I love spicy food. Spicy food + pregnancy related heartburn = bad bad bad idea. I normally do not have heartburn, except when I'm pregnant. It is not fun and I try to tone down some of my favorite dishes (Thai, Mexican, Indian, etc).
But, I have such a weakness for Potbelly's hot peppers. Potbelly's is a chain of sandwich shops - like Subway, but so much better. The sandwiches are already pretty darn great....and then you add a TON of Potbelly's own hot peppers onto the sandwich. OMG. AH-MAZING.
When I was pregnant with Sam, I bought an entire jar of Potbelly's hot peppers to make sandwiches at home on the weekends. The peppers are seriously craveable, even though I know they will wreak havoc on my heartburn. Unfortunately there is a Potbelly's across the street from my office and my firm loves to order their sandwiches to serve at meetings...and a big bowl of the hot peppers comes along with the sandwiches. How can I possibly resist the amazing peppers? I just can't. I have given up sushi, alchohol, caffeine, I only eat seafood 1x/week (as per my dr orders), smoked fish, soft cheeses, etc. But giving up hot peppers? Hec no! They're worth the miserable heartburn that I know will follow. Hence, my love/hate relationship with these wonderfully dangerous peppers.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Remembering Papi with Annual Chocolate Ice Cream
Papi taught me some invaluable life lessons. Because Nazi Germany prohibited Jewish children from attending school in the 1930s, my brilliant grandfather never finished high school, much less college. I think he would have been an architect if he'd had access to an education. Instead, he started a very successful men's shirt business in the 1950s and did very well for himself. But, he never forgot how he was deprived of an education. He always taught me over and over again "All of your worldly possession can be taken from you. Your money. Your house. Your family. It can all vanish in an instant. But what you have in your head, what you learn in school...that can never be taken away from you." Because of him, my cousins and I have all attended college and all went on to receive graduate degrees. Education is a very important value in my family.
Papi was also a huge fan of FDR and a lifelong Democrat. Having arrived in the U.S. with literally nothing other than the clothes on his back, he truly built his own fortune. He also gave away a lot of his wealth to those less fortunate. I will never forget his mantra that "Paying a lot of taxes is a sign that you've had a good year and the government will therefore have enough money to take care of the poor people who need help from the government." He never complained about having to pay high taxes. I wish that our tax system and government expenditures was as simple as his perspective made it sound, but perhaps this is where I get my Democratic ideals from.
Sam is named after my Papi. It's a Jewish tradition to name a child using the first letter of the first name of a relative who had passed away. Sam was named for my grandfather, Steven. Normally, Hebrew names closely resemble the English names. My Hebrew name is Rivkah, which is the Hebrew translation for Rebecca. My brother David's Hebrew name is David (but pronounced like Dah-veed).
When it was time for Sam's bris, I was surprised to learn that Papi's Hebrew name was Avraham. He was given this name because his German name was Verner - and Avraham is very close to Verner. When he came to Ellis Island, he wanted to shed all of his German heritage and become as American as possible...hence, his chosen name of Steven. So Sam's Hebrew name is Avraham, after his great-grandfather.
Papi's favorite food in the world was chocolate ice cream. My mom recalls him eating chocolate ice cream for dessert every night of her childhood. I think he probably ate a bowl of chocolate ice cream every night for 50 years. It's no wonder why I love chocolate so much!
In his honor, my family and I always enjoy chocolate ice cream on the anniversary of his death. Although Sam never met Papi, he shares many of Papi's qualities - his fabulous sense of humor, his deep hearty laugh, and his curiosity about how things work (and how they can come apart).
Last night, Sam joined us in devouring a bowl of chocolate ice cream to celebrate my beloved Papi. I forgot to mention that Sam also shares Papi's deep love for chocolate ice cream.
 | ||||||
| Papi would have loved this one, Sam eating ice cream double-handed! |
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Snoogle Pillow
I am SO excited that the amazing Snoogle pregnancy pillow has once again re-joined our bed. Brad is not such a fan, but then again, he isn't pregnant. If you don't know what a snoogle pillow is, this is what it looks like:
It is terrific because it can provide support to your back and tummy, help align the spine, relieve pressure on ankles, can be used in many different positions and can later be helpful with breastfeeding. A friend suggested it to me when I was pregnant with Sam and I fell in love immediately. I love sleeping with a lot of pillows already (even when I'm not pregnant), it makes me feel like I'm building a nest in the bed.
A few months after Sam was born, Brad made it clear that the Snoogle pillow had outlived its welcome and it was time to retire the pillow to the basement storage room...for now. Perhaps I neglected to mention that the Snoogle pillow is HUGE. Like enormous. We have a king-sized bed and the Snoogle pillow takes over about half of the bed. You can only imagine Brad's enthusiasm when I requested that he bring it upstairs from the basement. It's very unwieldy and quite heavy - therefore Brad's job to carry up 2 flights of stairs.
And then, I reminded him that the pillowcase needed to be washed. This only added to Brad's joy about the Snoogle pillow. Getting the pillowcase on and off the Snoogle pillow is ridiculously impossible. The first time we tried to get the pillowcase on, it took both of us working together and we struggled for about 10 minutes.
But, it is SO worth it. I HIGHLY recommend the snoogle pillow to any pregnant lady..or really anyone who loves pillows!
It is terrific because it can provide support to your back and tummy, help align the spine, relieve pressure on ankles, can be used in many different positions and can later be helpful with breastfeeding. A friend suggested it to me when I was pregnant with Sam and I fell in love immediately. I love sleeping with a lot of pillows already (even when I'm not pregnant), it makes me feel like I'm building a nest in the bed.
A few months after Sam was born, Brad made it clear that the Snoogle pillow had outlived its welcome and it was time to retire the pillow to the basement storage room...for now. Perhaps I neglected to mention that the Snoogle pillow is HUGE. Like enormous. We have a king-sized bed and the Snoogle pillow takes over about half of the bed. You can only imagine Brad's enthusiasm when I requested that he bring it upstairs from the basement. It's very unwieldy and quite heavy - therefore Brad's job to carry up 2 flights of stairs.
And then, I reminded him that the pillowcase needed to be washed. This only added to Brad's joy about the Snoogle pillow. Getting the pillowcase on and off the Snoogle pillow is ridiculously impossible. The first time we tried to get the pillowcase on, it took both of us working together and we struggled for about 10 minutes.
But, it is SO worth it. I HIGHLY recommend the snoogle pillow to any pregnant lady..or really anyone who loves pillows!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Comparing 17 weeks with Sam and baby boy #2
I recently posted my blog entry from when I was 17 weeks pregnant with Sam and thought it would be interesting to compare it to what things are like for me now, at 18 weeks with baby boy #2.
