Quick Life Update--I Had My Baby...

Welllll….this is awkward…I haven’t updated you all in awhile regarding my pregnancy. In case you haven’t heard, I had my baby! A month ago 🙈. I meant to give you all an update my last few weeks of pregnancy, but that never happened. And then I went into labor and had my sweet boy and got distracted staring at him all day. So I’m just popping in for a quick life update.

Pregnancy: My last few weeks of pregnancy weren’t fun. I was incredibly uncomfortable (anyone else have pubic symphysis pain? It’s terrible), tired, slightly nauseous, and simply ready to have my son. The week before my due date I thought he was coming because I was having regular contractions every 5 minutes lasting about a minute. Turns out they were braxton hicks. Womp womp. Waiting for Cam to arrive was absolutely excruciating emotionally. I finally decided I wasn’t going to wait around the house to go into labor and started planning things with friends to keep me busy until he decided to come. In fact, I was supposed to watch a friend’s kids the day I went into labor (um, sorry friend for bailing on you! I was a little busy).

Body image those last few weeks: Someone asked me about body image those last few weeks of pregnancy, and to be honest, I LOVED my belly! I know it seems weird, but I just thought it was the cutest thing ever. Yes, I felt big and he was growing daily, but I thought my bump was just so precious. I can totally identify with the fear about getting bigger and bigger, but I knew that at some point my baby would come and I would not continue to grow forever. It’s hard to trust your body knows what it’s doing, but it does—and this applies to everyone, pregnant or not.

Nursery: My mom helped me organize the nursery several weeks before Cam came and I absolutely love it! We ended up buying a cute gold floor lamp to guy behind the rocker, but that was once Cam came and I don’t have a picture of it (how lazy am I?! I could just go take another picture 😂). It’s definitely my favorite room in the house…which is a good thing since I’m spending so much time in there nursing.

Labor: I had Camden at 1:52 pm Wednesday, October 31st (Halloween). I woke up that morning at 4:30 with contractions, but figured they were the braxton hicks I had been experiencing the last week or so. They continued to get stronger, but were inconsistent so I reached out to my doula letting her know that I thought I might really be in labor. I took a bath (and watched part of the Greatest Showman—it was my plan for distraction!) and afterwards texted my doula letting her know they were getting stronger and that I thought she should head my way because I thought they were going to be more than I could handle in an hour or so. I had an OB appointment that day, so I went in earlier (around 9:45 am) with my husband and when they checked me I was at a 4 and 80% effaced. Isaac and I headed home to meet my doula and labor at home. My doula was INCREDIBLE at helping reduce the pain and coaching me in letting my body labor and work Camden down. We headed to the hospital around 12:50 (time FLEW by) and when we got there I was at an 8 and contractions were coming about every 2.5 minutes apart. Once we got there, it was ALL a blur and honestly, fairly traumatic. Things just escalated quickly and Cam wasn’t in a good position, so it was all a little stressful and chaotic to say the least. But Cam came out perfectly healthy at 1:52 (yes, about 30 minutes later!!) and he was able to stay in the room with us the entire time.

Breastfeeding: Thankfully, I’ve had no major issues with breastfeeding and Cam is growing like a CHAMP! At his 4 week appointment, he had gained 2.5 pounds, so I think my milk must be straight cream 😉. And boy oh boy am I hungry all the time! Like I have never experienced an appetite like this. We’ll finish a meal and all I can think is: “I’m not full yet.” It’s like I never stop thinking about food! Thankfully, our church brought us a lot of meals and my mom stocked our freezer with a bunch of meals and snacks. Homegirl can put away a LOT of food right now. :-)

So yep, Camden is now four weeks old and Isaac and I are LOVING being his parents. He is just the sweetest baby. I was so hesitant about being a mom, and now I realize he is the best gift. It’s not always easy, and this healing body of mine can be a little frustrating at times, but it is definitely worth it.

How are YOU guys? Fill me in on what’s going on in your life! Anything you want me to talk about?—motherhood, intuitive eating, eating disorder recovery?