It's off to work... blah, blah, blah.
Yesterday was my first day back at work. Being back wasn't too bad. Ben is always happy and smiling when I drop him at daycare, but having to leave him there for 11 full hours just plain sucks.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Show and Tell
My sweet girl has such a big heart. Here's my girl with the letter she wrote to the President and addressing the envelope. I've included a "translation" under the photo of the letter.
"Dear President Obama
I have an idea. Why don't you tell people who have room in their garage to make a wall and put it in the middle to make a room for poor people.
Lucy, age 7"
Click here to see what the rest of the class is showing.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Odds and Ends
So my boy isn't quite 6 months old and he's got his second ear infection. He woke up screaming at about 4am the other night and I knew it was more than a cold and teething. My normally easy-to-soothe little guy was just inconsolable. Less than 24 hours after starting the antibiotic and he's clearly feeling much better.
We'll be back at the pediatrician's office in a week for his 6-month appointment, but they weighed him yesterday to make sure we are giving him the right doses of pain reliever. He is just 2 ounces shy of 21 pounds! Not that I'm surprised by that. My back and arms are victims of the boy's heft. I think I'll be a hunchback by the time he's walking.
Ben started daycare part-time last week and seems to be doing pretty well there. He cried the first day when I handed him to his teacher. It's so unlike him I couldn't help but think that somehow he KNEW that I was leaving soon. ;) But the next three days went without a hitch, so it's been a pretty stress free transition.
I go back to work in 4 weeks and that makes me want to weep. I'm just not ready for life to get that crazy again. It's not really the work or leaving the baby at daycare that stresses me out. It's the coordination of school drop off and pick up around 2 full-time schedules with 2+ hours of commuting for each of us, and then having to rush through everything in the evenings.
My girl is so excited for Halloween that she actually spent her own birthday money on Halloween decorations for the house. She also convinced my mother-in-law to part with a few dollars too. So, as I sit here at the dining room table, I am enjoying the lovely Halloween centerpiece they picked out and the front yard is decorated with 2 sparkly purple cats, a small scarecrow and various other decorations.
On Thursday I'll be making the 2 hour drive to my hometown to attend the memorial service for my friend's son. I still can't believe it. I can't imagine anything worse than losing one of my kids.
We'll be back at the pediatrician's office in a week for his 6-month appointment, but they weighed him yesterday to make sure we are giving him the right doses of pain reliever. He is just 2 ounces shy of 21 pounds! Not that I'm surprised by that. My back and arms are victims of the boy's heft. I think I'll be a hunchback by the time he's walking.
Ben started daycare part-time last week and seems to be doing pretty well there. He cried the first day when I handed him to his teacher. It's so unlike him I couldn't help but think that somehow he KNEW that I was leaving soon. ;) But the next three days went without a hitch, so it's been a pretty stress free transition.
I go back to work in 4 weeks and that makes me want to weep. I'm just not ready for life to get that crazy again. It's not really the work or leaving the baby at daycare that stresses me out. It's the coordination of school drop off and pick up around 2 full-time schedules with 2+ hours of commuting for each of us, and then having to rush through everything in the evenings.
My girl is so excited for Halloween that she actually spent her own birthday money on Halloween decorations for the house. She also convinced my mother-in-law to part with a few dollars too. So, as I sit here at the dining room table, I am enjoying the lovely Halloween centerpiece they picked out and the front yard is decorated with 2 sparkly purple cats, a small scarecrow and various other decorations.
On Thursday I'll be making the 2 hour drive to my hometown to attend the memorial service for my friend's son. I still can't believe it. I can't imagine anything worse than losing one of my kids.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
I'm stunned right now. I don't know what to think or who to talk to so I'm coming back here. I know I've neglected this place for too long. But right now I need a safe place.
I just found out that earlier today the 9 year old son of a very old friend of mine died. He contracted H1N1. It went to his heart, his heart stopped beating and he was put into an induced coma. I don't know much more than that. I do know that he had underlying health problems, nevertheless, it's got me scared to death.
I haven't been in touch with this friend much over the past several years. We exchange Christmas cards and that's been about it. We exchanged a few emails this summer when she finally got on Facebook, but that's been the most direct contact we've had in ages. In fact I'd been sort of peeved that I never got even a card or an email after Ben was born. God, who cares.
Her little boy and my daughter share a birthday. He was born via emergency c-section after her placenta abrupted at 30 weeks. Exactly 2 years later my daughter was born via emergency c-section after my placenta abrupted at 32 weeks. I remember after my daughter was born thinking that until then I had no appreciation for what she and her husband had gone through after the birth of their son. This will sound horrible, but I can't help but think I never ever want to be able to appreciate what they are going through right now. I can't hardly believe it. It's just wrong. I keep thinking about what I can send or write or say and there isn't anything that makes sense. Flowers, food, words just seem so stupid and useless - they lost their son.
