I know, I know. You are thinking "Are you nuts? Going on a road trip with a one month old?" And the answer is "yes I am."
Thursday we packed up the car and headed from Dallas to Galveston to introduce Emily to my grandmother. The night before I sorted through all of the baby stuff, decided what we needed and piled everything so high we could have had an amazing bonfire.
I had to have plenty of cute outfits to show off in but Mike made me parse 20 outfits down to 8 (for a 3 day trip mind you...) And no I am not talking about outfits for myself, but outfits for the baby. A weird thing happens when you have a daughter. You don't really care so much what your outfit looks like anymore. You just want to make sure she is the best dressed gal in the room. As long as she looks cute, who cares if you do? I swear, no one looks at me anymore. And I find that somewhat appalling given that I have more cleavage than I have ever dreamed of having. But whatever, Emily is the star, and if that means I can get away with not wearing makeup, I am surprisingly ok with it!
Although we planned to leave around 11 it was well past 1 when we left and we had to pick up lunch on the road. Emily was great. She went to sleep and stayed asleep all the way to Buckees outside of Houston. We parked in the back of the parking lot so I could feed her, which was uneventful. But then I tried to change her diaper. I pulled out a changing pad and laid it on the back seat to change her.
For those of you who have read my previous blogs I would like to reference the Exorcist Incident. Now, lucky for me there was no spit up this time, just explosive poop. And we were in Mike's brand new 4Runner. Now, also lucky for me, I managed to catch it all in the diaper and on the changing pad, bub Baby Emily ended up with a onesy covered in poo. So we cleaned off the changing pad, laid it on the concrete next to the car, pulled off the onesy and got that diaper changed. Outfit changed and smelling like baby wipes, Emily happily went right back to sleep in the car seat while Mike and I hightailed it out of there praying no one took down our license plate and called CPS.
The rest of the drive was uneventful, but the evening gets better. We arrived safely in Galveston at my grandmother's house and took baby inside to meet her. We ate dinner, then got my 88 year old grandmother situated in a chair with a boppy pillow. We handed her the baby and a pacifier, then went out to the car to get all of our luggage. As I pulled the door shut behind me I thought, uh oh! But before I could catch it, the door shut. AND LOCKED. So we were locked outside with no key, and my grandmother was locked inside with a baby in her lap, unable to get up to let us in.
And the moment I realized we were locked out, Emily started bawling at the top of her lungs. I panicked. Mike didn't. By the grace of God, he had left his cell phone in the car. I called my mother. She immediately set to work calling her siblings who live in Galveston. Meanwhile I am yelling through the window at my grandmother. "We locked ourselves out. Can you hear me? Don't try to get up!"
My aunt and uncle arrived about 5 minutes later to let us in. Emily was still crying. Apparently she threw her pacifier on the ground and then flailed about wildly at my poor grandmother. All in all, it was a non incident, but hearing that baby cry and being powerless to reach her was definitely emotionally trying!
The rest of the trip went really well. Emily got to meet one of my cousin's, several aunts and uncles, and of course, my grandmother, who might have been as traumatized as I was by the whole experience. We got a picture with 4 generations - My grandmother, my mom, me, and Emily.
The ride back was pretty easy. Emily slept the whole way again - with only one stop to feed. I had a great time in Galveston, but getting home was definitely a relief. It is just much easier to handle a baby when you are in your own space, in your own routine. And of course, having a nanny sure helps too.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Most of my posts have been about the funnier/grosser side of being a mom, but this one is gonna be a mushy one.
First things first, though. At our one month pediatrician visit Emily weighed 9lbs. 15 oz. That puts her in the 90th percentile for weight. She is 22 and 1/4 inches long, which keeps her in the 95th percentile. I find it so amazing that she is so big since neither of her parents are very large. Emily is happy and healthy and both Mike and I are grateful for that. The only thing we have to worry about right now is a slightly gunky eye. One of her tear ducts is producing some mucus. The doctor said it was nothing to worry about - apparently it is quite common among newborns. It isn't infected and should flush itself out by the time she is 6 months old if not sooner. In the meantime, I have to massage her tear ducts twice a day and keep the eye clean. All of which is easier said than done since Emily cries every time I take a warm wet wash cloth to the eye. And massaging a baby's tear duct is just plain difficult. It is hard to get her to hold still. I can't complain though. On the scale of things that could go wrong, this is way down the line.
