Baby C's Blog (again)

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Privacy Issue

Given an unfortunate circumstance that has arisen I've decided to make The Minion's blog private. Email me, comment on this post, or contact me on Facebook if you'd like a blog invitation. If this particular individual does not cease contacting me, lurking on my blog/facebook account and googling my name for information I will also make this blog private and invitation only.

Holiday Update

I've been off of work since December 23rd. It was a nice, long holiday break but I kind of feel like I need a vacation from my vacation. It seems like there has been a steady stream of people in and out of our house since around thanksgiving. After turkey day we started getting ready for christmas. We (I) dragged the boxes out from the basement, put the lights up, got a tree, did the ornament thing, et cetera et cetera, and now it's time to take everything back down and pack it away until next year. The OCD in me loves packing boxes, but I'm just not in the mood.

Christmas with the baby was lots of fun. C told me that when he was little they would read a story from the Tall Book of Christmas every christmas eve. Of course, he didn't tell me about this until two days before christmas, so I surprised him and overnighted a copy from Amazon so he could continue the tradition with his own child. Katie made him a really awesome Yankees stocking - we kind of draped it over the mantle this year, but next year we'll find a suitable hanging place. The minion didn't really "get" the whole idea of presents, but he had fun chewing on everything, so it was all good :)

We have had some sleep regression lately, which has definitely been trying my sanity at work. Thankfully the last few nights he's been back to "normal," only waking up once to eat around 5. I get up at that time anyway, so I can handle it.

I don't usually do new year's resolutions because I never keep them and then I feel guilty when February comes around, but I will get back into blogging. I need to complain somewhere, and at least online you have a choice over whether or not to listen to my kvetching and rambling.

Finding Time to Blog

Given that I still haven't started christmas shopping or ordered christmas cards I don't feel too guilty that I haven't posted anything new in nine days. I think that's the longest I've gone.

The Minion has stopped sleeping through the night so I'm tired and cranky, plus I've been fighting a cold since before thanksgiving. Fun times in our house, really.

I have two things to brag about today - pants and milk donations.

First the pants - I still had one pair of old jeans that I hadn't fit into since I found out I was pregnant. They didn't have as much "give" as my other pairs, so they were folded up and shoved in the closet as soon as the bloat set in, which was right around week 5. We FINALLY got a new dresser delivered on Saturday (I've only been waiting 3 years to have a dresser) so I did some cleaning out of the closet and decided to try them on again. They fit! I'm now officially back to where I was before. (size-wise. mentally, I don't think there is any going back!)

Of course, I was so excited that my pants fit that I stopped all organization of the closet. 5 days later and the clothes I dragged out are still all over our room, waiting to be filed into their drawers. Maybe I'll get to it this weekend.

Second, the milk donation. What do you do when you have a freezer full of milk at your house, a freezer full of milk at your mom's house, and some borrowed space in a deep freeze at a family friend's house because you have too much milk? You donate it, in my case to the Mother's Milk Bank of Ohio, which is a member of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America. I went through the screening process, did the blood tests, and dropped off a little over 300oz last Tuesday. I'm so excited to be involved with this project - I haven't given blood since I got pregnant, so I'm happy to be doing something that helps someone else. If you're a lactating mother with a freezer full of milk or you know someone who is, you should consider becoming a milk donor.

Vintage Jene

I found this when we were unpacking the ornaments. It's from 1988 - I was in 2nd grade, 7 years old, and that was my catholic school year, hence the plaid :)



We got Nintendo that year and I had chickenpox for christmas.

As if the grays weren't enough

I've begun the postpartum molting phase. I never got the thick, luxurious hair that everyone swore I would while I was pregnant, and now the thin and lifeless stings that I'm lucky enough to have are swirling down the drain at an alarming rate.

One Year Ago Today

We saw those two pink lines. C didn't believe them, so we had to get digital proof. I remember buying the tests at lunch, then having to sit through an afternoon at work and presentation night for the class I was teaching. It was the longest evening ever. I found it very difficult to care about the research reports my students had so carefully prepared. It's amazing how the time went by so slow and so fast at the same time, and we could go from here















to here



in only a year.

