Well, we went to the last Red Wing home game last Wednesday, and what a game it was! The Wings came back from a 3-1 deficit to win 4-3, with 3 goals within minutes in the 3rd period (there was a good fight in there too). We also had passes into the Olympia Club, which is a member's only club. We still had to pay for everything, but it was cool to be in there. We also witnessed a way past her prime cougar and friend get kicked out for being drunk and belligerent. Good game all around ;)
Friday, we headed downtown for Opening Day. First stop - the Fillmore for drinks with my brother, sister-in-law, and friends. Over to Elwood to give my friends a parking pass. Then into the game where we froze our asses off! Headed into the beer hall for some warmth and snacks. After the game, went to Loco for some tasty Mexican food, then over to Astoria for the best dessert! A few went into Greektown to try their hand at lady luck, but I decided to wait outside. Finally, went and picked up JJ, and then over to my brother's for a bit so JJ's dad could give my nieces and nephews some trinkets he picked up at the ball park. Home again by 11PM. Whew... long day, but too much fun!
In JJ news - he got a good grip on holding his bottle on Easter Sunday, and really grabbed for it last night. I'm kind of relieved, but can't believe how big he is getting! So big in fact, that he pulled himself to the side of his pack & play and probably would have gone over if his dad hadn't have grabbed him. We also found this past Sunday that he has an obsession with the remote control. So much so that we tried to put him on the floor to see what he'd do, and he semi army crawled to get it! I guess it's good we found something to motivate him to crawl, but the remote? Who knew the love affair could start at such a young age...
I love to hear JJ laugh! The simplest things make him crack up. Yesterday, it was a game of me taking his burp cloth away from him and saying "whoosh". Laugh out loud giggles, sometimes so hard that his eyes would close :) Later in the night, JJ's dad and I were making our bed, so we laid him on it, and billowed the top sheet over him. Such excitement - eyes big, arms going! So cute!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Irritant
It's been a week since I've been out here. JJ is back to his normal self again. Today is the last day for the ointment, so that's kind of nice. In other JJ news, I could have sworn he said "ma ma" on Saturday, but not sure if he knew what it meant. I also had to take him to the doctor last Friday as he had been coughing all week, and not sleeping well. Turns out he has an ear infection... mmm, more of the yummy pink medicine for the next 1o days (eyes rolling).
We had a busy weekend. Friday night, we went to a birthday party for a friend and got some nice time with other adults. Saturday we went and attempted to pick out JJ's 6 month pictures (which were more like 7 month pictures as I am lazy), and we didn't get very far. Had them print up some of JJ with bunnies and eggs for the family we'd see Sunday. Then we went to my sister's to watch the NCAA final four game that MSU lost. Ha! (I am a U of M fan). Sunday, we went to church, then to lunch with JJ's dad's family, then back to their house, then back to my mom's. Dear Lord, that was a lot of driving!
Ok, so onto the irritant part. While at JJ's dad's family's house, JJ's aunt took a bunch of pictures of him. I get this as she's a first time aunt, and very excited that JJ is here on this earth. I did the same thing with my nieces and nephews. However, once we left the house, she proceeded to post all of these pictures on Facebook, and put "JJ's first Easter. It was last year on this day that we found out that there was going to be a little JJ. Now look at us!"
Um......
Does anyone else see anything wrong with this? First, she posted his first Easter pictures before I even had a chance to. Second, she put it out on Facebook for a bunch of people I don't know, and some that I do, when it was that I decided to tell everyone that I was pregnant. Third, she referred to him as "us". It just sounds like something I should be saying about the whole situation.
JJ's aunt and Facebook drive me nuts! She posts every single detail of her life, no matter how
mundane it may be, and often times posts other people's news without even giving it a second thought. Anytime JJ happens to be at their house (she lives at home with mom and dad, and other brother), she's posts about it. If she babysits, she posts about it. If I put pictures out, she re-posts them. I get that she's trying to be a good aunt, but she's stealing my thunder and pissing me off. I happen to think that she's also alienating my family and friends by all of her JJ posts.
