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Five weeks and learning

A friend posted a while back "they have place to take your dog for a nail trim, why not my baby?"  I can now see the value in that. I have tried numerous occasions to trim her nails, I have bought 3 different types of nail files and finally after 4.5 weeks I had the courage to trim her nails. I needed a drink after that. She was great, per usual it's timing. I did it after she ate and was nice and milk drunk. 

We have been working through what we think is a bit of gas. So like good hippies we found the natural solution of catnip and fennel...yep.  It tastes like black licorice. The first time giving it to her was a little rough on both of us. She had only tasted breast milk up to that point so I can assume black licorice was not the ideal taste.  It seems to help so we shall see.

Up there with hippy things of using reusable diapers, I decided to encapsulate my placenta.  Yep I have capsules by my bed (which are almost gone) of my placenta.  I took two, twice a day for the first two weeks and then dropped down to one, twice a day until they were gone per the instructions.  Surprisingly this was my own idea, not the super hippy Husband’s.  I was actually told of encapsulation by my doctor who is also a dear friend.  His wife had a lot of physical trouble post-partum after their first child so they did the placenta encapsulation for the second and everything was great.  I have no baseline to compare it to but I feel like its been beneficial.  You can read a lot of different studies about the benefits emotionally and physically.  



This week has been about learning that we have limits.  Or that McKenna has limits.  I tired to do to many errands on Tuesday and ended up sitting in the parking lot nursing and trying to calm her, then listening to her cry most of the 10 minutes home.  Though I did learn a use for my very long arms: I can drive and reach back into the car seat to find a pacifier and get it into her mouth.  All those years of long sleeve shirts hitting mid forearm are worth it now…  

I am also learning to put her down more.  As she struggles to sleep, i have been holding her to comfort her and attempt to get her to sleep.  This is where a significant other can be helpful (even if the approach was wrong) as he saw what I was doing, when I didn't.  So she has been spending time in the swing as she loves motion.  Sometimes she sleeps, sometimes she doesn't but we are all a work in progress.  Though it did give me enough time to paint my nails and do a mini pedicure.

We also had our first trip to the gym.  I didn't get to participate as I am not cleared by the doctor yet but the husband did.  She did ok for a bit and then it was just too much.  Fortunately there were lots of extra arms to help.  The best part was after we left and I am completely frazzled, the Husband says “She did really great, she must have slept the whole time”  Yeah something like that….





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