I am having one of those days. You know the ones. Where all day long you are seconds from pulling all your hair out by the roots, and then banging your newly-bald head against the nearest wall while chanting "why me? why me? why me?". Yep, that's me. None of the things that are making me crazy are bad on their own...but pile them all together on top of me at once, and they are suffocating.
Why is it that little Minis insist on waking up extra early to practice new skills - like standing up in their cribs? Why is it that bleary-eyed Mommies don't notice that the crib mattress is now entirely too high for standing Minis...until they go to put the Minis down for morning naps? Why is it that sweet, helpful husbands always have meetings on the mornings bleary-eyed Mommies have to lower the crib mattresses, thus leaving the Mommies to attempt this feat while cranky, tired Minis who woke up too early are screaming their tiny brains out in nearby Exersaucers?
Why do overtired Minis insist on only taking 45 minute morning naps on days that Mommies need to look especially cute because they're going to get their passport picture taken - and will have to look at it for 10 years? Why do Mommies think anyone else cares what they look like in their passport pictures? Why do Mommies insist on putting on cute(ish) tops that only make them try to suck in their Mommy-tummies all day long? Why do little Minis insist on wiping their crumby (not crummy) hands all over their Mommies cute(ish) tops before she's even had her passport photo taken?
Why does all of this happen before lunchtime??
Why do Mommies with too many tasks to accomplish and not enough hours in the day think they have time to blog?
Some time in the next decade, if you see my passport, you won't have to ask why I'm bald with a bump on my head and wearing a dumpy sweater. It will all make perfect sense.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
And they're off...
Take a deep breath, folks...
Kevin and I are off...out, gone, see ya, sayonara...or should I say hasta la vista. Tomorrow, we are lovingly dumping our baby off with the grandparents and we are heading to Cabo. For 5 blissful days we are going to sleep late, act silly, drink a few too many margaritas and eat way too much guacamole. I'm going to stick my feet in the sand, my nose in a book, and no one will hear from me until Monday. I don't want to drink anything unless it has a paper umbrella in it...and that includes my morning coffee. For 5 - count them, 1,2,3,4,5 - days I will have my arms all to myself. My day will not revolve around naps, meals, bottles, more naps, Cheerios, sippy cups, silly songs, rattles, poop, strollers, or drool. I will be a certified adult, doing adult things, having adult conversations about adult topics with other adults.
I am so excited I'm giddy.
Ok, yes, I will probably miss the Mini. In fact, I will probably miss the Mini more than I realize. I mean, good grief, I haven't spent a night away from him since he was born 9 months ago. Heck, I've never spent more than a couple of hours away from him. But, trust me...the kid will hardly know I'm gone. He's going to be living the sweet life with the grandparents...staying up late, eating junk food, watching late night TV. While I am living the sweet life laying in the sun, wearing a sombrero, eating chips and salsa, and sleeping like I did before the Mini came along.
So wave good-bye, we are all off for a vacation. And I feel quite certain that 5 short days - and a few margaritas - will go a long way to making me a better wife and Mommy.
Kevin and I are off...out, gone, see ya, sayonara...or should I say hasta la vista. Tomorrow, we are lovingly dumping our baby off with the grandparents and we are heading to Cabo. For 5 blissful days we are going to sleep late, act silly, drink a few too many margaritas and eat way too much guacamole. I'm going to stick my feet in the sand, my nose in a book, and no one will hear from me until Monday. I don't want to drink anything unless it has a paper umbrella in it...and that includes my morning coffee. For 5 - count them, 1,2,3,4,5 - days I will have my arms all to myself. My day will not revolve around naps, meals, bottles, more naps, Cheerios, sippy cups, silly songs, rattles, poop, strollers, or drool. I will be a certified adult, doing adult things, having adult conversations about adult topics with other adults.
I am so excited I'm giddy.
Ok, yes, I will probably miss the Mini. In fact, I will probably miss the Mini more than I realize. I mean, good grief, I haven't spent a night away from him since he was born 9 months ago. Heck, I've never spent more than a couple of hours away from him. But, trust me...the kid will hardly know I'm gone. He's going to be living the sweet life with the grandparents...staying up late, eating junk food, watching late night TV. While I am living the sweet life laying in the sun, wearing a sombrero, eating chips and salsa, and sleeping like I did before the Mini came along.
So wave good-bye, we are all off for a vacation. And I feel quite certain that 5 short days - and a few margaritas - will go a long way to making me a better wife and Mommy.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Back off my kid!
