12.05.2012
11.25.2012
New Developments
Though she's been pulling herself up to standing since 6 months, at 10 months, Johanna has yet to learn how to walk. We're not worried about it, since most babies don't walk until around their first birthday. But, we had thought that by crawling and standing at 6 months, that she would be early to walk as well. While we're waiting on that one, Johanna has decided to check a few others off the list this week, all within a few days. From Monday to Wednesday, she learned to give besos (kisses) and high-fives on command as well as clap and stand alone for 2-3 seconds.
We also learned that she, like all kids, is already in love with Elmo! Whenever we pull up "Elmo Song" on youtube, she shakes her head sideways and moves her right arm back & forth in this funny little way that I've never seen before. I guess we know what to get this girl for Christmas!
We also learned that she, like all kids, is already in love with Elmo! Whenever we pull up "Elmo Song" on youtube, she shakes her head sideways and moves her right arm back & forth in this funny little way that I've never seen before. I guess we know what to get this girl for Christmas!
10.22.2012
Express Yourself!
So after rereading my last post, I feel the need to write more about breastfeeding/pumping and the workplace.
I think I sounded more horrified than I actually was about pumping in a room full of strangers. It actually didn't bother me too much. Physically I was covered, so whatever. But, I am also not a shy person.
I could only imagine what a modest mother might have gone through when being told it's her civic duty to pump breast milk in a jury room of 11 peers that she has just met. It probably would've caused more post traumatic stress than the plaintiff claimed she had!
While from most people I get sympathetic/understanding/good for you smiles when I am forced to pump in public places, there are also a number who glare, stare, and look at me like a crazy person! To those people my response is generally to roll my eyes and let them get over it since they are usually just in passing. Still, in the jury room, I found myself apologizing to everyone and profusely explaining that I tried to not be there.
WHY? Why should I apologize? Why do we all need to feel uncomfortable? We all know what's going on under there, but does it have to be so damn taboo?! We all can't be stay at home mothers. Most of us can't even get a decent maternity leave, but that doesn't mean we don't want to do the best for our kids. And if that means YOU have to feel a bit uncomfortable about what's going on under my nursing cover and what that whirring sound is, then DEAL WITH IT! Because guess what? As uncomfortable as you think you are, you are not the one with your shirt and bra hanging around your neck for the world to see while your nipples are being suctioned 3 inches long!
During pregnancy and in the hospital, we're encouraged to breastfeed and told how great it is etc. Yet, most of us have to return to work before we can even establish proper breastfeeding, before we have even emerged from a sleepless haze, and carrying your pump and ice pack all over the place is just a damn PAIN IN THE ASS! And I'm in a work place where I'm at least provided a private place and can take breaks when needed. I can only imagine the adversity moms are up against in lower paid, hourly positions or small businesses. Most women aren't informed that it's their right in Illinois to be provided a private place, not a bathroom stall, to express milk. Other women may be scared to boldly demand their rights in the workplace for fear of their boss's response, again, because there is so much taboo around the topic. I'm writing this, and I didn't even strongly enough stand up for my rights, as apparently this Illinois jury act, Ill. Rev. Stat. ch. 705 § 305/10.3, should've allowed me to be released from jury duty whether I already had a 6 month extension previously granted or not. And Illinois is one of the most forward thinking states when it comes to breastfeeding. I am shocked and appalled by the number of states that have no laws whatsoever regarding a nursing mother's right to pump in the work place. It's no wonder so many women stop breastfeeding and get formula through WIC. How many millions of women would not be doing that if they had a decent maternity leave and some support for breastfeeding in the work place? What is the National Debt again?
Most moms I work with didn't make it beyond 2 months breastfeeding and treat me like an anomaly. "I can't believe you are STILL pumping!", "I could never have made it that long, good for you!" It may sounds like I'm patting myself on the back here now, and well, so what if I am a bit? To anyone who's breastfed a baby exclusively for 9 months, 7 of which while working a 50-60 hour work week, I salute the hell out of you!!! It can take a thick skin and a strong will. And if you don't have enough confidence to give "fuck you" looks to all the staring idiots or enough balls to tell your boss that I need to pump NOW, then you get mommy-guilt-ed by the rest of society about why you stopped breastfeeding. Don't you know how good it is for the baby?
We've come a long way in the last century in equality for women. Instead of hiding at home while we are in "delicate condition", we now proudly display our baby bumps. But what about our breast pumps?
I think I sounded more horrified than I actually was about pumping in a room full of strangers. It actually didn't bother me too much. Physically I was covered, so whatever. But, I am also not a shy person.
I could only imagine what a modest mother might have gone through when being told it's her civic duty to pump breast milk in a jury room of 11 peers that she has just met. It probably would've caused more post traumatic stress than the plaintiff claimed she had!
While from most people I get sympathetic/understanding/good for you smiles when I am forced to pump in public places, there are also a number who glare, stare, and look at me like a crazy person! To those people my response is generally to roll my eyes and let them get over it since they are usually just in passing. Still, in the jury room, I found myself apologizing to everyone and profusely explaining that I tried to not be there.
WHY? Why should I apologize? Why do we all need to feel uncomfortable? We all know what's going on under there, but does it have to be so damn taboo?! We all can't be stay at home mothers. Most of us can't even get a decent maternity leave, but that doesn't mean we don't want to do the best for our kids. And if that means YOU have to feel a bit uncomfortable about what's going on under my nursing cover and what that whirring sound is, then DEAL WITH IT! Because guess what? As uncomfortable as you think you are, you are not the one with your shirt and bra hanging around your neck for the world to see while your nipples are being suctioned 3 inches long!
During pregnancy and in the hospital, we're encouraged to breastfeed and told how great it is etc. Yet, most of us have to return to work before we can even establish proper breastfeeding, before we have even emerged from a sleepless haze, and carrying your pump and ice pack all over the place is just a damn PAIN IN THE ASS! And I'm in a work place where I'm at least provided a private place and can take breaks when needed. I can only imagine the adversity moms are up against in lower paid, hourly positions or small businesses. Most women aren't informed that it's their right in Illinois to be provided a private place, not a bathroom stall, to express milk. Other women may be scared to boldly demand their rights in the workplace for fear of their boss's response, again, because there is so much taboo around the topic. I'm writing this, and I didn't even strongly enough stand up for my rights, as apparently this Illinois jury act, Ill. Rev. Stat. ch. 705 § 305/10.3, should've allowed me to be released from jury duty whether I already had a 6 month extension previously granted or not. And Illinois is one of the most forward thinking states when it comes to breastfeeding. I am shocked and appalled by the number of states that have no laws whatsoever regarding a nursing mother's right to pump in the work place. It's no wonder so many women stop breastfeeding and get formula through WIC. How many millions of women would not be doing that if they had a decent maternity leave and some support for breastfeeding in the work place? What is the National Debt again?
Most moms I work with didn't make it beyond 2 months breastfeeding and treat me like an anomaly. "I can't believe you are STILL pumping!", "I could never have made it that long, good for you!" It may sounds like I'm patting myself on the back here now, and well, so what if I am a bit? To anyone who's breastfed a baby exclusively for 9 months, 7 of which while working a 50-60 hour work week, I salute the hell out of you!!! It can take a thick skin and a strong will. And if you don't have enough confidence to give "fuck you" looks to all the staring idiots or enough balls to tell your boss that I need to pump NOW, then you get mommy-guilt-ed by the rest of society about why you stopped breastfeeding. Don't you know how good it is for the baby?
We've come a long way in the last century in equality for women. Instead of hiding at home while we are in "delicate condition", we now proudly display our baby bumps. But what about our breast pumps?
