Four Weeks Postpartum // The Fourth Trimester

How is my sweet Briar already four weeks old?!  Time is flying by and when I really stop to think about it, I feel completely overwhelmed.  I just know all too well how fleeting this time is and how quickly he'll change and shed his newborness.  I love how tiny and sleepy he is, I just really adore the newborn stage!  Thanks to Eric, I have been totally and completely soaking in this time with my tiny boyfriend.  Eric makes the girls breakfast and spends time playing in their playroom in the mornings so that I can get a little extra sleep and nurse Briar in bed.  He's been cooking, cleaning, and playing Mr. Mom.  The transition from two to three has been SO much easier than the transition from one to two for a few different reasons, but above all it is because Eric has been working from home and doing so much for our family.  He heads back to work full time next week and I'm a little nervous, but also ready to get into a routine with my three babes.

I have so many things that I want to share, but I haven't been able to find much time to focus on the blog lately (go figure ;)).  Between trying to soak in Briar's cuddles and play with and squeeze my girls as much as I can, I don't have much left in me by the end if the day.  I try to watch a show with Eric on the couch every night and fall asleep five minutes in.  Every. Single. Night :). I've been slowwwwwwly working on some great posts though and will share in the next week or two (like Briar's birth story and how our transition has been going-so stay tuned!).  

Today I wanted to talk about how postpartum has been going-I've gotten a lot of questions about how I'm dealing the transition to three and how I've been taking care of myself.  I've gotten a few comments about how I'm making life with three look easy and I always laugh at those.  It's not easy, it's downright exhausting!  But it's also so so amazing and I am truly the happiest I've ever been.

My labor and delivery with Briar was the hardest out of all my babes-which is so NOT what I expected!  You hear all those comments, "by the third one, they just slide right out!"  Well no, not in Briar's case!  I have however healed the quickest and am feeling great already.  My body feels good and I have given myself so much more grace than I ever did after having the girls.

Many people call postpartum the fourth trimester.  You see people on the internet gushing over their stretch marks, puffy tummies, and c-section scars because they so deeply appreciate their bodies after childbirth.  I'll be totally honest and say that I have never been one of those people.  After giving birth to both of the girls, I hated my postpartum body.  I was so embarrassed by it and hid it under loose clothing as best I could.  I didn't appreciate my body and really took it for granted.  After doing that twice, I made a conscious effort to mentally prepare myself this time around.  I have been much kinder to and patient with myself.

I gained 45 pounds during my pregnancy with Briar.  I gained 43 pounds with Sloan and 42 pounds with Phayre, so the 45 pounds wasn't a big surprise.  I have lost 16 pounds since giving birth so I have about 30 pounds to lose.  While I look forward to losing the baby weight and fitting into all of my clothes again, I feel much more patient this time.  My body carried and birthed a perfect healthy baby boy and for that I am so grateful.  I've been trying to eat healthier than I did during pregnancy, but the nursing hunger is real.  I will start going on walks next week, but I won't start working out until I'm six weeks postpartum.  I just ordered a postpartum corset and I'm hoping that helps my uterus shrink all the way back down, my tummy is still really puffy!

Mentally I am feeling great, the best I've ever felt after having a baby.  I'm emotional, but I find myself mostly tearing up because I'm so happy or because I so desperately want to soak a moment with my babies in.  I cry because I'm so grateful for Eric, because I can't believe Briar is really here and all ours, and because the girls are SO stinking cute with Briar.  Life is full, but life is better than it's ever been.

After we brought Briar home, I cried almost every time I held Phayre.  I so badly missed her being the baby and being able to hold and squeeze her all day long.  She just seemed like such a big girl once baby brother arrived!  She has done so exceptionally well during this transition though and has made things so easy on me.  She has clung to Sloan like glue, they're more inseparable than ever.  Last week she had a few potty accidents and this week she's woken up a few times in the night, which is unlike her, but other than that she has been perfectly fine!  Sloan has done really well, but has had a bit more difficulty with the transition than Phayre.  She has had a couple meltdowns, which always results in her crying that she misses me.  I've been trying to give her extra squeezes and include her in everything I do with Briar.  She is so obsessed with Briar, I can barely stand how sweet she is with him.  She holds him constantly and is such a good helper.  I'm incredibly proud of how well the girls have done with all of the changes and how much they love their brother.

We thought that Briar had his days and nights mixed up at first.  He woke up every 90 minutes at night and wanted to nurse which left me exhausted.  It turns out Briar didn't have his days and nights mixed up though, he has acid reflux (Sloan and Phayre both had reflux as well).  After everything we went through with Phayre when she was a newborn, I knew pretty quickly that it was reflux.  I took him to see his pediatrician and we figured it all out almost two weeks ago.  Since then he's been taking medication and is seriously the sweetest little guy ever.  He's sleeping better (hooray!) and nurses like a champ.  He had his two week checkup last week and he gained a pound in two weeks!  He weighs seven pounds thirteen ounces and is perfect and healthy as can be.  I'm so thankful!

My breastfeeding journey has been so different with each of my kids and so far Briar has been SO easy-I think that has helped with our tradition as well.  Briar has a great latch so breastfeeding hasn't been as painful as it was with Sloan and Phayre.  I have also been super focused on keeping my supply up so we haven't had issues there (also something I struggled with both girls).  I think it's a combination of experience (on my end), Briar's great latch and ability to nurse well, and just being more relaxed, but breastfeeding is going great the third time around.

A few postpartum products I haven't been able to live without and wanted to share with you guys...

I have also really loved the Tubby Todd nursing salve and freshening spray.  If you are nursing, make sure you check out Oat Mama bars and Milky Mama lemonade and lactation cookies (all three products taste so good and promote lactation!!). 


Briar is just the sweetest baby.  He sleeps a ton, more than either of the girls did as newborns (this could be why he seems so easy)!  He can sleep through absolutely anything, definitely a third kid ;).  He loves to nurse, be swaddled, cuddle, and bath time.  He tolerates major smothering from his sisters and doesn't seem to mind when they start fighting and screeching over holding him :).  He hates (and I mean really hates) being cold.  We just cannot get enough of him and his sweet cuddles.  We're all pretty smitten with our boy!

I'll keep you guys updated on our progress as a family of five!  Thank you so much for all of your sweet comments on Instagram, your support and kindness means so incredibly much to me!

Xo

Marisa :)