If you've seen photos of my child, you know that he is quite a guy. We laugh about him being a "chunky monkey", and this was well before his Halloween costume. Yes, he is on the upper end of the scale when it comes to those "all-important" baby percentages. And there is not a day that goes by that someone - typically some random stranger - doesn't comment on how big he is:
Truly, it's enough to give Mommy a serious complex.
So, I was in a children's clothing store yesterday waiting in line to purchase a winter hat for Cameron, and another mother says to me, "He sure is a big kid, isn't he?"
Really, how am I supposed to respond to that?
Other mother: "Wow, he's like in the 100th percentile, isn't he?"
Me: "Um...well, yes, he is in a higher percentage."
OM: "What is he, like 4 months old?"
Me: (huh?!?) "No, he's 9 months old."
OM: "Oh...huh. Well, (here it comes) how much does he weigh?"
Me: "I don't know...20-21 pounds."
OM: "Oh. My daughter is 8 months old."
Me: "Really? And how much does she weigh?"
OM: "Um...16 pounds." I think at this point she's starting to realize she's being a bit rude. "I just meant he looked really tall for his age."
Me: "Uh huh."
Look, sister, back up off my kid. He could pancake your 16 pound pipsqueak without even breaking a sweat.
Come on, mothers of the world! We need to stick together here. We all know what it's like to have perfect strangers ask us all kinds of inappropriate questions! As soon as you get pregnant, suddenly you're fair game:
"Wow! He's a big guy! How old is he?"
"Well, he's certainly a good eater, huh?"
"Ooh, you're a big boy, aren't you?"
"Is he crawling yet? Well he'll thin out when he gets more active."
"You need to get that kid on a running program." (From a college friend upon meeting Cameron.)
And the ever-popular, always inappropriate,
"How much does he weigh?"
"Well, he's certainly a good eater, huh?"
"Ooh, you're a big boy, aren't you?"
"Is he crawling yet? Well he'll thin out when he gets more active."
"You need to get that kid on a running program." (From a college friend upon meeting Cameron.)
And the ever-popular, always inappropriate,
"How much does he weigh?"
Truly, it's enough to give Mommy a serious complex.
So, I was in a children's clothing store yesterday waiting in line to purchase a winter hat for Cameron, and another mother says to me, "He sure is a big kid, isn't he?"
Really, how am I supposed to respond to that?
Other mother: "Wow, he's like in the 100th percentile, isn't he?"
Me: "Um...well, yes, he is in a higher percentage."
OM: "What is he, like 4 months old?"
Me: (huh?!?) "No, he's 9 months old."
OM: "Oh...huh. Well, (here it comes) how much does he weigh?"
Me: "I don't know...20-21 pounds."
OM: "Oh. My daughter is 8 months old."
Me: "Really? And how much does she weigh?"
OM: "Um...16 pounds." I think at this point she's starting to realize she's being a bit rude. "I just meant he looked really tall for his age."
Me: "Uh huh."
Look, sister, back up off my kid. He could pancake your 16 pound pipsqueak without even breaking a sweat.
Come on, mothers of the world! We need to stick together here. We all know what it's like to have perfect strangers ask us all kinds of inappropriate questions! As soon as you get pregnant, suddenly you're fair game:
"How much weight have you gained?"
"Are you going to breastfeed? For how long?"
"Are you going to co-sleep?"
"You're using disposable diapers?"
Is any of this anyone's business but those with whom I choose to share it? This is between me, my husband, and my OB/GYN.
"Are you going to breastfeed? For how long?"
"Are you going to co-sleep?"
"You're using disposable diapers?"
Is any of this anyone's business but those with whom I choose to share it? This is between me, my husband, and my OB/GYN.
And it just keeps going from there. Motherhood...the great barrier breaker. Suddenly any topic is fair game, whether you know the person or not. So, come on moms...when you see another harried mother just trying to buy her baby boy a dang winter hat, think twice before you smugly express your astonishment about how big her sweet baby is and asking what percentile he's in. Hey, she may not thank you...but at least she won't write about you later on her blog.
Monday, October 13, 2008
MIA
Clearly life as I know it does not include blogging. Disgraceful, I know. And even more pathetic when I realize that all of my friends with multiple children blog regularly...and here I am with one little Mini, and I haven't posted anything since July. And even that was mostly a cop out. You'd think with 2-3 naps a day and a 6:30pm bedtime I could sit down and write something.
So here's something.
