A Few of My Favorite (Postpartum) Things
- Babywise. But perhaps you already knew that. Except for one rough night last night due to a severely stuffy nose, Theo is sleeping well, only waking 2x a night, going 3-4 hours at a go (at night). It's such a gift to be able to meet his needs and help him (and all of us) sleep well.
My Brest Friend-- seriously, the way this nursing pillow locks around the body with a buckle... I love it! And is just the right height and firmness for supporting baby... It blows my mind. SOOOO much better than the Boppy or just doing it myself with a pillow. It allows me to focus on getting a good latch and nothing else. Cheesy name aside, I truly love "my Brest friend".
- Bellefit corset with zipper - yup. I'm loving it. Especially having diastasis recti since baby #1, I am completely astounded at how fast my stomach is looking like a normal stomach post-delivery. I'm so glad I bought two of them... One (a large) with a zipper for post delivery, and one without a zipper (a medium) for once I lose some weight but still want the extra toning.
- BabyNursing app-- this app is so helpful for tracking how often baby is eating, how long they eat, and (my favorite) which side they started on last. I love the ease of this app-- and it's free!! :). I interrupt this informative post to unabashedly ask you to admire the preciousness of my 11-day-old Theo. Isn't he just exquisite?
- MyFitnessPal app-- they give you extra calories for breast feeding (you enter it like a food, FYI) and its definitely helping me to make thoughtful, deliberate choices on how to spend my calories each day.
- TakeThemAMeal.com-- this has been SUCH a blessing for the last two weeks... Every church should do this. And I love how they list out what everyone is bringing so that participants can bring a variety of dishes and really bless the receiving family. We have truly eaten good the last two weeks and I'm so thankful for our church family that has done so much to encourage and support us during this time with our new little guy.
- Paternity leave. yup. Doug and I have enjoyed having time together as a family during all his newness. :)
17 comments:
My second child, another son, was born two weeks ago tonight. We are also doing Babywise again and we had 5 meals brought to us via that meals website, what a nice resource!
Your little Theo is so adorable!
Yes, he is exquisite. :) Such a wonderful little blessing! Congrats!
See, I'm not a Babywise fan. I've co-slept with mine for the first year and I really believe that's been what allowed each one to nurse until their first birthday when my mom was unsuccessful. I guess I just love that year of cuddling and sleepy nursing, although we used the crib for naps. But I'm glad it's working for you!
He's so precious! So happy for you--and happy you've found some things to help you during this post-partum time.The belly band especially sounds like something that may be handy if I am blessed with anymore children.
In Christ,
Noele
too cute! i could almost smell the new baby smell and feel the soft baby skin, even though mine are way past baby stage. i guess you never forget. thanks for sharing. mary
I was expecting the picture that came under your paternity leave subheading to be of your husband with the baby. I scrutinized it and for a second there could not for the life of me figure out why he looked so young! :)
Cute baby. I'm not yet at this phase of life, but I sure am looking forward to it. Congs!
-D-
Awww!! Theo IS exquisite!! :D I bookmarked that meal site - our Church was sooo good to us as well when we had our third blessing (just eight months ago...how fast has that time flown!?!?) It is an amazing blessing when they provide those meals when you have a newborn!! Oh and YES to hubby's on parental leave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE IT!
He is perfect! Enjoy! Enjoy! Many blessings!
Theo is beautiful! :D
I love My Fitness Pal, too! What a wonderful tool. It's the easiest thing I've ever done weight loss-wise, and I really think it has been the turning point in my 16 year battle to get my body back after kids. So glad you found it!
Congratulations! I'm expecting baby #5 (our 4th girl) in less than six weeks. I love Babywise too! - and have breastfed to a year with each. I'm most curious about the girdle. The links didn't work, but I googled it. Though I have lost more weight than I put on with each pregnancy (an exception with one), I'd really like to get one of these to help me through the initial few months of nothing fitting. I also have a fear of diastasis recti just because my body's done this so many times. Were you able to get yours at any lower a price than the website gives?
