One Month Old....

On May 17th, Zooey celebrated her 1 month birthday. Well, more accurately, Adam and I celebrated by commenting on how much she's grown, how cute she is, etc, etc and Zooey continued her regular routine of eating, sleeping, peeing/pooping and other general bodily functions. Note crying is not a typical bodily function for her THANK GOODNESS! She's a great baby, very content, but is still eating every 2-3 hours so we...are...tired. But this too shall pass and we want to make sure we document the heck out of these times because we surely will not remember well due to a sleep deprivation haze!

First, Zooey's size. She appears huge to us and tiny to the rest of the world. She is roughly the size of an American Girl doll. She was 4 lb 10 oz at birth and now, four weeks later, she is up to 6 lb 4 oz so growing more than the anticipated 1 oz/day in the past few weeks. We can see a significant difference. For example, her cheeks have really filled out:

One week old, after a bath

Four weeks old, after a bath

She has grown an inch! While the bison and baby aren't perfectly lined up in the below photos you can see she really has grown! She outgrew the outfit in the first photo during week two! She's a weed!

One week old with bison

Four weeks old with bison

Look at that belly! It's sticking out over her pants!

Zooey's antics are as expected. Not smiling yet and may not for a few more weeks given her prematurity. Not sleeping for more than 3 hours. (Sad face.) But she seems to recognize my voice which is fun and she is starting to make eye contact. She is generally happy unless we do something to insult her like fail to feed her fast enough, take off her clothes if she is cold, or poke and prod her by putting her into a carseat or stroller. Also, the occasional gas or challenging bowel movement gets the best of her (as it does with some adults I know, so who can judge the baby?). For example:

Waaahh! Waahh!

A couple seconds later, staring at Dad, who entertained her with a song.

A content smile a few seconds later. See, she recovers fast:)

Other antics include lots of stroller rides outside which require excellent sun protection:

Too cool for school.

She also enjoys the occasional burp in the "monkey burp pose" causing her Grandpa to quip "Maybe they can find a job for her at a Goose Island 'branch' office".

Monkey burp pose

One surprise is the amount of interesting noises she makes. For example she frequently releases these high pitched air vent noises, similar to a fumarole causing us to call her Zooeystone after the thermal features at our favorite national park. She has occasional fumaroles on top, and occasional mud pots on the bottom!

The parents are hanging in there, looking forward to the time when our little girl can sleep for more than 2-3 hours at a time. I started running again this week so that's a huge step in the right direction. More on that if I ever have another few minutes of free time!

Some more photos:

First Mother's Day

Zooey- 25 days old.

My first Mother's Day started dramatically with our usually calm, cool and collected baby vomiting up what appeared to us newbie parents as all her feeds over a 12 hour period. So after a sleepless night, we headed to the pediatrician's office at 10 am on Mother's Day. Luckily, Zooey had continued to gain weight since Thursday and had no fever so we were sent back home with a follow up in a few days. Even more luckily, Zooey continues to have spit up now and again but nothing like that terrible 12 hours. Don't know what it was but glad it stopped!

So, needless to say, Adam and I were VERY sleep deprived. We thought about calling off our planned Mother's Day events but in the end decided it might be better to have adults around to give Zooey attention to give us a little bit of a break! Plus, who wants to call off Mother's Day?






Adam's Mom came up for a few hours to hang out with Zooey and later in the day my parents and my Grandma Nelson came into town with dinner and lots of arms to hold Zooey upright given her reflux. It was Great Grandma Nelson's first time meeting Zooey so that was very special. And having 4 generations of Nelsons in one room was pretty cool as well. It was my first Mother's Day, my mom's 35th Mother's Day and my grandma's 60th Mother's Day!

Great Grandma Nelson and Zooey

4 generations of Nelsons: Zooey, Me, Grandma Nelson, Great Grandma Nelson

Adam, despite a new low in the sleep department, snuck out to Michigan Avenue under the guise of "going to the grocery store" and returned with gifts for all the Moms, myself included. Let's just say he set the bar pretty high for Father's Day next month with his gift of Zooey's birthstone in earring and necklace form (i.e. diamonds).

