It is 9:31 and Gavin is asleep. Ryan is upstairs watching the boob tube and I'm down here writing this. I originally came downstairs to throw wash a load of diapers and to dredge up a recipe for lemon liqueur. But to do the laundry I have to walk by the office with the computer. I can't just leave after starting the laundry. I have to check my e-mail; then Facebook, then of course see if anyone left a comment on my blog.
Some friends had us over for dinner the other night. Their house was so incredibly clean even in the midst of their remodel that it made Ryan and I realize that we are just messy, messy people. We always have an excuse. First it was the remodel of the kitchen. Then it was the remodel of the basement. Now it is the baby. Actually, the house is cleaner now that we have Gavin than when we didn't have him. The mess we have now is usually baskets of clean laundry in the living room along with the exersaucer, bouncy chair, car seat, basket of diapers and wipes and my breast feeding pillow.
I am holding out hope that the house will soon be clean. Well, it is clean if we are talking about germs. I do clean and dust and wash up. We are not so good with being tidy or getting rid of stuff we don't use/need/want. Since we brought all of our stuff back from storage we have purged a car load of stuff. I even convinced Ryan to get rid of the fake ivy that he had in the kitchen at the old house. A lesser wife would have tossed it when he wasn't looking. I was very tempted to be a lesser wife.
The other day I went through one of the many boxes that I have to go through and found all of our framed pictures and realized I don't really like all of the frames and the pictures are old. I'm going to take all of the pictures out and get rid of the frames. One box down a million boxes to go.
When am I going to find time to go through all of the boxes you ask? Well, how about in the evenings when Gavin is asleep? Yep. The little cutie patootie has decided he should sleep through the night. We are on day 10 of sleeping through the night!
Rest is amazing! It does a body good - and a disposition. Each day as I climb out of my sleep deficit I am less and less grouchy. I am not looking for a fight, not thinking disparaging thoughts of the dolt who cut me off (well, maybe disparaging but not vengeful). Hallelujah!
Back to the dinner with the friends. After dinner we sat around the living room chatting, playing with our uber cute baby and one of the friends piped up and said she didn't get blogging. It was lame. She didn't say it was lame but it was not at all an unrealistic conclusion to draw from her statements about it as they were coupled with her sour-ish facial expressions. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ryan motioning with his hand across his neck like, "stop" then he pointed at me and made some typing motions. I thought it was funny.
What I thought was even funnier is when she said she could understand blogging because we have a baby. They have friends who have blogs who post pictures of their babies. I could have let it go but I was having fun. I told her I had the blog long before Gavin was born but I didn't tell her that I don't post pictures all that frequently. (You will just have to deal with my lack of picture posting, people).
I don't expect everyone to enjoy blogging nor do I expect everyone to enjoy reading another's blog but how anyone could not enjoy reading mine is beyond me. Ask my husband, he might know. He doesn’t read it (boo). To be fair he knows everything I write about so to him it would be torture to read about something he experienced already or I told him about since he can't stand to hear a story more than once.
That makes me curious about something. How is it that he can not remember a book he read or movie he saw, or some of our dates (or which date he took to which restaurant -that's always fun) but he can remember every story I ever told him?
What's not entertaining about crying babies, infected boobs, homeless people ringing your door bell in the middle of the night and dirty diapers? C'mon! It doesn't get any better than this. Well, I think Swell & Sheepie's blog is the best. (See the link on my home page).
Tomorrow is going to be a fun day. First I go see Dr. Fiala - the best doctor in all of West Seattle. Aw, shucks, the best in all of Seattle. She really is great. My feet have been bothering me for a long time. Since before I was pregnant. But then when I was pregnant a lot of the foot stuff seemed pretty well linked to the weight gain and ever fun water retention.
I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about the feet because it is a boring subject. The reason I bring it up is because the outcome of the visit may be my undoing.
Last week I went to a new restaurant called Shadow Lands in West Seattle with Heidi and Krissy. Heidi is crazy. She is crazy because she runs. Last year she ran the New York marathon. Now she "just" runs half marathons. She looked at Krissy and me and said, "You have time to train for the half marathon in September."
Krissy and my response, "Ha! ha ha ha ha ha ha ha *gasp* ha ha ha ha ha"!
Heidi is not one to give up so easily so I said, "I will if Krissy does." I said that knowing full well Krissy would never in a million years say yes. Krissy is the one person I know who hates exercise more than me.
