kapachino

Category: motherhood

  • meredith at five months

    She:

    >Has this adorable habit of sucking on her first two fingers of her right hand and draping her left arm over her face. I think it’s our favorite thing, and it usually means she’s sleepy.

    >Will suck anything in the vicinity of her face with vigor! Has no teeth yet, and seems to actually be drooling less than a month ago.

    >Has become so much more interactive in the last couple of weeks, moving more, babbling more, moving purposefully more…it’s so fun. She recognizes my husband now too and looks straight into our eyes.

    >Is wearing all 6-month clothes and medium cloth diapers.

    >Has these nicknames: Mermaid, The Maid, Sweetie, Rooster, Baby, That Rat (my husband…I don’t know).

    >Discovered her feet, and likes to grab them both at the same time during diaper changes. She also likes to violently kick both of her legs, which makes changing her difficult and bath time extremely splashy.

    >Went on her first road trip, to Austin and back in the same day, and slept through all but 45 minutes of it.

    >Still loves strangers and shows no anxiety about being away from her parents.

    >Got sick AGAIN which is one of the worst things ever. Double ear infection this time. Took antibiotics without much of a problem once we got the hang of it.

    >Is kiiind of starting a bedtime routine. After her bath I nurse her and rock her to sleep, put her in the crib, stick her fingers in her mouth, and she’s good! Then I totally bring her back to my bed when it’s time for me to go to sleep.

    Crying…to smiling:

    I:

    >Haven’t done ANY of my Christmas shopping yet. (It’s in five days!) This is an indicator of the state of my life right now.

    >Feel so accomplished when I am able to lay Meredith in her crib to sleep at night, and I still have time to myself before I go to bed. But I miss her then, too.

    >Am finally to the point where I am starting to be able to think about maybe possibly cooking dinners again. But only if they’re recipes where I can just throw things in the Crock Pot and turn it on.

    >Can distinguish between all her different cries now, and have named them. There is The Whine, The Attention-Getter, The Quack (this one means she’s really serious and is commonly accompanied by tears), The Hiccup (if The Quack is not promptly attended to), The Gurgle (things have gotten really out of hand), and all sorts of combinations.

    >Am STILL so emotional because of her. No one should let me read or watch anything having to do with babies or children. Even if it’s happy! I WILL cry. (Example: The end of Breaking Dawn Part 1. That’s just embarrassing.)

    >Am so happy I finally figured out how to give Meredith her medicine! I squirt a little in her mouth with the syringe and then stick her fingers in her mouth and she sucks. Repeat the process until it’s done.

    >Feel like I’m in a constant state of unimaginable joy, but sometimes sorrow deeper than I ever expected springs up out of nowhere, as if I’m losing Meredith already. It’s probably part fear and part excessive nostalgia, but whatever it is, I don’t like it.

    >Know that becoming a mom has changed and influenced me profoundly, I hope for the better.

    Growing too fast!

    For reference:

    No months
    One month
    Two months
    Three months
    Four months

  • Review: Just In Case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado

    I’m trying to build Meredith’s book collection because I want her to love reading as much as I do. So I was really happy when I saw that BookSneeze had a children’s book up for review, especially one by Max Lucado. I’m a fan of his other children’s books but this one was new.

    The book is told by the point of view of a parent who is telling their child the story of how God made her special and chose just the right home for her. Then it looks back on the child as a baby, happily reminiscing and then commenting on how she’s grown. But mainly it emphasizes that the parent loves the child very, very much and will always be there for her. Just the kinds of things that are so important for children to hear.

    I really love reading this to Meredith and I almost always tear up at some point. Even though she doesn’t understand the words yet, I hope she understands that she is loved and safe with us. I love that it teaches her about God, and that it tells her to trust us. I’m looking forward to when the words will have more meaning to her.

    Be aware that it does talk about heaven, which might lead to thoughts or questions about death, so some kids might need to be a little older to understand. (Although I’m not sure – I only have a baby, what do I know!) Also, it goes into some things that the child might be afraid of or sad about, and although the purpose is to provide reassurance, I can see how it might put ideas into a young child’s head. But again, I only have a baby and I don’t know how she’ll react to it when she gets older.

    Overall I think it has a wonderful message and one that I feel very strongly about. I’m keeping this one around for sure.

