Postpartum Bullet Points

We have been home as a family of four for two days now, and it has been pretty blissful. Although, if you hear Ryan the Parrot's latest word, you would think otherwise. "Dan-nit!" doesn't exactly paint a picture of bliss does it? But, it is. We are enjoying a week of almost constant nursing, readings of Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?, casual lunches with a baby in arms, casual dinners with a baby in arms, somersaults down Uncle David's old, giant beanbag and renditions of I'm a Little Pee-pot on repeat because well, when else in our life will we get a week straight together like this?

>>> Almost peri, peri bad - I was taking a luxurious shower yesterday morning when through the glass door, I saw Ryan walk into the bathroom. He was just in a diaper (duh), which just adds to the "we definitely have it all together" aura that is oozing from this post. Anyway, I watched him clammer up onto the toilet, and then watched him swipe the peri bottle from its permanent spot on the counter (any mom will understand it is my crutch that first week home).

Stooooooop! That is NOT a water bottle! Chris!!!

Fortunately, he put it down. Chris came in, I told him what happened, and we both laughed which caused Ryan to start crowing, "Joke! Joke! Joke!" otherwise known as his latest trick. 

>>> Ryan loves Conor. A bit too much, if that is possible? Baby! Kiss! Baby! Kiss! Let me put all of my weight on you, little eight and a half pound brother so I can kiss you!

>>> Conor loves nursing. Like brother, like brother. If his lips so much as brush anything, he starts rooting and rooting until Chris uproots and finds him his feeding source.

>>> I am not good at taking naps. I just normally burn the midnight oil and the noon oil until one day I crash. Having Chris at home this week means he forces me to take a nap with Ryan and Conor when Ryan goes down every day. I kind of love it. Maybe I will be a nap convert.

>>> Poor Conor is sporting his first badges of brotherly love and curiosity after Ryan scratched his nose on the ride home from the hospital.

>>> Chris is really good at taking care of us. Thanks, parents-in-law, for making him the oldest of twelve!

>>> Newborn sneezes are awwww-inducing. Newborn sneezes followed by a, "Bwess you!" are let-me-have-a-million-babies-feeling-inducing. 

>>> After-birth contractions are not fun at all. At all.

>>> Ryan still likes to kiss my belly, but that is okay since Kate Middleton brought bellies back. Plus, it's kind of cute.

I know things will get much harder when Chris goes back to work and after my mom leaves and then his mom leaves and the terrible twos come and maybe colic will introduce itself to us. But right now, this second time around with a newborn has been so fun, and we are treasuring it.  Maybe it's because we know in the blink of an eye, Conor will be clammering up onto the toilet to swipe a peri bottle ... but that will be a treasure, too. I kind of love being a parent.

Five Favorites

Linking up with Hallie via Grace for Five Favorites

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1. The Royal Postpartum Baby Bump.

I might be crazy, but sometimes I get discouraged when I see the seemingly millions of new moms in the blogosphere and on Instagram who seem to have it all together right after they have a baby.  They are out and about in gorgeous, and at a few days or a couple weeks postpartum, it seems like they have no telltale bump leading the way for them. It is silly of me, but I do get down. After I gave birth to Ryan, I still rocked quite the bump (plus a lot of extra weight), my face had swollen so much and was covered in broken blood vessels, I didn't want to wear anything at all because breastfeeding was painful (but I did ... I don't think visitors would have appreciated me in my birthday suit, Ryan's inaugural birthday or not), and I practically cried at the thought of possibly being without reach of my Peri bottle. 


I completely expected Kate to look flawless with her hair and makeup team because, well, she is married to the future king and just birthed another future king! She's a duchess, folks. And I knew she would probably be in heels because again, she is a duchess. But I was floored when she stepped out as a glowing new mama in a dress that didn't hide her bump at all, rather it accentuated it. 

The Duchess of Cambridge brought sleeves back, but my kindred spirit alarm is sounding off because she brought no-baby-in-there bumps back. Girl after my own heart. 

I do have to say that she did an impeccable job hiding any fear of postpartum gore as the whole world watched her family of three debut, although I don't think anyone can top the Mongolian mother who gets onto a motorcycle to ride home on after giving birth.

You can hop on over to Buzzfeed to see Ellie's round-up of photos from the future king's debut!

2. The ice cream truck

Last week for the very first time ever, I took Ryan out to the ice cream truck that constantly roams around our neighborhood letting us know that the weasel goes pop! 90+ thermostat inside the house makes me a fun mom. We will ignore the fact that the watermelon pop stained his skin so that the thorough sprinkler shower didn't suffice. Soap is needed for those suckers.

3. My new last name dictated by Ryan.

Ryan changing our last name from Katrina on Vimeo.

I will be stopping by the Social Security office later to change our surname. Or maybe I should just set Ryan's sights high and not settle for a two syllable pronunciation of a three-syllable last name. 

4. Sweet moments. 

On my parents' last night here, my dad was just sitting out on the porch probably because our house is a sauna, and Ryan just wandered out and took a seat next to Grandpa. It was so sweet. Then they played for almost an hour just the two of them and just on the patio which is a miracle because going outside makes Ryan resistant of staying in one spot.

5. Maternity Swimsuits. 

Okay this isn't a favorite because I don't have one, need one and can't find one that I like that isn't $100. Does anyone have a favorite maternity swimsuit that isn't mucho dinero? If so, send them my way! My bump is in no way fitting into any of my swimsuits. Preferably not a matronly number, although rest assured... I get the irony of that request. Pregnant = mother = matronly by default.