dirty little secret

Since having a baby almost seven months ago (where has the time gone?!), I've come to learn of a few small details of early motherhood that no one really talks about. Or, shall I say warns you about. Like breastfeeding. Why won't people level with you about what it's really like in the beginning? I mean, I had countless people ask me if I planned to nurse my baby, but that was pretty much the end of the conversation. And most of the people in the hospital make you feel like a bad mother if you say you are even considering not nursing your baby, but do they prepare you for what you can expect for those first miserable weeks? No. Ok, so maybe it is an awkward topic of conversation, but c'mon, if your girlfriends won't tell you about it, who will?

Ok, enough about that--the dirty secret that is really plaguing me at this point is the massive amounts of hair that I am currently losing! I remember one person telling me about losing hair after you have a baby. This was right after Reese was born, and at the time it hadn't started...so, like an idiot I thought, "Oh, goodie, maybe I am one of the lucky ones and this won't happen to me!" Ha! At exactly three months postpartum, it started. At first I thought, "oh, ok, so this is what she was talking about." Four months later, I want to cry every time I wash my hair, brush my hair, even touch my hair. Ok, so maybe that is a little dramatic...or maybe I really am losing more hair than the average person. I've been taking Biotin like candy, but it hasn't helped. I try not to complain about it too much, (because, really, what are people going to respond? "you're right, your hair really is thinning!" I don't think so.) but I really do feel like I am going to be bald at the end of this. In fact, I am about ready to get pregnant again just so my hair will stop falling out! Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I got my hair cut last week and while my stylist was combing my wet hair, and could see the gobs of hair that were falling out, she was even surprised! Should that make me feel better that I was not just being a baby about my hair loss? Or worse, that it is actually way more than normal? I choose to feel better. She recommended some hard core pills that she said would help. Not that I don't trust her, because I completely do--but at this point, I am willing to do whatever it takes to keep the few hairs I have left in my head! Here's to hoping that these little pills will save me.
(Note: sorry for the ranting. I try to tell myself that it could always be worse. and I'm not writing this so you will post a comment about what great hair I have and how you can hardly even tell that my ponytail is a fraction of the size it used to be...if you do, I know you are lying...but for the journal-keeping sake of this blog, I felt the need to say it once and be done with it.)

swing, swing

Reese and I went to the park today to enjoy the beautiful weather we've been having. Reese loves to put her feet in the sand box and jump and dance around (she pretty much likes to jump and bounce whenever her feet touch the ground). Today we decided to try the swings. I don't think she quite knew what to make of it, but it was so funny to see her experience something new!

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Reese has been eating solids for about the last month or so. But, it wasn't until just the last week or two that I started to introduce her to real food, rather than just rice cereal. We started with sweet potatoes and then bananas. As I started with the baby food, I would say "Mmmmm, yummy" with every bite, hoping that she would be more accepting of the new tastes and textures. Reese is a pretty good little eater and practically lunges at the spoon when she is ready for another bite. The funniest part, though, is that she now does the "mmmmm" sound when she gets a new bite. It is hilarious! I will try to get in on video. Can you tell this girl loves her bananas?

book party

While we were in North Carolina a couple weeks ago, my sister-in-law Lindsey found a local bookstore that was hosting a launch party for Breaking Dawn! We reserved our copies and went to the party just before midnight to participate in the festivities. There was a station to decorate some sweet masks (I'm not sure if the Masquerade theme has anything to do with the book, but that was the theme that the host chose for the party), a station where you could get your astrology birth chart, and also a station where you could have a Tarot card reading! How could we resist?! It was pretty funny to see only about 6 people at the party when we arrived--the last Stephenie Meyer function I went to had about 1,000 people in attendance. But, it was quite an experience and I was really glad we went...and am even more excited to read all 754 pages of Breaking Dawn.

Reese rolls

Reese has been practicing rolling from her tummy to her back and occasionally from her back to her tummy for a few weeks now, but she usually waits until no one is looking. Yesterday, she finally seemed to really get the hang of it and was rolling all over the floor--even when I got the camera out! Michael and I could not help but laugh when she would make little noises trying to get her bottom shoulder out from under her. Listen closely on the second video for Reese's little grunt when she didn't make it all the way over on the first try. hilarious!