It's late. Just finished grading the last final exam and posting the grades. Have gone 25 hours without pumping, and am surviving. I fly to California tomorrow (today!) with an almost six-month old on my lap. Oy. It's a good thing I work well under pressure.
I'm going to need to update the photo soon. Everything here is actually covered with snow.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Autumn
Hello, long time no post.
Liftoff Boy is doing brilliantly. He had his 4 month appointment last Wednesday and has now been through two rounds of immunizations. I'm amazed at the anti-vax stuff on the internet. The way some people approach studies that indicate no link between vaccinations and autism reminds me of the way some people keep insisting Barack Obama is secretly Muslim, or a terrorist, or a Black Panther or whatever. They look at the evidence and given that it disagrees with the fears they hold, they decide that the people providing the evidence are in on the conspiracy.
I didn't like seeing LB get four shots. He wasn't happy. But it was okay, it happened fast, and I want him to be protected from hepatitis and meningitis and a host of other illnesses that are, indeed, preventable through immunizations.
LB is still our giant baby. He weighed 17 pounds, 5 ounces (98th percentile) and was 27 inches long (100th percentile). His head is 97th percentile. So overall he's a big old guy.
I am still amazingly grateful and happy that his birth turned out to be a cesarean. Thank you, my little big guy, for refusing to turn upside down. The procedure itself went very well, was safe, and assured that LB and I both survived the process of getting him out. I'm in a snit right now because I occasionally search the internet for information about cesareans that is positive, and it's just not out there. I signed a petition stating my support for prophylactic cesarean deliveries as a legitimate birth choice after receiving an invitation, but there's so little out there. Mostly c-sections are made out to be a horrible, frightening attack on the body by evil doctors who want to endanger you and your baby to make money, but it's just the same old stuff all over again.
I agree that unnecessary surgery is often a bad idea. But anyone who seriously thinks that I should have endangered LB and myself by trying to get him out bottom-first with that big head of his stuck above the birth canal can jump in a lake. And even if he hd turned head-down, his birth would still have been dangerous. I'm glad we had the c/s, and I wish there were some pro-Cesarean group out there that I could join. The birth experience can be wonderful when it's fast, efficient and artificial and if I ever get pregnant again, it's what I'll be planning to do.
In other news, we've been meaning to start LB on solids soon (since he is gigantic) but other things intervened. We'll maybe try it this morning...
Liftoff Boy is doing brilliantly. He had his 4 month appointment last Wednesday and has now been through two rounds of immunizations. I'm amazed at the anti-vax stuff on the internet. The way some people approach studies that indicate no link between vaccinations and autism reminds me of the way some people keep insisting Barack Obama is secretly Muslim, or a terrorist, or a Black Panther or whatever. They look at the evidence and given that it disagrees with the fears they hold, they decide that the people providing the evidence are in on the conspiracy.
I didn't like seeing LB get four shots. He wasn't happy. But it was okay, it happened fast, and I want him to be protected from hepatitis and meningitis and a host of other illnesses that are, indeed, preventable through immunizations.
LB is still our giant baby. He weighed 17 pounds, 5 ounces (98th percentile) and was 27 inches long (100th percentile). His head is 97th percentile. So overall he's a big old guy.
I am still amazingly grateful and happy that his birth turned out to be a cesarean. Thank you, my little big guy, for refusing to turn upside down. The procedure itself went very well, was safe, and assured that LB and I both survived the process of getting him out. I'm in a snit right now because I occasionally search the internet for information about cesareans that is positive, and it's just not out there. I signed a petition stating my support for prophylactic cesarean deliveries as a legitimate birth choice after receiving an invitation, but there's so little out there. Mostly c-sections are made out to be a horrible, frightening attack on the body by evil doctors who want to endanger you and your baby to make money, but it's just the same old stuff all over again.
I agree that unnecessary surgery is often a bad idea. But anyone who seriously thinks that I should have endangered LB and myself by trying to get him out bottom-first with that big head of his stuck above the birth canal can jump in a lake. And even if he hd turned head-down, his birth would still have been dangerous. I'm glad we had the c/s, and I wish there were some pro-Cesarean group out there that I could join. The birth experience can be wonderful when it's fast, efficient and artificial and if I ever get pregnant again, it's what I'll be planning to do.
