Tag: motherhood

1 Month Old

Will turned a month old on Sunday & I can’t believe it. It feels like so much time has passed & that our week stay in the NICU was lifetimes ago, but then I think how he’s a month old & I can’t recall where that time went!! This month I’ve learned: he absolutely loves to eat, & when he’s starving he’ll angrily grunt while he chugs his bottle. He loves looking at the art we have in our apartment. He loathes being hot. He doesn’t mind bath time so long as his hair isn’t being scrubbed. He’s not at all interested in having his arms swaddled & he’ll gladly partake in morning snuggles.

The past three weeks at home we’ve worked on establishing some kind of routine & I think it’s finally starting to stick & I’m realizing I can kind of anticipate his sleep / wake cycles. He’s both bottle fed & breast fed. After some trial & error we found he’ll sleep longer stretches at night if we give him a bottle, otherwise it’s very hard to keep him awake nursing late at night.

Chris goes back to work this week & it feels oh so bittersweet. It’s been incredible to have him home & for the 3 of us to bond & for myself to have help in order to really feel recovered from birth. Part of me is sad that this precious time has come to a close but like many things in life they’re this sweet because they’re short lived & I’m made even more grateful because I know this special time is limited. I’m excited to start a new phase of being at home with our little guy & getting our own routine & just growing into day to day life. As of now I’m not scheduled to go back to work until the beginning of September so I greatly looking forward to cherishing the summer & making wonderful memories.

We’re off to enjoy a BBQ in Sausalito this afternoon & will be back home to watch the Warriors game.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!!

 

iPhone upload + 10 things

1. I can’t get over little baby dreams, I posted a little video of Will dreaming after I fed him, & it’s the cutest. He cracks little smiles or peaks one of his eyes open. It’s so funny to me. I could watch it over & over. & in the middle of the night when I’m exhausted feeding him at 4am it still cracks me up.

2. We signed up for Hello Fresh now that Will is here & this week is our first delivery. I normally love to cook homemade meals each night, but with a new baby the idea of meal planning, grocery shopping & actually cooking the meals seemed very daunting! Now that a major portion of my day consists of feeding our son, we decided to split up the duties of making meals, & using a meal service was a far less intimidating approach for my husband who doesn’t cook dinners on the regular.

3. Giving the gift of sleep might be one of the nicest gifts to give your spouse / partner. This past weekend Chris & I alternated Saturday & Sunday letting the other person sleep in. On Saturday morning he took the baby & the dog into the front part of our apartment & let me sleep uninterrupted until 9:30. It was GLORIOUS. & I happily returned the favor the following day. Getting a few hours of good sleep can totally change your mood & I think it’s one of the nicest & totally free gifts you can give your partner. Chris & I have always agreed it’s something we would continue to gift one another with.

4. We are starting to lightweight make plans for the summer that extend beyond our apartment & our little neighborhood. Although the idea of travelling in a car for a few hours with an infant, or sleeping somewhere that isn’t his little crib seems so extreme to me we want to be able to take our son places & not be tethered to our little baby bubble we’ve created. The only way to get comfortable doing these things is… to actually do them.

5. Right before Will was born we bought this laundry hamper & it’s quickly become one of my favorite things. We sort our laundry by: colors, whites, delicates. & this makes life so much easier. I’m no longer dumping out a full laundry hamper on the ground trying to sort clothes! It’s funny how sometimes such little things can make life so much easier.

6. William will be 4 weeks old on Friday & I can not wrap my ahead around it. I’ve always known that people say time moves incredibly fast when you have children & it’s so true. He’s already growing & changing so much, it breaks my heart a little bit! But I’m also so excited to see little bits of his personality pop out.

7. We are going to our first Giants game of the year in two weeks. We’re taking Will & I’m pretty excited!

8. Chris is going back to work next week. I’m so grateful he’s been able to take time off & work from home / only respond to emails the last two weeks. It’s been so great to have him at home & I don’t know what I would have done without him. It’s definitely going to be a major adjustment being on my own with baby & dog but I’m excited for the challenge.

9. I went to acupuncture this week for the first time since birth & it felt SO good; besides getting a 45 minute nap it felt so nice to relax & do something super positive for my body!

10. We’re watching the last few episodes of The Americans. The second to last episode of the series aired last night, we haven’t watched it because I can’t manage to keep my eyes open past 10pm but I’m dying to see how they wrap the series up!!

A different kind of paradise

Three years ago you could find me newly married, likely in a white swimsuit, on a beach in Bora Bora. If you had asked me right then & there I’d say I was in literal paradise. Flash forward to now, I’m sitting in a glider chair, rocking my 3 week old son, trying to get him to take his first nap of the day while my coffee sits in the microwave already heated for the second time this morning. But if you asked me today my answer would be the same, this is paradise. This paradise today is so much bigger & deeper than the crystal clear water of three years ago. I remember being on our honeymoon & feeling so in love I thought nothing could compare. And today I love my husband more than I ever knew was possible. We are living in our same San Francisco flat, but our home is so much more full today. Our guest room/ office is now a plant themed nursery for our sweet baby boy. On our wood floors you’ll find tufts of fur from our black lab & the walls are lined with framed moments of paradises past. Sure, I’m more sleep deprived than ever before (although nursing school is a very close second), & we’ll most likely spend our summer in the foggy abyss that is San Francisco June / July, not in an over water bungalow, sipping tropical cocktails; but I wouldn’t trade this moment in time for anything else. For these fleeting moments in time right now, when my baby will never be this small again, I know will be one of the sweetest paradises I’ll ever visit. (However this won’t stop me from posting some photos of the French Polynesian paradise we were at three years ago!)

