Postpartum: Hello again!
After a two month hiatus, I’m back and more excited than ever to share life post-IVF and pregnancy. Soon I’ll be sharing my birth story and life home with baby. Can’t wait to reconnect with you all!
Hello, beautiful unicorn community! It has been far too long since I’ve last connected with you. A lot has happened since my last blog post about my perinatal anxiety disorder on October 3…over two months ago! At that time, I was 36 weeks + 2 days pregnant. Little did I know that I was just 6 days away from meeting our unicorn baby at 37 weeks + 1 day.
The day before he was born!
Before I go any further, I must first paint a picture of the scene in which I find myself as I compose this blog post. It is Wednesday, November 27 at 7 AM. I am sitting in our guest bedroom that has been half-converted into a nursery. I’m in a rocking chair recliner, nursing our six week old son. (That’s right! He’s here! More on that later!) The early morning sun slowly sleeps through the window, revealing a whitewashed landscape of thick, puffy-piled snow on the rooftops. A small lamp is lit at the bedside. I am dressed in oversized sweatpants, fuzzy leopard print socks, a nursing bra, and a zip up sweatshirt - my standard mommy-ing uniform. Baby relentlessly chugs-chugs-chugs-chugs at my right breast as though I have failed to feed him all night long. Both of my wrists are braced because of carpal tunnel syndrome developing after the many hours I’ve spent holding the baby on my shoulder with wrists bent in wonky positions. A heating pad hugs my lower back that I somehow managed to tweak yet again two days ago, zigzagging my spine into a painful position, making motherhood duties that much more challenging. My new best friend, my AirPods, cocoon inside my ears, allowing me to quietly dictate this blog post as my baby nurses.
My body is no longer my own. It hasn’t been for 1.5 years since the start of IVF. My breasts…my wrists…my back…all of it is for him now.
This is my life, my full-time job, and I love it.
Multi-tasking mama: Cozy pajama pants…check! Zip-up sweatshirt…check! Cozy socks…check! Baby in sling…check! Coffee and water…check! Cell phone…check!
Over the next few days (or weeks…or months…) I’ll be writing his birth story. I can’t wait to share it with you!
Finally, I want to note that I won’t be using our baby’s name on the blog. As soon as I became a mother to this little human on the outside of the womb, my insanely strong mama bear protective instincts kicked in. To protect his precious privacy, I’ll be referring to him as my “unicorn baby” or “unicorn miracle” or “chunky peanut butter” or “sweet monkey baby” or a million other adorable pet names.
I’m looking forward to sharing how I learn to embrace postpartum life as a mom!
Now it’s your turn to share…what have you been up to these past two months? Leave me a comment or send me an email!
I am baby, hear me roar! A sneak peak of baby’s precious arms. This picture was taken 6 days after he was born.