Diamonds, Champagne and Red Velvet Cake for Mother's Day
 (plus homemade shrimp and grits and a great red wine the night before!)

All in all it was a great day and the best part was that Zooey is healthy and still gaining weight. But the diamonds were nice too;)

May 10, 2013: Babybison's Due Date

Today was babybison's due date. Instead of hoping labor will start soon and move quickly (I'm sure I would have been none too pleased to go past my due date), we are the proud parents of a little 23 day old girl. And she is indeed little! But growing! She's already outgrown most of her preemie clothes and is gaining the expected ounce a day so is already 5 lbs 5 oz! She's finally on the so-called growth charts though at less than the 3rd percentile:) But at least she's on the chart!

Zooey and I have been keeping busy- we've joined a weekly Chicago New Moms Group. (Well, I've joined and she has to tag along. She seemed very alarmed by all the crying babies. She kept looking at me questioningly and I told her not to get any ideas- she does not need to start crying, I like my quiet baby just fine!). We've been taking walks most days. We have various doctor and lactation consultant appointments to attend. I put books, mirrors and rattles 8-12 inches in front of her face for a few minutes each day. We do tummy time (which I hate and she doesn't seem to mind). I sing songs (mostly made up because I don't know any baby songs) and narrate the day to help her with language acquisition. We are reading The Great Gatsby (more accurately, I am reading it in quiet tones and she is staring off into space.) You know, we check off the list of stimulating activities you are supposed to do for newborns (thankfully this list isn't actually that long, just being alive is stimulating enough at this age). Yesterday I took "a break" for the first time since her birth and actually watched a movie. I don't think Zooey minded or felt ignored so maybe that will be a weekly activity as well. 

I don't have much else to report. Eating, burping, napping, pooping, bathing, putting on and taking off clothes a few times a day, staring off into space, making various cute expressions completely unintentionally but really darn cute nonetheless, these are the expected activities of a three week old and she does them like a champ. I'll alert you when things get more interesting:) But for now, I'll leave you with some pictures:

Back from week 1.

Week 3: Crazy face Zooey!

Week 3: The Monkey Burp pose with Grandpa Nelson

Week 3: Zooey's first Chicago style hot dog and visit to the Bean.

Week 3: Babybison with a bison. We'll keep taking this for size reference until she goes to
college,  she'll love it...well, we'll love it and that's all that matters. Ha!

Hard to believe my next requisite post will be 1 month! 

Turns Out I'm Just Like Everyone Else.....

Yesterday marked three weeks since Zooey made her grand entrance via c section. Initially I was quite pleased with my surgical recovery. I was out of bed within 12 hours (mostly because those hours were overnight, I imagine I would have been up even sooner otherwise), and I finished a walking mile within 20 hours of the delivery, ensuring I did not miss a single dailymile. Eating and normal bodily functions resumed on day one. I was up and about spending very minimal time in bed. Sure I had some pain but a very occasional norco and around the clock ibuprofen took care of it enough that I could carefully function. However I quickly became impatient with my recovery after leaving the hospital. I assumed my recovery over the first few days was a sign that I'd be almost good as new in a week or so. I assumed that since I exercised throughout my pregnancy, I'd have a leg up and recovery at the speed of light. Not true. Apparently being an exerciser doesn't have any particular skin healing benefits becuse my incision site continued to cause some pain for about 10 days. Not bad pain, but enough that I knew I needed to be careful. I decided that c-section recovery is a bit of a cruel joke. I felt fine energy wise, I really felt great overall, except for the incisional (and a bit of uterine) pain. And the very simple daily activities required to take care of a new baby are the exact ones that I couldn't do comfortably (and would jeopardize my long term recovery). Picking up baby from a low position (think day bed or pack and play), no can do. Getting up from couch or bed without using hands (i.e. while holding baby), no can do. Picking up items (ex burp cloth) from the floor, impossible. I learned how to use my toes to pick stuff up but even this was painful for a couple days. Honestly, I could have returned to work by day 5- sit at a computer and type? No problem. Walk from patient room to patient room? Fine. Sit in a hard backed chair with armrests to push off of to get up? A-okay. But taking care of baby? Painful. Thank god for Adam and my Mom. I felt RIDICULOUS sitting on the couch, a totally usually able bodied person, asking others to get me a glass of water or a bottle just out of reach. I would be a terrible sick person, let's hope I stay healthy.

