Due Date

Today is my due date. I would be 40 weeks pregnant today, but instead, I woke up snuggling my 1-week-old baby girl this morning.

Because I gave birth to Nora right at my 39-week mark, I never took a "39 week" pregnancy photo. My last pregnancy photo was at 38 weeks. Still, I thought it would be fun to document the due date by taking a photo, just as I have every week since January.

"40 Weeks" = 1 Week Postpartum

It is so amazing to look at Nora and know that just a week ago, she was curled up inside of me. She still spends a lot of her time with her feet and legs folded up in a way that looks totally uncomfortable, and it's funny to think that those little legs, knees, and feet were poking me in the sides for so long. I look at the way she clasps her hands together and wonder if she did that when she was in the womb. I listen to her hiccups and remember what it was like to feel them from the inside.

And now she is here, and she is beautiful, and I cannot imagine life without her. I am happier than I have ever been. I love her so much it makes me cry. I can't believe a week has already passed, and it actually breaks my heart to think about how fast she will grow. I know that every stage of babyhood/childhood has something to love about it, and I look forward to that--but it is so hard to know that she will never again be this small. It makes me ache. (I'm thinking this is an effect of my out-of-whack hormones, yes?)

OK, with tears in my eyes, I have to talk about something else before I start bawling!

One week after my lightning labor and delivery experience, I am feeling pretty good in terms of recovery. I am still suffering from some pretty annoying tailbone pain, but I'm hopeful that will be improving soon. Everything else seems to be going exceptionally well. I've never had much pain where my stitches are, in fact I never even needed an ice pack in the hospital. As with everything else regarding this pregnancy, I just can't complain!

At my last doctor's appointment on Thursday 9/9, I had gained a total of 26 lbs. Once we were home from the hospital, I weighed myself when I woke up on Tuesday morning, and I was down 14 lbs. When I weighed myself again on Thursday, I was down 19 lbs. I'm pretty happy with my 1-week-postpartum body, but things definitely have a way to go. I tried on my pre-pregnancy jeans the other day, and they actually buttoned--but were a bit too tight to wear comfortably. I'm in a really awkward stage right now, because I am too small for maternity clothes, but my pre-pregnancy pants just don't fit yet. This first week, I've been able to get away with wearing all "comfy clothes," but I do have the itch to wear REAL clothes again. So perhaps I will have to bust out the Bella Band again so I can wear my pre-pregnancy pants.

In other news, I can wear my wedding rings again! After I showered on Tuesday morning, I decided to fish them out of my drawer and see if they fit. Sure enough, they slid right back on my finger. Yay! It took me a few days to actually get used to wearing them again. I'd been without them since 33 weeks.

Not to get all emotional again, but Michael has to go back to work on Monday and I'm already dreading it. It has been so great to be home together as a family. And again, it's another stage of this experience that is coming to an end already. And here I go, about to cry again... HORMONES ARE THE DEVIL.

Nora is doing beautifully--eating well, still sleeping a lot. I love when she spends a good bit of time with her eyes open. I just stare into those blue (I think?) eyes and talk to her. We are all getting about as much sleep as can be expected at this point. I would definitely welcome some longer stretches of sleep at night, but I also don't really mind having the time with her in the middle of the night. You'd think that when you spend a good portion of the night awake, the days would seem so long--but as we progress through the day and night, living from feeding to feeding, the time just flies. Instead of being grateful to be able to fall into bed at the end of every day, I'm actually always a little sad for it to come to a close. Hormones. AGAIN.

With that, I'll leave you with some photos from the last few days. LOVE.

Aunt Melissa and Uncle Andy came to meet Nora today. Aunt Melissa was pretty smitten! :)

All cleaned up to go to a wedding