GOOOO Lugnuts!

Sam's team is the Lugnuts. We just got back from his game and he's doing REALLY well. He throws, catches and runs well. Of course, they don't keep score or get out. It seems a little silly that if they tag a kid out at first they keep playing as if nothing happened (or maybe I'm being a uber-competitive mother living vicariously through her children).

Jacob's sleeping so I want to get some house work done, you wouldn't believe the state of the kitchen floor. It's gross. The bathroom isn't much better and my baby smells like sour milk from spitting up so much. Jacob's grown a lot and really does smile occasionally, it's sad that the extended family hasn't seen him yet. I feel bad for Yago that he won't even be there when his family meets the first grandkid (and great grandkid). They are all so excited with it being the first and Yago won't get to see their face.

My time is limited so I need to get to work...

Gardens, t-ball and baby

It's been really warm here during the day, the flowers are blooming and the sun is shining. Jacob and I met Sam at the bus stop this afternoon and we all walked to the German supermarket for a few items. It was really nice.

The Germans are HUGE in to gardening and everyone has a beautiful garden in bloom. It makes me want to learn to grow things but there's not much point since we'll be spending a couple months in the states. It really is enchanting though.

Sam has his second t-ball game tomorrow, he's doing well and seems to like it more than soccer. Maybe it's just that he's older and has a better attention span now. He's grown so much lately, I can't believe he isn't my cute little three year old anymore.

Jacob's been doing pretty well. The best we can figure it's my diet making him grumpy but if I cut out all the stuff they recommend I'd be miserable. No garlic, onion, spicy food, citrus, pineapple, dairy and a bunch of other stuff that I can't remember. I pumped a little milk today and let Yago try to give it to him. Jacob needs some more practice...

Jump! Jump!

Criss Cross will make ya wanna jump! jump! Oh, nevermind.

Ralphie is one jumpy baby. He startles easily which makes me startle. I have him strapped to my chest and every time I move he jumps and hits me in the ribs with his little fists.

He's changed a lot already. He's really putting on weight and doesn't look like a scrunched up old man anymore. (at least not as much...)

Last night we went to a potluck with Yago's squadron. We ate at a picnic table with another family and I kept dissing what I was eating, much to Yago's annoyance. He had to keep reminding me that we didn't know what the other couple brought and I could accidently offend someone. "These brats taste weird." "I always forget that I don't really like chicken wings." (with a mouthful of wing), etc. I'm a little socially retarded like that.

I put a note in Schmitty's lunch today that said his family loves him. I hope it makes him smile.

Keukenhof

We went to Keukenhof in Holland last weekend to see the tulips. Ralphie travelled well except for the constant pooping. Day 2 (of 3) he squirted poop all over my pants at a train station while I was changing his diaper. In my effort to pack light I didn't bring a change of pants. The morning of day 3 he pooped on Yago, the hotel bed and floor... while diapered! He shoots it out with such velocity Yago thinks we should start calling him "Shooter".

Quickie

I'm really short on time right now, I have a ton to do and am working on borrowed nap time. I would just like to say thank you for everyone's support during my difficult time. I don't (didn't) mean to be a drama queen. I was expecting a much easier transition into mothering a newborn and I don't know if it was the hormones or expectations I had but it was difficult for a couple weeks. Anyway, I'm grateful for such great family and friends.

A Respite

Ralphie is offering me a brief respite this morning. He's down for a nap and I got some stuff done (bathroom clean). He's been difficult to put down to sleep, as soon as you set him down he wakes up, unhappy I might add.

Today some friends are coming to spend the afternoon. They have a baby that's about 15 months old so they'll be understanding.

Sam started his spring break yesterday and he's been really good. He's outside playing right now. That's all I really have to report...

2-Wk Well Baby

We took Ralphie to the dr today for his 2-wk appt. He's gained back the weight he lost and is exactly his birth weight again, that's good news. We talked to the dr about the problems with nursing... Namely, that he nurses for HOURS STRAIGHT and I barely get time to pee or shower during the day. She said he was using me as a pacifier and we had stop that by only letting him feed 15 mins on each side and then waiting a couple hours. We're giving that a try today but I'm not sure how long I'll be able to do it if he becomes too fussy. She also said he should be done with a growth spurt in a couple more weeks and then the feeding schedule will be more normal.

