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2009 in review!
Dec. 31st, 2009 03:36 pm2009 was quite a year! (I'll do a wrap-up of the decade later, maybe.) Here's the end-of-the-year meme, which I also did in 2006 and 2008. I know that the answers will be heavily on the family side, but I did spend the entire year either pregnant or taking care of a newborn.
( 2009 )
Happy New Year, everyone! May 2010 bring you lots of wonderful times.
( 2009 )
Happy New Year, everyone! May 2010 bring you lots of wonderful times.
Two months tomorrow!
Dec. 15th, 2009 05:20 pmSam will be two months old tomorrow! And it will be a crazy day -- doctor's appointment (with shots, lucky guy) and traveling down to L.A. Then his first plane ride is on Thursday, to my parents' for Christmas!
( How Sam's doing )
( How I'm doing )
( Obligatory picture of Sam )
( How Sam's doing )
( How I'm doing )
( Obligatory picture of Sam )
Zonk, zonk, zonk
Dec. 5th, 2009 04:54 pmI know I've said this before, but breastfeeding can be exhausting. Sam's in the middle of a growth spurt, or something, and I think I'm going to hit at least 5 hours of nursing today. (There are pluses and minuses to having an iPhone app for recording feeding sessions.) Today I also started pumping once daily, to start building up a stash for daycare (in February) and getting my body used to the pump. I was pretty pleased to get 3 oz. on my first go of it, but oy. I'm drinking "mother's milk" tea (key ingredient: fenugreek) and eating oatmeal and drinking tons of water, which should help, but today I'm more tired than I've been in a while.
Okay, I was going to talk about the moms' group I went to last week, and a few other things, but I'm flipping exhausted. Here, have an adorable picture of Sam!
Okay, I was going to talk about the moms' group I went to last week, and a few other things, but I'm flipping exhausted. Here, have an adorable picture of Sam!
Cozy Monday Morning
Nov. 30th, 2009 11:34 amThere are many things I love about breastfeeding. The fact that the resultant poop is water-soluble is definitely in the top five.
We had a nice Thanksgiving with the eeee!'s family, but it's good to be back home. I have plans for leaving the house (with Sam in tow) for nearly every day this week. And, I've figured out the sling, so I was able to procure lunch while he dozed off in it. Hooray!
Now, I just need to not panic about the fact that we leave in a mere 2 1/2 weeks for my parents' for Christmas. Egad!
We had a nice Thanksgiving with the eeee!'s family, but it's good to be back home. I have plans for leaving the house (with Sam in tow) for nearly every day this week. And, I've figured out the sling, so I was able to procure lunch while he dozed off in it. Hooray!
Now, I just need to not panic about the fact that we leave in a mere 2 1/2 weeks for my parents' for Christmas. Egad!
One month!
Nov. 17th, 2009 01:10 pmYesterday, Sam turned one month old!
This has been the fastest month of my life.
( Progress report, for my reference )
And right now he's sleeping on my chest as I type, so I'm pretty happy and cozy right now.
This has been the fastest month of my life.
( Progress report, for my reference )
And right now he's sleeping on my chest as I type, so I'm pretty happy and cozy right now.
The new normal
Nov. 8th, 2009 11:02 amWe seem to be doing pretty well here! Sam is wonderful and adorable, and eating like a champ! We're only partly sleep-deprived, and we've been eating real food (thanks in part to friends bringing stuff). However, the eeee! goes back to work tomorrow, so we'll see what happens then.
Has it really only been three weeks? We really seem to have settled into a cozy unit -- right now all four of us are on the couch, watching football and enjoying a lazy Sunday morning.
- Not that I had any doubt, but the eeee! is such an awesome, affectionate, and patient dad. Plus, he's been changing all the diapers when he's home.
- Breastfeeding is going very well. Hooray!
- We had our first real family outing yesterday, to the farmer's market. That was lots of fun, because it got us out of the house, and we ran into several friends there, but it wasn't overstimulating for Sam.
- Doc seems to be handling things pretty well, considering.
- There are still one or two feedings a day that are tough, because Sam is super-fussy, but I have a surprising amount of time to read while I feed him. The caveat is that I can only really read on my iPhone while nursing. I finally installed Stanza, which has a really nice interface, and easily plugs into the entire Project Gutenberg database. I've already read Anne of the Island -- my favorite of the Anne books -- and I've picked up Howard's End again.
