Christmas miracles

Wow, a long time since posting. I always think of things to say...just can't find the time to say them! But I might be finding more time soon. I might be dropping MY afternoon nap!

Henry is starting to stretch out his night sleeping! yeah! It started on Saturday after the VanderWier christmas party( Dec. 27). he nursed before we left at 10 pm and then not again until 9 the next morning! Since then I typically only get up once per night, at like 4 or 5 am, and then he wakes up about 9 am. He is settling into a predictable routine. He wakes up about 9, takes a 30 minute nap at about 10:15, nurses again at around noon, takes a nice nap about 1-3 (though he usually wakes about 35 minutes in and needs to be re-settled). Then we nurse again when he wakes up, maybe a 40 minute nap around 5:30, nurse again between 6 and 7, then bedtime between 8 and 9. It is so good to be able to count on it and plan things. The only problem is that going out of the house really screws with all of this. So while Dave has been home, no problem, but when I'm on my own and get lonely...we'll see.

Christmas was great, it is so fun with a toddler. Santa brought charlotte her dollhouse and dolls, which she loves. And then we went out to chinese for dinner with the Courvilles.

Henry is just doing his mid-afternoon nap wake up so I have to publish, but hopefully, I'll get more down soon.

Henry 5.0

Things have really gotten so much better since my last post! Starting the evening before he turned 5 weeks old, Henry mysteriously stopped having the cramping screaming crying fits. He actually was laid down to sleep...and slept! He also started sleeping normal baby amounts during the day (every 1-2 hours after waking up, he'd nap) and he stopped doing marathon 5 hour awake stretches that ended in fits. This is all so good.

Now, don't get me wrong, he is still a baby and still cries and generally is fussy from 5-9 at night. Unfortunately, this is when Dave is home and Dave still refers to him as a "monster". But during the day, it is not so bad to deal with him!

We have had some times where "cry it out" seemed appropriate, and worked. Like, 5 minutes of crying followed by 2 hours of good sleep. And some times of course when that didn't work, the crying went on, the comforting went on, etc.

One surefire way to upset the apple cart is if I eat dairy. Everytime I have it, which isn't often, but I think that maybe it was just my imagination, is followed by about two days of a very fussy little guy!

And another change MIGHT be going on with him regarding night sleep. He usually would do a nice long stretch in the early night, like 8 or 9 pm to 2 am. Though I didn't get to bed/sleep until 10 or 10:30 so it was frustrating. Last night he nursed at 5 pm, then he was awake. and awake. and awake. I just couldn't get him to nap (though he seemed sleepy) so I tried to nurse him. NO WAY! he screamed and screamed. So, completely in tears and preparing for a horrible night, I put him in bed. I even went in at about 9:15 to try to trick him into nursing in his sleep. Didn't work.

He didn't wake up until 1 am! Which got me about 3 hours of sleep interruped by one potty break (darn). THen I thought he'd nurse every 2 hours from there...but he didn't wake up again until 6:30! Which got me 4.5 hours of sleep interrupted by one "oh my god, is he still breathing, let me check as long as I have to get up to pee" break. Today he has been very sleepy still. In fact, right now, I'm trying to decide if I should get him up babywise-style or just let him go til he meets his sleep needs. He proved that he can go awhile without nursing, let's just get it to the right time of day, or rather, night! So i'm going to get him at 3.5 hours between nursing just to harass him and try to nurse and maybe tonight will be better, and maybe I'll enjoy it more!!

Oh, incidentally, CJ is in daycare today so that is why I even have time to post and I took an 1.5 hour nap since Henry decided that the 6:30 feeding was the start of his day and I"d been up since 5:44 worrying he was dead. Early morning for mommy.

Big Changes

Okay, reading the beginning of the last post, well, things have changed. In the time since then, Henry has gotten increasingly fussy. I have come to accept that he likely has colic. But that hopefully at 6 weeks (just after the peak of fussiness) he will get better. IF not, then maybe at 12 weeks. It is easier if I just think "two more weeks..."