    ***

    Note: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

  • Holiday Weekend Fallout and November Good Things

    This really should be broken up into two or three posts, but since time to blog is hard to come by these days I’m smashing it all together here. So, onward:

    The long Thanksgiving weekend was wonderful. So much time spent with the family, especially quality time with Meredith. By the end of the weekend I really felt connected to her again. And she saw Santa:

    Meredith and Santa

    It was kind of impromptu. We were visiting a Christmas tree farm with David’s family, even though we didn’t get a tree (we’re getting a secondhand fake one this year). But we wanted to go to hang out with them and see our nephews, plus we wanted to get into the spirit of things. It was actually cold out, I drank an apple cider, bought an ornament, and Santa was there. Meredith told him that she wants new carpet in the house before she learns to crawl.

    ***

    Oh, so anyway, the long weekend was awesome but going back to work/daycare has been ROUGH. Meredith was fussy at daycare for three days and isn’t napping as well, and at home with us at night she wants to be held constantly. As for me, I’m back to nearly crying when I drop her off, and if I’m late getting home I feel sick about it.

    ***

    For Thanksgiving I contributed one dish to each family dinner. For my family I baked macaroni and cheese. My greedy little brothers took all the leftovers home with them and left us with none. For my husband’s side, I made a chocolate sheet cake, mostly because I wanted to eat it. I guess that’s how everyone felt about dessert though, because there was a lot of it. Most of my sheet cake was left, so I just had it sitting at home in the kitchen all weekend. WAY too easy to just eat a few bites every time I walked by it. By Monday, I was kind of disgusted by myself. It took much willpower, but I threw the rest away. And I’ve been eating less this week, and hardly any sweets because I’ve GOT to shake these cravings. I’m sick of not fitting in all of my clothes. Next step is to break out the 30-day Shred.

    ***

    Here’s another video I took of Meredith over the weekend:

    ***

    Now for some good things that happened in November. Because it’s DECEMBER now!

    1 – Watching GG (David’s grandmother) hold Meredith.

    2 – In bed by 9:00 p.m.

    3 – Day off because of Meredith being sick, lots of relaxing and getting things done, David bringing me flowers.

    4 – A really smooth day at work and getting to leave early.

    5 –  Seeing Carmen, one of my best friends, and her fiance Steve who live in Austin.

    6 –  Lots of (sick) snuggles from Meredith.

    7 –  Leaving work early to be with Meredith & the feeling of her needing me.

    8 – Meredith is healthy enough to go to daycare; seeing Nicole, a high school friend, and her son James.

    9 – Taking care of a “difficult” patient with no problems.

    10 – Getting off work early again; David bringing me a brownie with dinner.

    11 – Chatting with my parents after work when I picked up Meredith.

    12 – Cleaning, massage, pedicure.

    13 – Lunch with my parents, our dog Oliver (who they are keeping) lying in my lap.

    14 –  Quiet reading time in the evening.

    15 – Finishing work early, Meredith nursing a lot.

    16 – David’s sweet protective text in the morning.

    17 –  An inspiring conference for work.

    18 – A first-time chemo patient who was crying from anxiety when she came in ended her day laughing.

    19 – A wedding shower for a church friend & seeing old friends.

    20 – Dinner at Lupe’s with all the Forbes kids.

    21 – Getting to do injections at work & leave early

    22 – A glowing report of health from the doctor for Meredith.

    23 – Beating my brothers in plasma car races.

    24 – Thanksgiving!

    25 –  Day of recovery lying around doing nothing.

    26 – Cracker Barrel & Target with David.

    27 – Christmas tree farm with David’s family.

    28 – Back to our routine, Meredith napping in my arms.

    29 – Time to catch up on blogs and browse Pinterest.

    30 –  Quality time with David after work.

  • meredith at four months

    She:

    >Weighs 15 pounds, 3 ounces and is 25 inches long (near the 75th percentile for both)!

    >Could fill a lake with all her drool (this is my least favorite part of babies I think).

    >Looooves her hands, especially when they’re in her mouth.

    >Also loves being naked, and is starting to actively resist a new diaper.

    >Is interested in toys now! She reaches for them and stuffs them in her mouth and hugs them. So cute.

    >Smiles unfailingly when we hold her up to the mirror next to our faces.

    >Had her first real sickness requiring a doctor visit and time home from daycare. It was bronchiolitis and it was not fun for any of us.

    >Will actually take a pacifier now, sometimes, which was a big help while she was sick.

    >Does this whine/grunt hybrid thing when she’s feeling particularly needy, and it’s pretty annoying except that she’s still super cute while doing it.