10.17.2012
Serving My Civic Duty
While I could be posting about our fabulous Toddlers & Tiaras party, plans for Halloween, and our upcoming birthdays, or just more of Johanna's recent accomplishments etc. I feel compelled to share about my recent service to our country.
It was definitely an experience! Everyone goes to jury duty hoping to not be picked, and I was no different.
I received my first summons when Johanna was about a month old. I called them and was forced to mail in a letter along with a copy of her birth certificate to prove that I was unable to serve. I then received another summons in the mail in August. I called again to say that I was still breastfeeding my child and could not serve, but apparently you are only expected to breastfeed your kids for 6 months bc the nightmare on the other end of the line at the 1800-go-to-hell Cook County office indifferently rebutted that I had already been given a 6 month extension and that's all I get. So even though it was a particularly busy week at work, I accepted my fate.
As it got closer, I thought, this actually won't be so bad. I'll just go sit there all day. I can take my new iPad (it's for "work", at least paid for by them anyway) and stream Netflix or finally start the oh-so-terribly written 50 Shades of Grey books.
That was until I walked into the jury holding room that morning. As soon as I walked into the room and was asked what my profession was and was given a number, I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach. I'm going to get picked. I tried to ignore it. I told myself I was just being silly, there are hundreds of people in this room. But you always know when you're right about these things. Sure enough, within 30 minutes, my number was called and I was brought to a courtroom with 30 other weary souls.
The prosecution went first going around the room and asking us all the same questions, where we worked, where our family worked, if we'd been in a car accident before, and if we understood that this case had a lesser burden of proof than a criminal case so we had to "weigh the evidence and decide what more than likely happened." I will never be able to erase that phrase from my memory since he repeated it to all 30 of us with the exact same emphasis on "Ev-i-DENCE" doing an imitation of a scale with his arms raised on either side of his face, wrists turned up, wobbling.
I got the same feeling again in the pit of my stomach as they went around the room. I knew they were going to pick me! Sure enough, I was one of twelve names read some time after by the judge.
Luckily, the case was a short one and only required two more days of missed work. And I also found myself extremely interested in not only the case but on the goings on in the courtroom. During breaks I was fantasizing my career as a stenographer. Working 9-4 with an hour lunch break downtown to do some shopping and eat at trendy restaurants and going from court room to court room hearing interesting cases. These daydreams took place while I was in the jury room with the rest of my 11 peers as I, yes, pumped breast milk with only a nursing cover for privacy. Luckily these 11 peers all turned out to be some of nicest, most considerate, and unbelievably like-minded people that I could've possibly been lumped with when you consider all of the people that live in Cook County! I was lucky in that aspect.
We were able to deliberate and come back with a verdict and a monetary amount within an hour.
What was the case you ask? Little old lady turning left on a green light (not arrow), driver coming through the intersection the other way also has a green light and hits little old lady. Unfortunately for little old lady, the other driver turns out to be a psycho who has panic attacks onset by spiders, confined places, and the fear of there not being enough water bottles. YES! YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY!!! And apparently due to this accident, she still has panic attacks on a daily basis, was committed to a partial hospitalization program for 6 weeks for post traumatic stress 2 years after the accident, did 7 months of additional physically therapy after having met her "goals" within 3 visits, can't drive at night, and still sees a therapist once a week. All of this due to an accident that took place 4 years ago while going approx 30mph!!!!
Her slimy ambulance chasing lawyer actually had the nerve to ask for $288,000 for this crazy broad because of loss of normal life (past and future) and pain & suffering. I almost PFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTT in the courtroom when that amount was read. In the end, justice was served and though we did have to side with the crazies because granny was at fault for the accident, damages awarded were less than the defense offered, so I'm sure granny's insurance covered everything. The only thing we couldn't help her with was the lawyer fees which were probably extensive after 4 years of refusing to settle out of court. Crazy should've taken her money and run!
It was definitely an experience! Everyone goes to jury duty hoping to not be picked, and I was no different.
I received my first summons when Johanna was about a month old. I called them and was forced to mail in a letter along with a copy of her birth certificate to prove that I was unable to serve. I then received another summons in the mail in August. I called again to say that I was still breastfeeding my child and could not serve, but apparently you are only expected to breastfeed your kids for 6 months bc the nightmare on the other end of the line at the 1800-go-to-hell Cook County office indifferently rebutted that I had already been given a 6 month extension and that's all I get. So even though it was a particularly busy week at work, I accepted my fate.
As it got closer, I thought, this actually won't be so bad. I'll just go sit there all day. I can take my new iPad (it's for "work", at least paid for by them anyway) and stream Netflix or finally start the oh-so-terribly written 50 Shades of Grey books.
That was until I walked into the jury holding room that morning. As soon as I walked into the room and was asked what my profession was and was given a number, I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach. I'm going to get picked. I tried to ignore it. I told myself I was just being silly, there are hundreds of people in this room. But you always know when you're right about these things. Sure enough, within 30 minutes, my number was called and I was brought to a courtroom with 30 other weary souls.
The prosecution went first going around the room and asking us all the same questions, where we worked, where our family worked, if we'd been in a car accident before, and if we understood that this case had a lesser burden of proof than a criminal case so we had to "weigh the evidence and decide what more than likely happened." I will never be able to erase that phrase from my memory since he repeated it to all 30 of us with the exact same emphasis on "Ev-i-DENCE" doing an imitation of a scale with his arms raised on either side of his face, wrists turned up, wobbling.
I got the same feeling again in the pit of my stomach as they went around the room. I knew they were going to pick me! Sure enough, I was one of twelve names read some time after by the judge.
Luckily, the case was a short one and only required two more days of missed work. And I also found myself extremely interested in not only the case but on the goings on in the courtroom. During breaks I was fantasizing my career as a stenographer. Working 9-4 with an hour lunch break downtown to do some shopping and eat at trendy restaurants and going from court room to court room hearing interesting cases. These daydreams took place while I was in the jury room with the rest of my 11 peers as I, yes, pumped breast milk with only a nursing cover for privacy. Luckily these 11 peers all turned out to be some of nicest, most considerate, and unbelievably like-minded people that I could've possibly been lumped with when you consider all of the people that live in Cook County! I was lucky in that aspect.
We were able to deliberate and come back with a verdict and a monetary amount within an hour.
What was the case you ask? Little old lady turning left on a green light (not arrow), driver coming through the intersection the other way also has a green light and hits little old lady. Unfortunately for little old lady, the other driver turns out to be a psycho who has panic attacks onset by spiders, confined places, and the fear of there not being enough water bottles. YES! YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY!!! And apparently due to this accident, she still has panic attacks on a daily basis, was committed to a partial hospitalization program for 6 weeks for post traumatic stress 2 years after the accident, did 7 months of additional physically therapy after having met her "goals" within 3 visits, can't drive at night, and still sees a therapist once a week. All of this due to an accident that took place 4 years ago while going approx 30mph!!!!
Her slimy ambulance chasing lawyer actually had the nerve to ask for $288,000 for this crazy broad because of loss of normal life (past and future) and pain & suffering. I almost PFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTT in the courtroom when that amount was read. In the end, justice was served and though we did have to side with the crazies because granny was at fault for the accident, damages awarded were less than the defense offered, so I'm sure granny's insurance covered everything. The only thing we couldn't help her with was the lawyer fees which were probably extensive after 4 years of refusing to settle out of court. Crazy should've taken her money and run!
10.08.2012
Roll Call
I'm so behind - I'll just list the highlights of the last couple of months!
8/10 Huey Lewis & The News at Ravinia. Great time Nacho, Marisa, Cain, & Carmen!
