Mama Moments #1

I have so many random thoughts in my head that I want to share with people but in my blog, an entire entry seems really overkill. So I thought to myself, self, why don't you just dedicate a blog entry every once in a while to those blurbs that need no explanation?

Introducing the Mama-Chan Mama Moments series! I'm not sure how long I will go in between posts, maybe a week or two... maybe a few days if there are enough typed out. So without further ado, Mama Moments #1:

Just a little pinch! and other lies we tell our kids.

Daniel had his 2 month check-up today along with his vaccines. I can hear all the anti-vaccine moms out there cringe at this and I too was on the fence about it throughout my pregnancy and right after his birth. I even opted out of getting his Hep B shot in the hospital, using the excuse of not wanting him to be exposed to too much during his first few days of life (he had a mild case of jaundice that they took blood 3 times for, such was my reasoning).

I decided, however, as a healthcare provider and a recipient of vaccines myself, that I couldn't justify not getting him vaccinated. I couldn't come up with a single reason. So today, along with his check-up, I authorized his first round of vaccines. It was heartbreaking to see him get poked by those dumb needles that I just barely got over myself less than a decade ago (I've always had a fear of needles... now I think I know why most people do), and the look on his face after each poke (3, and the nurse was great about giving them) brought out mama bear instinctively with every red-faced, breathless cry he let out. I saw my newborn baby all over again every time his little forehead and eyes scrunched up, "THIS HURTS!!!". I  know, baby... I know. Fortunately, he let me calm him down fairly quickly and while occasionally letting out a small whimper during the walk to the car, he fell right to sleep when I strapped him into the car seat and got into the car. He woke up briefly when I called Gary and fussed, so I fed him and now he's asleep peacefully. He's even smiling in his sleep, so I don't think he feels that bad...

In other news, he's in the 90th percentile for weight (14 lbs 1 oz) and 75th percentile for height (24 inches). My little heffer! I am so happy for his weight, I know that he is a thriving little boy and that I am producing enough for him. Proud mama moment right there! He's was totally adorable to the nurse practitioner, smiling and talking to her during her exam and crying only when she looked into his ears with the scope. I have been dreading this day since I made the appointment so I'm glad it's over, but his 4 month check up will be here before I know it and I'll be in the same anxious mama mode all over again. Haha...

Daniel has this amazing ability to know, in his early age, just how and when to be good and be difficult. He's getting better at the crying thing, doing it less at home and letting us console him faster than when he was a newborn. I was amazed by him last Wednesday when we drove to and from Yuma for my job interview (which I didn't get, fortunately) and he was such a good boy all day, and then today when he cried for only a short time for a reason none of us can blame him for (I STILL hate needles, and I'm a nurse!). We went out to dinner last night with friends of Gary who flew in from Japan for a work conference this week, he was bright-eyed and attentive all throughout dinner. Nobody really believes that he cries as much as he does at home (except for those who know, like my family). I look at these events and as I look back at how much he used to cry when he was a newbie, I am amazed at the growth I'm witnessing. I love being his mother, so very much.

P.S. He's sleeping right now, in his crib like a good boy :)

Yes, we co-sleep.

In the beginning, it wasn't by choice; Daniel simply wouldn't sleep in his bassinet and I thought he was still a little too small for his crib. Then, it became a choice. I pushed to have him sleep in his crib, I suspect it came from the guilt of not having him sleep in something my parents bought (and my mom so looked forward to buying). The transition was easy enough and he falls asleep nicely... in the beginning. Then the 2 am feeding rolls around, I just spent the last few hours sleeping like a rock so getting up to lift my screaming son from his crib feels like I'm lifting a starfish out of the ocean from the top of a cliff with chopsticks. I have. NO. ENERGY. Then comes time to actually feed him, all I want to do is nurse him laying down. It's God's gift to women to be able to do that only until I wake up an hour or so later and we're both fast asleep and my boob is cold. So after his first feeding, he never actually makes it back to his crib. Oh the plight of breastfeeding mamas...

In the beginning, a cosleeper bassinet...

A little over a month later, getting used to his crib.

Baby Adventure: Yuma, Arizona

Yesterday was my 27th (gasp!) birthday and the family and I spent it on a mini road trip to Yuma, Arizona. It's a little over 2 hours of driving east on interstate 8 (4 hours if you have a breastfeeding munchkin on board like us, which we did not anticipate...) and not to mention the current time zone difference (Arizona doesn't observe daylight savings)... so after some considerable driving through a whole lot of nothing, we finally arrived at our destination at 4 pm local time. Did I forget to mention the reason for going to this land of nothingness was for a job interview? At 3 pm local time? Yeah...

Webcam Wednesday

 

Daniel woke up from his nap super fussy, only to fall asleep on me. Note the super sweet hand placement. I love it.

Cut to scene 2. I guess my underarm is also a nose warmer?

What life was like before, and a celebration of now!

On the second day of our 3-day hospital stay (birth day plus two days to monitor Daniel's jaundice), Gary and I were taking a walk around our floor with the bassinet when I came upon a realization that I could no longer remember what it was like not to have Daniel physically in my life. I guess that makes sense considering I spent the previous 9 months anticipating his arrival, the previous 24 hours LIVING his arrival only to lay my eyes on the most beautiful, helpless human being I had ever met. Not only could I not remember it, I didn't want to imagine my life without him. Now 2 months later, I am watching this rapidly growing boy bloom before my very eyes and despite my exhaustion, I cherish every waking (and sleeping, for me) moment.

With that said, Saturday night Gary and I got to live a little bit of our previous, pre-baby life. We went out with friends to a karaoke bar and I even enjoyed some drink. It was to celebrate my friend and I's January birthdays and well, you know what you do on your birthday... I paid for it when we got home, when baby was sleepy and all I NEEDED him to do was nurse for like, 2 hours straight. I guess it's true what they say about alcohol for letdown... ANYWAY. It suffices to say that I had a great time with my great friends.

Daniel's Story

On November 22nd, 2011 (11/22/11) at 2:45 pm, my son Daniel was born at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns. I arrived at the hospital at 2 am at 3 centimeters; my triage nurse instructed me to walk around the hospital for an hour or so to see if I would dilate a little bit more. I was admitted around 4 am and labored 4 to 10 centimeters over 10 hours and once I was fully dilated, I pushed for less than an hour. I planned on an unmedicated labor from early on in my pregnancy; sometime between my water breaking and Daniel's head putting increasing pressure on my cervix, I begged his father for an epidural. Fortunately it really wasn't up to him and he knew what my true desire was. I powered through transition with the support of my boyfriend, mom, and nurse when I was finally allowed to push and be one step closer to meeting Daniel.

False labor on Sunday pm/Monday am.

Real labor Tuesday am.

Suit up!

Finally!