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August 31, 2004

More of the Same
I get up at six now, because there's no way I'll get a shower if I don't before D. goes to work. Doesn't matter - Daniel and I weren't sleeping, anyhow, and I may as well be clean and exhausted!

It appears he has, at least for mornings, shunned the stroller as a means of non-boob comfort, which kind of puts a kink in my walking plans. He hates his slings with a passion (he screams as if I'm killing him, ack), so I'm left with the Snugli, which does let me get a few things done, and even go outside for a couple of minutes to check the mail or water flowers (poor neglected half-dead things they are). I don't see us going out in public anytime soon, unless we happen to get lucky with the Snugli.

PSA for the currently pregnant readers: Things You Should Know So as to be Prepared or Unsurprised, But May Not Be Told.

  • All those onesies you have? They're great - for after the cord falls off. If it's as warm as it was here for the life of the stump, make sure you have some newborn-sized snap-front tees, to leave it exposed to as much air as possible. I only had two, and more would've made things much easier. I believe that keeping it open is why it fell off so quickly.
  • Using alcohol on the cord will actually make it take longer to fall off, contrary to traditional instruction.
  • Newborns peel, and sometimes dramatically - don't use lotion! The whole top layer, which has of course been soaking in amniotic fluid, has to come off on its own. Daniel's ankles are still shedding in swathes.
  • Pampers size one are bigger than Huggies size one.
  • No, he won't permanently have furry ears! it'll disappear in a few weeks.


    • I'm sure that I'll be able to resume more regular posting someday. Now that I've scared half the readership away with all this baby talk. Given my mental state these days, it's a wonder I can string this many words together in any coherent fashion at all!
    08/31/04 10:02 PM |  Comments


    August 28, 2004

    Temporarily a Photo Blog?
    Another short snooze, and post-bath (he'll have his first tub bath in a couple of days, I hope he likes it more than the sponge baths!).

    D. drove us to our appointment yesterday, and luckily. There was an accident blocking access to the freeway, a long, slow train blocking the detour, another traffic backup for no apparent reason, and even a bit of road work at the very end as a cherry. I would've surely been in tears at the end if I'd gone it alone. But Daniel was given a completely clean bill of health - he's back up to his birth weight, and is even developmentally about a week ahead. We go in for a weight check in a month, but don't need to see the doctor again until late October. When, unfortunately, he gets his first big round of shots, poor baby.

    My hormones seem to be levelling a bit, and I'm not crying at every tiny stimulus, now. Still having lots of trouble nursing at night - he gets too excited, arms flailing and hands in his mouth, until he screams out of frustration, and I'm ready to help him pull my hair out. I really need a third arm and hand.

    His best time of day seems to be mid-morning, so that's when we'll schedule his first real photo session. Soon, before he's not so tiny...
    08/28/04 01:00 PM |  Comments


    August 25, 2004

    Not a Blur
    Two more rare quiet moments.
    08/25/04 07:42 PM |  Comments


    August 24, 2004

    Still Here
    I had to give up my short walks temporarily, because they were triggering heavier bleeding, which is a sign to slow down. I'm not terribly happy about being stuck to this couch for even more of the day, especially when I'm feeling so much better than I was before the birth, and therefore antsy, but I guess it can't go on too much longer.

    I know pacifiers are supposed to be E-Vile, but Daniel is napping with one right now. Which is how I'm suddenly able to stand up a bit, assume a different sitting position, and type. Maybe he won't be quite so grumpy when he wakes up. Not that he isn't cute even when he's making That Face (gush), but a little variety in his countenance is nice.

    D. goes back to work on Friday, and I'm not feeling real confident about how I'll handle that. He's been making sure I get regular doses of food and water and such, not to mention doing diaper duty, when I can sneak off for bathroom breaks. To make matters scarier, Daniel and I will have our first car trip alone that day for another pediatrician's appointment. And not a short one, either! Oy!
    08/24/04 02:26 PM |  Comments


    August 22, 2004

    15 Hours a Day. Riiiiight.
    Daniel may only get eight hours of sleep of twenty-four, but at least they're mostly at night now. And this morning I extended it a couple by taking him out in the stroller for a bit. I managed to take a shower and eat breakfast all by myself - and don't I feel like a big girl now. And look, now I'm typing with two hands! This may have to become my morning routine.

