Saturday, January 29, 2011

Someday....

Someday I hope to be able to sleep later than 6 AM.  Baby woke up this morning around 5 AM, and would not go back to sleep.  I finally got up around 5:45, because I could not take the babbling and fussing any longer.  He was still tired.  I probably should have put him back to sleep at 6 AM.  Sigh.  Hindsight is 20/20 or better.

I am still putting him down for two naps every day.  Not sure if he really needs the morning nap, though it is fairly long when he does finally get to sleep.  Both naps are usually 1-1.5 hours.  So maybe he still does.  I try to play it by ear.  But it may be time to force the issue.

Baby's sleep has been strange lately, though.  Two naps a day, and waking at least once every night.  I think one of the night wakings is for a needed feeding, though.  I stopped pumping at work, so I think my supply during the day is down.  I think he may need the midnight feed still, so I am all right with that.  Waking at 5 AM when I do not have to, not so much.  So frustrating.  And difficult to figure out when you are sleep deprived.

Sort of a rambly post. Just want to be able to get more sleep, and not sure what to do!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Drive by posting.

Because of the bullets, of course...

I do not have the time or energy to do a more thoughtful post.
  • Very tired.  Mostly because of an unexpected trip to the plastic surgeon.  My incision from my scar revision is not healing as expected.  On the left side of the incision, my boob pulls on it.  I also pick up the baby on my left side.  There is a lot of tension on the skin over there, so the wound edges did not approximate as nicely as desired.  Not much to do now, except let it heal.  Hopefully it will have fewer twinges as it gets better.  One can only hope.  
  • Hubby and I joined WW online again.  For reals this time.  We are keeping each other on task.  Sort of.  So I spend a lot of time recording my food.  (OK, not tons of time, but it is different, and it can take a while sometimes.)  I gained weight my first week, but I put it down to water weight and PMS, as I got my period that next weekend.  (Let me have my illusions.  I do not want to lose my motivation so early.)  Hopefully this week will be better.  I actually stayed on track this week, and tried to let myself be a little hungry.
  • I invited my mother over for dinner tonight as I was on my own for dinner.  She provided dinner, helped me walk the dogs, and drove me crazy in the process.  She was only here an hour, but it is amazing how little time my mother needs to send me over the edge.  Not sure if it was helpful or a hindrance.  They enjoyed seeing the baby, and it was nice to have dinner prepared for me.  Maybe I should not have done that after a full day of work when I was exhausted...Hindsight is 20/20 or better.
  • I think I am getting more comfortable at my new OR job.  The people are nice, and the pace is a lot different.  This is my last week of orientation, and I think I am ready.  Hopefully any new surgeons will not pitch a fit over having me in their room.  I at least have seen most of them, which makes me feel more comfortable.
  • First test for my class is tomorrow.  We will see how they do.  The students are pretty funny.  They are all in the front row, or the very back row.  No one sits in the middle.  Weird.
  • Thank goodness I can sleep in tomorrow.
  • Hooray for red wine and sleeping babies!

Monday, January 17, 2011

One year.

Little Dude turns one year old today.  Technically, he has already turned one.  He turned one year old about 2:30 this morning.  He even woke me up so that he could get a birthday nursing session in.  I think he just wanted to be sure that I was not going to stop breastfeeding just because he is one year old.  Too bad I was half asleep at the time.

We are still breastfeeding, though I think I could start weaning if I wanted to.  I love breastfeeding my child.  I think he likes it, too.  We have played around with cow's milk, but he does not seem to want to drink it.  I do not think we have put much effort into getting him to like milk.

For the past couple of nights, he has not wanted to breastfeed before going to sleep.  He would rather play before bed than nurse.  It makes me sad.  I enjoyed nursing him to sleep.  Now we play with daddy before bed, and then often fuss a little before going off to sleep.  I guess it is a sign of the changes to come.  Just when you think you have it figured out, things change.

The transition to one nap per day is not going smoothly.  If I miss the tired window, it is impossible to get him down.  I am beginning to suspect that the window is around noon.  We missed it yesterday, and he took a shorter nap than he needed.  Sigh.  I guess I will try again this afternoon.  Hopefully we can get a good nap before we go out to dinner with my parents.

And we are walking.  All over the place.  He is now walking more than crawling, though he still walks like a drunk.  Weaving all over the place, holding on to things for support.  It is a major change.  He is beginning to look more like a toddler than a baby.  By spring, I think he will be mostly walking.  Which I think is amazing.  He has changed so fast this year.  The next big milestone we are looking at is talking.  He will probably start that soon, as he is stringing sounds together and constantly babbling.

Baby is also starting to sort.  He really enjoys his shape sorter.  And he now takes all his cars and plays with them in the play garage.  Does not matter is the car is part of a different set.  He plays with cars in the garage, because that is where cars go.

As for me, I am doing fine.  I get today off, and work Wednesday and Friday this week.  The new OR job is going well.  I find I am doing more ortho and ENT than I ever thought I would do.  Ortho and ENT still does not float my boat, but I am enjoying the lower stress of the job.  And it is a job.  I suspect at some point in the future I will want to go back to the hospital.  But not yet.  And it might be a different hospital   Who knows what the future brings.