8/12 White Sox Game/Morton Fundraiser. We ate at "The Patio" and enjoyed overpriced ballpark beers. I don't think we ever made it to our seats. 2 "adult" outings in one weekend? Things are getting kind of crazy in this household!
8/25 Celebrated Johanna's cousin, Martin III's, baptism.
9/2 3rd Annual Jaquez Labor Day Theme Party - Toddlers & Tiaras! More pics to come.
9/3 We visit Brookfield Zoo with the Fueger Family and catch the dolphin show for the first time.
9/8 Our first overnight trip away from Johanna. Berto's sister, Carol, offers to watch her so we can go to our friend Scott's wedding in Indiana. We saw many long lost Millikin friends and had a great time!
9/21 My parents visit from California and we go to Jonamac Orchard in Malta, IL. As it's close to the Rochelle area, it turned into a walk down memory lane complete with a trip to Yen Ching in DeKalb.
9/22 My parents and I go to Berto's freshman game and get VIP seats inside the nice warm coaches box instead of on the bleachers thanks to Johanna! That night my parents offer to babysit and we have a nice night out to Buffalo Wild Wings with Nacho & Marisa.
9/23 We have a nice brunch for my cousin Anna's birthday downtown at Hub51 and then visit her current workplace, Obama for America's National Campaign Headquarters. We get a full tour and Johanna is of course a big hit. This pic from our visit helped Anna win a visit with Michelle Obama!
9/29 Family get together at Michael Anthony's to celebrate Martin II's college graduation!
9/30 Brunch at Louisa's to celebrate a "milestone" with her company!
10/7 I run the Chicago Marathon. No training. Still breastfeeding. Every bit as miserable as it sounds. A couple years ago, a 6 hour marathon finish would have been such an embarrassment to me! Seriously, I would've agonized over it. Today, I'm just happy that I finished. Yesterday afternoon and this morning have been a struggle to get around. Luckily Berto was very helpful with Johanna all day yesterday and is off work today for Columbus Day to be with her as I can barely pick her up let alone chase after her. It feels like I will hopefully only lose one toenail.
Johanna seems like she will be walking soon enough even though she's not even 9 months until next week! I swear she started pulling herself up to standing and started cruising on furniture like 2 days after she started crawling. She has a little lawnmower type walker and she practically runs with it. She really just needs work on her balance. Once she has that - LOOK OUT!
She is also eating and sleeping up a storm! For the last month or so, she's pretty much slept 10 hours, every night, no interruptions. She will eat anything she can get her hands on, but she really enjoys adult food more than the baby foods. She'll eat puffs or the Gerber snacks, but she would much rather have bites of whatever mommy and daddy are eating. She likes, rice, beans, all soups but especially tomato, bananas, and all pastas and breads. Even with no teeth yet, she is mashing it up and swallowing it all down. I wish I could upload videos on here, because I have some great ones of her reactions to eating limes and oranges. And of her laughing. She is now extremely ticklish and LOVES when we tickle her. I can watch the videos of her giggling and squealing ALL DAY!!
In her Bears game day gear!
Helping with the laundry
Playing with Daddy's sunglasses
Happy girl!
8/10 Huey Lewis & The News at Ravinia. Great time Nacho, Marisa, Cain, & Carmen!
8/12 White Sox Game/Morton Fundraiser. We ate at "The Patio" and enjoyed overpriced ballpark beers. I don't think we ever made it to our seats. 2 "adult" outings in one weekend? Things are getting kind of crazy in this household!
8/25 Celebrated Johanna's cousin, Martin III's, baptism.
9/2 3rd Annual Jaquez Labor Day Theme Party - Toddlers & Tiaras! More pics to come.
9/3 We visit Brookfield Zoo with the Fueger Family and catch the dolphin show for the first time.
9/8 Our first overnight trip away from Johanna. Berto's sister, Carol, offers to watch her so we can go to our friend Scott's wedding in Indiana. We saw many long lost Millikin friends and had a great time!
9/21 My parents visit from California and we go to Jonamac Orchard in Malta, IL. As it's close to the Rochelle area, it turned into a walk down memory lane complete with a trip to Yen Ching in DeKalb.
9/22 My parents and I go to Berto's freshman game and get VIP seats inside the nice warm coaches box instead of on the bleachers thanks to Johanna! That night my parents offer to babysit and we have a nice night out to Buffalo Wild Wings with Nacho & Marisa.
9/23 We have a nice brunch for my cousin Anna's birthday downtown at Hub51 and then visit her current workplace, Obama for America's National Campaign Headquarters. We get a full tour and Johanna is of course a big hit. This pic from our visit helped Anna win a visit with Michelle Obama!
9/29 Family get together at Michael Anthony's to celebrate Martin II's college graduation!
9/30 Brunch at Louisa's to celebrate a "milestone" with her company!
10/7 I run the Chicago Marathon. No training. Still breastfeeding. Every bit as miserable as it sounds. A couple years ago, a 6 hour marathon finish would have been such an embarrassment to me! Seriously, I would've agonized over it. Today, I'm just happy that I finished. Yesterday afternoon and this morning have been a struggle to get around. Luckily Berto was very helpful with Johanna all day yesterday and is off work today for Columbus Day to be with her as I can barely pick her up let alone chase after her. It feels like I will hopefully only lose one toenail.
Johanna seems like she will be walking soon enough even though she's not even 9 months until next week! I swear she started pulling herself up to standing and started cruising on furniture like 2 days after she started crawling. She has a little lawnmower type walker and she practically runs with it. She really just needs work on her balance. Once she has that - LOOK OUT!
She is also eating and sleeping up a storm! For the last month or so, she's pretty much slept 10 hours, every night, no interruptions. She will eat anything she can get her hands on, but she really enjoys adult food more than the baby foods. She'll eat puffs or the Gerber snacks, but she would much rather have bites of whatever mommy and daddy are eating. She likes, rice, beans, all soups but especially tomato, bananas, and all pastas and breads. Even with no teeth yet, she is mashing it up and swallowing it all down. I wish I could upload videos on here, because I have some great ones of her reactions to eating limes and oranges. And of her laughing. She is now extremely ticklish and LOVES when we tickle her. I can watch the videos of her giggling and squealing ALL DAY!!
Helping with the laundry
Playing with Daddy's sunglasses
Happy girl!
8.05.2012
In Memoran"D"um
On this Sunday night I find myself with all my "to-do's" checked off in my planner, watching Olympic gymnastics on TV while at the same time watching Johanna asleep on the baby monitor. In this peace and quiet that is so unusual in this house nowadays, for some reason I started thinking about D. I wonder how my poor kitty is doing? Was she adopted to a nice family? Is she still living in a cage? Does she remember me?
I wish Johanna and D could've gotten along. I wish D could always be the sweet and loving cat that she was to me. And, of course I wish that D's instincts would not have led her to leave my 4 1/2 month old's forehead scratched and bleeding.
D's had her ups and downs. She spent the first 9 weeks of her life on the mean streets of Chicago's south side. Surely one of the ups, being adopted by me in August 2006. I still remember that it was a Thursday afternoon when I went to the Cook County Animal Control shelter and picked her out of the lineup. She was so tiny! Because of my then obsession with P.Diddy's Making Da' Band, I named her Danity Kane.
Danity went through many changes in housing and roommates over the years, moving from Lincoln Square to Wicker Park with Meg (who gave her the name D), to Berwyn with Berto, and finally to 4148 Maple. She took each new home in stride easily adjusting to new apartments and houses. Meg was an easy roommate for her to get a long with, likely because she had nice smelling shampoo! Berto proved more difficult for her to live with, likely because she had to learn to share snuggle time with me in bed, but she did finally adjust to life with us.