I should have known she would be an issue when she friended me after only a month or two of me and JJ's dad dating. She then friended my friends that were at the hospital when JJ was born. She posted every excruciating detail of my labor and delivery.
JJ's dad said he'd say something to her because I told him what she had done this time with the Easter pics. Hopefully it will nip this in the bud. I hate to start a family feud over a person's inconsiderate Facebook habits. Ugh.
We had a busy weekend. Friday night, we went to a birthday party for a friend and got some nice time with other adults. Saturday we went and attempted to pick out JJ's 6 month pictures (which were more like 7 month pictures as I am lazy), and we didn't get very far. Had them print up some of JJ with bunnies and eggs for the family we'd see Sunday. Then we went to my sister's to watch the NCAA final four game that MSU lost. Ha! (I am a U of M fan). Sunday, we went to church, then to lunch with JJ's dad's family, then back to their house, then back to my mom's. Dear Lord, that was a lot of driving!
Ok, so onto the irritant part. While at JJ's dad's family's house, JJ's aunt took a bunch of pictures of him. I get this as she's a first time aunt, and very excited that JJ is here on this earth. I did the same thing with my nieces and nephews. However, once we left the house, she proceeded to post all of these pictures on Facebook, and put "JJ's first Easter. It was last year on this day that we found out that there was going to be a little JJ. Now look at us!"
Um......
Does anyone else see anything wrong with this? First, she posted his first Easter pictures before I even had a chance to. Second, she put it out on Facebook for a bunch of people I don't know, and some that I do, when it was that I decided to tell everyone that I was pregnant. Third, she referred to him as "us". It just sounds like something I should be saying about the whole situation.
JJ's aunt and Facebook drive me nuts! She posts every single detail of her life, no matter how
mundane it may be, and often times posts other people's news without even giving it a second thought. Anytime JJ happens to be at their house (she lives at home with mom and dad, and other brother), she's posts about it. If she babysits, she posts about it. If I put pictures out, she re-posts them. I get that she's trying to be a good aunt, but she's stealing my thunder and pissing me off. I happen to think that she's also alienating my family and friends by all of her JJ posts.
I should have known she would be an issue when she friended me after only a month or two of me and JJ's dad dating. She then friended my friends that were at the hospital when JJ was born. She posted every excruciating detail of my labor and delivery.
JJ's dad said he'd say something to her because I told him what she had done this time with the Easter pics. Hopefully it will nip this in the bud. I hate to start a family feud over a person's inconsiderate Facebook habits. Ugh.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
In other news...
Before the phone call from my sister-in-law, I had been talking to my sister about religion. Specifically, the fact that we were brought up in a Lutheran household, and have long carried the guilt that goes along with being raised that way. We talked about our kids, and what we should tell them as far as religion is concerned. Her kids are almost 11 and 13, so they are asking the deep questions. I still have some time as mine isn't even 1 yet.
Or so I thought.
It is a serious topic of discussion for my mother about when I am going to get JJ baptized. To be honest, I have been avoiding it. I don't want to pick Godparents as I don't want to alienate anyone, and I don't want to pick anyone because they think it is a given that they will be. I also don't want to talk to the pastor at the church I belong to, because I rarely go, and JJ's dad and I are not married but are living together. These are all things that are frowned upon in church life. To me, this event is more of a ritual than anything. Depending on who I pick, the Godparents would not necessarily be the same people that would raise JJ if I met an early demise. Again, as with making all necessary medical decisions for JJ, I need to just bite the bullet and do this.
My sister says that she has something to tell me, and that I am sworn to secrecy. Hmm - ok. She proceeds to tell me that our mother has baptized my son in the kitchen sink because she didn't want him to go any longer without it being done.
I don't know if I should laugh, cry, or be mad. Does my mother really think it is her right as a Christian to just go ahead and baptize him because I haven't done it yet? Would she just pluck an atheist's kid from the crowd and baptize him because the parents hadn't? What if I had decided I wasn't going to do it? Oh well, mom took care of that for me.