It's funny to read that I tried taking zantac to help with my heartburn when I was pregnant with Sam. I had never even heard of zantac before and had to write it down when my ob suggested I take it. Now, zantac is a household word because Sam had pretty bad reflux from birth until about 10 months. He regularly took prescription zantac 2-3x/day for 10 months...we were intimately familiar with zantac.
I have heartburn again with this pregnancy, but apparently I'm carrying the baby low - rather than high which is how I carried Sam. So interesting.
I am particularly interested in how I tried to compare bringing Lucy (our dog) home from the shelter to what it would be like bringing the baby home from the hospital. We adopted Lucy, our wonderful lab, in 2004, a few months after we got married. For the 4.5 years we had her before Sam's birth, she was truly our baby. We took her everywhere with us, we planned Burke Lake Park outtings for her to swim in the lake, we'd cuddle with her, talk to her constantly, etc. I still talk to her, but it's amazing how much she has changed in our eyes.
When we first brought Sam home from the hospital, we both were amazed at how quickly the dog transformed from being our baby to quickly becoming a dog (now that we have a human baby). We still love her and talk to her and take her with us to the park (sometimes), but her role in our house has certainly changed and we spend much less time with her than we used to. Sam, however, is completely in love with the dog and thinks it's hilarious to throw food to her. Lovely.
Anyway, going back to the 17 week pregnancy comparisons - I still love eating pizza and berries. When I read about my previous poptart and popcorn cravings, I immediately thought YUM, those both sound terrific right about now! Guess what will be added to our grocery list this week?
I feel much more knowledgeable about baby items and have a few additional items that I discovered from other people that I think would have been helpful with Sam. I have come to love Buy Buy Baby and no longer feel overwhelmed by it the way I used to. Whenever I see pregnant women in the store, I recall that sense of fear and panic of "what the hec are bumbos and how do I know if I need one?"
I think that my emotions have been somewhat more in check now than during the pregnancy with Sam, but Brad seems to disagree (shocking). There have been a few crying at nothing moments, and there are some commercials that I can't watch without tearing up. Or maybe I'm in denial and Brad should do a posting on this....
The biggest difference is that now I know what I'm doing as a mom. I made some mistakes with Sam that I will not repeat (like waiting for him to fall asleep before putting him into the crib. Now I know that it's actually a good thing for infants to learn to fall asleep on their own) - although I know I'll probably make other mistakes too. But, I feel so much more prepared and know what to expect, along with some healthy fear about how to handle a very active 2 year old plus a newborn.
Although my life will certainly change, the changes won't be nearly as dramatic as the changes from before/after we had Sam. Long gone are my days of sleeping in until 10am and having "lazy" days. But, before Sam, I never knew how sweet it sounds to hear your child say (or shout) "Mommy."
It's funny to read that I tried taking zantac to help with my heartburn when I was pregnant with Sam. I had never even heard of zantac before and had to write it down when my ob suggested I take it. Now, zantac is a household word because Sam had pretty bad reflux from birth until about 10 months. He regularly took prescription zantac 2-3x/day for 10 months...we were intimately familiar with zantac.
I have heartburn again with this pregnancy, but apparently I'm carrying the baby low - rather than high which is how I carried Sam. So interesting.
I am particularly interested in how I tried to compare bringing Lucy (our dog) home from the shelter to what it would be like bringing the baby home from the hospital. We adopted Lucy, our wonderful lab, in 2004, a few months after we got married. For the 4.5 years we had her before Sam's birth, she was truly our baby. We took her everywhere with us, we planned Burke Lake Park outtings for her to swim in the lake, we'd cuddle with her, talk to her constantly, etc. I still talk to her, but it's amazing how much she has changed in our eyes.
When we first brought Sam home from the hospital, we both were amazed at how quickly the dog transformed from being our baby to quickly becoming a dog (now that we have a human baby). We still love her and talk to her and take her with us to the park (sometimes), but her role in our house has certainly changed and we spend much less time with her than we used to. Sam, however, is completely in love with the dog and thinks it's hilarious to throw food to her. Lovely.
Anyway, going back to the 17 week pregnancy comparisons - I still love eating pizza and berries. When I read about my previous poptart and popcorn cravings, I immediately thought YUM, those both sound terrific right about now! Guess what will be added to our grocery list this week?
I feel much more knowledgeable about baby items and have a few additional items that I discovered from other people that I think would have been helpful with Sam. I have come to love Buy Buy Baby and no longer feel overwhelmed by it the way I used to. Whenever I see pregnant women in the store, I recall that sense of fear and panic of "what the hec are bumbos and how do I know if I need one?"
I think that my emotions have been somewhat more in check now than during the pregnancy with Sam, but Brad seems to disagree (shocking). There have been a few crying at nothing moments, and there are some commercials that I can't watch without tearing up. Or maybe I'm in denial and Brad should do a posting on this....
The biggest difference is that now I know what I'm doing as a mom. I made some mistakes with Sam that I will not repeat (like waiting for him to fall asleep before putting him into the crib. Now I know that it's actually a good thing for infants to learn to fall asleep on their own) - although I know I'll probably make other mistakes too. But, I feel so much more prepared and know what to expect, along with some healthy fear about how to handle a very active 2 year old plus a newborn.
Although my life will certainly change, the changes won't be nearly as dramatic as the changes from before/after we had Sam. Long gone are my days of sleeping in until 10am and having "lazy" days. But, before Sam, I never knew how sweet it sounds to hear your child say (or shout) "Mommy."
Friday, October 22, 2010
Powerless
Last night our whole neighborhood lost electricity right as we were about to give Sam a bath. Sam was across the room from me when the power went out, and he was so quiet that I had NO idea where he was. I called out his name and searched for him in the dark. He thought we were playing hide and seek and quietly hid behind his crib. Terrific.
After I found him, we went into another bedroom that was lit up by the full moon shining moonlight into the room. The dog, freaking out, joined us and we all played together while Brad searched for the flashlight (I now know to keep the flashlight in an easy to find location!). Unsuccessful in locating the flashlight, Brad began lighting candles everywhere. Our house looked very Halloween-y!
I suggested that Brad go to CVS down the street to buy flashlights and he reminded me that our garage doors are electric and weigh a TON to open with the emergency handle. Right. I forgot how much electricity rules my life! We quickly abandoned the bath idea and searched for Sam's warmest pajamas in case the heat didn't come back on (it was supposed to get down to 39 degrees last night!).
