Here we go:
Adventures in: family expansion!
A little over three months ago I had a baby! My labor and delivery was definitely an experience which you can read all about here if you are so inclined. Or I can sum it up in about two selfies:
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| Before. |
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| After. |
I got a new phone the afternoon before I had the baby and tested the camera with a selfie. I tested it again many hours, contractions, and blood loss later with another selfie....
Evan Saul Attaya was born at 2:52a.m. of March 13, in all his 7lb 3oz glory.
There is definitely a learning curve to having three kids. I feel like I am adjusting to it alright. (Haha Haha....*collapses to the floor*)
I know I am lucky to have three beautiful, healthy children who are each awesome in their uniquenesses. Evan is a pretty rad addition to our already epic family unit though. He was this tiny little skinny thing when he was born, but that was a temporary condition. Apparently I am a champion breastfeeder, or I simply produce heavy cream, because my babies all tend to pack on the weight pretty quickly.
All I care about is that he is happy and healthy. (Which sounds super selfless, but is in fact the opposite, because if he were unhappy and sick, my life would SUCK!)
You've gotta admit though, the chubby cheeks and legs are REALLY adorable!
Adventures in re-acclimation. (or getting back my pre-baby body)
So getting pregnant and having a baby, does a number on the female body, or at least it does to my body. My joints become all loose and painful. My legs feel like they are connected to my hips with rubber bands. my center of gravity shifts and turns my posture into complete garbage, and thats not even addressing the bodily trauma that is 'labor and delivery'. So, when my six weeks of 'recovery ' was up, I was super anxious to get "back to normal" and start working out and running and fitting into my clothes again.
Yeah.....still not quite fitting into those clothes yet. Did you know that you can't just leave three small kids home alone while you go get a good work out???
When one has a husband who is a pilot, and is therefore gone for several days in a row each week, one cannot simply 'get into a good workout regiment' easily.
I do of course go running as often as I can when he is home, and not busy with other things. Which isn't as often as I would prefer, but at least its SOMETHING.
Also, running after having a baby is difficult, and sometimes painful because your body is readjusting to it's normal center of gravity and all that dang relaxin is still working itself out of your system. So my pace had slowed significantly since last year when I was running five miles a day. I find myself getting better with each run, but its still frustrating working back up to my old pace, because it feels so slow.
My hair has started falling out again too. I knew THAT was going to happen again also, but I wasn't looking forward to it. All that gorgeous, thick, shiny hair you get while pregnant, is a temporary thing. It all starts coming out about three months after the baby is born. The worst part is its EVERYWHERE!
I'd be the worst person to commit a crime just now because It'd be so obvious who perpetrated it once they saw the strands of my hair littering the scene!
Really I'm just in awe of the fact that I'm not bald.
I know my hair will stop falling out in handfuls soon (at least it has with each of my previous babies) and if I stay diligent with MyFitnessPal and keep working out when I can, I'll get my old body back eventually too. I'm just impatient.
Adventures in Adventure!
So I made you all wait till the end of this post for the really juicy news.
Our (not so) little family is embarking on one of the biggest adventures yet: We are moving to Wisconsin!
For the past three years, Robert has been flying for a company that inspects pipeline for oil companies. He does so in smaller planes. Well, we knew that he didn't want to fly the smaller aircraft forever, but there were many jobs he couldn't apply for until he had accrued more flight time. (a common catch 22 in the aviation industry is the need to have a job flying so as to get more flight hours, but not having enough flight hours to be hired) He recently applied to a company that flies cargo and was called in for an interview, where they offered him the job right then and there! He will have the opportunity to fly bigger planes and get the hours in THEM that he needs.
The catch, is that the job will necessitate our relocation to Wisconsin. Land of dairy farms, cheese, breweries, and ACTUAL winters. (living in Houston TX. we get 'fake' winters and too much summer)
I have to say we are anxious in all possible ways about this move, but overall very excited! We hope that it will act as a stepping stone towards the ultimate goal of flying the corporate jets back here in Houston.
For me this means about two months of single parenthood. Rob leaves for training at the end of this month and will be training in Milwaukee for the entire month of July, and then will be sent to another city in Wisconsin (we won't know which, until he begins training) to start the job, and find us a place to live. I will be down here cleaning, getting rid of stuff we don't need or use, and packing up the rest. All while taking care of my three kiddos and attempting to maintain my sanity.
I know that military wives will scoff at me, and this isn't as long as a typical deployment in the military, but it IS the longest we will have been away from each other since we were married. Even during the six months he was in flight school I would still see him once or twice a month or more. This will be two solid months apart, and I have to say, it makes me a little nervous. BUT I also know that being a real, live grown up person, I can do it!
(Also, if during this time anyone wants to come by and offer me adult conversation, or sedatives, or cookies.....I probably won't say no.)
