Busy, busy, busy

[walkitout]

To external eyes, I'm sure it looks like I'm just mooching around the apartment in my pjs (altho it's been more than a decade or so than I last thought that about new parents, so maybe I should give people a little more credit than that). In detail, I have returned to what I do every time I'm heavier and more frazzled than I want to be: Vigorously pursue my (now our) Basic Needs in detail, in priority order. Our postpartum doula has of course been very helpful in getting us naps and feeding us until we could manage those things on our own, and also buying groceries for us. This last weekend, all three of us (R., me and Milkbreath) made it to Madison Market and did a nice big shop without anyone outside the family being involved. This is amazing (of course R. had been on his own) to me. We also managed dinner two days in a row without specific pre-planning, and without having to nuke anything or order take out or delivery. I hesitate to call this normal, when Milkbreath's sleeping sessions during the night seem to be getting shorter, rather than longer, but it's not too bad.

Milkbreath and I, with the gear assistance of a Baby Bjorn, have made it out for walks by ourselves two days in a row. We've been cloth diapering during the day for a weekish now, and things seem to be going well. R. got our tix for the trip east later this month/beginning of November.

The anemia seems to be much better (no new hematocrit, so other than pulling my eyelid down and assessing my general energy levels it's hard to tell). I restarted bleeding after an 8 day break. The midwife sez that's a little weird since I've been breastfeeding, but it's within the 56 days so probably not a period. She is wrong and I told her she was. The postpartum doula is also hoping it's not a period. She is also wrong, but I liked the way she expressed it -- she was commiserating with me. But R. had in fact noticed when I ovulated and had been expecting what happened and had no doubts about it. I just freaked out, thinking I'd overdone or something. Turns out the timing is _exactly_ when my period would have come back if I _had not_ been breastfeeding. Which brings me to Rant #1 of the day: when are we going to get real information about postpartum bleeding? But Milkbreath calls. The saga may continue at some other time.

Comments

[volkhvoi.livejournal.com]

One of the symptoms of anemia is that the palms of your hands look waxy, so that might be another way to get a rough judgement.

[(Anonymous)]

I got my period back at eight weeks or so with Peter. I don't think I was ovulating, yet, though, as I was very irregular for a while (and I'm usually 27 to 29 days -- periods as close as three weeks or as far as five weeks apart are very, very weird for me, in fact I think that was the only time it's ever occurred, except maybe when I was twelve). Another thing that *does* sometimes happen postpartum (probably didn't with you, since you are so certain you ovulated) is a peculiar one-off bleeding session and then nothing more for many months. Thus causing many women to freak that (a) they've got their period back and (b) that they're pregnant again. Nature has a sense of humor, maybe?

Even with the twins, I got only six months off. I have a theory that it has something to do with robust estrogen levels. I also have the slight oddity of getting vaginal dryness during pregnancy, but not during breastfeeding, instead of the other way around, as most women have it. No idea if that's related.

Helen Schinske