What do I know? Krissy's 30th birthday is right around the time of the half marathon and she think that it might be a neat thing to do.
Gyar!
Since Krissy caught me off guard I had to think of something fast! "My knees are bad", I said. "My feet have been hurting me", I offered up weakly. So, I'm off to see the doctor about my feet to see what's up with them and to see if running is a safe exercise for me or not.
Having said all of that about exercise and hating it I am trying to convince Ryan we should join the gym. I could pick him up after work and we would plop the G with the gym's babysitter and we could go exercise. And during the day if I needed a break I could go to the gym and swim or hang out in the sauna. I think he likes the idea because he hates the bus he takes to work since it is really crowded and smelly.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
He's Baaack..., Hair Balls & The Deterioration of the English Language
There are three things I've wanted to write about for the last couple of weeks but I don't have enough time, or desire, to write volumes on the subjects so I'm just going to lump them all in one and if my energy level doesn't waver I may write about nutty housecleaning. Oh, boy.
He's baaack...
I think I saw Red Van Man the other day. He was clean shaven so it took a second for it to register that it was Red Van Man. Since he hasn't been living in his van across the street I am going to assume he has a (stationary) roof over his head. Good for him. I hope he is doing well. Another indication of his move up was his newer wheels. He is now driving a nicer version of his old van, this one is blue.
Hair balls
They aren't so much hair balls as they are just loads of hair. My hair. Many people believe that when a woman is pregnant she grows more hair because her hair becomes very thick. I don't think pregnancy causes a woman to grow more hair rather I think that the normal 100 hundred or so strands that a person normally loses in a day are diminished. I almost forgot how much hair I used to pull from my comb after shampooing my hair. Since I was blessed with a thick mane I am not too concerned about the hair loss I am currently experiencing. I think it is just a little more than normal since I am breast feeding and my hormone levels are at a menopausal level.
Exciting stuff, this hair loss.
The Deterioration of the English Language
I am not an English major and do not make any claims to have a superior command of said language nor do I believe that my English is horrendous.
Having said that, can you tell me if this sounds off to you: "Whom would you like to have coffee with?"
If you frequent Barnes and Noble that statement may look familiar to you as it is displayed prominently on a stand promoting books by famous authors.
Should it not read: "With whom would you like to have coffee?"?
One would think the display at the bookstore would not have such a glaring error. English buffs please tell me if I am right.
And, yes, I am a dork for caring. : ) (And for using the archaic smiley face like I do).
He's baaack...
I think I saw Red Van Man the other day. He was clean shaven so it took a second for it to register that it was Red Van Man. Since he hasn't been living in his van across the street I am going to assume he has a (stationary) roof over his head. Good for him. I hope he is doing well. Another indication of his move up was his newer wheels. He is now driving a nicer version of his old van, this one is blue.
Hair balls
They aren't so much hair balls as they are just loads of hair. My hair. Many people believe that when a woman is pregnant she grows more hair because her hair becomes very thick. I don't think pregnancy causes a woman to grow more hair rather I think that the normal 100 hundred or so strands that a person normally loses in a day are diminished. I almost forgot how much hair I used to pull from my comb after shampooing my hair. Since I was blessed with a thick mane I am not too concerned about the hair loss I am currently experiencing. I think it is just a little more than normal since I am breast feeding and my hormone levels are at a menopausal level.
Exciting stuff, this hair loss.
The Deterioration of the English Language
I am not an English major and do not make any claims to have a superior command of said language nor do I believe that my English is horrendous.
Having said that, can you tell me if this sounds off to you: "Whom would you like to have coffee with?"
If you frequent Barnes and Noble that statement may look familiar to you as it is displayed prominently on a stand promoting books by famous authors.
Should it not read: "With whom would you like to have coffee?"?
One would think the display at the bookstore would not have such a glaring error. English buffs please tell me if I am right.
And, yes, I am a dork for caring. : ) (And for using the archaic smiley face like I do).
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Fluke?
Gavin did last night what we thought he would never do. I put him in our room in his swing at 10:30 shortly after Ryan went to bed. Since I had a nap earlier in the day I stayed up and cleaned the kitchen and watched an Oprah show before going to bed shortly after midnight. At 7:30 I woke up feeling kind of refreshed which was an odd sensation so I propped myself up on my elbow and peered over Ryan to squint at his alarm clock. When it registered that Gavin didn't wake up all night long I quickly looked over at him to see if he was alive (most parents do that after their baby sleeps for a long stretch for the first time). He moved his head as if to say, "Hey, Mom."
