I interrupt my day of trip prep to bring you this tidbit. If this isn’t a sign of what has been wrong with me lately then one does not exist.
Nathan’s going to be 10 months next week, + 38 weeks carrying him, 3 gigantic pimples, a 10 piece nugget meal with barbecue sauce that I may have licked clean.
To quote an SNL skit about Auunale. ”Go to the store, buy a hat, and get ready to hold the Eff on to it!”
Someone remind Mike I still love him?
We leave for Colorado on Friday morning and I haven’t even started to get ready. I have a list of what to pack for Nathan but that’s it. I have a list of what to do around the house, too. Its a million little things, buy infant Motrin and oatmeal, mow lawn, finish laundry,pay bills, clean out fridge, empty cat box, take pets to kennel, water indoor plants, water flower beds, PACK, and all kinds of other crap. It is a lot to do, yet I cannot get started. I guess it’s because I am a tad overwhelmed by what to bring for the kid. Trying to make sterile places feel like home without being home isn’t easy. I will bring his blanket that he sleeps with but he doesn’t really have anything else that’s a favorite, so I will just take a few small toys that fit in the diaper bag and hope for the best. He is typically entertained just by watching the world go by which there will be plenty of during the trip.
Since I do have so much to do, this is my goodbye for the week. I will be back next Thursday, hopefully with a flickr album of fun and something worth talking about.
If you have any suggestions for traveling with a 10 month old, please share!
Later, Peeps!
Click the link to play video
Look at what’s happening at our house today. I got the crib lowered and the outlets covered, looks like I need to clear all floors and surfaces asap. He will be on the move in no time now. I am so excited, I was afraid I would be freaked out but I’m not. Im happy! Go baby, go!
Originally uploaded by Christina’s Rockin’ the Suburbs
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I made it! Whooo.
After several nights of the 3 minute pump I decided to skip last night and see how it went. I had everything set up in the basement just in case I were to wake in the middle of the night again. I didn’t! I woke around 4:30 but was still okay, when Nate got up at 7:50 I was very uncomfortable but I did it! I am super engorged now, even after his first feeding but I image that will last for a while until I stop making that evening pump amount. I can deal, it’s not that bad. The bummer is my appointment for my bridesmaid dress alterations is tomorrow which means I wont be able to zip it up all the way, embarrassing!
I’m not as freaked out about actually weaning him now, I know it will be harder than coming off the pump but I think I will survive it now. I plan on starting the third week in September and finishing up the week of his Birthday. I am sure it will make for some crazy lady posts. Everyone promises its mood swing city while your body adjusts. I imagine I will cope with cookies.
Speaking of cookies! Have you seen the new Banana Oreo! Umm, seemed like a good idea but, not so much. Its like a banana laffy taffy in the middle, aftertaste and all. Gah. I won’t let them go to waste or anything, they’re still cookies.
Edit: It is 12:45, am dying waiting for next feeding. Whaaaa!
Edit 2: Its 10 minutes from Nathan’s bedtime and I am not sure if I will make it much longer- seriously considering pumping for a few minutes before he eats to find some comfort- afraid that pumping will ruin a full day of “progress.”—- E3-I didn’t, he ate a TON and I feel better. We’ll see how I do overnight, I’m sure you are on pins and needles awaiting the update. Man, is a wonder anyone reads this garbage!
There is really no way for this not to sound like I am a total and complete alarmist, so, allow me to lay it out for you.
Nate’s eye. When he was born we noticed it seemed a touch lazy but after some time we weren’t sure which one it was, were they both lazy? Sometimes it’s the left, sometimes the right. I took to looking at photographs to determine which one it was, I chose the left.
The non-alarmist side of me decided to wait it out. It wasn’t so bad and you didn’t see it very often so I decided it was okay. Then, I took this picture and realized it was time to do something about it. I mentioned it at his next well check up and his Ped refereed us to Children’s Hospital to have it looked at, though, she couldn’t see it and after checking her notes she had never noticed it in the office. She still thought it was important. She told me that your brain will not allow for double vision and after time it will shut off and you will loose sight in the lazy eye, better safe than sorry, better sooner than later.
That brings us to today. I had lunch with my girlfriend and she asked how on earth do you do an exam on a baby? I had no idea. Turns out it’s quite similar to an adult exam but with lots of cool toys and flahsy blinky things. Not to spoil his impeccable record Nathan was perfect, even when they put the dilating drops in. They warned me that they sting and he would cry, he made a pretty intense face and blinked a few times but was otherwise just fine. The exam continued without incident.
The diagnosis? No lazy eye. Both pupils are in line perfectly. He has astigmatism (common at this age) and is near sided (WHA?) which is rare, most his age are far sighted so this could be a sign that he could be in glasses sometime in elementary school. Not a big surprise, every single person one either side of our family require correction. We go back when he is 3 for his first real vision assessment.
The rest of the diagnosis? It does look like he has a lazy eye, the reason for this is and I quote, “an optical illusion.” (That cant be covered, can it? I hope he writes it differently for insurance.) Nathan’s bridge of his nose is so far, nonexistent. Because of this he has all of the flesh that will one day span the bridge growth and will pull the skin over it and in turn, expose more of his inner eye. In a nutshell, his skin is covering most of the inner white, making it appear that his eyeball turns inward when in actuality it is right where it belongs, you just can’t see the white.
So, yeah. Relieved, sure. Thinking this is the weirdest thing to happen yet? Absolutely.
