The Annual Calendar, The 10 Month Fog, and Postpartum Depression

In 2005, I started making calendars for the grandparents (and for ourselves) every Christmas. It’s this wonderful, neck cricking tradition where I pour over all of the photos from the year, trying to pick only the 20 or so best ones. I always end up in a very melancholy place while doing this because looking at the moments that are gone and the children that just keep growing is terribly sad to me. I know. Perhaps this should not be, […]

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How I Lose the Pregnancy Weight

  What I look like, every single time, right after giving birth:  This was a few days after I had Caleb. I weighed about 170 pounds in this photo. And this is what I normally look like: That’s a 35 pound difference.  (After all, a few pounds actually DO belong to the baby.)   This is not my favorite topic:  weight loss.  I don’t like discussing it because it often makes us feel bad. Maybe it’s just me, but when […]

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I Have Four Small Children and a little trouble getting to Solla Sollew!!!!!!!!

I guess toddlers are kind of like cats.  Put a box down, and in they go.  Today little John David turns 3 months old. I have no adorable new photo to post.  Check out Tuesday’s post for that.  He still looks the same.  ; )  I have no exciting new milestone news to share, and  I have no energy.  I DO have a horrible case of hay fever.       Do you know what’s harder than taking care of […]

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The New Normal Postpartum

 John David and me 6 weeks postpartum I have returned to wearing make-up –finally– but my hair straightener will probably be completely rusted before it sees usage again!      I just love this little outfit.  By the way, after Daniel the Chubby it’s nice to have a baby who can fit into newborn socks! He’s still grow-grow-growing, and he still looks like Joshua to me. *********   The New Normal   It’s been 7 weeks now, and I’m not […]

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The Miracle of Iron for Postpartum Anemia

If you have read the blog lately you know I have had a hard time with anemia for a while.   Have you ever woken up one morning feeling miraculously better??  I had that happen today!  (Praise the Lord!)  The iron supplements are working, and I can’t tell you how exciting that is.  I was able to actually work today, and when I say work, I do mean work.    I just refuse to call myself a stay at home […]

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The Fourth Week Postpartum

4th week postpartum

John David, 3 1/2 weeks old, in an outfit provided by my friend Helena, who let it be known, is the greatest meatball maker ever!  Yeah, he sleeps better during the day than he does at night. When it comes to technology, there is a lot that I don’t get.  The photo app on my tablet is one of those things.  I never made this collage of three photos, shown above.  The tablet just made it for me…without me asking […]

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DeTox Day

story of john david's birth

Apparently being J.D. is just exhausting.  This is what he usually looks like.   My recovery has not been all peaches and cream the last few days, so I’m pretty excited that John David’s best hobby is sleeping. Hopefully, by the time he comes out of the newborn sleep phase and is ready to join the family (remember we did jolt him from his womb before he asked…), I will be more fully functioning and able to handle a new […]

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