Things that ease post-partum adjustment

1. Coffee. Waking up and knowing that a good cup of hot coffee is about to start my day.
2. Chocolate. Lots of it. It is no wonder that I still am wearing all my maternity clothes but if I keep eating such giant quantities of chocolate, I will be wearing these clothes for the next year.
3. Which reminds me.... maternity clothes. I love the pants and skirts that just have a strip of elastic all around the top. They fit my non-pregnant belly just fine. And the tops... I'm wearing more maternity tops now than I did while pregnant. I need something big and roomy to make nursing easier and to hide my tummy. Plus my regular tops are still much too tight (what happened to all my long shirts? They now ride up around my belly button? Surely they must have shrunk while I was pregnant). Regular tops also don't have enough designs on them to hide milk leakage.
4. Candles. Specifally scented beeswax candles that I can get at PCC. I love the way these candles smell and when I'm feeling a bit out of sorts, lighting a candle can instantly bring peace. I keep one forever in baby's room.
5. Summer. Yes, I'll admit it. I'm loving having a baby in the summer. Sitting on the patio drinking my coffee, staying out late enjoying the sun, sitting in the shade watching my boys play
6. Books. When you spend hours and hours holding a baby, nursing a baby, and lying down next to a baby, a book is a treasured friend.
7. Speaking of friends... only a woman who has had a baby can know exactly what a post-partum mom needs. Those friends who always bring me a glass of water when I don't even ask for it, those friends that call to ask how I am doing, those friends that keep me company while I hold baby.... they are priceless.
8. Walks
9. Doing everyday things - like shopping, sitting together as a family, going out places. It sounds crazy, but it makes me feel normal.
10. Food you can eat one-handed (like chocolate, naturally)
11. The company of NPR when nursing in the middle of the night
12. The calmness of my husband when I'm feeling tense. The way he can parade around in that baby bjorn with baby snuggly inside, show her around the house, talk non-stop to her, and generally care for her while I can take a shower or do whatever else I need to do while baby-free.