Well, we survived the first 6 weeks with our cute little girl. We've kind of been looking forward to this milestone, because they say from now she will be cuter, less fussy, and sleep better ... and what parent of a newborn doesn't hope day and night for that!
Along with the sleepless nights and the complete chaos that a baby brings, we decided to throw in a couple of curve balls into the past 6 weeks. First, I got shingles just 8 days after delivery - really random and kind of un-fun. But, apparently a healthy dose of valtrex was just the ticket and we got through that without much fuss. Then, last week, after deciding I better get that stomach pain that wouldn't go away looked at, I found out I had an appendicitis and had to have immediate surgery before it ruptured! Yeah, nice. But, a week later, I'm happy to report that I'm not too much worse for wear, and we are back on track to looking forward to enjoying a happier baby, sleepier nights, and just all around more normal!
So, lest anyone feel too sorry for me I've decided to post my top 10 reasons why every new mom should have surgery 5 weeks postpartum:
10. It makes for a great story!
9. I can now empathize better with women who have had to have a c-section and then have to figure out how to nurse a baby with a stomach wound.
8. It's a good way to use up any money that might have been left in our flex spending account (as if there was any after having a baby!)
7. As long as I'm already out on maternity leave, why not?
6. Now I have one more reason to blame for the fact that my abdominal muscles have absolutely no tone.
5. My toddler has something besides his baby sister to blame for the fact
that his mom can't pick him up or play on the ground with his trains.
4. I hate to admit it, but it's surprisingly satisfying, after 5 weeks of
devoting myself to taking care of a baby, toddler, and occasionally a
husband, to spend the night in the hospital and having everyone devoted
to taking care of me for 24 hours.
3. If I wasn't good at asking for help before, I'm much better now ... and
I've gained a true and much deeper appreciation for the quick willingness of
people to help out when asked.
2. My increased recognition and gratitude for the tender mercies that the Lord provides us in moments such as these (e.g. my in-laws arriving just in time to help, having just enough stored breastmilk to get my baby through when I couldn't feed her, that it happened just after Jon's big deadline rather than before...)
And the #1 reason to have surgery 5 weeks after having a baby ...
My increased appreciation and love for a husband who is available, willing, and incredibly capable of stepping in and taking over the care of two children and a household (without making it look like a piece of cake so that I don't feel like a wimp when I am worn out by the same job!)
Happy 6 weeks, Lucy!
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