Once we got Sam to bed around 8pm, Brad and I had no idea what to make for dinner other than cereal or sandwiches (our stove is electric). Pizza Hut to the rescue! YUM. My friend has since accused me of causing the power outage so that I could have my beloved pizza. Not a bad idea for future pizza cravings!
Other than playing with our blackberries, we were like - what are we doing to do now? It's hard to read a book or magazine without a flashlight. As much as I love going to bed at 830pm (I LOVE my sleep during pregnancy), I have learned that I can't really sleep more than 8 or 9 hours because I then wake up at 5am which is not so fun.
Missing my Thursday night tv shows, I asked Brad if the tivo will still record my prgorams? Isn't it connected to the satellites or whatever? Maybe there's a battery back-up that will work without electricity?
He cracked up and immediately began making fun of me. In a facebook posting, he wrote "our power went out. my wife just asked me "will tivo still record?" I'm going to ignore that question." This of course elicited MANY comments by friends laughing at me. Today at work, I told two of my colleagues who are both very smart attorneys about this incident and they both asked in complete seriousness, "the DVR won't record the shows without electricity???" One even went online to look it up! I'm not the only one who doesn't understand DVR technology! Brad's response was "OMG - they are electronics. They require...wait for it....electricity!" You can only imagine where I told him to shove it.
I then asked if we could use the laptop on battery power and access the Internet through it? Hulu.com, here I come! This promptly led to more eye rolling and another facebook status making fun of me. Lovely. Others saw his status update about it - and asked me, why wouldn't it work? Again, I'm not the only electricity moron!
Bored, I began worrying that Sam wouldn't be warm enough in his crib with only his fleece sleep sack on him since the heat is electric. I'm normally not a fan of co-sleeping, but decided that he would be joining us in bed if the power wasn't back on before we went to bed....
Entertained by our blackberries, I noticed that several of my neighbors were also on facebook posting about the power outage and we began communicating back and forth on FB through our smartphones about which number to call at Dominion Power and what Dominion Power was saying about the outage. Gotta love technology that can operate on a battery!
Thankfully, the power came back on shortly before we went to bed. It's amazing that we survived the 2009-2010 snowmaggedon storms and this summer's crazy thunder/lightning storms without losing power AT ALL - and yet now, on a clear, beautiful fall night - we lose power? What's up with that? I seriously have no idea how my friends survived days on end without electricity during the snow and summer storms. Hopefully, I won't have to find out! An evening without power was enough for me.
After I found him, we went into another bedroom that was lit up by the full moon shining moonlight into the room. The dog, freaking out, joined us and we all played together while Brad searched for the flashlight (I now know to keep the flashlight in an easy to find location!). Unsuccessful in locating the flashlight, Brad began lighting candles everywhere. Our house looked very Halloween-y!
I suggested that Brad go to CVS down the street to buy flashlights and he reminded me that our garage doors are electric and weigh a TON to open with the emergency handle. Right. I forgot how much electricity rules my life! We quickly abandoned the bath idea and searched for Sam's warmest pajamas in case the heat didn't come back on (it was supposed to get down to 39 degrees last night!).
Once we got Sam to bed around 8pm, Brad and I had no idea what to make for dinner other than cereal or sandwiches (our stove is electric). Pizza Hut to the rescue! YUM. My friend has since accused me of causing the power outage so that I could have my beloved pizza. Not a bad idea for future pizza cravings!
Other than playing with our blackberries, we were like - what are we doing to do now? It's hard to read a book or magazine without a flashlight. As much as I love going to bed at 830pm (I LOVE my sleep during pregnancy), I have learned that I can't really sleep more than 8 or 9 hours because I then wake up at 5am which is not so fun.
Missing my Thursday night tv shows, I asked Brad if the tivo will still record my prgorams? Isn't it connected to the satellites or whatever? Maybe there's a battery back-up that will work without electricity?
He cracked up and immediately began making fun of me. In a facebook posting, he wrote "our power went out. my wife just asked me "will tivo still record?" I'm going to ignore that question." This of course elicited MANY comments by friends laughing at me. Today at work, I told two of my colleagues who are both very smart attorneys about this incident and they both asked in complete seriousness, "the DVR won't record the shows without electricity???" One even went online to look it up! I'm not the only one who doesn't understand DVR technology! Brad's response was "OMG - they are electronics. They require...wait for it....electricity!" You can only imagine where I told him to shove it.
I then asked if we could use the laptop on battery power and access the Internet through it? Hulu.com, here I come! This promptly led to more eye rolling and another facebook status making fun of me. Lovely. Others saw his status update about it - and asked me, why wouldn't it work? Again, I'm not the only electricity moron!
Bored, I began worrying that Sam wouldn't be warm enough in his crib with only his fleece sleep sack on him since the heat is electric. I'm normally not a fan of co-sleeping, but decided that he would be joining us in bed if the power wasn't back on before we went to bed....
Entertained by our blackberries, I noticed that several of my neighbors were also on facebook posting about the power outage and we began communicating back and forth on FB through our smartphones about which number to call at Dominion Power and what Dominion Power was saying about the outage. Gotta love technology that can operate on a battery!
Thankfully, the power came back on shortly before we went to bed. It's amazing that we survived the 2009-2010 snowmaggedon storms and this summer's crazy thunder/lightning storms without losing power AT ALL - and yet now, on a clear, beautiful fall night - we lose power? What's up with that? I seriously have no idea how my friends survived days on end without electricity during the snow and summer storms. Hopefully, I won't have to find out! An evening without power was enough for me.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
17 weeks from my pregnancy with Sam
When I was pregnant with Sam, I began a pregnancy blog on carepages.com. I stopped the blog after he was born and remembered about it the other day. My first blog entry was December 4, 2008 - when I was 17 weeks pregnant with Sam. Now that I'm 17.5 weeks pregnant with baby boy #2, I was fascinated reading back on my thoughts and feelings at the same point in time during my pregnancy with Sam. It's pretty entertaining to remember my anxiety about baby items and the overwhelming questions we had about being parents - and how our life would change. The comments at the end are pretty funny too!
Here it is, enjoy:
17 Week Update & Welcome!
Posted Dec 4, 2008 1:54pm
Hi everyone, welcome to the Geller-Cheney Pregnancy Blog! We are deeply touched that so many people have asked to be included in updates about this amazing journey in our lives, so we thought that this would be a great way to keep you all informed about the many changes that pregnancy has brought to our lives. We've included a recent picture (December 3, 2008) of my growing belly - which the dog finds to be fascinating as evident in this picture.
