Uncommon Julia

It Was a Good Day

Today was Hannah's baptism.  It was lovely.  Michele came.  She brought a gift - photos she took during our first in-person visit last week. 

The weather cleared today for the first time since the Antediluvian days. (See, I can still use big words!)  Hannah fit in my baptism dress just perfectly and she donned the bonnet I wore to my baptism, carried pinned to my skirt during my wedding, and used for Thomas's hosptial baptism. 

She behaved angelically.  Everyone ooohed and ahhhed, as they should (because she's simply the best baby ever, and you can't tell me otherwise).  We had friends and family filling the pew and my congregation was wholeheartedly thrilled to see her after six long weeks of waiting.

The congregation promised to teach her to be a good human being, to love others and be helpful, to look out for others, and to love God.  Todd and I watched and promised to do the same.  Our Pastor hugged and cuddled her as she poured water on her forehead.  And as she presented Hannah to the congregation, Hannah spit up on her.  And no one minded in the least.

I cried a little.  I smiled a lot.

Like I said, it was a good day.

May God bless you and give you a day like this sometime soon.

The Times, They Are A'Changin'

So as I mentioned, yesterday was Hannah's one-month birthday. And already I understand what other mothers were talking about when they lament their children's all too rapid growth and development.

Her little skinny legs aren't nearly so skinny. As of today she weighs 8 lbs. 7 oz. - two pounds more than birth. She's grown two and a half inches in length. She has these amazing dark, long eyelashes that appeared over the past two weeks. Her fingernails grow so quickly that I find myself clipping them every few days. Her cheeks have filled out. Her hair is even longer than at birth, if that's possble.

She's discovered her hands and tries, with moderate success, to put her thumb or fingers in her mouth. Her eyes are blue-er by the day and she is more alert for longer periods of time.

All of this is to say that I am amazed every hour by her.

And that I cried three times last night at the thought of her growing up. In a good way.

Buyer's Remorse

So before Hannah came, I had decided that I could probably just rely on a simple hand pump instead of getting one of those pricey electric pumps.  I work from home and I was hopeful that breastfeeding would go smoothly, and thus, I wouldn't really need a fancy pump. 

But then the lactation consultant bemoaned the falacy of manual pumps, emphasizing that by the time you figure out that they suck (and not in the way you need them to) it's too late to return them and you'll have to go buy the expensive kind anyway.  And then the NICU happened and we didn't get to feed Hannah for three days.  I was stuck in our room desperately vacuuming colostrum and then suffering from a raging case of engorgement when my milk came in like gang busters and the pump just couldn't get the job done.

I decided that I'd have to break down and buy an electric double pump, even though someone had already purchased the Avent Isis pump for me and it sat at home in the cupboard.  I just knew that we'd have problems with latching and I'd need to rely heavily on pumping.  Afterall, we'd broken all the cardinal rules for successful breastfeeding, including the biggie: GET THE INFANT ON THE BREAST WITHIN AN HOUR OF BIRTH.

Fast forward one month and Hannah is nursing like a pro - skipping all of the difficulty I just knew was headed our way.  The only problem we face is that I'm a sorry pumper.  My right breast will come to the show, but only for the let-down phase, which lasts about two minutes.  I have to turn the thing off and then back on repeatedly to get any milk.  The lefty is a complete no-show for the pump, even though Hannah has no problem with it.

So when Julie posted her Grammy post with the Isis pump out in front, I had to ask her opinion.  After a glowing report from her, I broke out the hand pump last night, and damned if it isn't better!  It doesn't hurt.  My breasts produce even more than on the electric pump.  Both boobs.  It's quiet and I can sit wherever without needing an outlet nearby.  It's kind of cool because I can clearly see all the milk coming out (I'm a little nerdy that way).

So now, I have a $300 electic pump that is virtually useless to me.  GRRR!

Any suggestions?  No?  I'm stuck?  Yeah, I figured.

_________________________________________

Hannah is one month old today!!

Happy Valentine's Day

We spent the day running errands.  But even that is eventful when you never leave the house.  We went shopping for a few new wardrobe staples for Todd, who, God willing will start his new job tomorrow.  We stopped for some lunch (at 3:30) afterward, and made it back home without any meltdowns or freakouts.  I even managed to feed Hannah while watching over Todd's selections in the dressing room.  It was a good day.

Yesterday was a big day, too.  I braved it on my own for the first time.  Hannah and I decided at the last minute to attend a friend's baby shower.  We actually bathed, dressed, made it to Target to get the gift,  and arrived at the shower only 10 minutes late.  While at the shower I performed my first breastfeeding in public feat, with no major catastrophes.  Hannah was great.  She stayed in her carrier most of the time and we tried not to distract from the main purpose of the event - the mother-to-be.  We left a wee bit early, and made it home in time for a feeding and nap.

I think I'll be staying in for the next few days so as not to press my luck in the realm of baby outings.