Life is rolling right along at a pretty regular pace. Cameron will be 9 months old this week. Really?? He's army crawling his way around the house. I've threatened to strap a Swiffer cloth to his chest so he can clean my floors. Yeah, start earning your keep, kid. The bad part is when he finds dust bunnies, and tries to eat them. Yech... Speaking of eating, he now simply tolerates his baby food. What he really wants is Cheerios, cheese toast, bananas, Gerber Puffs...basically anything he can eat on his own. It's amazing how many Cheerios this little man can pack in his mouth.
Kevin is all done with his MBA...hallelujah!! He finished in August, and is now home every single night. No more class until 9pm. It's wonderful. And, since Cameron goes to sleep every night by 6:30pm, we have our nights to ourselves.
Me, I'm picking up more hours as a personal assistant, and generally figuring out how to juggle the 7 million things I want/need to accomplish each day. I find it rather astounding that I can run around like a crazy person all day, then collapse on the couch at 6:31pm and feel like I have completed nothing. And again, with only one child. How do you people do it? There are definitely moments when I think, yeah, one kiddo is plenty. We're at this great stage where he sleeps 12-13 hours a night, can often entertain himself for short stretches, takes great naps, is happy and fun and pretty hilarious...why do I want to go screw all that up by having another baby?? Plus, since there's simply no way I could even consider loving another kid as much as I love Cameron, wouldn't that just be cruel?
Ok, ok...I know...all you veteren moms out there will assure me that you do love your subsequent children (almost) as much as you love your first. And I believe you...really. Sometimes it's just hard to imagine.
Anyway, that's us in a nutshell...a quick little catch up. We a currently enjoying a lazy Sunday, and are looking forward to dressing Cameron up in his Halloween costume for the Fall Festival at church this afternoon. Oh yeah, pictures will be forthcoming.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful autumn weekend!
So here's something.
Life is rolling right along at a pretty regular pace. Cameron will be 9 months old this week. Really?? He's army crawling his way around the house. I've threatened to strap a Swiffer cloth to his chest so he can clean my floors. Yeah, start earning your keep, kid. The bad part is when he finds dust bunnies, and tries to eat them. Yech... Speaking of eating, he now simply tolerates his baby food. What he really wants is Cheerios, cheese toast, bananas, Gerber Puffs...basically anything he can eat on his own. It's amazing how many Cheerios this little man can pack in his mouth.
Kevin is all done with his MBA...hallelujah!! He finished in August, and is now home every single night. No more class until 9pm. It's wonderful. And, since Cameron goes to sleep every night by 6:30pm, we have our nights to ourselves.
Me, I'm picking up more hours as a personal assistant, and generally figuring out how to juggle the 7 million things I want/need to accomplish each day. I find it rather astounding that I can run around like a crazy person all day, then collapse on the couch at 6:31pm and feel like I have completed nothing. And again, with only one child. How do you people do it? There are definitely moments when I think, yeah, one kiddo is plenty. We're at this great stage where he sleeps 12-13 hours a night, can often entertain himself for short stretches, takes great naps, is happy and fun and pretty hilarious...why do I want to go screw all that up by having another baby?? Plus, since there's simply no way I could even consider loving another kid as much as I love Cameron, wouldn't that just be cruel?
Ok, ok...I know...all you veteren moms out there will assure me that you do love your subsequent children (almost) as much as you love your first. And I believe you...really. Sometimes it's just hard to imagine.
Anyway, that's us in a nutshell...a quick little catch up. We a currently enjoying a lazy Sunday, and are looking forward to dressing Cameron up in his Halloween costume for the Fall Festival at church this afternoon. Oh yeah, pictures will be forthcoming.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful autumn weekend!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Bookworms Unite!
The National Endowment for the Arts has an initiative called the Big Read. According to the Web site, its purpose is to "restore reading to the center of American culture." They estimate that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. Jeez! I originally found this list on my friend Jill's blog. I've read 34 of these. Take a look and let me know which ones you've read and loved.
Here's what you do:
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read. (My bold doesn't show up very well, so the ones I've read are in light pink.)
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) [Bracket] the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list on your own blog (if you feel so inclined).
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 [Jane Eyre] - Charlotte Bronte
4 [Harry Potter series] - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 [The Bible]
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 [Little Women] - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 [Rebecca] - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 [Gone With The Wind] - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 [Chronicles of Narnia] - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 [The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe]- CS Lewis
37 [The Kite Runner] - Khaled Hosseini
38 [Captain Corelli's Mandolin] - Louis De Bernieres
39 [Memoirs of a Geisha] - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 [The Da Vinci Code] - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 [Anne of Green Gables] - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 [Charlotte's Web] - EB White
88 [The Five People You Meet In Heaven] - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Here's what you do:
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read. (My bold doesn't show up very well, so the ones I've read are in light pink.)