I am feeling very blessed to be experiencing this phase of life. I am really loving being a mom. It is really hard late at night when you have a wakeful baby, but even then, there are moments that just bring joy to your heart. A few nights ago, just after I fed Emily and changed her, we sat down in the rocking chair. Emily was swaddled nice and tight and sucking happily on her pacifier. I was looking down at her talking to her and she spit her pacifier out. I gave her a big smile and she looked right at me and smiled back. This was the first time she smiled and meant it. This smile was totally different than the little gas bubble smiles. This smile was her saying, I see you mom. And it touched my heart like nothing else ever has. It was a moment of pure joy. One of those moments that make the sleepless nights, the c section, the whole nauseated pregnancy worth it. I am so dramatically changed by this tiny creature. I can't remember what life was like without her. And I can't imagine what I would do without her. I feel incredibly protective of her. I find it hard to keep my control freak nature in check, even when it comes to letting someone else change her diaper. And all of this sounds like a giant cliche. But I can't help it. I guess most moms feel this way.
Today, our nanny started. She is great. 24 years old, bilingual, really sweet and soft spoken. I think she will be a wonderful influence for Emily (and totally different from Mike and me!) Mike and I are both home this week. We thought a week of transition would be good for everyone involved. (Well, I'll get a lot more than a week since I will only be working part time for the next month.)
I am finding it almost impossible to let someone else hold my child when I would rather be holding her myself. And that is nothing compared to letting someone else comfort her when she cries. I can barely keep my mouth shut when the nanny changes her diaper because she doesn't do it exactly like me. But I must say, it is lovely to eat my lunch at my leisure. It is wonderful to be able to check my emails and get some work done.
I guess all of this really becomes about balance. I am enjoying having a little freedom again. But I guess that means letting go of a little control. Wish me luck.
First things first, though. At our one month pediatrician visit Emily weighed 9lbs. 15 oz. That puts her in the 90th percentile for weight. She is 22 and 1/4 inches long, which keeps her in the 95th percentile. I find it so amazing that she is so big since neither of her parents are very large. Emily is happy and healthy and both Mike and I are grateful for that. The only thing we have to worry about right now is a slightly gunky eye. One of her tear ducts is producing some mucus. The doctor said it was nothing to worry about - apparently it is quite common among newborns. It isn't infected and should flush itself out by the time she is 6 months old if not sooner. In the meantime, I have to massage her tear ducts twice a day and keep the eye clean. All of which is easier said than done since Emily cries every time I take a warm wet wash cloth to the eye. And massaging a baby's tear duct is just plain difficult. It is hard to get her to hold still. I can't complain though. On the scale of things that could go wrong, this is way down the line.
I am feeling very blessed to be experiencing this phase of life. I am really loving being a mom. It is really hard late at night when you have a wakeful baby, but even then, there are moments that just bring joy to your heart. A few nights ago, just after I fed Emily and changed her, we sat down in the rocking chair. Emily was swaddled nice and tight and sucking happily on her pacifier. I was looking down at her talking to her and she spit her pacifier out. I gave her a big smile and she looked right at me and smiled back. This was the first time she smiled and meant it. This smile was totally different than the little gas bubble smiles. This smile was her saying, I see you mom. And it touched my heart like nothing else ever has. It was a moment of pure joy. One of those moments that make the sleepless nights, the c section, the whole nauseated pregnancy worth it. I am so dramatically changed by this tiny creature. I can't remember what life was like without her. And I can't imagine what I would do without her. I feel incredibly protective of her. I find it hard to keep my control freak nature in check, even when it comes to letting someone else change her diaper. And all of this sounds like a giant cliche. But I can't help it. I guess most moms feel this way.
Today, our nanny started. She is great. 24 years old, bilingual, really sweet and soft spoken. I think she will be a wonderful influence for Emily (and totally different from Mike and me!) Mike and I are both home this week. We thought a week of transition would be good for everyone involved. (Well, I'll get a lot more than a week since I will only be working part time for the next month.)
I am finding it almost impossible to let someone else hold my child when I would rather be holding her myself. And that is nothing compared to letting someone else comfort her when she cries. I can barely keep my mouth shut when the nanny changes her diaper because she doesn't do it exactly like me. But I must say, it is lovely to eat my lunch at my leisure. It is wonderful to be able to check my emails and get some work done.
I guess all of this really becomes about balance. I am enjoying having a little freedom again. But I guess that means letting go of a little control. Wish me luck.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The Exorcist Episode
Last night was a challenge for sure. Emily slept for 4 hours at a time, but the 2 a.m. feeding was a mess. She was a little fussy while eating, but nothing too out of control. It wasn't until the diaper change began that things weent downhill.
First I took off her diaper and she squirted poop all over the changing table cover. I cleaned that up and put a new diaper under her and she squirted poop all over that. New diaper, which she peed all over before I could even get it all the way on her. New diaper and poop came squirting out again, this time all over my hand. Now, I say squirt, but it was really kind of a cross between bubbling out and spraying, combined with the occasional squirt. I'm not even sure how there was any poop left at this point. After cleaning up the mess AGAIN I finally got a diaper on her and this time it got to stay on. I baby wiped my hand, then used some purelle to sanitize it and reached down to pick Emily up.
