A Great Many Things

The Watson Trio (as I now affectionately call us) has made it through the first month postpartum!  To celebrate, I wore a regular bra for the first time in six months.  Okay, so I didn't do that to celebrate, but I did do it with much gusto.  One never realizes how much one misses underwire and fun colors/prints until they're gone. In some ways, this month has passed far too quickly, and in others it has lasted for an eternity.  It is so odd to think that one month ago today, at this exact moment (approx. 2:00 p.m.) I was beginning to push.  I find it bizarre to be nostalgic for a hospital stay, but that is what I find myself doing at times when I get the occasional spare moment of time for free thought nowadays.  Lucy's birth was such a great experience, and it was such a special, precious time that I often think, "If I could just go back and savor it a little bit more."  Undoubtedly, I will find myself thinking that more and more as the weeks and m...

Earlier this evening, one of my friends (the lovely Heather B.) and her husband came over to bring us dinner - something that any new mother can assure you is like being the recipient of manna from Heaven.  As we were visiting, Heather asked me what the most surprising part of being a mother (thus far) has been.  My on-the-spot answer was how hard it is to get simple things like eating or brushing my teeth done on a daily basis (which is true - I am surprised that I, a once clean individual, probably have the rankest breath in the land now); however, I've been thinking about it for a few hours, and I've come up with a better answer that has proven to be a huge realization.  The most surprising part of Motherhood, for me, has been the wracking guilt that comes with it. For the past two weeks, I have reveled in my daughter's baby noises, her steely blue eyes, the stinky sweet smell of her hair, the perfect curve of her cupid's bow lips, and 99.9% of the other things she...

Now that we've "settled in" (relatively...HA), I wanted to write Lucy's birth story for nostalgic purposes and anyone who happens to be interested. As odd as it may sound, childbirth is a lot like teaching.  When I was in graduate school to get my education degree, every single professor told us that no class can fully prepare you for what being in the classroom is like. Understatement of the century.  Childbirth (and Parenting) is oddly the same.  I read all the books, newsletters, websites, and Patrick and I attended Childbirth and Infant CPR classes in an effort to be "prepared"......or at least not totally clueless.  As anyone with half a brain can tell you, childbirth hurts, but my mother had a horrible epidural with me, so she had my sister naturally.  "If Mom can do it naturally, so can I," I thought to myself. Armed with information, I filled out my birthplan, complete with instructions that I wanted to labor naturally as long as possible...