Fish Out of Water

A fun weekend, and a new sport

I was reading a post on my sister's blog about the fun weekend that she and her husband had - they sure do live a different life than we do! They live in Mexico City and have opportunities to go to all kinds of beautiful places and do things like sit by pools and sip tequila. I have to live vicariously through her by reading her blog because my weekends are so the opposite of that!

Our weekend was also lovely though. On Friday I knocked off work a little early and we all relaxed at home, which was so nice after a long busy week at work. Saturday my husband went out in the morning and I hung out with the girls. We were going to go to the grocery store, but instead the baby conked out and the big girl and I watched cooking shows together, wrote down recipes, read books, and cuddled in the living room. When the daddy got home, I took the big girl to the grocery store and accidentally spent over $20 on vanilla extract. My reasoning was that I should get a lot so I wouldn't run out, and that I should get a high-quality kind so my baking would taste good. I did not realize it meant I was going to spend over $20! Oh well. Maybe it will give me a good excuse to bake more.

That evening my husband and I were scheduled to go to my company's holiday party. Yes, I know, a holiday party in January? But it's much easier to get more people there after the craziness that is December. This way there were lots of people (we have about 90 people working at our branch office) and it really was fun. The party was at a fancy country club not far from our house, and the food was amazing. First there were butlered hors d'oeuvres for about an hour and a half, and then there was a sit-down dinner and dancing. At first no one danced, so the boss and his wife had to get up and get the crowd going. The band was really good, but I guess no one told them it was a party for a bunch of computer nerds. It was kind of a tough room. Eventually people did get up, and then apparently one guy suddenly busted out into this fancy breakdancing move that involved spinning on his back on the floor, but wouldn't you know it, I missed it because I was in the ladies room. Doh!

Sunday morning the hubby took the girls to the laundromat we own, so he could collect the quarters from the machines and restock the vending machines. I took that opportunity to bake a lemon bundt cake for the dinner we were going to at a friend's house that evening. I had found the recipe in Cook's Illustrated and was really looking forward to making it. The batter came together beautifully and I thought it was going to be great. NOPE. After the appointed baking time I went to check on it and the inside was raw. RAW. I kept checking on it and leaving it in a little longer, and a little longer, until I finally took it out and saw that it could not be salvaged. Raw on the inside, burnt on the outside. No good. I think the problem was that I used a silicone pan and it really needs to be done in a metal pan. Oh well! Was a bummer though, I thought it was a great recipe. I better try it again with a different pan. So we had to go to the grocery store and get a cake to bring to the dinner.

But after that, we did a super cool thing: I took my daughter to her very first ice skating lesson. A few weeks ago we were watching TV and we found some figure skating to watch. She was mesmerized. She said she wanted to learn how, so I signed her up for a few individual lessons since she had never been on skates before in her life. So yesterday was her first. She was amazing! She did fall down a lot, as anybody would their first time on skates, but she kept getting back up on her feet, and the instructor taught her how to put her arms out and stand up on her own. She was able to move slowly across the ice by herself a few times, and by the end of the lesson she had begun to get her "ice legs." I was so proud of her! So I think we'll do a few more individual lessons and then if she really wants to continue, we'll get her into the kids' group lessons on Sundays. Should be a hoot! The instructor told me they also teach adults so I thought well maybe I could learn too, since I'm going to have to be at the rink anyway! Haha, I know that's kind of funny, but honestly the few times in my life I have gone skating I've really enjoyed it and always wished I could learn how to really do it. So we shall see.

Now it's Monday and it's freaking cold here. But I guess that is to be expected in January.

Eight years! And crawling! (This is about two different things.)

Today I went to pick up the baby at day care. I had the big girl with me and when the baby saw her, she zoomed across the floor to see her big sister! It was pretty cool to see how much that baby wanted to move. She does this funny thing of putting her feet on the floor, like these big pushups, and then wondering why she isn't getting anywhere, but then she remembers to put her knees down and then she goes. We cheered when she did it. It was very exciting.

