7 weeks

Betcha forgot I had a newborn in the house, eh? Well, I didn’t. Kind of hard to when you’re living with the buggers.

So, Cormac is seven weeks old now. He’s so cute. His baby acne is almost gone and some of that long dark newborn hair is falling out. He coos and gurgles and smiles. He really doesn’t cry that much and is fairly easy to soothe. Now, he does eat every three hours, even at night, so he is not without his flaws. Plus the fact that he still does that groaning grunting squirming thing every morning between 4 and 7.

But look how cute!

He’s still nursing, which means I made it to my initial goal of 6 weeks. I’m psyched. And totally blase about it now.

Places I have nursed the baby

The park with the blue tunnel
the “castle playground” as Owen calls it
the parking lot at Mars
the tile aisle at Home Depot
Dr L’s office
Dr W’s office
assorted rest areas on the Ohio turnpike
Pollyeye’s (B.G. restaurant)
Applebee’s
the library
while cooking spaghetti

So basically, everywhere we’ve been in the last seven weeks.

Cormac is not exclusively breastfed; I think that term is kind of offensive, actually, as if that would be better than not. (This might be because Owen was bottlefed and I still feel defensive about it because anonymous BF militants on the internet are mean.) He gets a bottle of formula every few days from Iain because Dr Karp, my favorite author ever, recommends keeping them familiar with bottles and because I don’t like to pump. But the actual feeding of the bottle is kind of a hassle. He’ll take it from me, but apparently gives Iain a hard time. Funny bunny.

As for me, being 7 weeks postpartum? Well. Exhausted, for starters (and finishers, really). I had gotten down to my pre-pregnancy weight, according to the at-home scale, but then at the doctor’s office it said I had 5 lbs yet to go. And a more recent weigh-in on our janky home scale said I now had 10 lbs to go. What. The. Eff.

So. Not only am I a rolling jelly roll, but I am at my heaviest non-pregnancy weight ever. I feel uncomfortable with this. It’s annoying that I was trying to pack on weight while I was pregnant and being unsuccessful, and yet now that I’m nursing it is stubbornly refusing to fall off. Even my fat pants don’t fit. I kind of … don’t know what to wear. According to my measurements (what kind of masochist busts out the measuring tape at this stage?) I am now a full three dress sizes larger on the bottom. And only one on the top.

Anyway. It doesn’t actually matter. It’s just vanity. Well, that and wanting to be able to breathe while wearing pants. What I really need to do is just look at his smiling face and remember why my body is such a mess in the first place.

July 30, 2007 | Filed Under baby, motherhood

Comments

9 Responses to “7 weeks”

Beth on July 30th, 2007 3:25 pm

OK, pre-pregnancy weight at 7 weeks is just annoying. I go by the 9 months (uh, 10) to put it on, 9 months to take it off thing. And the Built by Wendy patterns put me, measurement-wise, at almost double the size I get at stores (why is that?). So be easy on yourself… It hasn’t been long at all. I still get frustrated with things being bigger/smaller/weird on me since the boy but then there’s a boy. And your two guys are pretty amazing! There are probably more legit things for us to beat ourselves up about than an extra pound or two.
Donna on July 30th, 2007 6:49 pm

He’s a beautiful baby!

As to the weight — I can’t offer advice there, but I can send you good wishes and support. Good luck with it!
otter on July 31st, 2007 10:38 am

First of all, that kid? ADORABLE. Y’all make some good-lookin’ young’ns…

Secondly, from someone who got sucked into the “exclusive” mindfuck for 6 months (gack!), I say that it is very wise to mix in a bottle of formula here and there, because when we tried to switch him over, OHMYSWEETCLEANLORD, it was almost impossible. Exclusive, Smexclusive. Pfffft.

You are kicking some major ass, lady. Go you.
supa on July 31st, 2007 8:52 pm

[quote comment=”26808”] OHMYSWEETCLEANLORD[/quote]

favorite new exclamation, thank you.

Thank you, ladies. I do try not to worry about the pounds. And if it were anyone else in the world complaining about her body at seven weeks postpartum I would cheerfully slap her upside the head, because that’s craziness.

But you know, it’s me, and I cut myself no slack.
Annie on August 3rd, 2007 7:19 am

Hey, so… am I the only one who thinks that Cormac looks quite a bit like his brother? Which is a very good thing indeed, given that his brother is the epitome of little-boy-cute. I’m just sayin’.
Trish on August 4th, 2007 7:54 am

I have to agree that Cormac is quite the little cutie. I LOVE the face in the second photo.
Natalie on August 4th, 2007 10:24 pm

I don’t know why it’s not more publicized that you can mix feeding your baby formula while you are breastfeeding…the best of both worlds. I pumped but rarely gave C a bottle…I was all thumbs with the measuring and stuff. It was humorous.

Oh, and all scales seem to be different…just to screw with ya, I think.
charlie on August 5th, 2007 2:23 pm

that second picture cracks me up!
my post baby belly is not my friend.
Newborn Boy Gift on September 28th, 2007 4:32 pm

Nice Blog! Two thumbs up to 7 weeks in regards to Newborn boy gift! Friday I was thinking the exact same thing. This is a VERY interesting line of thought.