Thursday, August 25, 2016

This is NOT About a Baby! Me Me ME!!!

I had a lot of this written on my phone while pumping milk for the little girl squealing and rolling all over my floor ... then I fed her, she hit the phone and bye bye went the blog. Well shoot!

I had a 20 year high school reunion that I skipped except for the tour.
Band geeks reunited!!
So this blog is all about ME!! My life as a mom, what's changed, what's going on and what nobody ever talks about.

Currently I have my unofficial babysitters working at entertaining Katura. When I was on maternity leave I googled Disney Springs and stumbled upon this cool vlog. Ever since, Katura and I watch Tim and Jenn every day. She hears their voices say "Hello!" and always turns and smiles at them. She even mimicked Tim during a live vlog once and we were able to chat online and let them know about her imitation! I really like them, and I love that their blog is fun and family friendly, so there is never any concern that maybe I shouldn't watch it with her in the room. She might be their biggest, youngest fan... and I'm a huge fan because they keep her entertained when I have to do mom things!

So, me me me.....

First up, the thing nobody talks about. When you're pregnant in 2015 I imagine most of us future moms are busy reading up on everything. What to expect when pregnant, what to expect after, what to do, what not to do... and then there are things people sort of skip over with barely more than a mere mention. One friend was awesome and tipped me off that a few days after having your baby your hormones go nuts and night sweats happen. Thanks to her advice I went to bed with a towel handy and sure enough just as she told me I was in bed in February sweating my ass off!  Another thing that is very troubling to me and even caused me to talk to my doctor about is the dreaded horror of ..... postpartum hair loss.  Your hair gets awesome when pregnant and then you lose some a few months after having the baby. Well, mine is out of control. My best friend already agreed to help me shop for head scarves if I end up bald because of this. I'm taking Biotin now to hopefully regrow hair or at least minimize my obscene amount of shedding. My obgyn reassured me that this is in fact normal and once I stop breastfeeding I should become normal again. She told me that nursing my baby essentially has me in a minor form of menopause, resulting in hair loss and no periods. Oh yeah, that's right! I haven't had a normal period since March of 2015. That's March two-thousand FIFTEEN! Boom!

Also not normal is my relationship with Victoria's Secret.  Her undies fit me fine, but that lovely array of brassieres I have organized in my closet are sitting dormant. Clearly I have gone up AT LEAST a cup size and they won't contain the girls anymore. Damn. Shopping is very hard for me now, since I have no idea my sizes on anything. None of my shirts fit normal anymore since I feel like Dolly Parton when I put them on. Can I just live in pajamas? And I still wear my hospital birthing gown to bed all the time. That was the best preparing for the hospital purchase ever!


So to help me get back to my old habits and maybe help the boobies eventually shrink, I'm back to running when I can. Sleep deprivation and crazy heat doesn't make running the most appealing thing, but it sure does feel good when I am able to get out there. My BFF and I have discussed setting a schedule for regular running sessions once his school year starts, since at the moment we are just squeezing it in when our schedules allow.  His youth gives him that nice gift of speed, which I am trying to regain. My years of running longer distance are still with me and I feel better the longer I keep running. He's new to the sport, so he's not yet going long. In the end I think we are a good balance and able to help motivate and push each other in our own ways. Katura comes along for maybe half of our runs, so it's not like I'm abandoning my baby. I can't. I get twitchy without her.


What else... I'm still mega paranoid of SIDS, so I pretty much never sleep so that I can monitor breathing and movement from my 3 pets, husband and baby. Yeah, I check all 3. Really the youngest cat is the one I don't get worried about. But if the rest are too quiet I have to stare at them until I see them clearly breathing. This death paranoia has also made me constantly work on my will. I think about it every morning in the shower and need to just write it down. I feel like mine is pretty simple, I just have to go through the process of writing If this then This, but If this then That stuff. Don't hold your breath, the odds are you're not getting anything unless you're my baby or a couple of other unexpected people! ;)

Jessica and I went to Pride
Because my life is all about Katura I can't even remember the other things I wanted to write about. I didn't jot them down like I always do, so now my mind is blank.

Katura uses my huge bathtub now, so I have created a routine that benefits us both. She has to be cleaned first, then she gets to play. While she plays with toys I lean back and hold her and relax to give myself my own little bubble bath time.

Ooh, I think her new stroller for Hawaii just got delivered! (It did!!) See?? A blog about ME and I still make it all about her!!

I think my feet got bigger. Like for real.

Katura has two birthmarks on her head. We thought she got a rash and worried she inherited my bad, dry skin, but no. Our doctor laughed at us and said she's fine, she just has birthmarks. I've taken photos so when she's old she can see them since they will soon be covered by her hair.

I do have hair growing back. And a little girl can see it and grabs it. I swear she either wants it for her own head or she wants my hair style to match hers.

Oh, feeding. I feel like I'm actually doing a good job of tuning out comments or people telling me things on how to be a mom. As we all know very well, I hate unsolicited advice. There is one thing that does irk me, and I don't understand why anybody cares. And that is regarding feeding. I never discuss exactly what we do because it is really only the business of Katura and myself, and sometimes her dad and Grandma. Obviously I have to pump milk since I go to work every day. And I've shared that she has tried vegetables now. That's all I ever say. But wow, you sure do get opinions from people with lots of judgement. I've been judged negatively for giving her my breast milk because apparently it isn't "real"? And I've been judged for not whipping out my boobs in public to feed my girl. Then there is mega judgement if you ever use formula. Basically sometimes it feels you're never doing what others perceive to be the "right" thing. And others don't seem to have a hard time keep their comments and opinions to themselves. Is my girl happy and healthy and fed? Yes. So that's all that needs to be said!

