Bugs & Poo

Well the little one is fast asleep. He ate his usual two ounce snack of formula and had a fresh diaper before I understood what all of his wailing about. He's almost seven weeks old and I'm still learning what he needs. I think I'm getting pretty good at it. It's all a process of elimination.

On the subject of "elimination", you would think that since he cries over just a teeny bit of pee in his diaper that he would have been beyond upset last night. We were watching one of our favorite T.V. shows while Brady was smiling away in his bouncer. That thing is a true godsend (when nothing else can soothe him, that's our go-to). I leaned over to talk to Hubs and noticed a strong, foul odor rising from my tiny child. I looked at him and asked, as if he could reply, "did you poop?" Of course, he just smiled and cooed at me. So I did what any red blooded mom would do: I pulled the frills of the diaper by his leg to peak at the goods. Oh my goodness. Heavens to Betsey (insert any other exclamatory phrases in here). I have never seen so much poo in my life. Well, I have, but from a little human, it was incredible! It was oozing out of his diaper... it was like he had a mini bean bag coming out of his butt... and he was just smiling away, having a grand old time. I have no idea why this amount of poo did not bother him. I immediately pulled him from the bouncer only to find the poo had escaped and gotten on the cloth bouncer. Kyle was put on bouncer duty. Speaking of "duty", it even escaped on to his clothes. So I stripped that little boy and went to cleaning up his handiwork. He must've been proud of himself. That is the only explanation I have as to why he wasn't hysterical at the full diaper. If it wasn't so grotesque, I had even thought of taking a picture for future evidence.

I have been at home now, away from work, since Brady was born. I had no idea how this would be for me. I thought I would be bored. I guess I really just don't have much time to feel that way. Between trying to squeeze in naps when the baby is asleep, to cleaning the house, to the dishes, the laundry, getting dinner set up... all besides what I do for the baby: diapers, diapers, diapers, outfit change, feeding, soothing, etc. I just had always thought that if I stayed at home I would have nothing to do. Boy, was I wrong. I just can't seem to fit enough in my day. And this is all without leaving the house. When Kyle gets home from work, I venture out and "escape" then to Sam's Club and Wally World for groceries. It's not much excitement to shop for groceries, but I get out of the house for a couple of hours. We find ourselves learning to "live poor". Two incomes down to just one is quite the adjustment. We just don't do the things we used to. We don't go out for midweek dinners, I don't eat out for lunch, I don't use much gas in the truck, haven't done much for fun shopping. I've just been learning to figure what we actually need, instead of just what we want. When it comes right down to it, we don't really need much. I actually cleaned out my closet and had five bags of clothes to give away. These are things I have kept over the years that I haven't worn much in a while. That just shows me that I wasted money. Now, my goal is to try to buy traditional clothes, no trends. I will try harder to not buy on a whim.

Speaking of clothes, I am still bummed to find that I am much bigger than I pictured myself. I keep hoping that I will fit in my pre-maternity clothes. They are so small on me. I just can't believe how much I've grown. My hips are wider, my legs seem bigger. I know on the scale I have fifteen to twenty pounds to lose to get to my weight before I got pregnant, but I just don't see myself in the XL sizes I have to try on at the store. It could have been the particular stores I was at, or the brands I was trying, but L and XL have never really been in my clothing collection. Needless to say, I was completely dismayed after a shopping trip. I needed to get some capris and/or shorts to help with the summer heat approaching. Maternity clothes are falling off of me, and I can't fit in my pre-baby clothes. This transition really just sucks. I know that it will take a while to get back to normal and that I shouldn't be so upset. I did lose twenty five pounds since delivery, but 8 1/2 of that was Brady. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not whining, I'm changing things. I drink more water, I eat more vegetables, we are limiting fast food intake. Kyle was even so inspired with how upset I was at my weight that he jumped online to look for a treadmill. God must've been on our side, because immediately upon signing on Craigslist, he found a free treadmill. Kyle emailed the poster and got a quick response. Within two or so hours we had a treadmill in our garage. Thank goodness for an empathetic husband.

Another thing my husband is good for: killing bugs. He's very good at many, many things. Like taking the baby after he's been at work all day so I can have a mini break. He knows when I just need to get out of the house and will insist I go out and get groceries (I know that doesn't sound fun to most, but to a housebound mom, it's wonderful). In summary, my husband is a really great man and he's wonderful in many ways. There's just this bug-killing thing that he does that makes me appreciate him. And I do. Until the other night, I was brushing my teeth and he walks up to me with some news. He makes sure I'm listening and says, "there was a bug on your toothbrush, but don't worry I killed it." Now, do I continue brushing or throw the toothbrush away? This is how I know I've been around boys too long... I brushed anyway and thought to myself that it was extra protein. Does a body good.