- That said, any blog recommendations would be welcome.
- I will not be reading Parenting magazine. I got a free issue of it in the mail, and made it about ten pages in before chucking it into the recycling bin. I'm not sure if I'm more annoyed that they asked if a vegetarian diet was cruel to kids, or that 65% of the respondents said yes. WTF, people? And in the print edition they had a few responses from people, and they were along the lines of, "Preschoolers need nutrients and protein!" Look, just because no one on Top Chef knows about vegetarian protein sources doesn't mean they don't exist! Aaaargh.
- I've been making sure to have a cup of tea every morning, and a glass of wine or a beer every evening (right after a feeding), as a way of keeping my sanity. Maybe sanity isn't the right word, but normalcy. Or just making sure that I take care of myself, in addition to taking care of Sam.
Has it really only been three weeks? We really seem to have settled into a cozy unit -- right now all four of us are on the couch, watching football and enjoying a lazy Sunday morning.
The birth story of Sam
Nov. 4th, 2009 06:05 pmI was aiming for a natural childbirth, and I came very close to it being all-natural. The whole process was great until the last five minutes, but I wouldn't change anything else.
The executive summary:
17 hours of active labor
3 hours of pushing
1 push with vacuum assistance (this part was not fun)
Sam's stats:
7 lb, 1 oz.
20 inches
Apgar 8 and 9
Posterior, the little bugger!
41w5d gestation. Oy.
Born Friday, October 16, at 10:06 p.m.
( Details, and a cute picture, behind the cut )
The executive summary:
17 hours of active labor
3 hours of pushing
1 push with vacuum assistance (this part was not fun)
Sam's stats:
7 lb, 1 oz.
20 inches
Apgar 8 and 9
Posterior, the little bugger!
41w5d gestation. Oy.
Born Friday, October 16, at 10:06 p.m.
( Details, and a cute picture, behind the cut )
Introducing Samuel Harris!
Oct. 24th, 2009 06:37 pmI am delighted to announce that Samuel Harris R was born on Friday, October 16, at 10:06 p.m. 7 lb, 1 oz; 20 inches long; 41 weeks 5 days gestation; 100% adorable. We're all home and settling in just fine. Gory details to come later, but the whole labor process was kind of awesome.
( Pictures below the cut )
( Pictures below the cut )
No news is no news
Oct. 5th, 2009 08:13 amLast night, I suddenly got butterflies in my stomach about the whole impending labor/delivery/parenthood thing. And very excited about the prospect of meeting [untitled] soon.
A sign that labor is on the way? Or, more likely, a sign that there's no more football to distract me?
(The Steelers gave me several heart attacks last night, but did not send me into labor, alas.)
A sign that labor is on the way? Or, more likely, a sign that there's no more football to distract me?
(The Steelers gave me several heart attacks last night, but did not send me into labor, alas.)
"Educational" reading for parents
Sep. 21st, 2009 06:04 pmI'm at the point where I have to go to the doctor's weekly, so I've read nearly everything in the waiting room. This means that today I finally picked up a copy of Conceive magazine. I had been avoiding it, because I suspected that it was preying on all the worries of couples with fertility problems. It was even worse than I thought it was, and hell, after reading it I could convince myself that I had fertility problems, despite being 38 weeks pregnant.
Then I switched over to a random issue of Parents (or, Straight White Upper-Middle Class Suburban Stay-at-Home Moms), which I actually would be tempted to subscribe to for the irony factor. An ad for birth control! An ad for beef opposite a page that had a vegetarian recipe! Delightful.
And don't get me started on the Fisher-Price catalog disguised as a magazine for new grandparents. REALLY.
Then I switched over to a random issue of Parents (or, Straight White Upper-Middle Class Suburban Stay-at-Home Moms), which I actually would be tempted to subscribe to for the irony factor. An ad for birth control! An ad for beef opposite a page that had a vegetarian recipe! Delightful.
And don't get me started on the Fisher-Price catalog disguised as a magazine for new grandparents. REALLY.
Yet another numbered entry!
