Saturday, November 20, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Welcome back Aunt Flo (I didn't miss you)
In everyone's life, there are high days and low days. As I mom, I've had so many of both in the past 9 months. I will never forget the day when I fit back into my pre-pregnancy jeans (I danced around the house!!!) or the one last week when my period came back (even though I haven't cut back on nursing/pumping). I can't complain though, because
I actually took a pregnancy test the week before. I'll admit that I can be a bit of a hypochondriac - I thought our "not-exactly-protected-sex" may have led to a possible sibling for Paolo. I'm definitely not ready for that yet. I don't want to end up like one of those women on that reality show who go to the doctor for stomach cramps and find out they're in labor. "But doctor, I thought my lack of periods and extreme weight gain over the past 9 months was due to my depression!" Sheesh.
Last week Paolo went for his 9 month checkup with the pediatrician and what I thought was just a lingering cold had developed into a slight ear infection. She prescribed some antibiotics and we were on our way. 4 days later, he seemed to be running a fever so we took him to the urgent care clinic. I guess the medicine wasn't working because
that doc prescribed a different amoxicillin with a higher dose. It was so scary to see our little boy so hot, fussy and inconsolable. The next day was Monday and I stayed home from work to make sure he was ok and administer baby Tylenol and Motrin as needed. By the afternoon he was back to his smiling self and we walked to the park.
I pushed him on the swing and even went down the slide with him twice, though he didn't seem to notice.
Missing the time off work was crazy, since the new girl they hired is still very new. My boss asked me to check phone messages from home the first day and I tried to help by returning calls with a pouty baby in the background. I felt so stressed, although I'm glad I stayed with him til he felt better. It makes me admire stay at home moms even more, and I have to confess I was happy to go back to work after it was all over. I just didn't know how to keep him entertained all day, especially since he hardly napped at all. I don't have the energy necessary to handle him all day every day. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm grateful to have such an amazing full-time daycare. Don't get me wrong - I still feel that I have 2 jobs: the one I get paid for and being a mom. My role as a mother will always come first, so even though I knew I would be buried in work for taking the time off, I had to do what was best for my baby.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Ventbook and Civil Rights
n. The made-up medical term to describe the way a teenage girl always complains about being fat or ugly. Also used as the acronym TGS. Tell a girl it's a medical condition and it's all over with. Trust me. Girl: I'm so fat and ugly. No wonder boys don't like me! Boy: Well, for one, you're not fat. But you do have chronic and severe TGS. Girl: TGS? Boy: Teenage Girl Syndrome.
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Saturday, July 24, 2010
Firsts
It has been a month of many firsts. On the 4th of July, while we gathered on lawn chairs at the local park to await the start of fireworks, Paolo held a bottle all by himself. It's so funny that something so small could be such a big deal, but I couldn't help remembering when he was just a newborn and comparing it to how independent he is becoming now.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Distracted Baby
Yesterday I was feeling pretty down. The day started off with my son biting me when I tried to nurse him this morning. He doesn't even have any teeth yet at 7.5 months and he still drew blood. It has happened before when he was very small, but this time it really upset me. Now that I'm back at work full time, I only nurse him twice a day and he's been so distracted lately that I struggle with him every time.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Vegetables and Cake
Paolo has been doing pretty well with all of the foods we’ve been trying with him since we introduced solids – rice, oatmeal and barley cereals, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and carrots. He wasn’t too crazy about carrots at first, but he has learned to eat them mixed with the cereal. Last week I cooked him some peas, and since I make all of his food myself, I have to say I was slightly offended when he gagged and threw them all back up. I thought it might be the texture of the skins, so I pushed the rest of what I’d made through a strainer. Even just a little bit in the cereal caused him to make the most sour face. Luckily, last night when we were at my dad’s, Paul fed him a little mashed avocado on his finger and he loved it! As a big foodie, I don’t think I could handle it if my kid didn’t like avocado.
His sleeping habits have gotten worse lately. I’m sick of everyone telling me it could be teething – which seems like the reason for everything out of the ordinary that a baby does from 4 months on. Since we tried to break him of the pacifier, we decided to do the Ferber method of sleep training. That’s where you put them down, let them cry for 5 minutes, go in to reassure them, leave, wait 10 minutes, go in, wait 15, and so on. Anyone who has ever tried to wait while their baby cries in the next room for any amount of time knows that it is very special form of torture. The way I describe it is to say that it’s like nails on a chalkboard, only it grates on your soul. Waterboarding has nothing on the extreme pain that it inflicted by forcing oneself to avoid going in to check on the baby. It has gotten better, and for a while he returned to sleeping through the night, but then he got a cold and that plan went out the window. It just isn’t fair to do sleep training when he’s congested and has a stuffy nose. We’ve even got a warm steam vaporizer, saline drops and a suction bulb. I don’t really know if any of it helps much, but it’s a temporary solution.
This past Saturday was my husband’s parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. This event was seriously stressing everyone out, especially me, as it started in the planning stages last year as a renewal of vows and moved towards a family vacation. Taking a vacation with an infant was something I was nervous about when I was still pregnant, mostly because of the expense involved and the idea of taking time off after just returning from maternity leave. Eventually these plans were abandoned as Paul’s parents’ financial situation went downhill and they had to sell their condo. Then about 10 days before the original anniversary party date, they decided to go back to the ceremony idea. My husband and all 5 of his siblings and spouses worked together in haste to put on a beautiful event. One sister got a friend to do flower arrangements & made invites and programs herself, another booked the country club and put together a full mass and I made a wedding cake. Paul organized a program after dinner where a representative from each family did something – whether it be the grandkids playing piano, singing, or simply making a little speech/toast. I even said a few words before our portion, which was a slideshow my husband had put together to music. It didn’t seem like a big deal when I thought of what to say just a few minutes before, but as I stood in front of the whole family and all their friends and thanked them for being such wonderful parents and grandparents, I broke down into tears. Still, I got through what I wanted to say.
It was an amazing night, especially considering how fast and hard everyone worked to make it happen. My concern was that his parents wouldn’t realize how much had gone on behind the scenes to make their wishes a reality, but in a speech at the end of the night they detailed all the efforts of their children and how grateful they were. Paul’s father has been very open about the infidelity he had in their marriage. He has worked since then to earn everyone’s forgiveness, and while I don’t know how I would react if my husband ever did this to me, I have to admire how his mom has stayed with him and made the marriage work. I hope that in another 44 ½ years, Paul and I will be celebrating our 50th and celebrating in a similar way. I feel so lucky to be a part of such a beautiful and loving family.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Time to pump
On Tuesday I got some bad news from the daycare provider. Usually my husband is the one to pick up Paolo at the end of the day, but I'm taking over since he found a new job (such a relief after his recent layoff!). The woman who runs the preschool told me that she thinks that Paolo needs additional bottle each day, and that he is getting fussy and cranky right around the time when the other parents' pick up their kids. She told me he is usually crying at that time and people are starting to ask questions. I felt awful. Of course I'm not trying to starve my child or keep him on a rigid schedule, but I honestly thought he was ready to go down to 4 hours between feedings. He is almost 7 months old now, eating 3 solid meals and day and taking longer naps. The pediatrician even said it was ok.