I fell back asleep for another hour. It was great.
Little G got a bath before church since his diaper was not designed to collect waste for 10 hours. I need to figure out a better nighttime diaper system since we switched to cloth. A disposable diaper would have leaked after that long, too but the cloth diaper just leaked a lot more. There is a diaper called Bum Genius that you launder like normal cloth diapers but it is one size that will grow with the baby from infancy to toddler hood. You have to see it to believe it but a series of snaps allows you to make the diaper smaller or bigger depending on the baby. It has a terry cloth liner that is super absorbent but you have to wash the wrap and the inside liner every time it is used unlike the traditional cloth diaper system.
It is too good to be true. One Bum Genius diaper cost $17. $17 for one diaper! Sure you can use it over and over again but you will want to buy 30 or 60 depending on how frequently you do laundry. The traditional cloth diapers (the kind we were in as babies) are about $1 each plus the cost of the wrap (about $7). I bought 60 cloth diapers and 4 wraps.
Hm, this diaper talk can't be to exciting for the non-parents out there reading this. There are whole websites devoted to cloth diapers. I perused the sites when looking for the best kind of diaper for us. The Bum Genius, G Diaper, Fuzzi Bunz, blah, blah, blah. The choices are overwhelming.
I'm hiding right now. Well, Ryan knows where I am but I had to get away from the incessant crying today. Gavin slept 10 hours and was in a great mood until church let out. It was all downhill from there. I suspect he is going to have a tooth popping out soon. He has been biting me a lot lately. He bites hard. Owie! Last night he wouldn't quit biting so I closed my bra and told him the bar was closed. I almost hope it's a tooth; at least that would explain why he has been in such a foul mood the last couple of days. Even when he is sleeping he wears a perma-scowl. It's cute when he's asleep but man, once he wakes up its "wah, yah, yah, yah".
Time for me to leave hiding. It's been long enough that Ryan probably needs a break.
I fell back asleep for another hour. It was great.
Little G got a bath before church since his diaper was not designed to collect waste for 10 hours. I need to figure out a better nighttime diaper system since we switched to cloth. A disposable diaper would have leaked after that long, too but the cloth diaper just leaked a lot more. There is a diaper called Bum Genius that you launder like normal cloth diapers but it is one size that will grow with the baby from infancy to toddler hood. You have to see it to believe it but a series of snaps allows you to make the diaper smaller or bigger depending on the baby. It has a terry cloth liner that is super absorbent but you have to wash the wrap and the inside liner every time it is used unlike the traditional cloth diaper system.
It is too good to be true. One Bum Genius diaper cost $17. $17 for one diaper! Sure you can use it over and over again but you will want to buy 30 or 60 depending on how frequently you do laundry. The traditional cloth diapers (the kind we were in as babies) are about $1 each plus the cost of the wrap (about $7). I bought 60 cloth diapers and 4 wraps.
Hm, this diaper talk can't be to exciting for the non-parents out there reading this. There are whole websites devoted to cloth diapers. I perused the sites when looking for the best kind of diaper for us. The Bum Genius, G Diaper, Fuzzi Bunz, blah, blah, blah. The choices are overwhelming.
I'm hiding right now. Well, Ryan knows where I am but I had to get away from the incessant crying today. Gavin slept 10 hours and was in a great mood until church let out. It was all downhill from there. I suspect he is going to have a tooth popping out soon. He has been biting me a lot lately. He bites hard. Owie! Last night he wouldn't quit biting so I closed my bra and told him the bar was closed. I almost hope it's a tooth; at least that would explain why he has been in such a foul mood the last couple of days. Even when he is sleeping he wears a perma-scowl. It's cute when he's asleep but man, once he wakes up its "wah, yah, yah, yah".
Time for me to leave hiding. It's been long enough that Ryan probably needs a break.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Trepidation
It seems hard to believe there is a subject matter that I would hesitate to write about. If you read my previous post you understand what I mean. I wrote an entire post on my right boob. Really. Read it. It's all about my boob.