Sep. 20th, 2009 11:45 amI'm sure there was a time when I could write transitional paragraphs, but oh, it seems so long ago!
And that's about it here! Off to work on job apps and such before [untitled] arrives!
- LJ's been pretty quiet lately, and people have offered various hypotheses for why that is. I think one of the reasons is that the LJ site for mobile phones SUCKS. And there is an iPhone app, but it's only good for updating, not for reading your flist.
- The eeee! is working on a cosmology calculator app for the iPhone, and maybe when he's done with that I should ask him if he'd be interested in writing a better LJ app.
- In our infinite spare time, of course.
- My due date is two weeks from TODAY. OMFG.
- This morning I realized that although I think I'm ready, if my water broke right now I would freak the fuck out.
- Then again, I don't think I'd freak out if I started having regular contractions. So we'll see.
- I think this all means I should do some more yoga.
And that's about it here! Off to work on job apps and such before [untitled] arrives!
(no subject)
Sep. 13th, 2009 01:47 pmThings here continue to be hectic. It doesn't help that I'm at 37 weeks, and have no energy anymore, so I have a very lax definition of "hectic". The eeee! only wishes I was nesting, but so far, nothing.
- MICHIGAN FOOTBALL! Oh my god. I was cautiously optimistic after they blew out Western Michigan last weekend, and I also thought that Notre Dame was totally overrated this season. But that was such an exciting game, and Michigan actually has a freaking quarterback this season! Hooray! Now we just need a functional pass defense.
- Between the Steelers and Michigan, it's been a good football weekend for me. And a really mean part of me is smirking at how bad a football weekend it's been for the state of Ohio. (The end of that Denver-Cinci game was really the nail in the coffin, damn.)
- We watched the latest Futurama movie, Into the Wild Green Yonder last night, and eh. We were underwhelmed. The Futurama movies remind me of the last season of Arrested Development -- there are some good bits here and there, but overall they're both rambling messes without a good, coherent storyline. I think the problem is that both shows were wrapped up very well (particularly Futurama, but also the end of season 2 of AD), and the writers underestimated how hard it would be to start up again. (Also see: Mostly Harmless, by Douglas Adams.)
- We made our first real trip to Costco for things, and it was only mildly terrifying. I must say, though, we would have joined years ago if we knew they had beer! Good beer! Beer we drink on a regular basis (Newcastle and Firestone), for much cheaper than even the sale prices at the grocery store!
( pregnancy rambling )
Hope you're all having a lovely weekend! Even if you're a fan of Ohio football teams (sorry about that).
Frozen food! Really.
Aug. 30th, 2009 06:39 pmI am at 35 weeks now, so it's a good time to start thinking about having some food prepped and frozen before [untitled] gets here, so we are ready for those first few weeks. The problem is that the eeee! and I are stuck on ideas. So far all we can think of is pesto, lentil soup, and homemade black bean burgers.
Any suggestions? We cook mostly Italian, Indian, Thai, and Mexican food, but we're flexible on that. However, we do cook mostly vegetarian food. At most, once a month we get one chicken from the farmer's market to roast or grill (and make stock with). Anything with lentils, chickpeas, black beans, or tofu, though, we can totally handle.
Thanks!
Posted via LiveJournal.app.
People are strange
Aug. 28th, 2009 01:41 pmI find it fascinating what people have assumed about me during this pregnancy. This includes, but is by no means limited to:
And it's only going to get worse after he's born? Aieeee.
(Although, to be fair, being pregnant when it's 90 F (32 C) out sucks. I couldn't take the heat before I was pregnant, and now, ugh.)
- Food cravings. I did not like pickles before I was pregnant, and I do not like them now.
- Caffeine consumption. If I turn down a cup of coffee, it's because I do not want one at that specific time (and/or I CANNOT keep up with the Italians). Not because I am pregnant.
- Childbirth plans. People I knew back in high school assume I'm getting an epidural. People here assume that I might at least be interested in natural childbirth (and do not treat me like I'm crazy for planning one).
- Sex of the child and parenting. Specifically, that the eeee! must be really happy we're having a boy. We were excited to find out either way, and seriously, whether boy or girl, it's going to be the eeee! teaching him or her to make cupcakes.