Hiccups

This baby has the hiccups more than anyone I've ever known! Even in utero he had them all the time. It's strange. His jaundice is getting better. Has anybody ever heard of a baby that wants to breastfeed seven hours straight?

One Handed

I haven't written or done much of anything Since Jacob Henry's arrival. It's because I get about an hour a day (it feels) with both hands free and I prefer to spend the hour showering or going to the bathroom. The baby is constantly feeding. If he falls asleep, it's while being fed and he wakes up within two minutes of being put down or handed off.

A Ralphie by Any Other Name...

Yago and I were talking about Ralphie's reluctance to leave my cozy womb and he mentioned Sheldon from Garfield and Friends. Sheldon was the egg that refused to hatch because he was afraid of the outside world, I think it's a perfect analogy. Plus, it's a little funny that my Grandpa's middle name was Seldon. (wasn't it?) Anyway, Sheldon's shell will be broken Tuesday so I hope the little fella is mentally preparing now.

He Loves Me...

I've decided Ralphie isn't coming out because he loves me SOOOO much. He's happy as a peach knowing nothing of the outside world, just me and our special connection. (umbilical cord?)

I went to the dr yesterday and nothing's changed since last week. I made an appt for next Tues and at that point the dr said she'd admit me and start inducing. I REALLY don't want a Pitocin drip or my membranes ruptured but if that's what it takes... I still haven't completely given up hope on a natural labor but I'm also starting to wonder just how long this baby is will to stay. Which reminds me...

In bed the other night I wondered aloud what the longest human gestation ever has been. Yago replied, "Not one day past due..." I know! I wasn't suggesting I'm experiencing the longest human gestation ever, it was just a thought.

Two Days Old

Yes, for those of you keeping track I have a two day old baby in my belly. Here's the best part though, on my due date I came down with a nasty cold courtesy of Sam. Yesterday I felt like poo and just tried to pass the day in a state of unconsciousness. I feel better today but I have the thickest, grossest, most vile tasting phlegm and it hurts to cough. As if the chore of breathing wasn't bad enough before... For the record I have to give Yago some props for his patience with my irratibility. I really wasn't very nice yesterday.

Today I'm taking Sam for his first piano lesson. For some reason he calls it pianto. It's strange but I correct him a couple times and figure he'll eventually get it. Kind of like when he used to say Lamps Armstrong (as in the Tour de France cyclist), askident (a car askident) or hosipal (the place where the ambulamps goes).

I was wrong about my hair color, it does have the funky red/eggplant hue to it. I was hoping it'd fade a little faster than it has, although it's only been 3 or 4 days... I'm really pale and have to wear makeup and paint my eyebrows now. My eyebrows have always been a little lighter than my hair but it looks ridiculous if I don't brush some mascara stuff in them. The worst part is I have to wait a couple months to get it fixed or my hair will fall out. (Remember Mistress? When I got the perm and my hair broke all around my face and you called my Spanky for a couple months?)

Disfigurement

I have this weird thing on my face that I just made worse. I thought it was a bothersome zit that's been slowly growing for the last few days. I figured I'd give it a little help along and then discovered another tiny bump SSW of it. I tried to help that one out too and found another smaller one to the SSW of the middle one. Now they've ballooned up and turned all gross and red. What were little, barely perceptible bumps are now little pustules filled with bright red blood. They are not innocuous pimples... I don't know what it is but I'm guessing some sort of freak bug bite that nibbled down my chinny-chin-chin. Gross.

My Favorite Paperwork...

This ranks up there with the statement I had to write in 1991 admitting to marijuana experimentation... In order to get the baby a passport Yagopuchae and I have to have sworn affidavits stating it's his baby because we've been married less than 10 months. It's kind of funny and kind of sad. Will I ever have a baby where the paternity isn't in question?

I got my hair cut and dyed today, that's pretty fun. It's really dark, darker than my natural color for sure. I was nervous right before the lady started because she's German. I was scared to death that I was going to wind up with the "German red" hair. I can't really describe it but it's very German and very popular. I haven't seen anything like it in the states since about 1988. I was prepared to go outside and whoop my own ass afterward for letting a German color my hair but it's not the funky red color so I'm happy.

