I haven’t written a post in a little while on here and I haven’t written a post talking about my life here lately since February. I’ve been pretty tired, but in a very fulfilling way. I’ve been using the extra time to get some sleep, read books, and just vegetate. I’ve also just been enjoying showering or spending time in the hot tub at the gym instead of spending half of the time blogging.
We now have a 5.5 month old baby who can roll, say things like “mamama”, and blow raspberries. Honestly, it feels like everything is just speeding up and speeding up. To be cliche, it is true when they say the days are long and the years are short. I feel so happy and also unbelievably exhausted.
MY HEALTH
My body is now feeling the most normal it has postpartum. My thyroid has been all over the place and I’ve tried a lot of different things to try to help with it. If my dosage of medicine is too high, then I became anxious and sweaty all of the time. If my dosage is too low, I feel like a slug. I made a friend here who goes to the same endocrinology practice that I do and she has been experiencing the same thing. Honestly, I knew it was very hard to get my thyroid stable so our doctors would give us the go ahead for us to have kids. However, I had no idea it would be so difficult to get it normal after having a baby. Well, I know now!
My endo suggested me cut gluten which made me pretty sad, but I’ve been asking my doctors for years if there was anything I could do and they always said no. It turns out cutting gluten has actually made a huge reduction in my autoimmune symptoms… HUGE. Even if my thyroid is still out of whack and my thyroid antibodies are off the charts, I’m very grateful my joint pain and body aches have really decreased. I also don’t have all of the stomach issues I’ve always had.
At first I didn’t feel like keeping up with it because I was skeptical, but I was finding it impossible to walk up and down our stairs and I was wearing hand braces for carpal tunnel (which Hashimoto’s can cause). So, I think a change was very good… any change was kind of necessary.
As far as other stuff, I go to the chiropractor when my back is hurting. My slipped discs and pinched nerve are starting to get better. I still have follow ups with specialists, but everything has been good. I need to go to physical therapy for my third degree tear (it is still impacting me 😬), but I’m honestly so tired of doctor’s offices that I haven’t put a lot of effort into calling around.
I’m trying to do all I can to take care of myself through sleeping right and exercise. I have tried several yoga classes, a water aerobics class, and of course, lots of walking. I’ve found my favorite thing has been the pool. I’ve never been a great swimmer, but I end up running laps in the pool and then spend a lot of time in the hot tub and then the sauna. It really helps everything in my back relax big time!
RELATED // a heart to heart with Hashimoto’s disease
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByDIYmbBFOL/
MY MENTAL HEALTH
I really feel like I have had a fast connection with my counselor here which it took me like a year to develop in Georgia. We’ve been working on more coping skills and treading through all kinds of trauma.
I have a lot of anxiety in doctors offices since my medical issues would have been easily treated if I had been listened to. I have a lot of anxiety if my thyroid medication is off or not because my numbers and symptoms have never been so bad before. I have never been hyperthyroid before and I was toxically hyperthyroid when we went to the ER after my seizures (my TSH was .01 and you’re considered toxic at .1). There are a lot of neurological issues that can go along with that and it was honestly pretty terrifying.
Postpartum PTSD is a real thing and I’m grateful for my counselor.
Today I opened up on my personal facebook about how many people and articles I see about birthing or pregnancy trauma, and how women feel they have to experience that alone. Birthing trauma seems to be a very socially acceptable trauma to discuss, and while community is often awesome, I sometimes wonder if women realize they might be retraumatizing themselves by how they discuss it. It was surprising how many women didn’t know about postpartum PTSD. Frankly, I didn’t recognize it because it seemed like my normal PTSD symptoms. However, I realized this was all new trauma and it kept coming up in therapy over and over.
Therapy is good. Community is good. I’m happy we’re here. I hope the next few years are less eventful medically, but we’ve had a lot of blessings too.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxdkTIzB9kk/
SOCIAL LIFE
There is honestly so much to do around here as a stay at home mom that I usually limit stuff to 1-2 outings a day. I can’t believe how social and inclusive this area is. I’ve traditionally been kind of afraid of large groups of females (with good reason 😬😂). However, I’m making friends, it is nice to find camaraderie with other women in being moms, and it is really nice to get tips from people.
There are play groups at the hospital, where a nurse supervises so we can ask questions, which is honestly such an amazing thing they do here! We go to the library’s baby music and book time, a few play groups, a walking group, and the gym. According to Evie, there are always more people to meet. She has such a sunshiney little personality and it is amazing to see the joy she brings people.
We’ve met so many people from these groups, and one person from an app I tried out for a few days, that our weekends are busy. I run into ladies from church and these groups all over the place and it makes our town feel like a small one; I love that.
I also have a book club at church I attend monthly which i love, there are a lot of church activities, and I have people I stop in and visit while their kiddos are at school. I haven’t seen this level of extroversion for myself since we lived in Utah.
It is good to have friends and it is good to live here. … and while we are definitely paying to live in this suburban fairy tale with our mortgage, it is worth it to both of us.
RELATED // why we chose a town home
THESE PHOTOS
We took these photos on Evie’s first Easter. I was pumped because I actually found the dress she is wearing on consignment and it has bunnies on it. I bought the dress I’m wearing right before I found out I was pregnant and was pleasantly surprised at how much I like it! We spent the day with the M family, enjoying their family festivities 🙂 .
For my first mother’s day with a baby in my arms, I asked Devin simply for naps. I ended up taking a nap on Saturday and then two on Sunday.
To wrap it up, Devin is really good at being a Dad to this little girl. He helps so much, he is the best at getting her to go to sleep at night, and they have a very sweet bond.
I feel the most myself that I’ve felt in a few years with our move here. It is nice to just be me again. I spent so much time in Georgia being very depressed that it felt very consuming. As always, there are a lot of challenges and struggles, but I’ve felt so much peace recently. I’m grateful for a God that is mindful of us and I’m grateful to be able to see the blessings I have in my life right now. I’m ready to get back to writing too 🙂 .