October 23, 2011

Sazon, NYC

Yesterday I drove into the city with the girls. It was supposed to be all four of us, but Stu had to stay back last minute to do some work for the project he’s on. Mom had made arrangements for everyone to meet up at Sazon, a puerto rican restaurant, since her cousin was in town. Her family is very spread out, with most living in Puerto Rico, and a lot in Michigan. And, it was really this weekend and not last weekend like I had thought. But that’s another story.

Brooklyn Bridge

The drive in wasn’t bad at all. I was on time, give or take five minutes. The girls napped most of the way, but the minute I pulled up into a not so legal parking space, they both started crying. Dad takes Ashlin out of her seat, mom goes for Teagan. I’m a ping pong ball between them,trying to help dad get the stroller frame so Ashlin can be put down,and maybe sleep in the restaurant. And trying to ensure Teagan understands that she must always hold someone’s hand while she’s outside. Taxi cabs and New York City traffic does not stop for you, not even if you are a little, cute girl.

T & A & LaLa

So I head back to park the car.  I couldn’t find a spot on the road, nor could I find the parking garage that mom said gave discounts for Sazon patrons.  Around the block again I go, but this time, I got stuck on a ramp that was Brooklyn Bridge only.  Great.  Why would I want to go to Brooklyn when I was pressed for time, and had two crying babies waiting for me?  Mom reminded me as I drove off that they won’t sit the party until everyone was there.  Great.  More stress.  Whatever.  I ended up going across the bridge and then making a legal u-turn to go back to Manhattan.  Got back on Reade Street and found a parking garage.  Parked and dashed for the restaurant, full of apologies for making everyone wait 40 minutes for me to find a parking spot.

Teagan and Ashlin are still upset, not necessarily crying, but definitely not happy.  Tears hadn’t totally dried yet.  There was a firetruck that had gone by, and Teagan got very scared and was shaking, burying her head into her Aunt’s shoulder.  She was very sensitive to sound after that, and the restaurant was a bit loud.

Pernil as big as your head

Teagan ate just about everything:  Carne Frita, Camarones, Plantains, Calamari, Chicharrones de pollo, Pastales.  She had some Pernil (that was as big as your head!), some churrasco, some salad and arroz con gandules.  Everyone was impressed that the very English looking baby little girl ate such ethnic food, and with gusto!  She couldn’t get enough.

The food was fantastic.  I’m so glad I was given so many leftovers.  Stu and I will have dinner taken care of for the next three days!

Nifty Grafitti

Ashlin was still not doing well with all the noise, and to top it off, she was super tired.  I took her downstairs (there was a tapas bar!  With benches), and nursed her there.  It was so wonderfully quiet down there.  Ashlin went straight to it, no distractions allowed.  She must have been very hungry.  The walls were fantastic, all covered with interesting grafitti.  I got to read while she ate.

We told the waitress that it was my mom’s cousin’s birthday, so they came to the table singing the Puerto Rican Happy Birthday song – just Happy Birthday over and over to the birthday song tune.  Teagan tried to help herself to the dessert platter, but we quickly pushed it away.  She did get some bread pudding (didn’t like), Flan (LOVED) and some custard thing (also liked).  Renee fed her whipped cream, and Teagan loved that too.

Since I had an empty seat, I offered my sister a ride home.  She and Teagan chatted the entire time.  Ashlin fell asleep basically the second we got onto the Henry Hudson.

Purple Empire State

When I called Stu to let him know  I was on the way, he asked if Teagan remembered to tell Aunt NayNay the “thing.”  She hadn’t.  Of course, Renee asked, so I prompted Teagan, who then shouted “NayNay has no knickers!”  And burst into giggles.  I could probably explain it, but it’s much more fun if I don’t*.

Teagan fell asleep within minutes of dropping off Renee, and slept the entire ride  home.  Thankfully, my sister had picked up a Diet Coke for me, so I had a bit of juice to make it all the way home.

It was a good, but very tiring, time.  The food at Sazon was fantastic, though the music was a bit too loud for the little girls, and it was a bit hard to have a dinner conversation over, though we still had lots of fun!