We are now 17 weeks along and enjoying the 2nd trimester MUCH better than the first. Gone are the days of vomiting and all-day nausea. I'm not as tired as I was in first trimester, but the previous nights of getting 4-5 hours of sleep and being fine the next day are long gone. However, I'm apparently carrying the baby rather high (and having a giant) which is causing some quite unpleasant heartburn. Anyone have any tricks for dealing with heartburn? I've tried Zantac - it doesn't help at all.
I started feeling the baby move about a week ago. At first it felt like bubbles, but now it is more like a butterfly fluttering around in there! It still doesn't feel quite real yet - when we have ultrasounds and see the baby moving all over the place, I'm still surprised to see how big it is and how much it moves. Its body is now about the size of a grapefruit or small melon and measures about 5 inches from head to rump. I suppose when I begin to feel a sharp kick to my ribs it will become more real, but I still can't quite wrap my head around the idea that there really is a baby in my ever-growing tummy. It's so different from any other experience that I don't really have other things in my life to draw upon or other experiences to compare it to. Bringing our dog Lucy home from the animal shelter was not quite the same. :) But, we're excited and beginning to make plans for the May 15, 2009 arrival.
I've received MANY questions about weird food cravings, especially since my normal eating habits are already quite odd. (yes, my chick pea obsession continues...and I really miss my tuna fish, cottage cheese, french dressing salad since I can't eat tuna while I'm pregnant) I've been very into apple-related things - apple juice, applesauce, apples, etc. I've also been very easily swayed into eating things by watching people on tv eat something and I MUST eat that too. Lately those items have included pizza, popcorn, poptarts, and berries. I've been eating all sorts of berries like crazy. I just started getting hungrier than usual about 2 weeks ago. I've worked hard to make the calories count and eat healthy, but sometimes the baby just needs to have some chocolate peanut butter ice cream!
Our friend Dana Graham accompanied us to Buy Buy Baby to begin a baby registry. Thank GOODNESS she came with us! Brad and I were quite overwhelmed. Who knew that there were 75 kinds of strollers! We had no clue which baby contraptions were necessities and which were just ridiculous. We're starting to think about the nursery, we want to paint the walls a warm yellow and do a nautical/beach/ocean theme.
The mood swings are here full force. The other night Brad was helping me search through the unpacked boxes in our new house to find a pair of shoes that I wanted to wear to my firm's holiday party. Frustrated, I gave up and he kept looking until he found the shoes - and then I burst into tears with gratitude and appreciation of his perseverance. This is much better than the October ginger ale episode. Ginger ale has been my staple anti-nausea panacea during the pregnancy. After opening the LAST bottle of ginger ale in the house, Brad forgot to screw on the top and left it slightly open over night. Feeling quite nauseous and in need of bubbly ginger ale, I discovered the flat ginger ale - and promptly began sobbing hysterically and yelling at Brad "Why are you doing this to me?!?!? Why do you hate me so much!?!?"
As I'm sure you all know, Brad has patience of a saint. He has been an amazing husband over the past few months. It's been quite a roller coaster between the pregnancy, closing on our house, moving, the election, our busy jobs, and continuing to volunteer in our "free" time. But, we're happy, healthy, nervous, and excited for whatever adventures cross our paths in the next few months as we count down to May 15, 2009.
by Faith Leonard
Thanks for including me in all of this excitement! You are bringing back decades-old memories - good ones! Hmmm...heartburn. I remember that vividly from my first pregnancy when I "carried high" - small meals helped, as did the turning and dropping baby two weeks before delivery. And as for that out of body experience (or, more aptly, the invasion of the body snatcher), I remember sitting back and going along for the ride - a thrill a minute. So have fun! With hugs, Faith
by heather rose
so, strange eating habits and mood swings...sounds like not much has changed for you! glad you're feeling better. looking forward to your updates and stories...and have some ice cream for me! baby wants it, i can tell!
by Elizabeth Kanick
Guys, this is a FABULOUS idea!!! We are so excited for you and so glad that we will be able to count on you to be a version of guinea pigs! Much love to you both and we will eagerly await more updates!by Erin Taylor
Wow...I'm very excited for you!! I hope the next few months are full of joy as both you and Brad transition into the important roles of Mom and a Dad!! I'm be thinking of you...
by David Geller
Brad has the patience of a saint, but a questionable taste in women . . .
Also, last night I had a dream that y'all had brought a duck into your house (why a duck? I don't know), and Lucy was not happy about it. She went to smell it and was trying to be nice to it, but it bit her and started chasing her. So I ran to protect her and she stood next to me as I continually had to shoo it away since it continued pursuit. I wonder if this has to do with our conversation the other night about how I was going to make sure Lucy wasn't too hurt by the attention being taken from her and given to the baby (which you have said is a puppy anyhow . . .)
And who is this Sandy person talking about multiple wives? Did she lose some of her few remaining brain cells in Israel?
by Karen Cheney
Such an exciting time in your lives. Enjoy and savor each moment. It was awesome to feel the "baby bump" just a week ago. Keep up your good work nurturing my grandchild!!!
by lisa plotkin
YAY FOR UPDATES! love you both :-)
by sandy weiner
I think that it is great that we are not in a country that believes a man should have more than one wife at a time. Can you imagine what Brad or Tyler, or any other guy out there would have to deal with if they had more than 1 Becca or Melissa pregnant at one time? Yikes!, it's bad enough when they go thru they're monthly stuff , regular ASB (attention seeking behavior)and hystreonics. Only joking------the guys have no idea what us woman go thru when pregnant and we deserve to have their full attentionand all our wants met continually! Love , MeMe andy
by Melissa Hart
LOL... I like how you are acting like your mood swings are something new... hehe:) Oh, and wait until you start crying over toothpaste commercials! Then you really start to feel like a crazy person... I mean, more so than usual...
The picture of Lucy eyeing your belly is great!I wonder if they are having some sort of secret dog-baby telepathic conversation that none of us understand.
XOXO, Emmy :)
by Norm Geller
I guess it's easy to be patient with such a "delight." As for "sainthood" I would guess his clenched jaws of restraint would not necessarily agree. Fathers and grandfathers have very special ways of coping.
by Dana Graham
The Buy Buy Baby adventure was a ton of fun...although I learned that you can forget a lot in 3 years! So, keep blogging!! It will be fun for you to be able to go back and relive the moments...especially since it flies by so quickly! Be healthy & happy! XOXO
As your ever loving mother I need to make a correction to what you wrote. Brad hasn't been a saint just these past few months -- how about these past few years??? But seriously, this is such an exciting time for you and for us. We're all so glad you're feeling better. Hard to believe you're almost at the half-way point of the pregnancy. Keep eating right and take good care of my growing grandchild.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
No more catastrophizing
Despite my day of catastrophizing and worrying, everything is fine. The appointment went very well and the baby is growing beautifully. He weighs 7 oz and is about 7.5 inches long. Like Sam, his head is huge (85th percentile). I love the 4D ultrasounds! The dr said that my 4lb weight loss is nothing to worry about because the baby is getting what he needs and is measuring perfectly. Whew! Time to stop catastrophizing!