In other news, we've been meaning to start LB on solids soon (since he is gigantic) but other things intervened. We'll maybe try it this morning...
Thursday, October 9, 2008
So sleepy...
I don't know the last time I wrote, but we're back in school now, and have even passed midterm week!
Liftoff Guy has a Tuesday/Thursday schedule and I've got a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule, so we take turns with Liftoff Boy. LB is 16 weeks old today and is really getting the hang of this whole body thing. He can turn on one side, lift his head and shoulders up when he's on his stomach, and his head is totally steady when he sits. His eyes seems to be turning brown, and hair is starting to grow in more on his head. His eyebrows are getting darker. He smiles a LOT and laughs occasionally. Sometimes when he hears music he makes singing sounds. He can be exhausting, but he's such a sweet guy and so amazing.
But I have spent the whole day with him (he slept enough for me to be able to grade midterms, yay), and now I'm barely holding on. Zzzzzz....
Liftoff Guy has a Tuesday/Thursday schedule and I've got a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule, so we take turns with Liftoff Boy. LB is 16 weeks old today and is really getting the hang of this whole body thing. He can turn on one side, lift his head and shoulders up when he's on his stomach, and his head is totally steady when he sits. His eyes seems to be turning brown, and hair is starting to grow in more on his head. His eyebrows are getting darker. He smiles a LOT and laughs occasionally. Sometimes when he hears music he makes singing sounds. He can be exhausting, but he's such a sweet guy and so amazing.
But I have spent the whole day with him (he slept enough for me to be able to grade midterms, yay), and now I'm barely holding on. Zzzzzz....
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Random stuff....
I saw a Hummer today. The back window was covered with Obama stickers and other left-leaning items. I wasn't sure what to make of it. But I was on my way to a Hindu temple for statue installation ceremonies, so I just assumed it was part of my day.
Liftoff Boy has made a cognitive leap this week. Suddenly rattles are interesting and can be shaken at will. The crib can be crossed with the right amount of wriggling. The mirror attached to his play mat can be adjusted to provide better and more interesting views. It's like he's waking up, very slowly, over the course of months, (re)gaining consciousness. After watching a cat slowly die, it's really interesting to watch a creature get stronger and better and more capable. It's also scary because when he's mobile, we're totally screwed.
I am afraid of Sarah Palin on multiple levels.
Liftoff Boy has made a cognitive leap this week. Suddenly rattles are interesting and can be shaken at will. The crib can be crossed with the right amount of wriggling. The mirror attached to his play mat can be adjusted to provide better and more interesting views. It's like he's waking up, very slowly, over the course of months, (re)gaining consciousness. After watching a cat slowly die, it's really interesting to watch a creature get stronger and better and more capable. It's also scary because when he's mobile, we're totally screwed.
I am afraid of Sarah Palin on multiple levels.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sunday morning
Liftoff Boy is sleeping, which he wasn't doing so much last night when it was bedtime. He's been doing a starving/sleeping/fussy combo that is associated with growth spurts. And he's in need of a growth spurt, because at 10 weeks, he's only 15 pounds! Liftoff Guy asked me when the growing would stop, and I said when LB is 25 years old or so. From what I understand.
To be fair, he slept all night through on Thursday, spent Friday day with Daddy and Daddy's best friend doing a bookstore/video store/Indian restaurant crawl and was very well behaved, slept all through the night on Friday night... But yesterday, Saturday, he was mostly home with me and kept wanting to cry and fuss. Last night LG's best friend came over again and we watched Star Trek videos and ate pizza and LB was mostly fussy. We tried to put him to bed at 9, but he was totally awake, and still hungry, so he was up again at 10, eating and cuddling, and LG finally got him to bed sometime after 10:15 or so. I think. I was so tired, I can't remember. There Kirk was, trying to save the universe from some giant planet-eating robot, and I could barely hold my head up. Then LB was up at 4am, hungry, and didn't sleep the night through. LG gets up with him though...
