Not afraid!!!

I'm not afraid to kick it up a gear. Yesterday I took it upon myself to purchase the Belly Bandit. What is it you may ask? It is "an abdominal compression binder designed to help you get your body back to its former fabulousness post childbirth." Oh yea...I fell for it and purchased it! Does this mean I'm officially insane? If so, do you wonder what in the world drove me to this insanity? Well, several things I guess but it probably boils down to 1) I'm super impatient! I feel my body is not bouncing back into shape as quickly as I would like it to and 2) My secret obsession with the Kardasians. Not secret anymore I guess....

I most likely haven't mentioned my Kardasian obsession in the past as it's not something I'm necessarily proud of but I love love love those girls and all their obnoxiousness. I look forward to their show every week. One of my favorite things to do during down time (if I get it) is to watch marathons of both The Kardasians and Kourtney & Khloe take Miami. Luckily one or the other is on at all times so this is easy to accomplish. This show has taken over my obsession with CSI Miami. Very strange I know but it's true. Now you may wonder how this has anything to do with the Belly Bandit. Well, the oldest sister, Kourtney, just had a baby and has managed to get back a stellar body within weeks/months. She claims she owes part of this to the Belly Bandit so I took it upon myself to give it a shot. Yep, I certainly did....kind of crazy right?!?!??! You want to hear something even more crazy???? I feel like it's already working and my center area has shrunk somewhat since yesterday. I'm sure this is all in my crazy obsessed imagination but I'll take it if it helps my confidence. At this point, I very well may be certifiably insane. You think? If so, I'll attribute this to the postpartum hormones.

My next purchase will likely be the Mother Tucker which is "the ultimate compression tank! You'll be WOWed with how it smoothes and shapes your middle! Mother Tucker™ uses a soft tubular knit, designed with three zones of varying compression.The center section - with the most compression - flattens your tummy, promoting a slimmer silhouette. The 3" anti-roll bottom applies muffinology™ technology to help smooth your "muffin top", while the upper section provides the perfect amount of support; helping to eliminate that squeezed feeling..

Makes me laugh out loud just to type this. Oh, the things they come up with and the people who fall for them ( i.e. ME!).

We're making it!

Well, we're making it! At this point, to be "making it" is a good thing. You know, I have to say I'm a little confused about something! Why is it that no one mentioned the fact that the birth of the second child is not 100% happy happy joy joy but it's actually pretty dang stressful due the fact the first child is in complete disarray???? I'm very perplexed that this wasn't emphasized much more and we weren't given a BIG warning so we could mentally prepare. The most I got was "Lola will be a great big sister". Could someone have at least said "BTW...round two is very challenging and basically sucks!"

We've had to discover on our own that the birth of the second child is very hard due to the fact that you're first child will begin acting out which includes constant uncontrollable inconsolable screaming, major fits, hitting, back talking, throwing things, attempts to attack the baby at any available chance, etc, etc, etc. Now, don't get me wrong...I knew it would be tough BUT this tough....had NO clue! Basically, I'm having a hard time enjoying our new precious little nugget b/c I'm SO concerned about Lola. I have to say at this point she's not taking the birth of her baby brother too well. She loves him and wants to hug and kiss him at one moment and then wants to inflict pain on him in the next moment. HUH!!! I just thought we had challenges in the past. Well, this is nothing compared.

Like all other tough phases, I know we'll work our way through this and hopefully we'll all be in one piece when we do. Of course, right now it feels like we'll never make it through. Last night I found myself calling one of my girlfriends in tears saying "I think we need to send Lola to a child psychologist". I really felt this way. I was very concerned. This was after Lola attempted to go at Gaines with a running slap....TWO TIMES! I mean she was not going in with a gentle/loving slap just to get a little attention but with a full force punch. When I told her "NO" and reprimanded her explaining that she can't hit her baby brother, she looked at me with a smirk and then started kicking and throwing a fit. She had no remorse whatsoever. My friend assured me we don't need a child psychologist but I was seriously concerned considering she was truly trying to inflict pain on Gaines. I not only felt sorry for Gaines for getting a slap but my heart just broke for Lola. Poor thing...it's clear she's in pain right now and is really suffering with this change.