Catastrophizing
Recently Brad and I were watching one of our new favorite shows "Parenthood" and I was struck by how much I could relate to one of the characters, Christina. She is a soccer mom of two kids and she was teaching her 16 year old daughter Haddie how to drive. Christina kept freaking out and wouldn't let Haddie drive out of the parking lot. Both frustrated, mom and daughter get into a huge fight. Later in the episode, Christina tries to explain to her daughter why she worries so much about Haddie driving. She said that Adam (her husband/Haddie's dad) created a term for her worrying years ago. She catastrophizes things because she worries and worries and lets her imagination run away and imagines the worst possible catastrophes occuring...ie, catastrophizing (even though it's not a real world).
Brad and I both looked at each other and immediatley realized that this is EXACTLY what I do. I catastrophize too. If Brad tells me he is on his way home and it is taking him a lot longer to get home than it normally would (usually traffic is the culprit) and he isn't answering his phone (usually it's on silent and he didn't see me calling), I begin to convince myself that he has been in a horrible car accident. If Sam sleeps in much later than he normally does and I don't see him moving on the baby video monitor and I can't hear him breathing, I begin to worry whether or not he is breathing. When I am awake late at night and hear weird sounds outside, I conjure up images of someone breaking into the house and have woken up Brad to make him go downstairs "and check things out" (really, what's he going to do if someone's there? I have no idea, but it makes me feel better).
One of my resolutions at Rosh Hashanah was to try to worry less. I told a few close friends about this pledge and they lovingly laughed at me and said "good luck with that," knowing full well that me trying to not worry is like saying "I think I want to be a NBA basketball player when I grow up." Not going to happen.
But, I've worked hard at it especially with this pregnancy and tried to reduce the worrying. Except, for the 24 hours before a obstetrician appointment - then I begin to freak out. I think it's because I can't feel the baby REALLY kicking hard yet and it's not consistent movement (which is very normal for this stage in the pregnancy - 17.5 wks). Having had a miscarriage with a pregnancy before Sam and delivering Sam at 32 weeks, I don't feel like I "enjoy" pregnancy the way some of my friends do. I worry...and catastrophize...and try not to worry...and try not to catastrophize.
I have an ob appointment this afternoon and last night I had a terrible dream that I went to the appointment and something was terribly wrong and I had to have immediate surgery and would be in the hospital for 2 weeks. In the dream Brad was laughing and making dumb jokes about something and I got really upset and dumped water on his lap. But it was SO real and convinced me that something was wrong when I woke up.
Trying to keep tabs on my weight gain with the pregnancy, I've been weighing myself a lot (probably too much) so I don't gain too much weight. In the past 2 days, I've lost 4 pounds. LOST 4 pounds!??! I shouldn't be losing weight at this stage of the pregnancy.. And the catastrophizing immediately began after getting off the scale this morning.
Brad began to rationalize it and try to make me feel better...I threw up a lot yesterday from another poopy diaper/vomiting incident...I've had really bad heartburn lately and haven't been eating as much....I've been exercising more. Even if he was an obstetrician offering me these perfectly reasonable explanations, his logic would be totally lost on me - I am completely in my head today and worrying like crazy. Until I see the baby on the ultrasound at 230 and know that everything is fine, I'm going to worry. It's almost easier to allow myself a day of worrying every now and then, rather than try to fight it off and keep the worrying at bay.
So if I seem a little tightly wound today, you now know why. I'm very busy worrying and catastrophizing (and doing other lawyerly stuff at work of course!).
Brad and I both looked at each other and immediatley realized that this is EXACTLY what I do. I catastrophize too. If Brad tells me he is on his way home and it is taking him a lot longer to get home than it normally would (usually traffic is the culprit) and he isn't answering his phone (usually it's on silent and he didn't see me calling), I begin to convince myself that he has been in a horrible car accident. If Sam sleeps in much later than he normally does and I don't see him moving on the baby video monitor and I can't hear him breathing, I begin to worry whether or not he is breathing. When I am awake late at night and hear weird sounds outside, I conjure up images of someone breaking into the house and have woken up Brad to make him go downstairs "and check things out" (really, what's he going to do if someone's there? I have no idea, but it makes me feel better).
One of my resolutions at Rosh Hashanah was to try to worry less. I told a few close friends about this pledge and they lovingly laughed at me and said "good luck with that," knowing full well that me trying to not worry is like saying "I think I want to be a NBA basketball player when I grow up." Not going to happen.
But, I've worked hard at it especially with this pregnancy and tried to reduce the worrying. Except, for the 24 hours before a obstetrician appointment - then I begin to freak out. I think it's because I can't feel the baby REALLY kicking hard yet and it's not consistent movement (which is very normal for this stage in the pregnancy - 17.5 wks). Having had a miscarriage with a pregnancy before Sam and delivering Sam at 32 weeks, I don't feel like I "enjoy" pregnancy the way some of my friends do. I worry...and catastrophize...and try not to worry...and try not to catastrophize.
I have an ob appointment this afternoon and last night I had a terrible dream that I went to the appointment and something was terribly wrong and I had to have immediate surgery and would be in the hospital for 2 weeks. In the dream Brad was laughing and making dumb jokes about something and I got really upset and dumped water on his lap. But it was SO real and convinced me that something was wrong when I woke up.
Trying to keep tabs on my weight gain with the pregnancy, I've been weighing myself a lot (probably too much) so I don't gain too much weight. In the past 2 days, I've lost 4 pounds. LOST 4 pounds!??! I shouldn't be losing weight at this stage of the pregnancy.. And the catastrophizing immediately began after getting off the scale this morning.
Brad began to rationalize it and try to make me feel better...I threw up a lot yesterday from another poopy diaper/vomiting incident...I've had really bad heartburn lately and haven't been eating as much....I've been exercising more. Even if he was an obstetrician offering me these perfectly reasonable explanations, his logic would be totally lost on me - I am completely in my head today and worrying like crazy. Until I see the baby on the ultrasound at 230 and know that everything is fine, I'm going to worry. It's almost easier to allow myself a day of worrying every now and then, rather than try to fight it off and keep the worrying at bay.
