Motherhood So Far

Unless you've missed my previous posts, you probably know that I had a baby this summer. She and I are doing great and enjoying getting to know one another. I have restarted seeing patients and have switched my practice to being solely telemedicine. Changes abound in my life and I thought it would be useful to record a few thoughts and share them.

First of all, the human body is amazing and I am so grateful for mine! My labor and delivery was amazing  - I had my baby with a group of midwives here in Utah. It was, of course, hard work - but it was also like a dream. I feel incredibly empowered now having gone through that experience. I am so grateful for the folks at Wasatch Midwifery and Wellness for keeping me and baby safe and caring for us so well - and believing in me/us! Our midwife Adrienne and birth assistants and my doula Kylee (owner of Utah Valley Doulas) were our biggest cheerleaders. 

Second of all, I don't recommend suddenly getting Covid one month into being a new parent. It was really, truly awful. I was even triple vaccinated and still felt terrible. It turns out that severe sleep deprivation, healing from birth and increase in stress are a bad comb... and then when you add in a novel virus, it's just a mess. My husband Peter and I were down for the count for just about two weeks. The good news? Our baby did great! She was wondering why we were laying down so much, I think. My insight: sleep is even more important now than it was before. Even just 20 minute naps are worth the effort for me because I know they help me maintain my mental health and my immune system health!

Third, I haven't mentioned in my blog but have been wanting to write a post about this  - I finally got hearing aids and it has changed my life! I have known for quite some time that I have some moderate healing loss. I had my hearing evaluated at the University in May and was diagnosed with a "cookie bite" hearing loss pattern - I have lost hearing in the mid range - but can still hear high and low frequencies pretty well. It finally explained why I couldn't hear Peter's voice! Anyway, I knew I wanted to be able to hear our daughter so I decided to get hearing aids and it has been great. I can hear so much more - plus it makes for easy hands-free calling and listening to music and podcasts while baby is sleeping on me. There is a stigma around treating hearing loss  - especially for older generations. I hope that stigma is disappearing! Being able to hear and communicate effectively is awesome!

So there's a few thoughts from a 11+ year Naturopath and 4.5 month mom. Hope you are well wherever you are and happy Thanksgiving!