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) [Bracket] the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list on your own blog (if you feel so inclined).
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 [Jane Eyre] - Charlotte Bronte
4 [Harry Potter series] - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 [The Bible]
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 [Little Women] - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 [Rebecca] - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 [Gone With The Wind] - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 [Chronicles of Narnia] - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 [The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe]- CS Lewis
37 [The Kite Runner] - Khaled Hosseini
38 [Captain Corelli's Mandolin] - Louis De Bernieres
39 [Memoirs of a Geisha] - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 [The Da Vinci Code] - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 [Anne of Green Gables] - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 [Charlotte's Web] - EB White
88 [The Five People You Meet In Heaven] - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Who knew?
Today Kevin, Cameron and I went to visit some friends here in the city who just had their first baby. Their little guy was born a week ago today, so we dropped by to take them food (take out gets old real quick), and meet the new little guy. Baby William was such a sweet little bundle. The thing that absolutely blew our minds was the fact that he was 7lbs, 12oz when he was born, and is nearly that now. He looked so tiny! Particularly held up next to our little Chunky Monkey, who started out 6lbs, 2oz and is now pushing 20lbs and eating solid food!
How is it possible that that was only 6 months ago? Everyone always said, "Oh, it goes so fast!" I can tell you right now, when you're a brand new mom who is only sleeping in 2 hour stretches at a time, showers about twice a week, and can hardly remember her own name, much less what day of the week it is, all you want to say to these people is, "Bull..." well, you know what I mean.
But then suddenly one day you look around and you are sleeping in rather long stretches at night, if not all night long. You shower daily, actually put on make-up and are potentially wearing clothes that are starting to resemble the things you wore before you gained (cough, cough) pounds. You have a little person who has gone from a bundle of nerves to a bundle of personality. And it has only been 6 months! I remember wondering if I would survive 6 weeks...6 months might as well have been the moon.
So, I tell my friend the new mom, "Oh, it goes so fast!" And I know exactly what she's thinking. And when I hold her sweet little 7lb, 12oz baby I think, "I wouldn't go back to being a first time mom with a 1 week old for a million dollars." Then Kevin and I leave with our little Mini, who isn't quite as mini as he used to be, and I think about how far we 3 have come in only 6 months. How different all 3 of us are. He is certainly not the Itty Bitty we brought home from the hospital half a year ago...and neither am I the same person that carried him out of the hospital that day.
I knew that babies changed so unbelievably, so dramatically in that first year of life. Who knew that Mommies and Daddies changed so much, too?
How is it possible that that was only 6 months ago? Everyone always said, "Oh, it goes so fast!" I can tell you right now, when you're a brand new mom who is only sleeping in 2 hour stretches at a time, showers about twice a week, and can hardly remember her own name, much less what day of the week it is, all you want to say to these people is, "Bull..." well, you know what I mean.
But then suddenly one day you look around and you are sleeping in rather long stretches at night, if not all night long. You shower daily, actually put on make-up and are potentially wearing clothes that are starting to resemble the things you wore before you gained (cough, cough) pounds. You have a little person who has gone from a bundle of nerves to a bundle of personality. And it has only been 6 months! I remember wondering if I would survive 6 weeks...6 months might as well have been the moon.
So, I tell my friend the new mom, "Oh, it goes so fast!" And I know exactly what she's thinking. And when I hold her sweet little 7lb, 12oz baby I think, "I wouldn't go back to being a first time mom with a 1 week old for a million dollars." Then Kevin and I leave with our little Mini, who isn't quite as mini as he used to be, and I think about how far we 3 have come in only 6 months. How different all 3 of us are. He is certainly not the Itty Bitty we brought home from the hospital half a year ago...and neither am I the same person that carried him out of the hospital that day.
I knew that babies changed so unbelievably, so dramatically in that first year of life. Who knew that Mommies and Daddies changed so much, too?
Thursday, June 05, 2008
This is my life right now...
Prayer
By Marie Howe
Every day I want to speak with you. And every day something more important
calls for my attention -- the drugstore, the beauty products, the luggage.
I need to buy for the trip.
Even now I can hardly sit here
among the falling piles of paper and clothing, the garbage trucks outside
already screeching and banging.