This Little Piggy...

For Christmas Yago bought me a gift certificate to a spa and if you recall from a previous post I can't really reach my toes anymore... That's what led me to get a pedicure yesterday.

It's hard to believe how immature you become when someone (a paid professional) starts messing with your feet. Despite my best efforts I couldn't stop twitching and hiding my giggles behind a magazine. I had contemplated shaving the little patch of fuzz on my toes before going but it gets back to the I can't really reach my toes anymore thing. So the pedicurist got the added bonus of playing with my toe fuzz. I figured what the heck, it wasn't that long ago that women didn't shave their pits here. What's a little fuzz on a big toe?

Mistakes

I made an awful mistake, I went to babygap.com for newborn boy. I started gushing out loud to myself. Soooo cute! I have a love/hate relationship with the internet when it comes to shopping. Love to shop and hate to look at the total in the cart. Still no Ralphie, his paternal grandmother thinks he'll have curly red hair. I wonder... Maybe I'll find out next week.

No Change

Just got back from the dr and there's no change. She seemed a little disappointed. While trying to strip some more membranes she asked, "Doesn't it hurt?" I replied, "Not as much as last time..." That really discouraged her for reasons unbeknownst to me. I figure it's not good news for an early birth, I'm guessing St. Patrick's Day.

Recent Reads

So I always imagined what I'd read if I had the time. It took me forever to finish college where I never had time to read anything but textbooks. Then I had my little Sammy.

I have probably 60-70 of the 100 Greatest Books Ever Written (according to the Easton Press). I used to look at them adoringly and dream of being retired, I'd picture myself curled up and reading each one of those beautiful books. I've read a handful of them now and I just began The Three Musketeers last night. I don't think I'm going to enjoy this book even though I'm only on page two. I know nothing about French and there's a bunch of French and references to French things. My knowledge doesn't really extend beyond Pinot Grigio. I get annoyed reading names that I don't know how to pronounce too. It trips me up, eventually I just read over it and recognize the combination of letters as a character but it makes it more difficult to connect.

I just finished 1776, Yago recommended it. It's an amazing story and makes me wonder how on Earth we managed to become a sovereign nation. I never knew anything about Washington either but he's become one of the people (living or dead) that I'd invite over for dinner. I just want to meet him.

Well, off to my dr appt. Wish me luck, my dad wants this baby born tomorrow. (His birthday)

Still Nothing...

Still no signs of impending labor... pity. In fact, I could swear he was laying sideways today. I don't think that's good news at all for an early labor. He should be head down ready to go at a moment's notice! Now he's got the hiccups which don't really understand, how do you get hiccups in utero? He gets them a lot, everyday. It's cute the first couple hiccups but after 20 mins it loses its charm.

I have another dr appt tomorrow where I'll get my membranes stripped again. When I left last week I was two centimeters dialated. Yago wanted statistics on when we could expect labor after stripping to two centimeters, he was disappointed in the lack of research on such matters. (But then, he thinks a good poop push should trigger labor.) With Sam I was three centimeters dialated before I went in to labor.

As you can see this is how my days are filled, thoughts of, "Is that a contraction or some weird gas?! Is my entire abdomen hard? It could be a mild contraction! Maybe the time has come! Oh, gas." Sigh.

Good to Know...

Today I learned Suze Orman is a lesbian and I found myself excited for her. I guess she was never "in the closet" but I wondered about her personal life, as if it's my business. I just wondered if she was married, divorced or what. Now I know.

I think my excitement stems from when I suspected a great friend of being gay. I must say she is honestly one of the best, most admirable people I've ever known. We were good friends for years but I was afraid to ask her about it. I resolved to just let it be until she felt like telling me. It was awkward though, we both always used genderless pronouns and I felt like I had to be careful about what I said. Using "their" and "they" instead of "him" or "her" just made conversations cumbersome. When she finally came out I was so relieved!! She was afraid I wouldn't want to be her friend which was silly, considering we'd both spent so many years playing the pronoun game. It just makes me happy now when people are openly gay because it's too much stress lying or hiding it.