Or so I thought.
It is a serious topic of discussion for my mother about when I am going to get JJ baptized. To be honest, I have been avoiding it. I don't want to pick Godparents as I don't want to alienate anyone, and I don't want to pick anyone because they think it is a given that they will be. I also don't want to talk to the pastor at the church I belong to, because I rarely go, and JJ's dad and I are not married but are living together. These are all things that are frowned upon in church life. To me, this event is more of a ritual than anything. Depending on who I pick, the Godparents would not necessarily be the same people that would raise JJ if I met an early demise. Again, as with making all necessary medical decisions for JJ, I need to just bite the bullet and do this.
My sister says that she has something to tell me, and that I am sworn to secrecy. Hmm - ok. She proceeds to tell me that our mother has baptized my son in the kitchen sink because she didn't want him to go any longer without it being done.
I don't know if I should laugh, cry, or be mad. Does my mother really think it is her right as a Christian to just go ahead and baptize him because I haven't done it yet? Would she just pluck an atheist's kid from the crowd and baptize him because the parents hadn't? What if I had decided I wasn't going to do it? Oh well, mom took care of that for me.
Anxiety
So, I've always been an anxious person, sometimes to a fault. Health anxiety used to be a huge issue for me, but as I got older, I mellowed out. However, now that I have another human being that I am responsible for, it's all back, and with a vengeance. I find that I hate having to call the doctor when something is wrong with JJ. Even if it's something minor, I just hate the whole process. I want JJ's dad to make the call. I want him to be responsible for that part of JJ's life. I know it's irrational, but it's my reality. I also know that won't happen, so I need to just put my fear aside and take charge.
My sister-in-law called today (she babysits while I work), and said she doesn't think JJ's procedure is healing correctly. She's had two sons, and one had similar issues and had to have his redone. She asks if they told us to pull back on skin while it was healing. No! I don't want to go through this again, so I'm hoping she's wrong. Anyway, of course, this will require a call to the doctor since his follow up isn't until May 5th. I call my sister before I call the doctor, because that's just what I do - I get opinions from at least 5 different people before I make any decision in my life. Do I want swiss or cheddar? Let me call so-and-so and see if they know which tastes better on a burger. It consumes me, but I digress. She says I should call the doctor. Noooooooooo, that is not what I want to hear. I want to hear, I'm sure it's fine, just leave it be till the follow up. She also asks if they told us to put the antibiotic cream deep into the folds, etc. I said no. I followed the instructions from the doctor to a T. Then I call JJ's dad. He says to call the doctor. Now, I'll say this just irks me cause, I am working during the day too! He could just as easily call, but it's always me. Perhaps my anxiety is more of a power struggle? Anyway, I finally call the doctor. Someone took a message and a nurse is going to call me back. It's difficult because I don't know how to explain what it looks like as he's not home with me at the moment; all I know is that it didn't look swollen or infected.
I'm sure I'll be off to another doctor's appointment in the near future. It all just makes my head spin.
My sister-in-law called today (she babysits while I work), and said she doesn't think JJ's procedure is healing correctly. She's had two sons, and one had similar issues and had to have his redone. She asks if they told us to pull back on skin while it was healing. No! I don't want to go through this again, so I'm hoping she's wrong. Anyway, of course, this will require a call to the doctor since his follow up isn't until May 5th. I call my sister before I call the doctor, because that's just what I do - I get opinions from at least 5 different people before I make any decision in my life. Do I want swiss or cheddar? Let me call so-and-so and see if they know which tastes better on a burger. It consumes me, but I digress. She says I should call the doctor. Noooooooooo, that is not what I want to hear. I want to hear, I'm sure it's fine, just leave it be till the follow up. She also asks if they told us to put the antibiotic cream deep into the folds, etc. I said no. I followed the instructions from the doctor to a T. Then I call JJ's dad. He says to call the doctor. Now, I'll say this just irks me cause, I am working during the day too! He could just as easily call, but it's always me. Perhaps my anxiety is more of a power struggle? Anyway, I finally call the doctor. Someone took a message and a nurse is going to call me back. It's difficult because I don't know how to explain what it looks like as he's not home with me at the moment; all I know is that it didn't look swollen or infected.