At this point she spit up. Are you kidding me? I just changed that changing table cover. It is almost 3 a.m. I am half asleep and already totally grossed out. I'm irritated and I feel bad for her all at the same time. "Oh honey!" I say and pull her into an upright position. I am looking for a burp cloth, but the closest one is across the room in the rocking chair. Luckily I keep more in the drawer of the changing table. I reached down when all of the sudden she goes projectile. Spit up is pouring out of her mouth exorcist style. I start to freak out, but I've seen this before. And all I can really think is "At least it's not pea soup."
Amazingly, even with spit up all down her front, all over her arms and face, all over my arms, and all over the table, Emily didn't shed a tear. Instead she gave a little giggle. Like the whole thing was funny. Haha, Mom. I pooped on you. Haha, Mom. I just puked all over you. This girl is definitely my child. I know this is payback for everything I did to my parents as a kid.
I pulled out an emergency onsie - the plain white ones that I keep in the changing table for just such an occasion - and wiped her down with a wet wash rag. It wasn't until she had to get dressed again that she actually got upset. And then it was another 30 minutes or so before she calmed down enough to go to sleep. When she finally did, I was ecstatic. I put her into the bassinet and crawedl into my own bed, which has never felt so good.
And you think that is the end of the story, but your wrong. It seems like that would be the end of it, but wait, there's more.
I woke up with her several more times before it is light enough and I am coherent enough to notice, but she has left me a present that can only be discovered in daylight. The wall behind the changing table is streaked with runny poo. It has dripped down the wall behind the table.
Now wait just a minute, I think. This is totally unfair. The next words out of my mouth are "Mike, can you come help me?" After all, he got to sleep through the rest of it. And lucky for me, Emily's Daddy is a team player. He Clorox wiped that wall like a pro.
With that I think to myself, "Not a bad way to start the day." And that, my friends, is how I know I am really a mom.
First I took off her diaper and she squirted poop all over the changing table cover. I cleaned that up and put a new diaper under her and she squirted poop all over that. New diaper, which she peed all over before I could even get it all the way on her. New diaper and poop came squirting out again, this time all over my hand. Now, I say squirt, but it was really kind of a cross between bubbling out and spraying, combined with the occasional squirt. I'm not even sure how there was any poop left at this point. After cleaning up the mess AGAIN I finally got a diaper on her and this time it got to stay on. I baby wiped my hand, then used some purelle to sanitize it and reached down to pick Emily up.
At this point she spit up. Are you kidding me? I just changed that changing table cover. It is almost 3 a.m. I am half asleep and already totally grossed out. I'm irritated and I feel bad for her all at the same time. "Oh honey!" I say and pull her into an upright position. I am looking for a burp cloth, but the closest one is across the room in the rocking chair. Luckily I keep more in the drawer of the changing table. I reached down when all of the sudden she goes projectile. Spit up is pouring out of her mouth exorcist style. I start to freak out, but I've seen this before. And all I can really think is "At least it's not pea soup."
Amazingly, even with spit up all down her front, all over her arms and face, all over my arms, and all over the table, Emily didn't shed a tear. Instead she gave a little giggle. Like the whole thing was funny. Haha, Mom. I pooped on you. Haha, Mom. I just puked all over you. This girl is definitely my child. I know this is payback for everything I did to my parents as a kid.
I pulled out an emergency onsie - the plain white ones that I keep in the changing table for just such an occasion - and wiped her down with a wet wash rag. It wasn't until she had to get dressed again that she actually got upset. And then it was another 30 minutes or so before she calmed down enough to go to sleep. When she finally did, I was ecstatic. I put her into the bassinet and crawedl into my own bed, which has never felt so good.
And you think that is the end of the story, but your wrong. It seems like that would be the end of it, but wait, there's more.
I woke up with her several more times before it is light enough and I am coherent enough to notice, but she has left me a present that can only be discovered in daylight. The wall behind the changing table is streaked with runny poo. It has dripped down the wall behind the table.
Now wait just a minute, I think. This is totally unfair. The next words out of my mouth are "Mike, can you come help me?" After all, he got to sleep through the rest of it. And lucky for me, Emily's Daddy is a team player. He Clorox wiped that wall like a pro.
With that I think to myself, "Not a bad way to start the day." And that, my friends, is how I know I am really a mom.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Well the initial adrenaline that comes with having a new baby wore off and it has taken me a few days to get myself together enough for a new blog post. We have had all kinds of company and yesterday was actually the first day Mike and I had alone with Emily since she was born. We had over 3 weeks of help. (Which I am VERY grateful for!) First my mom came and stayed with us, then Mike's mom did. Then my mom returned for a few days. And in the meantime we have had a steady stream of visitors: both daytime guests and over nighters. It was wonderful to be surrounded by so many of our family and friends, but it sure is nice to have things quiet down a little too. Although it will be a short lived quiet. We are visiting Grandmomma soon and then some aunties and uncles will be coming to visit us.