~~

* Teagan was helping with laundry one afternoon.  She would hand everything to me and I would fold it.  Later, at the grocery store with Stu, they were talking about seeing Renee and doing laundry.  Teagan said NayNay had no knickers, because she didn’t have any in our laundry.  I had knickers and she had knickers and Dada had knickers.  LOL!

October 10, 2011

Out and About

Today I was left with both girls.  Alone. All day.  Day care was closed!  Insert your standard Home Alone Culkin scream here.

So far, Stu and I haven’t left the other alone with both girls for more than a few hours.  We usually take one of them with us if we go out.  We have survived so far by always using a divide and conquer strategy.

It ended up not being anywhere near as bad as I thought.  Much better than the time I had to take both girls to the doctor and they both cried, although only one got shots.

We took it easy in the morning.  Breakfast for the girls, clandestine apple cider munchkins for me.  Books and kisses and fetched toys, with a side of Nick Jr. until nap time.  Ashlin always laughs when Teagan pulls faces.  Heck, she will laugh when Teagan simply looks at her.  She loves when her big sister brings her toys.  Teagan, so excited, is eager to oblige simple requests to bring her sister a new toy.

Before she went up for her nap, Teagan decided Ashlin needed to have her snuggle bear. Teagan, at first, was fine about the nap, but instead of actually napping, sang songs – Itsy Bitsy ‘pider, Twinkle twinkle, Rain Rain Go Away.  I love when she sings herself to sleep, or wakes up singing!

Anyway, Teagan wasn’t convinced she needed a nap, but a bit of convincing – and a little rocking – got her down.  Down she stayed for over an hour and a half!

I needed some paint for a craft project, so had to go out to get some.  I thought it would be a good good way to spend some of the time between naps, going out and then crafting a bit.  Shopping was successful.

After a quick afternoon nap, we got ready for the craft project.  Teagan got a kick out of helping me find paper, something to put the paint in.  She loved doing it too. And loved that I included Ashlin too.

The day was very good, up until around 5:00, when Teagan started breaking down.  And I started losing my patience.  Ashlin was over tired too, so she didn’t help much, unfortunately.  I would have liked to have a better ending to the day, but when I asked her, she said she would want to do it again.

I guess, that’s what really matters.

February 24, 2011

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday was not a good day.  Although I got to work from home, I felt icky all day…  Contractions and Braxton Hicks felt almost non-stop.  For giggles I timed them, at worst they were every 3-4 minutes.  Nothing to really be worried about – I could breathe through them – but uncomfortable.

Today, at the midwife visit, she confirmed that as long as I can breathe through them, there’s really nothing to worry about.  They know that they’re not progressing anything.   Just annoying and uncomfortable.    She also confirmed that the baby is still breech, joked about how this kid just spins around willy-nilly.  Her head is on the left now, feet to the right.  SHe had one hand up by her head, but still butt down.  One good thing.  I could start doing the “exercises” again, because I want to get her turned before she runs out of room and any extra space she’s playing around in is gone.

I asked what they would do if the placenta didn’t move far enough for the High-Risk doctors.  She said that since I’d prefer to avoid a c-section they would evaluate it, but that I needed to be aware of the risks.  They wouldn’t let me go if it stays marginal or even low-lying.  She said they may allow if it moved “far enough.”  That’s good enough for now.

Also, I asked if they would allow me to delivery vaginally if the placenta resolved but she stayed breech (not footling, I know they won’t do that).  She said that she’d recommend an external version at 37 weeks and depending, they’d see.  She didn’t out and out rule it out though.

So, although we’d like to avoid a c-section, as time ticks down, it’s becoming more and more likely.  I’m a bit more anxious about having major surgery.  But I guess it’s known versus the unknown.

I go back in two weeks.  This won’t be for a “placenta check” but another midwife visit.  Placenta check will be in 4 weeks.  They’ll switch me over to heparin then too.

February 22, 2011

So, a timely post from one of the sites I enjoy reading.  Granted she’s several weeks behind me, but after Thursday, some of my “chill” is melting away.  I’m getting anxious to get some stuff done. 

Aw… shit!