D's also never exactly been friendly. Strangers or children especially got her hissing. But to me, she was very sweet, even if it was on her terms. She would sleep snuggled in a ball at my chest, purring up a storm. She was especially fond of "head butting" me which I looked up one time is how cat's "kiss". Maybe it was bs, but I liked the idea. It was more like rubbing her forehead to mine over and over. When I came home at night, she would be waiting by the door to greet me, sometimes up on 2 feet peaking out the window. She may have been a "mean" cat to others, but she loved me. And I loved her.
Poor D's whole life turned upside down on January 16th when we left for 3 days and came home with a crying bundle of craziness. For the first month, she was scared and kept her distance from Johanna. I slept on the couch the first couple of weeks bc it was just easier to live out of one room. Night time was our snuggle time, and D was not pleased with my absence. She proceeded to poop on our bed multiple times in protest.
During months 2-3, D got used to the idea that this was life now. She still kept her distance from Johanna, but had stopped pooping the bed. She also returned to sleeping with me, but not as much bc she didn't appreciate all the interruptions with me getting up at night.
By month 4, I thought maybe this would all workout. D had adjusted quite well, even sniffing Johanna up close a few times and showing a bit of interest and absolutely no hostility. I was hopeful. And then Johanna learned to roll over.
Once she was mobile, D eyed her more warily, but still kept her calm around her. Until one Saturday afternoon when Johanna learned how to roll over 2 times in the same direction. D was looking out the back patio door, and Johanna was rolling around on a blanket on the floor. I was observing a couple feet away. Johanna suddenly rolled twice towards the cat, and her hand landed on D's tail. Not seeing what was hitting her, D's natural reaction was to turn around and bat. Before I could even react, her paw clipped Johanna's forehead. My heart stopped. It could've been her eye. Her head could've been ripped open. Luckily it was just a tiny scratch at her hairline that healed within 3 days. But it was enough. To see your tiny 10lb girl with a head wound that I could've prevented. I wasn't going to let it happen again.
The following week I made an appointment and dropped Danity Kane off at the Hinsdale Humane Society, a local no-kill shelter. They took a modest donation and that was that. But it wasn't. I think of D often when I have a quiet moment to myself.
Some of my favorite memories of D:
I'd only had her for a week or 2. Berto and I were watching TV in my tiny Lincoln Square studio and suddenly realized she was sleeping behind us. I'd never seen a cat sleep in such a position before! As soon as the flash went off, she instantly woke up with an annoyed look.
Labor Day 2009, D goes missing for 3 days. I am in full on panic mode. I make flyers with her picture and post them around the neighborhood. I go up, down, and all around the block calling her name. Finally, around midnight of the third day, Berto hears some weird sounds on the roof, heads outside, and sees her sitting on the ridgepole of our vaulted family room. We were in the midst of remodeling our house and apparently she had snuck out a ventilation hole the plumber was putting in our laundry area and didn't return back in before he sealed it back up! Berto gave me a lift and I climbed up onto the roof and carried her down in my arms like a baby.
Here's to you D - Thank you for 6 great years! I hope that you are happy in your new life, wherever that may be.
8.01.2012
Cloth Diaper Dropout
We used disposable diapers during our recent trips to Nashville and Florida, and it was oh so convenient! While cloth diapering hasn't been THAT difficult, I have to say that my value of life greatly improved when I wasn't worried about doing the laundry every day. When we got back from Florida, we used the remainder of the disposables and then went back to cloth diapers for a week. And then it hit me, hard. Why am I doing this to myself? If it makes my life that much easier, why not just make the switch to disposables? What is so wrong with my wiring that changing to disposable diapers is like such a failure to me?
Sure we tried it, sure we probably saved some money in the beginning when there were more diaper changes, but if I can enjoy more time with my daughter in the 2 hours (maybe) that I have with her when I get home from work and less time doing the laundry, then shouldn't it just be an easy, non-agonizing decision? I could argue my resistance was because we already invested money in the cloth diapers, but really we didn't invest that much and she would be due for the next size up soon anyway. And inside I know it's just my own stubbornness that I don't like to admit when I can't do something.
I would do cloth diapers again in the beginning without a doubt. When someone is home to do the laundry all the time, it really is simple and cost efficient. But, with both parents working, it wasn't working for us. And. there's. nothing. wrong. with. that.
Plus, I am a coupon and discount queen. We are Sam's Club members. In the last 3-4 weeks, disposables have really only cost us about $30, and we still have at least another 2 weeks left in supply. We've spent money on worse things, like last Sunday night's pizza delivery, which was more than $30 just for the 2 of us. And we ate it all. That should be what's hard to admit!
On another thought - I apologize that this blog has become all about Johanna. Normally, I enjoy looking back at my entries and reading what I was thinking at the time. While reminiscing through some posts as of late, I thought, really, Liz? You posted in that much detail about trying to breastfeed? Who cares? Did you think anyone wanted to read that? I apologize for whoever does read this blog and blame my postpartum zombie-like state. Shit happens when you don't sleep for 2 months. Also in my defense, I blog about my life and what's going on in it, and being a new parent is all consuming. My life IS Johanna, and that was never more true than those first few weeks at home.
Sure we tried it, sure we probably saved some money in the beginning when there were more diaper changes, but if I can enjoy more time with my daughter in the 2 hours (maybe) that I have with her when I get home from work and less time doing the laundry, then shouldn't it just be an easy, non-agonizing decision? I could argue my resistance was because we already invested money in the cloth diapers, but really we didn't invest that much and she would be due for the next size up soon anyway. And inside I know it's just my own stubbornness that I don't like to admit when I can't do something.
I would do cloth diapers again in the beginning without a doubt. When someone is home to do the laundry all the time, it really is simple and cost efficient. But, with both parents working, it wasn't working for us. And. there's. nothing. wrong. with. that.
Plus, I am a coupon and discount queen. We are Sam's Club members. In the last 3-4 weeks, disposables have really only cost us about $30, and we still have at least another 2 weeks left in supply. We've spent money on worse things, like last Sunday night's pizza delivery, which was more than $30 just for the 2 of us. And we ate it all. That should be what's hard to admit!
On another thought - I apologize that this blog has become all about Johanna. Normally, I enjoy looking back at my entries and reading what I was thinking at the time. While reminiscing through some posts as of late, I thought, really, Liz? You posted in that much detail about trying to breastfeed? Who cares? Did you think anyone wanted to read that? I apologize for whoever does read this blog and blame my postpartum zombie-like state. Shit happens when you don't sleep for 2 months. Also in my defense, I blog about my life and what's going on in it, and being a new parent is all consuming. My life IS Johanna, and that was never more true than those first few weeks at home.
7.31.2012
Definite Motation!
Johanna is officially crawling as of this weekend! She thinks she is soooooooo cool when she climbs up under the coffee table!
She is also enjoying other solid foods besides marinara sauce now, especially peaches!
She is also enjoying other solid foods besides marinara sauce now, especially peaches!
7.24.2012
Motation and Digestion
Johanna turned 6 months last week! I can hardly believe it is moving so fast. It seems like just yesterday yet also a lifetime ago that she was born. At 6 months Johanna weighs in at 12lbs 14 oz and 24 inches long. Still tiny but a very healthy little girl!
Around mid June/5 months, she began pushing herself up into a push up position and really getting her knees off the ground. By June 30th when we left for vacation, she had figured out that many series of pushing up and down and slight pulling or rolling would get her where she wanted to go. By the time we returned back from Florida she was "motating" as her great uncle Buddy said. She was piking, downward dogging, scooting, sitting in the crawl position, even attempting a bear walk. Everything but crawling. But she can certainly still get where she wants to go. She can now move 5-6 feet in any direction using her different methods of motation.