Me vs The Walking Man

And walking continued to hurt for way longer than I anticipated. Again, the pain wasn't bad. It was totally bearable, so I tried to avoid taking pain medicine except at night because to me the pain was a reminder to take it easy. I knew my tendency would be to overdo activity without the physical reminder (i.e. pain) that I needed to heal. But my walking speed was a bit of a joke. For example, one week after delivery, I had a pre-existing hair cut appointment. I decided to keep it because I don't want to let having a baby destroy my attempts at maintaining personal upkeep (mani/pedi is on the agenda for this weekend, and a day hasn't gone by where I don't put on make-up, even if it's just for my own sake). So I walked the 1.3 miles to the salon. I'm glad I did but man was I walking slow. Embarrassingly slow. Like, I almost didn't make it across some of the streets in time even though I started walking right when the light turned green. I felt ridiculous. One day I walked my mile on the treadmill at 1.8 mph. One point eight! I told myself that the people in the gym must remember that I was just pregnant a few days ago hence my pace. Not that it matters what they think, but still, I have some pride and it was wounded!

Now I'm three weeks out and have been pain free for well over a week. The incision is healing nicely though still with small areas with scabbing so I agree with my very cautious husband that I shouldn't run yet. The last thing I want is to re-open the incision and set myself back. I have the Chicago Triathlon in August to train for! But I sure do wish I could run- beautiful spring days, I've lost all of the baby weight so my joints should be thrilled- I have 9 months of pent up motivation just aching to be released!

Another irony of the whole c-section thing: while pregnant I had virtually no activity limitations- I could run, spin, lift weights, swim- and did up until the day of delivery (I was at a spinning class the night before her birthday and I never missed a running mile). The limitations were regarding intensity, not type of activity. So I was careful to not be short of breath for too long and to never "go anaerobic". Now, post c-section, the restrictions are the exact opposite! I can get as short of breath as I want- there are no specific limitations on how hard I push myself cardiovascularly- but my activity limitations are so restrictive that it's really hard to get in a solid work-out. I can't lift weights, I can't run, I can't spin or swim. I'd be happy to take up a new activity, but basically all of them are verboten until after 6 weeks. Now I'm certainly not one to follow rules just to follow them, but since my incision is still not completely healed I agree I need to continue to be cautions. I'm hoping 4 weeks will be the day I test out running. Everyone says walking is fine, but I can speed walk a 15 minute mile and feel like I'm on the couch exertion wise so that's not super helpful. So I'm hill walking. Aggressively. On the treadmill. 10-12 grade and increasing daily. As far as I can tell, that's the only activity I'm "allowed to do". But even with that, I'm being cautions because I do start to feel a little pulling on the incision if I go past 20 minutes or so. So frustrating.

This is my blog, so from time to time (like today) I take the opportunity to vent and usually feel better afterwards. But I do want to say that I know I'm lucky I didn't have any complications (thus far) surrounding my c-section. No infections, no blood loss, I didn't have to labor first so I'm not dealing with the consequences of both. And Zooey is wonderful and healthy and I'm so happy to have her. So I know not being able to train yet is not the end of the world. But I also know myself and soon it will start to feel like the end of the world emotionally and physically even if rationally I know it's just a small amount of time in a whole lifetime of training and fitness. So, yes, I'm feeling a little sorry for myself but know that I do realize how lucky I really am. Let's just say I will be so, so grateful when I can run again. A 20 miler sounds like an absolute dream!

