plus three months, minus one organ

Well, I let this Draft sit unpublished for three months. It was ready to go, but within a week of writing it I was in the ER. I just hit Publish now. Why not? I have sooooooooo many thoughts and feelings on the Before trilogy.

I started feeling like myself post-birth in February, and throughout March I truly felt like I was recovered … at least bodily. I walked 10,000 steps 14 times in March 2025. I had big plans for using gym equipment and getting back into cooking healthy meals every week.

And then my body started feeling bad. Then worse. That April blog post reveals a little in hindsight. I went April Unplugged because I felt an overwhelming amount of anxiety, which I believed to be caused by hormone fluctuations. And then that became insomnia. And panic. And the heartburn that had gotten catastrophically bad somehow got worse, and my right rib never stopped throbbing.

Long story short: I had to have my gallbladder out. Womp womp! It was a Medieval diagnosis—too much bile, humors out of whack. I am told this is a common issue after birth, but I’d never heard of this happening until it happened to me.

I did seek standard medical care, but it still struck me as Aristotelian Medicine. Or, I both did everything my Western Medicine Doctors advised me to do, and I also started following more traditional gastronomic practice, because sometimes they overlapped. I still eat five small, low-fat meals a day. I sit upright for three hours after my last food of the day, before bedtime. I stopped drinking ice water and only drink warm or hot water. Warm or hot water, plain. I’ve had exactly three cups of herbal tea in the past ten weeks, and they felt magical.

I find it hard to complain about this new regimen, though, because it involves farmers market trips, juicy berries, crunchy greens, 4 oz of fish with dinner, whole wheat bread, brown rice, small amounts of olive oil, 2% cottage cheese and yogurt … Things I do enjoy. And the things I know my diet really should consist of. BUT WHY DO ESPRESSO AND PASTRIES TASTE SO GOOD? And why is it so delightful to take a morning nap in the sun even though I just drank an acidic coffee!?

But also: Every single habit and priority I had pre-baby is not the same post-baby. Maybe this was the ideal time to clean up my eating.

In reality: Ideals don’t matter. My body gave me no choice. I spent six weeks desperate to feel better and changing my habits but not really feeling better. Then surgery. Then a recovery process that I am told is gentle compared to other surgeries, but after 72 hours of Jell-o and broth I was weak, depressed, and impatient.

In June I went back to work; I am fortunate that I was able to delay my return for five weeks. Hoo boy, I took a 6-month Parental Leave. Like I’m half a European over here!

The bustle of working in community programming, of jumping back in for summer camps and community gardens, has been healing for me. I eat the same foods for my five little meals, mostly, but they expand a little bit every week.

A big milestone has been actually cooking. Like, heating a tablespoon of olive oil and sautéing veggies.

I actually BAKED a very wholesome blueberry-bran muffin recipe and have been enjoying the results this week.

This is “pie” to me now: a very ripe yellow peach from the farmers market, half a cup of lowfat pudding, and one single graham cracker.

Honestly, it is ambrosia to me.

Spring-into-Early-Summer has meant:

Took my baby to a plant sale, got native pollinator plants, watched my frontyard patch go wild:

We played a boardgame! We are still counting Firsts Since Baby:

My household CANNOT GET ENOUGH PUZZLES! We went on a Jeopardy! kick when I was a week overdue with baby. We do crosswords on paper and on apps. We unscramble. We dig a cryptogram.

We hosted at home. Easter! Mother’s Day!

A milestone birthday for my spouse! Father’s Day!

A Big July Birthday Bash is coming next.

We got babysitting help and made it to a movie! In theatres! (The First Time Since Baby Arrived milestones continue to pop up.)

Watching my backyard come alive:

This turtle was just chilling in my neighborhood:

The biggest news of the day is always what Baby is up to. CRAWLING! Early! Already trying to stand. And being a champ with solid foods. I mushed up farmers market peas for him, his first Green Thing.