I’ve had to resign myself to the fact that my hairline isn’t coming back. Seriously, every time I look in the mirror I want to kick Rick Santorum square in the balls. NOBODY should have to go through this unless they want to. (In the interest of full disclosure I have to acknowledge that I want to kick that man on general principle, this just adds fuel to the fire.) I’ve been massaging my temples with coconut oil and rosemary, sometimes Whit does it for me. It feels great and I think the shedding has stopped, but I don’t see any new growth. I just added biotin to my supplement routine, any other ideas? I’ve been coloring every six weeks. I know it’s not good for it, but the gray is so bloody depressing I can’t bear it. The rest of my hair is growing like a weed, but my hairline is still tragically thin and fragile. I’ve never in my life had problems growing hair, and don’t really care if I never get my length back, but male pattern baldness is not cute on a woman! Has anyone tried those “temple balm” products? The reviews are pretty sketchy, but I’ll give it a shot with a recommend.
Category: Pregnancy
Hypotonia
Poor Kell, can’t catch a break. He had torticullis when he was born. No one is sure what causes it, but he might have been positioned poorly in the womb due to my low amniotic fluid. The doctor gave me some exercises to do with him when he was about three months old. We did them five times a day. We also arranged the changing tablen and crib so he’d have to turn his head against the way ut was tilted to see us. We held him in the “Superman hold” to strengthen his neck and upper back as well, and he was okay within a few months. Of course he hated the exercises and would scream so pitifully. The doctor assured me they didn’t hurt, but how would he know? Yeah, I cried a lot.
Now it seems he has some delay in gross motor skills development. He’s nearly a year old and isn’t pulling up or crawling. The doctor diagnosed hypotonia and we had our first physical therapy appointment yesterday. I, of course was a mess because I made the mistake if googling “hypotonia” and scared the all living hell out of myself! Apparently his isn’t that bad, and might even be simple muscle weakness in his core. Baby pilates? Well not quite, but we have series of exercises to do with him. Muscle weakness is better than hypotonia because you can strengthen muscles with exercise. Hypotonia is more a matter of reconditioning the brain and nerves; a far more daunting task. I was primarily concerned about his ability to play sports. Whit and Luke are such athletes I didn’t want Kell to feel left out. The therapist said that didn’t seem to be indicated, but we’ll see how the exercises go. Once his treatment is approved by insurance we’ll go once a week.
Anyway, he woke up one grumpy baby this morning, I don’t think he slept well. Unlike Luke, he’s an unbelievably light sleeper. If you go antwhere near his room he wakes up. After breakfast we started the exercises. Lots of screaming, and this time I know I’m not hurting him, but I’m still a blubbering mess. The exercises didn’t go well, which isn’t surprising i’m not altogether comfortable with them yet, but soon they’ll flow. We’ll try again later. I know we have to do these several times a day, and it has to be done, but damn it’s hard. Anyway, he’s napping now and I think I’ll have cuppa and chill a bit.
The One Where She Cuts All Her Hair Off
Yep, I have about an inch of hair covering my scalp. It’s kinda strange to go from waist-length locs to NO HAIR in one afternoon. I had no choice. My hair always thins after I have a baby and the bases of my locs had gotten so thin they were starting to break. Whit assures me that I’m still sexy, but I’m thinking not so much. I have a mirror and right now I see a fat, bald, leaky mess. (Can you tell I’m a bit bummed about the whole thing? And no I will not be posting pictures. I look like I got the worse end of a fight with a flock of chickens.) It’s REALLY bad. Normally I like having a TWA, but my hairline is gone as well and is VERY gray. I seriously look like I’ve had chemo and know I’ll get LOTS of questions. I can’t color right now because the hair coming in is very delicate. So I’m hitting the rosemary and coconut oil hard. Someone suggested taking biotin, but I don’t know whether that’s okay for a nursing mama. Any other ideas?
Post Pregnancy
Now that Kell is sleeping in 4-5 hour stretches, I’m starting to feel a bit more human. I’ll be released by the doctor on Tuesday and look forward to starting my exercise routine back up. I haven’t worked out since last August. Fortunately I only gained 22 pounds and have already dropped those, but I was twenty pounds heavier than I would like anyway. So I still need to lose those and that will only happen if I get to moving my butt. My incision is still a bit tender. I don’t remember it being that way after Luke, but it’s been almost seven years, so I might have forgotten. I’ll probably ease into it with really short walks until I work that soreness out.
I don’t have stroller right now. Frankly I didn’t think I’d need one since we don’t have sidewalks and I don’t really go to the mall, but now I’m thinking I’ll invest in one, even though I’ll have to drive to a neighborhood with sidewalks to go walking. (Reason #903 to hate Atlanta.) I’m thinking about this stroller. We already have the car seat, which, btw I love like buttercream frosting.
