4 Months as Mommy

WORK

Not to say that balancing this full-time job and being a Mommy isn't challenging, but I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would. I totally get why women choose to do the SAHM thing (I was an emotional wreck at the prospect of leaving my days with Charlie behind), but I can honestly say, I think I need to be a working Mom. I need to be able to separate myself from the stress and exhaustion that comes with constantly thinking about the wellbeing of another person. I need to productively use my brain for the betterment of my community. I need to get out and socialize with adults. All these reasons, combined with the fact that I genuinely love my job have made the transition much easier than I was anticipating. 

BREASTFEEDING

I'm still pumping at work and breastfeeding Charlie whenever I'm home. My work schedule is a little non-traditional in that I'm on the road for anywhere from 3-16ish hours a week doing site visits. Not to mention, I feel like I'm always running between meetings so that there's barely time to accomplish my actual work, let alone eat or pump. This has made pumping really challenging for me and as I enter the busiest time of my year, I'm aware that I need to be really intentional about visiting the office lactation room when I intend to. It needs to be my first priority during the day- all my work will still be there when I'm done.

BABY FAT

I was talking to my sister-in-law the other day who had her first baby six weeks after me. We were comparing notes on our postpartum bodies and both agreed- it's not pregnancy that makes you fat, it's motherhood! It is so hard to eat a full meal while trying to wrangle a little one, let alone anything remotely healthy. Admittedly, my eating habits have been especially bad now that I'm working. I just don't have the time or energy to devote to making real meals, so I snack. A lot. All day.

As for Charlie...

MILESTONES

Oh my goodness, this month was crazy in terms of Charlie's development! He started laughing, holding himself up during tummy time and rolling over. Charlie also experienced his first Church service on Easter Sunday...and did great! I was so nervous, especially because the Church I attend is a Friends meeting so there is a time for silent reflection. Of course, Charlie chose this time to wake up and I was so paranoid he was going to start a ruckus. Thankfully, he sat there contentedly and charmed the pants off the ladies sitting in the pew in front of us.

Charlie also ran his first 5k! Although, "ran" may be an overstatement. My employer sponsored me and I kind of got guilted into participating by a co-worker, but I thought what's the harm in a brisk 3-mile walk? Well, we started out walking and as soon as everyone took off ahead of me, I felt seriously lame and left-behind so I jogged as much of it as I could. It was the first time I've run in nearly a year and I actually ran about half! I finished in just under 39 minutes and Charlie...well, he slept through the whole thing. Despite intruding on his nap time though, we won the award for the "Fastest Wheels." It was so much fun and made me want to invest in a jogging stroller ASAP so I can continue running with my baby boy!

We ventured out a lot more this month with a trip to "The Shoe" aka: The Ohio State stadium for the 2015 Spring Game. We got there after the game started, though, and couldn't find any seats so we didn't stick around for long.

In terms of clothing, we're still struggling to find pants to fit our skinny little lad. I ended up buying him a pair of leggings from the Carter's girls section, because all of the boy pants are too big and baggy. Which begs the question- why don't they make leggings for baby boys?! They seem so much more practical! We're still in 3-month clothing and we made our way into size 2 diapers.

FAMILY

Charlie got to spend tons of time with his family this month. Aunt Ashlee (my aforementioned sister-in-law) started watching him at the beginning of the month and it's been so sweet to see him and his cousin, Lucie begin to interact. Charlie also had a great weekend hanging out with Aunt Kelly (my sister) when she came to visit Easter weekend while on her spring break. My sister is like me- not comfortable with children, so I seriously was not expecting her to bond as much as she did with her little nephew. The two of them fell in love, and Charlie would start crying as soon as she put him down. It was the sweetest thing.

Charlie also helped both his Daddy and Mommy celebrate birthdays this year! Daddy turned 26 on the 15th and Mommy turned 27 on the 26th. In fact, Mommy and Charlie got to share their day as it was Charlie's 4-month birthday!

STATS

This morning, Charlie had his 4-month appointment, complete with shots! *Sad face* He measured in at 24.25 inches, weighing 11 lbs 14 oz and had a 41cm noggin! That puts him in the 10th, 3rd and 25th percentiles, respectively. Obviously, his weight is still a concern, but because he's developing so well and is still following the growth curve, the doctor thinks he's just a peanut. Both Chuck's parents and my Mom are shorties, so it's possible he's just a little runt! Just to be safe though, we had blood drawn and are waiting to hear if there's something else that could be hampering his growth. Needless to say, it's been a long day for little Charlie and it's not even noon!

And on that note, I'm off to snuggle my little baby for the rest of the day!