Adventures with babybison- first week at home

Zooey, almost two days old

Our Zooey has been home now for a week. Today she is 10 days old. Here are some of the adventures we've been on with her thus far:












Baby meets Elly.
You all remember how much I love my convertible, Elly. I love her so much there was never any question that we would be keeping this admittedly impractical baby car. I certainly will have days without the baby in tow where I can still enjoy top down, yes? (For example, yesterday Adam and I ran to Target sans baby with the top down, thank you Grandma!) But getting her in and out will be what I call the "car seat shimmy". Won't be easy, but we'll get it done! Generally speaking I plan to hop into the backseat with babybison and get her in the seat. But the hospital likes to see the baby properly in the carseat before you leave so we had to put the top down in order to get carseat with baby already loaded into the back. Quite the sight. Glad we have documentation! (Btw, the valet said this was NOT the craziest thing he had seen- apparently some family tried but failed to get their newborn into an Aston Martin on his watch!)

We look so worried!

Putting the top back up

Tour of the apartment.
One of the baby books I read (Secrets of the Baby Whisperer) noted the importance of giving your newborn a tour of her new home. So after staring blankly at the baby for a couple minutes, we did just that....

Staring blankly at baby...."what do we do with her??"

Break for a feed mid-tour

Happy new Daddy.

Time for a nap in my awesome crib!

Meeting the grandparents....multiple times.
Babybison is lucky to have her grandparents nearby and has already spent quality time with all four of them. Here's proof. (Don't worry- pics of grandfathers to follow in future post!)

Grandma Lilly

Grandma Nelson aka Grandma Bison

Getting in dailymiles with Mom, Dad and Grandma
No running for mom or baby quite yet but since I have been getting in my dailymile by walking Dad, babybison and Grandma have been joining me weather permitting. Thank goodness spring is starting to arrive in Chicago! At less than 5 lbs soaking wet, it's important to keep babybison warm so she doesn't burn excess calories trying to keep herself warm. To emphasize how small she is, look how totally ridiculous she looks in the stroller! Thankfully, loving friends and relatives have provided some preemie and smaller newborn sizes she has a sufficient wardrobe until she fits into all her newborn gear.

Is she even in there??

First (and second) bath
Babybison tolerated her first bath remarkably well. As she gains energy and strength, however, she makes her opinions known a bit more frequently and her opinion of her 2nd bath was "thumbs down" or at least that's what I took her screams to mean. She calms remarkably well- she really only cries when we've insulted her by undressing her, getting her wet, or not feeding her frequently (or quickly) enough. She still is an A+ on the good baby chart. We all hope she stays that way!

After her first bath at home, 7 days old.

Umbilical cord falling off
When I asked Adam what I should include in this post, he mentioned the umbilical cord falling off. I initially thought, no that's not very interesting, it happens to every baby and I don't have a cute picture to go with it. But then I said, "Oh, by the way, what did you do with the cord when it fell off?", to which Adam looked at me confused and said "I thought you had it!". The cord fell off during breastfeeding practice (Zooey is still working on strength for full feedings) so she was upset, we were otherwise occupied, neither of us had picked it up. So we have no idea where it is. Under the couch? Did the cleaning lady find it and toss it? Suddenly little Zooey's umbilical cord falling off story becomes a bit more blog-worthy, if unceremonial;)


Favorite quote:
Adam was feeding Zooey in the hospital on day 2 of her life. Before I head into the hall for my laps to walk my mile, I asked him if he needed anything. His response: "Just a box to hold all this cuteness". Love.

Mom and Zooey (2.5 days old)

Pregnancy Wardrobe Solutions

Warning: This post will only be of interest to pregnant woman and their partners.

I had three pregnancy wardrobe challenges, likely similar to many pregnant ladies. First off, I knew I didn't want to "go public" with the pregnancy for quite a while. Being a bit older (I turned 35 mid-pregnancy) we had lots of extra tests we needed to "pass" prior to being confident that things were okay with our girl. By the time everything was okay test wise it was already November so we figured we might as well wait until Christmas to tell the family in person. Which meant my colleagues, who I see daily, wouldn't find out until January which would be already half way- 22 weeks to be exact! So my first wardrobe challenge was to keep things hidden until past week 22. I'm generally in decent shape and always have a flat stomach so anything visible in that region would arise suspicion. 

