Some Firsts

Well, the last couple of days have included some good firsts for me and my ileostomy:

*We ventured out to the grocery store. It was a short trip and my husband handled all of the cart pushing, grocery hauling, and baby wrangling. I mostly just had to point to stuff I wanted and try to keep up with his fast walking. We weren't there long, but I needed a nap when we got home. Interesting tidbit: I felt really paranoid about people running into me. I think it was more about the incision than worrying about someone bumping the ostomy or something. I am really skittish about falling or getting bumped and injuring the incision for some reason. I guess I just feel vulnerable with my Franken-zipper belly right now.

*I also popped into the library. Right now I'm wearing mostly workout type clothes so I don't have restricting stuff around my waist (again, incision related). I was really happy though to not feel self-conscious. I didn't once find myself wondering if anyone could tell I was wearing the pouch or anything like that. Happy!

*I put in a 20 minute slow and easy walk on our treadmill. This is big news because it means a return to a bit of exercise. I had to go really slow, but I felt great. I hope to do more today.

*I *finally* took a shower. It was heavenly. I've been doing all sponge bath type stuff since surgery, and it just felt awesome to get in there and let that hot water run over me. Despite my fears, my pouch didn't fall off or anything crazy like that. I did learn that you have to take a blow dryer and dry the fabric on the back or it will get your underwear and pants all soggy! :-)

I think that's all. It's been a busy couple of days, but I'm still finding plenty of time for resting and napping and all that good stuff that helps one recover. My weight has stabilized, so I feel like I'm able to get enough food now. I am actually planning to return to Weight Watchers on Tuesday and start my tracking back up. I think it will be nice to get that normalcy and routine back in place. Life is slowly coming back together.