Sagging Belly Blues

Trying on bathing suits for vacation just isn't what it used to be. This is the first year that I feel I have to wear a one piece. It's not a big deal since they're finally making some cute one piece suits so use girls don't have to look like we borrowed Aunt Doris' bathing suit. The most depressing part of this swim suit season is what I call my "mommy flap."

Look, even super models like Cindy Crawford experience the mommy flap! Given the fact that I'm not a super model, I'll stick with the one piece. Thanks anyway, Cindy.

The "mommy flap" is a wrinkly flap of skin that just hangs off your abdomen. That's exactly what it looks like. After all those months of growing and stretching, your belly can't just snap back into shape. I have a line where my belly button used to be. The skin around it is so saggy and stretched out that you can't see what used to be my cute little navel. It's a few extra pounds of skin that doesn't even feel like part of my body. Like I could just take it off and throw it away. It's very weird. I am stubborn and broke so I was making it my goal to fit into all of my summer clothes (namely shorts) for my vacation to Punta Cana coming up in a couple weeks.

In addition to diet and exercise I started tanning. Tanning just makes me feel good. I just get a little summer glow- I'm not tannorexic! After a few sessions, I noticed that the line where my skin smooshes together over my belly button has a tan line! If I pull my belly button "open" I can see the perfect tan line where my mommy flap hides my navel.

Don't worry ladies, this is normal. From what I read, it takes a while for it to go away so there is hope! Sure I might have a muffin top overflowing my summer shorts while my legs are looking awesome, but by next year, maybe that muffin top will have disappeared.

My Baby is a Freak: A Birth Story

41 and a half weeks into my pregnancy, I finally went into the hospital to be induced. One of the first things they do when you go in is weigh you. I reluctantly stepped on the scale and waited to hear the nurse gasp... 231.

231??!? I was ALL belly. Yes, my hips, boobs, and arms filled in quite nicely too, but it was nothing compared to the gigantic watermelon of a belly that my son was living in! People at my work would tell me that they missed a heart beat because I looked like I was carrying twins.

I gained a TON of weight during my pregnancy. I was doing everything I was supposed to. I didn't have diabetes or anything else wrong with me medically. I increased my water intake, took the vitamins, exercised, ate pretty healthy. Nope, every month, I'd go in and have gained another 9 pounds. It was useless so I just stopped caring. If I was going to gain tons of weight and do everything the right way so be it. My baby will just have a nice cushion-y palace to live in!

The labor pains started at about 10 in the evening, two hours after they gave me the petocin. I layed there and talked with my friends. It was not as bad as a thought it would be. My water didn't want to break. They had to help with that. Gross... it feels like you just keep peeing your pants... After my water was broken it was a different story. The pains were MUCH more intense, but I can honestly still say - not as bad as I thought it woul be. I was trying to go natural but nope- GIVE ME THE DRUGS!!

After 18 hours of labor and 1 hour and 45 minutes of pushing, out popped our beautiful baby boy! That rush of emotion you feel when you feel the baby slip out and hear that first cry is undescribable. It's the most wonderful rush of adrenaline and happiness that could never be matched. There's nothing that could even come close. After I let out my final "AHHHHHHH" and the tears of accomplishment/joy/relief poured out of my eyes, I heard "5,000 GRAMS!"

What does that mean? 5,000 grams? What is that in English? The way the nurses were shouting I knew he was big. My doctor and I thought he'd weigh about 9 - 9 1/2 lbs at birth. So I thought "ok, he's 9 1/2. Health baby boy."

No. 5,000 grams in English is 11 POUNDS!!!! WHAT??!

My first thought after they said those two words "Eleven Pounds" was "MY BABY'S A FREAK!" I was so sad for him already. He was just born and already he's got some physical abnomality that other kids don't have. Poor guy. He'll be a big boy all his life and get picked on. He'll have to go to fat camp and play the tuba in the marching band. Oh no!!

They handed me my little sack of joy and he was so cute! He looked like a very well-fed eskimo since his cheeks were all puffy from the journey through the birth canal. He didn't look so big to me. This was normal- Not extraordinarily large. The hospital didn't have diapers big enough for our little tank so they had to get some from pediatrics. Size 3. He didn't fit the little t-shirts they give the babies so we brought him something from home.

I didn't realize how big he actually was until I went to the nursery and saw all the "normal" size babies. He was a monster compared to them! All the other babies were all wrinkled and new looking. My baby had filled in everywhere. Full head of hair and all.

Turns out there's a medical term for this. Macrosomia is a baby that is large for it's gestational age. It's usually caused by mothers having diabetes and not following the diet correctly. But I just gained excessive weight during my pregnancy.

My "little" guy is 5 months now. The doctors say he's advanced. Those few extra pounds at birth must be in his brain :) As for me. I had a very easy delivery and easy recovery. My experience was SO much better than I thought it could ever be. Pain wasn't too bad, healing "down there" wasn't too bad either. And best of all, I get to be the mommy of this big beautiful boy!

What's your birth story?

Thoughts on Marriage

I don't know if my random thoughts this morning is due to my complete lack of sleep this week. Josh got up at 2 am then again at 5 and I've been up ever since. I got an email from a good friend of mine mentioning her mother in law.. but she's not really her mother in law because her and her boyfriend aren't married. So that made me think... How do you really define marriage?

When my husband and I were getting married we had weekly meetings with the minister at my church. On the first night he asked us for our addresses. I answered first then he looked at my then-fiance for his. He and I looked at eachother, then at the minister and said- "it's the same address....??" We said it with that higher pitch at the end of the sentence as if we were asking if we had answered correctly. I didn't want to lie, but I really didn't want to tell the truth either. But then I thought lying to a minister in a church wouldn't look good on my rap sheet on judgement day.

I'm about to get spiritual on you all so if you're not into that, don't say I didn't warn you.

Everyone views marriage in either one of two categories or in both. Marriage is a) a legal bond between two people and the state of Ohio (or where ever) or b) a spiritual bond between two people promised before God.

I challenge this question: What did they consider marriage before there were laws? Did they just get together with their preist and say "we're gettin' hitched?" I always used to think marriage was a sacred bond between two people and the Lord. Keeping God in our marriage has helped us stay afloat. As I'm growing up and able to form my own ideas (other than what my parents had burned into my brain) I'm seeing marriage in different forms.

During our pre-marital counseling my minister discussed his views of intimacy and "living in sin" after we reluctantly disclosed our living and intimacy arrangements. He said that it was Ok by him. WHAT? We had made a promise to eachother that we wouldn't stray from one another. I have to agree with that. Though it wasn't legally official until our wedding day, we had already made that promise toward one another and toward God so we were in a way already married.

So this brings me to the point of legality and marriage. What ever happened to common law? My friend has been living with her boyfriend for YEARS. Their kids have grown up together, their families are close, etc. So how shouldn't she have the same legal rights as a married person (and vise versa). Maybe a bad relationship spoiled the idea of marriage- should that ban her from the legal benefits just because she doesn't want to take the plunge again?

Thought to ponder on this Thursday... Thank God it's almost the weekend!