I’m also thinking about getting this baby carrier so I can wear the baby. These are so convenient when you just need to run into a store for a few items. Or even when you’re doing housework. I think this one is pretty and easy to use.
Of course, all this talk may be for naught. After all my posts about diaper bags, I wound up with this one, which wasn’t even one that I posted. I love the hell out of it, as well.
Meet William Kell
Welcome our newest family member. He was born at 7:37 a.m. on April 8 and weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces and was 20 inches long. Everyone is thrilled to have him, especially big brother, Luke.
Belly Binding
The women in my family always bound their bellies after childbirth. That might explain why my mama still had a 19″ waist after ten pregnancies! I remember driving her to New Jersey to bind my niece after she had her first child. Unfortunately my mama’s not around anymore to help me with this. I didn’t do it after the Luke because I had a c-section and was under the impression that it wouldn’t be a good idea. But I remember that awful “OMG my guts are going to fall out,” feeling and think this might help.
My mama just used a couple yards of muslin that she washed several times to soften, and that’s my first inclination. They have all kinds of fancy ones now, but they’re kinda pricey and you have to have more than one as your belly shrinks. Goodness knows I have plenty of muslin fabric as I buy it in bulk for quilting. I think I remember enough about how my mama wrapped my niece to do it myself. The wrap went from just at the bikini line to right under the bust, maybe a little lower, and she had her lie down on the bed while she pinned it in the back with diaper pins. I’m thinking that maybe I could use velcro to fasten mine, and I wonder if I can do it in the front so I can take it off an on more easily. I’ll have to experiment. As I get smaller I’ll just make new ones. I think I remember that she wore it for six weeks. Amazingly all the women in my family (except me) have flat bellies, including my sister who had twins. So I think this is worth a shot.
Baby Quilt!!!
I can’t believe I finally finished this top. Normally I could piece a top like this in a weekend or two, but since I can’t sit for long periods these days, it took considerably longer. Whit says it’s so bright it’ll give the baby detached retinas.
Don’t have any idea when I’ll get the darned thing quilted. I want to use this fabric which is the same fabric I used for Luke’s quilt. Unfortunately, it’s $8 a yard and I need six yards of it. So it’ll be a minute. That’s okay though, because I made it twin-bed size so I won’t need it for a while.
Baby Birthing Mix Tape
Whit is particularly good at making mix tapes and he tends to make them for events. Usually for road trips, but he’s also done mixes for things like birthdays and holidays. I’m thinking of some of the songs I’d like to have for delivering this baby. Some are for Kell, and some are for me. What are some songs you think would be good for baby birthing?
Woman I’m Amazed – McCartney
Shower the People – Taylor (Can’t have a mix tape without Sweet Baby James)
With Arms Wide Open – Creed (Love this song, hate Creed. I think Darrius Rucker could seriously blow this song up. If anybody knows him, hook a mama up.)
Blessed – John
I Never Loved a Man – Franklin (This is hand’s down my fave Aretha Franklin song. I’ve even got a story based on it. Aretha, take care of yourself. I’ll be too pissed if you die before I can get the story written.)
Now y’all join in. If you were delivering a baby, what songs would you want him to hear during his first moments of life? What would you want to hear during this amazing event?
Baby Clothes
I just bought a bunch of baby clothes over at the Carter’s site. Don’t you just love this outfit for my “War Eagle” baby? Conceived the year Auburn won the national title, and oddly enough no one’s suggested any Auburn related names. I just love the little cap.
Of course I couldn’t resist the set with a “rock star” theme.
I bought seven little outfits, that’ll be enough for the first month or so. He’ll be growing so fast he’ll be out of them in no time. For the first months I primarily just let Luke wear a onesie most of the time anyway. Will probably do the same with Kell. Still looking for a pretty smocked bubble for Easter Sunday though. I’m so excited to have a new baby to show off at Easter. I can’t believe Whit is over his anti-smocking bias. He wouldn’t let Luke wear anything smocked, I’ll probably lose my mind with this baby.
Diaper Bags: The Final Chapter
Well after much consideration as to how this family rolls I’ve concluded that a pretty diaper bag won’t cut the muster. What with sippy cups and matchbox cars and that entire month I was hauling a robot around (don’t ask), my dainty little bag would be in shreds in weeks. I’ve concluded that I need two bags. I like the idea of a backpack that holds lots of stuff, especially for when we’re out all day and for road trips. And a smaller one that I can just “grab and go.” I think I’ve found both at Land’s End. This one can be a backpack or a shoulder bag, and I think it’ll hook conveniently over the headrest of the car for roadtrips. Land’s End stuff is durable, Luke has a duffel bag that his dad hauled around for twenty years and it’s still in good shape.
And I like this little one for everyday use. Especially since I won’t be hauling bottles or anything. Best of all, I can get BOTH bags for $65.
This concludes the diaper bag search portion of our program. Thank you for your support. Next week stay tuned for the Great Stroller Quest.
the one who writes 