So if I seem a little tightly wound today, you now know why. I'm very busy worrying and catastrophizing (and doing other lawyerly stuff at work of course!).
Friday, October 15, 2010
Oops!
The other night Brad and I were discussing travel plans for next summer. Brad was thinking about going on a trip with Sam just the two of them in August. He suggested that I go to Richmond and stay at my parents' house for a few days while they're gone.
I said, "eh, I don't know if I want to do that. I mean, if I had Sam with me then I would definitely go down there so my parents could help take care of him while you're away. But I don't want to go by myself and just hang out alone at my parents' house with them."
Brad paused for a moment, trying to discern whether or not I was joking...and realized I wasn't.
"You're going to have the new BABY with you!!!" he said.
My jaw dropped and I replied, "RIGHT!!! Shoot, I totally forgot that we'll have another baby then!" Bear in mind that the baby will be born in March - so I should definitely be aware of the fact that we'll have another baby all of next summer. I can't believe that I forgot! We both cracked up at my "oops" moment. Wow - sometimes a pregnancy brain will amaze you!
I said, "eh, I don't know if I want to do that. I mean, if I had Sam with me then I would definitely go down there so my parents could help take care of him while you're away. But I don't want to go by myself and just hang out alone at my parents' house with them."
Brad paused for a moment, trying to discern whether or not I was joking...and realized I wasn't.
"You're going to have the new BABY with you!!!" he said.
My jaw dropped and I replied, "RIGHT!!! Shoot, I totally forgot that we'll have another baby then!" Bear in mind that the baby will be born in March - so I should definitely be aware of the fact that we'll have another baby all of next summer. I can't believe that I forgot! We both cracked up at my "oops" moment. Wow - sometimes a pregnancy brain will amaze you!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Sam's new tricks
Sam is going through incredible developmental growth right now and is amazing us with new things every day. For months we've sang "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and made the spider with our fingers and he's happily watched. The other day we were in the car and the song came on and I noticed in the mirror that he was sitting in his carseat making the spider with his fingers! Now he's obsessed with it and starts the spider on his own with his fingers to get us to sing the song.
One of his other favorite songs is "If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands." He knows the clapping and stomp your feet parts, but we've also been working on "if you're happy and you know it, say hurray" and raising his arms above his head when we say hurray. Last night in the bath, we sang the song and all of a sudden he started raising his arms above his heads for the "Hurray" part of the song.
It just amazes me how connections form in his brain. There are things that we work on for months with him, like saying "please", "thank you", "up", etc. He has said "thank you" one time and that was a few months ago. And then out of nowhere at Little Gym last week, we were doing bubble time and he started saying "bubbles" which is his new favorite word. We say the word "bubbles" probably 100x less than we say "thank you" - and yet he picks up the word bubbles??? I'm thrilled that he has so many new words, but it is always such a surprise and it feels like there's no rhyme or reason to it.
His words now include: Mommy, Daddy, No (his favorite), Ok, dog, down, clean up, sure, bubbles, water, shoe, hi, hello (always while he's talking into something shaped like a phone), and a bunch of animal sounds.
His favorite activity is to blow kisses to anyone or anything. He blows kisses to strangers on the street, cars driving by, dogs, the slide, Mimi & Grandpa over the phone, etc.
He also loves to imitate the phone. The other day we were walking on the sidewalk and saw a teenager holding a cellphone to his ear. Sam took his hand and put it between his ear and his mouth and said "hello? hello? hi!" right as we were walking by the kid on his cell. So funny!
One of his other favorite songs is "If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands." He knows the clapping and stomp your feet parts, but we've also been working on "if you're happy and you know it, say hurray" and raising his arms above his head when we say hurray. Last night in the bath, we sang the song and all of a sudden he started raising his arms above his heads for the "Hurray" part of the song.
It just amazes me how connections form in his brain. There are things that we work on for months with him, like saying "please", "thank you", "up", etc. He has said "thank you" one time and that was a few months ago. And then out of nowhere at Little Gym last week, we were doing bubble time and he started saying "bubbles" which is his new favorite word. We say the word "bubbles" probably 100x less than we say "thank you" - and yet he picks up the word bubbles??? I'm thrilled that he has so many new words, but it is always such a surprise and it feels like there's no rhyme or reason to it.
His words now include: Mommy, Daddy, No (his favorite), Ok, dog, down, clean up, sure, bubbles, water, shoe, hi, hello (always while he's talking into something shaped like a phone), and a bunch of animal sounds.
His favorite activity is to blow kisses to anyone or anything. He blows kisses to strangers on the street, cars driving by, dogs, the slide, Mimi & Grandpa over the phone, etc.
He also loves to imitate the phone. The other day we were walking on the sidewalk and saw a teenager holding a cellphone to his ear. Sam took his hand and put it between his ear and his mouth and said "hello? hello? hi!" right as we were walking by the kid on his cell. So funny!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
It's a Boy!
It’s probably not news that we’re having a boy – since I posted it on my FB status, but it’s such a big announcement I wanted to do a blog post about it too. At 12.5 weeks we had a high resolution ultrasound and the ultrasound tech turned to us and said “Do you want to know the sex?” We were surprised that she could know the sex so early (we didn't find out with Sam until 20 weeks) and we said “yes, do you KNOW the sex?” She said "yes…pretty sure it’s a boy. As if on cue, the baby spread its legs wide open and showed off his private parts. Yup, that’s my boy. We were shocked that we could tell so early. The tech said she wasn’t entirely positive, but pretty sure.
Because of my history of delivering Sam at 32 weeks, I’m being monitored very closely and have to get high resolution ultrasounds every few weeks. At 15.5 weeks we went back and she confirmed without a doubt that we are definitely having a boy!
Once we found out we’re having a boy, Brad turned to me and said “so, I guess this means that we’re going to go for a third baby for a girl?” I was like, “can we PLEASE get through this pregnancy before we start thinking about a third!?!?” I’m not opposed to the idea of three kids, but I can’t even wrap my head around life with 2 right now..much less with three.
People keep asking me if I’m disappointed that I won’t have a girl. I’ll admit that I do love the girl clothes (I’m sorry but they are so stinking cute – so much cuter than the boy clothes). But, after everything we went through with Sam’s premature delivery and spending 3 weeks in a NICU – all I want is a healthy baby and a “normal” pregnancy. I know so many people who have had kids with various health challenges and I am so grateful that Sam is amazingly healthy and developmentally normal (in addition to being sweet, smart, loving, and overall wonderful) considering his very early arrival.