I didn't think it was colic because he isn't always crying, but apparently colic is characterized by fussiness, not necessarily crying. And yes, it lasts on and off for three hours at a time. The worst is the mornings. At about 5 or 6 am he'll usually nurse, but then I can't seem to get him to lay back down. I'm up every thirty or forty minutes and pick him up and he burps or farts, or just calms down and then I put him down and it starts all over again. This goes on until about 8 or 9. And that is usually coinciding with Charlotte waking up. So I"m trying to soothe him or sometimes nurse him while she wants to get up, get juice and breakfast, sit in my lap, etcetera.

This morning I greeted my husband by yelling "I'm going to fucking kill someone if I don't get some god-damn sleep!". Lovely.

So PPD?? probably. But what to do about it?? Nothing. Just get through I guess. I'll have a better week maybe this week since Dave only works Mon-wed. THat helps. Just three days. Then as long as Thanksgiving goes okay...I'll get a few days with Dave. He's tired too. No one likes a screaming baby. And when it is paired with a screaming toddler...well, you just wanna kill someone. Most people with ppd want to hurt the baby. I mostly want to hurt Charlotte and this makes me feel terrible!

Let's give it two more weeks. Two more weeks. Two more weeks. Two more...

Random Thoughts...

Wow, I have a few minutes, so we'll see what comes out. Lots of thoughts that I'd like to post, but not lots of time to post them!

Things are going well! Surprisingly, Henry seems to be just as good a sleeper as he is an eater. Maybe all the eating helps. He is nursing 2-3 hours apart during the day and the last couple of nights has done a few 4 hour stretches. Much different from CJ. She nursed about every 1-2 hours around the clock. I didn't even get a 3 hour break until she was two weeks and no 4 hour stretch until about christmastime.

Here is what I know about Henry. He is soooooo cute and I love his warm little head. I forgot how sweet a newborn can be. He hates diaper changes and cries violently, but it is getting better. I'm sure it has to do with the circumcision...ouch! He has to burp and poop ALOT during nursing, so I'm never quite sure when we're done. He'll pause to do both so even though he eats fast, it takes a while with all the little breaks he takes.

Charlotte just adores him and has plenty of confidence in holding him and pushing him on his swing. We try to tell her gentle (we say that about a million times a day to her) and she is pretty good, but she must be watched closely. She likes to help by putting blankets on him (scary) and insists when I'm nursing that it is "her turn!". She saw me nurse the first time and wanted to know what was happening. "henry eating?", she said. I said "can you say 'breastfeeding'?" and she said "Henry eating boob!" I guess that's all I can get from her right now.

We went to the mall and Lowes today as a family. Even with Dave I felt like managing the two was tough. just the logistics of the cart and the baby carrier. We took the new stroller for a test drive and CJ was okay with it at first, but it allows too much freedom if she isn't strapped in she'll jump right out.

Physically, I seem to be healing, though I'm dealing with hemorrhoids, which is new territory for me. But I put out some questions to my mothers and more group and find that I am not unique! So I am getting good advice. That is where the majority of my pain is coming from. I still can't believe I delivered naturally. Every time I lay down, I re-hash the whole thing in my head. I just can't believe how it all happened. So fast! I'm thankful for that and pretty darn scared about if I have another child! Dr. said I'd need to rent a Winnebago and live in the parking lot of the hospital the last month :-) Seriously.

Charlotte is napping, Henry is napping, and I just woke up from my nap so we are all doing great right now! Well, I think I'll use the rest of this free time to take care of house stuff.

Henry is born!