I'm trying to drop my 3am/4am night pump. This is a challenge. I basically have to reduce the time I spend pumping at that point, by about 2 minutes, then keep that number of minutes for a couple of days, then reduce it again. So I've had two nights in a row with it at 13 minutes, down from the 15 I'm more used to. But THEN I'm supposed to keep my first pump after dawn pump down to its usual 9 to 11 ounces, and this meant I only pumped for 11 minutes. That was at 7:30 or so, and 2 hours later, I'm really uncomfortable. I want to get these things emptied. I'm supposed to be getting my breasts on a schedule (seriously) where they will know not to make milk in the middle of the night. The reason for this is that LB is usually sleeping through the night (not last night though) and if I were actually breastfeeding him, then my breasts would have to adjust to the lack of nursing. So I'm trying to recreate this slowly, in a way that won't lead to mastitis or some other nasty thing.
Tonight I go down to 11 minutes, and I'm not sure I'll be able to handle it.
To be fair, he slept all night through on Thursday, spent Friday day with Daddy and Daddy's best friend doing a bookstore/video store/Indian restaurant crawl and was very well behaved, slept all through the night on Friday night... But yesterday, Saturday, he was mostly home with me and kept wanting to cry and fuss. Last night LG's best friend came over again and we watched Star Trek videos and ate pizza and LB was mostly fussy. We tried to put him to bed at 9, but he was totally awake, and still hungry, so he was up again at 10, eating and cuddling, and LG finally got him to bed sometime after 10:15 or so. I think. I was so tired, I can't remember. There Kirk was, trying to save the universe from some giant planet-eating robot, and I could barely hold my head up. Then LB was up at 4am, hungry, and didn't sleep the night through. LG gets up with him though...
I'm trying to drop my 3am/4am night pump. This is a challenge. I basically have to reduce the time I spend pumping at that point, by about 2 minutes, then keep that number of minutes for a couple of days, then reduce it again. So I've had two nights in a row with it at 13 minutes, down from the 15 I'm more used to. But THEN I'm supposed to keep my first pump after dawn pump down to its usual 9 to 11 ounces, and this meant I only pumped for 11 minutes. That was at 7:30 or so, and 2 hours later, I'm really uncomfortable. I want to get these things emptied. I'm supposed to be getting my breasts on a schedule (seriously) where they will know not to make milk in the middle of the night. The reason for this is that LB is usually sleeping through the night (not last night though) and if I were actually breastfeeding him, then my breasts would have to adjust to the lack of nursing. So I'm trying to recreate this slowly, in a way that won't lead to mastitis or some other nasty thing.
Tonight I go down to 11 minutes, and I'm not sure I'll be able to handle it.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Alone for the first time
This won't be a long post, but Liftoff Guy drove out of state to rescue a friend of his who's working in a very rural area, has terrible kidney stones, no medical insurance, and no access to those sound wave kidney stone breaking-up thingies (sorry). LG will be bringing Friend home so that he can get medical treatment here, but this is a 10-hour trip each way. So Liftoff Boy and I are in the middle of our first night home alone together.
It's 4:14am. I'm up pumping breast milk (I almost typed beast milk), hoping LB will keep sleeping at least until I'm done. I'm sleeping tonight better than I expected, but we'll see what happens in the near future.
In other news, LB continues to be giant. He had a pediatrician's appointment on Wednesday and is in the 100th percentile for both height and weight. At 2 months, he's 14 pounds, 6 ounces and 24 3/4 inches long. His head is 90th percentile. He's likely to be a big guy forever apparently, because of the size of his head. He's not just growing fast, he's sort of consistently big. I don't know. But wow. He's about the right size for a 4 month old. He can also support his weight on his legs already if you help with balance, which is also a skill associated with being 3 or 4 months old, per our doctor, not two.
LB had to have an ultrasound to check his hips, just because he was breech. He was fine, but the ultrasound tech felt compelled to mention that her giant child (another 9 pounder at birth) started walking at 6 months. Walking! Please, LB, don't be THAT fast!