The mystics say you are as close as my own breath.
Why do I flee from you?
My days and nights pour through me like complaints
and become a story I forgot to tell.
Help me. Even as I write these words I am planning
to rise from the chair as soon as I finish this sentence.
By Marie Howe
Every day I want to speak with you. And every day something more important
calls for my attention -- the drugstore, the beauty products, the luggage.
I need to buy for the trip.
Even now I can hardly sit here
among the falling piles of paper and clothing, the garbage trucks outside
already screeching and banging.
The mystics say you are as close as my own breath.
Why do I flee from you?
My days and nights pour through me like complaints
and become a story I forgot to tell.
Help me. Even as I write these words I am planning
to rise from the chair as soon as I finish this sentence.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Yes, we're those people...
We just returned yesterday from a week in Texas introducing Cameron to all his family -- both by blood and of the heart. It was a wonderful and tiring trip. Poor punkin' spent the majority of the week absolutely beside himself with exhaustion. Life is hard when you're 10 weeks old.
Mini's usual schedule is to wake up, eat, have a little play time, and then go back to bed. This routine rarely lasts more then an hour. At the end of an hour he is yawning and staring...clear signs that he is ready to be swaddled up and rocked back to dreamland. Well, that's not exactly how it works when you're flying 4 hours on a plane, or spending time with grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles, "aunts and uncles", cousins, friends, etc., etc. Both Saturday and Sunday he was so tired from being up meeting people, he could hardly get himself back to sleep. Talk about break Mommy's heart.
The other thing that broke Mommy's heart was that for a week before we got there he was basically sleeping through the night...eating at 11pm-ish and not waking up until 6am or 7am-ish. Talk about HEAVEN for the sleep deprived Mommy. Sadly, it didn't last, and now we're back to waking up halfway through the night to eat. Sigh. I can't decide if I'm hopeful because I know he CAN do it, or frustrated because I know he CAN do it, and won't. Oh well, 1 step forward, 2 steps back.
This trip marked Cameron's first airplane trip, and I finally knew what it felt like to be "those people". You know the ones...with the crying child on the airplane. To be fair, he did really well. On the flight to Dallas (which was just him and me), he got really upset just before we took off. He wasn't the only one, as we were stuck on the plane for over an hour after they shut down the airport because 4 F16's were flying over Shea Stadium to mark Opening Day for the Mets. Can I just say it is not easy to try to nurse a crying, squirming baby in a ultra-narrow airplane seat, sitting next to a perfect stranger (older gentleman who was pretending we weren't there), surrounded by all our stuff (diaper bag, jacket, scarf, baby carrier, nursing cover, burp cloths, et al.). This happened twice during the flight.
On the way home, Kevin was with us, and he only got upset once, again right before we took off. I had already fed him, but he wouldn't stop crying. You could practically hear the people around us rolling their eyes, sighing, and shifting around in their seats, imagining that my son was going to cry the entire 3.5 hour trip. We were doing everything we could to soothe him. The lady behind us started offering advice. I wanted to turn around and say, "here, since you know what to do, you take him."
He finally settled down, and then slept the whole way home. But those few uncomfortable minutes felt like hours as we're trying to stop the crying, and imagining the glares of the entire plane on our sweet, yet overtired baby boy.
Ever been there?
All around, a good trip...but it is absolutely GLORIOUS to be home.
Mini's usual schedule is to wake up, eat, have a little play time, and then go back to bed. This routine rarely lasts more then an hour. At the end of an hour he is yawning and staring...clear signs that he is ready to be swaddled up and rocked back to dreamland. Well, that's not exactly how it works when you're flying 4 hours on a plane, or spending time with grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles, "aunts and uncles", cousins, friends, etc., etc. Both Saturday and Sunday he was so tired from being up meeting people, he could hardly get himself back to sleep. Talk about break Mommy's heart.
The other thing that broke Mommy's heart was that for a week before we got there he was basically sleeping through the night...eating at 11pm-ish and not waking up until 6am or 7am-ish. Talk about HEAVEN for the sleep deprived Mommy. Sadly, it didn't last, and now we're back to waking up halfway through the night to eat. Sigh. I can't decide if I'm hopeful because I know he CAN do it, or frustrated because I know he CAN do it, and won't. Oh well, 1 step forward, 2 steps back.