What is it that causes me such inner turmoil that I am nervous as I am sitting here in our office space writing this? I'm fumbling for the right words to use. How do I break this news? I can hardly believe it myself. I tell myself that it is temporary and that I am at the core the same person. But am I?
My friends' husband is in the same boat as am I. We are both shocked by our actions but it seemed like the only answer. I have a sneaking suspicion he is not shouting from the rooftops what he did anymore than I am. This is as close to rooftop shouting as I get.
I'm not completely aware of the issues at hand but I do know that there is one outcome that I would find utterly unacceptable. Once I write about this there is no going back. By putting forth what I have done there is no denying it. I may lose friends over it. Well, I won't lose friends but I have a feeling I may receive a frantic phone call from my brother Joel. Maybe this will be what it takes to actually cause a rift between me and my brothers. I do not want a rift but this is so incredibly huge that...
Well, I'm just going to have to kill the suspense because at the rate I'm going you may think I'm going to prison or something. (If my brother could have his way he would probably lock me up until after November).
Ooh, was that some foreshadowing or what?
Yes, my actions are related to politics.
On this past Saturday, February the 9th, 2008 at 1:00 in the afternoon I caucused. I caucused as a Democrat.
Yes, my Republican readership, I jumped ship if only for a moment. Although I do not have to explain myself to anyone I want to. To my family: do not disown me. Ike, don't turn me into CPS as I'm sure you think I'm unfit to parent if I have any persuasions of a Democrat.
I caucused as a Democrat for Barack Obama because he seems like an agent of change because he is putting forth the word that the agents of change are we the people not the government and he is relatively speaking, new to politics. The other reason I caucused for Obama is because I know a democrat is going to win the election in the Fall and I'll be damned if it is going to be Hilary Clinton. I viewed my actions as much a statement for Barack Obama as a statement against Hilary Clinton.
For those of you who did not caucus I must say you missed out on an incredible event. Everyone I talked to said it was such a great feeling to be so connected to one's community and see the massive turnout. Ryan and I drove to our caucus site only to turn around and drive home and walk back as there was no parking anywhere near the school. People were out in droves walking to the school. From our precinct Barack Obama received 6 of the delegate votes and Hilary Clinton received 1. It sounded like that was the case for the other precincts as well.
I had to bite my tongue as the Democratic Reps talked about the gubernatorial race and how close it was last time and how they didn't want a repeat. If you don't live in Washington are not aware of the race 4 years ago between Governor Christine Gregoire and Dino Rossi it came down to 33 or so votes.
Dino Rossi won the first vote. It was close so a recount was ordered. Gregoire's share of votes increased as ballots were discovered as 'lost'. Dino Rossi won the recount. But Gregoire wanted another count. More ballots were miraculously discovered. She won the third and final count. Best one out of three wins, I guess.
It is time for me to turn my attention to a book I have upstairs on vaccinations as Gavin is due for some shots. I want to be well informed before I have him injected with who-knows-what. I'm reading a book recommended to me by my doctor. When I'm done with that book I may turn my attention back to politics so I can read up and become a better informed voter for this Fall.
What is it that causes me such inner turmoil that I am nervous as I am sitting here in our office space writing this? I'm fumbling for the right words to use. How do I break this news? I can hardly believe it myself. I tell myself that it is temporary and that I am at the core the same person. But am I?
My friends' husband is in the same boat as am I. We are both shocked by our actions but it seemed like the only answer. I have a sneaking suspicion he is not shouting from the rooftops what he did anymore than I am. This is as close to rooftop shouting as I get.
I'm not completely aware of the issues at hand but I do know that there is one outcome that I would find utterly unacceptable. Once I write about this there is no going back. By putting forth what I have done there is no denying it. I may lose friends over it. Well, I won't lose friends but I have a feeling I may receive a frantic phone call from my brother Joel. Maybe this will be what it takes to actually cause a rift between me and my brothers. I do not want a rift but this is so incredibly huge that...
Well, I'm just going to have to kill the suspense because at the rate I'm going you may think I'm going to prison or something. (If my brother could have his way he would probably lock me up until after November).
Ooh, was that some foreshadowing or what?
Yes, my actions are related to politics.
On this past Saturday, February the 9th, 2008 at 1:00 in the afternoon I caucused. I caucused as a Democrat.
Yes, my Republican readership, I jumped ship if only for a moment. Although I do not have to explain myself to anyone I want to. To my family: do not disown me. Ike, don't turn me into CPS as I'm sure you think I'm unfit to parent if I have any persuasions of a Democrat.