We've been trying to introduce solid foods, but Johanna apparently already has a "refined" palate. She refused the carrots and sweet potatoes. She endured the rice cereal and peas. She seemed to enjoy the apples and pears, but her first real, solid food and truest of true loves is... marinara sauce!
After unsuccessfully offering her the vegetables, we had decided to take a break from introducing solids while in Florida since she still wasn't showing much interest. Until we had spaghetti for dinner. She was sitting on Berto's lap while we ate, staring as the food when from plate to mouth while making this face:
He gave her a finger full of sauce which she attacked like a wild animal! She was insatiable! Berto couldn't dip his fingers in sauce fast enough for her appetite. After eating close to a tablespoon of marinara sauce, I finally had to dip her pacifier in sauce to "calm her fat gene" as Berto put it. Since then she has eaten peas, apples, and pears with some interest, the pears maybe even some enjoyment. But nothing tops red sauce! She loves pizza and pasta nights! Mamma mia!
Starting last Friday, she is also holding her own bottle. It may be time to try a sippy cup soon. Miss Independent!
Around mid June/5 months, she began pushing herself up into a push up position and really getting her knees off the ground. By June 30th when we left for vacation, she had figured out that many series of pushing up and down and slight pulling or rolling would get her where she wanted to go. By the time we returned back from Florida she was "motating" as her great uncle Buddy said. She was piking, downward dogging, scooting, sitting in the crawl position, even attempting a bear walk. Everything but crawling. But she can certainly still get where she wants to go. She can now move 5-6 feet in any direction using her different methods of motation.
We've been trying to introduce solid foods, but Johanna apparently already has a "refined" palate. She refused the carrots and sweet potatoes. She endured the rice cereal and peas. She seemed to enjoy the apples and pears, but her first real, solid food and truest of true loves is... marinara sauce!
After unsuccessfully offering her the vegetables, we had decided to take a break from introducing solids while in Florida since she still wasn't showing much interest. Until we had spaghetti for dinner. She was sitting on Berto's lap while we ate, staring as the food when from plate to mouth while making this face:
Starting last Friday, she is also holding her own bottle. It may be time to try a sippy cup soon. Miss Independent!
7.16.2012
Jetsetter
Johanna is quite the traveler now! She was AMAZING during the 8-9 hour car ride to/from Nashville. I was so nervous, but she happily played, slept, and ate in her car seat the entire way. We made a couple stops, but never because of her! She also slept through most of the reception. We had a couple dances with her and then she was passed out in her car seat the rest of the party, through the loud dance music and all! 
Johanna with Daddy at the ceremony 
Me and the girls at the reception
The week of the 4th of July we packed up all things baby and flew MDW to RSW (Fort Myers, FL) to my aunt's house on the beach at Little Gasparilla Island. The island feels completely cut off from the world with no paved roads and access only by boat. My aunt and uncle built the beach house in '79 or '80, and I spent many vacations there growing up. They've begun renting it in later years as supplemental retirement income. Here's the home's rental website with great pics of the house and island. I have great memories of walking down the dune path burning my feet on the scorching hot sand, reading on the porch in one of the many hammocks, diving for sand dollars, falling asleep on inflatable rafts while worshiping the sun, and talking about finding "the end of the island" which seemed so unfathomable at the time, but now know is only a 5 mile or so walk. I can only hope we can take more vacations here over the years and Johanna can grow up with similar memories. 
The static was just NOT working with her hair! 
"Rich Girl" is her Nana's new nickname for her after viewing this picture. 
In her strawberrykini
Celebrating the 4th!
The week of the 4th of July we packed up all things baby and flew MDW to RSW (Fort Myers, FL) to my aunt's house on the beach at Little Gasparilla Island. The island feels completely cut off from the world with no paved roads and access only by boat. My aunt and uncle built the beach house in '79 or '80, and I spent many vacations there growing up. They've begun renting it in later years as supplemental retirement income. Here's the home's rental website with great pics of the house and island. I have great memories of walking down the dune path burning my feet on the scorching hot sand, reading on the porch in one of the many hammocks, diving for sand dollars, falling asleep on inflatable rafts while worshiping the sun, and talking about finding "the end of the island" which seemed so unfathomable at the time, but now know is only a 5 mile or so walk. I can only hope we can take more vacations here over the years and Johanna can grow up with similar memories.
5.27.2012
Highlights
How to sum up the two month since my last post?
Some highlights:
March 22nd, 2012 - The saddest day of my life. I return to work, thankfully on a Thursday so I only had to endure 2 days before the weekend. Now that I look back on this, we really are lucky to have such an amazing babysitter to watch her in her home. Our brother-in-law's mother, she is practically family, and the price couldn't be any better. We are so very lucky to have our day care set up! The most stressful yet enjoyable part of my day is getting Johanna up and ready to go. She is always so happy in the mornings! I love her huge smile when I lean over her crib in the morning and she first sees my face. Her whole face lights up and her toothless mouth looks so big as she kicks her legs in excitement. From there it's a challenge to make sure she eats and I can get everything ready to go in the allotted time frame (which also occasionally has to include a shower for me). With Berto leaving at 5:30am to teach weight lifting before school, it's just me and her in the mornings and sometimes she likes to eat a leisurely breakfast when we HAVE to get out the door! Not to mention the stress of packing "the bag" All you parents know it. And by using cloth diapers (which is my choice to save money and I know we could do disposables but just let me rant) I feel that it's extra stressful to ensure she has enough clean inserts, covers, and dry bags to get her through the day at the babysitters. Beyond her bag, and even more frustrating is the love/hate relationship I have with my breast pump. It would be amazing if I could leave it at work and nurse Johanna at home, but since I am exclusively pumping, it must go everywhere with me. The first three weeks back at work I was a constant nervous wreck that I was forgetting some component, a wire, a bottle, the charger, ice packs, etc during the back and forth. But, I feel that I've got a system down now and have made it thus far without any major mishaps or meltdowns. Just one 3am car pumping incident when I left the regular charger at work and had to work with only my car charger. It was about 14 degrees outside that night. But otherwise, I've been able to make it work. And I do feel more like a real person now that I get up and take a shower every day (or every other day) and have somewhere to be.
April 8th - Johanna's first Easter! This is a special date for me as it was the first night that she slept through the night. There are different definitions of sleeping through the night for parents. Some call 6-7 hours of sleep sleeping through the night. I define it as, I wake up on my own before the baby wakes me up. Johanna slept (at the time) a record 8 hours the night before Easter. Maybe it was the different location as we were staying the night at my aunt's house. Or maybe it was the "death spa" incident the night before which was trying to bath her in my aunt's oddly shaped kitchen sink while lighting candles for a sensory journey and playing Yani. Johanna wasn't having it and flayed insanely in the bathtub to the point where she was doing full back bends nearly banging her head on the granite counters and slipping out of my hands. Or maybe it was just time, but those first 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep were amazing!
April 14th - Cain & Carmen's wedding. Berto was the Best Man and we enjoyed a night away from parental duties with our friends while Johanna spent time with my Aunt and cousins.
May 13th - My first mother's day! We go out to brunch with Berto's family. I get to get a manicure and then we welcome Berto's grandma back from Mexico for her annual summer visit.
May 14th - Johanna's 4 month doctor's appointment. She weighed in at a tiny but healthy 12lbs 2 oz, and is it bad that I can't remember how many inches? I do remember that she was 25th percentile in length.
May 15th - Berto & I's 2 year wedding anniversary. This fell on a Tuesday, but the weekend before we left her with Berto's mom so we could have a night out. We ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and it was scrumdiddlyumptious!!