I haven’t made an actual list yet, it’s mostly in my head, but it wouldn’t take too much.  Let’s see:

1. Paint Teagan’s room – we had lost the paint chip so were trying to find a new color that we liked as much.  I found it, but we haven’t gotten the pain yet.
2. Find paint for this new bunny’s room (and then paint it!)  I have the bedding picked out, and it’s sitting there waiting, but I haven’t figured out a color yet.  I have put the curtains up!
3. Change out the curtain rods.  Teagan’s room has nice curtain rods up, but the room (currently) that will become the new baby’s room doesn’t.  It just has those c shaped rods.  No finials or anything.  It works for now though.
4. Get the dresser put together.  This means pulling the old dresser out of the room.  Then I could put clothes away and start putting things where they’ll belong.  I can’t help Stu move the old dresser, nor can I do much to help put the new one together.  <sigh>  This is probably the first thing that should be on this list.
5. Put the crib together.  Another thing that I can’t really help with.  Since we’re planning on having the baby sleep in our room for the first few weeks – while she’s still getting up every few hours to eat – this isn’t quite as important.  But if it’s together, (and we paint) I can decorate a bit, for when we move her in.  We’re going to leave the beds in there for the first few weeks, so that there’s a place for people to stay, other than the basement. 
6. Get the night tables put together.  Yes, everything is still flat-packed.  This, I may be able to do.  Maybe I’ll peek at the boxes.
7. Empty the top and move the china cabinet.  It’s sitting on a warped part of the floor, and one door is torked open at the bottom.  It just needs a little push about an inch to the left.  We’ve done this once before, but didn’t get it quite far enough.  This time, I’ll put some heavy boxes on the shelf to double-check the placement. 
8. Finish putting the office desk together.  Then I can file away the stuff that belongs in cabinets that I can’t get into right now.
9. Reload iTunes on the new computer that Stu built.  I’m out of podcasts, and I need new music for the iPod.  I need to be sure there’s at least one Radiohead song on there (to help ensure the coolness of this new baby.  LOL!)
10. I should go through Teagan’s drawers and pull out the receiving blankets (or just some of them) and the burp rags to put in the babies room.
11. Pull all the newborn stuff out of the basement, and figure out if I’m missing things, or if there are things I’ll need.
12. Wash the car seat lining.
13. Get a hospital bag packed.  EEPS!

Ok, that’s more of a list than I thought I had.  And, I’m sure there’s more.  If I really thought about it, I’d totally freak out with everything that needs to be done.  52 days if she doesn’t come early, like she may be threatening to.  Right now, I just want to lie down and not think about it.   This baby better leave me enough time to get things done!

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February 10, 2011

Image by Dave-F via Flickr

The week’s almost over.  Just one more day.  It’s been a rough week.  Stressful.  Busy. 

I don’t have to turn the alarm on tonight.  No need.  I get to work from home tomorrow.  Even if Teagan (or I) oversleep, it’ll still be ok for my shot.  Neither of us sleep that late. 

Hope that being at the house will make the day a bit less stressful, even though it will still be very busy.  Less stress would be nice.  It would be nice to not have BH contractions, a place that’s not too hot (like the office has been all week).  Unfortunately, it’s also going to be a bit more distracting.  I need to be focused.  Sometimes it’s hard to figure out the issue with a formula or query if there’s dirty dishes in the sink or laundry to reboot.

Tomorrow, I also have to go meet with Teagan’s possible new pediatrician.  We’ve finally gotten my act together enough to set up a “meet and greet” with a local pediatrician.  I suppose I should be happy that we haven’t needed to make an emergency decision, thanks to an ear infection or some other creepy crud or oozy thing.  It would be nice to like the practice, the doctor.  I hope they also have a Lactation Consultant that I can have a few minutes with as well.

Good news!  We can use the front door again!  The snow melted/softened enough these past few days that Stu was able to get the path shoveled.  It had been about 2 feet deep of near-solid ice.  Today the ice melt worked enough to get the last bit of ice off, and make it so it’s not taking your life (or neck!) in your hands to walk on it.  So nice!

February 1, 2011

Lookie!  The piglet came home today with a pony-tail.  LOL!  She was so excited by it.  Can you tell? 