It's 4:14am. I'm up pumping breast milk (I almost typed beast milk), hoping LB will keep sleeping at least until I'm done. I'm sleeping tonight better than I expected, but we'll see what happens in the near future.
In other news, LB continues to be giant. He had a pediatrician's appointment on Wednesday and is in the 100th percentile for both height and weight. At 2 months, he's 14 pounds, 6 ounces and 24 3/4 inches long. His head is 90th percentile. He's likely to be a big guy forever apparently, because of the size of his head. He's not just growing fast, he's sort of consistently big. I don't know. But wow. He's about the right size for a 4 month old. He can also support his weight on his legs already if you help with balance, which is also a skill associated with being 3 or 4 months old, per our doctor, not two.
LB had to have an ultrasound to check his hips, just because he was breech. He was fine, but the ultrasound tech felt compelled to mention that her giant child (another 9 pounder at birth) started walking at 6 months. Walking! Please, LB, don't be THAT fast!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Breasts
I am Lait-tit-ia, queen of all nourishment. My breasts flow with white delight. I am abundance and plenty.
Well, this is basically true. I've always had large breasts. Before I got pregnant, I was rocking 38DDs. This is something I apparently get from my dad's side of the family, not my mom's (and no, Kimba, this wasn't directed at you - my mom states this almost daily as in, "You sure didn't get those from ME!"). Anyway, now that I'm nursing... Well, they warn you that your cup size will increase 1-4 sizes. Guess which way I went! Yup, I'm now a 38I. I. As in ice cream. I bought a couple of nursing bras before I had the baby and guessing from my measurements then, I ended up with 44Fs. But pregnancy expands your rib cage in weird ways and after you have the baby your torso returns to its normal dimensions. So the 44Fs fit okay in the cups, but are huge otherwise and offer basically no support. I took my measurements, bought a couple of more accurately sized bras online, and now I'm waiting for sweet relief. Because you think you can buy 38I-sized bras anywhere in real life? Maybe somewhere but not so much here.
This is how bad it is. Liftoff Baby likes pacifiers. They gave him one at the hospital he really likes, so I went online and bought more of them, including a variety that's - get this - vanilla scented. We were trying it out this morning after I fed him expressed breast milk in a bottle and he spit it out and it kind of went flying, but I was too intent on cleaning up spit up to notice where. I forgot about it. We went out to lunch and to a farmer's market and I got home and decided to pump. Upon lifting my shirt I looked down into my bra and saw this bright orange latex vanilla-scented pacifier resting peacefully in my bra between my breasts. I had no idea. I guess it's always a good idea to carry a spare pacifier around in your bra, right? Ahem...
Well, this is basically true. I've always had large breasts. Before I got pregnant, I was rocking 38DDs. This is something I apparently get from my dad's side of the family, not my mom's (and no, Kimba, this wasn't directed at you - my mom states this almost daily as in, "You sure didn't get those from ME!"). Anyway, now that I'm nursing... Well, they warn you that your cup size will increase 1-4 sizes. Guess which way I went! Yup, I'm now a 38I. I. As in ice cream. I bought a couple of nursing bras before I had the baby and guessing from my measurements then, I ended up with 44Fs. But pregnancy expands your rib cage in weird ways and after you have the baby your torso returns to its normal dimensions. So the 44Fs fit okay in the cups, but are huge otherwise and offer basically no support. I took my measurements, bought a couple of more accurately sized bras online, and now I'm waiting for sweet relief. Because you think you can buy 38I-sized bras anywhere in real life? Maybe somewhere but not so much here.
This is how bad it is. Liftoff Baby likes pacifiers. They gave him one at the hospital he really likes, so I went online and bought more of them, including a variety that's - get this - vanilla scented. We were trying it out this morning after I fed him expressed breast milk in a bottle and he spit it out and it kind of went flying, but I was too intent on cleaning up spit up to notice where. I forgot about it. We went out to lunch and to a farmer's market and I got home and decided to pump. Upon lifting my shirt I looked down into my bra and saw this bright orange latex vanilla-scented pacifier resting peacefully in my bra between my breasts. I had no idea. I guess it's always a good idea to carry a spare pacifier around in your bra, right? Ahem...
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)