Post-Partum Clothes Shopping

I mentioned in a prior post that I am in a very awkward stage where I don't quite fit into my regular clothes, but my maternity clothes are not fitting with the season. I made a quick visit to Target the other day and purchased some capri's and shorts - STRETCHY ones! These should easily hold me over until I fit into my regular clothes.

However, with Luci's Baptism approaching and with having 6 weddings from now till October, 1 baby shower, and 2 wedding showers - I was in desperate need of dressy outfits. My Mom and I ventured to the Mall this afternoon, and I am happy to report that we were very successful! I was able to find a few dresses that were flattering and very conducive to nursing easily.

This makes me feel a lot better about the body image that I have now...hoping that it will change soon!

Jillian - Episode #2

I missed about 30 minutes of this episode because I was in route from my parents' house to my house. So I missed the 1-on-1 date with Jake - but he got a rose, so I guess that it went well. I have been meaning to watch it online to see what I missed, but I haven't had a chance yet.

Other than that - I think that the 3 guys I picked as my favorites last week are still my top 3: Jake, Kiptyn, and Sasha - no drama, and they seem to be quality guys.

I have now picked guys who annoy me - #1 is David. He actually received the "First Impression Rose" last week, but he is not impressing me at all. He has it out for Juan for something that happened on their group date (I missed that whole thing too). So I can't be too judgemental about it, but none of the the other guys seem to be dwelling on it as much as David is.

I am not a fan of Wes's either. He's way too into himself and his music.

One of the Tanner's creeps me out too - he was the one obsessed with Jillian's feet. It's a little strange. Also, he and Michael seem to have a love-affair going on - they are way too friendly with each other.

I am sure that the drama will continue next week - I love it!

Luci - through Nonno's eyes

My Dad (aka Nonno) has taken TONS of pictures of Luci. He loves his granddaughters and his new camera, so of course he goes a little overboard with taking pictures. I uploaded these pictures to my Snapfish album "Luci - 1 month." So if you already looked at that album, check it out again with the additional pictures at the end, which are my Dad's. The link is below.

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=799861009/a=40662473_40662473/

BTW - thanks for the compliments on how I look - but I feel like a tub of lard because NONE of my pants fit and it's really frustrating. I have to buy new clothes to get me through this in between stage. I have NO spring/summer maternity clothes, or else I would just wear those.

Luci - 1 month

So our little Luci is 1 month today...it went so fast already. I am already dreading going back to work in 2 months!

I still can't figure out her nightly routine that is her feeding frenzy...she wants to eat just about once every hour from 6-11, and then finally she goes down for a snooze. So I have just surrendered to the fact that this is what is going to happen every night now. Once I get her down, she typically wakes up about every 3-4 hours, which really isn't too bad. However, last night - she barely went an hour and a half between feedings...so I am a little tired today.

Despite the lack of sleep (which I am handling a lot better than I had anticipated) and my ENORMOUS chest that seems to be growing daily, I love my quality time with her. She has her little quirks that melt my heart. I love it how she sometimes covers her face when she nurses (which means she covers my boob too - thanks for the discrepancy Luci! Check out the pictures for evidence). I love the little noises she makes as she sleeps and stretches, and also the noises she makes when she nurses to let me know that I am touching her too much - it's like she is saying "stop kissing me so much - I am busy!" I love that when someone else is holding her, and I start to speak, she totally stretches her neck to find me.

I never knew that I could love someone so much!

Mother's Day was so special - and I finally have some nice pictures of Luci with her Mama (unlike the ones from the hospital where I look swollen, drugged, and exhausted). There are also funny pictures of her feet - evidence that she has my toes, her long fingers, her "Got Milk" ad (she has milk all over her face after nursing), and random photo-shoots by John.

Well, we have a very busy summer coming up - tons of showers, weddings, graduation parties, and not to mention Luci's baptism. Pretty much - we are going to be broke come October!