I just went to check on the baby in the next room, again. He's sleeping peacefully in his crib. My daughter is racing around the house like a banshee. A week ago my friend would have been juggling the demands of her 3 sons. Now she has two. I just can't wrap my mind around this at all.
I just found out that earlier today the 9 year old son of a very old friend of mine died. He contracted H1N1. It went to his heart, his heart stopped beating and he was put into an induced coma. I don't know much more than that. I do know that he had underlying health problems, nevertheless, it's got me scared to death.
I haven't been in touch with this friend much over the past several years. We exchange Christmas cards and that's been about it. We exchanged a few emails this summer when she finally got on Facebook, but that's been the most direct contact we've had in ages. In fact I'd been sort of peeved that I never got even a card or an email after Ben was born. God, who cares.
Her little boy and my daughter share a birthday. He was born via emergency c-section after her placenta abrupted at 30 weeks. Exactly 2 years later my daughter was born via emergency c-section after my placenta abrupted at 32 weeks. I remember after my daughter was born thinking that until then I had no appreciation for what she and her husband had gone through after the birth of their son. This will sound horrible, but I can't help but think I never ever want to be able to appreciate what they are going through right now. I can't hardly believe it. It's just wrong. I keep thinking about what I can send or write or say and there isn't anything that makes sense. Flowers, food, words just seem so stupid and useless - they lost their son.
I just went to check on the baby in the next room, again. He's sleeping peacefully in his crib. My daughter is racing around the house like a banshee. A week ago my friend would have been juggling the demands of her 3 sons. Now she has two. I just can't wrap my mind around this at all.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
5 Months and 7 years.
Yesterday, Ben was 5 months old -- I can hardly believe it. But an even more shocking reality is that my daughter turns 7 on Friday!
The funny thing is that right now all the things Ben learns to do are cause for celebration -- hooray, another milestone reached. But with my daughter it is so bittersweet watching her grow up now. It is so obvious in the language she uses and the attitudes she adopts that she is growing up, but so often it just seems like a little kid mimicking the big kids she's around all day. It's the little things that make me catch my breath and want to hold her and wish everything would slow down. The other day we were getting ready to go somewhere and she wanted her hair in a ponytail. Instead of asking me to do it, I saw her get a hair band, put it around her wrist, pull up her hair and then pull the band off her wrist and onto her hair. Okay, it's not the first time she's put her own hair into a ponytail and it's not like she's just learned to drive, but there was something so familiar and so grown up about the way she moved her hands and did this one small act that made me pause and really look at her. She is still such a little girl in so many ways. She still snuggles with the stuffed giraffe that has been her favorite since she was about a year old. She still wants me to lay down with her at bedtime every night. She still has tantrums when she's overtired and she still loves to watch DVDs that she's been watching since she was 4. But she is also growing so independent and sure of herself in so many ways. I'm just not ready to have such a big girl. Honestly, it is hard to really remember her babyhood. But it is not at all hard to remember what it was like when she was 4 or 5, and suddenly here we are at 7!
My reading ballerina
As for Ben, well we've been working very hard on the sleep thing. I was about to lose my sanity, so I re-read Dr. Weiss.bluth's book and made my husband read the relevant section. I confess we are letting him cry a bit, which hurts my soul to hear, but fortunately he never cries for very long and we are making progress. He now naps 3 times a day at pretty regular times and bedtime has been moved up to between 6:30 and 7. Last night he slept 7 straight hours for the first time in almost a month!
He is rolling over from back to front quite regularly now. Though he first rolled from front to back he seems to have forgotten how now. He'll often get himself onto his belly and then whine once he's there. Though he's been teething for at least a month, his first tooth finally made it's appearance a week ago. We've tried Tylenol, ibuprofen, and ambesol, but nothing seems to give him much relief. He's a bit of a drool machine these days and he's always got his hands jammed into his mouth. That's no big deal, except when he does it during meal time!
We started rice cereal a couple of weeks ago and now feeding time is like a sport. Even when he eats it up well, he makes such a mess. After most bites of food he jams him hands into his mouth, and then rubs his hands all over the place, so we end up with one sticky mess of a baby. The other day after a meal he had cereal all over his hands, arms, legs, clothes, his face, and even in his ears! He also like to grab the spool and try to feed himself; he hasn't had much luck with that, but he keeps trying. His had made some progress with holding onto his toys and he is finally managing to get things other than cloth into his mouth.
I can do it myself!
Oops!
Future Opera Singer
Got her!