May 21st - Johanna rolls over! Berto is the only one to see her. I'm on my way home from work and he sends me a text that she "flipped", as he calls it. She does it again a few minutes later, and he's able to get it on video. From that point on she is a rolling machine. She's great at going from back to tummy, but not as good at going from tummy to back yet, so sometimes she gets stuck on her tummy and gets frustrated. Even in her cries of frustration, it's very cute!
May 26th - I run the Soldier Field 10 mile. I also did a half marathon earlier in the month, which was not as successful. I walked about 3-4miles. But I felt great at this race yesterday, running the whole time and feeling more like my former running self.
Overall, Johanna is a much happier baby now. She smiles regularly at us and at occasionally at other faces. She's usually only crabby around dinner time for an hour or two, and she has become a champion sleeper since I went back to work, regularly sleeping from 9-10pm until 5-6am.
Next up on the horizon, baby's first road trip! This coming weekend we will pack up shop and head to Nashville for Mario and Liz's wedding. And now some of my favorite pics from the past couple of months:
Some highlights:
March 22nd, 2012 - The saddest day of my life. I return to work, thankfully on a Thursday so I only had to endure 2 days before the weekend. Now that I look back on this, we really are lucky to have such an amazing babysitter to watch her in her home. Our brother-in-law's mother, she is practically family, and the price couldn't be any better. We are so very lucky to have our day care set up! The most stressful yet enjoyable part of my day is getting Johanna up and ready to go. She is always so happy in the mornings! I love her huge smile when I lean over her crib in the morning and she first sees my face. Her whole face lights up and her toothless mouth looks so big as she kicks her legs in excitement. From there it's a challenge to make sure she eats and I can get everything ready to go in the allotted time frame (which also occasionally has to include a shower for me). With Berto leaving at 5:30am to teach weight lifting before school, it's just me and her in the mornings and sometimes she likes to eat a leisurely breakfast when we HAVE to get out the door! Not to mention the stress of packing "the bag" All you parents know it. And by using cloth diapers (which is my choice to save money and I know we could do disposables but just let me rant) I feel that it's extra stressful to ensure she has enough clean inserts, covers, and dry bags to get her through the day at the babysitters. Beyond her bag, and even more frustrating is the love/hate relationship I have with my breast pump. It would be amazing if I could leave it at work and nurse Johanna at home, but since I am exclusively pumping, it must go everywhere with me. The first three weeks back at work I was a constant nervous wreck that I was forgetting some component, a wire, a bottle, the charger, ice packs, etc during the back and forth. But, I feel that I've got a system down now and have made it thus far without any major mishaps or meltdowns. Just one 3am car pumping incident when I left the regular charger at work and had to work with only my car charger. It was about 14 degrees outside that night. But otherwise, I've been able to make it work. And I do feel more like a real person now that I get up and take a shower every day (or every other day) and have somewhere to be.
April 8th - Johanna's first Easter! This is a special date for me as it was the first night that she slept through the night. There are different definitions of sleeping through the night for parents. Some call 6-7 hours of sleep sleeping through the night. I define it as, I wake up on my own before the baby wakes me up. Johanna slept (at the time) a record 8 hours the night before Easter. Maybe it was the different location as we were staying the night at my aunt's house. Or maybe it was the "death spa" incident the night before which was trying to bath her in my aunt's oddly shaped kitchen sink while lighting candles for a sensory journey and playing Yani. Johanna wasn't having it and flayed insanely in the bathtub to the point where she was doing full back bends nearly banging her head on the granite counters and slipping out of my hands. Or maybe it was just time, but those first 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep were amazing!
April 14th - Cain & Carmen's wedding. Berto was the Best Man and we enjoyed a night away from parental duties with our friends while Johanna spent time with my Aunt and cousins.
May 13th - My first mother's day! We go out to brunch with Berto's family. I get to get a manicure and then we welcome Berto's grandma back from Mexico for her annual summer visit.
May 14th - Johanna's 4 month doctor's appointment. She weighed in at a tiny but healthy 12lbs 2 oz, and is it bad that I can't remember how many inches? I do remember that she was 25th percentile in length.
May 15th - Berto & I's 2 year wedding anniversary. This fell on a Tuesday, but the weekend before we left her with Berto's mom so we could have a night out. We ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and it was scrumdiddlyumptious!!
May 21st - Johanna rolls over! Berto is the only one to see her. I'm on my way home from work and he sends me a text that she "flipped", as he calls it. She does it again a few minutes later, and he's able to get it on video. From that point on she is a rolling machine. She's great at going from back to tummy, but not as good at going from tummy to back yet, so sometimes she gets stuck on her tummy and gets frustrated. Even in her cries of frustration, it's very cute!
May 26th - I run the Soldier Field 10 mile. I also did a half marathon earlier in the month, which was not as successful. I walked about 3-4miles. But I felt great at this race yesterday, running the whole time and feeling more like my former running self.
Next up on the horizon, baby's first road trip! This coming weekend we will pack up shop and head to Nashville for Mario and Liz's wedding. And now some of my favorite pics from the past couple of months:
3.14.2012
2 months
Johanna turned 8 weeks old on Monday. She had her 2 month doctor's appt yesterday where she weighed in a 9lbs 12oz which is a dead on average at the 50 percentile. So far she's gone from:
1/16 6lbs 3oz birthweight
1/19 5lbs 8oz discharged from hospital
2/6 7lbs even
3/13 9lbs 12oz
Birth length was 21 inches and she's now 22.75 in the 75 percentile. Where is this height coming from? Not from either of us!
She also got her 2 month shots yesterday which was hard to watch. When the needles went in, her eyes would bug out of her head immediately followed by the loudest scream I've ever heard from her. I swear she discovered a part of her lungs she never knew she had.
Last night she woke me up every hour crying in her sleep. I would hear the scream and go to her room only to find her still sound asleep. Today she's been asleep for most of the day and is running a fever. The pediatrician said it's normal to run a fever the next day and just to keep an eye on it and bring her in if it lasts more than 24 hours or goes above 102. I just feel so bad for her when I feel her warm forehead!
Today begins the countdown, only one week left of my maternity leave! I can't believe it! I knew it couldn't last forever, but it certainly flew by. I got practice at leaving Johanna last weekend when Berto & I went to his school's booster club fundraising gala. It was a nice night, but I was so tired I couldn't really enjoy it that much. Once I knew Johanna was asleep, all I wanted was to go to sleep too! I have no idea how I'm going to work with her longest stretch of sleep still averaging only 4-5 hours. How do people do it??
1/16 6lbs 3oz birthweight
1/19 5lbs 8oz discharged from hospital
2/6 7lbs even
3/13 9lbs 12oz
Birth length was 21 inches and she's now 22.75 in the 75 percentile. Where is this height coming from? Not from either of us!
She also got her 2 month shots yesterday which was hard to watch. When the needles went in, her eyes would bug out of her head immediately followed by the loudest scream I've ever heard from her. I swear she discovered a part of her lungs she never knew she had.
Last night she woke me up every hour crying in her sleep. I would hear the scream and go to her room only to find her still sound asleep. Today she's been asleep for most of the day and is running a fever. The pediatrician said it's normal to run a fever the next day and just to keep an eye on it and bring her in if it lasts more than 24 hours or goes above 102. I just feel so bad for her when I feel her warm forehead!
Today begins the countdown, only one week left of my maternity leave! I can't believe it! I knew it couldn't last forever, but it certainly flew by. I got practice at leaving Johanna last weekend when Berto & I went to his school's booster club fundraising gala. It was a nice night, but I was so tired I couldn't really enjoy it that much. Once I knew Johanna was asleep, all I wanted was to go to sleep too! I have no idea how I'm going to work with her longest stretch of sleep still averaging only 4-5 hours. How do people do it??
