The Most “First Time Mom” Moves I’ve Made

The amount of nervous moments that a new mom goes through within the first few months of their child’s life cannot be measured in numbers, but in restless nights, tenth second guesses, and Google searches attempting to diagnose the newest noises and reactions.  God knows that I’ve had to put my phone down after working myself into umpteen million frenzies.  Thank goodness I always have my mom as a sounding board and therapist for those moments when I’ve lost sight of what is normal and what is unjustified paranoia.  These past (almost) four months have been a series of exercises in reigning it in when common sense isn’t so common.  But hey!  I’m a first time mom!  I’m allowed a few…many…TONS of freak outs.  Here is a list of some of the more first-timey moments I’ve caused/experienced since March 22nd.

1. Hear the baby crying throughout his nap as well as when he isn’t even home.
2. Check on the napping baby no less than every five minutes.  (See #1 for reason why)
3. Staying awake the entire night to watch the baby sleep because I’ve convinced myself that he will smother himself in the shit show of a swaddling I attempted.
4. Questioning the installation of my son’s car seat base even after it was checked and approved by the local fire station experts.
5. Taking my son from another adult to burp him because apparently I’m the only one who knows how to properly pat a baby’s back.
6. Sit in the backseat of the car next to my son during a 20 minute trip because I was afraid he would get lonely.
7. Pack three outfit changes, three full bottles, two pacifiers, a swaddler sleep sack, two burp cloths, twelve diapers, a full pack of wipes, and baby powder for a two-hour visit at my mom’s house.
8. Keeping a three foot protective radius around the baby to keep the dog back while my son is playing on the floor.
9. Rocking a sleeping baby an extra 10, 20, 30 minutes just because he is so precious.
10. Cry silent tears of love and gratitude for this little miracle in our lives.

Welcome July

Happy 1st of July! 

I am really excited to begin this new month.  It’s going to be the craziest and busiest month for us because we have so many friends and family members who are coming to meet our son, Cliff.  How blessed are we that many people love us enough to take time out of their schedules for us.  Thank goodness Cliff has been working on his selfie faces because I’m sure there will be plenty of picture taking and memory making!

June was an interesting month for us, and went out like a bang…literally.  Here are the highlights:

• I spoke at my school’s graduation ceremony and watched my first group of students walk across the stage.
• Dan wrapped up the school year and started his summer vacation.  It’s been great having all three of us home during the day.
• I joined Bailey’s Gym to help get me closer to my pre-baby body.  I forgot how much I enjoyed working out in a legit gym.  The atmosphere inspires me to push myself more than when I’m at home.
• Dan celebrated his first ever Father’s Day.  I wish I could have done more to express how much Cliff and I love him and what a phenomenal father he is.
• I attended a week-long Advanced Placement Literature conference and got SOOOO inspired!  I have been developing my new courses and reading/rereading books like a curriculum planning-aholic.
• Dan and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary by watching “Hail, Caesar!” and eating a delicious dinner at home.  #NewParents
• Two wonderful young ladies that graduated a few years ago came over to visit, and it was nice catching up with them.
• Cliff also had his 3-month appointment and got a solid bill of healthy from his pediatrician.  We are working on his sleeping at night because it has been fluctuating lately.  The doctor suggested that he may be having some digestive issues because she noticed a pattern between the pace and quantity of his eating habits and his poor sleeping sessions.  She suggested some Mylicon, and that has made a huge difference already!

NOT my baby =)

What’s In Store for July

July is going to be hectic but in a good way.  Just because we will be entertaining friends and family doesn’t mean that I don’t have goals to keep up with.

Books/Reading & Curriculum Planning:

I want to review the books that I have included in my curriculums for this upcoming school year.  I have read all of them before, but not necessarily used them for direct instruction.  Also, with teaching a section of Advanced Placement Literature, I will need to revamp my teaching strategies to support a new way to analyze and write about the texts they will be studying.

One of the strategies that I took away from my week-long conference was to give students a specific task for their reading that qualifies under a “Seek and List” title.  For example: Read the poem, “Groceries” by Cathy Smith Bowers, and create a list of similes and/or metaphors for things that are damaged.  Then, choose two and explain how and why the author used these devices to create tone.