My 2nd challenge was work-out gear. Since I knew I'd be staying active right up to the delivery room door (I literally walked extra distance from clinic to the hospital triage on the day of delivery to ensure I got my mile in that day), well fitting and highly functional work-out wear was a MUST. These are items I'd be wearing daily for at least my mile run and on most days also for weights, spinning or hill climbing. 

My 3rd challenge was probably the most universal- clothes that are still flattering yet accommodate the growing belly. Believe it or not most regular clothes are NOT flattering during pregnancy and there are plenty of so-called maternity clothes that are no better. And if I'm going to all the trouble to workout consistently during pregnancy and control my weight gain, I might as well let my maternity clothes show that off, right? No blobby men's t-shirts or muumuus here.

At the same time, however, I am practical and did not want to spend tons of money on clothes I would only wear for a few months. Additionally, I don't love shopping. So how to put this all together? This post is a quick summary of what I did clothes-wise and I think it might be helpful to other active, fit women, willing to purchase a few high quality items (read: expensive) but also willing to repeat the same outfits over and over for a few months! I'd rather wear good clothes repetitively rather than crappy clothes with tons of variety. If you are like me, read on! (Spouses and partners too- Adam was integral in finding a lot of these resources!)

1. Tip #1. Stay away (or only VERY SELECTIVELY buy) from Pea in the Pod, Destination Maternity, and other "discount" maternity stores. While they do have some nice items, particularly a few dresses worth considering, their basics- T shirts and leggings- are cheap in every sense of the word and don't fit that well. I returned >50% of what I bought from this store. I would NOT on-line shop at these places- go to the store and actually try things on if you feel compelled to buy from here. Some items are fine - I have 2 dresses and one sweater top that I really like, but many other items are ill-fitting or just poorly made.

2. Tip #2. Consider Isabella Oliver for your staple items. It's a British maternity and nursing clothes company with very high quality, stylish options. They utilize empire waists, ties, and ruching  in all the right ways so the clothes are form fitting and flattering. I love the three items below. I also would suggest the plain black leggings. I've been very pleased with these items from before I was showing, to the end of my pregnancy (week 36). Now that baby girl is here, I've actually found the Emily dress and the jersey shirt to be great postpartum with easy access for pumping/breastfeeding, so certainly worth the investment. To be honest, they are nice clothes in their own right- you don't need to be peri-partum to get use from them. (Note: I did NOT like the Everyday Maternity dress- not very flattering.)

Emily dress- 32 weeks

Emily dress- DAY OF DELIVERY,
though didn't know it at the time, 36 weeks 5 days

Layering Scoop Neck Top-  31 weeks

The relaxed jersey maternity

3. Tip #3: Liz Lange maternity makes a quality V-neck T-shirt. I can't speak for their other items but I got a black shirt as a gift and it has served me very well. Very reasonably priced for a basic item- worth getting one or two for under layers with sweaters. Will continue to wear postpartum as well.

4. Tip #4: Live in tights, leggings and jeggings with dresses and long sweaters/shirts. I never bought a pair of maternity jeans- I really didn't see the point in buying a 100-200 pair of designer jeans that I would never wear post-pregnancy. Plus they didn't sound comfortable. Plus when you work 5-7 days a week, there are few opportunities to wear jeans. So I lived in tights with dresses and outfits with jeggings. I LOVE the Athleta Bettona Jegging. I loved them before pregnancy and so I bought an additional pair one size up during pregnancy. To be honest, I worse the pre-pregnancy pair throughout as well- they are stretchy enough that they were still comfortable. And, while $79 may seem like a lot for jeggings, I wore them multiple times a week and will continue to wear them postpartum and beyond. So totally worth it.