    And here are a couple of pics with daddy.

    He appears to be stirring (as the boobs cringe). Over and out.
    08/22/04 11:10 AM |  Comments


    August 20, 2004

    Big Gay Rock
    Will listening to the Scissor Sisters (site is slow as GW at a spelling bee, sorry) warp my child's little mind, I wonder?

    Unrelated aside: ctrl-alt-del is cruel to nursing mothers.
    08/20/04 12:50 PM |  Comments


    August 18, 2004

    Daniel's First Photos
    Amazing what a little sleep can do, no? I've finally posted Daniel's hospital/first day pics. Now we just have to get some with his eyes open, and with Daddy!
    08/18/04 12:27 PM |  Comments


    Six Hours! Six Hours!
    I got six hours of sleep last night! Cut up into little chunks, of course, but still - six freaking hours! I'm a whole new woman! Where's the nearest marathon?

    I love our pediatrician. She's the one who wholeheartedly endorsed sleeping with the baby right next to me. I'm a very light sleeper, so I tried it for a nap yesterday after nursing, and we slept for two hours! So a lot of his every-fifteen-minute fussing for boobage at night was probably just a manifestation of his need for direct contact.
    08/18/04 08:35 AM |  Comments


    August 17, 2004

    Claire...
    D. just figured out what Daniel smells like - Apple Jacks :-)
    08/17/04 09:28 AM |  Comments


    August 16, 2004

    Hanging In
    Thanks all for the good wishes! I suppose I wasn't really clear in my post yesterday - the hospital was supposed to let us go Saturday evening, since all was well, but some intern changed the orders and didn't bother to tell anyone (even our nurse), and we didn't get to leave until Sunday afternoon. So I was home by the time I wrote that.

    It's been difficult for me to do things like shower, sleep, eat, or use the bathroom, since the little pumpkin literally doesn't want to unlatch from me (he's attached right now). If I remove him long enough to pee, he screams holy terror. Sometimes D. can entertain him for a little bit, luckily. I'm hoping things change now that my milk is starting to come in today. I mean, I expected to get very little sleep - but not absolutely no sleep! Plus I had some rather wicked tearing, and sitting up 24-7 really isn't the greatest thing for that. It's strange to be so elated and frustrated at the same time :-)

    The cats aren't freaking out at all, I'm happy to say. They're very curious, especially when Daniel cries. Elli has been making this new little noise when he does, it's kind of cute.
    08/16/04 06:37 PM |  Comments


    August 15, 2004

    He's Here!
    Well, we got to the hospital at about 3:30 am Thursday, and Daniel Henry Kadrioski was born at 11:12 am! Thankfully a lot faster than I thought a first birth would be (whew). 8 lbs 4 oz, 20 inches, cute little fuzz of black hair. Won't go into details or post pics right now since I'm typing sideways on the laptop with Daniel napping on my lap (cute cute kee-yute, not that I'm biased or anything). Very tired - turns out that little Dan's a major boob man, and hospitals aren't at all conducive to rest (and they decided at the last minute not to release us yesterday when they said they would, grrr). I think that in the past 60 hours I've gotten maybe eight hours of anything resembling real sleep. Will have more to say and show tomorrow!
    08/15/04 06:16 PM |  Comments


    August 13, 2004

    ...But Tomorrow?
    So the contractions are back with a vengeance (ow), I seem to be leaking fluid, and it looks like I'll be seeing both the reappearance of my dinner and the arrival of baby sooner than I thought. Should be back in a couple of days!
    08/13/04 02:35 AM |  Comments


    August 12, 2004

    Not Today.
    All contractions and other signs stopped this afternoon. Even the nausea, eventually. Sneaky uterus. Later, the little alien danced on my bladder in his usual nightly show of glee. He came for the placenta, but he stays for the french fries.
    08/12/04 09:10 PM |  Comments