I caucused as a Democrat for Barack Obama because he seems like an agent of change because he is putting forth the word that the agents of change are we the people not the government and he is relatively speaking, new to politics. The other reason I caucused for Obama is because I know a democrat is going to win the election in the Fall and I'll be damned if it is going to be Hilary Clinton. I viewed my actions as much a statement for Barack Obama as a statement against Hilary Clinton.
For those of you who did not caucus I must say you missed out on an incredible event. Everyone I talked to said it was such a great feeling to be so connected to one's community and see the massive turnout. Ryan and I drove to our caucus site only to turn around and drive home and walk back as there was no parking anywhere near the school. People were out in droves walking to the school. From our precinct Barack Obama received 6 of the delegate votes and Hilary Clinton received 1. It sounded like that was the case for the other precincts as well.
I had to bite my tongue as the Democratic Reps talked about the gubernatorial race and how close it was last time and how they didn't want a repeat. If you don't live in Washington are not aware of the race 4 years ago between Governor Christine Gregoire and Dino Rossi it came down to 33 or so votes.
Dino Rossi won the first vote. It was close so a recount was ordered. Gregoire's share of votes increased as ballots were discovered as 'lost'. Dino Rossi won the recount. But Gregoire wanted another count. More ballots were miraculously discovered. She won the third and final count. Best one out of three wins, I guess.
It is time for me to turn my attention to a book I have upstairs on vaccinations as Gavin is due for some shots. I want to be well informed before I have him injected with who-knows-what. I'm reading a book recommended to me by my doctor. When I'm done with that book I may turn my attention back to politics so I can read up and become a better informed voter for this Fall.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
On the Mend
WARNING: This post contains information about health issues. Female health issues (visualize one raised eyebrow and pursed lips here, and perhaps a pinkie finger in the corner of my mouth). That was a Dr. Evil reference for you pop culturally challenged folk. Male readers you may not be comfortable reading this although I think you are a wuss if you can't handle reading it.
Not so long ago I wrote a post about a medical problem that I had. After I posted it and a few brave souls read it I decided it was too graphic so I deleted it. Since the problem has not gone away I thought I would write a new post about it as it is kind of an all consuming issue right now.
In the beginning there was a lump. The lump was in my breast, from here on out referred to as 'boob' or 'mammary gland' or 'female accessory' or 'body part that formerly was the object of man's desire' (of course access was granted to only one man) or 'body part whose sole function is to nourish my son'.
I went in for an ultrasound of said lump in said boob. The ultrasound turned into a mammogram, which ladies is a real kick in the pants, which turned into a biopsy.
Good news: the results were negative. The lump is a fibroadenoma which does not increase my chances of developing breast cancer.
Just a few days after the biopsy the site started to look suspiciously infected. I called the Breast Center and spoke to a grumpy on call doctor who prescribed some antibiotics for me to take. The antibiotics appeared to work. Then the steri-strips came off. Then the milk came out.
Yep.
Milk.
Biopsy site.
Out.
Leaky boobs are normal for the lactating woman. Leaking milk out of a hole in the side of your boob is not normal. I repeat: NOT normal.
I went in to see my doctor. She had never seen the leakiness of the boob. She called a surgeon to get his advice. His advice was dermabond (like super glue) or stitches. We opted for dermabond. Just dab on a bit 'o glue and stop the milk.
OR
Seal in the infection.
Apparently milk is a great food for bacteria.
Massive infection ensued that was accompanied by chills and hot flashes and sweating and muscle aches. My doctor said it was the worst she had ever seen. With her help we cleared up the infection with a 17 day course of antibiotics that I had to take 4 times a day.
That is not the end of the story. The infection cleared but my doctor sent me off to see a surgeon whom I saw 3 times in a period of a week. Surgery was not indicated but it was recommended that I quit breast feeding when I had to go back to the surgeon to have him re-open the biopsy site because the exterior wound (exit site) was healing over before the interior damage (perforated milk duct) was healing. So, the milk that was being produced was just accumulating in the breast tissue and had no where to go.