And it's only going to get worse after he's born? Aieeee.
(Although, to be fair, being pregnant when it's 90 F (32 C) out sucks. I couldn't take the heat before I was pregnant, and now, ugh.)
Calendars are scary . . .
Aug. 16th, 2009 10:49 amAt some point, I had decided that 36 weeks was a good time to start buying diapers and wipes, packing the hospital bag, etc.
That's in three weeks. Oh my god! And it's a mere five weeks from now until I hit 38 weeks, which begins the "any day now"* stage of pregnancy! Good thing we finally started setting up the nursery and washing baby clothes and such. And suddenly it seems like we have doctor's appointments and meetings with the doula and childbirth and breastfeeding classes all the time.
In other news . . . let's see. I loved Julie & Julia. (It was only the second movie I saw this year that passed the Bechdel test! Sigh.) I love Jane Lynch, but I wasn't sure about the casting of her as Julia's sister. I finally started reading The Other Queen, by Philippa Gregory, but I'm not enjoying it as much as I have some of her others.
And I'm tired. Guess I have to sleep while I can!
---
* I know that first babies are generally late, but I was born at week 37, which is a stat that people seem to take seriously when considering the odds of when [untitled] will show up. Also, although I'm glad that my doctor is sticking with the October 4 due date, another ultrasound pointed to September 29 as the likely due date. On top of all that, I while I have wacky cycles, a due date of October 4 requires a cycle of unprecedented length -- 40+ days. So I'm taking the under on October 4.
That's in three weeks. Oh my god! And it's a mere five weeks from now until I hit 38 weeks, which begins the "any day now"* stage of pregnancy! Good thing we finally started setting up the nursery and washing baby clothes and such. And suddenly it seems like we have doctor's appointments and meetings with the doula and childbirth and breastfeeding classes all the time.
In other news . . . let's see. I loved Julie & Julia. (It was only the second movie I saw this year that passed the Bechdel test! Sigh.) I love Jane Lynch, but I wasn't sure about the casting of her as Julia's sister. I finally started reading The Other Queen, by Philippa Gregory, but I'm not enjoying it as much as I have some of her others.
And I'm tired. Guess I have to sleep while I can!
---
* I know that first babies are generally late, but I was born at week 37, which is a stat that people seem to take seriously when considering the odds of when [untitled] will show up. Also, although I'm glad that my doctor is sticking with the October 4 due date, another ultrasound pointed to September 29 as the likely due date. On top of all that, I while I have wacky cycles, a due date of October 4 requires a cycle of unprecedented length -- 40+ days. So I'm taking the under on October 4.
I am definitely too tired for transitional sentences, so here's what's been going on lately:
Right. That's about it here. Oh god, I totally am a boring pregnant woman. Um. I finally upgraded to Leopard? I'm enjoying Howard's End? I'm . . . going to bed soon.
- I'm tired. Oh my god, am I tired. And it's not the fatigue of the first trimester, which felt a bit like the fatigue you have with the flu. I feel physically exhausted, like after an intense workout. I guess that walking to work with a bowling ball strapped to my chest could be considered an intense workout, so okay.
- That aside, the pregnancy is still going smoothly. People tend to only talk about their pregnancy woes and horror stories -- especially online -- and I guess I'm included in that. Anyway. I'm tired but doing very well.
- Of course, I think I'm all tough, but then I was reading this diary from the Oregon Trail, la la la, it sounds pretty arduous, la la la. And I get to the end, and she gave birth five days after they arrived in Oregon. OH MY GOD. I am so not tough.
- We've been so busy with traveling and cleaning out the garage and working that I haven't taken any pictures in a MONTH. It is driving me crazy, since I really want to do an alphabet project. Preferably before [untitled] arrives. But at this point I'm so tired that part of me is like, screw it, it can wait until he's old enough to read.
- Okay, on a non-pregnancy note, we saw Public Enemies last week. I'd really been looking forward to it, so maybe that's why I was so disappointed in it. I'm glad that it introduced me to the music of Otis Taylor, but other than that, eh.
Right. That's about it here. Oh god, I totally am a boring pregnant woman. Um. I finally upgraded to Leopard? I'm enjoying Howard's End? I'm . . . going to bed soon.