Teaching is going well this semester.  I have more nursing students in my class, and they are fairly motivated to pass.  Hopefully I will have less apathy this semester.  We will see.

On Friday, I had one of my keloids removed, and other keloids injected with steroids.  Healing is going slower than I thought it would, probably because I cannot take it easy while chasing after a very active 1 year old.  Ibuprofen is my friend right now.  I have silicone sheets coming, which hopefully will help the healing process.  And I go back on the first for another round of steroid injections.  Hopefully this course of treatment will work.

Wishing everyone a good day!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Tick, tick, tick.

Damn biological clock! 

I just had #1 a year ago, and I have started to get thoughts in my head about #2.

I have always wanted two children.  I think that is a good number.  Not too big, not too small.  I know that it is a lot of work, but hopefully not too much, as it is only two.

I am 36, and Hubby is a few years older than me.  I do not want to put off #2 too long, because I do not want to be too old raising children.  On the other hand, I would like to give us a shot at conceiving naturally.  Not that I am expecting that, mind you.  I expect to go back to the RE for #2.  Natural conception is a nice fantasy for us, if nothing else.

Hubby is scared of having repeats of the health issues I had last time.  That is a possibility, but it also might not happen.  I am fully willing to be followed by a high risk OB, and get checked by a cardiologist, should I get pregnant again.  I will probably also schedule a c-section, and not do labor at all.  Which means I can pick a friend to go in the OR with me next time.

After all the trouble we had with the first one, I still want to do it again.  But maybe not too soon.
I think I am going to not do anything this year, except not prevent.  If it happens, cool.  If not, we will head back to the RE in 2012.  If I cannot get pregnant naturally, I definitely want to use my embryos and eggs from our first IVF.  Hopefully that will make it more affordable, and give us the greatest chance of success.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

And then there was one....

This week we are trying to transition from two naps to one.  It is not easy. 

Today it was going well until I tried to put him down a little bit after 11 AM.  That did not happen.  He chattered and played for 20 minutes, so I decided to feed him lunch.  (As it was lunchtime, and all.)  He seemed to enjoy lunch, and then I tried putting him down again after a bit of play.  So far, we have fifteen minutes of crying, though it is now the tired cry (mostly).  I know he is tired and needs a nap, as he has not really napped all morning.  I think he is overtired, and has to cry to calm down.  I just hate hearing him cry for so long.  But he will not nap, otherwise.  Makes me climb the walls.

Just go to sleep, already!

ETA:  Not long after finishing the post, he finally fell asleep.  Ahhh!  Much better!

Saturday, January 8, 2011

All taken with my new phone

Here are a few pics I have uploaded from my phone.

Here is Gertrude home from the vet.  She is very comfortable on the couch, and has spent most of her time there.



Gertrude home from the vet



I had to take the baby with me to the hairdresser when I got my hair done.  Fortunately, we were the only people in the salon, so we could have the run of the place.  He actually hardly played with his toys.  There were many brooms and vacuums which captivated him.


This picture was too cute not to include.  He is eating an apple and smiling hugely.  He loves apples.


And he likes luggage carts.  He thought the luggage cart at the hotel was the best thing ever.


That is all for now.  I am going to take advantage of the baby napping and an empty house and go play in my sewing room!

Thank Goodness!

Baby is finally napping!  We missed our morning nap this morning, and it made mommy a wee bit grumpy.  I really hope that this is not the beginning of the end of the morning nap.  Little Dude fell asleep in my lap, but would not fall asleep in his crib after I moved him.  And it was not for lack of time.  I could hear him in there playing.  He threw stuff out of his crib, chatted with himself, and had a good time.  But no nap.  After a while, I just gave up and got him up.  We then went grocery shopping and then played on the stairs.  I guess that is a fun morning for the baby.

We got snow here, and I probably should have taken a pic of the snow.   (And I guess I still can, as it is still snowing.)  But it is not really that impressive.  I have not been doing so great at taking pics.  I took a few on my droid this past week, and emailed them to people.  But I think in order to be in the spirit of the resolution, I should use my actual camera.  It is a nice camera, and small enough to carry everywhere.  I also ought to post more pics on my blog. 

I have not been doing so great with the vegetarian lunches.  But I have high hopes for next week.  I actually planned a couple of things.  Like salad.  I think I may end up bringing a large bag to work for all the salad stuff.  I do have a lot of reusable shopping bags.  That is the one part I hate about taking salads for lunches.  It is better if you can put them together at lunch, but it is a pain in the ass to drag everything you need to work.  Maybe it is just me.  I also got pita bread, so I could do a veggie sandwich with hummus, and take some fruit and greek yogurt.  That is probably more likely what I will do.  I may also try smoothies.  I have a stick blender, and smoothies can be frozen.  I think this will take some more thought...