One thing I know for sure, if/when this kid ends up in glasses I will fall over as that will be the last official step in looking like his father. We shall call him, Mini Mike!
I had been looking forward to this night for months. No more pumping, I could go to sleep when I was tired not having to stay up until 10:30 anymore and being free of washing the parts day in and day out.
I fell asleep sometime around 9:30, I think I went down just because I could. At 2:37 I woke up. 4.5 hours until Nathan was to wake up and eat, I tried to make myself more comfortable. Changed into a tighter top and carefully adjusted things and tried to relax and go back to sleep. I had the internal struggle playing in my head, get through tonight and tomorrow won’t be as hard, I waited and waited the pain and the weight was winning. At 3:10 I got up and pumped, 10 oz in 5 minutes. No wonder I was in pain!
I am sort of at a loss at this point, I know its early but I am just the same. I was pumping for 10 minutes, a few weeks ago I cut it to 5, night before last I went for 3 thinking that I would be cutting back the supply and the discomfort would be minimal. Now I think I may end up doing the 3 minute pump for a week or so and try again. I really wanted to be done with this before our trip next week, I don’t want to haul the thing with me, I don’t want to have to do the “dishes” in a hotel sink. I want to be done so I can go to sleep when I’m tired, not staying up for pump time. I knew this was going to be hard though. This supply is such a mixed blessing, every adjustment is painful. This plays with the emotion involved in weaning as well, if I just keep nursing it won’t hurt, if I just get the weaning over with, it won’t hurt. GAH! You know that its hard in the beginning, nobody told me about this part.
What is with that anyway? Four hours, how would it go over if any of us were to be called in for an important project at work and say sure, I’ll be there between 10-2 and you will have to pay a premium if you expect me to actually work when I get there. gah- so here I sit. 37 minutes into said window. Nothing to do but wait and blog.
So, I am pretty much stuck at home today. Sort of okay though, Nathans “schedule” is all kinds of off right now. His feeding schedule has found its new normal but his napping is still a mess. Some days its 1 one hour nap, some days its a 3 hour nap or yesterday was a one hour followed by a two hour. So, being home isn’t really the worst. I like to let him work it out, being able to put him down when hes showing sings of needing a break, rather than putting him at 12:15 because that’s what he needed yesterday. This has happened a few times so I hope it will sort it self out this go-round as well. The nursing is great! He is down to 3 times a day and I have enough milk in the freezer to get us a bit past his birthday for his oatmeal and to mix with his other foods. Last night was the last of the pump to freeze, hopefully my body wont freak out but it probably will. It will probably take a few days to stop producing that amount. Which could make several uncomfortable nights.
All of this has me anticipating weaning. I’m really not sure how I feel about it. One half cannot wait to have my body back to myself, the other half is worried I will miss it. Nathan is so busy these days that when he is eating is the only time I still feel like he is my baby, I get to just sit and hold him. The best time is just before bed when hes all clean and soft from his bath, snuggled right up to me. That part makes me want to keep that feeding for a while longer,, maybe I will, maybe I wont? I suppose we will see when the time comes. His Dr. says to nurse as long as we want but I have always been of the 1 year tops camp, and of the once the kid can say boob you’re done, camp. But then I joined those “camps” before Nathan was here and now I just don’t know. I imagine I will just do it, right now I am over thinking it but I know me- I will probably end up telling myself to shut up and get it over with just like I always planned.
Oh, that brings me to you all. Help me with the sippy cup! Nate doesn’t use a bottle and I have been giving him a sippy everyday for the past 2 months and he has had a few sips but he mostly just shakes it up and bashes it on the table before throwing it on the ground. He has to have it figured it out by his birthday which is a short 10 weeks away. I have only put water in it, maybe try milk? How do you get a baby to take the cup?
Woo! What a weekend. I just woke up from a 3 hour nap and let me tell you that alone would have made for a great time but it was the end of one instead.
Cj and Ashley paid the $4 per gallon to drive from NC to OH to visit and I sure hope they thought it was worth it, I know it was to me. We went shopping at the mall where I joke about my ashes being spread and had lunch, window shopped and enjoyed the outdoors in the sunshine. That evening we had dinner at our place with Amy, Giang and baby Liem and my house was just full of love. We ate salad and delivered pizza with copious amounts of margaritas and beer and about 1 am we called it a night. Saturday we relaxed a bit around the house before heading downtown for dinner out. Sadly, all of Columbus was at home and it was unbearably quiet out there, but we still enjoyed ourselves. Then, another night on the deck with a lot of chips, salsa, EL Fudge and several bottles of wine.
There is something incredible about time and friendships. It seems the good ones have no concept of it, once you are all together its like you see each other all the time, you pick up right were you left off a year, two, whatever. Now that Amy lives here its the same with her too. I am so grateful. We talked a lot about making friends at work, where the 4 of us came together and for me this is the first time I have really held on to the relationships. Maybe its age, maybe duration of employment (6 years) or maybe we were all just supposed to be together, everything for a reason? One person was missing, Jenny, but at 33 (34?) weeks pregnant with her 2nd it wasn’t in the cards for her. Jen, you were missed! I am so grateful for you all, I appreciate the effort you put forth to keep in touch, be it email, phone calls or driving 700 miles, moving to Columbus for Amy (I’m not the reason but I like to pretend). It stinks that we are apart now but in some ways I think we are as closer than ever.
Rather than put them all here there is a flickr album if you are interested. I feel like it should be said Nathan was sleeping and I was sober, it was just very very late. And so much fun you just help but contort your face while closing your eyes to laugh. Heh.
