Last year on this date...

...I found out for certain that I was pregnant with Anne. :) I wouldn't have remembered the date, but Mike did. Isn't that sweet? I remember the date that we conceived her though, because that's just how Type A I am with my Natural Family Planning charts. And aren't you glad that you know that now? I'm just very organized. Mike has a name for my charts that I won't repeat, but I assure you, it's funny.

Anne was looking very fetching this morning in a chocolate brown romper with purple and pink polka dots. She still has blue eyes (very striking with her curly dark brown hair) and naturally, is just the prettiest baby ever. Because everybody thinks that about their own babies. That they're the cutest. And they're all cute. But let's face it, we all still think that ours are cuter. :)

Ironically, today when I stepped on the scale, for the first time I'm officially down to my pre-pregnancy weight. Before you hate me, let me assure you that I deserve this small bone given the nights that I'm having. I'd take 10 extra pounds if I could get more than 4 hours of crappy, interrupted sleep per night. But I digress. I'm being positive from now on, remember?

And actually, it was a little warm last night, so we had Anne back in our room in her bassinette. We don't have an air conditioner for her room yet. I have to admit, I'd missed having her in there, and it warmed my heart to see her precious sleeping face next to my side of the bed. Then she started screaming, but we're being positive, remember?

I'm trying.

I'm still alive

Well, I think I've come to somewhat of an acceptance of the long nights. At least this time, I know they won't last forever. They'll just feel like they do.

We haven't had a good night since I last posted, but alas. We've fared it pretty well. We're exhausted, but hanging in there. I'm trying to focus on the positive. And pretty much everything else is all positive. Anne has been awake more during the day and very lively. She has a very cute personality. I'm just counting the days until she's 12 weeks old and past the worst of this fussy stage. :)

In other uplifting news, I'm feeling happy with my postpartum weight loss. I gained a total of 27 lbs. this pregnancy. That's 2 pounds less than I gained with Henry. The first 20 or so always come off very easily. As you hone in on your prepregnancy weight, the loss gets much more difficult, especially when breastfeeding. Breastfeeding spurs that initial weight loss (excellent) but always wants to hang on to 5 extra pounds or so (not so fun). I have about 3 pounds to go, which I'm very happy with. I've been walking every day, which has the added benefit of getting me out of the house for some fresh air. It's been wonderful.

I started dancing again at home, and it feels *superlative*. I loved belly dancing while pregnant, but now I love being the only one in my body. :) My costume even fits again, although the top is *tight*. My rib cage may not have fully shrunk back in yet, I'll have to wait 3 more weeks on that, so see what it's going to be. But the bottom fits good. As well, I have more "going on" up top than usual, so there's a bit of a va va va voom! factor that I normally don't have. But it feels good to see myself as I was before pregnancy. My "new normal." It's a very good thing.