So, I went to a nurse practitioner at the Breast Center where they did the biopsy in the first place. She is going to see me until the whole thing is healed. She had to make the exit wound really big to make sure it didn't heal before the inside healed. After that she cleaned it out and packed it with gauze. Sometime in the middle of the night the gauze and other goodies came out of the new and improved gaping wound that was created. The nurse practitioner was astounded by the goodies and she cultured said goodies. Goodies came back as harmless. The following days visit was much better. There were no more goodies and the rinsing of the wound and stuffing of the gauze didn't hurt.
Now for the good news: I saw the nurse practitioner today and after inspection of the healing site that is NO LONGER LEAKING MILK she said I don't have to go back to see her for one whole month. A whole month without seeing a doctor, surgeon or nurse practitioner! I've had 8 follow up visits (excluding the initial mammogram and biopsy appointments) for the fallout (literally - ha!) of the biopsy that I had 2 days after Christmas.
That is more than you will ever want to know about me I'm sure but it is much, much less graphic than the original post so you can thank me for editing it. : )
Not so long ago I wrote a post about a medical problem that I had. After I posted it and a few brave souls read it I decided it was too graphic so I deleted it. Since the problem has not gone away I thought I would write a new post about it as it is kind of an all consuming issue right now.
In the beginning there was a lump. The lump was in my breast, from here on out referred to as 'boob' or 'mammary gland' or 'female accessory' or 'body part that formerly was the object of man's desire' (of course access was granted to only one man) or 'body part whose sole function is to nourish my son'.
I went in for an ultrasound of said lump in said boob. The ultrasound turned into a mammogram, which ladies is a real kick in the pants, which turned into a biopsy.
Good news: the results were negative. The lump is a fibroadenoma which does not increase my chances of developing breast cancer.
Just a few days after the biopsy the site started to look suspiciously infected. I called the Breast Center and spoke to a grumpy on call doctor who prescribed some antibiotics for me to take. The antibiotics appeared to work. Then the steri-strips came off. Then the milk came out.
Yep.
Milk.
Biopsy site.
Out.
Leaky boobs are normal for the lactating woman. Leaking milk out of a hole in the side of your boob is not normal. I repeat: NOT normal.
I went in to see my doctor. She had never seen the leakiness of the boob. She called a surgeon to get his advice. His advice was dermabond (like super glue) or stitches. We opted for dermabond. Just dab on a bit 'o glue and stop the milk.
OR
Seal in the infection.
Apparently milk is a great food for bacteria.
Massive infection ensued that was accompanied by chills and hot flashes and sweating and muscle aches. My doctor said it was the worst she had ever seen. With her help we cleared up the infection with a 17 day course of antibiotics that I had to take 4 times a day.
That is not the end of the story. The infection cleared but my doctor sent me off to see a surgeon whom I saw 3 times in a period of a week. Surgery was not indicated but it was recommended that I quit breast feeding when I had to go back to the surgeon to have him re-open the biopsy site because the exterior wound (exit site) was healing over before the interior damage (perforated milk duct) was healing. So, the milk that was being produced was just accumulating in the breast tissue and had no where to go.
So, I went to a nurse practitioner at the Breast Center where they did the biopsy in the first place. She is going to see me until the whole thing is healed. She had to make the exit wound really big to make sure it didn't heal before the inside healed. After that she cleaned it out and packed it with gauze. Sometime in the middle of the night the gauze and other goodies came out of the new and improved gaping wound that was created. The nurse practitioner was astounded by the goodies and she cultured said goodies. Goodies came back as harmless. The following days visit was much better. There were no more goodies and the rinsing of the wound and stuffing of the gauze didn't hurt.
Now for the good news: I saw the nurse practitioner today and after inspection of the healing site that is NO LONGER LEAKING MILK she said I don't have to go back to see her for one whole month. A whole month without seeing a doctor, surgeon or nurse practitioner! I've had 8 follow up visits (excluding the initial mammogram and biopsy appointments) for the fallout (literally - ha!) of the biopsy that I had 2 days after Christmas.
That is more than you will ever want to know about me I'm sure but it is much, much less graphic than the original post so you can thank me for editing it. : )
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
World Peace Begins With Me
It's 11:38 pm. Gavin didn't sleep well last night therefore I did not sleep well last night. He took a short nap this morning and I also took a short nap this morning. He slept while I was at the library and at the department of vital statistics getting his birth certificate. He has nodded off a few times this evening but woke up each time I put him back in his swing to go to sleep.
Grr.