Office Bathroom Mirror is NOT My Friend

I hate the flourescent lighting in my otherwise comfortable office building. It's the absolute worst in the bathroom, where the lighting perfectly highlights the growing number of grey hairs sprouting out of my head. I pulled out a bunch last night but I guess I missed most of them, because there they were, glistening in the soft, yellow, artificial light.

Maybe it's time to do something different. Start dying my hair maybe? Any suggestions? I know absolutely nothing about fashion or beauty, so I need someone to school me on the subject of hair color.

I hesitated to write this post because I know someone will throw it back at me and say "See? THIS is why women should stay at home. You can't do both things at once. I was right all along."

I'm less than a month in as a working mom and I've already had two absolutely horrible mornings. Two weeks ago I managed to forget my pump parts and didn't discover the problem until I was about to head to the library for a pumping session. That left me with boobs on the verge of explosion, having to borrow my co-workers SUV to drive to the lactation center at the hospital and invest in a THIRD SET of pump parts, one of which now permanently resides in my office.

Then there was today. It started out ok, prodding a sniffly C along so that we could get ourselves together, get the baby ready, and get out of the house on time. I got out of the shower and found that my hair dryer was fried. Luckily, my crappy hair is just long enough for some pigtails. Unfortunately, with my hair pulled back I look like walking death without makeup, so I had to put some on.

Poor Baby C has a cold, so I had to suck his snot, give him his eye drops, change him, feed him, and get him dressed while C was slower than freaking molasses getting out the door. We were already off to a late start, then we got stuck in a traffic jam because Cincinnati peeps can't drive when it's raining. We get to daycare and I find that he didn't grab the diaper bag like I asked him to on the way out the door, while I'm juggling my stuff for work, pump bag, and baby in his carrier. Too much stuff needs to get out of the house with me every morning.

We need to go home to get the bag with the bottles, but C needs to go to work first, so we drive all the way to the factory. I finally get on the highway to go home and there's a huge pile-up. I make it home, run in to get the diaper bag, and head back to daycare, crossing my fingers that Baby C doesn't wake up, because I know he's hungry by this point. I have bad luck, so he wakes up SCREAMING. By this time I'm on the highway and can't do anything about it.

We finally get to daycare and I stay to feed him, so he doesn't think I'm evil mom. I roll into work at 9:30, two whole hours late. Thankfully, the pres decided to take the week off. Whew!

Because of perfect timing, Baby C is experiencing a growth spurt and hasn't slept through the night in about a week. He was up TWICE last night. What's up with that?

I need a system. Mornings are crazy, our house is a disaster area, and laundry has been folded but not put away since my last weekend of maternity leave. It gets better, right? Thank god it's a 2 day week.

Keeping the Holiday Weight Off (worthless advice)

Every year I read the same articles that tell you how to avoid gaining weight during this festive season. Every year I read the same couple of tips that just stare out at me as being completely unrealistic. I'm going to share my favorites with you. You're so lucky! These were spotlighted on MSNBC.com.

1. Avoid Temptation

Avoid constantly putting yourself in situations that tempt you. For example, don’t walk through the break room at work 10 times a day when you know it's filled with holiday treats and candies. Spend a few minutes in the morning packing a healthy snack (like almonds, a piece of fruit or a yogurt) so you'll have a healthy weight-loss alternative.

And don't place treats on your kitchen counter to stare you in the face or take four desserts off the buffet vowing to take only one bite of each. Remember, EAT before you meet. Have this small meal before you go to any parties: a hardboiled egg, apple, and a thirst quencher (water, seltzer, diet soda, tea).

This is a great idea in theory, but who the hell can actually do this in practice? In reality you know that the almonds, fruit, and yogurt are going to be left to languish in the back of the workroom refrigerator in favor of cookies and other such niceties. As for the second tip, if you eat that small meal before the party you're inevitably going to end up eating the equivalent of two meals by the time all is said and done. So what if you had a hardboiled egg? Are you still going to be passing up chocolate? May as well skip the calories in the egg and apple altogether and just have chocolate for dinner instead.


