Fourth Trimester: 10 Weeks Postpartum

Everything kind of seems like a milestone in the postpartum period…one week, one month, 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 2 months…but being in double digits feels pretty significant!

(Baby Gap Shorty One-Piece and it’s on sale for $13. Love this outfit but just wondering why they make some of the baby boy clothes so baggy!?)

The BEST thing to come with 10 weeks has been Finn finding his voice. It seemed like it happened overnight. On the day that he started Leap 3 (smooth transitions) if you follow Wonder Weeks, he started “talking.” Where he used to make random noises here and there he’s now really exploring his voice and almost having “conversations” with you. It’s amazing.

He has also really started to see and interact with the toys on his activity gyms. At home he loves his kick and play piano gym and here in Florida he’s been all about this frog gym. My grandmother offered to purchase one to keep here and it’s been awesome to have. It keeps him entertained and it also has options that grow with him.

Bonus: we have three baby boys in my family this year between me and my two cousins! One was born in February, Finn in May and we have another due in November. How fun that we will have three boys the same age to grow up together!?

Much more to share…

Fourth Trimester: 10 Weeks Postpartum

Breastfeeding: has really clicked for us and I can honestly say that I love it. We’re in a really good rhythm and Finn’s become much more efficient at eating. Feedings are typically under 20 minutes these days. Sometimes longer if he’s wanting to comfort nurse a bit and sometimes shorter if he’s super focused and hungry.

It’s become a really tender and special time that I enjoy sharing with him. He makes the sweetest noises while he’s eating and always grabs a hold of me with his hands.

Update on the spitting up and gas. Spitting up is still happening all the time but he seems mostly unbothered by it so his pediatrician told me not to be bothered by it. I’ve become very accustomed to living my life with a burp cloth in reach at all times and having spit up on my person somewhere at all times.

The gas is a little more brutal but Finn’s pediatrician assured me that it is normal and that he will likely grow out of it soon as he better learns to work his digestive system. When he gets “gas attacks” he screams, strains and twists himself around. It’s terrible to watch. I do a lot of knees to chest and knee circles and that gets a lot of it out. I do use gas drops when things get especially bad and I have also learned that kale salads do not make for a happy baby tummy. This is something I will happily pass up if it means I don’t have to watch Finn be in pain. Dairy seems to not bother him. (Thank god because me and ice cream have a close relationship right now…haha)

Sleep: as long as we can keep major gas issues at bay, we typically have one to two wake ups at night. We are either on a schedule where he eats around 9 or 10p and then sleeps until 3 or 4a and then sleeps until 7 or 7:30a. OR sometimes he wants to eat around 1a and then again at 5a and then sleeps until 7:30 or 8a. Did that all make sense? Anyway, it’s not bad at all and I do feel like I’m getting good rest at night.

Symptoms: this isn’t the best word for it but here’s some things I’m experiencing at 10 weeks postpartum…

• losing wads of hair in the shower
• needing to take 2 showers a day to feel “fresh and clean”
• still very thirsty and drinking tons of water
• my nails are super strong
• some numbness around my c-section incision but for the most part it’s greatly improved
• I don’t really feel super fatigued during the day but once 9 or 10p rolls around, I can’t keep my eyes open!

Oh one “symptom” of pregnancy that I don’t miss is peeing all the time. It has been so very nice in the postpartum period to feel normal again in that regard! I do usually get up once at night to go when I feed Finn but that is nothing compared to those final months of pregnancy where I was going 5x a night.

Emotional Well-Being: in my role as mom to Finn, I feel good and grounded. I am feeling so much more confident about taking care of Finn, reading his cues and understanding his needs. It’s also been rewarding to reach a stage where he is truly interacting with me and giving me tons of smiles and verbal feedback.

I’ve spent a lot of time in Florida with my family and I’m not going to lie, it’s been a huge lifesaver for me on the emotional well-being front. While I have been very fortunate to receive support from friends in Charlotte, there is just nothing like family.

I can’t even explain what a comfort it has been to sit in the same room as my grandmother or my parents, even when we’re not talking. It’s so nice to be able to share all the cute things Finn does with someone else. Just last night my grandmother came in while I was giving Finn a bath and said, “I have to see this…it’s the best show in town!”It’s so helpful to have someone around that I can say to, “can you hold him for a second” when I need help with Finn in the moment. And god bless my parents for feeding me so much good food.

So while I think I’m up for the task of single mom and I know that I am going to figure that out, I am humble enough to say that I very much need and appreciate the support of my family and friends and that I couldn’t do this without them.

Workouts/activity: I posted this on Instagram yesterday…

Sloooooooowly getting back into the workout groove. I went into postpartum fitness with a very open mind and I’m so glad that I did. I have been surprised by how much I don’t miss what was my “normal” routine pre-pregnancy and how at peace I am with walking as my primary means of movement so far. 

At 10 weeks postpartum, I am sprinkling in workouts as I have time and as I feel like it…and it seems like those two don’t happen at the same time very often. So much of my time and energy goes to Finn and when I have some downtime I am either working, tackling household chores or errands, eating or resting. 

Today was one of those days where I felt ready to sweat. It was my fourth postpartum run and I did a short bodyweight circuit after. 

Y’all…I am SO SORE from doing a circuit of 10 squats, 10 push ups, 10 step ups and 10 tricep dips for 5 rounds. I haven’t done any sort of strength training since the Fourth of July and I am feeling it!

I’m not sure when I’ll get back into a more normal groove with workouts but I’m not pushing it right now. Instead, I’m letting intuition and “feel good” lead the way. I have enough on my plate to navigate already as a new mom without the added pressure of finding the time and energy to workout the way that I traditionally workout right now.

QUESTIONS

Did having a baby change/transform/deepen your relationship with your family? 

Any tips for helping babies enjoy tummy time and not think they’re being tortured? 

When did your baby get super vocal? 

With postpartum workouts, were you ready to jump back into it or was it a slower process? Was it different than what you anticipated? (Note, I don’t think there is a right or wrong and that it’s unique/personal to the mom!)