He's almost 4 months old and he still does not sleep through the night. I can count on one hand the number of times Gavin slept 6 hours at night since he was born. I can count on the other hand the number of times I have slept over 6 hours because Ryan was able to feed him stored breast milk at night. That totals 10 or less nights of decent sleep since freakin' October!
He won't sleep in his cradle, he won't sleep in his co-sleeper, and he won't sleep in his Pack 'n Play. He will sleep sometimes in his bouncy chair. He will sleep in his car seat if you swing him to sleep. He sleeps every night in his swing.
We are not letting him sleep in bed with us because the mattress is still too soft.
Our next move is to put the swing in our bedroom.
He is in his swing right now. Fussing. Sucking on his hands because he wants something to do. I read him books, I changed his diaper, I fed him. I fed him some more and to make certain I fed him again. The hair dryer is on, a sound that normally lulls him off to sleep. I have tried bouncing the swing by gently pushing the top of it as that adds a nice bit of motion that he craves so much.
NOTHING IS WORKING!!!
We are doing the Attachment Parenting - the kind where you feed on demand, hold the baby a lot, don't let it 'cry it out'. It is not easy. Not at all.
I have to go now. His fussiness is turning especially fussy and is going to turn ugly any minute.
If you pray one prayer today, let it be for me. Forget world peace. We all know it's not going to happen. We do know that Gavin will one day sleep through the night. Just pray that it will be sooner than later. This may seem like a selfish request but a well rested happy April is much better equipped to be nice to the rest of the world so really, a prayer for me is a prayer for the world.
Grr.
He's almost 4 months old and he still does not sleep through the night. I can count on one hand the number of times Gavin slept 6 hours at night since he was born. I can count on the other hand the number of times I have slept over 6 hours because Ryan was able to feed him stored breast milk at night. That totals 10 or less nights of decent sleep since freakin' October!
He won't sleep in his cradle, he won't sleep in his co-sleeper, and he won't sleep in his Pack 'n Play. He will sleep sometimes in his bouncy chair. He will sleep in his car seat if you swing him to sleep. He sleeps every night in his swing.
We are not letting him sleep in bed with us because the mattress is still too soft.
Our next move is to put the swing in our bedroom.
He is in his swing right now. Fussing. Sucking on his hands because he wants something to do. I read him books, I changed his diaper, I fed him. I fed him some more and to make certain I fed him again. The hair dryer is on, a sound that normally lulls him off to sleep. I have tried bouncing the swing by gently pushing the top of it as that adds a nice bit of motion that he craves so much.
NOTHING IS WORKING!!!
We are doing the Attachment Parenting - the kind where you feed on demand, hold the baby a lot, don't let it 'cry it out'. It is not easy. Not at all.
I have to go now. His fussiness is turning especially fussy and is going to turn ugly any minute.
If you pray one prayer today, let it be for me. Forget world peace. We all know it's not going to happen. We do know that Gavin will one day sleep through the night. Just pray that it will be sooner than later. This may seem like a selfish request but a well rested happy April is much better equipped to be nice to the rest of the world so really, a prayer for me is a prayer for the world.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Kodak Moments
It is time to have some professional pictures of The Gavinator. There are two routes one can take. We can go to the department store and get perfectly good photos and sheets of pictures to hand out to aunts, uncles and grandparents or we can go to a studio and get perfectly good photos that also include a CD from which we can make all the prints we could possibly want.
The major difference is price. The department store studios have all sorts of specials and coupons and after reading the fine print I settled on JC Pennys as you can select the size of the pictures on the sheets that you want and you can purchase a sheet for only $4 or you can get the whole package for $8 (the one that includes all of the wallets and even smaller photos that no one actually uses but to shove in a Christmas card that the occasional aunt will tack to a cork board). Woo-hoo. No minimum purchase and no sitting fee. But you get one pose and only as many pictures as you buy. No CDs here.
If you go the studio route you can get a CD from which you can make all the prints you want either at home or through a professional printing service for just under $200. And when going through the studio you usually get all of the pictures taken not just the one pose that you liked best.
Should we go the economical route and save the studio sessions for milestones like the yearly photos?
There is a local photographer I really like. He came to my former office to take business portraits last summer. Check out his website: alanmartsphotography.com. He does the portraits but also doctors photos and makes some surreal looking images. I e-mailed him to get his package rates aside from his hourly cost. I am hoping a CD is included with the hourly rate. If that's the case it would be less money than the kiddie kandids at Babies 'R Us.