The other very exciting thing for today is that on this date eight years ago, my sweet husband and I were married. All the usual cliches apply: we can't believe it's already been eight years, where did the time go, and the obligatory HOW DID WE GET SO OLD? But mostly we are very happy to be together. Happy anniversary my sweet!

I love my new job!

First of all, let me say how exhilarating it feels to say that. I love my new job! I worked four days this week and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I'm working on a project with the city government, so we've been at City Hall all week. It has been so much more eventful than things ever were in the tiny suburban office where I used to work before.

There were huge protests in support of the Jena 6 - sometimes so loud we could hear them on the 26th floor of the hotel across the street (we rented out a suite so people could come submit online reports that can't be done from inside City Hall - long story). I saw the mayor crossing the street as I was walking back from an errand. I had to get a badge made so I could access the upper floors of City Hall, and the guy in the badge office could not speak because he had some kind of larynx problem, so everything was done with pointing and hand gestures. He looked pretty exhausted to not be able to speak, but he got his points across just fine. He was a really nice guy, and my badge photo turned out really well!

The company seems really awesome. They really take care of their employees and there are systems in place to handle all sorts of things. I've never worked for a large company before, so this is all new to me. Having an official "help desk" to fix things is a luxury I've never had. It's amazing! I send them an email, and then THEY worry about it. In my old incarnation, if something was broken, chances were very good that I had to worry about it. I also signed up for direct deposit - yippee! - and next week I'll be signing up for my very first-ever 401(k) plan.

So all in all, I had a fantastic first week and I can't wait until next week. It's going to be a 50- or 60-hour week because there's a filing deadline for this thing we're doing with the city, but that's OK - it's my kick-ass new job! Woo-hoo!!!!!!!!

32 Years Old

Today is my 32nd birthday. It's fun to spend your birthday on maternity leave - no work! And even though I've been working from home almost every day since the baby was about 5 days old (yeah, don't you wish you had my life?), I'm taking today OFF. My parents are taking me and the baby to lunch and then I'm picking up my older daughter from school. It should be a nice day, aside from the negative 800 degree wind chills.

Reflecting on this past year of my life, I think I've done pretty well. I finished my master's degree, I got a big raise and promotion, I started to be more assertive at work, we transferred our daughter to a fantastic school, we had another spectacular daughter, we bought a business....a very busy year but a good one. Certainly the life of a grown-up. One of these days I'm really going to believe that I'm not a kid anymore.

Actually this past year I received one of the best compliments I've ever gotten. It was from my dad. Sometime over the summer, when things were a little tough and I was feeling very anxious, I was chatting with him about life and stuff and all my concerns. He told me that he saw me as more together, at 31, than he saw himself, at 63. That was pretty awesome to hear, especially from a person I love and respect so much. So I guess I should just remember that!

It's March!

I have always loved the month of March. As a kid, I loved it because it's my birthday month. As an adult, I love it because I've gotten so used to loving it, and because now I share my birthday month with my older daughter. The most important reason is because once we make it to March, that means spring is almost here and we're almost free of the evil shackles of winter. After hating February so intensely for so long, it's odd that I now have a reason to enjoy it thanks to the birth of my second daughter on February 3.

I am so glad it's almost spring. Despite some unseasonably warm weather, this has been a tough winter for me and for my family. I am glad for the longer days (that will come almost a month sooner thanks to our ridiculous president - I think that's like the only good thing he's done!), the tulips, the sweet smell that will soon fill the air. I do love spring.

In baby news, I think she has developed a bit of a witching hour. In the daytime she sleeps and sleeps, and in the evening she eats and eats until my bedtime around 10 or 11. It's hard to get her to settle down in the evening, even though during the day she falls asleep in my arms after every feeding. But I wouldn't go so far as to call her fussy. Far from it. She is just figuring out what life is like on this crazy planet when you're outside your mommy's uterus! I just finished putting my older one to bed and I can hear the mewling of the hungry baby. I guess it's boobie time!