2.25.2012
Knock On Wood
I'm nervous to put it in writing, but I might daresay that Johanna has outgrown her fussiness...?
Maybe it's all the social obligations I've been holding her to the past couple of weeks, maybe it's the noticeable growth spurt that she's gone through, maybe it's that I've chilled out on the feedings, I don't know what the reason. But, for the past 2 weeks Johanna has been a much happier and sleepier girl! For the past couple of weeks, she will go down sometime between 9-11, feed between 1-3, and once more between 4-6. Berto gets up every day at 5am for work, so we pretty much start our day at that time. It also makes it feel like I only have to get up once during the night.
But back to the possible reasons for her new attitude.
1) As I said before, social obligations make her less fussy. Since my last post, we've visited with Meg and her girls two more times and made many more outings to Target and Kohl's just to keep our days busy.
2) She's definitely gone through a growth spurt. Compare these 2 pictures of Johanna with her cousin Martin. The first one was taken the last day of January. The 2nd was taken this Thursday.
Johanna definitely looks a lot thicker and I don't think it's just the cloth diaper booty. She hasn't been weighed since her last doctor's appointment February 6th where she was 7lbs even, so we're not sure what she's up to now, but clearly she's gone through a spurt that's perhaps more fully developed her digestive system.
3) I've relaxed on trying to have a feeding schedule. When we left the hospital, they got us so concerned about her weight loss that I listened to their advice verbatim: feed her every three hours. If she's sleeping, wake her up to feed. After a week, I moved to only following these instructions during the day and letting her wake me at night. During those weeks she was always so cranky and gassy. For the past 2 weeks, I've just been feeding her on demand, and she's never been better.
I'm not sure which of the above, or maybe all three, has led to her cheerier disposition, but I'm very thankful for it! And, of course, am still knocking on wood that it continues!
Maybe it's all the social obligations I've been holding her to the past couple of weeks, maybe it's the noticeable growth spurt that she's gone through, maybe it's that I've chilled out on the feedings, I don't know what the reason. But, for the past 2 weeks Johanna has been a much happier and sleepier girl! For the past couple of weeks, she will go down sometime between 9-11, feed between 1-3, and once more between 4-6. Berto gets up every day at 5am for work, so we pretty much start our day at that time. It also makes it feel like I only have to get up once during the night.
But back to the possible reasons for her new attitude.
1) As I said before, social obligations make her less fussy. Since my last post, we've visited with Meg and her girls two more times and made many more outings to Target and Kohl's just to keep our days busy.
2) She's definitely gone through a growth spurt. Compare these 2 pictures of Johanna with her cousin Martin. The first one was taken the last day of January. The 2nd was taken this Thursday.
Johanna definitely looks a lot thicker and I don't think it's just the cloth diaper booty. She hasn't been weighed since her last doctor's appointment February 6th where she was 7lbs even, so we're not sure what she's up to now, but clearly she's gone through a spurt that's perhaps more fully developed her digestive system.
3) I've relaxed on trying to have a feeding schedule. When we left the hospital, they got us so concerned about her weight loss that I listened to their advice verbatim: feed her every three hours. If she's sleeping, wake her up to feed. After a week, I moved to only following these instructions during the day and letting her wake me at night. During those weeks she was always so cranky and gassy. For the past 2 weeks, I've just been feeding her on demand, and she's never been better.
I'm not sure which of the above, or maybe all three, has led to her cheerier disposition, but I'm very thankful for it! And, of course, am still knocking on wood that it continues!
2.16.2012
1 Month Old
I can't believe my baby girl is one month old already!
She is such a blessing! She is definitely the greatest challenge (especially since she is colicky) but also the most amazing thing we have ever encountered!
These adorable pics would never show it, but Johanna can definitely be a cranky pants! The definition of colic is "a condition of a healthy baby in which it shows periods of intense, unexplained fussing/crying lasting more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week for more than 3 weeks." I guess she's not technically colicky yet, but only because the fussing has only lasted about 2 weeks. Close to 2 weeks ago, there was a 48 hour period where if she was awake, she was fussing. 7-8 hours of unexplained crying per day = more exhausting than running a marathon. We took her to the doctor just to be sure she was ok even though she wasn't running a temp and all eating and pooping was going well. She was given a clean bill of health; I actually saw the doctor write "irritable child" on her file.
Her fussing has developed into a pattern now, where she's usually fussy from around 8-11am and 6-10/11 at night. It's not every day during those time frames, but it's definitely more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week. And it's definitely the worst at night when Berto gets home from work. Poor Daddy has to come home to a crabby baby! We can only hope that she will grow out of it sooner rather than later!
The only thing that we've discovered so far that cures her fussiness: socialization! I'm sure people are going to start thinking we are just being whiny, 1st time parents, because anytime Johanna has visitors over or goes on outings anywhere, she is an angel! The doctor was probably looking at me and thinking "yeah right" in his head as I explained her 7-8 hours of crying and he's seeing this wide-eyed little doll on the examination table. I felt embarrassed, because I knew he had to be thinking that I was exaggerating.
Since she puts on such a good show for everyone else, my new solution is to fill Johanna's social calender for the rest of my maternity leave. Weds I took her in to work to visit my staff, yesterday we went to visit Meg, Bella, and Emi, and today we had Juli over to visit. Though she was still fussy for a couple hours at night, it hasn't been near as bad now that I'm keeping her (and me) occupied.
Johanna's 1st Valentine's Day
She is such a blessing! She is definitely the greatest challenge (especially since she is colicky) but also the most amazing thing we have ever encountered!
These adorable pics would never show it, but Johanna can definitely be a cranky pants! The definition of colic is "a condition of a healthy baby in which it shows periods of intense, unexplained fussing/crying lasting more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week for more than 3 weeks." I guess she's not technically colicky yet, but only because the fussing has only lasted about 2 weeks. Close to 2 weeks ago, there was a 48 hour period where if she was awake, she was fussing. 7-8 hours of unexplained crying per day = more exhausting than running a marathon. We took her to the doctor just to be sure she was ok even though she wasn't running a temp and all eating and pooping was going well. She was given a clean bill of health; I actually saw the doctor write "irritable child" on her file.
Her fussing has developed into a pattern now, where she's usually fussy from around 8-11am and 6-10/11 at night. It's not every day during those time frames, but it's definitely more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week. And it's definitely the worst at night when Berto gets home from work. Poor Daddy has to come home to a crabby baby! We can only hope that she will grow out of it sooner rather than later!
The only thing that we've discovered so far that cures her fussiness: socialization! I'm sure people are going to start thinking we are just being whiny, 1st time parents, because anytime Johanna has visitors over or goes on outings anywhere, she is an angel! The doctor was probably looking at me and thinking "yeah right" in his head as I explained her 7-8 hours of crying and he's seeing this wide-eyed little doll on the examination table. I felt embarrassed, because I knew he had to be thinking that I was exaggerating.
Since she puts on such a good show for everyone else, my new solution is to fill Johanna's social calender for the rest of my maternity leave. Weds I took her in to work to visit my staff, yesterday we went to visit Meg, Bella, and Emi, and today we had Juli over to visit. Though she was still fussy for a couple hours at night, it hasn't been near as bad now that I'm keeping her (and me) occupied.
2.02.2012
Adventures in Breastfeeding
The past 18 days have been the fastest of my life. Especially now that every day is broken down into 3 hour increments that make up Johanna's feeding schedule. But at least now she seems to be on a somewhat predictable schedule.