This trip marked Cameron's first airplane trip, and I finally knew what it felt like to be "those people". You know the ones...with the crying child on the airplane. To be fair, he did really well. On the flight to Dallas (which was just him and me), he got really upset just before we took off. He wasn't the only one, as we were stuck on the plane for over an hour after they shut down the airport because 4 F16's were flying over Shea Stadium to mark Opening Day for the Mets. Can I just say it is not easy to try to nurse a crying, squirming baby in a ultra-narrow airplane seat, sitting next to a perfect stranger (older gentleman who was pretending we weren't there), surrounded by all our stuff (diaper bag, jacket, scarf, baby carrier, nursing cover, burp cloths, et al.). This happened twice during the flight.
On the way home, Kevin was with us, and he only got upset once, again right before we took off. I had already fed him, but he wouldn't stop crying. You could practically hear the people around us rolling their eyes, sighing, and shifting around in their seats, imagining that my son was going to cry the entire 3.5 hour trip. We were doing everything we could to soothe him. The lady behind us started offering advice. I wanted to turn around and say, "here, since you know what to do, you take him."
He finally settled down, and then slept the whole way home. But those few uncomfortable minutes felt like hours as we're trying to stop the crying, and imagining the glares of the entire plane on our sweet, yet overtired baby boy.
Ever been there?
All around, a good trip...but it is absolutely GLORIOUS to be home.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Post-Maternity Wardrobe, or How is it Possible that Nothing I Own Fits Me?
I have the post-maternity blues. I'm not talking about Postpartum Depression, thankfully. Or even the slightly less serious condition with the undeservedly cute name, Baby Blues. Trust me, the blues you feel post-baby are not "baby" in size...it can feel pretty stinkin' overwhelming.
No, the blues I'm currently talking about is the post-maternity wardrobe blues. The realization that absolutely nothing you own fits. No single piece of clothing in your wardrobe fits your transition body. My pregnancy clothes are blessedly too big. And even if they do fit (let's hear it for drawstring waists!), I'm sick to death of wearing them. On the other hand, I'm not nearly back in my normal clothes yet. My body is strangely out of proportion from the way it used to be.
Oh sure, I got the 6 week "go-ahead" from my doctor. You know, the "you're-fully-recovered-from-your-surgery-and-can-start-exercising-again" go-ahead. Did anyone else feel like laughing in your doctor's face when she said that? I'm sorry, there are times when if given the choice between sleeping and doing absolutely anything else on the planet, including winning the lottery or meeting Hugh Jackman, I will choose sleep without even thinking twice. Yeah, exercising doesn't even make my top ten list.
So, it's really no wonder that nothing I own fits me...but it's still supremely annoying. Even shirts that fit fine everywhere else, now look a little...um...okay, a lot trashy with my newly inflated nursing figure. Yep, The Girls are currently of a size that many people pay good money to get.
However, it is against my religion to go out and buy clothes for my transitional state. I did give in and buy a pair of jeans a few simple shirts from Old Navy...always affordable. I hated doing it, but not nearly as much as I hate not having anything that fits right.
Oh well, such is life after having a baby. I just needed a chance to vent about it to people who would know the feeling and share in my annoyance. Here's wishing you all beautiful spring weather, restful sleep and jeans that fit.
No, the blues I'm currently talking about is the post-maternity wardrobe blues. The realization that absolutely nothing you own fits. No single piece of clothing in your wardrobe fits your transition body. My pregnancy clothes are blessedly too big. And even if they do fit (let's hear it for drawstring waists!), I'm sick to death of wearing them. On the other hand, I'm not nearly back in my normal clothes yet. My body is strangely out of proportion from the way it used to be.
Oh sure, I got the 6 week "go-ahead" from my doctor. You know, the "you're-fully-recovered-from-your-surgery-and-can-start-exercising-again" go-ahead. Did anyone else feel like laughing in your doctor's face when she said that? I'm sorry, there are times when if given the choice between sleeping and doing absolutely anything else on the planet, including winning the lottery or meeting Hugh Jackman, I will choose sleep without even thinking twice. Yeah, exercising doesn't even make my top ten list.
So, it's really no wonder that nothing I own fits me...but it's still supremely annoying. Even shirts that fit fine everywhere else, now look a little...um...okay, a lot trashy with my newly inflated nursing figure. Yep, The Girls are currently of a size that many people pay good money to get.
However, it is against my religion to go out and buy clothes for my transitional state. I did give in and buy a pair of jeans a few simple shirts from Old Navy...always affordable. I hated doing it, but not nearly as much as I hate not having anything that fits right.