We had a parent date night to see
Steve Martin and Martin Short
I worry all the time, but perhaps shockingly I'm not the mom that freaks out when things happen. Katura just tipped over and her toy fell on her. No biggie. I just keep my cool and let her know it is okay, and the tiny tear that was forming stopped. My aunt was one of those that freaked out over nothing, resulting in a baby freaking out over nothing. Not my style. She rolled herself off the couch again yesterday, again no biggie. If I stay calm, she stays calm. All good! Incidentally, if she does cry, the youngest cat that claimed ownership of my pregnant belly comes running to check on her. It is so sweet.

Speaking of animals, another reason I don't sleep... I have a 16 year old cat with kidneys that are not working as they should anymore, and hypothyroidism. I have to give her medicine twice a day and she is constantly wanting more pate, because Heaven forbid my little sidekick eat crunchy cat food? She declared this to be the new rule a couple of months ago. Meanwhile my dog is probably about 14 or 15 years old and having a hard time. She is up a lot, wanting to go potty. Potty trips are harder because stairs are hard. My poor girls. Getting old sucks.

And now I must go. I have to cheer on my dear husband and step-dad while they golf on the surface of the sun.


Friday, August 19, 2016

She Is Already One Half!

​Remember when you were little and time seemed to go so slow? The school year was so long. Vacations were always so far away. A Christmas countdown on an Advent calendar still seemed to equal months. How is it that now time foes flying by way too fast? How can my perfect little daughter already be over 6 months old?

I've been slacking on monthly reports since I've been keeping very busy with the girl I should be writing about. So here's just a six month review of what's going on and what she has been up to during her busy little life!

As of now she is 15 pounds and 1 ounce, and over two feet tall at 25 inches! At her 4 month appointment she was just over 11 pounds, so I've done a good job of helping her grow to fit into the swim diapers I have for her Hawaiian vacation coming up. Yep, she's going to Hawaii and already has a compete wardrobe with outfits themed to different things she'll be doing. She's my baby, would you expect anything less?

She isn't teething yet, but the drool is increasing and her love of chewing on things is more and more noticeable. Soon enough, I'm in no rush for all of these growing milestones. She doesn't talk, but she sure loves to make all sorts of silly noises. Her current favorite is her sound like she's revving an engine. Clearly she learned this from her father. Crawling feels just around the corner. Our doctor said 8 months is the normal time, but she sure seems like she's wanting to do it before then. But man can she roll! Just last week she was on the floor on her blanket and then we looked up and she was nowhere to be seen. She had literally rolled away! Oh, she's already rolled herself off of the couch once, too. Good thing we still have carpet!

A favorite thing of hers is standing. When she gets fussy we just hold her up to stand and she gets happier. She loves trying to be a big girl it seems. She sits up pretty well now, although occasionally there will be a tip, but every day she's getting stronger with it. And she is strong!! Its amazing how much power a little thing like that can have!

Katura is quite the water baby. From the very beginning she has enjoyed bath time but now it's even more fun because she and I jump into our jumbo tub together and out come all of her toys. She's got tug boats, pirates, a pirate ship, some ducks, a book and some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse toys. My rule is that we have to bathe first, THEN she can swim and play. Speaking of swimming, since we have our pool outside she naturally has to go in. We haven't tested the diving board or slide yet, but she's very happy floating around in her very own toy or being held and kicking her little legs all over. We've been watching the Olympics together every night, so maybe it has rubbed off and she's getting her training going now. Let's remember this post when they do a feature story on her during the Olympics!

During her 6 months of life she has done a lot of traveling. We never shy away from going places just because we have a baby, so she's been all over and in a variety of settings. Some of those include: 3 different races that she was a participant in, crashing a high school reunion, visiting her future high school during my reunion weekend, multiple visits to the Country Club (including the biggest tournament of the season), mingling with Olympic hopefuls during the Trials in Eugene, shopping malls, Enchanted Forest and many visits to the Wildlife Safari. She's a regular in restaurants and stores. Anywhere I go, she's there! I've started running again, so she comes along for those when the weather isn't too hot. The stroller seems to put her to sleep in no time at all!

Meeting people has been something she is a pro at, and she doesn't hesitate to flash her smile. She might hesitate when being held by stranger and usually wants to come back to me, but then that smile returns just as quick as it left! My mom takes care of her all the time, so she knows Grandma very well ... and with that comes Uncle Buddy, the dog I'm sure she will be bossing around in no time at all. My dad was here from Ohio for a couple of weeks, so she got in a lot of good Grandpa time as well. We were able to visit her great-grandpa with my dad, and she took an instant liking to him, which was so sweet! I'm pretty sure she's stealing my best friend away from me, as now they do their own selfie photo shoots and forget that I am even there. Hmph. At my high school tour during our reunion she was able to meet Ela, who is about 2 weeks younger than her. Seeing these little girls meet was absolutely adorable, and they already have plans to meet up again next month at a football game! 

Speaking of dogs, she has a dog and two cats and is fascinated by them. They interrupt meals all the time because once she seems them she doesn't care about eating. We are teaching her how to nicely pet the cats, and those girls are saints for putting up with her clumsy, gripping little hands! This leads me to food ... she uses a spoon! And she loves to try to use it all by herself. Katura has now had peas!! My favorite vegetable was her first! We are going to start introducing new veggies now, one at a time.

I'm sure there is more I wanted to write about, but this is already long and I haven't even added photos. OMG don't even try to guess how many I've taken. I think there might be only one day in her life that I didn't get a photo of her. And when I take 1 I take 20. And then videos. But she's just so darn sweet. These have, without a doubt, been the best 6 months ever. I'm never letting her go. She can stay with her mommy forever and ever. That's not creepy, right?!?