Enjoy the pictures:

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=799861009/a=40662473_40662473/

Jillian - Episode #1

I have to admit - I was not paying as much attention to this episode as I usually do. My sister and brother-in-law were over, and John kept wanting to see the score of the Pen's game - so I missed some stuff.

From what I did see - here are my favorite guys:

Kiptyn
Jake
Sasha

I think that I need to watch next week to get a better grasp on these guys. But the previews for the season definitely live up to the trash that is expected on this show.

Can't wait!

And so it starts again...

Tonight is the premiere for the new season of "The Bachelorette." I can't wait because it is with my favorite Bachelor reject from last season, Jillian. So, tomorrow will start my weekly posts with my analysis of the episodes! I hope that she has some success in her season, unlike almost every other season of this trash!


Also tonight is the final episode of "Dancing with the Stars." Who's left, you ask?

Shawn Johnson - She was Olympic Gold medalist in balance beam at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing where she also earned 3 silver medals in the team, floor exercise and individual all-around categories.

Gilles Marini - Who? Yeah, that is what I asked too when he first appeared on the show, but then I realized that he was Dante, the Casanova living in the beach house next door to Kim Cattrall's Samantha in the Sex and the City movie, a role which has earned him international recognition.

Melissa Rycroft - Anyone who reads this blog should not have to ask who she is. Melissa worked her way into America's hearts after being betrayed by bachelor Jason Mesnick on the most shocking and talked about season finale ever of ABC's The Bachelor.

My hope is that Melissa will win, but my gut says that Gilles will win - we will find out Tuesday night!

Mommy-hood initiation

Luci is still a doll - but she has gotten into this habit of what I refer to as her "feeding frenzy." She is great all day, then 6pm hits, she becomes little miss fussy-mussy, and all she wants to do is nurse. This has really been bothering me for the past couple of days because she is so good to me throughout the day - so I couldn't understand why it couldn't continue into the evenings as well.

Then I figured it out - Luci and I have a great routine throughout the day - I feed her, I burp her, she falls asleep on my shoulder or cuddled into my chest while waiting for the lingering burps, I lay her in the pack-n-play, swaddle her, and she will sleep for 3-4 hours - then repeat.

Well, then Daddy comes home and wants his quality Luci time - which he is totally entitled to enjoy. However, he will take her as soon as she is done nursing, he burps her and then wants her to lay on him and fall asleep. This is where the feeding frenzy starts. I think that she is becoming so used to our little routine that she doesn't know what to do when she is not put down after nursing, and therefore becomes fussy.

So, I gently told John tonight to just let her fall asleep in the pack-n-play for awhile after I was done nursing her, and then he could steal her and lay with her until she wants to nurse again. He agreed - and guess what - it worked! She is sleeping right now as I am typing, which she typically does not do at 8pm.

Spoke too soon - she is crying now - so much for my intuition - time for the boobs to work overtime!

Later!

The First Two Weeks

Luci is a doll! I can't get over the fact that I am her mother - still seems a little strange! But she is doing really well. She sleeps like an angel - only gets up about every 3 hours, and sometimes I have to wake her up to nurse at night. We went to the doctor's last Tuesday and this past Tuesday again - she gained 14 ounces in one week - she's a little piggy! But at least I know that she is getting adequate nutrition.

We have been getting so many visitors and she takes so well to being passed around so that everyone can have their turn to hold her. I love it when her eyes are wide open - she seems so curious as to her surroundings. Right now her eyes are a grayish-blue, so I hope that she has her Daddy's eye color (green) and we know that she has my eye shape (BIG!). We also know that she has my toes (the poor girl) - which means that her second toe is bigger than her first - something that John relentlessly teases me about!

She loves her quality time with her Daddy (as you can see in the picture above). But I am pretty sure that John enjoys it a little more!

Here is another link to some more pictures since we came home from the hospital:

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=638072009/a=40662473_40662473/t_=40662473