The first few days in the hospital she was insatiable. I was feeding her every 20-30 minutes, very rarely would she sleep longer than an hour or two at a time. It took exactly 72 hours after surgery for my milk to come in, but even then, she never seemed satisfied. Two lactation consultants checked on me during those first few days. They watched us and always said that she was doing great, yet the nurses would weigh her and tell me that she was still losing weight. All babies lose weight initially, but she was continuing to drop and at a greater rate than normal.
On discharge day, the head nurse and lactation consultant took one look in her mouth and saw that she has a short frenulum, which is the little piece of skin that attaches the tongue to the bottom of your mouth. This keeps her tongue from being able to extend all the way and interferes with her ability to suck. After further investigation, apparently some doctors recommend clipping short frenulums, but no one mentioned that to us at the hospital. Instead, the nurse offered me a nipple shield which is like an extended nipple so that it goes farther into her mouth to compensate for the short tongue. She also said I should pump for 10 minutes after every feeding and supplement with 1 oz followed by additional 1/2 ounces until she seems satisfied. Rather than using a bottle she recommended feeding her using this little sippy cup that she would slurp up like a kitten. We called it her kitty cup.
This method provided relief for the next few days, but after a while, we were supplementing 2-3 (1) oz kitty cups for every feeding, half of which she would spill all over herself because of her unbelievably strong and unpredictable arm and leg wamps. It got me wondering what she was actually getting from me. And what a waste of all that milk being spilled from the kitty cups, not to mention multiple outfit changes a day. Sure, babies are messy and multiple outfit changes are part of the territory, but we were changing her practically every feeding because she would wet the front of herself trying to drink the kitty cup. She also moved more and more from 3 hour feeding intervals to 2. Again, part of the territory of having a new baby is regular feedings, but it turned into yet another unending food cycle. When you start with 40-45 minutes of breastfeeding, then spend another 10-15 minutes preparing and administering a kitty cup (doing your best not to spill), followed by a diaper and/or outfit change, and rounding it up with 15 minutes of assembling pump accessories, pumping, and deciding how much milk you will need on hand for the next kitty cup (should I leave some out for immediate use? refrigerate? freeze?), it's already been an hour and twenty minutes. Meaning there's only 40 minutes, or maybe less, until her next feeding cycle begins all over again.
Beginning last Saturday, we finally just starting giving her bottles rather than the kitty cups. Since I was already using the nipple shield, she doesn't seem to have any problems with nipple confusion and easily feeds from either breast or bottle without any fuss. Now I am doing about half of the feedings strictly bottle and half breast with a supplemental bottle afterwards if she doesn't seem satisfied. It's A LOT more pumping, but it's given me a lot more free time. I would rather pump twice for 10 minutes during a 3 hour period and give her a bottle than breastfeed, supplement, AND pump. Especially at 2am.
I've been getting 6 hours of sleep per night since moving to bottles and have felt better than ever, even with Berto going back to school on Tuesday. We just might sleep in our own bed tonight instead of on the couch, that is, if D hasn't pooped the bed again. She has pooped/peed in our bed three times since bringing Johanna home. From what I've been reading, she is "stressed" by the environment change. Berto says she is on suicide watch, but then that is a whole other dilemma... Instead, more pictures!
1.17.2012
Johanna Sophia Jaquez
Born January 16th, 2012 at 9:32am. 6lbs, 3oz, 21 inches and a head full of hair!
1.13.2012
The Last Weekend
Yesterday morning I begrudgingly went to an ultrasound at 38.5 weeks to "check growth"...again. I had been talking shit about the appointment all week; why am I doing this? Do you really need to check growth at almost 39 weeks? I could go into labor any day. If the ultrasound shows that she's small, what do we do at this point? It's not like we can keep her in there!
But now I'm glad I went! 3 different doctors over the past month have given me external examinations and told me they thought she was positioned head down, ready to deliver. I've had a noticeable mass near the top of my bump that one doctor indicated was Rhina sticking her butt out. When it would really protrude, Berto & I would joke about her big bootie and even playfully spank her through my belly. Her "butt" was sticking out yesterday as I laid down to begin the ultrasound. The tech even commented "oh my" and I joked about it being her big butt sticking out. As soon as she began the ultrasound, however, the tech said "uh oh! That's not her butt" Apparently Berto and I have been spanking the back of Rhina's head!
The doctor said 96% of babies turn by 37 weeks. He said he could attempt to manually turn the baby, but it's a painful process that's not without complications. He said in his experience, if the baby hasn't turned naturally, there's a natural reason and it's usually in the best interest of the baby. Some common reasons are not enough room to turn or the umbilical cord or placenta being in the way. He recommended a C-section and said he would like to schedule it for Monday!
It being Thursday, I was pretty shocked. Monday sounded so soon! He said he would put the recommendation in for Monday but depending on the surgery schedule it could take place Tuesday or Wednesday. He said I should expect a phone call Friday morning to confirm surgery.
It was a strange day at work waiting around for a phone call and wondering if today would be my last day of work or not. At 10:30 I received a phone call from my doctor's office saying that my C-section had been scheduled for Monday morning at 9:30am and that the hospital would call me soon to confirm and give me more details.
It's scary and exciting all in one. It definitely takes away the element of surprise. My water won't break. There will be no moment when I call or tell Berto, "it's time!" But in a way it's nice to know that everything is scheduled and planned for. My mom was able to book a flight and know she'll be there at the right time. All of Berto's relatives have planned to take the day off of work. I was able to give an official last day at Hyatt and leave feeling like all my loose ends have been tied up. For the past couple of weeks I've known that I could "go" any day, but it seems that much more real to have a scheduled date and time. Now we just have to decide how to spend our last weekend as "just us".
January 16th and Martin Luther King Jr Day will forever have a different meaning to us and our stubborn girl that wouldn't turn!
But now I'm glad I went! 3 different doctors over the past month have given me external examinations and told me they thought she was positioned head down, ready to deliver. I've had a noticeable mass near the top of my bump that one doctor indicated was Rhina sticking her butt out. When it would really protrude, Berto & I would joke about her big bootie and even playfully spank her through my belly. Her "butt" was sticking out yesterday as I laid down to begin the ultrasound. The tech even commented "oh my" and I joked about it being her big butt sticking out. As soon as she began the ultrasound, however, the tech said "uh oh! That's not her butt" Apparently Berto and I have been spanking the back of Rhina's head!
The doctor said 96% of babies turn by 37 weeks. He said he could attempt to manually turn the baby, but it's a painful process that's not without complications. He said in his experience, if the baby hasn't turned naturally, there's a natural reason and it's usually in the best interest of the baby. Some common reasons are not enough room to turn or the umbilical cord or placenta being in the way. He recommended a C-section and said he would like to schedule it for Monday!
It being Thursday, I was pretty shocked. Monday sounded so soon! He said he would put the recommendation in for Monday but depending on the surgery schedule it could take place Tuesday or Wednesday. He said I should expect a phone call Friday morning to confirm surgery.
It was a strange day at work waiting around for a phone call and wondering if today would be my last day of work or not. At 10:30 I received a phone call from my doctor's office saying that my C-section had been scheduled for Monday morning at 9:30am and that the hospital would call me soon to confirm and give me more details.
It's scary and exciting all in one. It definitely takes away the element of surprise. My water won't break. There will be no moment when I call or tell Berto, "it's time!" But in a way it's nice to know that everything is scheduled and planned for. My mom was able to book a flight and know she'll be there at the right time. All of Berto's relatives have planned to take the day off of work. I was able to give an official last day at Hyatt and leave feeling like all my loose ends have been tied up. For the past couple of weeks I've known that I could "go" any day, but it seems that much more real to have a scheduled date and time. Now we just have to decide how to spend our last weekend as "just us".
January 16th and Martin Luther King Jr Day will forever have a different meaning to us and our stubborn girl that wouldn't turn!
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