2007- The Best Year E-V-A

Emma is born, and we win the World Series, with Lowell as MVP. Ah, bliss.

Baby E's One-Month Check-up....

Apparently, we're still doing well. E has gained almost another pound- 9 lb.s 5 oz. and is now over 22" tall. Her diaper rash is minor, and totally not our fault. Newborns just poop all the time and it's impossible to keep them perfectly clean. Her gas is also normal, although, I'm going to start avoiding more of the foods that couple be the problem. She appears to be developing perfectly, has good head control, and the doc thinks she'll start smiling in the next month. YAHOO. I can't wait for that moment.

And P.S. We're up 2-0 in the World Series! Go Sox!

Today is a very good day.

It's October.
Emma let me sleep 8 (non-consecutive) hours last night.
John Williams is conducting the National Anthem.
Beckett is hot stuff on the mound.
We're leading the World Series 1-0.
Even Lugo and Drew are pulling their weight.
Since losing Judas Damon, I have a new Sox Crush.
I heart Mike Lowell.
Oh, and Manny doesn't know what day it is....

I love Autumn.

Happy Duedate, E!

E is 4-weeks old today, and we've officially hit her duedate. She's getting so big, and learning so much. She's really looking at us now, and may be getting ready to start smiling.

She's also hungry ALL the time. Other than that.... we're all as happy as can be.

Let's just forget about math altogether.....

So, I just saw a commercial for the new "Electronic Banking" version of Monopoly. It's supposed to be modernized to reflect today's cashless system, and allows for huge amounts of money to be used in transaction. In fact, each player starts with $15 Million. However, does anyone even pause to think that this takes away from kids (and adults for that matter) having to do the math of the simple transactions in their head. Working with "cash" also teaches players the value of money in a way that credit just doesn't. This makes me sad. We're now raising a generation of children that will not be able to function without the assistance of a calculator. I, for one, will be holding on to my ORIGINAL edition Monopoly, so Emma can learn to add and subtract in her head. She's also going to play Scrabble as soon as she can spell.

The 5.5 is from the Russian Judge.

So, my mother-in-law just left after coming to visit and meet E. It was wonderful to have her here, and she was a big help in a lot of ways- paying for stuff, helping with dinners and dishes... but my hormones were playing mean tricks on me.

All weekend, while I was in the nursing chair constantly.... (she's on a feed or fuss every two hours and only calm down for mom kick) and Hubby and MIL were on the sofa, I kept feeling as though I was performing an unknown sport in front of a panel of judges. I hate Baby Blues.

On a positive note. My baby is still the cutest thing ever- and she loves leaving the house, which is really good news for me. We took her out to the grocery store, and out for a walk to the nearby park this weekend. She loves being in her carrier and stroller, and behaved like an angel. This means that as soon as the weather warms up again (it's cold and cloudy today), she and I are going for walks every day. I'm ready to lose the last of this pooch.

Currently, my little angel is trying to pass some gas while asleep in her bouncy seat. We just finished lunch, so maybe we can both catch a nap soon. Naps make everything better.

And in this corner....

The heavyweight champ of SoCal..... Baby E!

Went by the Doc's office today because I thought E might have a cold. She doesn't, but she is carrying an additional 1.5 lbs. She hit 8 lbs on her 3 week birthday. Yahoo. This means we can chill in the BabyBjorn and sleep without waking her for feeding in the middle of the night.

I may feel like a milk-cow, but at least I'm a potent one.

Pup's Second Week Highlights

1. Baby poop has remarkable range. This particular explosion left Hubby standing over the sink, holding our nekid baby, proclaiming, "My daughter just [pooped] in my hand." I sat on the bed, leaked milk and laughed. Hard. But then the same thing happened to me the next day.



2. I'd say she's filling out just a little bit. We call this the sumo-baby picture. "Give me milk. Rawr!"


3. Reading to babies is good. So far it's been Erik Larson from Daddy, and Jenny McCarthy from mom, but it puts her right to sleep, and I like to think that, and the classical music we play during quiet times is have some positive effect on her rapidly growing grey matter.


4. The cats are both happier now that I'm not pregnant. The Romeo has even stopped peeing outside his box. Now that he can sleep on my belly again, he's a happy boy. He's even been so brave as to get close enough to sniff our little one.


5. This is cuteness to the extreme. She may be mostly a bit of a "blob" to quote Jenny McCarthy, but already she's spending more time awake, she's looking right at us, and starting to check out the world...... smiles are on the way, I just KNOW it. But in the meantime, she's still the cutest, best thing in the history of history.

MOOOOOOOOOOOO!

