When I pinterested "fourth trimester," I couldn't help but notice that every single option was either weight loss or breastfeeding related. Really? I am looking for some outfit ideas or cute posts on what the heck is normal, and all it seems a woman in her 4th trimester is supposed to care about is boobs? I know we are boobs to our infants, but are we just a set of nunjas to ourselves too? So much so that we are desperate to whittle everything else down? 

Boo. I say phooey to this. 

So I am going to try doing the Anti-Bumpwatch. The 4th trimester tends to be pretty alienating, because no one wants to talk about it, but does that really help anyone? It also tends to be treated as almost shameful- you hide your breastfeeding, you fight to get back to your pre-baby body, you hermit at home so people don't see you all discombobulated and pajamed. Where a pregnant body is seen as miraculous and beautiful (which it is), our new healing and STILL life-giving bodies don't garner much respect. 

Maybe it would be good to hear how some other people are going through the first months of their new infant. If nothing else, I can use it as a record later, and hopefully I want be too horrified what my sleep-deprived brain found relevant or funny. But know, other mothers are going through it too. You may feel alone, and maybe I won't have the same experiences because they are so individual, but somebody has gone through something similar. 

How Far Along- 5 Weeks, and change. You didn't expect me to be timely on this did you?

My Weight- Maybe down one pound? It's hard to tell. This week, we committed to getting healthy again, so we are hitting the diets and exercise hard. I am glad we are doing it, because I know we will feel better, but I do want to tell you a secret...

I actually feel pretty good about how I look right now.

Yes, yes, my torso looks like a deflated balloon, and yes, I am still 15 pounds from my starting weight. But I also lost 15-20 already in baby and its surrounding goos. When I look in the mirror, I already like what I see, and I already feel empowered by how much more I can do because I am not so freaking pregnant. I don't know how to say all this without sounding braggy, but it's mostly how I feel.

That being said, I do know I want to build positive momentum so I can get back to walking everywhere and back into my bikinis (I am kidding, why are bikinis such a big deal? Why are people so proud of their belly buttons?).It's an investment in household health, but in terms of feeling good about how I look, I am already pretty much there.

Baby Cuteness Rating- Oh, we are getting some wonky eye action, but it's kind of cute. But also wonky. So it really depends on your preferences.

You Breastfed Where?- A 3 hour drive from home, in a big tent full of people and crab. We went to Crabfest as an impulse decision and to prove to ourselves we can. Last time, we may equally crazy decisions about taking our newborn out, but I think we hit a moment where we have to know we aren't stuck in our house forever, so we just GO. So we took a road trip, which went well minus an emergency stop in a Black Bear Diner parking lot to breastfeed. The boob-related highlight of the trip was definitely sitting next to the giant line of people waiting for crab and whipping it out there. It's kind of like the little entertaining things to look at in line as Disneyland.

And I am Feeling- Good, mostly! I think the trip wore me out a little, but I am happy to be getting out of the house more and I am grateful for a baby who only stays awake an hour at a time instead of 3 or 4 hours a pop. Even if he yells at me more, if he goes to sleep, things are cool between us. Loving the sweetness of watching us become a family of four.

Most Bizarro Quirk of the Week- I popped buttons on two different outfits, because apparently my boobs haven't seen enough strangers. They have some kind of super powers.

Best Moment of the Week- Friday morning. We made it through the night away. Everyone was mostly in a pretty pleasant mood, and then The Bub discovered bunk beds. He was so freaking excited about that bunk bed, and he kept talking about Mercer Mayer (in one little critter book, the big brother has a bunk bed and he gets the top bunk because he is older). He was just so excited, and it was cute. I am really proud that we made it through the trip, and we had fun! So score!

Favorite Tool in my Arsenal- Solly baby wraps. They are stretchy and breathable, and they make adventures with a newborn and toddler totally doable. Also, we wear the baby around the house a lot because it leaves our hands free. These are perfect if you are a beginner baby wrapper as well, because the strecth is forgiving and once you have it on, you can leave it on. Also, I love the colors. We get so much use out of these.

And We are Watching- Nothing in particular. Lots of food shows and a couple of the new documentaries on Netflix. You know the story about the woman who was murdered in front of an apartment building and no one did anything because everyone thought someone else would? Kitty Genovesee? The story is totally untrue! One of those things where the story took over actual events. If you want to feel super sad and a little better about humanity, the documentary about her is pretty great,

And the Boy?- Continuing to be a paternity leave rockstar. Trying to sleep train the Bub for his naps. Its a tough road, but he is sticking with it!

Looking Forward To- I think we will do a pumpkin patch this coming week, so looking forward to doing holidays now that our older son kind of can figure out what is going on.