    "America's Most Comprehensive Toy Train Exhibit"
    I love the California State Railroad Museum. It's one of the two museums I can take seriously in the area. Saturday it gets even better, when a new rotating exhibit of toy trains opens to the public. San Diego banker Thomas W. Sefton spent over forty years building what is thought to be one of the finest collections in the world. His health failing at 86, he and his family decided to share it with California. 7,000 pieces - I can't wait to get a look.
    08/12/04 11:54 AM |  Comments


    August 11, 2004

    Expiration Date
    Managed to get another appointment in today, again with Dr. Manhands (ow). I have an induction appointment for the Monday after next, if it comes to that. Which he assured me it won't - now I'm at 3 cm, and the kid is about as far down as he can get without popping out (tell me something I didn't know). He's betting I'll be in the hospital within the next day or two. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but I know I'm not going to wait long enough to be induced. Even if I have to walk to Fresno, eat five eggplants, or make use of the in-house prostaglandin donor.
    08/11/04 03:25 PM |  Comments


    At Least the Black Widows Stay Outside
    I don't generally worry much about sharing my house with the occasional small insect or spider. If I were a bug I'd probably find it one of the safer places to live - our cats are pretty inept at hunting.

    But wasps... now that's another matter entirely. A couple weeks ago, I found a live one on our bathroom wall. And today a dead one on our bedroom window sill.

    I really don't like wasps.
    08/11/04 11:33 AM |  Comments


    August 10, 2004

    Too Bad We'll Miss It
    Looks like the rumors are finally official - IKEA is coming to West Sacramento.

    Update: more.
    08/10/04 10:58 PM |  Comments


    August 09, 2004

    Ninth Month the Bombshell
    So, we may be moving to Portland sooner than we thought. D's company was bought out, and it looks as if he'll be bought off at the end of the year. While Oregon isn't exactly the hot spot for jobs, even less so is Sacramento. In December.

    I'm so not going to be physically or mentally ready for another big move by then, not after having been at this place all of a year, and spending all that time fixing it the way we wanted. But we are just about fed up with Sacramento summers. Yes, pretty much at the end of our triple-digit no rain rope, we are. And everyone says it's easier to move with an immobile infant than a disappearing toddler, which does of course make sense.

    But I'm not worrying about any of it now. See? This is me, not worried.

    Well, at least now you know why my head will be happier when fully occupied with cuter and messier matters.
    08/09/04 04:34 PM |  Comments


    August 08, 2004

    Bitch, bitch, bitch. I know.
    I'm so fed up with my feet. Or foot, really - the left one. On certain days, the edema makes it looks like a potato on the end of an elephant's leg. As if my lower extremities didn't have enough problems, what with the weight gain and the chicken-pox-like scarring from the PUPPP. "Elevate it!" Joke, and, awkward. "Drink more water!" I would drown. It actually had me in tears, because I did not - did not - want to put the same damned sandals on that I've been wearing for six months straight. The only things that are actually adjustable enough to accommodate both girths. So I've got the stupid thing squished into a Land's End athletic moc, and the compression seems to be normalizing the foot (the numbness means it's working!), but I've still got the big fugly cankle. My bony right foot is laughing at it, too.

    Aren't the stretchmarks and perma-gut enough disfigurement for one person? When can I have my body back?

    And suddenly, I can't eat enough to stay full - unless I cross that ever-changing line where I've eaten too much at once, and then game over. And there's no food that sounds good, and I'm tired of bawling, and incontinence (don't think I've mentioned that one before, eh?), and the endless, meaningless stream of do-nothing days (yeah, yeah, take advantage of them, but it's been nine - nine! - months now), and I really just want to move on and have this part end.

