InLiteralLife June 2021: What I bought, watched, & thought about

Soooo, I had a baby. In June. Which blew my mind. My due date was July 18th, so my brain just never really processed that I could have my baby in June, but sure enough she surprised us came into this world a month early. My amniotic fluid started leaking on the very last day of work for teachers, June 21st, and so I was admitted to the hospital that night to induce labor. The next day, our baby girl was born.

Say hello to Ariadne Helen! We are so absolutely in love with her. I really think she was just like, “school’s out, sun’s out, Ari’s out!”

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When I was 29 weeks pregnant, my perinatologist discovered that Ariadne had a blockage in her small bowel and it was likely that she would need surgery when she was born. Even though we knew that in advance, it was still extremely hard to have our baby taken to the NICU a few hours after she was born. Two days later, she had surgery to fix everything, and she has been healing in the NICU ever since. The surgery went super well, but it takes time to heal from something like this. The last three weeks have been heartbreaking, but we are so proud of our baby girl who is so strong and fighting to get better and come home. A few days ago, they finally starting feeding her my breastmilk (before she got nutrients through a central line IV), so she is making some awesome progress!!

What I Bought

In June I picked up some summer dresses that would work for postpartum as well as a few things for the baby. I am really excited about using the diaper bag backpack! I got it on an Amazon lightening deal and it has amazing reviews. I think the husband will like it as well since it is such a neutral color. I also snagged some adorable little socks for our baby girl. After Ariadne was born and I started pumping, I soon realized that I hate, like really hate, the disposable nursing pads. To be blunt, they leave my nipples raw. I have super sensitive skin, so the soft, reusable pads are so much better for me (and better for the environment too).

Gauzy dress/ beach cover up (comes in several colors and runs big) | Easy tank dress (several colors, true to size) | Maternity/ nursing Jumpsuit (can’t tell this is maternity at all) | Sweater tank (three colors) | Button up midi dress (true to size) | Diaper Bag Backpack | Nursing Tank | Puff Sleeve Babydoll Dress (I did not size down as this has no stretch and is meant to be “tenty” | High Neck Swing Maxi (true to size) | Baby socks #1 | Baby socks #2 | Reusable Nursing Pads | Knit Peplum Dress (several colors, true to size)

What I Watched

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• “Fauda” on Netflix: I wrote about this show last month, but we finally finished the series, which has three seasons. If you like action thrillers and don’t mind subtitles, I would definitely recommend this show. It was very similar to shows like “Jack Ryan” or the Jason Bourne movies. It definitely had me thinking more about the real life conflict between Israel and Palestine that unfortunately has continued for so many years.
• “Raya” on Disney+: We liked “Raya,” but it was certainly not our favorite Disney film. The animation was beautiful and it was so good to see Southeast Asian representation in a movie, but I didn’t feel any strong emotions about the characters or the plot.
• “Luca” on Disney+: I felt about the same about “Luca” as I did “Raya.” It made me miss Italy and I thought the animation was superb, but I didn’t feel any strong emotions. I was definitely entertained though!
• “Fatherhood” on Netflix: This movie needs a trigger warning. Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT watch this movie if you are pregnant. I made that mistake and man, there were way too many emotions happening in the first 15 minutes of this movie. That being said, it was superb! Like my husband and I loved it and we thought Kevin Hart did a phenomenal job in the role. Definitely watch this.
• “In the Heights”: on HBOMax: Listen, I love musicals. I have seen my favorites countless times. I also love Lin-Manuel Miranda and I have seen “Hamilton” more times than I can count (twice live and a million times on Disney +). So I had BIG expectations for “In the Heights” and I was so disappointed. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I was just not super into it. I didn’t fall in love with any of the characters and the music was just okay to me. I also felt that the lack of representation for Afro-Latinos, especially in a neighborhood that is primarily black Hispanics, was a major issue that was hard to get past.

Cheers!

xx,

Camile