saving my life one product at a time: postpartum month one

This post began as an email to a friend of mine who is fairly recently pregnant (due in January). She wanted to know about some of the things I couldn't live without - the things she might not hear about, the things not so obvious but oh-my-goodness-I'd-die-without-them.

So I started thinking and writing, writing and thinking about the little things that have made all the difference in our post-pregnancy world. And then I realized: dude, this could be a nice series of posts. Without further delay, I present to you...


SAVING MY LIFE, ONE PRODUCT AT A TIME (postpartum month 1)



Lansinoh.

Oh my. For the NIPPLES. Because no matter what they tell you, no matter how awesome breastfeeding is (and it really really is awesome), it also TOTALLY HURTS in the beginning. And the nipples need some TLC. TLC to be found in this stuff, because it soothes and relieves the ouchy. I actually had more than one tube of this stuff stashed around the house and in Bean's diaper bag.


Kleenex.

Possibly the best piece of advice I received after Bean was born. Emily came to my hospital room and handed me a box of these and said IT'S OKAY TO CRY. About mid-week two, the tears started and they didn't stop. For DAYS. I cried because I missed being pregnant. I cried because I felt terrible. I cried because Alice was so beautiful. I cried because my mom was leaving. I cried because my boobs were sore. I cried because there wasn't anything good on television. I cried because the cats looked at me wrong and DUDE I'M GOING TO BE A TERRIBLE MOTHER PLEASE PASS MORE KLEENEX. I ran through one box and called Emily to tell her (mid-sob) I NEED MORE KLEENEX. So she came over with a pack of FOUR and also a chocolate milkshake. Kleenex (and a very sweet friend) got me through.

Eucerin lotion. Listen, I have the driest dry skin that ever dried. So I know what I'm talking about when I tell you that my skin post-pregnancy was the DRIEST IN THE LAND. So to recap, I not only had a small girl child learning to nurse on my oh so very ouchy ouchy breasts, but the skin itself was OH THE HUMANITY chapped and dry and so very scaly. I was not a pretty sight. But Eucerin lotion? ROCKS MY WORLD. You can apply it until the cows come home and your skin will just drink it in. It's lovely and fragrance-free (so it won't bother baby). I've tried a million and one creams and lotions throughout my life, and Eucerin, by far, is the best stuff for the job.

Basic Comfort nursing pillow.

This isn't personal to the Boppy and all Boppy lovers out there - but the Boppy so did not work for me. Alice was rolling off the thing from day one and it made me nuts. I figured I was nuts enough already without the added Boppy-shaped headache, so when I tried the Basic Comfort nursing pillow at our breastfeeding center, I didn't hesitate to buy it. The Basic Comfort nursing pillow had me at HELLO, people. So awesome. Where the Boppy is round and rolly and quite frankly a little on the smallish size - the Basic Comfort is large and flat and has a really soft cover that is removable for washing. It is the Cadillac to the Boppy's sub-compact is what I'm saying.


The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp.

I want to send this guy flowers. Chocolate. Precious jewels. There isn't a day that goes by when I don't use the methods Dr. Karp describes to soothe Bean. I really don't know what I would have done if I hadn't read this book before she was born. Dr. Karp explains so clearly what a baby is experiencing in her first three months and how best to soothe her. So he not only covers WHAT TO DO but also WHY YOU'RE DOING IT. Which is so helpful to me. I'm all about the why. Why does swaddling work? Dr. Karp tells you. Why should I be making a maniacal shhhh shhhh SHHHH noise in Bean's ear? Dr. Karp tells you. Why should I be patting Bean's back and rocking like a lunatic? Dr. Karp tells you. It's FANTASTIC.


Alrighty, my friends. That's it for month one. I'd love to hear what stuff YOU couldn't live without during those early few weeks of baby's life.

Next up: miracle products from month two.

oh baby

Please pop on over to see The Wife's brand spanking NEW BABY. I'm so excited for her and The Husband!

made me laugh so hard I made that snorting sound

There is a snotty summer intern at Stacie's work. She falls asleep at her desk. And Stacie not only took a picture, but she posted it. Priceless.

And in other news: you know you're deliriously tired and also ever-so-slightly preoccupied with a small baby person when you spend an hour walking around Target with a large wad of kleenex sticking out of the neck of your shirt. Because you were wearing pants without pockets and had stuck the large wad of kleenex in the best place you could come up with for handy reaching several hours earlier in the day.

Let me tell you, I'm on FIRE with BRILLIANCE over here. Maybe I should take a nap at my desk.

of green plaid jumpers and high school yearbooks

It's a strange swirly series of events that have brought me here tonight, thinking about this girl.

Chip has been a little nostalgic about his high school classmates, ever since we started watching this guy on tv. They went to school together, and it naturally started Chip down the road of wondering where people are - what they've been doing - and more specifically how they're doing. He's incredibly proud of the folks he's heard from, and those that he's watching from afar. Our friend Emily (also an old schoolmate of Chip's) started a blog just for their graduating class, to help them all connect with one another.

I'm a little sad to say that I can't begin to relate to this desire to track down old pals, to see old friends, to know what they've been doing, to revel in their successes and offer support for their challenges. On the whole, my high school experience was decent enough. I had friends. I did stuff. I drove my parents CRAZY. But once I walked through those gates and left the lockers and the weird smelling gym behind, I seriously LEFT IT ALL BEHIND. With only a couple of rare exceptions, I haven't talked to a single person I knew back then. I didn't follow anyone's exploits through college. I didn't receive any wedding announcements. I don't get any baby pictures from high school friends. I haven't joined any of those classmate sites. I haven't even CHECKED. I haven't ever googled anyone. I haven't searched Facebook or MySpace. I just... have no desire to do it. I don't know what I'd say. I don't think I have the equipment to start a conversation that ended sixteen years ago.

... Okay, I just deleted a few longish paragraphs that went into WAY too much detail about boring stuff that basically amounted to this: I'm a weird bird, yo. And for some reason, I've never been curious about people I knew when I was 17. I think I thought it would be too painful or something. But time passes. And things change. And we get married. And we have babies. And a whole other bunch of stuff happens that doesn't define us, but it molds us - changes us - turns us into the people we are today.

I look back at This Girl up at the top of the page. I think about her, about her dreams for her future, about her imaginings for career and family and life in general. I know that she didn't quite imagine the me I've become. I know that she never imagined the hard stuff, just like she never imagined the AMAZING stuff either. But I love that little girl. She had spunk and optimism and a fierce love for the world and everything in it. The kids from high school, I am beginning to think of them in the same way, knowing that the people they were then is a rippling echo into this our present.

Suddenly, there isn't anything wrong with a little curiosity.

loopy - special post-fourth of july edition

We not only have a winner for the Pay it Forward contest here at The Creamery (CONGRATS AGAIN, FIONA PICKLEBOTTOM). We also have another contest! Because I WON - not one but two of these fine contest thingies.

I think I love the fact that they are looping around like that.



From TESSIE at Messing With Texas
and
From Maggie at And the Duck Said

I feel like I need to give an acceptance speech or something. I feel so lucky! My plan is to post a new contest for EACH of the winnings once I receive them in the mail. So that's not just one contest you could win, but TWO.


And because it was Independence Day yesterday, we have RED WHITE AND BABY: THE ALICE.