Warning: This is a long one…
I can’t believe it’s been over a month since my last post. Having a baby takes up a lot of time! Even things like writing a blog post seems like a chore, especially when there are a million things to do… like getting outgrown baby clothes ready for consignment, trying to maintain a semi-livable space while drowning in a sea of baby stuff, cooking as many meals at home as humanly possible, all while juggling my rehearsal schedule with Matt’s show schedule… and a baby.
When I got pregnant, I never planned on giving up theatre. I never really planned on taking a break. It just wasn’t an option for me. It’s what I do. I was fortunate when Kevin was six months old to understudy a show and go on for two performances. At the time, it was so convenient to be able to understudy and not be at every performance. I got the fulfillment of working on a show and performing again, while still taking care of Kev.
Now, I am in rehearsal for a show in the Capital Fringe Festival, and I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s so laid back, and they are amazing about working with my crazy schedule. It gets me out of the apartment, among friends and working on something. And Matt has his own shows, too. It’s a lot. We don’t get much “family time.” But when we do, we try to make it count. It’s about the quality of the time, not quantity, as my mom always says.
When I’m at rehearsal, it’s “work,” but it’s still “me time.” Speaking of “me time,” I have been DETERMINED to lose this baby weight. On January 1st, I resolved to lose 30 lbs to get to where I was before I got pregnant. I am happy to report that in the past (almost) five months, I have lost 20 lbs. But the last 10 are proving to be the hardest, as I knew they would be. I haven’t changed my food intake really. I always ate a pretty balanced diet. But I’ve made it a point to use my elliptical AT LEAST five days a week for about 30-40 minutes each time. That, along with ab work and taking Kev for walks, has helped me lose the first 20. Here’s to hoping I can up my game and get that last 10 off.
It’s hard to workout when Kev is awake. I have a Pack n’ Play set up in my room, and if I try to workout during the day, I put him in it while I’m running away on the elliptical, engrossed in whatever episode of 16 and Pregnant I have going on my laptop. He gets over it real quick. So, now, I just wait until he’s in bed for the night, drink a cup of coffee, jump on the elliptical for 40 minutes or so, shower, and start MY day of working from home, cleaning, balancing the checkbook or whatever else I need to do. Exciting, I know! As exciting as writing this blog post on a Saturday night!
Kev is just growing like a freakin’ weed. I knew babies grew fast, but this is RIDICULOUS! He’s 7.5 months and weighs as much as most toddlers I know. Since he’s so heavy, I noticed that the herniated disc that I’ve had since March of 2009 has gotten increasingly worse. I started not taking our big, fancy Britax stroller everywhere and bought a $40 11-lb “umbrella stroller.” I just leave it in the car, so I don’t have to do so much lifting. I also use my Ergo baby carrier when I have to carry Kev to the car or into a store and I don’t feel like getting him into the stroller. I can’t hold him without it anymore. He’s just too damn big.
Kev’s still not crawling. I’m not sure he ever will. He rolls wherever he needs to go, uses his arms to push off to change directions. He’s figured out that he can roll over to the TV stand, pull the knob and open the door, revealing the old school Nintendo. Although that’s dangerous now, I think Matt is secretly proud that his son is constantly drawn to video games. Ohhhh boy.
I think I was overfeeding Kev for a while. I went overboard on the oatmeal and rice cereal, mixing it with every food meal. I also watched the clock a lot. It was pretty set: bottle, food meal, bottle, food meal, bottle. Every day. Now, he definitely has a bottle in the morning and one before bed and usually one during the day sometime. But the food, pshhhh. Now it’s one squeezy pouch or a Stage 3 vegetable and throw in his paci. That’s usually fine. I think I was confusing his desire to use his mouth, for hunger. Eh, you live, you learn.
Baby Mum Mums are our best friend these days. I call them baby surf boards. They’re surf board shaped “rice rusks” that don’t really have any nutritional value, but they keep him quiet and allow him to practice using his hands for food. They’re awesome.
I don’t know why I didn’t update the ol’ blog on my first real Mother’s Day. I had the BEST day. It’s funny. I always knew Mother’s Day was special, but until I actually became a mother, I didn’t realize just how important that day is to mothers. I felt almost entitled. I thought “Damn straight, I deserve a day. Actually, I deserve EVERY DAY.” And we all do. As hard as it is to be a mother and make mistakes and figure everything out and deal with screaming, messy, fussy, annoying, yet adorable, loving, funny babies on a daily basis, all while juggling everything else we are expected to do AND work AND make time for ourselves, we deserve to be treated as well as we are on that day, every day. Can I get an amen?
Anyhoo, Kev is amazing. He “talks” a lot. Lots of “dadadada,” “mamamamama,” “bababa,” “yeahyeahyeah,” happening around here. He loves sticking his tongue out and blowing raspberries. He loves bubbles. He loves music. He smiles when I sing to him, and it melts my heart. But not when I belt. He cries when I belt, and I feel bad.
Having a baby is hard work. But it’s the best job ever. His healthy, rolly polly legs and big smile make getting up at 5:00 a.m. worth it.
