking like he is taking it all in. He likes to look around. He has been discovering his body by moving around his arms, legs and hands pretty much constantly. It's so funny to see him just laying there kicking and moving his arms around like crazy. It almost looks like he is really trying to get somewhere but just doesn't know how yet.

Another part of his body, he has been exploring is his tongue, which he plays with and smacks on his lips pretty often. It's super cute. He will also occasionally stick it out for us, which is so hilarious. If we are lucky, we can also catch him smiling. He started doing it a few weeks ago it has really picked up lately. He will smile most days and multiple times a day. Sometimes he will smile in response to you talking to him or tickling him, whereas in the beginning it just seemed to be totally random. Seeing him smile has got to be one of the best things ever! So amazing!

Baby Steven will be content for a little while in his swing or bouncy seat, but he definitely prefers to be held. When he's totally done with his swing he will usually get a very mean looking scowl on his face...its pretty hilarious.

He likes to be in the room with everyone and doesn't like to be left alone for too long. We usually don't mind to oblige him and hold him all the time. He's so adorable, who can resist. He does seem to have a knack for fussing right around the time when everyone is sitting down to eat however...

Speaking of eating, Baby Boy is breastfeeding like a champ! He is doing so well. He's a natural, which has been so great for Mommy, who was really stressed out about getting breastfeeding started. Steven will eat every 2 to 3 hours during the day but can go 4 to 5 hours at night sometimes. He's such a good baby for letting mommy sleep! He does this super adorable thing we like to call "milk face" where he gets this glazed over face after a feeding. He usually makes this high pitched squeaky sound, puckers his lips together and makes his milk face. It's really so adorable.

So overall its been a really fun and eventful month for us! Baby Steven is growing right on track, eating well and just enjoying himself everyday. Steve and I are really looking forward to the months to come where he will start to be more interactive and be able to focus and recognize us better. At the same time, of course we don't want our little baby to grow up! We have both been adjusting to parenting this month and it seems to be going really well so far. We really hope that everything continues to go smoothly in the months to come!

A Bump in the Road

I have been so extremely lucky with breastfeeding so far. I feel incredibly blessed to have had essentially no problems getting it started with Baby Steven. Except for his first day in the hospital when he was just so exhausted he didn't want to eat anything, we have been exclusively breastfeeding since Steven was born. And I really haven't had too many issues. We had a ton of awesome support from St. Luke's nurses and LCs as well as friends and family. Steven and I have been getting more comfortable with breastfeeding as time as gone on and have even been able to add to our list of positions we know to grow our confidence and flexibility.

Well this weekend, I experienced the first bump in the road...the dreaded mastitis. I had heard a lot about this breast infection from friends and others and from all the horror stories I was sure I did not want to get it! Turns out I got it.

It all started last week when I started feeling a burning sensation after nursing or when my milk was coming in. At first it was just a tingling feeling but after a few days got worse and started to be painful. I wasn't sure what to make of it, and hadn't heard that was a symptom of mastitis so I didn't think that was what I had. (Well it is a symptom, thanks for nothing, Google.)

Then, on Saturday, when I woke up I felt not so great. I was super tired, had a headache and was just kind of achy all over. I thought maybe I was just overtired so I took a nap. After my nap, I felt way worse. I was still pretty exhausted but now I was really feeling super hot and my headache was way worse. By the afternoon I was pretty sure I was coming down with something.

We had planned a dinner at my in-laws that night, so we went to that. I started to get really chilled while we were there and by the time we left I was shaking. Now, we have been having a serious heat wave in St. Louis and it was probably 90 degrees outside when I was feeling this way. Poor Steve, I made him turn off the AC on the way home in the car because I was shaking so much. When we got home, I took my temperature and it was 101! I was freezing and shaking and now I knew something was really wrong.

Steve called the doctor for me who said right away that it was mastitis. I was worried if I kept nursing would I give the infection to the baby, but he said no that Baby Steven couldn't get the infection. He also said part of getting rid of it would be to nurse and pump as much as possible to keep my milk flowing.

So we did just that. The doctor also called in some antibiotics and I've been taking those. Steve was so sweet on Sunday, and took care of me. He watched Baby Steven so I could sleep almost all day and that really helped. He brought him in for feedings and that was pretty much it. I think I slept till 2pm that day! But it was exactly what I needed and really helped me to feel better. Today, on Monday, I feel so much better. I still have a slight headache and a little pain in my breasts but that's about it. My fever broke Sunday, so that was a big relief to not be freezing one minute and burning up the next. I will continue the antibiotics the rest of this week and hopefully be back to my normal self soon!

So I survived my first and hopefully last round of mastitis during breastfeeding. It was kind of scary at first because we didn't know what was wrong. But I really only felt super bad for 1 day and now I feel much better. So overall, I think I'm still pretty lucky with this breastfeeding thing. Let's hope my luck continues!