Wow, she's three weeks old already

And here we are at three weeks, in a pretty good zone! I remember the same thing from my first daughter - that at three weeks, suddenly I felt like I knew what I was doing and that the baby had gotten into a good rhythm. Even though this baby has been insanely easy and the adjustment hasn't been nearly as tough, I do feel like now that we've reached the three-week mark, there is a general comfort level we've achieved.

My older daughter is still feeling her way through this experience. She is doing remarkably well considering she had both of us to herself for almost four years, but she definitely has some tough moments. She is having a lot of trouble listening, and doing the things we ask her to do, but the good thing is she is taking out her displeasure on me and my husband, not on the baby. She absolutely adores the baby. She can't stop kissing and hugging her. It is so sweet! I know she'll get used to everything, she just needs time. And honestly, I don't have a ton to complain about. I do miss how connected she and I were before the baby - I know that it's just a matter of time and getting used to the new way things are. And I'm sure when my crazy hormones calm down I'll be better at dealing with everything.

Today it is slushy and gross out, and I have to go to the dentist. So I need to time the baby's feeding so she sleeps through the dentist appt. She is generally pretty good about that so hopefully it will be OK today.

So that is all for now. Life continues to be good. I am thankful for that!

A really special weekend

The house feels so quiet now. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law visited this weekend and got to hang out with the brand-new baby. They stayed with us in our recently redone guest room and it was so much fun to have a full house. We had a little get-together in honor of the new baby yesterday and that was just lovely. Many of our friends had not met her yet, so it was great for them to see her for the first time, and as always, she was a perfect angel. She is such an easy baby - I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop! So far she is just the mellowest sweetest little thing. I love it!

Tomorrow things will start going back to normal - hubby has to go back to work, and all the houseguests are gone. Our older daughter's school is on a break though so she'll be around - my aunt is visiting from out of town and I think she is going to take her on an adventure so that will be good. I will be able to have some time alone with the baby. The entire weekend, I only got to hold the baby at feeding time, because everyone else was having so much fun playing pass the baby. It was nice to get a break for a few days, since she usually spends all day in my arms, but I'll be glad to get her back all to myself again.

She is doing so great - I think I forgot to post about her first doctor's appointment! It was last week, when she was 10 days old. At birth she was 8 pounds, 6 ounces, and the doctor told me that the goal for the first doctor's visit is for the baby to get back up to his/her birth weight. My daughter obviously has had no trouble with the weight gain thing, because at age 10 days she was already 9 pounds 3 ounces. I guess I am an efficient milk factory! My older daughter was the same - at 10 days old she had gained 14 ounces.  He said everything looks great with her and all is well.

Right now she is sitting in a baby seat trying to decide whether she wants to get full-out fussy, or fall back asleep on her own. Already sometimes in the night after a feeding I can put her down while she's still awake and she'll fall asleep herself, so I'm interested to see what she'll decide to do now. It sounds like she might be too awake already - might be feeding time again! Her dad is going to see if some Daddy Cuddle Time will help.

Not much else to report - just the usual stuff for a family with a two-week-old and an almost-four-year-old. Oh, no, there is something else - I've lost about 25 pounds! That's about half the total baby weight, so that's pretty great! I'm still wearing maternity clothes but I am hoping some of my old fat jeans will fit again soon! Yesterday I wore heels for the first time in almost a year, and also contact lenses. I almost felt human again.

So that's the news from here. Aside from some crying jags every now and then, and some drama from the older daughter, I really can't complain too much at all.

