A Postpartum Post

Okay, I'll admit it. I did a LOT of whining throughout my pregnancy. So I thought I'd take an entire post to address some of the things that bugged me and how they have changed in the past two weeks.

• Nausea and Vomit Mouth - This was my absolute least favorite part of pregnancy. Not being able to fall asleep and/or sleep through the night without revisiting my dinner was simply excruciating. I am happy to report that I have experienced neither of these since my delivery.
• Swelling - Due to the ridiculous amount of fluids that were sent pumping through my body in the hospital, this one took a little longer than I would've liked to go away. But it is finally gone! I have ankles again. My feet are still a little wider than normal (hopefully this will go away), and I still can't wear my wedding rings, but cankles and elephant knees are things of the past!
• Unsolicited Touching - I was very concerned about switching from unwelcome belly rubs to unwelcome baby rubs. But thankfully people have been pretty respectful. Even at church, most people asked before they touched him. I was pleasantly surprised.
• Unsolicited Comments - Wow, if I thought people had a lot to say when I was the size of a house, I had no idea how much more they would say when looking at the cutest baby in the world. Okay, so I'm a little biased. Mostly people just say how cute he is. However, several people have given their opinions about how early I had him out and about. To those people, I would like to say "bite me."
• Appetite - As crazy as it sounds, there were very few occasions during my pregnancy that I was actually physically hungry. I'm sure it had a lot to do with the nausea. But now that little man is here and I am trying to get back to my pre-pregnancy body, I am famished all the time! It's good to be hungry again, but it could have come at a better time.

• Body - Speaking of pre-pregnancy, it is bikini season and I am feeling the pressure to look good again. Admittedly, it's self-imposed pressure, but nonetheless it's there. I'm just going to lay all the stats out there and maybe being honest with the blogging world will help keep me more accountable to my personal goals. At my first prenatal visit, I weighed 138lbs. Over the next 8 months, I gained exactly 40lbs. As of this morning, I weighed 152 which, for those of you who aren't good at math, leaves 14lbs to get me back to where I started. Granted, I'd like to look even better than I did, but let's jump one hurdle at a time, shall we? If I'm being completely honest, I felt much less self-conscious when my belly was the size of a giant beach ball than I do now. At least then, there was no question as to whether or not I was pregnant. Now, the jiggly lump that remains must certainly be raising some eyebrows. I feel as though I have even less clothing options, because there is more pressure to hide the mess! Maybe it's just a complex I have.

Sitting here with a sweet sleeping baby boy in my arms though, I can't say I have too much to complain about. He is physically perfect, amazingly cute, and the best decision I have ever made! Now I just have to make it through the next 8 days so I can share my little blessing with the other best thing in my life!