Yellow Wallpaper

Within the last 24 hours Little Dude has had one massive spit up attack that soaked his shirt and car seat as well as 2 overflowing diapers that covered his entire lower body (and everything else) in poo. It's amazing how much liquid can come out of such a little person. I'm just glad that all of these incidents occured within the comfort of our own home. And, even though I don't have air conditioning or a dishwasher, I'm exceedingly grateful to have a washing machine.

Well, Little Dude is officially one month old today and we've all survived, more or less. He still is having a lot of trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, but apparently all the time he spends eating is having an effect since yesterday at a weight check he had gained nearly 2 pounds since leaving the hospital. I have seen infants that sleep peacefully for several hours at a time, but he is not one of them. Some days I wonder if I produce caffeinated breast milk, since S-Boogie was particularly alert too. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to like being awake and will cry and complain about it until you hold him or feed him. The nice thing is, we have done this before and we have faith that this stage will pass. After a month, the lack of sleep is starting to wear a little, but I keep repeating to myself "this won't last forever". Tonight I gave him a bath and we snuggled on the couch. I will someday miss the feeling of having a warm, clean baby sleeping on my c

The other day I was at the library to pick up a certain book. As I am wont to do, I grabbed a few other nearby books that looked interesting. One was about how to shop smart in order to reduce your grocery bill, so I thought I'd see if it could help us out a little. We don't spend very much on groceries, but spending less isn't usually a bad idea. Then I flipped through the book before reading it, and I realized that I did most of the things this woman advocated. I can't save any more money because I'm already following her "proven program for grocery savings". I don't know where I picked up all my shopping smarts, but I know at least some of them are from my Mom, and others from just being poor for the last 10 years of my adult life. Anyways, here are the things that the author thinks you should do, and what I do (although maybe it's just common sense and she doesn't realize that everyone does them): 1. Shop with a list and a weekly menu. Plan

I just realized that Wednesday marked one year of blogging for me. I hope everyone has enjoyed the journey. I wasn't sure what I'd be writing about when I started, and I didn't really mean to turn this into a forum dedicated to pregnancy and bowel troubles. But, that's what's been on my mind and that's what ends up on the web. I've met lots of new friends through this past year and I'm glad to get to know you, even if I haven't met some of you in person yet. I hope this next year will be just as interesting! I think I need to go make some brownies to celebrate this occasion...

This morning involved a lot of stress, driving around, hauling two kids here and there, etc. I now feel like crap and I think I will spend the rest of the evening sitting on the couch watching back to back episodes of "Without a Trace" on TNT (well, after S-Boogie's in bed). But, it was worth the hassle because I just took my last final exam ever. Unless I decide I need another degree, but that is totally not happening any time soon. I also got a contract signed so that I have an incomplete grade in my class. I did all the work except for the final paper. I'm ready to write it and have even done an abstract and outline, but it just hasn't happened yet. I needed to read all 500 pages of Cien anos de soledad in order to be ready for the final, so that took priority. So, I'm a lot closer to my degree than I have been in the past. I've completed all my coursework and my specialty exam, and I've filed a prospectus for my thesis. I still have to write my th

This has been a rather crazy week for us. Monday and Tuesday were actually fairly normal. Then Tuesday night my stomach started feeling bad. It felt like gas pain, and I've had quite a bit of digestive trouble over the last few months so I didn't think much about it. I went to bed and after a while managed to get a bit of sleep. Then I woke up at 2 to feed the baby, fed him, and realized that my stomach hurt so much I could barely stand up. I finally decided to wake up Master Fob and ask him what he thought we should do. After an internet search determined that I had most of the symptoms of appendicitis, we decided to go in to the emergency room. Master Fob's brother was nice enough to come over and sleep on our couch at 4 AM so we didn't have to leave S-Boogie home alone, and we took Little Dude with us (he was also nice enough to just sleep in his carseat during the entire trip to the hospital). At the hospital they hooked me up to a nice IV with fluids and morphine

Little Dude had his two week checkup today, and apparently the hours of feeding are paying off. He's gone up 5 ounces since he was born, and weighs nearly a pound more than he did when he left the hospital (most babies lose some weight in the days between birth and coming home). He's around the 15th percentile for height and weight, which isn't bad for being a few weeks early; that's where S-Boogie has stayed for most of her life, so I guess I just have kids that are a little smaller than average. He also managed to grow half an inch in the last two weeks, so that's pretty good too. I had a checkup yesterday and things look good for me too. I'm still a bit sore and I'm not supposed to lift or push or carry or pull anything (vacuums, shopping carts, toddlers, carseats, etc) for a few more weeks, but generally I'm feeling pretty well most of the time. My grandma passed away last Saturday, so we're planning on driving up to Wyoming on Thursday for the f

This morning we were watching The Tigger Movie and S-Boogie suddenly asked "Where are Pooh's pants?" I replied, "I don't know", and she looked troubled for a moment before replying "Probably he left them at home." Also, yesterday I was trying to get her to stop doing something, and I asked her several times to stop. Finally I got exasperated and asked "Are you listening to me?" She looked up and replied, "Mama, I don't want to listen right now."

One thing that I'm realizing about myself is that I'm really bad at asking for help or for admitting that I just can't do something. The "nice" thing about post-partum hormones is that when I get overwhelmed they make me break down in a sobbing mess, so it's pretty obvious that I've just been faking it. At least Master Fob is patient with me and understands that it's just the estrogen talking. Also, I feel really guilty asking Master Fob to do things around the house. I realized this the other day, because I don't feel bad asking S-Boogie to do things for herself, like picking up her toys or putting her clothes away. But for some reason I feel terrible about asking my husband to do things. I think I spoil him, because I usually just do most things myself (like cleaning the bathroom, taking out the trash, etc.) He usually doesn't notice if I don't say anything, and I hate saying something. (I also feel bad because he already goes to work all

Well, we survived the first week and I didn't even have a crying breakdown until last night. I'm not even sure what the specific cause was--just accumulated stress and post-partum hormone issues. Little Dude (that's become his blog name, so I think I'll use it) has decided to actually sleep for the last two nights. Well, he does three hours at a time, gets up and eats, and goes back to sleep. I can handle that--it's better than the first few nights when he'd just fuss for hours. We've also discovered that he likes having his mattress propped up at an angle and he likes being wrapped up tightly. Also, if you hold him for a little while until he's deeply asleep, he won't notice that you're putting him down in his bed. I'm probably teaching him bad sleep habits, but we'll fix that in a few months. I just want to sleep right now. The feeding thing is working itself out too. My body is adjusting so the engorgement issue isn't so much of a

This year we've been reading the Old Testament together before bed, and even though it's slow going I often find myself reflecting on the very different sort of religious devotion that was expected back then. It's interesting how much focus was placed on tangible, outward signs. At the same time, I do sometimes wish for a bit more tangibility in what I do to show God my devotion. This week I've been thinking a lot about gratitude and how I really do feel incredibly grateful that I was able to deliver a healthy baby and survive the experience myself. I really don't feel that what happened last Sunday night was entirely just chance or serendipity at work. Being a linguistic nitpicker, I've often been bothered by the fact that some people will get up in testimony meeting and spend their whole time talking about thankful they are, rather than expressing testimony, which to me has always been more about what you believe or even what you know . Also, I've been

Engorgement Trust me, you don't want to know. If you really do, click here and feel my pain.