Hey, craft buddies ❤️ Popping in to share some updates and answer some FAQs from my birth video comments with you while I’m on maternity leave. I got nearly 1,500 comments on that video so (as you can imagine) it will take me a while to get back to everyone, but I promise I’m reading them all. So if you commented, I’ll see it when I can get to it, I promise! Also, if you missed it, here’s that video.
The first: Mr. Henry is officially one month old!
What?! How did that happen so fast? THANK YOU for all the love, sweet comments the past month (and beyond), and kindness you’ve shown us – we are so thankful!
We had some new family/newborn photos taken last week with our favorite photographers @paletteoflight – I can’t wait to see them and update the frames in our house!
Q: How is Henry doing?
He’s doing well and I’m soaking in all the snuggles I can! We’re getting longer stretches of sleep from him at night (hallelujah!) and more playtime during the day. He’s eating well and growing fast – he’ll be on the same tall-guy path as Finn at the 90th percentile for length. One day I’ll be the shortest in our family at 5’11”, I’m sure 😅 With a nearly 5-year gap between kiddos, we felt pretty rusty at first, but it has all come back to us and it is just like riding a bike!
Q: How am I doing?
Overall, I’m doing good – all things considered. My body is just now starting to feel more normal after weeks of feeling like I went through a war between COVID, birth, and my preeclampsia scare. I’m trying to rest as much as I can, and also find some time in our busy days to get a small act of self-care in to feel more like me (well as much as I can).
I’ve been very vocal about my struggle with Postpartum Anxiety & Depression with my first pregnancy. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t having intense emotions. Most of them have been around my health/blood pressure and ensuring I’m healthy for my boys.
However, there’s something about the newborn fog this time around that has made me feel more gratitude for this time vs. dread/anxiety/sadness. At about the 4-6 week mark with Finn, I was starting to creep into the depths of postpartum depression and I can totally feel the difference this time.
Q: How is your blood pressure doing?
Great! I’m officially off my BP meds and my readings have leveled off – woo hoo! Today I heard back from my OB doctor and she said I no longer have to do daily monitoring because my blood pressure has leveled off – thank goodness! I’m so thankful!
Q: How is Finn doing with the transition?
Overall, Finn is doing great with his brother! As to be expected, we’ve had some growing pains going from 1-2 kiddos, but we’re working through that. Now that he can see Henry is a great addition to our family vs. him being a replacement for him – we’re doing much better. I don’t blame him at all for feeling that way – it’s been the Finn show for the past 4+ years.
Thanks for checking in! Let me know if you’d like me to keep doing these updates while I’m out on leave. Have a great week! – Whitney
LOVE the updates! Please keep doing them.