Goal: Review the following books & create “Lists”

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Health and Wellness:

New moms have a difficult standard to live up to when they’re trying to lose the baby weight.  I don’t like the term “get back” your body because that assumes that there’s a loss, a void, a deficit when you don’t have the same physique after having a baby.  A woman’s body is put through total trauma to carry and deliver a new life, and it should be handled with tenderness and love.  As a culture, we are too violent with our expectations that women should “snap back” and quickly.  EVERY SINGLE aspect of your life changes once you become a parent or add another sibling to the pack, so why stress about having a different body?  That’s not to say that there is anything wrong with wanting to be healthy and in shape, or ever aspire to fit back into your old wardrobe; I am someone who has focused on that specific goal now that I’ve had my son.  The difference is that I don’t demand it to happen before it’s time, or set unrealistic expectations.  I work out every day, true, but I also did that before and during my pregnancy.  I slowly built my cardio and strength training routines back up, slowly and carefully.  I am not back to my fitness level, but I am not beating myself up about it.  Some women may achieve their goals sooner than me, some may take longer.  Just like all pregnancies, like all babies, each woman’s journey is specific to them and shouldn’t be compared to others’.  With that being said, I do have a goal for July to help me get closer to my ultimate goal.

July Goal: Workout daily & fit into my black and khaki capri pants.

Ultimate Goal: Workout daily & fit into my old wardrobe.

*Notice I don’t have a weight or pant size goal.  I just want to fit into the clothes that I used to wear.

Family:

Clearly, it is going to be a full month for the Ferrari family!  My ultimate goal is to enjoy each and every moment that we will get to spend with our out-of-town guests.

Weeks 20 and 21 Pregnancy Update

How far along? This is an update for Weeks 20 and 21

Total weight gain: More than 10lbs.  I’ll have an accurate update in two weeks!

Bump Alert: Oh yea!  I’m finally able to do the classic “bump clasp” pose now that there’s enough bump to speak of.

There’s more than a little difference in just a few weeks!

Maternity clothes? I’m wearing half regular and half maternity tops, but still 100% maternity bottoms.

Stretch marks? Still moisturizing and still luckily stretch mark-free!

Sleep: Tons and I’m always wanting more!  8-9 hours per weeknight and the occasional weekend nap.  This past weekend called for one on both Saturday and Sunday.

Workouts: Four or Five days of walking and two days of strength training.  I’m still feeling really good with my routine.

Best moment this week: It wasn’t the best week in terms of how I felt, but I did feel a lot more movement from our little boy.  He’s either practicing his soccer kicking or shadow boxing, according to his daddy of course.

Miss anything? Being able to wear my regular clothes.  My t-shirts are completely done and I’m having to wear my husband’s size Large t-shirts.

Food cravings: WATER!!!  I’ve been a very thirsty girl lately!  If I get tired of water, I am easily found with a glass of orange juice in my hand.

Labour signs: No!

Symptoms: Extreme fatigue and growing bump.

Belly button in or out? Still an innie despite the belly growth.

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Baby Stuff: TONS!  My friend, Tiffany, gave us several bags of her son’s hand-me-downs.  I can’t wait for my dad to finish painting our dressers white to fit in with the nursery decor.

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy and tired

Looking forward to: Weekends and putting on my pajamas after a long day.  This isn’t exclusive to pregnancy, though.

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Reflections:  It’s been a bit of a difficult few weeks in terms of feeling comfortable in my own skin.  A growing bump means many more changes to my body.  It’s been difficult not being able to do the things I used to do, eat the way I used to eat, wear the clothing I use to wear and feel comfortable.  I know that these changes are necessary to help our son grow into a healthy and happy baby, so that keeps me focused during times when I feel uncomfortable.  I also know that these changes are only temporary.  When I think about the way I used to feel about my body only a few short months ago, I now realize that I wasn’t truly grateful for where I was health-wise of self-esteem-wise.  I am now appreciative of what I was capable of accomplishing.  It’s an amazing and beautiful thing to grow a new life, and I vow to remember how I feel now, and will always be grateful for all the things this body has done.