Almost there
In My Big Boy Clothes
I love my jumperoo
He'll hate me for this later
The funny thing is that right now all the things Ben learns to do are cause for celebration -- hooray, another milestone reached. But with my daughter it is so bittersweet watching her grow up now. It is so obvious in the language she uses and the attitudes she adopts that she is growing up, but so often it just seems like a little kid mimicking the big kids she's around all day. It's the little things that make me catch my breath and want to hold her and wish everything would slow down. The other day we were getting ready to go somewhere and she wanted her hair in a ponytail. Instead of asking me to do it, I saw her get a hair band, put it around her wrist, pull up her hair and then pull the band off her wrist and onto her hair. Okay, it's not the first time she's put her own hair into a ponytail and it's not like she's just learned to drive, but there was something so familiar and so grown up about the way she moved her hands and did this one small act that made me pause and really look at her. She is still such a little girl in so many ways. She still snuggles with the stuffed giraffe that has been her favorite since she was about a year old. She still wants me to lay down with her at bedtime every night. She still has tantrums when she's overtired and she still loves to watch DVDs that she's been watching since she was 4. But she is also growing so independent and sure of herself in so many ways. I'm just not ready to have such a big girl. Honestly, it is hard to really remember her babyhood. But it is not at all hard to remember what it was like when she was 4 or 5, and suddenly here we are at 7!
My reading ballerina
As for Ben, well we've been working very hard on the sleep thing. I was about to lose my sanity, so I re-read Dr. Weiss.bluth's book and made my husband read the relevant section. I confess we are letting him cry a bit, which hurts my soul to hear, but fortunately he never cries for very long and we are making progress. He now naps 3 times a day at pretty regular times and bedtime has been moved up to between 6:30 and 7. Last night he slept 7 straight hours for the first time in almost a month!
He is rolling over from back to front quite regularly now. Though he first rolled from front to back he seems to have forgotten how now. He'll often get himself onto his belly and then whine once he's there. Though he's been teething for at least a month, his first tooth finally made it's appearance a week ago. We've tried Tylenol, ibuprofen, and ambesol, but nothing seems to give him much relief. He's a bit of a drool machine these days and he's always got his hands jammed into his mouth. That's no big deal, except when he does it during meal time!
We started rice cereal a couple of weeks ago and now feeding time is like a sport. Even when he eats it up well, he makes such a mess. After most bites of food he jams him hands into his mouth, and then rubs his hands all over the place, so we end up with one sticky mess of a baby. The other day after a meal he had cereal all over his hands, arms, legs, clothes, his face, and even in his ears! He also like to grab the spool and try to feed himself; he hasn't had much luck with that, but he keeps trying. His had made some progress with holding onto his toys and he is finally managing to get things other than cloth into his mouth.
I can do it myself!
Oops!
Future Opera Singer
Got her!
Almost there
In My Big Boy Clothes
I love my jumperoo
He'll hate me for this later
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Ouch!
I know a baby who's getting his first tooth. I also know a baby who is going to lose his boobie privileges if he doesn't stop biting!
I tried to get a photo of the tooth, but couldn't.
I tried to get a photo of the tooth, but couldn't.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Still Here
No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Just not very good at time management and frankly just coping these days. In some ways I loved being home with the kids this summer, the one and only time we'll have that. But it was a lot harder than I'd expected. The Ladybug is not used to being home and I'm not used to having to keep her entertained and of course doing it while taking care of an infant is not so easy. School started this week and I'm both very sad that my one summer at home is over and I'm also relieved.
One month ago Ben was sleeping like a champ -- we had a week when we was sleeping between 7 and 9 hours a night. This went downhill from there and we are now back to coping with a baby up ever hour and a half to two hours. In addition after a nice 4-month honeymoon period, my daughter is finally expressing her frustration with the new family dynamic. There have been a series of meltdowns in the past 2 weeks with a lot of frustration expressed regarding the amount of attention she's getting compared to her brother. Everything seems to have come to a head in the past two days and the result is that I'm exhausted, frustrated, and feeling like pretty much the crappiest mother on earth right now. I've spent much of the past 2 days in tears. And just to add to the chaos did I mention that we adopted 2 cats a few weeks ago.
However, despite my crazy emotions I am trying to focus on the good moments. As of Labor day Ben began eating rice cereal and rolling over from his back to his tummy. He loves the cereal and slurps it down when I give it to him. My daughter was actually excited to start school again and seems to like her teacher so far. Here are some pictures because I'm too tired to write more.
One month ago Ben was sleeping like a champ -- we had a week when we was sleeping between 7 and 9 hours a night. This went downhill from there and we are now back to coping with a baby up ever hour and a half to two hours. In addition after a nice 4-month honeymoon period, my daughter is finally expressing her frustration with the new family dynamic. There have been a series of meltdowns in the past 2 weeks with a lot of frustration expressed regarding the amount of attention she's getting compared to her brother. Everything seems to have come to a head in the past two days and the result is that I'm exhausted, frustrated, and feeling like pretty much the crappiest mother on earth right now. I've spent much of the past 2 days in tears. And just to add to the chaos did I mention that we adopted 2 cats a few weeks ago.
However, despite my crazy emotions I am trying to focus on the good moments. As of Labor day Ben began eating rice cereal and rolling over from his back to his tummy. He loves the cereal and slurps it down when I give it to him. My daughter was actually excited to start school again and seems to like her teacher so far. Here are some pictures because I'm too tired to write more.
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