Wow, in a feat of human ability, Henry managed to surprise the hell out of us this morning! We were, of course, getting set for my induction of labor that was to start at 9:30 pm on Monday night. I was upstairs in our bed and David has relegated himself the bed in the basement so as to get better sleep (he was overly concerned about every turn I made and was sleeping poorly). Here is the play by play:
5:04 I wake up and feel hungry, then like I have to poop. Go back to sleep.
5:11 wait a minute, this feeling like I have to poop feels like a contraction. 7 minutes apart. okay.
5:16 There it is again, I'll see if I have to pee.
5:17 water breaks just as I'm getting to the bathroom
5:20 call Dave's cell, "water broke, contracting, get upstairs please"
5:24 Call Dr. Murphy's office and give the details about water and contraction timing.
5:26 Dr. Murphy calls back, "go ahead and go to hospital, it'll probably be 4-6 hours"
5:40 Call Becky to see if she can get Charlotte. yep.
In the meantime, contractions are closer and closer together. I try to use my cell phone's stopwatch feature to time them. I get a little confused but see that contractions are 2 minutes apart. Dave is throwing stuff together. Bags are mostly packed. Can't find phone. I'm on the floor every couple of minutes grunting.
6:00 Becky arrives and takes Charlotte, I think. It gets hazy here. We get into car and drive to hospital. Take a wrong turn, bend the traffic rules slightly.
6:15 check into triage. I ask for my epidural for the first time.
6:17 The nurse checks my cervix (in between contractions). I am at 5 or 6. I ask for epidural. They have to give me an IV fist (in between contractions). I don't know how long and IV takes, but we started just after one contraction and I still had another while they were working. Those suckers were right on top of each other.
6:20 I ask for epidural again. I tell dave that I feel like I have to push. They start wheeling me to delivery. I tell nurses I feel like pushing and scream like a maniac, possibly frightening all other patients.
6:25 I ask for epidural. They examine me. I'm at an 8 or 9. They say, "call dr. murphy again".
6:30 The lady comes in to have me sign stuff for epidural. I don't care what the risks are!!
6:40 They check me and I'm complete. I give up on epidural and just say "drugs, drugs, drugs" all the while being a complete coward. They say, breathe in through nose and out through mouth. concentrate on breathing. Very difficult. Moaning felt better. Plus, I wasn't sure they realized how much pain I was in. Instead of asking for epidural I said I want a doctor!
6:42 Doctor comes in (dr. Hicks I beleive) and they drop the bottom half of bed, pull down the death star looking search light from the ceiling and put my legs up. I'm instructed to push with contractions. I mutter plenty about how I can't and don't want to and how it really hurts. I can feel baby in my vaginal canal and it feels pretty bad.
6:45 dr. says we need to do a small episiotomy since I tore last time. I guess they gave me a shot of lidocaine for that. I head the snipping but didn't care. I am pushing on contractions.
Doctor puts some sort of lube on and in a few more pushes (with lots of horrible screaming from me, and the medical staff insisting that I"m doing "great" (liars)
6:56 Henry is out! Thank God it doesn't hurt any more! Whoops, there goes placenta (that felt weird).

Henry is 9 lbs. 9 oz, 20 inches. Great skin tone, he might not be as olive as me, maybe closer to Dave's coloring. Dave thinks he looks like Charlotte. I think he just looks like baby :-)

I got sewed up (with a little more lidocaine). And got to order a fantastic breakfast with cinnamon french toast, then showered (gingerly) and was moved up to my room. I have my cell if you'd like to call :-)

I feel pretty good. Just on motrin for the cramping and "bottom pain" (along with the ice packs). Baby Henry is doing well, seems to latch on okay, not great, but hey, he's not even a day old! Charlotte has fared well today with Becky and is currently with daddy getting our car seat and they will be back to visit shortly. My friend Chrsiti even brought a balloon and a "I'm a big sister" pin. She also took the picture at the top.

People for birthday ring

I didn't realize I hadn't put up pics of finished birthday ring people. Here they are:

Finishing up crafts...

Two posts in one day! Crazy!
I finished the birthday ring with some decorative painting. And the birthday crown is also done. And i got a great craft idea to do with Charlotte form someone else's blog (outline leaves with black marker and have the little one "color" it and cut out and tape to window. And charlotte is cute. Here are pics to prove it.