I also really like the idea of 2 brothers being close in age and hopefully playing well together and being close friends. Sam has some adjusting to do before the baby arrives – he doesn’t share very well and gets very anxious seeing me hold a baby. It will be a big adjustment for the whole family, but we’re excited and beginning to think about names, nursery colors, furniture, etc. I know some people don’t like to find out the sex of the baby until the birth b/c they don’t want to ruin the surprise. I feel like it is a surprise no matter when you find out. Knowing the sex helps me to envision the baby and the baby begins to have more of an identity in my mind…it becomes more real to say “he is moving” rather than “it is moving.”
The due date is now March 27 and things are progressing well! The ultrasound tech saw the baby’s face and saw “aww, he’s so cute!” Personally, I think he looks like an alien on the ultrasound – but apparently he’s cute! Can’t wait to meet him!
Because of my history of delivering Sam at 32 weeks, I’m being monitored very closely and have to get high resolution ultrasounds every few weeks. At 15.5 weeks we went back and she confirmed without a doubt that we are definitely having a boy!
Once we found out we’re having a boy, Brad turned to me and said “so, I guess this means that we’re going to go for a third baby for a girl?” I was like, “can we PLEASE get through this pregnancy before we start thinking about a third!?!?” I’m not opposed to the idea of three kids, but I can’t even wrap my head around life with 2 right now..much less with three.
People keep asking me if I’m disappointed that I won’t have a girl. I’ll admit that I do love the girl clothes (I’m sorry but they are so stinking cute – so much cuter than the boy clothes). But, after everything we went through with Sam’s premature delivery and spending 3 weeks in a NICU – all I want is a healthy baby and a “normal” pregnancy. I know so many people who have had kids with various health challenges and I am so grateful that Sam is amazingly healthy and developmentally normal (in addition to being sweet, smart, loving, and overall wonderful) considering his very early arrival.
I also really like the idea of 2 brothers being close in age and hopefully playing well together and being close friends. Sam has some adjusting to do before the baby arrives – he doesn’t share very well and gets very anxious seeing me hold a baby. It will be a big adjustment for the whole family, but we’re excited and beginning to think about names, nursery colors, furniture, etc. I know some people don’t like to find out the sex of the baby until the birth b/c they don’t want to ruin the surprise. I feel like it is a surprise no matter when you find out. Knowing the sex helps me to envision the baby and the baby begins to have more of an identity in my mind…it becomes more real to say “he is moving” rather than “it is moving.”
The due date is now March 27 and things are progressing well! The ultrasound tech saw the baby’s face and saw “aww, he’s so cute!” Personally, I think he looks like an alien on the ultrasound – but apparently he’s cute! Can’t wait to meet him!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Egg Creams Take II
To follow-up on yesterday's post about food cravings, today I NEEDED a good old fashioned egg cream. For those who don't know what an egg cream is - I MUST introduce you to this fabulous drink. Even though I was raised in the south, my New York parents and family indoctrinated me with this wonderful concotion from a very young age.
It is DELICIOUS. You just mix chocolate syrup, seltzer water, and milk n a tall glass. I have no idea how much of each, I don't measure at all when I cook (which is why I'm a lousy baker). Just pour in some of each, stir, taste, and usually I then add more chocolate syrup. It can never be too chocolatey!
It's basically a chocolate soda. There are NO eggs in it. Don't ask me why it's called an egg cream, I have no idea. Here's what it looks like:
It is DELICIOUS. You just mix chocolate syrup, seltzer water, and milk n a tall glass. I have no idea how much of each, I don't measure at all when I cook (which is why I'm a lousy baker). Just pour in some of each, stir, taste, and usually I then add more chocolate syrup. It can never be too chocolatey! But, today, I realized we have no chocolate syrup in the house. So I attempted to improvise by melting some chocolate chips to replace the chocolate syrup. I got it really hot and liquidy, hoping it would mix into the drink quickly before it hardened. No such luck. I ended up with some very clumpy chocolate chunks in the milk soda. I took one taste. YUCK.
So, on Brad's way home from work, guess what he was asked to pick up at the lovely CVS down the road from us? You got it - chocolate syrup! Egg cream Take II turned out fabulously! Yum!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Cravings
I'm always fascinated by the cravings of pregnant women. One friend ate cases and cases of pickled herring during hre pregnancy. Another friend couldn't get enough watermelon. When I was pregnant with Sam I practically became vegetarian. I also discovered the amazing snack of tater tots dipped in chocolate sauce and began putting honey on burritos. Even when I wasn't pregnant, I still think those are good culinary creations!
So far this pregnancy has been somewhat similar - I can barely tolerate red meat. I don't mind it too much if it is disguised in something like a sandwich or spaghetti sauce. Brad suggested making steaks for dinner the other night...soooo not happening.
Last week at 11pm Wednesday night, I NEEDED mandarin oranges. Like whoa. There was no way I could go to sleep without mandarin oranges. So off Brad went to CVS (the only place open nearby) to buy all of their mandarin oranges. And ever since then I've been going through mandarin oranges like nobody's business.
I'm also really into pizza and find new and creative ways to make "healthy" pizza practically every day. Today's creation was a whole wheat English muffin with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Yum! What's not to love about about pizza?
Unfortunately the pregnancy heartburn has returned in full force and I have to be careful eating some of my favorite spicy dishes (Indian, Thai, etc). I feel so bad for people who suffer from heartburn regularly. Thankfully, I don't have heartburn except when I'm pregnant. I'm trying to drink a lot of milk to increase my calcium intake, so that helps with the heartburn (chocolate pudding also helps too!).
I'm trying hard to be healthy and eat lots of fruits and vegetables...on my pizza. Just kidding, I'm being very balanced in my diet along with my many pizza creations! That's all for now, more to come.
So far this pregnancy has been somewhat similar - I can barely tolerate red meat. I don't mind it too much if it is disguised in something like a sandwich or spaghetti sauce. Brad suggested making steaks for dinner the other night...soooo not happening.
Last week at 11pm Wednesday night, I NEEDED mandarin oranges. Like whoa. There was no way I could go to sleep without mandarin oranges. So off Brad went to CVS (the only place open nearby) to buy all of their mandarin oranges. And ever since then I've been going through mandarin oranges like nobody's business.
I'm also really into pizza and find new and creative ways to make "healthy" pizza practically every day. Today's creation was a whole wheat English muffin with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Yum! What's not to love about about pizza?
