Indulgence

Today was my 6 wks postpartum appointment with the midwives. Can you believe it has been that long already?!

My roadtrip ended up lasting a lot longer than originally anticipated. We decided to go on to TX from NM and we didn't return until last night. It was nice but exhausting. And totally indulgent.

Indulgence - I think that about sums the last 6 weeks.

At my last appt with the midwives before Peter was born, my weight was 203. Today it was 198.6. I did not weigh myself until my trip through NM, but I can tell you that about 8 of those pounds were found in the last two weeks. At 2 wks pp my pants were pretty lose and I could probably have fit in my pre-pregnancy clothes. At this point, I am not sure I have any besides the one pair of maternity shorts I wear every day. It is ridiculous the amount of weight I have gained since Peter was born, but since the Friday after I got home I have been a bottomless pit.

People will say that it is ok to eat more because I am nursing, but the reality is that there is an appropriate burning to consumption caloric intake ratio and the consumption scale is on the heavy side right now. The good news is that life will be able to resume/take on a more realistic normal as we leave the vacation life behind and prepare for the start of school. It is my hope that I can get back into meal planning and an active lifestyle.

Roadtripping It

Written Mon, July 28th (Unfinished entry)

One of my hopes/goals when we moved to UT was to visit my Gma in New Mexico. Though I did get to see her for my bro’s wedding in 2012, I haven’t been to her house since 2010. Despite her history of great health, she is getting older and having more issues. It’s been important to me to get out and see her. Since Mom was in town, I thought it would be a good time to coordinate a trip. We left Saturday afternoon and pulled up at midnight.

The boys did pretty well – all of them really. We rearranged the seating in the car so that Jared was in the front with Peter. I really enjoy watching the two of them together! As long as Jared can stay nice to him, there is a potential for them to be inseparable as Peter grows.

It had been our intent to leave at 9 am Saturday morning, but Murphy’s Law got in the way. We celebrated Genevieve’s 1^st birthday that evening and had planned on staying at the church to light fireworks. All the family left though and we didn’t feel good about staying by ourselves and doing it in the church parking lot. So then we were going to do it in the nearby park but it was full of people. I needed to make a run to Smith’s for milk so we stopped there while Aaron and I went inside and grabbed some things. By then it was well after 9 so we debated our plan. We decided I’d stay home with Peter and pack while Matthew took the boys on to wherever and shoot off fireworks. Great plan. I spent most of my time feeding Peter, but I did get all the laundry rotated so I could pack. I had just started feeding him again when I got a call from Matthew asking for help because the van’s battery was dead. It was not quite 11 at this point. I warned him it would be awhile before I could get to him, but I’d be able to use the car seat in the truck so I could go and give him a jump. Thirty minutes later I could head out. I didn’t have a key to the house because it’s with my van key which was with Matthew. When I was dropped off at home he’d offered his keys, but I saw no point in taking them because I wasn’t going to go anywhere. Ha ha. I had been reading Shannon Hales’ The Goose Girl on my Kindle while feeding Peter but purposefully left it and the diaper bag because it was going to be a quick turnaround.

They had ended up in a park that we couldn’t find an entrance to last time we tried in the dark, so it took a couple of tries to find it this time too. Thankfully I could at least have Matthew talk me through it while I was driving and found it. They managed to find a really dark park :p I pulled up to the van and Matthew got the cables all attached. We let the truck run for a bit and tried to start the van. Nothing. We ended up trying for a good 30 minutes or so. We were ready to give up when Matthew decided to try a cold start. He unhooked the cables to the truck battery and attached the jumper cables. Nope. By this point all power my van did have was completely gone and we were making plans to purchase a new battery. I suggested calling roadside assistance but Matthew wanted to just go home. The plan was for me to take Jared and Aaron to the house and then come back for Peter and Matthew. I got the two boys loaded into the truck and it wouldn’t start. Matthew wasn’t able to get the cables back on well enough for it to start. Road side assistance was our only option at that point. It was about 12:30 by then. Aaron fell asleep in the truck while I was on the phone with them. ETA was another 45 minutes. We all piled into the van, locked all the doors and tried to rest until help arrived. Peter woke up just as the Rescue Ranger guy was just about there at 1:45. He was able to jump start both cars in a blink! He’d popped Matthew’s cables into place and charged it right up!