Gigantotron

Yep, that is what Dave calls me. Don't blame him. I move with all the grace of a robot. That is HUGE! Turns out there is a good reason (and a reason why I can't breathe well). Tuesday Doc did an ultrasound to find the baby was ONLY 9 lbs. He thought it was bigger, but as it turns out, I have a condition called polyhydramnia. This is too much amniotic fluid. Happens .5-2% of pregnancies. That doesn't sound too bad, right? Right, sort of.

Increases risk of other things like cord prolapse (BAD), baby not settling into pelvis properly (not good), chances of c-section :-(, and me bleeding out after the baby (also bad). He's mildly concerned about shoulder displaysia though I'm not as concerned. CJ was 8'10" so I figure I'm good with the biggies.

Talk of induction...going to do another non-stress test on Friday and have doc check my cervix to see if it is "favorable for induction". This would mean a combination of dilation, thickness, and baby station. Probably would induce by next Tuesday. So the end is in sight. But I"m a little freaked about these other risks. And the fact that this condition CAN be caused by problems with fetal development; my doctor feels that risk is low and that if that were the case we would have caught it sooner. But you all know that a tiny worry or risk to a mother turns into a giant scare pretty easily.

In the mean time, today is my day off with Charlotte and I plan to wrap up some errands, work on finishing touches of crafts and even hit the library to find a good book to take my mind off of all of this!!

no progress

I saw the ob today. Looks like I"m still where I was last week. Which is sort of okay, since I'm not actually due for 5 more days. However, he's getting concerned about the "size of the baby" and is thinking about induction. He said he doesn't want to induce me yet, unless i progress or the baby is "too big". I asked what is too big and he said 9 or 10 lbs. I'm pretty sure that Henry is about that. To be sure, I have an ultrasound Tuesday at 10 am so we can look at size. This will be nice because it will feel like I"m doing SOMETHING. Instead of just waiting, which is hard!

I finished making the little people for Charlotte's birthday. They are cute.

We went to the Boo at the Zoo thing last Saturday. Charlotte is a bee this year.She even has a squishy little stinger in the back. I made the "dress" but bought the wings and headband. lazy mama!

Living large...

I'm still hanging in there. My "personal" predicted due date (Oct. 17) has come and gone and Henry is cozy in there. I was a tad worried about movement but a quick call from good old Andy helped ease my mind..."you'll notice that the baby seems to move less because there is less room to really pull back and give a good kick and also the baby is sleeping more and more. If you are worried, have a small snack and lie down for 15-20 minutes. If there is no movement, call the doctor and you can come in for a non-stress test. Most likely, you are preoccupied and the movements are lower in intensity". So I feel better. There was lots of action last night. I mean that in more than one way. I've decided to try the old intercourse induction method, but it isn't pretty. It's worse than trying to conceive. Very little romance there.

Tonight we're headed to Muskegon to have a Laboween party with the Wiles and Jason and Uncle Jim will watch CJ. We might also get to pick up my plaster torso cast. The artist sent pics, but I'll wait til I get it tonight and take my own pics. It looks like it is very cool!

On Wednesday night it was raining and lately I've noticed what appears to be a shiny, mucas slug trail IN MY HOUSE by the side door. Now, I hate worms, but at least they are a gardener's friend. Slugs are friend to no one! THose things disgust me. So back to Wednesday night...as we enter the door I look down and sure enough a nasty old slug is sitting there munching on a stray bit of cat food!! Dave, of course, taught CJ that "slugs are cute" and the sound they make is "nee-nee-nee-nee-nee" with little fingers on head like antennae wiggling around. Here are pics of that.
CJ is fascinated with the buggers and now she goes to look for them and is so disappointed when they are not there.

Oh, I finished Charlotte's crown and birthday ring.

The dollhouse is coming along nicely, I repaired the crappy job on the roof and put in a couple of walls. Just thinking about painting/or not painting it.

I am making little "people" for Charlotte's birthday and they aren't something I'm proudest of, but my dear, sweet friend Tara was so kind and agreed to hunt for acorn caps for little hats for me. I just couldn't get myself to get all bent over hunting for anything on the ground right now. I think when I get the hair on and the caps, it'll make them look a little less homely. At least their faces turned out okay.