2. Liquid calories count

Holidays are notorious for tempting us with drinks we wouldn't normally consume. Alcohol offers no nutrients — just empty calories, and we often forget to count them. Eggnog coffee drinks with whipped cream, hot toddies, spiced rum, these drinks can have as many calories as a personal pan pizza! Limit your consumption and order sparkling water with a splash of cranberry juice instead. It'll look festive and save calories. If you want to go for the alcohol, alternate alcoholic drinks with diet-friendly, calorie-free sparkling water.

This is all true, but what they're forgetting here is that "sparkling water with a splash of cranberry juice" isn't going to help us deal with those difficult people in our lives that come out of the woodwork around the holiday season. It also won't help you handle hosting a holiday with grace, or ensure that you're relaxed enough to keep you from grinding your teeth down to nothing while you clench your jaw to avoid saying something in the heat of a discussion that you might regret later (please see previous post entitled "If you can't say anything nice..."). Please understand that I'm not in any way shape or form saying that alcohol is necessary to make it through the holiday season, just that it can go a long way in maintaining quality family relations.


3. Save it for something special

Indulge only in new, interesting foods; have one taste of each. Avoid feeling deprived and distracted by food all evening long — allow yourself one dessert or holiday truffle per event. When you’re done, destroy the plate. If you've had enough to eat but others are still picking, dump salt over any food you have left.

Sure, I'll just have one bite of chocolate. Like I said above, I would just make that the whole meal. That's my personal issue though, instead of giving up on the dessert part I just won't eat any "real food" to make up for it. I do that during work potluck lunches pretty regularly. Who needs chili, soup, or appetizers? Pass the dessert, please.

I do like the salt idea, but I suffer from "leftovers guilt" and can't bear to throw away food. This is why at any given time you will find a random collection of neatly packed tupperware containers stacked in our fridge. What's in there right now? Leftover calzone filling? Check. Leftover corn tortilla strips? Check. A tea bag that I can reuse because the flavor is so strong? Check. Half of a green pepper that I know I have little intention of actually finishing? Check.


** edit -- I was just informed by a co-worker that there are oatmeal raisin cookies available at her desk. You bet your ass that a cookie will be taking the place of my apple as my afternoon snack. **

Mastitis

really really sucks. I had to waste a personal day yesterday because by the time I got to work I thought I was going to die. My OB couldn't see me until 11, so I locked myself in the library at work and slept. I have horse-pill antibiotics that make me feel like I'm going to puke, which probably doesn't really matter because I can't eat anything anyway. My right boob and arm hurt like hell and I can't even pick up Baby Charlie :(

Luckily my fever is gone today so I came to work. I'm trying to force down a bowl of cheerios and strawberries, but it's slow going and now they're a little soggy.

If you don't have anything nice to say....

Then please just STFU. I don't understand why people have to be so judgemental and can't stop pick, pick, picking at the same tired old issue. Yes, Baby Charlie goes to daycare. Yes, he seems to like it there. He smiles and plays and is always in a good mood. No, they don't just stick him in his crib and leave him there all day, and no, I don't feel like I'm "letting someone else raise my child."

We Did It!!

I feel somewhat better about being stuck in Ohio now that it's a blue state.

What an exciting moment in history! I'm so glad I was able to be a part of it. I was so anxious all day yesterday, then tortured myself by watching the coverage all evening long. It was pins and needles all the way! I was so overcome with emotion when they declared Obama the winner, more so than I thought I would be. McCain gave a fantastic concession speech - it definitely restored some of the respect that I had lost for him since 2000, when I actually liked him. Obama's speech was truly inspiring and brought me to tears. It's amazing to see how far our society has come in such a short period of time. I'm beyond excited for what this development means for our country.