She was a bit strange tonight – said she was hungry, but didn’t want to eat.  Dun!  The trick where either Stu or I eat a bit of what she has in front of her worked…  So she had a little meatloaf, some grapes, and toast with peanut butter.  She asked for the toast :)  She also asked for milk.  She’s been on a big milk kick lately.

I’m not even going to talk about the weather.  (It’s winter storm Ella!  E!  We’re on storm E!)  Instead, I’ll share a story from yesterday, that I almost forgot.  Going from cube to cube, office to office, taking down the holiday decorations* (christmas ornaments, trees and wreaths) that I had put up, a consultant looked up from the desk she was working on and we said hi.  Later in the day, she was meeting with someone next to my cube and as we passed in the hall , stopped and told me that I was the cutest pregnant person she’d ever seen.  She apologized for being so “forward,” as we don’t really work together and she doesn’t know me.  I thanked her and made some joke.  I was very touched, as I feel HUGE.   (Thank you 93rd%ile baby).  Not fat, but just big and awkward.  Ungainly.

As I told Stu the story, he of course, reminded me that this little one is measuring big (93rd%ile!) and as the doctors said, could be of by 15%.  That she could be in the 108th percentile.  Thanks.  That’s a thought I needed to have. <thwap>

~~~~~~

* I’ve made a bunch of decorations (flowers, leaves, and various christmas) to hang from the ceilings above the desks, to go along with the snowflakes, hearts and shamrocks that I’ve somehow inherited.

December 15, 2010

Who needs sleep?  Me, that’s who!  It’s been a rough couple of days around here.  Stu and I had an all day meeting that we both needed to be in.  So, up stupid early, drop the baby off 5 minutes after day care opens, off to work.  Sit through the morning, have a nice lunch, sit through the afternoon.  Get out in time to pick the piglet up 10 minutes before day care closes.  After 11 hours of day care she’s exhausted.  13 hour day and we’re exhausted. 

Last night was the first night that she didn’t sleep through in just under two weeks.  Ear infections, teeth, growth spurts, milestones, general change had gotten her out of wack, turned my lovely sleeper into someone who got up three times a night, and who refused to be put down.  There were nights that Stu and I slept in the glider, holding her, nights that we made toast at 3 am because she was hungry, and we hoped that feeding her would give her a full enough stomach to go back to sleep.  Most times, it didn’t work.  It worked enough though, for us to do it again the next time…

So, finally just about two weeks ago or so – nights and days are blending a bit for me now – we decided we wanted our lovely sleeper back.  She wasn’t sick, she didn’t (hopefully!) have an ear infection.  We played hard ball.  If she woke up crying, we would wait a minute or two and then go in to her.  We asked her to lie back down and go to sleep, put her blanket over her, and left her room.  And we did leave her – sometimes crying, sometimes not – and didn’t go back in.  We didn’t pick her up.  We would make sure she was ok, tried to cover her with her blanket, but left. 

Two nights, she would wake up every four hours or so, cry and call for us.  We stayed hard – tired but hard.  Stu seemed to have better luck getting her to be quiet and  back to sleep quickly.  Faster than when I would go in.  Maybe she was trying to play me, knowing that I would break, would give in, faster than her dad.  I stayed strong though!  I was too tired not to :)

The third night was LOVELY.  She didn’t wake up once.  She slept like she used to, before all the interruptions.  The fourth night, the same.  And then the fifth.  And so on.  And Lisa got lots of sleep, and was feeling wonderful again.  Until yesterday, when we had a stupid-early all-day meeting and her baby starts waking up during the night.  Again.

Hopefully, this is just a phase, and she’ll go back to solid night-long sleep again.  Tonight.  Cross your fingers.

April 5, 2010

Finally! We’re moved! There’s a small semblance of normalcy as well, with most of the truck unpacked and put away – not all where it belongs, but not in a box any more. It’s been a bumpy bumpy ride, but it’s smoothing out now. Thankfully.

The weeks leading up to the 31st were a blur. Packing, working, sleeping. So not fun. I don’t know how I accumulated so much stuff. We preloaded boxes into pods, so we could actually live and THINK in the house. Such a good idea.