Hi Jess,
I'm so glad to see you all doing so well. Theo is gorgeous, I love the little facial expression and what great skin he has! I am expecting baby #3 in June and have been waiting for your review of the bellefit product :) I have never used any kind of tummy wrap or post partum girdle, but am finally wising up to the value of it here...third time's the charm I guess. I am still not sure what size I want though, since you have a large and a medium maybe you can help me. I am a size 6 normally, before and after both my other babies. Getting back to my SIZE wasn't really a problem, but the toning and belly softness was a different story. I've been going back and forth about ordering a small or medium and they are not returnable so...yikes. I've read others who say that they only wore the medium for 2-3 weeks then had to order the small. I am borrowing a belly bandit from a friend which I thought maybe I'd use right away (plus no crotch snaps and what not to deal with) then use the bellfit for when I'm ready to up the toning, etc. Do the crotch buckles bother you and how soon did you start wearing yours after delivery? Thanks!
-Jessica
I was also wondering if you would still recommend the Bellefit now that you are further out from delivery. Could you give some of the pros and cons?
Congrats on your newest addition!! I didn't even know you were pregnant! (Haven't been to your blog in a while I guess!) :) I've seen a lot about those corsets.. I might have to try one.
Hi Jess! I was wondering if the bellefit ended up still working for you- now that you're several months postpartum. I also have diastasis recti and was considering buying one to use after our newest baby comes. I was also wondering if it is comfortable and stays in place well under clothes. Thanks for your wonderfully encouraging blog!
Shannon- mom to six and one more due soon!
OK, many of you have asked about the Bellefit. Here's the downlow about that:
* I wore it nearly every day for the first few weeks.
* I wore it several days a week for the following few months.
Now, at nearly 4 months out, I wear it about once or twice a week... for church and if I'm heading somewhere else dressed up.
Initially, it sucked in the flabby "extra"... the stuff that just hangs and has nowhere to go.
What I loved about it was that there was no fat roll at the top (it held all the extra IN) and it did not roll down (thus becoming ineffective & worthless). Very quickly, I received compliments on how "well" I was doing with my weight even though I hadn't yet lost a pound. (If you'll recall, I'm one of those acutely strange people who tends to gain weight or at least retain it with an iron grip during the breastfeeding period.) People complimented me regularly, and it definitely made me less self-conscious in that "I'm completely fat and have nothing to wear-woe-is-me" post-partum stage.
What was challenging about it is that it does, over time (if you are wearing it for 4-6 hours or more) tend to dig in a little bit to the rib cage area. The whole strength of the girdle is a combination of the awesome fabric that doesn't bulge/bunch up, combined with sturdy boning on either side. I found that with wiggling or adjustment, I could make it so that it did not dig into my rib cage, but it did require that adjustment in order to be comfortable.
That said, I am super super happy that I got the girdle.
My midwife shared with me that in cases of diastasis recti, you really only have that first year to correct the problem and allow the muscles to fuse back together, and after that it is exceptionally difficult, if not impossible. Her comment combined with my desire to wear the girdle and I've definitely noticed a difference in the bulging and swelling of my stomach.
I actually just laid down to test it, and note these results:
6 weeks postpartum, I still had a three-finger-width gap between the two abdominal walls in my stomach. HUGE.
Now, less than 4 months post-delivery, it has shrunk to one-finger-width. I hope to bring it even tighter by continuing to wear the girdle and do abdominal exercises like tightening while swimming.
I definitely recommend the Bellefit and would absolutely use it again for the postpartum period and beyond if we were ever to have another baby.
As to sizing: I purchased a Large for the postpartum period, as I'm typically a size 12. I was wearing size 16 immediately after delivery, and the Large zippered Bellefit girdle JUST BARELY squeezed on. I'm now comfortably a size 14 (they're a little loose), and the Large still fits well and helps to smooth (so I wear it on Sundays with more dressed-up outfits). I have the Medium slip-on girdle for the next phase, so that I can have slimming and tummy control for the end of Summer and Fall as I continue to work to lose weight and inches.
I'm not normally so forthcoming about my size but in this instance, in order to help others gauge the correct size, I am willing to be specific. I hope this is helpful!
~Jess
Thank you so much! That was extremely helpful. :)
~Shannon
Thanks for the update on the Bellefit. I did have one more question. Did your abdominal gap decrease to one finger width with only the Bellefit, or were you also doing specific abdominal exercises? I would really appreciate your input.
Nicole
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