So, um, this whole breastfeeding thing isn't easy. Not at all. They make look fabulous, but the first two weeks have been excruciatingly painful, not to mention frustrating, AND expensive. You think you save money by doing it this way, but not so much when you send your husband out every 10 minutes to buy another "sore nipple" product at Babies R Us. I've got Guards, whichkeep fabric, etc off the nipple to prevent chafing and to keep it dry if you leak (which you do), as well as lanolin cream, and soothing gel pads. And today, I paid $100 to have a sweet little Kiwi woman come over, grab my boobs and try and teach me how to do it better. It's a tough row to hoe- the process of feeding and diapering her takes at least 45 min, usually, closer to an hour or hour and a half, and we have to repeat this dance every three hours.

In between bouts of crying in pain and frustration, I'm trying to keep my sense of humor. I mean, how can you not when a stranger is fondling you, trying to get your boob in your baby's mouth, and instead it squirts her in the face. HA!

All in all, I currently feel a little more like a barnyard animal being used for its goods more than a wife and mommy, but I'm dealing. Baby E is thriving, and that's what matters. And the weight loss helps. A lot. I'm trying not to think about the fact that the Lactation Consultant said I should only be losing a pound a month. Oops. I'll slow down to that rate as soon as I hit the same weight as hubby, who is currently still 10 lbs below my current weight. Not that this fact makes me feel like a heifer or anything....... Like I said..... MOOOOOO!

Happy Belly Button Day!

Tonight at 10:20 p.m., E's creepy umbilical stump fell off, leaving what I'm sure will end up being a very cute belly button. Yay for nothing on my baby being creepy!!!!

One Week at Home.....

So, one week out of the hospital, I’d like to say that I’m pretty alright at this parenting thing. Hubby is amazing. E is a champ, and we’re all working together to make this thing work.

She is feeding, sleeping and pooping exactly as she should. I never thought I’d care so much about another human’s feces, but there you have it. The day it turned colors like it was supposed to, it was a cause for celebration. It’s also a great sign that I am not yet a failure at the whole breastfeeding thing. For anyone thinking about attempting this feat- think about how far you made it in labor before begging for the epidural. If you made it halfway, or had the epi turned off prior to birth, then you can attempt it. If you rolled into the hospital at 1 cm and mild contractions and begging for the drugs, you may want to think again. Next to labor, this pain is the most mind-numbing and toe-curling I’ve ever experienced. However, it’s best for the Pup and that’s good enough for me. You also have to be prepared for your baby to make this horrible face when offered a boob.

Other than that, we’re settling into a rhythm, and really enjoying being a family. We did the first sponge bath, mostly to fix up her totally hot hair. We've finally gotten everything organized. And I've already lost 19 of the 26 lbs. I gained. If this keeps up, by the time I quit feeding E, I'll be at my goal weight rather than my prepregnancy weight. Yahoo!

I’m going to be so depressed when Hubby goes back to work. Why can’t we be independently wealthy so he can stay home for a long, long time? To make myself feel better about this issue- that’s not going to be an issue for at least another week… I went on a bit of a retail binge this evening- spending the gift cards we had left. That’s always fun. Pottery Barn kids has lots of cute holiday décor- I got a little something for Halloween, a little something for Thanksgiving, and a little something for Christmas. Emma is the perfect excuse to go crazy for every holiday

She's so teeny and amazing.

Life is so good....

I'm feeling better, my baby is better, we're going home, and I get to spend the rest of my life loving this.

Not Going Home Yet....

Thought we'd be going home this a.m., but unfortunately, baby E was a little early, has a severe cae of jaundice, and needs to finish toasting up in her little EasyBake Oven. Doesn't she look fetching in her goggles. The good news is that I was finally moved to a private room.

I'm very intimidated by this whole motherhood thing. I want so badly to take good care of E. She's already too smart for her own good, and has learned to remove her little goggles and roll off of her glo-blanket. Recovery is still pretty tough.

The bad news is that I had a major meltdown at the nurses station at 3 a.m. last night. Just so tires, and feeling like I wasn't giving E what she needed, and to top it all off - she invented a new cry.... high pitched, and hoarse, and almost inaudible. It completely breaks my heart.

