thorn in my side

Actually, it's an ache in my back.  I boogered it up mighty fine this morning about 4am while getting out of bed.  Who knew that such an exciting, difficult task would leave me feeling pretty pitiful.  

Our whole day has been complicated by this.  I'm walking funny and getting up funny.  And I've got the baby sleeping next to me on the couch so I don't have to get up and bend over anything to get to her.  And we've not had any floor time today - I'm not so sure I could get her up out of the floor (I moved her play mat to the ottoman instead.).

She's also wearing her fooler, as I'm certain that if it fell in the floor, we'd be in major manure.

I had really good intentions to do several things today.  That list was changed about four seconds after I had to figure out how to get out of bed this morning.  The house will not be cleaned for my guests, which is fine by me.  With all the rain we've had this week, we'll need inside projects.  

They can dust and vacuum for me!

surprise

Someone is one month old.  She's so excited that she had a 4+ hour awake spell today...  not an entirely happy awake time, but awake and mostly alert nonetheless.  Thank goodness for the fooler.

The Hater and I invited ourselves to our friends' home tonight for supper.  We're going to pick it up on our way to their place.  I've been in the house since Monday and am ready for a change of scenery, not to mention the chance to visit friends that I've not seen in weeks.

We've managed to get two things done on our list of things to do this weekend.  Hopefully tomorrow we'll get the rest of them done.  But tomorrow The Hater has a stack of papers to grade, and I've got a small mountain of laundry that needs attention, plus the wiggle worm hiccup baby, so we may not end up being as productive as we'd like to be. 

breast feeding help

This is my Public Service Announcement for the week, aimed directly to breast feeding moms.

When you see people breast feeding in the movies or in public, everything looks easy and natural.  Nobody told me that this would be a skill that the baby and I would have to learn, that it would be awkward and frustrating initially, that I would feel like I was trying to learn to speak Greek by submersion into a Mandarin-speaking mosh pit.

For us, there has been a light at the end of the tunnel.  But I can't claim that we've made this journey alone, and I wanted to share some resources that have been helpful to me:

1. First, I want to mention that the nurses at the hospital where you delivered can be an excellent resource.  Even if you live in a place where the hospital doesn't have "lactation consultant" RNs on staff, the labor and delivery nurses should be able to answer most of your questions.  Don't hesitate to call and ask them a thousand questions.
2. 1-800-4-GERBER  I have found the Gerber Parents Resource Center to be invaluable.  It's a 24/7 toll free number that you can call and immediately talk to certified lactation educator.  (Sometimes you need to talk to someone when it's not normal business hours, or you don't want to leave a message and wait for someone to call you back.)  I've called them twice and been pleased with the answers I've gotten both times.  That number is (1-800-443-7237).  
3. A google search can also find web pages with pictures and detailed instructions.  I went to several web pages, but found talking to a real life person more helpful.

Hope this helps.

(Another good resource I've found for nutrition:  1-800-508-1717 to speak with a Registered Dietitian who can answer questions about prenatal nutrition and feeding of your kids from birth to preschool.  This is not a breast feeding resource, but if you had questions about other feeding options for your baby.)

brain training

Yesterday was an adventure.  I had my follow-up OB appointment, and the baby got to have another outing outside of the house.  

It was the first time I've worn makeup since she was born.  And instead of wearing pajama bottoms or the lounging pregnancy pants, I wore pre-pregnancy jeans.  I was really excited that they fit...  still a little snug, but they buttoned with room to spare, so I pranced to the office.

As the day wore on, it dawned on me that I haven't had to "suck it in" for about 5 months.  I'm going to totally have to retrain my gut to do that - and my brain to remember to do it.  Gut training needs to happen anyway because my abs, which were outlined and cut pre-pregnancy, are now jell-o.  

There's another huge undertaking that I'm also going to have to start remembering.  Yesterday's jeans reminded me that I have to actually unbutton and unzip before I can pull my pants down.  Again, I've not worn pants that have buttons or zippers in months --  imagine my confusion when I stood in front of the toilet, ready to sit and pee, and wondering why I couldn't pull my pants down.

I read a study that pregnant women's brains actually shrink in their head and don't return back to normal until about 3 months after the baby has been born.  So I'm going to chalk one up to baby brain shrinkage that I really didn't remember that I needed to unzip my pants, that I really stood there and made several attempts to pull them down before I realized that they were still buttoned.

Too bad they don't have a program on Brain Age for that.

Olympic diaper changes

After a typical diaper change this morning an unexpected pee-pee fountain paired with an explosive poo cleared 1 vertical foot for a distance of 3 feet, missing the foot of the bed by only inches.

The Norwegian judge awarded a perfect 10.0 .

The Hater and I are so proud.

teaching Nietzsche

Baby learns to embrace her suffering...

And prefers it not be documented...

higgida-biggida-bop

This morning in the middle of baby's 2am feeding it dawned on me that I was burping her with percussion rhythms that I've known for years (for you drumline , rudiments and warm-ups*).  I really wanted to fire up the laptop and immediately send out an email to my band nerd friends with kids to see if they did the same, but since it was so early, I opted to go back to sleep instead.

This was probably a good option because the 5:30am feeding ended up in a power vomit episode and complete wardrobe change for her - partial wardrobe change for me.  

So I emailed them this morning.  So far no answers yet, but I'm eager to see if they've done the same.

Meanwhile, baby will be 3 weeks old tonight.  And as you can see from the picture, she loves her tractor.

* specifically:  flamadiddles, ratamacues, cheeses, and the standards (aka, chicken and a roll, 8-8-16, etc)

pride vs boredom

During the short moments during the day where baby is sleeping and I'm awake, I'm finding myself thinking about a certain social networking forum that I swore I wouldn't EVER join.  EVER.  

But now I'm thinking about it because it would be something else that could entertain me while everybody I know is still working.  Because let's be real honest here:  daytime tv is special (and not in the way your Mama thinks you're special).  I'm spending my time watching the clock - either timing the next due feeding or wondering how much longer it'll take for The Hater to come home to entertain me with real, two-way, adult conversation.

But it's tricky because I'm stubborn.  And the people to whom I swore I would NEVER EVER join said social networking community are sure that "it's just a matter of time" before I "break down" and "join the dark side".  This includes The Hater, who sold out to said social network a month or so ago.  

At this point I guess it's just a matter of time to see which wins -- my pride or my tolerance of boredom.  But today is the first day where I've seriously considered giving in, and it pains me to admit this.

Nancy Reagan said I should "just say no".  I'm going to stick with her for a little while longer.  After all, there are other projects I could work on --  like dusting and vacuuming, or going through the stack of studies that I brought home from work to read while I'm on maternity leave.

But for those of you who were taking bets to see how long I'd be able to hold out --  you should know that the house advantage is ever changing...  and I have several more weeks of maternity leave ahead of me.

and then she woke up, screaming