The past few nights Clay and I both do everything we can to hold back the tears b/c we feel so sorry for Lola. The research says to a toddler bringing a new baby home is like your husband bringing home a new wife. They are confused, feel betrayed and their world has been turned upside down. They say to spend "alone" time with the first child and let them know they are still "special" and when the fits start or when they try to hit the baby to "redirect". If I hear or read one more website that only gives the "redirect" advice I may have to scream at the top of my lungs. CAN'T THEY COME UP WITH SOMETHING ELSE!!! I've tried to "redirect"! I've tried it over and over and over and IT'S NOT WORKING!!! Please...give me something else to work with!!! Anyway, needless to say, I'm at my wits end and I want to get through this very hard time ASAP! HELP!!!

Ok...now that I got that out...on to the positive! Baby boy is just adorable and a wonderful baby so far! You wonder if you can ever love anything as much as your first child. Well, I'm happy to announce you can! I love this little guy more than anything. I've had to work over the past week or so but I'm looking forward to our time together over the next three months. I have big plans for us. Here are some updated pics of him.

He's still a tiny little thing. He had dropped down to 5 lbs 15 oz and at his 2 week appt last week he was back up to 6 lbs 6 oz. He was only in the 10-25th percentile...poor thing! Who would have thought Clay and I would ever have a baby in the 10-25th percentile. Even with Lola being born at 37 1/2 weeks, she was still in the 95th percentile. He's eating a ton so I'm confident he'll put on even more weight and before we know it he'll be a big boy!

Speaking of appointments, now to the good stuff. Have I mentioned I can see my ankles?!?!?!? Woohoo!!! I wasn't sure I would ever see those suckers again. At my two week appt last week, I had lost 23 lbs. I'm about 8 lbs away from my weight at my 8 week appt. HOWEVER, if you remember, at that appt, I discovered I had put on 15 lbs. That means I'm 23 lbs away from my pre-holiday weight. In addition, even at my pre-holiday weight, I was still 10 lbs from my goal weight so that means I'm about 35 lbs from my end goal weight. I'm confident I'll get there over the next couple months but will have to work hard.

Now, you would think since I've lost 23 lbs that I would look absolutely smashing right?!?!?!? Well, not so much! I look like I just had a baby 3 weeks ago (i.e. I look like I need to lose 35 lbs) and I'm a bit mushy. The doctor released me to start walking and working myself back into an exercise routine. This week we'll start with a gentle walk and try to jog a few blocks and then go from there. This morning Gaines and I went on our first walk. We didn't go far but it was a start. We went down to the local 7-11 so I could get a soda. So, although I was trying to work off some calories, I'm assuming I put those calories right back on with the purchase of the Big Gulp... nice!!! Anyway, I'm ready to start hard-core exercising and hope to get this bod back asap. We're heading to South Padre for a get-a-way in mid-October so I'm hoping I can be in bathing suit shape by then. Not likely considering I have a puffy belly that needs LOTS of work and a sweet tooth that puts my pregnancy sweet tooth to shame which I've been satisfying but it's always good to set goals for yourself....unrealistic ones at that. With that, I have to say, it's VERY nice to wake up and be shrinking vs expanding! Lets just hope I can keep things moving that way. As usual, I'll keep yall posted!

Finally, I want to leave yall with a pic of Lola. I've always begged Lo to smile for pics but she never gives me the big beautiful smile I ask for! She refuses for some reason (hard-headed much???). Even with her refusal, I still continue to ask. Now, when I ask for a big "CHEESE!!!", this is the face she'll give me. I guess it's better than nothing and you could say we're making some progress toward a potential future smile in pics...you think????

Off to feed the baby boy now...

He has arrived!!!

My last post was on Monday, 8/2 and my only comment was "4 weeks and counting". Little did I know it was actually only a day and a half and counting. CRAZINESS! Oh goodness...where do I even begin?!?!?!? Needless to say, it's been a wild ride the past two weeks. We've had our ups and we've had our downs. I imagine we'll continue to be on this roller coaster ride for a while. But, lets start with the best part....the birth of the baby boy - Gaines Foy Odom!