Progress

Here is a cute pic of Charlotte wearing her "Chip Day" shirt. Looks so cute!!

I am getting by, trying to be patient about baby. Thinking every minute, this could be it...but each day passes. I hit the wall last weekend. I just feel done. I'm sick of knocking CJ down. Sometimes it is because I don't see her, sometimes because I think I'm walking straight, but my waddle is so pronounced I just bop her to one side or the other. I feel good when I'm sitting :-) Getting up at night is getting even tougher. It takes so long just to get out of bed! Dr. said that I'm about at 3 cm. Funny, after 5 hours of labor with CJ (and pitocin) I was still only at 1. But my cervix is still "back" (whatever that means) so I'm going to go anytime really soon. I'm setting my sights on Friday! In the meantime, I'm still working on my projects. An update: Since a wooden doll highchair costs $40-50 I decided to make one. So for UNDER $10, I made this.












I also am working on her dollhouse. Coming nicely. It will be hard to wait until christmas because I think she'll really like it. I have the clasp on the end and the hinges on. Just have to finish interior walls, do something about the roof, and I think I'll polyurethane it. I was going to paint it, but I like the unfinished wood look so much.


I am, of course, also working on her birthday ring. The people are done, I got candles, I just have to find a way to drill the holes for the candles and people so it all fits well. Then maybe poly or paint the ring.
her crown is done. Might send pic of that later. Right now I'm also working on putting together a birthday book. Like a scrapbook, but oh so much easier using online ordering and pics we have from the last year. It is so hard, I love every picture of her!!

Nesting = Crafting?

Lately I have been seriously into crafting. I suspect that since housework sucks and it is hard to move around alot, I'm really just nesting in another way.
While everyone in my family was at Chip's wedding, I was at a pottery studio painting him a platter for a gift. I also did one for Dave's cousin whose wedding we're missing
because it is Oct. 25.(don't forget, click on pic to make it bigger)


I am making Charlotte a dollhouse for Christmas and it is coming along nicely. I used the router to cut out window holes and then I used the dremel to smooth it out a bit. Still needs lots of work, though.


I am making a German birthday ring for Charlotte's birthday. This is a ring with 12 little people on it and each birthday you replace a person with a candle. Here is the start of some of the people. I won't post a link to what I saw and am copying, mine doesn't look as good!


I am also making her a birthday crown that she can wear each year (hopefully). I saw these on another blogger's page and thought they were adorable. Some charge like $40 for them. I think it cost about $6 for this one.

We are enjoying fall and I put CJ into a cute Halloween outfit.

We went to the dr. office today. After I get on the table and the nurse finds the baby's heartbeat, Charlotte likes to get up onto the table and lift up her shirt, too. Monkey see, monkey do!
The doctor checked my cervix and said that I'm internally at 3 and externally at 1. Totally normal for a second pregnancy. I felt relieved that there were no signs of imminent labor. I thought I was having contractions last weekend and that really threw me. What about all my unfinished crafts? Better get them done!

I just love her!

Just felt the need to express how much I admore my darling little angel, Charlotte. I had no idea I could love anyone this much (sorry Dave, it is just different). She is, at the age of almost 2, sometimes exasperating but sometimes so adorable I just want to get a spoon and eat her up! She is currently in her crib shouting "big sister!" She really likes the "I'm a big sister" book her Oma got her and I let her take it bed with her today. I might have to go in and remove it. I don't know if she'll nap with all that excitement!

I feel sort of bad that when Henry comes, her little world will fall apart in a way. No more of all the attention being just on her! But it will be a special time for her and Daddy and a chance to develop a special relationship with Henry. That will hopefully last. And I know that in a few years, they will play together and I'll be so glad they have each other.