Then, the rain began. Day care was flooded and closed early (11am!!) the day I was planning on finishing packing. Yay! Fun. LOVE the baby girl, but she’s an attention pig. And distracting. And the water in the basement took a bit of time too. So, I got behind. Stu and I packed until about 11pm the night before the move/closing. Fell into bed exhausted. And the worst was yet to start.

Move day, there’s still LOTS of water in the basement. Yay! Stu goes to vacuum it up, I start packing. Movers show up a little late, and quickly empty the basement. I’m still trying to pack ahead of them. By the time they came upstairs, I wasn’t too far behind, but was losing ground. They weren’t finished by the time our buyers came for the walk-through at 1pm. The wife was so upset – the water got tracked all through the main house. To be fair, it did look horrible. But we weren’t done, we hadn’t even swept, though we did need to mop a bit. We almost lost them, well, the wife. Hubby was ok about a little water. So, we had our agent tell our lawyer tell their lawyer that we’d get it cleaned. That worked.

So, instead of losing our new house, we were able to head out for our walk-through and buy of the new place. Yay! In Stu’s car, as mine wouldn’t start. Double Yay. They had water too, of course. Everyone had water. New place wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the old, thankfully. Though they did pull up some of the carpeting in the basement.

We end up jumping my car, and head out. We even had to enlist a neighbor to help us get plants and stuff to the new place. We finally get everything unloaded from the cars, put the food into the fridge/freezer by around 8. Stop for a beer. Yay beer! Good Samaritan neighbor goes home and we head out to the closest diner for some dinner. Fantastic food. Teagan was ready to fall over by the time we got back, though she had a blast eating Souvlaki and Gyro and Chicken Noodle Soup.

Get the airbeds blown up and made, and sis and hubby and I stay the night in the new place. Furniture was being held hostage over night as our closings were so late in the day. Turned out to be good, as we really wouldn’t have been able to deal with doing it all the same day.

Next day, we find a box of food that wasn’t put in the fridge. Fun. Cooler of expressed milk (about 50 ounces) that had defrosted. Sob! My car still doesn’t start. Sigh. Stu runs out for milk for coffee (and tea) and the movers show up. The game begins again. They end up unloading in about 3 hours or so. Half the time it took to load up the truck. Stuff into the basement and garage. Glass boxes into the dining room.

Anyway, after several LONG days of unpacking and organizing and putting away, the house almost feels like home. Our home.

Yay fun!!

November 11, 2009

We’re going to be flying soon.  On a plane.  With a baby.  OMG.  We’ll be *those* people on a plane…  the ones that you look at and hope aren’t going to be sitting by you, that you wish weren’t going to be on your flight.  With a baby.  You pray that the baby doesn’t cry and scream but sleeps the entire flight.  I hope that we aren’t going to be those people…  the  kind of people that everyone hates on sight.  I hope that Teagan won’t be that baby.

I’m also worried how we’ll manage all her stuff – my god, the stuff – as well as ours.  We dont need to bring a car seat, there’ll be one waiting there for us.  But that means that we have to have her sit on our laps the entire flight.  We wouldn’t have the opportunity to maybe put her in her seat in flight.  The car seat is also so heavy now (she is a piglet after all!), that we’d need the stroller frame, but she loves sitting up watching the world now, so I was planning on bringing the umbrella stroller. 

Then there’s food.  She’s eating a little food.  Do I bring that too?  Will I get hauled away by security because I poured out three portions of rice cereal and it looks like a white powder?  How much liquid is she allowed?  How much breast milk would be too much?  How will I keep it cold enough?

Advise from the doctor, (among others), is to see how she handles it.  To nurse on takeoff and landing.  To bring a pacifier.  To bring toys.  If she doesn’t do well, than maybe give her Benadryl to put her out. 

This would be the first time that we would consciously choose to drug our daughter for better behavior.  Not just to ease pain (stop her from crying all night) from teething.  I’m not sure if I like that idea or not.  I do know that I don’t want to be *those* people.

Anyway, I know I can get food down there, get anything I forget to pack, replace anything that gets puked on.  I really don’t need to stress about it.  I should be more concerned about how both my hubby and daughter, with their pale pasty skin, will survive the Caribbean sun :)  Though if the weather reports are to be trusted, that might be a non-issue as well.