I'm sure I'll be off to another doctor's appointment in the near future. It all just makes my head spin.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water...
So, the surgery went well. In fact, JJ didn't cry before, after, that night, the whole next day. I thought "what a trooper this kid is"! He also didn't poop. Someone told me that codeine makes them constipated. OK, well that was actually a good thing as it kept the yuckies away from the incision site. The after care instructions said take the bandage off on Thursday, which is today.
OH.MY.GOD.
I went to change him as he had finally pooped (hard poop, by the way). As I was wiping him, he pooped some more. That was ok too. I just let him finish what he needed to do, and then I thought that I'd take the bandage off then and get him nice and lubed up with Neosporin.
OH.MY.GOD.
I started taking the bandage off slowly, and as I got down to where it was on his skin, it was a little stuck in the scab that is forming. That poor child screamed and started crying. I took the rest of it off, and saw what no mother wants to see. Her little man all red and scabbed up. I put a glob of Neosporin on as quickly as I could, and put a diaper on him. I'm sure that didn't help as it was then rubbing on the diaper and irritated. Lots more crying. I thought a dose of his pain meds would be appropriate, so I ran to the kitchen and served him up some Tylenol w/codeine. This was at 11:40. He just now fell asleep at 1:20.
The dr. made it seem like he'd be great by today, back to playing in his bouncy, rolling around, etc. Um?
I hate feeling like I made the wrong decision. I wonder if he'll hate me forever for the pain he's now in (I know he won't remember, but perhaps he will subconciously??). I envy moms who have girls at this moment.
OH.MY.GOD.
I went to change him as he had finally pooped (hard poop, by the way). As I was wiping him, he pooped some more. That was ok too. I just let him finish what he needed to do, and then I thought that I'd take the bandage off then and get him nice and lubed up with Neosporin.
OH.MY.GOD.
I started taking the bandage off slowly, and as I got down to where it was on his skin, it was a little stuck in the scab that is forming. That poor child screamed and started crying. I took the rest of it off, and saw what no mother wants to see. Her little man all red and scabbed up. I put a glob of Neosporin on as quickly as I could, and put a diaper on him. I'm sure that didn't help as it was then rubbing on the diaper and irritated. Lots more crying. I thought a dose of his pain meds would be appropriate, so I ran to the kitchen and served him up some Tylenol w/codeine. This was at 11:40. He just now fell asleep at 1:20.
The dr. made it seem like he'd be great by today, back to playing in his bouncy, rolling around, etc. Um?
I hate feeling like I made the wrong decision. I wonder if he'll hate me forever for the pain he's now in (I know he won't remember, but perhaps he will subconciously??). I envy moms who have girls at this moment.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Surgery
JJ goes in for outpatient surgery tomorrow at 7:45AM. We have to be to the hospital at 6:45, which means we'll have to be up by 5ish, I'd say. He can have formula till 1:45 AM thank God. I was thinking the cutoff would be much earlier in the night, which would have resulted in a crabby baby in the morning. Actually, he can have water, apple juice and/or Pedialyte till 4:45, so although I don't usually wake him up to feed him anymore, I may just do tonight to make sure he's got a full belly.
I pretend I am a strong person, but right now I'm very anxious. They are putting him under, which is kind of freaking me out. The surgery is scheduled for 1 hr, 15 min, and the nurse told me that it's a fast acting anesthesia that will go through a mask. As soon as they turn it off, he could wake up. I think I like that better than deep sleep, but really, who knows? I'm no expert at this stuff. Just a mom who wishes her baby didn't have to do this.
I pretend I am a strong person, but right now I'm very anxious. They are putting him under, which is kind of freaking me out. The surgery is scheduled for 1 hr, 15 min, and the nurse told me that it's a fast acting anesthesia that will go through a mask. As soon as they turn it off, he could wake up. I think I like that better than deep sleep, but really, who knows? I'm no expert at this stuff. Just a mom who wishes her baby didn't have to do this.