Happy Friday, hope everyone has a great weekend! Shockingly we have very few plans for the weekend, aside from my brother visiting us & taking the dog for some walks. Also, this blog post is brought to you courtesy of the Time Hop feature on Facebook that reminded me where I was three years ago!

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William Hayes

At 40weeks & 3 days I was induced after a non stress test showed low amniotic fluid levels. After enduring 36 hours of labor our sweet boy, William Hayes Dorsey, made his debut last Friday 4/27 at 6:34am. We are so in love with our little guy. He was under stress throughout my labor & spent the last week in the NICU, but I am thrilled to report as of Friday we are home with a happy healthy boy!

Second Trimester Musts

Belly Balm – I started religiously applying some kind of cream or balm to my growing belly at least once a day during the second trimester. Your bump starts expanding so fast that your skin starts to itch! My favorite balm was this one from Mother Love & it’s a salve so it’s really thick but starts to melt as soon as it goes on the skin. Because of how thick it is I use it a night so it can really soak in. I also used the Burts Bees Belly Butter. The belly butter has a much thinner consistency and is more like a cream, so I used it during the day. You certainly don’t have to spend a fortune on lotion or balm or salve, but it’s definitely worth putting something on your ever growing belly even if it’s just plain coconut oil!

Register – We started our registry pretty early, I think we went to Buy Buy Baby when I was about 4 months along. Since I work every other weekend, & the timing with the holidays we registered a little on the early side, but it ended up being nice because family could get us things off our registry for Christmas. And it was nice not to feel rushed, we were able to slowly add things to our registry over the last two months or so.

Maternity Clothes – You’re gonna need em but you don’t have to spend a fortune. I found great deals on clothes from Thred Up. Slightly used or new maternity clothes for a fraction of the price? What’s not to love. Another tip for getting affordable maternity clothes? Living in San Francisco & being pregnant primary in the fall / winter, I’m not in need of tons of dresses or shorts, but instead needed warm long sleeves tee’s & sweaters. I found GREAT deals on sweaters believe it or not in the men’s section. I got some really cheap & totally comfy long sleeves from Old Navy for, I kid you not, $8!!! I also got a few sweaters from the Target men’s department. Even before I was pregnant I would always cruise the men’s clearance or sales racks at places like Banana Republic for sweaters. Men’s sweaters are typically thicker and cozier. I’m not always a huge fan of the fit of some women’s sweaters. I tend to lean toward a looser / warmer fit. I also discovered H&M’s mama line & the jeans I’ve lived in the last few months are from there.

Plan / Go on a babymoon – it doesn’t have to be extravagant, it doesn’t have to be week long, but planning a night or two should be on your to do list. We had contemplated going to Hawaii for a babymoon but decided we would rather save that trip for later in the year with baby! Instead we opted to for two smaller getaways that were driving distance. We went to a cabin in Tahoe to enjoy some snow you can see my post on our trip here .  Our other small babymoon is going to be in Pismo Beach toward the end of February. We’re staying at a really nice resort that’s right on the beach & is dog friendly! Setting aside a little bit of time for just you & your partner is so important & feels so valuable as the weeks start ticking by & as due dates draw closer.

Skincare Routine – If you don’t already have a go to skincare routine, I think the second trimester is the perfect time to establish one. In the first trimester the idea of washing my face & going through multiple steps was nauseating. By the second trimester you have more energy so I think it’s a perfect time to set aside 10 minutes a night to make yourself feel a little extra pampered, plus your skin will thank you. My favorite overnight cream is Origins Night-a-Mins Renewal Cream.

Pre-Natal Yoga– Your second & third trimesters are a great time to find a prenatal yoga class. I started mine about a month ago & every time I go I’m so happy I signed up. It’s offered through our hospital & meets once a week for 90 minutes. I really started to notice my body begin tightening up more & more as my belly grew this trimester. My back would be sore by the end of the day. So going to a class that specifically focuses on how to adjust poses to make them the most beneficial for your ever expanding belly is so important. Plus it’s a great way to meet other women who are expecting babies right around the same time as you. If you’re in the San Francisco area check out SF Prenatal Yoga this website lists all the prenatal yoga classes available & gives you information on the instructors so you can see if you think the class will be a good fit. Besides getting 90 minutes of stretching in each week, I also find myself leaving class will other valuable insights about ways to relieve acid reflux, recommendations on doulas, birth books etc.

Compression Socks – This is my final must this trimester. If you’re at all on your feet during the day, or if you notice you’re having leg pain or leg swelling do yourself a favor & invest in a pair or two of these. Being a nurse I’ve heard the praises be sung about compression socks for years & years by veteran nurses. I would occasionally wear them pre-pregnancy but now I wear them every.single.day. at work. Standing for 10 to 12 hours even not pregnant is hard work for your legs, so wearing these has made a huge difference. Also if you’re planning any sort of air travel either for a babymoon, to visit family or for work you should definitely be rocking some of these as our tendency to develop blood clots while pregnant is much higher. If the comfort factor isn’t selling you, know that they can also help prevent vericose veins. Amazon has a ton of options for compression socks so in 1-2 days you yourself could be enjoying all the benefits & comfort, no but seriously get yourself a pair!