What to Expect… And, What I Didn’t.

For those of you who don’t follow along on Instagram, we finally welcomed Baby Trost four weeks ago!

And… we had a BOY!

Theodore “Theo” Sullivan Trost was born on April 21st.  He was 7 pounds 2 ounces and 20 inches long.

We have been adoring his cute face, bright blue eyes and tiny cuddles since day one; but, I want to be totally honest too when talking about baby snuggles and newborn scent… These last few weeks have also been maybe the most filling, yet draining, weeks I have ever experienced.

Yes, of course, there has been of plenty of love, joy and baby bliss.  And, I also know I wasn’t naive; I knew there would be less sleep, faster showers (… If I even got one) and plenty of tears. So, those things are not surprising.  But, there still is so much more that I didn’t expect about these first weeks.

There’s the physical- and emotional- recovery from birth that no one seemed to mention in Lamaze class or in the tons of reading and YouTube-ing I did on child birth. (Yes, I YouTube birth.  Often.  I am a investigator.  What can I say?!)

All I kept hearing was that the pain of birth would disappear after seeing your baby. And, yes, seeing your baby is wonderful, but that’s not exactly true.  There’s pain (and plenty of other gross things) that lingers… for weeks.

On top of it all, I had a sudden, surprise induction followed by a sudden, surprise! c-section after 50 hours of labor… followed by an extra week in the hospital due to complications from it all.

Forget the incisions in my abs, the second guesses and the question “why?” has been deeper and more painful.

The “Baby Blues” are real and I had no idea what I was in for.  Fortunately they don’t last too long- at least they shouldn’t. But, there will be tears. Sometimes for no good reason. Everyday. For a week or two.

Because of the recovery time needed for my body, mind and heart, I have kind of have become a homebody. This is pretty out of character for me and not how I imagined Theo’s first weeks.

I thought it would be a big celebration of life full of visits and drinking champagne with friends and family.  I even had a wedding and a couple showers on the calendar that I thought I could easily get to. Instead, I have found myself craving the quiet and relaxing atmosphere of my bedroom. (Not to mention, a glass of wine has been totally uninteresting.)

But now, at about four weeks postpartum, I can feel myself getting back to myself; but, there still are times that all I want to do is savor Theo, get to know our family of three and take care of me.

One perk of being a homebody is that you don’t have to wear a bra.

Convenient, because I am nursing Theo basically all day, everyday… or, so it seems. Nursing is wonderful, but demanding.  I had no idea how much time I would spend on my couch with my boobs out.

I have also impressed myself with all that can be done with just one arm… However, everything just takes me a lot more time.  Chores that used to be effortless like laundry, dishes or even just shopping online now take forever.

I had visions of my maternity leave where I snuggled with baby, cooked every night, kept the house spotless, gardened, worked out and managed to blog everyday.

HA.

Just emptying the dishwasher before lunch is now a huge accomplishment.

So is a trip to the grocery store.

A huge accomplishment.

So, despite the fact that majority of my garden is still in starter containers on my patio, I am so glad to have an established garden in the backyard.  There are plenty of perennial plants, like asparagus, strawberries, rhubarb, and herbs, in the garden that I can expect to be ready to eat every spring year after year.

Perennial plants are plants that thrive for many growing seasons.  A portion of the plant dies in the winter and regrows each spring from the same root system.  Whereas annual plants are planted every growing season.

Of all of these spring perennials, asparagus is so special to me.

(Coincidently, asparagus is great for nursing. Another thing I recently learned.)

Honestly, I don’t eat it any other time of year because the flavor and texture just can’t hold a candle to our super-fresh, local, spring asparagus.

Asparagus takes a few years to get established, but once it is the plants can produce spears for upwards of twenty to thirty years.  The most seasoned gardeners say that home renovations versus moving is worth it when you have an asparagus bed.

And, while I am glad we can expect asparagus every spring, I am especially happy we could count on it this year as it has been very welcome at our sometimes “You eat while I hold him” dinners.

Below are a few of our favorite and quick asparagus recipes:

Roasted Asparagus

Baked Eggs and Asparagus

Lemon Orzo and Asparagus

 

And, if you don’t have an established asparagus bed, don’t worry.  You can and should still capitalize on the season and look for asparagus at your local farmer’s market.  My mom scored five pounds for three dollars last weekend… a steal!