Madison Jean - Part II

I hope you enjoyed reading about Madison's birth story. It was a challenging experience, but ultimately so worth it. She is amazing and it's fun to see her growing each day. This post is about some random things about Madison and my postpartum recovery.

Madison was the only name that I suggested that Marty liked. I had a decent list of baby girl names that I liked and tried to convince Marty to like, but Madison is the only one that he would agree to. We were thinking about finding one more name that we both liked and then seeing which one fit her best once we saw her, but we couldn't find another name, haha. So Madison won and I think it fits her perfectly. We originally had a different middle name picked out, but I started wondering if we should do a family name instead. I originally didn't care to do that, so I'm not sure where along the line I changed my mind. Maybe it was because her middle name worked out so perfectly. Marty's grandmother's name was Jean and my grandmother's middle name was Jeanne, so we decided to have Jean as her middle name. I love that it's different and still sounds so beautiful together. And we can call her MJ if we want. We'll probably go with Maddy, but I guess we'll see what sticks. :)

Madison was about 6 lbs when we left the hospital (babies tend to lose some weight right after they are born) and by her 2 week appointment she had gotten back to her birth weight of 6.5 lbs. Now at 5 weeks, she's about 7.5 lbs. I can definitely tell a difference in her face - she's getting chubbier cheeks like her mom. :) She has started cooing and being a little more interactive. I'm looking forward to when she'll start smiling more!

Recovery from the c-section has been surprisingly easier than I expected. I was on bedrest for a couple days following the surgery but by the time we left the hospital I was able to walk a couple laps around the hospital floor. I've been trying to do a daily walk since. I really think that helped me recover faster. Now at 5 weeks postpartum, I feel almost completely normal. I still have about 15 pounds to lose, but I'm not sweating it. I'm breastfeeding and that is burning lots of calories! Hopefully that weight will come off before I know it.

There are 2 products that I'm wearing that will hopefully help my body bounce back to pre-pregnancy form. The first is the Shrinkx Hip Compression Belt. It fits low around the hips and helps pull them back together after being widened from pregnancy. The hormone relaxin is in a woman's body throughout pregnancy and for about 6 weeks postpartum. It helps the joints relax (hence the name) and stretch to accommodate the growing belly. It also allows your body to be manipulated back into place postpartum, which the belt uses to narrow your hips. My doula also used this to her advantage for my 2 postpartum massages - they were the weirdest and coolest massages as I could feel her moving things back into place, especially with my ribs and hips. The next item is the Belly Bandit Tummy Wrap. It's supposed to help pull my tummy back into place. I wish I had taken photos of my belly right before delivery and each week after to see how my progress is going, but I thought of it too late. Maybe next time I can do that. As long as I can fit back into my pre-pregnancy jeans, I'll be happy. :)

Madison has been doing pretty good at night. She doesn't like to sleep by herself yet, so we currently use a cosleeper. She usually sleeps from 1 or 2 until 4:30 or 5. It almost feels like a full night's sleep, and with a nap or two during the day, I don't feel too sleep deprived. The morning is always the hardest time to wake up when she wants to eat though. I've never been a morning person! However, I've always kind of been a night owl, so staying up until 1 hasn't been hard for me. I need to start working on getting to bed earlier though, otherwise it's going to be a nightmare when I return to work and need to get up after Madison's morning feeding instead of going back to sleep.

Maternity leave has been awesome. I can't believe it's about half over. Time needs to slow down - I'm dreading when I have to start taking Madison to daycare. Until then though, I'm going to enjoy my days with her and our afternoon nap time snuggles. :)

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