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- Baby Bear is 3 weeks old today!

My Weight- Last I checked, I am down 19 lbs from weight at my last doctor's appointment. 7 lbs baby, 12 lbs of all kinds of gross stuff. I am putting this in here because no one ever talks about it, so normal is impossible to figure out.

Baby Cuteness Rating- I would say that super fresh baby cuteness is less glowy, but he is getting curvier and less hairy (plus his stinky umbilical cord is gone) so his cuteness may be headed up overall. Still, I am starting to see hints of the phase where they stare through you and off at ghosts, which is like the sad puberty of infanthood. No one else will say it, but that second month is not the cutest.

And I am Feeling- Mostly good! We still have in-laws here, so I have lots of support. Also, unlike our first Bub, the Bear does not want to chill and watch Top Chef for hours after each feeding, so sleep is more of a thing. The downside is I am still healing and can't do a lot of what I want to, because VBAC's are overrated, and it turns out things don't have the bounceback they are advertised to. I don't like that I am overextending myself so much and so easily, and another 3 weeks of not being able to do what I want is mostly annoying. I am sure I felt this way with the c-section too, but I can't remember, so I am sour about my whole undercarriage now. You are designed to be the exit! Why are you so uncooperative!??

Most Bizarro Quirk of the Week- I got hives after seafood pasta last night. Let us hope that business is a fluke, because motherly sacrifice should not include mussels (even though for my mom it totally did. But come on karma, pick on somebody else).

Best Moment of the Week- My favorite moments are still when it feels like everyone is bonding and our 3 person clique is accepting it's new member. I caught the Bub rubbing his baby brother's feet while we watched Daniel Tiger, four of us to the couch. It was super cute. I couldn't be more pleased and proud of how generally accepting he has been. Also, going to the playground, because being outside is NICE.

Favorite Tool in my Arsenal- I got new baby washcloths from Bamboosa, and they really are super soft and nice, Would recommend for sure.

And We are Watching- Best British Bake Off. English people want everything crispy. They are so wrong about that. Also watched Jaws for the first time, and I liked it way better than I expected. That Roy Schneider and his summer turtlenecks really spoke to me.

And the Boy?- Started paternity leave this week, and he is all the sorts of awesome (even if his male privilege keeps his nips out of danger). He pays for his lack of nipple pain in diaper genie runs, so I can't be all that mad. Have 5th Harmony stuck in my head, because that man is going to be working from home.

Looking Forward To- Doing the Walk to End Alzheimers, because we can. Even if I can't finish it, I can still go. Ready to be a little less hermit-ish, but dreading my MIL leaving.