Unfortunately the pregnancy heartburn has returned in full force and I have to be careful eating some of my favorite spicy dishes (Indian, Thai, etc). I feel so bad for people who suffer from heartburn regularly. Thankfully, I don't have heartburn except when I'm pregnant. I'm trying to drink a lot of milk to increase my calcium intake, so that helps with the heartburn (chocolate pudding also helps too!).
I'm trying hard to be healthy and eat lots of fruits and vegetables...on my pizza. Just kidding, I'm being very balanced in my diet along with my many pizza creations! That's all for now, more to come.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Travels in Traffic with a Toddler
Friday we went to Richmond to be the first house guests at my parents' brand new house! They bought land about a year ago and custom-built a gorgeous home. We absolutely love it and are so happy for them!
We gave them a lawnmower and needed to drive 2 cars to bring it down since we couldn't fit the lawnmower, dog, Sam, suitcases, and us in one car. So I travelled down to Richmond with Sam and the dog Friday by myself. Driving on I-95South the Friday before a 3 day weekend was my first mistake, and we hit major traffic delays. The 90 minute drive took almost 3 hours.
My decision to drive Brad's car (Honda Accord) with the dog so that she could sit in the backseat and entertain Sam was my second mistake. Sam is head over heels in love with the dog. But, he's not always gentle with the dog.
Sam still sits backwards in his carseat - check out his hand reaching out and petting the dog's back. (Yes I was in traffic not moving while I took this picture). My brilliant idea of having the dog sit in the back with him quickly backfired. Sam flipped out every time the dog moved away and was out of arm's reach. Terrific.
After 2 hours of being harassed by Sam, the poor dog began to freak out. She tried to climb into the front seat with me and began shaking and panting. I thought maybe she was thirsty? I had brought some plastic measuring cups as toys for Sam, but poured some of my water into one of the measuring cups and offered it to the dog over my shoulder as she was perched up on the console in between the seats. Of COURSE, the traffic opened up and I had to begin driving again as soon as the dog began thirstily lapping up the water. Great. But, at least she calmed down!
Hours later, we finally made it to Richmond and fell in love with my parents' new house! We brought them a dogwood as a housewarming gift. Dogwoods are the Virginia state flower and tree (At this point, Brad always starts in on the lines from one of our favorite movies, American President, and begins quoting the conversation between Michael Douglas (President in the movie) and the florist trying to order dogwoods for his girlfriend played by Annette Benning). My grandparents gave my parents a dogwood when they first bought their home in Richmond 30 years ago. When we bought our house, my parents gave us a dogwood. It only seemed fitting that they needed a dogwood for their new home.
The house is terrific and HUGE! 4 BR, 4 and 1/2 baths (I tried all of them out when we were there!), a terrific sunroom, enormous family room, and an amazing screened in porch which is my favorite room in the house.
Sam fell in love with the kitchen and thoroughly enjoyed the empty cabinets - they make excellent hiding places for a toddler!
Can't wait for many more future visits!
We gave them a lawnmower and needed to drive 2 cars to bring it down since we couldn't fit the lawnmower, dog, Sam, suitcases, and us in one car. So I travelled down to Richmond with Sam and the dog Friday by myself. Driving on I-95South the Friday before a 3 day weekend was my first mistake, and we hit major traffic delays. The 90 minute drive took almost 3 hours.
My decision to drive Brad's car (Honda Accord) with the dog so that she could sit in the backseat and entertain Sam was my second mistake. Sam is head over heels in love with the dog. But, he's not always gentle with the dog.
After 2 hours of being harassed by Sam, the poor dog began to freak out. She tried to climb into the front seat with me and began shaking and panting. I thought maybe she was thirsty? I had brought some plastic measuring cups as toys for Sam, but poured some of my water into one of the measuring cups and offered it to the dog over my shoulder as she was perched up on the console in between the seats. Of COURSE, the traffic opened up and I had to begin driving again as soon as the dog began thirstily lapping up the water. Great. But, at least she calmed down!
The house is terrific and HUGE! 4 BR, 4 and 1/2 baths (I tried all of them out when we were there!), a terrific sunroom, enormous family room, and an amazing screened in porch which is my favorite room in the house.
Sam fell in love with the kitchen and thoroughly enjoyed the empty cabinets - they make excellent hiding places for a toddler!
Friday, October 08, 2010
Top 5 WORST Mommy Moments
Yesterday morning began with Brad leaving way too early for a breakfast meeting so I got Sam up, dressed, we had breakfast and were about to leave the house…and then as usual, he pooped right before we were about to walk out the door. So we went upstairs to his room to change his diaper. I don’t know what was different about yesterday morning, but I opened the diaper, and my pregnancy-heightened sense of smell just lost it. With one hand holding Sam on the changing table, I grabbed the trashcan next to me and began vomiting. Hearing my scary hurling sounds, Sam began to cry hysterically and wiggle around…still in the open, poopy diaper.
I began to think of my options (as I kept puking) – can I just close up the diaper and bring him to the babysitter and let her deal with it? No, I can’t do that. Desperate, I wondered if I could call a neighbor to come deal with this? No…that would be ridiculous. I can do this, I think. Cursing Brad’s early breakfast meeting and my utter misery, I just took a deep breath and dealt with the poopy diaper between hurling into the trash can. Holding Sam with one hand and the trash can with the other hand, I tried to calm my screaming toddler…Mommy’s ok (puke into trash can)…Mommy’s ok Sam (puke again).
After I finally got him cleaned up and the new diaper on, we both sat on the ground and had a good cry together for about 30 seconds. Then the dog walked in the room and he was instantly happy (the dog is our secret weapon for all times of tears!).
Needless to say, I was a little late to work yesterday and have told Brad that I’m taking a break from poopy diapers for the next few days. Oh the joys of being a Mommy!
I began to think of my options (as I kept puking) – can I just close up the diaper and bring him to the babysitter and let her deal with it? No, I can’t do that. Desperate, I wondered if I could call a neighbor to come deal with this? No…that would be ridiculous. I can do this, I think. Cursing Brad’s early breakfast meeting and my utter misery, I just took a deep breath and dealt with the poopy diaper between hurling into the trash can. Holding Sam with one hand and the trash can with the other hand, I tried to calm my screaming toddler…Mommy’s ok (puke into trash can)…Mommy’s ok Sam (puke again).
After I finally got him cleaned up and the new diaper on, we both sat on the ground and had a good cry together for about 30 seconds. Then the dog walked in the room and he was instantly happy (the dog is our secret weapon for all times of tears!).
Needless to say, I was a little late to work yesterday and have told Brad that I’m taking a break from poopy diapers for the next few days. Oh the joys of being a Mommy!
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