Cold Spaghetti

Will has his doctor’s kit and is examining Paul. Will is very serious about using the otoscope and is looking closely and carefully into Paul’s ear. Paul asks, “Do you see any brains in there?” Will puts down the otoscope, looks Paul seriously in the eye, and very matter-of-factly says, “No.”

*****
Will and I are sitting at the kitchen table about to have lunch. Will suddenly turns to me with his finger as far up his left nostril as it can possibly go. “Gotta big one up there,” he says, “I gonna get it.”

*****
Will is in the pool chair being pushed around the pool by my Dad. I sit down at the shallow end of the pool with my feet in the water. My Dad pushes Will’s chair down to the other end, where Will suddenly turns, looks around the edge of the chair, and calls out to me, “How you doin’ back there?”

*****
Will and I are in the shower as part of his bedtime routine. When we are done and getting ready to squeege off the shower door, Will turns his back to the door and presses his butt cheeks against it, holding for a few seconds. Then he turns to the round twin orbs floating in the steamed glass and says, “Look Mommy, bummy print!”

*****
Paul, Kate, and I got back from my doctor’s appointment during Will’s naptime after being gone all day. Kate and I immediately went upstairs to rest, where we both fell asleep. I woke up with Will, who had just woken up from his nap, patting my belly.
“Mommy see doctor?” he asked me.
“Yes, Will,” I said, “Mommy went to the doctor.”
“Mommy’s belly boo-boo all better?”
“Mommy’s belly boo-boo is a little better, but it is still sick.”
“Aw, Mommy” he says. Then leans down and gives my belly a big kiss.

2006 05 27

Agents: Take Note!

My Dad reads Will a bedtime story each night. They both love it. Last night, my Dad carried Will up, they stopped into our room to say night-night to Baby Kate and I, and then sat in the family room (right off of our bedroom) to read their story. Will picked “The Lorax.” I could hear their muted voices from where I sat nursing Kate.

Barely a few moments had passed when my Dad called over to me, “Holly, are you hearing this? I am not even believing this!” So Kate and I went to investigate.

My Dad opened to the first page of the story and read:

“At the far end of town where the Grickle-grass grows…” and paused. And Will piped up:
“…and the wind smells sweet and sour when it blows
and no birds ever sing excepting old crows
is the Street of the Lifted Lorax.”

My Dad turned the page. As if on cue, Will continued:
“And deep in the Grickle-grass, some people say,
if you look deep enough you can still see, today,
where the Lorax once stood
just as long as it could
before somebody lifted the Lorax away…”

Yes. Our son, barely 2 1/2 years old, has memorized “The Lorax.” This is not completely new, as he’s memorized parts of other favorite books (most notably, the “Where’s my Cow” book that he loves to read with Paul). He routinely picks up favorite books to “read” to us where he’ll recite favorite lines as he randomly flips pages, but not word-for-word and start-to-finish. Moreover, Dr. Seuss is supremely more difficult a vernacular to master. And he was getting it practically word for word. And he is 2. (*TWO!*) And he seems to truly know the entire book.

They continued to read the book together. My Dad would read one line and Will would recite the next. It was astounding. I called Paul up to check it out. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long; Paul brought in the video camera and once Will saw the camera, it was basically over. Will began to ham for the camera (doing his best monkey imitation) and wanting to look behind the lense (he is obsessed with cameras). So, we’re working on a system of hiding the camera in the room before storytime to better capture this phenomenal act.

He’s TWO!

2006 05 26

What’s up Doc?

Yesterday was my 2-week follow up with Dr. Maher, the friendly OB who performed my last section. I’m okay to have other babies, but will always be a c-section birth. My major organs are okay, just “tacked” up and scarred from the first section (what Dr. Maher called a “resident” mistake where young surgeons overzealously just sew up much more than is necessary). My bladder is the biggest change and so blessedly noticeable… he worked through the scarring and moved it in order to get into my uterus (had this been an emergency under the clock, he would have had to slice through my bladder)… now going to the bathroom actually feels normal again! (I had thought the changes were just a normal part of having a baby.)

We had a *wonderful* visit at Baptist hospital and medical center — this is by far the most positive and friendly medical environment we’ve ever seen. While waiting for copies of Kate and my medical records, we had lunch in the cafeteria (complete with a free jutebox for fun tunes), stopped by billing where a staff member offered to help us navigate and possibly reduce(!) our bill, visited our day nurse, Mary, and stopped in on the lactation consultants. One of the LC’s worked with us on positioning Kate to help with the forceful letdown problems. It was very helpful to have someone look at us nursing and give suggestions and advice. If only I could get my hands on one of their awesome nursing chairs!

Final report: all is well and we are okay!

2006 05 26

On the right track.

A lactation consultant from Baptist Hospital (where Kate was born) called today to check in with us. I confessed to our problems with oversupply and forceful letdown reflex. She asked about symptoms, agreed with my assessment, and I explained my current attack mode:

– Block nursing (nursing only one side for several hours at a time)
– Nursing with Kate in a position above the breast
– Trying to express only when absolutely necessary
– Expressing mid-feed when spraying/when Kate gets upset

“Wow,” she said, “you could do my job.”

2006 05 24

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Postpartum Report: Two weeks

Weighing in at a whopping 9 pounds, 14 ounces*, Kate is two weeks old today. Here is our two week postpartum report, in a nutshell.

Cool beans:
– Enjoying every detail of her: the feel of her little body on mine, the sound of her breathing, the smiles she makes in her sleep
– Falling in love: with a new person plus with Will and Paul all over again
– Learning why two is so much better than one
– Not worried about Will adjusting
– Enjoying an easy baby with little fussing… even with the discomfort she’s experiencing
– Having Paul and Mom around all day to help (and Dad in evenings!)
– Boppy pillow, Lansinoh Lanolin, Huge nursing sleep bras
– Pacifiers (we’re temporarily using a nuk and have the nursing friendly gerber gentle-flex coming from drugstore.com)
– Not crying every single day
– Not having to finger feed
– Supportive messages from family and friends

Still sucking:
– Oversupply and engorgement, florceful let down
– Boobs still sore
– Kate’s discomfort due to the above
– Kate’s *very* active bowels as a result of the above
– Feeling like I want to cry, scream, and throw up as a result of the above
– Hemorroids (worst ever!)
– Itchy incision mark
– Figuring out how to fit all of us in one bed
– Wanting to do more (play with Will, go out on errands) but body not being ready or able to handle it
– Understanding how fleeting these days and moments are

*The standard weight gain for the first two weeks is approximately 1/2-1 ounce per day. 12 days ago when we left the hospital, Kate weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces less than her birth weight. Problem with oversupply? YEAH.

2006 05 23

Why Why Why Why WHY????

WHY must everything be a struggle??

We’ve started having nursing problems. I’ve been slowly coming to the realization — despite my hesitance in pumping and careful control of expression — that I’m making too much milk and have problems with forceful let down. Kate has been struggling (particularly on one side) for the last couple of days. Last night was a terrible cycle of poor nursing and upset tummy — classically described here. With Will, I pumped for hours and hours for months — MONTHS! — crying, depressed, miserable, desperate to make enough and never coming close. I have another pregnancy and see my greatest dream — a vaginal birth — disappear. But I can be okay this time, because I can actually nurse. Now, it’s clear I’m going to have to fight this time, too. I’m about to loose my mind.

2006 05 23

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