    I guess this is how women are able to face the pain in the end!
    08/08/04 04:37 PM |  Comments


    Feline Friendster
    Oh, all right. I won't be caught dead on any of those online "social network" (ahem - popularity) sites (too snooty? fragile ego? junior high flashbacks? you guess!)... but I've gone and subjected my cats to one. Not that they care.
    08/08/04 12:25 AM |  Comments


    August 06, 2004

    zzzzzzzzz.
    I was all excited because yesterday I was chock-full of energy and the will to clean. I finally washed the dishes in the sink, disinfected all the countertops, and mopped the kitchen floor (much to the chagrin of my hips). I washed towels and rugs, and even made it out for some gas and a car wash and a run to Rite-Aid. And no naps! I thought, "Ah-HAH, last-minute nesting, you elusive devil - you're finally mine!"

    But this morning, a growling belly drove me out of bed to eat breakfast, and overwhelming fatigue sent me back. For the entire morning. Literally. Gah.
    08/06/04 12:54 PM |  Comments


    August 05, 2004

    "...better leverage of the corporate investment."
    Sac 6 was, theoretically, to be the way we could see big-screen movies, with a sleeping infant in the back seat. And now, after all the years of threats, it looks like it's really being razed. For yet another 20-plex and a mall. I could cry.
    08/05/04 10:12 PM |  Comments


    Ayuck-yuck.
    Well, I've had my laugh for the day. Someone should hold a caption contest.
    08/05/04 11:20 AM |  Comments


    August 04, 2004

    At Least There'll Be Ice.
    Yeah, I'm still here. And I must say - I'm starting to get just a little cranky. Bowling ball inside pelvis = ow.

    I bought apple juice and I'm making orange Jello. Because the hyper lady on the childbirth DVD said that I could eat or drink anything clear in the early stage of labor. And I want that anything to have as much sugar/energy as possible, since they won't let me eat or drink once I get to the hospital. Cruel barbarians!
    08/04/04 09:25 PM |  Comments


    August 03, 2004

    Not the Good Invalid
    Okay. Now I might be starting to get mentally ready to get this show on the road. I showered and dressed (after several attempts and naps), finished off the latest list... and realized I just wasn't going to make it through a store. Not with all this pressure. Even standing long enough to wash a couple of pans is painful, depending on the day.

    Don't know if I'll have an appointment this week. Their scheduling system was down on Friday, and they added me to a list of people to call when it was back up. Still no call. I'm not disappointed about putting off another long, uncomfortable drive downtown for ten minutes that'll make me even more uncomfortable for two days. Maybe I won't even have time for another appointment...
    08/03/04 04:36 PM |  Comments


    August 02, 2004

    Wishes are Fishes
    This is what I want, before I have to give up any semblance of real sleep for several months. I want twelve night-time hours in a soundproof, lightproof room. Just me, a real unshared bed that is not too small for two-and-a-half people, no cats hissing at each other or breathing tuna in my face, no idiots driving by with their stereos blasting after midnight, no servers that clench up at 3 am and make obnoxious noises every fifteen minutes (and so no one to snark at me and set off the Unstoppable Bawl Reflex of Pregnancy at 6 am when I was the only one to hear the damned thing after three hours and have, in my sleep deprivation and shameful stupidity, handled it wrong), no early morning maintenance men with lawnmowers or leafblowers or weed-whackers, no nightmares about my mother stealing my unborn child because I'm unfit, no couch seams up my butt, and no wee-hour cravings for roast beef sandwiches.
    08/02/04 07:55 AM |  Comments


    August 01, 2004

    Weekend
    Did lots of nothing yesterday - too sore for anything but making a big dent in the couch (stupid exam! stupid me for letting 'em!). Luckily I was much improved today, on our second anniversary. Dressed in the nicest stuff that fit and went out for yummy pasta. I really shouldn't be eating so much in one sitting at this point, but I could hardly help myself. Chicken alfredo, mmm.

    Everything is packed for the hospital, right down to the camera. We've even got both carseat bases installed (thanks Rachel! the RAV base was LATCH-equipped and super easy!). Not that I'm having any signs of it, but I could really go into labor at any time now. I'll probably have plenty of time in the early stages to let you know here.

    Where's that last burst of nesting energy? I have things that need to be cleaned!
    08/01/04 10:12 PM |  Comments