Water World, and a few words about breasts
Yesterday, Abigael and I went to "Aquatots" for the second time. It is a wonderful, wonderful thing. I like the other moms there, and the facilitator is amazing. She is really animated, but in a gentle way, knows all the babies' names, and is a really positive person. Yesterday's class included a lesson on how to clear partially blocked airways in infants, and a mini lesson on infant CPR. I thought I was done with cry-at-the-drop-of-a-pin phase of life postpartum, but I really had to hold back the tears during the demonstration. Sue, my favorite mom there, had a similar look on her face, and I felt better at knowing I wasn't the only nutcase there, on the verge of tears at a CPR demo.
Then, we went swimming. Abbey has this darling pink swimsuit with a huge daisy on it, she is damn cute. I have a big blue swimsuit that I bought the morning of the first lesson without trying it on. I realized that morning that the only suit I had was my maternity tankini, in hot pink. It would have scared the other mommies, I think. She really likes the water, and the lesson is really good mommy and baby bonding time. After the swim, we get to go in the hot tub, all of us sleep deprived new moms, we sit there like zombies hoping for a pool boy to bring us pina coladas. It is the most relaxing moment of my week. Already, I am counting the days until next Thursday. It's a work out though; Lifting baby up and down, in and out of the water, getting her there and back, etc. It wears us out both, which makes for an early bedtime, and a fairly restful night in comparison.
But let me get back to the swimsuit: it makes my breasts look like maybe they are B's. Which at this point is far from the truth. People tell you about lot of things when you are pregnant: yeast infections, and hemmorrhoids, pelvic floors, vaginal walls, and perineums. But for the most part, nobody talks about the boobs and what happens to them. Mine hurt from the time I peed on a stick. They hurt in the shower from the spray of the water. They still hurt, over a year later. I asked one woman about it in a workshop; she was pumping and I asked her if it hurt. She said "pumping doesn't, but sometimes nursing does". She said it like I would say, "sometimes a splinter hurts". I wish they had told me, in the first weeks of breastfeeding, that it hurts even though it's not supposed to, you've done everything you can, hang in there, this should feel better when she's 3 months. Because that's how long it took, no matter how many midwives, lactation specialists, nurses, doctors, emails to Jack Newman, La Leche Leagues, nursing support clinics we went to. 3 months of wishing I could trade the pain of my worst contraction for that of the boob pain. But here we are, me and my double D's (they are probably bigger than that, but I'm not measuring), and my well-fed, plump and rosy baby.
My mom is coming February 1st to visit her first grandchild for the first time. It should be interesting...
Then, we went swimming. Abbey has this darling pink swimsuit with a huge daisy on it, she is damn cute. I have a big blue swimsuit that I bought the morning of the first lesson without trying it on. I realized that morning that the only suit I had was my maternity tankini, in hot pink. It would have scared the other mommies, I think. She really likes the water, and the lesson is really good mommy and baby bonding time. After the swim, we get to go in the hot tub, all of us sleep deprived new moms, we sit there like zombies hoping for a pool boy to bring us pina coladas. It is the most relaxing moment of my week. Already, I am counting the days until next Thursday. It's a work out though; Lifting baby up and down, in and out of the water, getting her there and back, etc. It wears us out both, which makes for an early bedtime, and a fairly restful night in comparison.
But let me get back to the swimsuit: it makes my breasts look like maybe they are B's. Which at this point is far from the truth. People tell you about lot of things when you are pregnant: yeast infections, and hemmorrhoids, pelvic floors, vaginal walls, and perineums. But for the most part, nobody talks about the boobs and what happens to them. Mine hurt from the time I peed on a stick. They hurt in the shower from the spray of the water. They still hurt, over a year later. I asked one woman about it in a workshop; she was pumping and I asked her if it hurt. She said "pumping doesn't, but sometimes nursing does". She said it like I would say, "sometimes a splinter hurts". I wish they had told me, in the first weeks of breastfeeding, that it hurts even though it's not supposed to, you've done everything you can, hang in there, this should feel better when she's 3 months. Because that's how long it took, no matter how many midwives, lactation specialists, nurses, doctors, emails to Jack Newman, La Leche Leagues, nursing support clinics we went to. 3 months of wishing I could trade the pain of my worst contraction for that of the boob pain. But here we are, me and my double D's (they are probably bigger than that, but I'm not measuring), and my well-fed, plump and rosy baby.
My mom is coming February 1st to visit her first grandchild for the first time. It should be interesting...