A side note: It has occurred to me that this blog has instantly turned into a "mommy blog".  I haven't talked about any issues, controversies, upheavals, or for that matter, anything of substance in weeks.  But I'm not apologizing.  This is who I am right now.  I still care about everything I've been passionate about in the past, but I haven't the time to think about anything but baby spit up at the moment.  And that's fine by me.

A few more pictures for those of you who are still tolerating my blatant baby drooling:

This is from the "whoever smelt it dealt it" file:

"I'm gonna knock you out. Momma said knock you out."

Um, Stuff.

As you can tell by the title of the post, I am still in the depths of sleep deprivation and slovenliness.

We've switched Hannah to prilosec as of yesterday, and we think things are improving a bit.  Maybe.  I wish the medicine could do something about the sheer quantity of spit-up, instead of only treating the pain associated with the acidity of it.  I didn't anticipate that all her thoroughly cute outfits would be covered by bibs and eeeww.  Though, at this point, I'd do anything not to hear her scream after each burp.

________________________________________

Thanks to everyone for your advice on nursing clothes and bras.  It's all valuable.  As soon as our cash situation loosens up a bit, I'll be doing some shopping online. 

________________________________________

Yes, Hannah's binky did recieve a good chewing by someone other than her.  Apparently, our dogs like the vanilla scent.  Not to worry - it was sanitized before we gave it back to her.  It's now permanently lost, though, and replaced by another intact one.

________________________________________

My two friends and their eight-month-olds are going to swing by to visit tonight.  It'll be nice to be around people who are totally approving of my attire and the state of disorder in my house.

________________________________________

Before you bestow too much praise on me, I should point out that the jeans I'm wearing in that picture of me and my family are maternity jeans.  In fact, they are the very jeans I wore to the hospital to have her.  So no one should be overly impressed.

________________________________________

Monday was Hannah's due date (and Julie's Charlie, too).  She turned three weeks old!  THREE WEEKS!  How did that happen?

________________________________________

Here's a parting shot for you:  Me three days before delivery

__________________________________________

And here's a little more of Hannah - the doc says she thinks her eyes will stay blue:

_____________________________________________

That's all I can squeeze out in the form of rational thoughts right now.

How Do They Do It?

I can't help but notice that other new moms in the blogosphere are still maintaining their blogs.  That's right.  Even Tertia, who's rightly overwhelmed by two little newborns is still posting on a regular basis.

This raises a question for me: HOW?!

Seriously.  I think my baby is very even tempered, as newborns go, and aside from an issue with reflux, she seems to be an "easy" baby.  And yet, I can't find the time to post about the million and one things that pop into my head (fleeting though they may be) to blog about.

There's laundry to do.  And paraphenalia to be sterilized.  There's nipple cream and bra pads and deciding what outfit to wear of my three options.  Mostly, there's this to stare at in awe and wonder:

So, I repeat: How do they do it?

______________________________________________

My mom left yesterday.  So far I haven't had a major meltdown.  My husband is doing a bang-up job of helping out.  I'm still bracing for colic or some other crisis.

______________________________________________

My grandparents came to visit late a few days ago.  We got some great intergenerational photos.  I wish they were all in better health so as to enjoy this with a bit less inconvenience.

_______________________________________________

I went to buy some nursing tops yesterday so I can leave the house on occassion without looking... well, like a walking milk dispenser.  The pickings are slim, ladies.  Real slim.

I also bought another nursing bra that has a wee bit more support and makes me a bit more presentable in fitted shirts.  I narrowly avoided having to buy a size that didn't quite fit when I LEAKED ALL OVER IT!  Seriously, the deed was done in a mere matter of seconds.  Quite embarrassing.  I put bra pads in immediately for the next few tries.

___________________________________________

I found Gripe Water!  They had it at a specialty boutique that had a big (but not good) selection of nursing tops.  It was at the counter when we were checking out.  We tried it a few times so far, but it hasn't really helped.   I'm willing to bet that it just isn't strong enough to make a dent in the acid reflux problem.

Hopefully, the Zantac our Pedi perscribed will, though.

___________________________________________

Did I mention that my mother is gone?

___________________________________________

My husband thought it would be nice to have a few (very few) people over for the Super Bowl since we can't really go anywhere. (Our pediatrician has advised that we keep Banana away from crowds and public places due to her less than stellar respiratory start in this world.)

I said sure.  Then it dawned on me last night that the Super Bowl is an evening event.  I may well take the kid and bow out at half time.

___________________________________________

I finally got to check the post office box that Shelba set up for me to receive all the lovely gifts and cards you sent.  THANK YOU!

I promise that proper thank you notes will be forthcoming... at some point.

Also, I failed to give a big shout out to Andreah for designing the whole shower blog in the first place.  But then, we all know she rocks already.

___________________________________________

Did I mention that my mother is gone?

Banana-palooza

You asked for it, you got it: