Baby Bump: Week 39 / 5 Days Postpartum

I wrote this post yesterday, when it was Week 39/5 Days Postpartum, but failed to hit "post" before I fell asleep.  Whoops!

 How far along? Would have been 39 weeks - but 5 days postpartum instead!

Weight gain/loss: I'm not sure what my total weight gain was exactly - somewhere in the range of 45 pounds.  I'm down about 15 so far!

Feeling: It depends on the moment, but overall - pretty well.  Mentally, I am great until the  exhaustion hits.  Emotionally, I am so in love with my little family.  Physically...recovery has been tougher than I anticipated.  I am still really sore from having a fair amount of stitches, which has made it tough to do much of anything that requires moving.  I pretty much hang out on one corner of the couch all day.  With Lincoln, I was feeling great after about two days.  I am trying to be patient and give myself time to recover, but I feel so happy to not be pregnant, I'm having a hard time accepting that all I need to do at this point is rest.

Maternity clothes? Still wearing maternity jeans - if I actually get dressed.  But I am mostly wearing pajama pants.  It's getting cold, so I may break out my favorite hoodies this weekend!  I also need to figure out how many nursing-appropriate shirts I have...

Sleep: We are sleeping remarkably well.  When we brought Lincoln home, I don't think anyone slept for four or five days.  Addie is content to sleep curled up in my arm for most of the night, just waking up once or twice to eat.  In fact, Lincoln was up twice as many times as she was last night.  I am doing okay with the lack of sleep because I overall feel so much better having the baby outside of me!  I have taken a few unplanned naps in the past few days, but Andrew has been super awesome and taken my noisy little Lincoln to another part of the house when Addie and I fall asleep on the couch.

Breastfeeding: I could not be more relieved that breastfeeding is wonderful.  Adelaide's latch has been amazing from the beginning.  Occasionally she is sleepy and I have to wake her up to make her eat.  But she is doing great!  We have no real schedule, just feeding whenever she gives any hunger cues - and we are all so much more relaxed and peaceful because of it.  My milk came in about two and a half days after she was born, probably thanks to the fact that Lincoln nursed throughout my pregnancy.  This has also caused me to have very little soreness and (so far) no crazy leaking!  I am also not engorged at all, because Lincoln is happy to take care of any excess.  I am not complaining at all.  After the extremely difficult start to breastfeeding I had with Lincoln, this experience has been a dream. 

Side note - I never really intended to tandem nurse when my breastfeeding journey started almost two years ago.  But here we are!  Planning a longer post about this soon.

Family Adjustment: Lincoln is overall transitioning better than we thought he might.  So far he has only poked Addie in the eye once and crawled over her a couple of times.  He seems content with her presence most of the time - but also doesn't really want to touch/hug/kiss her.  I'm okay with this - I know they're going to be great friends and there's plenty of time for that to happen.  I think he even said "baby" this morning.  For a child who pretty much communicates entirely with words that are vehicular (car, truck, choo-choo) - this melts my heart!  I am doing well this week because Andrew has been home to keep up with Lincoln. Next week will probably be a little more difficult for all of us. 

Best Things about Not Being Pregnant:  Oh my goodness!!  So many things!  Food tastes good.  No more heartburn.  No more itchy belly.  No more trying to roll over in the middle of the night with a baby's head in my pelvis.  No more children warring at each other from inside and outside me.  Even with the difficult recovery, I am so so happy that she is here and I am done.  For now, at least.  

Now then - can somebody get me a Caesar salad, please?  :)

So Very Thankful.

I've been MIA this week. 

I promise it's for a good reason.  That 38 Week Bump Update turned out to be the last one of its kind.

Miss Adelaide Rose made her (extremely fast) debut to the world this past Sunday, November 18!  She arrived at 38 weeks 2 days gestation (1 day earlier than Lincoln) and weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces (1 ounce more than Lincoln)!  I guess I grow very consistent babies.

hi everyone!

I will share more details and her birth story soon, but just wanted to post a quick update that she is here! 

I am so thankful for baby snuggles.

I am so thankful for hugs from my sweet boy.

I am so so so very thankful for my incredible husband, who is doing literally everything for me without complaint as I'm taking my time with the recovery from birth.

 And we could not have had a happier, more blessed Thanksgiving.

FREE Greeting Card from Treat 11/19 - 11/20

I don't know about you, but I love things that are free.  Love, love, love.

So when I heard about this offer, I had to share.  Because maybe you love free too.

Today and tomorrow, you can hop over to Treat and snag a FREE greeting card.  Treat offers a great variety of cards for every occasion - holidays, birthdays, thank you or pretty much anything else you can think of.  So why not grab a card for free and save it to use this holiday season?  You can create a unique and personalized card for so many reasons - like a note of appreciation for your Thanksgiving hostess or a just-for-fun note to wish someone happy holiday shopping!

Want to get the deal?  Here's how.  Head over to Treat and use code TREATBLOGR when you check out.  That's it!  Super fast, super easy...and super free.  But hurry - the offer ends tomorrow, November 20.

Let me know what kind of card you make!  And have fun!

Melissa & Doug Big Rig Building Set Giveaway

You may remember that last week I let you know about the Melissa & Doug Terrific Twenty Holiday Gift List!  There are still ten days left in the one prize a day contest on the Melissa & Doug Facebook page - have you entered yet?  You only have to enter once to be eligible for all of the remaining prizes!

Here's even more good news - if you are looking for another chance to win, you're in the right place!  Our favorite from this year's Terrific Twenty is the Big Rig Building Set (you know - because Lincoln is obsessed with trucks) - and one lucky reader can win this awesome toy right here on the blog, just in time for Christmas!

This truck features a two-piece tractor-trailer that's loaded with 22 wooden pieces, including tools such as a hammer, screwdriver, wrench, and more!  If you know a little boy - or girl - who (like mine) likes to build and adores trucks...this one is sure to make them smile!

 Giveaway

One Director Jewels reader will win a Melissa & Doug Big Rig Building Set!  This giveaway will end on November 27 at 11:59pm CST.  This giveaway is open to US readers only.

To enter the giveaway, follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below (you may need Javascript enabled to see the form and it may take a moment to load)!  Once you complete the first entry, the other options will open up so that you can complete them as well.  All of the "extra entries" are optional - you can do just one, or as many as you want!  Winners will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thank you to Melissa & Doug for sponsoring my toy sample and the giveaway prize!  I received no other compensation and all views expressed are my own.  For more information, you can read my Giveaway Policy and my Disclosure Policy.

Baby Bump: Week 38

How far along?  38 weeks! 

Weight gain/loss: At this point it's just a stash so that breastfeeding can get off to a great start, right? New mental coping mechanism.

Feeling: Doing okay overall, but really just very, very ready to be done.  Everyone talks about how the last few weeks of pregnancy drag on - but seriously, when pregnancy has been dragging since week five when you first started having constant nausea, by week 38 you are just done.

Maternity clothes?  I wear tank tops and pajama pants at home.  If I happen to leave the house (rare), I wear the same shirt/jeans for two or three or four days.  Maternity clothes are only fun when you have a little bitty bump to show off.  Once you get to this point...it's all meh.

Sleep: Yeah I don't want to talk about this.  I managed to get about six hours of interrupted sleep last night.  And it was probably the best night all week.  Bring on the newborn, I'm not sleeping anyway.

Food cravings: Last night I decided that we had to go have Buffalo Wild Wings.  In a meager attempt to "spicy food" her out, I ordered something above the "green" level on the spicy scale.  So far it hasn't worked.  Otherwise, I just miss the things I'm not supposed to have.

Gender: Hope she is a girl since I ordered her a custom purple blanket this week and there is a pink Baby's First Christmas ornament on our tree...
 

Movement?  Mostly nudges at this point.  I can sometimes feel her halfway around my side.  She is out of room.

What I miss?  Oh, pretty much everything about not being pregnant.

Best moment this week: Last weekend was nice, we went on two walks on Saturday because the weather was gorgeous.  Otherwise the week has really dragged on.

What I'm looking forward to:  Next Monday I will be 38 weeks and 3 days - which is when Lincoln was born.  I'm pretty sure I am going to cry if she is not out by then.  Second babies are supposed to come earlier, right?  If you have a story about how your second child came later than your first, please wait until my baby is born to share it with me.  Because right now I cannot be held responsible for my actions.  I really want to have the baby here by Thanksgiving, which is less than a week away.  I realize I don't get a choice in the matter, but the food is going to taste awful if I am still super pregnant. :\

Next Appointment: November 21 at 38 weeks, 5 days.

Just for fun - here's a comparison photo.  What do you think?  Am I having a baby within the next few days?

Yes, 38 weeks happened to fall on the 16th both pregnancies.  Coincidence?

Don't forget to enter the $50 Tiny Prints Giveaway - it ends tonight at 11:01pm CST!