Friday, March 19, 2010
The Backstory
It probably helps to know a little bit about our story. I am 34 years old, and my son, who we shall refer to as JJ, is 7 months, 6 days old today.
I found out I was pregnant at around 3AM on New Year's Eve, 2008. Technically, my best friend and I went out for drinks on Dec 30th, and when I got home, it was after midnight. I had suspicions that something was up since I am like clockwork, and I was now going on 3 days late. I stopped on the way to going out at Meijer for a test, but wasn't planning on taking it till the next morning, or perhaps, a few days later. Well, a little liquid courage talked me into taking right then and there at 3AM. There is no way to describe what happens while waiting for the results of a pregnancy test. You always feel a bit nervous, but in the back of your mind, you know it's going to be negative. So, when the word "Pregnant" popped up on the screen (I took no chance of being wrong with the little blue line tests - you all know what I mean), I think I had an out of body experience. It probably didn't help that I was a *bit* tipsy. I would like to tell you that was the happiest moment of my life, but anyone that grew up in a religious household knows, that even at the age of 33, being unmarried and pregnant = GUILT. So much guilt, in fact, that I didn't tell my mom and most of my family and friends until April. Thank God for the supportive friends and family I did tell, and of course to my loving partner who stood by me even though he could have run the other direction.
Fast forward to August 2009. JJ is born 3 weeks and 2 days early, weighing in at 6lbs 8oz, 19 inches long at 8:29 PM via c-section after hours of trying to push his Charlie Brown head past my pubic bone. He did not want a conehead, apparently, because he would not progress. After seeing that sweet little face, I cannot fathom how I felt so guilty about him. It makes me want to rewind and truly enjoy the whole experience more. It makes me know that I will never make my son feel guilty about certain things in life. It will force us to have honest conversations about things that my mom and dad didn't have with me.
Fast forward to March 19, 2010. JJ is waking from a nap in our bed (oh, the horror, we have a family bed!). There he is smiling up at me, spit up on his chin, and also on the freshly laundered sheets. This is the life :)
I found out I was pregnant at around 3AM on New Year's Eve, 2008. Technically, my best friend and I went out for drinks on Dec 30th, and when I got home, it was after midnight. I had suspicions that something was up since I am like clockwork, and I was now going on 3 days late. I stopped on the way to going out at Meijer for a test, but wasn't planning on taking it till the next morning, or perhaps, a few days later. Well, a little liquid courage talked me into taking right then and there at 3AM. There is no way to describe what happens while waiting for the results of a pregnancy test. You always feel a bit nervous, but in the back of your mind, you know it's going to be negative. So, when the word "Pregnant" popped up on the screen (I took no chance of being wrong with the little blue line tests - you all know what I mean), I think I had an out of body experience. It probably didn't help that I was a *bit* tipsy. I would like to tell you that was the happiest moment of my life, but anyone that grew up in a religious household knows, that even at the age of 33, being unmarried and pregnant = GUILT. So much guilt, in fact, that I didn't tell my mom and most of my family and friends until April. Thank God for the supportive friends and family I did tell, and of course to my loving partner who stood by me even though he could have run the other direction.
Fast forward to August 2009. JJ is born 3 weeks and 2 days early, weighing in at 6lbs 8oz, 19 inches long at 8:29 PM via c-section after hours of trying to push his Charlie Brown head past my pubic bone. He did not want a conehead, apparently, because he would not progress. After seeing that sweet little face, I cannot fathom how I felt so guilty about him. It makes me want to rewind and truly enjoy the whole experience more. It makes me know that I will never make my son feel guilty about certain things in life. It will force us to have honest conversations about things that my mom and dad didn't have with me.
Fast forward to March 19, 2010. JJ is waking from a nap in our bed (oh, the horror, we have a family bed!). There he is smiling up at me, spit up on his chin, and also on the freshly laundered sheets. This is the life :)
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