Scattered thoughts
Jul. 19th, 2009 11:17 amThe combination of travel and the third trimester of pregnancy has hit me like a ton of bricks. I got home on Tuesday, and it's only today that I'm starting to feel normal again.
My to-do list is a mile long, and I haven't crossed anything off of it. However, we bought a car yesterday, so there's that. And we joined Costco -- man, the eeee! turned 35 and suddenly we're buying 4-door cars and joining warehouse clubs.
Anyway. Work-wise, the trip went very well. I also have some pictures from Italy that, at the rate I'm going, will be online in another three weeks. (I only just finished posting pictures from the June trip to Denmark and London.)
And now I need a nap from my very strenuous morning of, like, eating breakfast and straightening up.
My to-do list is a mile long, and I haven't crossed anything off of it. However, we bought a car yesterday, so there's that. And we joined Costco -- man, the eeee! turned 35 and suddenly we're buying 4-door cars and joining warehouse clubs.
Anyway. Work-wise, the trip went very well. I also have some pictures from Italy that, at the rate I'm going, will be online in another three weeks. (I only just finished posting pictures from the June trip to Denmark and London.)
And now I need a nap from my very strenuous morning of, like, eating breakfast and straightening up.
Random travel bits
Jun. 21st, 2009 03:34 pmI'm never going to write up a full travelogue -- I spend enough time working on the pictures for Flickr -- but here are some random thoughts about my trip.
All in all, it was a great trip, and seeing my brother was wonderful. But I do not see myself going back to Scandinavia any time soon.
- Denmark is expensive. We thought we were prepared for it -- we've been to Europe before, and based on the hotel rates we thought we had a feel for how expensive it would be. We were wrong. The food was insanely expensive, as was getting around by bus or train. (In Copenhagen we walked everywhere, but in Esbjerg we had to takes buses and trains to Ribe and Legoland.)
- Denmark is cold. Esbjerg is especially cold and damp, and the nicest it gets there is approximately the worst it gets in Santa Barbara.
- Danish food, with the fish and the mayo and the herring and the pork, is so not our thing. I did have some tasty fishcakes at one point, but we ended up eating lots of shwarma and falafel. You know you're in trouble when you're looking forward to London for the better prices, weather, and food.
- Legoland was awesome, though.
- We went to the British Museum, and wandered into their Africa galleries. We were sorely disappointed by the curation of it, though -- organized by type of object (masks, ceramics, textiles), with little to no discussion of culture or history. Boo.
- I sampled the eeee!'s beer in Denmark, and didn't particularly like any of it -- lagers are just not my thing. But I love English ales, and at a random pub he had a pint of Sharp's Doombar, which was the best beer I have ever tasted. Maybe it's just because I haven't really had any beer for the past five months, but it was amazing.
All in all, it was a great trip, and seeing my brother was wonderful. But I do not see myself going back to Scandinavia any time soon.
Trip time!
May. 29th, 2009 09:56 amWe leave a week from tomorrow on our big trip to Europe. Hooray! I am so excited. We are going to London, Copenhagen, and Esbjerg (to visit my brother). Right now all we need to do is:
We're staying with the eeee!'s cousin in London, which will be great. And while we're in Denmark we're going to Legoland! Yay! We're all very dorkily excited about Legoland.
That's about it here. We have my in-laws' dog here this weekend, and then the eeee! has a work trip, and then we're off! So the next week is just going to fly by.
- Pare down our list of what we want to do in London. There's Westminister Abbey and the Globe Theater and the British Museum and the Tate, and we don't want to get museum'd out. (The eeee! and I have each been to London before, but never together.)
- Figure out what we're doing in Copenhagen. Other than swinging through Tivoli, we have no earthly idea what we're going to do there. Any suggestions? I'm looking forward to just wandering around and checking out the architecture, but beyond that, we're stumped.
- I have to figure out which lenses to bring with me (dork!).
We're staying with the eeee!'s cousin in London, which will be great. And while we're in Denmark we're going to Legoland! Yay! We're all very dorkily excited about Legoland.
That's about it here. We have my in-laws' dog here this weekend, and then the eeee! has a work trip, and then we're off! So the next week is just going to fly by.