    >Has hair like a horse’s mane or a rooster.

    >Wakes up earlier than she used to, around 5-6 a.m. She squirms, blinks her eyes, stares, and then smiles hugely when she sees me.

    I:

    >Have been feeling weirdly disconnected from Meredith lately and I don’t like it! Thankfully we have the long weekend coming up for Thanksgiving to spend time together.

    >Heard her laugh a few times (best thing EVER), and saw her roll over once, front to back!

    >Really need to go clothes shopping because it doesn’t look like I’ll be fitting into my old wardrobe anytime soon.

    >Got all excited to start running with Meredith in the jogging stroller, but then realized that by the time I get home from work now, it’s already dark outside.

    >Have been in the mood to finally decorate our bedroom, but don’t have the time or money.

    >Love mornings with Meredith most of all, even on work days.

    >Am really looking forward to the holidays with her around.

    For reference:

    No months
    One month
    Two months
    Three months

  • a day in the life of this working mom

    1:00 AM – Meredith nurses, then back to sleep
    5:00 AM – My alarm goes off. Meredith nurses again and I press snooze a few times.
    5:27 AM – Time to get out of bed & get ready! Meredith is still sleeping so I get dressed and get breakfast prepared.
    5:50 AM  – Get Meredith up and dressed.
    6:00 AM – Say goodbye to David and make sure he gets out of bed.
    6:07 AM – Leave the house!

    6:10 AM – Drop Meredith at daycare and linger for a few minutes.
    6:14 AM – Leave daycare and start the drive to work.
    6:56 AM – Park at the remote lot and get on the train.7:08 AM – The train drops me off.
    7:14 AM – Arrive at work too early to clock in. Put things away in my locker and go get my patient assignment.
    7:23 AM – Clock in on the computer and start getting things ready for patients to arrive.
    7:45 AM – My first patient arrives.
    8:20 AM – Start the infusion & go pump.
    8:40 AM – Back at my desk I chart, check work email, and do open enrollment.
    9:29 AM – Discharge patient 1.
    9:35 AM – Patient 2 arrives.
    10:10 AM – Discover one of my patients is in the hospital.
    10:18 AM – There is a delay with patient 2 due to order clarification so I start on chart audits.
    10:27 AM – My dad visits Meredith at daycare and sends me pictures!   11:05 AM – Infusion started on patient 2.
    11:20 AM – Patient 3 arrives.
    12:00 PM – Discharge patient 2.
    12:15 PM – Patient 4 arrives.
    12:37 PM – Start patient 4’s infusion.
    1:04 PM – Start patient 3’s infusion (are you confused yet?).
    1:05 PM – Pumping again!
    1:25 PM – Eat lunch & read2:00 PM – Discharge patient 3. Chart & continue audits.
    2:46 PM – Start second infusion on patient 4.
    4:00 PM – Pass off the patient to another nurse and pump one last time.
    4:13 PM – Clock out!
    4:25 PM – Back on the train.
    4:35 PM – In my car, headed a different route home due to traffic.5:27 PM – Arrive at daycare to pick Meredith up. Have a conversation with the afternoon worker about her cloth diaper sizes. (The afternoon lady has OPINIONS.)

    5:36 PM – Finally home. Do chores to prepare for tomorrow while Meredith sits in her Bumbo.
    6:00 PM – Diaper change o’clock.
    6:10 PM – I have some cereal for dinner while I nurse Meredith because we’re both starving!
    6:25 PM – Do some reading on the couch.
    7:00 PM – Go to La Leche League. I bring Meredith and she nurses & sleeps. (On other days during this time I’d either be reading, watching TV, or at a family member’s house for dinner.)
    8:10 PM – After the meeting I talk with my friend Sara for awhile.
    9:00 PM – Home again. Put the diapers into the wash (oops, forgot about this earlier) & nurse Meredith while David takes my car to get gas.
    9:17 PM – Give Meredith a bath.
    9:30 PM – Diaper, dress, and nurse Meredith. We’re running behind because of the meeting, so I seriously consider skipping my shower.
    9:42 PM – Put the diapers into the dryer, then take a shower (mostly because I knew I was recording this day), and David hangs out with Meredith.
    10:00 PM – Blow-dry my hair (hate).
    10:17 PM – Get in bed and nurse Meredith to sleep!This was a fairly typical day, except that I’m usually in bed around 8 or 9. It’s manageable, but by Friday I’m certainly ready for the weekend!