In the meantime, I want to just appreciate all I can about THIS moment. The feeling of Henry kicking and rolling like a rock-n-roll star inside me. THe joy of her smile when I get her each morning. Watching how much she and her daddy love each other and make each other giggle. Cuddling up just the two of us (and a giant belly) to read stories. Her calling the cat "stupid dumb-dumb" (wonder where she got that?) and ordering him around, though he rarely follows her orders. And now that she sometimes call us "kate" and "Dave" I even love that!

But for now, I'm off to relax, we had a tiring day at the zoo and my feet are swollen a bit and my back is tired. So I'll lie down and get back to reading my book about why TV and Videogames are so horrible for children. I need encouragement to keep me from plopping her in front of the tv when I'M tired.

Charlotte Dancing

This video was taken August 30, so it is a little old. She had recently discovered the joys of jumping. Enjoy.

An amazing experience!

When I was pregnant for Charlotte, I ordered a belly casting kit from the internet. It was only about $20 and included plaster and strips to make a cast for your big belly. Then you can paint it or whatever.

But it never came, at least, not before Charlotte did!

So this time, I wanted to make sure I got it done. I thought maybe I'd just do it myself and asked my brother, an artist, where to get plaster. He talked to his good friend John and found out that there are some hazards to trying to do this yourself, the plaster heats up, people can pass out, you can get chemical burns. Ugh. Maybe I'll just order the kit.

But I talked with John and he SO graciously offered to do it for me at half cost. this is really great, because it isn't cheap. Without the "family discount" it would run at least $250 for this. The plaster alone is about $60 and it takes hours of work, sanding, finishing, etc. He was kind enough to give us half off. But this is way better than those internet kits and totally worth it!!

So today I went to John's studio in Muskegon and Grandma watched Charlotte. John has been doing plaster casting for about 30 years and he showed me some samples of his work:
He also showed me some from a pregnant model:

But I liked the ones that were more of a profile:

So I decided to try that. The way it works is pretty simple. Get naked (don't worry, I have no modesty) and cover yourself liberally with petroleum jelly. This keeps your skin and hair from sticking in the plaster. Make sure the pubic area is slicked, you don't want this to become a brazillian. Then he fills the tub with plaster. There are cinder blocks around the edge and there are towels on them:

Then plaster is poured in and you lay in it. I'll spare you the picture of what I looked like after lying it (it is, of course, nude) and just show you what the cast looks like:
This is the negative.
Here are some closer up pictures of it.
John waits for it dry, then pours more plaster in it to create a positive. Then he sands and finishes it. You can paint it or cover it in rice paper for a translucent shell. you can hand it on a wall or put a post into it for a free standing thing. I have no idea what we'll do, but I'm so glad I did it! What an experience and now the beauty of pregnancy is captured, for me, at least!

For my Boo-boo

Charlotte helps wash my car. She is great at the details!

I was thinking about how my blogging has fallen off and I realized that I needed to do it again. Mostly this is for Charlotte. Since I don't make scrapbooks or save stuff or do anything like that, this is the best "baby book" that Charlotte can hope for from me. I also went back and re-read posts of Charlotte pregnancy and it was really nice.

So there is alot to update and I won't even attempt to fill in everything. I'll say that Charlotte and Dave and I had a great summer. It was pretty packed. Somehow we found a way to be busy everyday. We had our weekly playgroup, we crashed other playgroups, we had park dates, we went to Frederick Meijer Garden, we went to swim lessons, and we just played in the yard and with the pool and sandbox. It has been tons of fun.

I have watched Charlotte just explode in communications!After our vacation with the Courvilles and DiGennaros she picked up tons of words. She cracks me up, the things she says now. I pointed to Dave and asked what we call him and she said "Daddy" and then I said what if we need something, then what do we say? She screamed "Dave!". It made Dave and I just roll with laughter. I hadn't even coached her to say it, she just did.

We made some attempts at potty training, but I don't think we're quite ready. She shows lots of signs. She tells me after she goes, she wants to be changed, she gets the diapers, she goes to the changing table, she is fascinated with watching others go, she loves to sit on her potty, and she takes off and puts on pants. What she does not do is tell me BEFORE she has to go. So we pretty much peed and pooped all over the house for a few days. Which wasn't too much of an issue, it was mostly on the wood floor. And some in the yard, which is no problem.