Unfortunately, it was evident in other places that we still have a long way to go, as a few states passed amendments that ban gay marriage and one even passed a law that bans gay couples from adopting. Because that's all we need, fewer opportunities for children with no place to go.

Hopefully the closed-mindedness that we're still seeing will continue to disappear in the coming years. Yay for everyone who supported Obama, and yay for everyone who didn't. I'm sure you'll see great, positive changes during the next four years. I just hope everyone who supported the "other side" can remove the blinders and give the new administration a fair chance.

Election Day

Baby Charlie says get out and vote!



Unless you're voting for McCain, in which case you can just stay home :)

Just kidding!

(kind of)

Learning my Limitations

This week I had three things I wanted to do before Halloween. I wanted to make iced sugar cookies using the ghost cookie cutter I got on clearance last year, carve a pumpkin for Baby Charlie, and make brownies for our office potluck lunch. Today is Halloween, and I have a tub full of un-iced cookies that don't really look like ghosts, an untouched pumpkin on the front step, and brownies that I cut into at 5:00 this morning. Oh well, at least they taste good.

What I found most amazing about this morning is that even though I was up an hour earlier than usual (Charlie had to get to work by 5 today) I was still rushing to get out the door when 6:45 rolled around. I guess if I didn't have the brownies to cut I might have had extra time.

It's only been 2 full days of being back at work but I can already tell that the organization and cleanliness of our house is going to suffer more than it already has. I'm also cursing whoever came up with the million pieces that go with the Dr. Brown's bottles.

Here I Am

At work. Daycare has called twice to give me updates on Baby Charlie - so far he's eaten twice and taken a small nap. They said he's been very smiley and interested in checking out the other babies. He's doing a lot of watching so far today. I have the webcam to check on him from work, but I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm not 100% sure the baby I'm looking at is actually Charlie. The screen is pretty small and since they keep the lights low in the young infant room it's kind of hard to see. Maybe tomorrow I'll dress him in something that will really stand out. So far I've done a lot of nothing at work - I have a project on my calendar but there won't be data to look at until Monday.

My co-workers have been great - I came in to "welcome back" signs with pictures of turtles, candy, a pumpkin, and a wire photo hanger for my collection of Charlie pictures. As a bonus, yesterday's donut bringer was out with a sick child so he brought the donuts in today! As a double bonus, my buddy Lynn brought me a NKOTB magazine to read while I pump.

I've survived my first pumping session in the office library. It was a little weird, but manageable. Something's up with my supply though, I didn't get as much as I usually do from my early morning session. I'm hoping it's just stress related and will correct itself tomorrow. Baby Charlie had the second half of his 2-month shots yesterday and didn't do so well with them, so he was up a few times during the night. I really hope I don't have to add another pumping session back in.

I missed my morning nap with Baby Charlie and I miss having MSNBC on in the background. It is nice to be enjoying ESPN radio again, but it's cold outside and I'd rather be at home playing. I'm glad I came back on a Wednesday - a short week is a good way to ease back into things. Even better that it's halloween week! We have a party and a short day on Friday. Whee!

Do you miss me?

Don't worry, I go back to work next Wednesday. I'm not really looking forward to it, but one of the positives is that I'll have lots more time to screw around on the interwebs so you'll be getting more than a weekly blog update from me :)

I have a whole list of things I've been wanting to talk about but haven't had the time to say, so you'll have plenty of my babbling to read.

One quick note that you'll probably find amusing - I got my course evaluations from the last class I taught in the spring. Everything was as I had hoped, all good reviews and positive things to say, except for one comment - "Shouldn't curse so much." Damn, I thought I had cut back! Guess I should make more of a concerted effort to watch the language - you know it's bad when your baby starts reacting positively to the F-Word. As soon as the election is over I promise I'll try to do better.

51 Weeks and Pumpkin Cheesecake

Kidding about the 51 weeks, but not about Pumpkin Cheesecake! I love pumpkin in all things - pumkin spice lattes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cookies, and now pumpkin ice cream. Ben & Jerry lured me back over to the dark side with this special batch.