Mike starts work on the 24th so I am gearing up to take care of Emily mostly by myself. Well, I say that, but we have a nanny starting next week. She is 24 and has been a nanny for 5 years for the same family. She is only leaving them because their kids are all in school now. She is bilingual and will speak only Spanish with Emily so that Emily will be bilingual as well. She will be coming from 8:30 to 6:30 Monday through Thursday. On Fridays I will be home with Emily. (I actually wont be back at work full time until after Thanksgiving. I am taking one or two client meetings a day starting in November, but a full return won't happen until after the holiday.)
One of the things I really wanted to be sure to do is spend lots of time with my kids. (There is only one right now, but don't worry Dad, there will be more!) By packing my work week into 4 days I can keep doing what I love and get plenty of time in with Emily. Eventually, when she is in school, I will work 5 days and just adjust my schedule around her school schedule. I have the best job in the world - I get to do something I love and build it exactly the way I want to. I get to structure my life exactly the way I want it. I feel very blessed to be able to do that. Hopefully my kids will feel blessed too!
I am loving being a mom. It is a totally different type of challenge than I have ever faced. For the most part Emily is pretty easy to deal with. She gets a little fussy after feedings, but I am learning to figure out the difference between the "I'm gassy and it hurts" cry and the "I'm bored and you are not very entertaining right now" cry. The only time I get really annoyed (and yes I have lost my temper once or twice) is when I get the "I'm bored" cry at 2 a.m. and Emily won't stop crying and go to sleep. I don't want to be entertaining at 2 a.m. I just want to go to bed. Still, after plenty of prayer I find I am actually really patient and Emily will usually go to sleep after I talk to her for about 30 minutes. (Yes I am that boring. You can put just about anyone to sleep talking about insurance if you work at it...even babies.)
At her last doctor visit (which was about a week and a half ago - I am so behind!) Emily weighed 9 lbs. 3 oz. That was her 2 week visit. From the time she left the hospital (at 7 lbs. 10 oz.) she gained 25 oz. That little oinker can eat! 25 oz. in 2 weeks is really good. She was in the 95th percentile for length and the 80th percentile for weight. Her next visit is this Friday. If I can get my act together I'll give you a prompt update.
Kisses from Emily!
Until next time. Whenever that may be...
Mike starts work on the 24th so I am gearing up to take care of Emily mostly by myself. Well, I say that, but we have a nanny starting next week. She is 24 and has been a nanny for 5 years for the same family. She is only leaving them because their kids are all in school now. She is bilingual and will speak only Spanish with Emily so that Emily will be bilingual as well. She will be coming from 8:30 to 6:30 Monday through Thursday. On Fridays I will be home with Emily. (I actually wont be back at work full time until after Thanksgiving. I am taking one or two client meetings a day starting in November, but a full return won't happen until after the holiday.)
One of the things I really wanted to be sure to do is spend lots of time with my kids. (There is only one right now, but don't worry Dad, there will be more!) By packing my work week into 4 days I can keep doing what I love and get plenty of time in with Emily. Eventually, when she is in school, I will work 5 days and just adjust my schedule around her school schedule. I have the best job in the world - I get to do something I love and build it exactly the way I want to. I get to structure my life exactly the way I want it. I feel very blessed to be able to do that. Hopefully my kids will feel blessed too!
I am loving being a mom. It is a totally different type of challenge than I have ever faced. For the most part Emily is pretty easy to deal with. She gets a little fussy after feedings, but I am learning to figure out the difference between the "I'm gassy and it hurts" cry and the "I'm bored and you are not very entertaining right now" cry. The only time I get really annoyed (and yes I have lost my temper once or twice) is when I get the "I'm bored" cry at 2 a.m. and Emily won't stop crying and go to sleep. I don't want to be entertaining at 2 a.m. I just want to go to bed. Still, after plenty of prayer I find I am actually really patient and Emily will usually go to sleep after I talk to her for about 30 minutes. (Yes I am that boring. You can put just about anyone to sleep talking about insurance if you work at it...even babies.)
At her last doctor visit (which was about a week and a half ago - I am so behind!) Emily weighed 9 lbs. 3 oz. That was her 2 week visit. From the time she left the hospital (at 7 lbs. 10 oz.) she gained 25 oz. That little oinker can eat! 25 oz. in 2 weeks is really good. She was in the 95th percentile for length and the 80th percentile for weight. Her next visit is this Friday. If I can get my act together I'll give you a prompt update.
Kisses from Emily!
Until next time. Whenever that may be...
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