Mostly I just found it difficult when I'd catch her mid-pee and try to haul a thirty pound urinating child into the bathroom with my big old belly and waddle trying to move quickly and not succeeding! This pregnancy is WAY harder while chasing Charlotte. I had no idea how easy it was to be pregnant and "work". Now this, what I do with CJ all day, is real work. Bending, lifting, holding, chasing, etc. Plus my lap is steadily disappearing. She has to sit on my knee and she still tries to wiggle back into my lap and that puts alot of pressure on my belly. Which already has plenty of pressure!

I'm basically the same weight and shape as I was when I gave birth to Charlotte. And i still have 6-8 weeks?! We'll see. Dr. Murphy said that I would be more likely to go early again since I had Charlotte early, but there is no guarantee. I keep talking to women who had their first child three weeks early, then the next was two weeks late!

I think I lost my mucas plug a couple of weeks ago, but that doesn't mean anything. In fact, I might be dilated right now, but again, that doesn't mean anything. I am carrying much lower, of course. If I have another, it'll be waving out under my skirt!

I'm tired and my back is really sore about two hours after I get up. I wake up and feel good, but I'll go grocery shopping and just be beat. But I don't have that crazy pelvic pain that I had with CJ. Oh, Henry is head down which is good. Unless he gets all nutty and turns that means hopefully we'll be able to avoid a C-section. But peeing is really a problem. He must be just pressed right against my ureter because I can't pee more than a tiny trickle at a time. Very unsatisfying.

Update

I'm 13 weeks now, due Oct. 25. This baby and CJ will be nearly exactly 2 years apart. I'm feeling better, sort of. No more puking :-) but lots of just plain feeling crappy every evening and some mornings. I'm definitely starting to show, but I can still wear regular clothes.

Charlotte is awesome! She is so fun and we really like the beautiful weather we've been having. We go outside and swing, take wagon rides, drive in her pink car, and just walk around. I have plenty of yard work to do, but she doesn't like doing that as much.

I nap pretty much every day while Charlotte does and I wonder if it will ever end. Will I be tired for the next 18 years?? Very possible. I am busy with Mothers and More and am proud of the work I do though I sometimes get overwhelmed.

I'm reading A New Earth, the book Oprah is doing a special webcast class for. I like it and find it inspiring when times are tough. I'm enjoying a nicely rekindled relationship with my siblings but miss my dad.

I participated in the making of a prenatal bellydance DVD and am interested to see the final result which I will share when it is done. I did it in exchange for class credits at Laura's studio. But right now I find bellydancing just exhausting. I haven't done so much as walk around much for the last 10 weeks or so.

So I'll leave you with a video of Charlotte from her Easter Egg Hunt.

Finally- a sign of life!

You may have wondered what happened to me. Looks like my last post was on Feb.10 and on the 12th I got great news! This is how we told my mom:


But the thing is, I've been feeling terrible. Not as bad as some women, but worse than with Charlotte. It is amazing how used to throwing up you can get. You just have to move on. But I thought I'd post a pic of Charlotte in her beautiful special dress from Uncle Andy (Godfather):

Charlotte and the beans

A suggested activity for kids is to put beans on the floor on a sheet and let them explore the texture. Yep. Makes a big mess, but she seemed to like it.

my favorite pic of charlotte right now

By the way, she's holding a bottle of Basalmic vinegar.

fresh pics of cutie pie

Back to normal

Good news! After physical therapy last Friday and Saturday, I felt slightly better.So on Sunday I went to bellydance class. On the advice of my teacher, Laura, I didn't do the shimmies and hip motions and she showed me some stretches. This helped a little more. But by Thursday even though I generally felt better, it just didn't feel right. So I was fortunate to have my dear Andy call for a lunch date and he took a look at it. Turns out he could SEE that my hips were crooked. He did some wacky wonderful DO stuff that thankfully no one walked in on since I was pretty much laying on the floor with my pants unzipped and his hands on my pubis. But the good news is that it was corrected. It felt sore pretty much until today (Saturday) but I actually would say that I feel "good". Yippee.