Quick poll: How many of you keep and/or display photos that family and friends send to you? Do any of you keep the Christmas photos that everyone and their dog (or of their dog) sends out? I will not shed tears, not even one, if you throw out our family Christmas photo on December 26th. I may shed a tear if you tossed it immediately after opening it unless it arrived after Christmas, of course. If you would answer the poll question that is to the left of this post I would really appreciate it.
The major difference is price. The department store studios have all sorts of specials and coupons and after reading the fine print I settled on JC Pennys as you can select the size of the pictures on the sheets that you want and you can purchase a sheet for only $4 or you can get the whole package for $8 (the one that includes all of the wallets and even smaller photos that no one actually uses but to shove in a Christmas card that the occasional aunt will tack to a cork board). Woo-hoo. No minimum purchase and no sitting fee. But you get one pose and only as many pictures as you buy. No CDs here.
If you go the studio route you can get a CD from which you can make all the prints you want either at home or through a professional printing service for just under $200. And when going through the studio you usually get all of the pictures taken not just the one pose that you liked best.
Should we go the economical route and save the studio sessions for milestones like the yearly photos?
There is a local photographer I really like. He came to my former office to take business portraits last summer. Check out his website: alanmartsphotography.com. He does the portraits but also doctors photos and makes some surreal looking images. I e-mailed him to get his package rates aside from his hourly cost. I am hoping a CD is included with the hourly rate. If that's the case it would be less money than the kiddie kandids at Babies 'R Us.
Quick poll: How many of you keep and/or display photos that family and friends send to you? Do any of you keep the Christmas photos that everyone and their dog (or of their dog) sends out? I will not shed tears, not even one, if you throw out our family Christmas photo on December 26th. I may shed a tear if you tossed it immediately after opening it unless it arrived after Christmas, of course. If you would answer the poll question that is to the left of this post I would really appreciate it.
Breakthrough!
Gavin and I took a nap this morning. We take a nap most mornings. Today, however we took a nap in my bed. On a flat surface!!! He slept on a flat surface! He slept on a stationary surface! There was no bouncing, no vibrating, no rocking and no swinging.
When nap time was over I slipped out of bed and he slept a few minutes longer all by himself while I got ready for a visit to see my friend Erika and her son Zach. When we got home that afternoon we took another nap on the bed. Gavin fought this one a little more but it just took a tummy full of milk to lull him off to sleep but he didn't last long with out me next to him.
I'm sure there are a few people reading this who shudder at the thought of a baby in bed with an adult. Did you know that societies that practice co-sleeping (baby in bed) have a lower incidence of SIDS? It is rare that an adult smothers the baby and when it does happen the adult is usually under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In preparation for bringing Gavin into our bed I removed the memory foam top we had as it is way too soft. When he is in bed we put him up high but not too close to the head board and we keep the blankets at waist height as to prevent us from pulling them up over him.
Of course as I write this he is sleeping in his swing. It is Friday night and I slept for several hours after Ryan came home. I'm going to go get him soon to come out and take over G duty. Tomorrow night I will try sleeping in our bed and will bring Gavin in with us. I would do it tonight but since I can't know how it will turn out I want to ensure I have at least one good night sleep before starting something new.
When nap time was over I slipped out of bed and he slept a few minutes longer all by himself while I got ready for a visit to see my friend Erika and her son Zach. When we got home that afternoon we took another nap on the bed. Gavin fought this one a little more but it just took a tummy full of milk to lull him off to sleep but he didn't last long with out me next to him.
I'm sure there are a few people reading this who shudder at the thought of a baby in bed with an adult. Did you know that societies that practice co-sleeping (baby in bed) have a lower incidence of SIDS? It is rare that an adult smothers the baby and when it does happen the adult is usually under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In preparation for bringing Gavin into our bed I removed the memory foam top we had as it is way too soft. When he is in bed we put him up high but not too close to the head board and we keep the blankets at waist height as to prevent us from pulling them up over him.
Of course as I write this he is sleeping in his swing. It is Friday night and I slept for several hours after Ryan came home. I'm going to go get him soon to come out and take over G duty. Tomorrow night I will try sleeping in our bed and will bring Gavin in with us. I would do it tonight but since I can't know how it will turn out I want to ensure I have at least one good night sleep before starting something new.
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