Anyway, I just need her birth certificate, my driver’s licence, Stu’s passport and resident card, the boarding passes and we’ll be good enough to go!

On that note, I’m off to bed, but will leave you with the joy of green beans!

 

May 12, 2009

Ok, I didn’t give a good update of the Midwife appointment yesterday.  I seemed to focus on the fact that they might put me out of my misery by my due date, and nothing else.  He he he… I guess I’m getting a one track mind.

Anyway, let’s start at the beginning…  I’m on weekly doctor visits, have been for three weeks now.  Started those a bit early, but not that bad.  Monday’s and two weeks before have included non-stress tests.  Two weeks ago, I ended up on the machine for over an hour as it had run out of paper after the first 10 minutes and the midwife didn’t have enough data.  New roll of paper in the machine, and I get left again for what felt like ages, on a very uncomfortable doctor’s table.

So, this time, I joke as they hook me up that there better be paper in the machine.  The PA laughs, and said “YOU were the one that finished the roll.” So, I settle in and get left along in the room.  Yay for Mahjongg on the IPaq.  About 20 minutes later, the midwife comes in – the same one from the prior NST.  She adjusts the heartbeat disk and mentions that there seems to be a bunch of “garbage” in the data.  I get left again for another 30 minutes or so, holding the heartbeat disk in place.  I can’t read or even play Mahjongg.  Time goes so slow without distractions.

She comes back and looks at the read out.  Says that it appears that the bump is very active – yes, tell me about it!  Asks how the sub-cue heparin is going, and I tell her that it’s just not fun, Stu is doing most of the shots, as the needles are just a bit too long for me to do one handed.  She checks and says that I’m only 50% effaced, close and firm.  She doesn’t think I’ll have the baby this week.  She mentions that she doesn’t think I should go any later than my due date, which made me happy, I wasn’t about to argue with her.  I would like to be as non-intervened as possible. 

She then says that she’d like to have the fluid levels checked and sends me off to a radiology lab just around the corner.  The lab wants me there with a full bladder.  This is after I’ve been in the doctor’s office for an hour and a half, and they can’t see me for another 20 minutes.  So MEAN!  This is how you torture a pregnant lady.

I chat with the PA’s for a bit before I go.  Lab is just 5 minutes away from the doc’s office.  I get there, they have me fill a form, then wait a few minutes before I get called back.  The tech has me lie down on the table, goops me up.  I mention that we don’t know what the bump is, so she won’t blurt anything out.  She asks how far along I am…  37w5d.  She seems quite amazed that I’m that far along, that I don’t look it.  Anyway, she scans away, explains what she’s looking at…  shows me the heart, kidneys, stomach, ribs, femur…  nothing from that area :)  I start feeling very uncomfortable after about 15 minutes, I am almost flat on my back.  She notices and has me lay on my side for a bit.  After about 5 minutes, we start back up again.  She gets her fluid measures and asks if I would wait for her to check with the radiologist before I leave, just in case they need something else.  Again, I haven’t peed yet.  I could almost cry by now. 

So, another 5 minutes or so of waiting before she comes back and says I’m good to go, she’ll call the midwife and give her the results, and that the midwife will call me.  I ask if I could use their restroom before I leave.  But of COURSE I can :)  Yay.  Such relief!  It’s been over three hours.  I only have a 40 minute bladder by now, what with all the baby pressure and the almost constant headbutting and hiccups!

By now I’m starving, so swing past the McD’s on teh way home, and almost devour everything before I get there.  It’s about 12:20 now, and the doc’s closed for lunch.  I have at least 40 minutes before I can find out if everything is ok.  I call, the midwife is with a patient.  She’ll call me back.  About 30 minutes later the PA calls, and said that everything was ok.  The fluid level was just fine.  Whew!  I was worried that there was something wrong, that I would need to rush to the hospital, and Stu was at work 40 minutes away.  I know that I could ask a neighbor to drive me if need be, but still. 

So, end of a LONG story, everything is fine, bump is fine, I’m fine.  I’ll probably not have the baby this week, but you never know.  I also know that Stu and I won’t be waiting too much longer to meet the bump, which is nice to know too.  :)  Not sure what they’ll have planned for me, I’m sure I’ll find out next appointment.