Oh well, such is life after having a baby. I just needed a chance to vent about it to people who would know the feeling and share in my annoyance. Here's wishing you all beautiful spring weather, restful sleep and jeans that fit.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Little Piece of Heaven
Cameron has been going through this new phase for the past week. He's pretty predictable...Kevin calls him Clockwork Orange. He wakes up, I feed him, change his diaper, re-swaddle him, and then he's ready to go back to sleep. It takes about 10-15 minutes to rock him back to sleep, and then he's down for about 3 hours. So we're on a rotating 4 hour schedule. Not too bad. To make things better, he's started sleeping a little longer at night, which is wonderful.
The not so wonderful new development is he has started refusing to go to sleep in the evening. So he and I do this routine all day, then at his early evening feeding (sometime between 6pm and 8pm) we feed him, change him, swaddle him up and then he stares at us for the next 3 hours. No amount of rocking will lull him to sleep. But he's tired... if we try to play with him he gets all cranky. He just lays on a pillow, swaddled like a little bundle, sucking on his pacifier, staring. He'll occasionally doze off, but if we try to lay him down in his crib he wakes up crying and it only escalates until we pick him up and return him to the pillow on the couch where he continues staring. This continues until we hit the magical 4 hour mark, at which point he cries to eat...then we feed him, bathe him, swaddle him, and then he goes to bed. He'll often wake up about 15 minutes later crying, but once he goes down after that, he's out.
Okay, that was much more long winded then I intended.
ANYWAY, last night we did this same new little routine starting at 10:45 p.m. -- feeding, bath, pj's, swaddle, one little wake up, and then he was out. He woke up to eat at 4:30 a.m. and then again at 9:30 a.m. Pretty dang good!
After the 9:30 a.m. feeding, Kevin took him to rock him back to sleep, and I crashed back out. Ok, here comes the good part...the whole reason I started this embarrassingly long winded post. At about 11:30 a.m. Kevin comes back in and wakes me up with breakfast in bed!! He brought me a huge plate of pancakes and cold glass of milk. I got to lay in bed, eat pancakes, and read a magazine for 45 minutes. It was bliss! Then, to make things better, when I got up to shower, Kevin had separated the laundry (which he has since taken down to the wash), cleaned up the kitchen, and picked up the living room.
Ahh...it makes me happy again just thinking about it.
Well, just wanted to brag on my fantastically thoughtful husband. Also, if anyone out there has any thoughts about Cameron's little little sleeping strike, let me know.
The not so wonderful new development is he has started refusing to go to sleep in the evening. So he and I do this routine all day, then at his early evening feeding (sometime between 6pm and 8pm) we feed him, change him, swaddle him up and then he stares at us for the next 3 hours. No amount of rocking will lull him to sleep. But he's tired... if we try to play with him he gets all cranky. He just lays on a pillow, swaddled like a little bundle, sucking on his pacifier, staring. He'll occasionally doze off, but if we try to lay him down in his crib he wakes up crying and it only escalates until we pick him up and return him to the pillow on the couch where he continues staring. This continues until we hit the magical 4 hour mark, at which point he cries to eat...then we feed him, bathe him, swaddle him, and then he goes to bed. He'll often wake up about 15 minutes later crying, but once he goes down after that, he's out.
Okay, that was much more long winded then I intended.
ANYWAY, last night we did this same new little routine starting at 10:45 p.m. -- feeding, bath, pj's, swaddle, one little wake up, and then he was out. He woke up to eat at 4:30 a.m. and then again at 9:30 a.m. Pretty dang good!
After the 9:30 a.m. feeding, Kevin took him to rock him back to sleep, and I crashed back out. Ok, here comes the good part...the whole reason I started this embarrassingly long winded post. At about 11:30 a.m. Kevin comes back in and wakes me up with breakfast in bed!! He brought me a huge plate of pancakes and cold glass of milk. I got to lay in bed, eat pancakes, and read a magazine for 45 minutes. It was bliss! Then, to make things better, when I got up to shower, Kevin had separated the laundry (which he has since taken down to the wash), cleaned up the kitchen, and picked up the living room.
Ahh...it makes me happy again just thinking about it.
Well, just wanted to brag on my fantastically thoughtful husband. Also, if anyone out there has any thoughts about Cameron's little little sleeping strike, let me know.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Who am I?