Emma's Birth Story- the Unabridged Volume

Sept. 19, 2007, 2:30 a.m. - Woke up with what I assumed were gas cramps. Except they were happening pretty regularly - at first 1/2 an hour, then 15 min. I also started feeling very "leaky"- never quite making it to the bathroom, which I thought couple have been my waters breaking. By 4 a.m., I was not able to get comfortable between the cramps, and was pacing the living room reading as many versions as I could find of the differences between false and real labor. When Hubby's alarm went off at 6, I interrupted his tooth brushing to tell him that he was not going to work, but taking me to the hospital.... as soon as possible. The pain, by this point was so bad and close together (Between 5 and 7 minutes and lasting over a minute each) that I didn't care if they told me I was just consipated and incontinent. I just wanted to be seen by a doctor.

When we arrived at the hospital, the security guard who approached to let us know that we had to use the new, far away entrance took one look at me and jogged off for a wheelchair. We then spent 15 minutes in registration, despite being preregistered, before FINALLY getting to Labor and Delivery and strapped into the monitors. Contractions were coming at 4 minutes (photo is of me mid-contraction). Luckily, Dr. Hannah answered her page quickly and arrived shortly thereafter to check me for dialation and membrane rupture. She attempted to break my water, since I wasn't sure. Let me tell you, this isn't a gentle or delicate procedure. YOW! She also determined that I was at 4 cm dialated. She couldn't remember the last time a patient made it to 4 cm at home and told me that I was super-tough. I promptly requested my epidural. The anesthesiologist was AWESOME, and within 10 minutes, I wouldn't have been able to tell I was in labor, were it not for the fact that I was strapped down to a bed by an IV, heart rate monitor, fetal heart rate monitor, contraction monitor, amniotic fluid re-filler, catheter, epidural.... and possibly another few gadgets... I stopped counting. The nurse checked me a short while later and I had progressed to 6 cm. She estimated at that point, that we'd be having a baby shortly after the lunch hour.

It then became a game of hurry up and wait- until it was time to push. Unfortunately, this good time was cut short by the fact that Baby Girl's heartrate began to drop. They started pushing more fluids into the uterus, to help float her off her cord if that was the problem, and moving me from side to side. They also put me on oxygen. When that wasn't working as well as they'd like, they paged the doc again. Minutes later Dr. Robert - my primary ob, and Dr. Hannah's Hubby, arrived and said that since I was progressing so fast, we should try to push out the baby rather than go for major surgery. Still, he had the nurses check for an OR. I was at 8 cm, at this point so he didn't think it would be long. 20 minutes and a couple of heartrate dips later, I was at 10 cm, and he nonchalantly put on his scrubs and told Hubby to grab a leg. We were both taken aback at how quickly the moment had arrived. At this point, they also turned off the epidural, so I could feel things better, and push her out more quickly.

Pushing wasn't exactly fun, and got more an more painful at all times, but Baby Girl was headed for trouble, so I had to get her out quick. At 45 minutes of pushing, I hit the was and didn't think I was going to be able to do it. It hurt so badly, and I was so tired. Thank goodness for nurses. One of my nurses talked me through the pain, let me cry a little and got me ready for the next push. Not long after, out popped our baby girl. All three of us cried. As she emerged- which looked like the doctor trying to a salmon at Pike Place Market, I was overwhelmed by that parenting instinct to count the little pink toes (all I could see). Due to her technical prematurity (she was born at exactly 36 weeks), she had to be whisked away by the NICU staff to be checked for breathing. I could only hear her cry and listen to everyone tell me how gorgeous she was while the doctor fixed me up. They put her on my chest soon enough, though, and despite a seriously gnarly looking head, being covered in womb-cheese, and medical eye goop, she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

Emma is here!

Emma Kate
September 19, 2007
1:12 PM
6 lbs, 8 oz, 18.75 in


More details to come, when mom gets some sleep!

Muggleblog- At Long Last

Hubby has finally finished reading Deathly Hallows, and I've had time to digest my feelings on the book, so I think it's time to post a blog entry on the subject. There are some spoilers here, so if you haven't finished it, or don't want to know, skip this blog entry.

Let me start by saying that I love the Harry Potter series. I love the universe that J.K. Rowling has created, and all in all, I loved this book. I had big problems with it, but it was mostly a very appropriate ending for a great story.

Now the bad: I had a big problem with the deaths of Lupin and Tonks. I understand the choice to kill off their characters, particularly after they had just found love, and had a child. That is the cruelty of war. It's a paralell to Harry's own character. However, to do it so unceremoniously, was tragic. I felt they deserved better. Hubby and I both also feel that Rowling gave herself a few too many outs. This book suffered from what some of the other had, which is a lack of action (not a lack of story, or richness, or information, but simply a lack of action) in most of the book, leaving 200 pages at the end to pack in all the most important action. For this book, it left many many horcruxes to be destroyed in a short amount of time. In order to do that, things became a little too convenient for our heroes. Wanna destroy a locket, the sword will just show up. We gotta get rid of the diadem, let's create FiendFire. That'll do it. That bothered us both, along with the first 500 pages of camping in different locations while not finding or destroying anything.