Fall is right around the corner. Doesn't it make you start craving foods like apple cider, butternut squash, and Pumpkin Cheesecake!? That's right!

Pumpkin Cheesecake ice cream with a Graham Cracker Swirl.

This flavor quickly made my top 5 list. There's a lot more graham cracker than in other flavors, which is something I've complained about in the past (like Peach Cobbler). The pumpkin flavor is sweet but not overwhelming and lends itself well to the creaminess of an ice cream application. It feels a little weird to be eating fall flavored ice cream while the temperature is dropping - usually pumpkin shows up in toastier applications - but I can manage :)

If you like pumpkin then you should try this one. If you don't like pumpkin try it anyway, because the flavor isn't that strong. C won't even look at it, let alone taste it.

Just so I don't feel like a traitor, here's my favorite fall combination:



Gingerbread lattes and muffins are right around the corner!

Obama Rally

I brought the Minion to the Obama rally in Cincinnati yesterday. It was amazing! If you ever have the opportunity to hear him speak in person you'd be crazy not to go. We weren't as close as I would have liked - it ended up being really sunny and warm so I wanted to keep the baby in the shade. He slept through most of it, but at least he can say that he was there :)

I'm very hopeful that he will be the next president. What a great start for my son's generation!

Tearing Down the House That Ruth Built

Some of you have mentioned to me that one of my favorite subjects in Real Life has been absent from my Blog as of late. Baseball hasn't taken a backseat because baby stuff has invaded my mind, but because it's just too painful to contemplate an October without Yankee baseball. I've come to terms with the fact that my beloved men in pinstripes won't be gracing our television in glorious HD this fall.

I was so excited when I calculated that my maternity leave would coincide nicely with the postseason. The downside of October baseball has always been the late start times of the AL playoff games (the NL always got the shaft with day games) and this season I wouldn't have to sacrifice sleep for the love of the game. Sadly, I don't have a reason to watch any of the games this year, unless one of two scenarios plays out. The only way that this postseason could come to an end that I would be comfortable with involves the ring going to anyone but the red sux. I would love to see Tampa Bay win the series. It would be a great story - the young rookie team who came back from years of living in the AL East basement to conquer the giants. That would be fun. I would also be happy to see Joe Torre's Dodgers win the series. Everyone knows that the Steinbrenners made a huge mistake when they let him leave after last season, and it would be awesome to rub it in their arrogant faces. The best case scenario that I've put together in my head involves a sweep of the red sux in the series by the Dodgers, including a walk-off home run by Manny in the bottom of the ninth, preferably off of puckerface papelbon. Have you noticed that when he makes his lame attempt at looking intimidating his mouth looks suspiciously like a certain part of the human anatomy?



(excuse Pyle on the left, can you believe this is the only papelbon scowl picture I could find?)

Anyway, enough talk about October baseball. Let's move on to an even sadder topic - the final game at Yankee Stadium. The Minion stayed up with me to witness the pre-game festivities and the first inning, but he didn't make it much longer past that so I watched the last hurrah all alone, which was just as well because no one was there to see the tears rolling down my cheeks. Yes, I'm that big of a loser. I don't even have the pregnancy excuse anymore. It was beautiful. Most of the Yankee greats were represented on field before the game and Yogi spent a few innings in the broadcast box regaling the audience with stories of Yankee legends. The greats from the championship surplus in the late 90s were in attendance - Paul O'Neill, Tino Martinez, Joe Girardi, and, most importantly, Bernie Williams, who earned a long and well-deserved standing ovation from the crowd. Andy Pettite started the game for the home team and Captain Jeter gave an emotional post-game speech after Mariano Rivera induced a ground ball for the final out, giving the Yankees a 7-3 win over Baltimore.

I'm still sad that the Minion will never set foot in the old Yankee Stadium, but at least he was able to attend a game in utero :)

I can't wait to take him to a game at the new stadium with Aunt Katie and Great Auntie Ann!