Cures for cabin fever

Yesterday our daughter was eight days old and she went out for the first time. I had been getting very antsy from being stuck in the house, and we had some errands we needed to run. We also needed some family time away from the changing table and burp cloth brigade. We bundled everyone up and took our first drive as a family of four. It was funny re-learning the intricacies of the stroller and snap-in carrier, but once we got started we remembered how everything worked. The baby slept a lot, and the conveniently woke up for her feeding as we were all sitting down to lunch at a local steak house type restaurant. I nursed her at the table and I don't think anyone in the place even realized it. I remember with my older daughter, nursing in public was a huge step for me and I don't think I did it until she was at least a month old. This time it was no big deal at all. There is something to be said for knowing how to do this stuff!

Today I am at home alone with the baby and we're having a relaxing day. I put her down in the bassinet while I took a shower and I even had time to dry my hair partway. She is the easiest baby! I had her in the sling for a while but she was uncomfortable so I let her out and now she's just asleep on my chest. I think we'll go watch some TV for a while. I'm not doing any work today either. I can work tomorrow when my mom is here helping out. Today I'm just going to enjoy being quiet and still.

Life with baby

I gotta say, we're doing really well! Today is my first day alone with the baby (not even all day, my dear friend Jess is coming over this afternoon to hang out) and I'm doing just fine. I even got to take a shower while the baby rested in her bassinet. My husband had to go back to work today and my mom wasn't available to spend the day, so it was just me. But unlike last time, when I was terrified to be alone with the baby until she was about three weeks old - not because I thought anything would happen to her but because I was so intimidated by babies, having never spent any time with them at all before I had my own - this time I feel awesome. We are having a lovely, relaxing morning together.

First I had breakfast and checked email. Then we went upstairs to my room and she nursed while I watched DVDs of Friends (I'm already halfway through season 10!), and then when she seemed sufficiently quiet, I swaddled her and took a quick shower. Then another nursing, another Friends, and now here we are. Jess is bringing me a sandwich so I don't have to worry about lunch. I think I'll make some tea. I also decided to take a break from checking my work email today (yes, I've been checking it most days - I don't want to have to read 300 new messages all at once. I'd rather keep up with it and forward stuff that's important to the people who can deal with it).

So far, it looks like we have a real winner in this baby. She only cries when she's hungry. Yes, I know she's only five days old and there's plenty of time for her to decide to be a fussy one, but I'm enjoying her lovely temperament now. My boobs are absolutely enormous from my rather overzealous milk production factory - same thing happened with my first daughter - so I'll be glad when the factory realizes we only have one baby to feed, not an entire litter. But the baby learned how to nurse so quickly - she latches on beautifully and I'm not in the excruciating mind-blowing pain I was in when I was first nursing my other daughter. I think this time I actually know what I'm doing! It's a nice feeling.

Sleeping is also going pretty well. Last night she woke up only twice, and she has learned how to nurse while lying down, which is my all-time favorite nursing position because it means I can sleep while she's eating. So I'm thinking we have a pretty good thing going here!

I lost 16 pounds the first day and I'm now down almost 20 since Saturday, so that is good. Only 40 more to go..............

Anyway, I guess that's the status of things right now. Life is good! And I have two beautiful daughters. I don't think I could ask for anything more.

Thank you so much!

Thanks to Cecily for posting updates and to all of you for your happy messages about our little girl's entrance into this world. It has been an amazing couple of days and we are so thrilled to have fourth member of our family. I am working on writing down the birth story before I forget, and will post with that as soon as I have it done.

I did have this baby naturally, as I did my first, which was an incredible - albeit extremely painful! - experience, and we had the support of the wonderful midwives and nurses at our local birth center. We also have the world's best almost-4-year-old, who is totally thrilled to be a big sister and is handling this transition so well. My parents also have been amazing, spending so much time at our house to help out. And I'm already having much more success with breastfeeding at this early stage than I did the first time around, with my older daughter (how cool is that to say - my OLDER daughter!) - I'm much better at it this time and more confident.

Anyway the baby needs her diaper changed and I need to go to bed but I'll post more tomorrow. Thanks again!