It was last Tuesday evening at about 9:30 pm. I had finally gotten Lola to sleep and I was SO excited to sit down to watch the kick off of the new season of one of my fav show - Rachael Zoe. It had been one of those "bad" pregnancy days so I was just exhausted. Right when I sat down I knew something wasn't right. I ran to the bathroom and it happened...my water broke! All I could think was "Couldn't this have waited until after Rachael Zoe?". I called Clay and said very calmly "I think my water broke". He insisted that it hadn't broke. I think he may have been in denial at this point. We sat around and contemplated it for about 15 minutes or so, watched a little more Rachael Zoe and then decided we better call the doctor. We also called our friends Kristen & Kevin with the news. It's always great to start a phone conversation with "Hey, what's up. I think my water broke. Can you come over?" Anyway, they rushed over to keep Lo just in case the doctor directed us to head to the hospital. As expected, we were directed to head to the hospital immediately.


When we got to the hospital, it was confirmed that my water had broke. 5 WEEKS EARLY...YIKES! I was starting to have contractions. At this point, I knew the baby was coming within hours and I was now going into panic mode. Is it too early? Will he be ok? Do I want to have a c-section? Or should I go with the VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean)? I bursted out into tears. It was all too sudden. I didn't feel I was capable of making all these decisions so quickly. Clay was able to calm me and we decided to go with the c-section. Before I knew it my doctor had arrived and they wisped me off to the "surgery" room.


Now, I have to say this was a very creepy feeling. The last and only surgery I've ever had was my c-section with Lola. This was after 30 hours of labor so I was basically out of it by the time the surgery took place. This time, I was all there and I didn't like it one bit. It was horrible!!! I could see the strange instruments sitting on the side table. The ones they would soon use to cut me open. I could clearly hear everyone preparing to take the baby. I could feel my legs slowly going numb. I started to become very nauseous. It was all one of the worst experiences I've ever had. I would have much rather been completely out of it. They finally let Clay come in and I was trying to remain as calm as I could knowing I was about to go under the knife....EEK! I have to say...not so easy!


The surgery didn't go as quickly as I remembered with Lola. The baby had already dropped quite a bit making it more difficult for the doctor to get him out. To make matters worse, there was also some excess scar tissue that was apparently causing some trouble. In order to avoid more cutting into the muscles than necessary, the doctor had to use a suction cup to help get him out. At one point the doctor said "Are you ready to have a baby?" and then I felt a big push of my belly and nothing happened. Clay and I looked at each other with fright. Was the baby ok? We didn't hear crying? No talking? What in the world is going on? Then I felt another few pushes on my stomach....nothing! I was now officially in panic mode and then I heard some laughter. Whoo! I thought surely they wouldn't be laughing if something was wrong with him right?!?!? Then finally there was the cry I had been longing for. Gaines Foy Odom had officially arrived on 8/4 at 12:29 a.m. He was 6 lbs 7 oz and 20 1/2" long.


Poor thing was all bruised up. Although I had a c-section, he basically went through the same amount of trauma as a baby being delivered naturally. They immediately sent him off to be checked out and Clay went off with him. I went to recovery where I became very sick and started aggressively throwing up. This would last at least another 12 hours. UGH! It was miserable to say the least! I kept thinking they would bring Gaines in at any moment so I could see him but unfortunately this wasn't the case. He had some respiratory problems causing him to be admitted to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). He would spend the next 5 days there. I did not get to see him until the next morning around 10:00 a.m. and didn't get to hold him until the following afternoon. It was so hard to see him there with all the cords hooked up to him and monitors beeping. I felt for him so much. I kept telling him it would get a lot better soon. I was hoping I was telling the truth. After about 48 hours, he started doing really well. He was taken off the respirator and was able to eat. Everything gradually started getting better and then he was FINALLY discharged to come home Sunday night 8/8 at about 9:00 p.m. We could not wait to get him home!


Since we've been home we've had our challenges. Lola loves her baby brother more than anything but there have definitely been some moments of jealousy, confusion, hurt, etc. There has also been some hitting and kicking. I know her reaction is very natural and we just have to be patient as she works through this change. Right now, my heart aches for her more than anything as I know her little life has been turned upside down. Clay and I are trying to spend alone time with her whenever we can and also do everything we can to let her know she is still the light of our lives. It's been tough but it's starting to get better. I hope with each day and week it will get even easier.

4 weeks and counting!

Enough said for today...

As of tomorrow, I have less than a month to go. YEA!!!