Now that I have that out of my system, I loved, LOVED the richness that the characters developed in this book, particularly the characters of Snape and Dumbledore. Until this point, most of the characters in the series had either been good or bad, plain and simply, with the notable exception of Snape.... With him, we could never tell.

Having a shadow of doubt cast on Dumbledore was great for me. It made him fallable. Human. Real. While this is a magical universe, the ties to reality are wonderful. He was still a great man. But having been tried by the bad in his life is probably what made him that way.

As for Snape, the end of his story really choked me up. He was still a nasty piece of work. He never cared for Harry. Not one bit. However, the love he once felt, tied him to the good in the world. He was lonely, and power hungry, and willing to do almost anything to get what he wanted- just like Voldy, but he had the ability to love, even if unrequited. And it was the love for that woman that made him the second biggest hero of the books in my opinion. I heart Severus Snape. And I can't WAIT to see what Alan Rickman does with it in the next two films.

Viva Harry Potter! I can't wait until baby girl is old enough to start reading the books.

59th Annual Emmy Awards

Ummmm.... I thought they sucked. Ryan Seacrest was not the right host for this type of event, and was wearing what appeared to be a patent leather tie. I really disliked the "Theater in the Round" feel- everyone looked uncomfortable. The writing was TERRIBLE, and all in all the fashion was boring. Most everyone looked good, although, Vanessa Williams needs to learn that Green Feathers are almost always the wrong answer. My good friends Say and TK didn't have much to say. Maybe Oscar night will be more exciting this year...

Quote of the Day/Pregnancy Update Weeks 33 and 34

Made me laugh so hard I might have peed my pants a little. Says Hubby while gazing upon my 84 months pregnant visage... complete with unzipped maternity pants and a t-shirt that creeping up to my chest.....

"Jesus. Your navel looks like a bullet wound."

He's very concerned that the stretch marks hurt. They don't. They're just scary looking. All in all though, I'm really not that huge. She's a little overwhelming from the side, but I haven't gained a lot of width, and in all truth, the safe money was on my ass expanding to about four times it's size. That didn't happen.

As for the last two weeks of the pregnancy, they've been interesting. Week 33 was a good one, with only 1 dose of medicine. Then, last Friday, it hit. Our friend K was in town, and my shower was the next morning. I woke up at midnight in a state of hurtin. I then proceeded to puke violently every 1/2 an hour until 9 a.m., with one last round at 11:45 (5 minutes before I had to leave for my baby shower). The doc said as long as I could keep some liquid down and the baby was moving that I'd be fine. Unfortunately, I wasn't the most energetic at my baby shower, but still had a great time. The Cuz made it a beautiful party, and I've got some great group of friends that spoiled me rotten. I slept from the moment I got home til about noon the next morning- only rousing when Hubby made me drink an ounce or two of Gatorade or sip some soup. I had pretty much recovered by Monday a.m., in time to be left alone for another week of 90210 reruns, crossword puzzles, and general staring at the walls.

Since that time, I've had one more day where I needed a dose of meds, and had to skip childbirth class. Then, the Grandma decided she had something better to do, and half the family got the black lung, so my family shower, scheduled for tomorrow, was cancelled. No biggie. Instead, Hubby and I are staging a siege. Babies R Us won't know what hit 'em. Every day that goes by, I realize that Baby Girl could be here at any moment. After an incredibly generous gift basket arrived from Hubby's office, we have more than half the credit we need to get all our gear. Hubby stopped today to get the final linens for the Nursery, and to order my superhot diaperbag. By Sunday evening, we will be ready gear and room-wise for her arrival. I'm sure I'll post about the siege, the set-up, and all the fun we're going to have doing it.

Can we prepare mentally or emotionally? I really think not.

The coolest new TV show....

Okay, so I'm a year late. However, when Heroes came out on DVD, Hubby Netflixed the first disc to see if I would get into it. By the next morning, we were at Best Buy, buying the season. This is the greatest show since Grey's Anatomy. I'm equally thrilled - to have something that Hubby and I are both so into. He gets so excited when I get into anything even remotely Sci-Fi- and horrified - because I need another television appointment like I need a fat hole in my head. Still. The stories are great, the characters are great, and I CANNOT wait for the premiere in 2 weeks. It gets 4 out of 4 Spuds in my TV Reviewing Pantheon. Here's hoping that Season 2 can live up to it.