Gertrude is doing better after surgery.  She is already starting to get some of her pep back.  She is also starting to concentrate her urine, again.  Which means that she is better able to hold her water!  She has had no accidents since she has been back, which is wonderful for everyone.  She has been spending a lot of time on the couch, which is perfectly fine, as she needs to rest.  The only exercise she gets is going outside to pee.  The vets said to keep her on rest for the first week, so that is right in line with her healing.  And her incision still looks good.  She is not licking at it at all, so it is able to heal well.  I find it amazing that one surgery made her so much better.  I am happy that I get her around a few more
 years.

This weekend is mostly relaxing.  Today is slow, and I hope to get to the gym this afternoon.  I also hope to play in my sewing room for a while.  Tomorrow Hubby are going to see True.Grit.  It will be nice to go and see a movie in a theater.  It has been a while since we have done that.  My parents are watching the baby while we are at the movies.  I think it will be a nice time.

Wishing everyone a good weekend!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

new app

Playing with the new smartphone. how cool that I can post from my phone!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Ah, peace!

A few minutes to myself.  I got my hair cut, finally.  The baby is napping, and I am full from lunch. I just finished setting up a few things on Black.board for my class next semester.  Of course, the house is a wreck, and I should probably be hitting the treadmill.  But I have decided to give myself this week before classes start to regroup.  I will get there with my objectives, and they are in the back of my mind.  But I need some time to relax.  And rest.  That is important, too.

For Christmas, Hubby got me a Droid.  I have taken pics with that, but I have not tried to get them on my computer, yet.  Thinking about using my actual camera, as well. 

Gertrude is at the vet school having surgery today.  I think she is post-op, and hopefully through PACU at this point.  She was scheduled to be the second case of the day.  I have not heard from the resident, so I am guessing that the surgery went well.  Hopefully this will help her feel better.  I think until I hear that she came through all right, I will worry about her.  Likely I will worry about her until she is home with us again.

Hubby's birthday is today.  He is a little depressed at turning 40 this year, so if you could wish him well, I would really appreciate it.  It is so hard getting older.  (I am not that far behind him, so I sort of get it.) 

OK, off the pick up some clutter before the baby wakes.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Resolutions

It seems like many people are doing resolution posts for the new year, and I figured, "why not me?'

The new year is a time of hope and new starts.  I almost seems fitting that AF came right at the start of the year.  New year, new cycle.

For the new year, I do have some goals I would like to achieve.

I want to take more pictures.  Both Hubby and I are terrible at taking pictures.  I like to think we are living in the moment and experiencing life.  But it would be nice to actually record some of those moments and remember them later.

I want to be healthier.  In past years I have said that I wanted to lose weight.  I think that is noble and fine, but the overall goal is to be healthier.  I want to make healthier choices and generally feel better.  If I make healthier choices, chances are that I will lose weight.

In order to reach these goals, I need to have measurable objectives in place.  (I think my scientific and nursing background is coming out here.)  So here are my measurable resolutions:
  • I will eat vegetarian lunches a minimum of three times a week.  (This seems like a good way to eat more veggies.)
  • I will take at least 10 pictures per week and upload them to my computer once a week.  (My new droid should help this objective!)
  • I will do walk/runs three times a week, either at the gym or on the treadmill at home.  (Finding the time will be the hardest part of this resolution.)
So there you have it, my goals and objectives for the new year!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

A little advice...

We got home from our travels last night, and both of us were flat out exhausted.  I was so tired that I could barely see straight.  Two nights of crappy sleep will do that to you.  It was the trip from hell.  From this trip I have some advice for relatives who want us to travel to them with the baby.

1.  Provide some hospitality.  Basic stuff, like meals. Yes, we stayed in a hotel and breakfast was provided for us.  But we needed lunch and dinner.  Providing meals will make it easier to travel to you.  It makes us feel like you want us to visit.  It would also allow you to spend more time with the baby.  It is already hard enough to get out there to you.  It does not help that you have made no effort to come out to us.

2.  Try to have baby friendly foods in the house. It is easier for us, as our baby is not a picky eater.  But the baby needs to have more than just breast milk.  He is growing and he needs to eat.

3.  Please do not try to distract the baby as he eats.  He needs to eat.  He will be done soon and can spend time with you.  Chill out.

4.  If we tell you the baby has not gotten a nap that morning, and we put him down around 11:30, do not go in if you hear him after an hour.  He is fine, and will likely go back to sleep.  Come to one of us before you get him up.  He will be much more pleasant and easy to deal with if he gets enough sleep.  I don't care how much you want to spend time with him.  If you want quality time with him, let him sleep a little longer.

5.  Baby often gets overwhelmed in loud situations.  I know you are a loud family, but please try not to freak my child out.  He is not used to you, and he will be better for you if you are shouting in his face.

6.  Baby has spent a lot of time in the car seat.  He does not need to drive all over the county to visit the family.  Pick one spot and have family come to him.  He needs to move and wear himself out as much as possible.

Both Hubby, Little Dude, and I were very, very happy to get home last night.  Everyone got sleep, and everyone got fed in the morning.  Today was very nice, as we had three meals, and baby had two naps.  Baby was much better today because he got enough food and rest. 

I think my resolution for 2011 will be to not travel.  I do not think I could take the extra stress.