Also, I'm thinking about dancing again if Laura will have me. It is exciting and I am definitely motivated to lose some weight! But who knows, maybe I'll be pregnant soon :-)

Health and Happiness

Yet again I find myself regretful of not posting more. Perhaps I'll challenge myself to a weekly post at least. You can complain to me if I fail to comply!

Starting January 7 I have had health issue after health issue. I won't be taking it for granted any time soon. On the Jan. 7 I had a minor surgery to reveal the titanium post put in for my "super tooth". I just had a shot (during which the dr. asked for Nitrous so that he could finish because I was so panicky) and ended up with a mere two stitches. But it was tender for a while and I self medicated with some booze and old vicodin pills. By January 9 I was okay again.

Until about dinnertime, when I made a yummy meal of quesedillas and found I had no interest in eating. Not typical! As the evening progressed, I noted a huge headache and a sore throat. I thought the headache was due to the fact that I had been crying all afternoon because I called the vet and we have decided to put Calvin down. But Thursday morning was terrible. I laid lethargically on the couch until noon when I made Dave come home to help take care of Charlotte. He stayed home the next day also while I ran to the doctors. I was pretty sure I had the flu (fever, chills, sore throat, bad head,etc.), but they said no.

I was also seeing the doctor about the fact that I couldn't open my right eye. Yep, pink eye. Oh and Charlotte had it too. Giving eye drops to a one year old take two people!

So I was basically a useless vessel of snot and fatigue Saturday and Sunday. The afternoon of Sunday I felt better and went to belly dancing (Oh, I started that again:-) and after that I felt much better! Monday and Tuesday were okay, I was still a little tired, sore throat, cough, etc.

Wednesday (the 16th) I managed to throw out my back in what I suspected was the same thing that happened when I was pregnant. Unfortunately, when I did my exercises to fix it, even though I heard a small pop, it was still pretty bad on Thursday. So I tried to see the physical therapist, but he needed a referral. So I called my ob. But wait, the insurance needs the referral from Primary Care Physician. Called him. On vacation. My back is in the meantime pretty darn painful. Crying and such. So I see some other guy at the office and pay $20 for him to say, yep, you should get physical therapy. But they couldn't get me in that day, so I got some more vicodin which didn't kill the pain, but made me less concerned about it in general.

Friday I went to physical therapy and my back was worse when I left. Oh, also $20 for this. Then I went again on Saturday and it was better. He massaged it for about 30 minutes and we changed my exercises. Still not entirely sure what the problem is, but there is another $20. On sunday I felt a little better and didn't want to miss what we were learning of the belly dance routine, so I went to that. Fortunately, Laura (my teacher) is a thai massage person and is very knowledgeable of this stuff. She gave me some exercises to try and did some pushing on my butt (the pain is in my sacrum, quite low down).

I feel better today (Tuesday), finally. I took it easy yesterday (as much as you can while caring for a one year old that must be put into and taken out of car seats, high chairs, and cribs). I also applied some heat. As Laura said, it isn't so much the bones as the muscles that are too tense and bunched to let the rest go into place. SO lots of sacrum opening exercises that I shall continue to do. I have a physical therapy appt. for tomorrow that I plan on cancelling. I can't pay another $20 for a maybe feeling better, maybe worse situation. I am still slightly sore, but I can manage household duties much better and even danced with Charlotte a little today (just try not to dance when "Hey Ya" comes on the radio followed by U2's "Elevation" which I'm just having a lovefest for anyway. Oh, and Gettin' Jiggy Wid It, also was on. Yep, that is the spelling. A sad thing, I know.

Incidentally, the physical discomfort and inability put a certain strain on my marraige that was not welcome. I'll discuss that more another time. I've got to take advantage of nap time to make my egg salad and do the rest of my job as an at-home mom.