I’d texted Mom while we were waiting to let her know that I wouldn’t be ready by 9. She was staying at Mike’s house and was going to be dropped off at 6 am when Dad headed to the airport. We got home after 2 by the time all the paperwork was done. We’d just walked in the door and gotten the boys settled when Mom texted me back asking if we were still stuck. I had sat down to feed Peter some more and txted back and forth with her before we finally went to bed sometime after 3.  What a night!! My new goal for leaving was noon.

Amazingly I woke up just before 6:30 and Mom hadn’t arrived yet. I unlocked a door and sent her a txt to let her know then went back to bed. I woke up about 9:30 to Aaron screaming at Jared to stop.  Ugh. I came down the hall quite grumpy. I was surprised to see Mom there because I hadn’t heard her come in at all though it turns out she’d gotten there right after I went back to bed. They were just pulling into the complex when I sent the txt. She laid down on the floor and fell asleep until the boys got up.

We spent the next few hours folding laundry and packing. Matthew helped load the car. About 12:30 we were mostly ready but Peter was also ready to eat so I sat down to feed him really well in hopes we wouldn’t have to stop any time soon. And by now everyone else was hungry too so Mom made sandwiches for us. It was almost 2 when we finally got in the car. We got gas and were officially on our way.

We were two hours down the road approaching Price when we got a potty break request as well as a “feed me” from Peter. We decided to stop at Arby’s for an early dinner. We ended up with a TWO (2)!! HOUR break. I had been the one driving but by the time we were ready to get back in the car I was really tired so Mom drove. It had been my intent to sleep but once we got going we started talking and I didn’t feel so tired any more. We stopped again near Moab. Peter had fallen asleep recently so I’d hoped we could make it a quick potty stop and move on but having to go in shifts made it so by the time second shift came back Peter’s diaper needed changed and he was ready to eat. There were things the boys wanted to explore so it gave them a chance to stretch their legs. That stop was only 45 minutes. Peter could have eaten longer but I decided he was satisfied enough that if he wanted more he could have a bottle. My hope was that he’d go back to sleep quickly. Jared ended up giving him a bottle.  

We hit the half way point and I started losing track of time. The boys were starting to get bored so I put in an audio book. A couple of chapters in and I fell asleep. We stopped at a 7/11 in Shiprock about 10:30. It was a repeat of our last stop except when I tried to use their restroom they’d just finished cleaning it and wouldn’t let me because they were about to close. We were close enough to our destination it wasn’t a big deal but a little irritating. Not much later we arrived into town and stopped at Wal-mart for an air mattress. We pulled into Gma’s right at midnight.

Peter had gotten pretty upset at WM b/c he wanted to eat but that didn’t stop Gma from wanting to hold him when we got inside J It was tender watching her with him. By the time we got everything in, settled with beds made and in them it was after 2 again. I was so tired!

When I finally got up it was about 9:30, and I was glad to hear church didn’t start until 1. We had a nice leisurely morning and managed to all be ready and out the door by 12:55. We arrived during the opening song. I was surprised that Aaron wanted to stay for Primary, but it was our intent to leave after Sacrament mtg. We were headed out the door when I spotted my San Marcos Institute Director’s wife in the hallway. I was so excited to see her! I had wondered if I would get to see them while I was in town. She was talking to someone in the hall so I waited stood by her and waited for the conversation to end when I said her name. She turned around to see me, and then she really saw me and her face lit with recognition. I just about lost it while I hugged her. We had a nice visit with hopes of another one at their home before I leave town.