Bettona jeggings- 24 weeks

5. Tip #5: Work-out gear. Since I exercise every single day it was very important to find fitness gear that was comfortable and flattering. I perused the various maternity fitness brands on-line but ended up going with Lululemon pants and shirts, which worked great and again, I'll be able to keep wearing for years to come. I bought all purpose black pants and barre pants one size higher than my usual to keep them comfortable, but they should still do now that I'm nearly back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I bought my usual size shirt- the two I choose I highly recommend- the 'No Limits Tank' and the 'Back on Track' tank. Both have plenty of extra fabric in front to expand with a growing belly, both have enough support for running for the modest chested, and both are totally flattering postpartum (or pre-pregnancy) as well. Additional bonus- they hide the bump when it's small, thus avoiding that awkward looking fat vs looking pregnant phase in the 2nd trimester.

I swam until week 34 when I became concerned about diathesis recti and/or not noticing my water breaking, so I stopped. I just used a regular swimsuit I already had knowing it would get stretched out and I'd probably need a new one postpartum. I did actually buy a maternity tankini at Target but found I much preferred the additional belly support that a one piece provided.

Lastly, I did purchase an Ammon maternity band for spinning after week 34, again out of concern for diathesis recti. Not sure it made a difference but was certainly comfortable enough.

No Limits Tank- 31 weeks

Back on Track Tank- 34 weeks

6. Tip #6. Lastly, since baby girl arrived before I posted this, I might as well add on my recommendation for nursing bras. So far I've been very happy with Boob Design bras and their night nursing cami. Jury is still out on the shirts. I have one that is pretty good, waiting on a 2nd, will let you know!

Hope this helps! I was a bit lost until my husband pushed me to order high quality, designer pieces despite the expense and he was right. I literally only bought 15 items that I was able to mix and match throughout. They served to 1) hide the bump until month 5 when I went public, 2) show off the bump in a flattering and fun way as it grew and 3) remain reasonable postpartum wardrobe pieces. Win, win, win!

Babybison has arrived!

Happy Birthday Zooey Marie!

One week ago today we welcomed our baby girl into the world- Zooey Marie arrived at 7:41 pm on April 17, 2013. She was a bit earlier than we expected at only 36 weeks and 5 days and a bit smaller than average at 4 lbs, 10 oz but she is 19 inches long so we think she's just built like a marathoner, that's all! She's very healthy and required no extra care at the hospital despite her size. To quote a dear friend of mine who also had her baby girl a bit early, she is "small, but mighty".  Zooey and I (and Adam!) were home within 72 hours.

How have we spent the last week? Well as those of you who have cared for a newborn know, your life becomes a 3 hour cycle with feeding and diapering the centerpieces of activity. Luckily there is a LOT of sleeping that goes on particularly with our very content little one so we've been able to spend time mastering the logistics of Operation Newborn with relative ease. This has also been aided by three crucial elements: 1) preparedness, 2) teamwork, and 3) my mom.

1) Preparedness: We insisted on being completely baby ready one month before her due date thus by April 10th we were set in terms of supplies. Thank god we did that. I can't image running around trying to buy last minute items. It was enough to have to get preemie diapers and some preemie clothes- two things we didn't have on hand. I can't recommend enough being ready early- you just never know!!

2) Teamwork: My husband has been incredible. Absolutely incredible. So good with Zooey, so good with organizing and so good at demanding I rest so this c-section business heals completely as fast as possible.

3) My mom: My parents dropped everything and came in the minute they heard Zooey was on the way. Given that we didn't have our hospital bag with us (it was packed, just not in the car) and again, the preemie stuff, it was so, so helpful to have them on hand. My mom then came back for the transition home and will be around throughout the next few weeks. This extra set of adoring hands for Zooey gives Adam and I just the bandwidth we need to be able to maintain our relationship and personal lives as well as maintain our energy so we can give our all to little Zooey!

Oh, and don't worry- we haven't missed our daily mile(s). I did my first postpartum mile within 20 hours of the delivery. I walked. But I covered a mile. 17 laps around the hospital floor. Yup- I made sure to know the distance ahead of time. And Adam had to run in circles in our triage room to get his 3 miles in the day of delivery. True story- I have video to prove it. We're giving little Zooey a pass on daily work-outs; she'll become a little runner, or triathlete, or soccer player soon enough.

Getting in my first daily mile as a Mom, 20 hours post c-section.