Well, after a 2 month hiatus, I figured it was time to write again. Little Cameron turned 7 weeks old on Wednesday. Sometimes I feel like we just brought him home from the hospital. And other times I feel like it has been the longest 7 weeks of my entire life. I am amazed that I love this Little Man so much...and yet sometimes want to throw him out the window. I can't imagine life without him...yet sometimes miss the ease of our old life so much it makes me want to cry. I sit in our living room feeding him at 4:00 a.m. and wonder if I'll ever have a full night of sleep again in this lifetime. Yet I know that before long he won't let me rock him to sleep anymore. The most sleep I get at any one time is 3 hours...and I have only been out of the house without him 3 times in the last 7 weeks. I'm tired.
My house is a disaster. The laundry is about to take over the living room. I have dust bunnies bigger then Cameron. Days pass before I find time to call people back or respond to email. My once impeccably organized life is in complete disarray. I am reduced to considering a day that includes a shower and some make-up a success. I hardly recognize myself or my life. Who am I and how exactly did I get here?
This is, without a doubt, the hardest thing I've ever done.
But could he be any more beautiful? Could he smell any sweeter? I love kissing his little neck, and his crooked little toes. I love the hilariously adorable little frowny face he makes right before he starts crying. I live for bathtime, watching him suck air through pursed lips as we lower him into the warm water, and then relax as he remembers how much he loves the bath. I can hardly wait for that first smile that will suddenly make so many late nights worth it. I love sitting here on the couch right now and looking over at Kevin, feet propped up on the coffee table watching basketball, Cameron swaddled up like a little bundle asleep (finally!) on his chest. I fall in love with my husband over and over again every day.
Through it all -- the sleepless nights and erractic schedule; the interrupted meals and sore back; the fatigue and frustration; the days of being sucked on, spit up on, peed on, sneezed on, and generally covered with baby yuck; the feeling that I hardly recognize myself -- I am overwhelmingly grateful for this Little One's presence in our lives. He is a miracle. I pray that I never forget that.
My house is a disaster. The laundry is about to take over the living room. I have dust bunnies bigger then Cameron. Days pass before I find time to call people back or respond to email. My once impeccably organized life is in complete disarray. I am reduced to considering a day that includes a shower and some make-up a success. I hardly recognize myself or my life. Who am I and how exactly did I get here?
This is, without a doubt, the hardest thing I've ever done.
But could he be any more beautiful? Could he smell any sweeter? I love kissing his little neck, and his crooked little toes. I love the hilariously adorable little frowny face he makes right before he starts crying. I live for bathtime, watching him suck air through pursed lips as we lower him into the warm water, and then relax as he remembers how much he loves the bath. I can hardly wait for that first smile that will suddenly make so many late nights worth it. I love sitting here on the couch right now and looking over at Kevin, feet propped up on the coffee table watching basketball, Cameron swaddled up like a little bundle asleep (finally!) on his chest. I fall in love with my husband over and over again every day.
Through it all -- the sleepless nights and erractic schedule; the interrupted meals and sore back; the fatigue and frustration; the days of being sucked on, spit up on, peed on, sneezed on, and generally covered with baby yuck; the feeling that I hardly recognize myself -- I am overwhelmingly grateful for this Little One's presence in our lives. He is a miracle. I pray that I never forget that.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
What's new?
Hey everyone! Well, it has been awhile since I've posted anything. Disgraceful, I know. We are doing well, and just kind of sitting in a holding pattern waiting for the Littlest to make it's grand debut!
We had a fantastic Christmas here in New York with just the two of us. It was fun to celebrate our last year as a family of 2 in our home. Since then we've celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary and also had a fantastic couples shower with some of our dearest friends. (I hope to have some pics to post soon.)
Most recently, though, we had a dramatic weekend attempting to flip this contrary little munchkin over on its head...the proper position for birth. For all the latest news, check out our Baby Blog!
As this is the most exciting thing we've had going on recently, I'll leave it at that. I'll try to post something else interesting here...but at this point in our lives, the most interesting stuff is probably going on at the baby site!
We had a fantastic Christmas here in New York with just the two of us. It was fun to celebrate our last year as a family of 2 in our home. Since then we've celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary and also had a fantastic couples shower with some of our dearest friends. (I hope to have some pics to post soon.)
Most recently, though, we had a dramatic weekend attempting to flip this contrary little munchkin over on its head...the proper position for birth. For all the latest news, check out our Baby Blog!
As this is the most exciting thing we've had going on recently, I'll leave it at that. I'll try to post something else interesting here...but at this point in our lives, the most interesting stuff is probably going on at the baby site!
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