Scheduling

Roxy's pawis swollen again, so I called the vet this morning.

Receptionist: Hmmm... Well, I don't suppose you could get here by 10:30?

Me: Um, no. (It's 10:20.)

Her: Well, I don't have any other appointments open. Do you think you could leave her for the day, and they'll look at her between appointments?

Me: Sure.

Her: OK, can you get her here by noon?

Me: Maybe...
(Thinking - Carina will wake up at about 11:00, and I'll need to feed her, change her, get her and Roxy into the car...

Me: It might be a bit later; I have to feed the baby at 11:00.

Her: Well, it would really be better for us if you're here by noon.

OK, lady. I'll try to tell the 1-month-old about YOUR busy schedule.

Bring on the Bottle

More Carina photos...

My mother-in-law just cleaned my whole house for me. It's pretty nice walking around barefoot without getting dog hair stuck to my feet. Thanks, Meg!

We're going to Texas Roadhouse tonight with Carina to have dinner with Sarah in honor of her mom being in town. Carina had a pretty big crying spell just now, so we'll see how she does tonight. We're going to pack a bottle, just in case.

Carina is 4 weeks old today, so I'm going to start pumping enough for at least one feeding a day. Then Gavin gets to get up and feed her at 5AM instead of me. :)

The Early Bird

I was going through some old posts applying labels, and I came across this one.

Note to Sarah and Jose: Maybe the glow skull needs to start work early this year...

Selective Memory

I was thinking about it today, and I've already really forgotten how much labor sucked. I feel basically healed, and with that last bit of physical evidence of the trauma of delivery out of the way it's starting to seem like it was no biggie. That took less than 4 weeks, for the record.

Meanwhile, I'm finding the early stages of parenthood less than totally thrilling. She isn't doing a whole lot yet to be interested in, but all that not doing much is taking up all my time and energy. I had hoped to set up dinner for tonight, but that kind of fell apart this morning when she decided not to take her morning nap. She wasn't a very happy awake baby, though, and I was feeling pretty much at my wits end when she finally went down at about 1:00 PM. Then I had to do laundry because we were out of plastic pants and she'd need a diaper change when she woke up. That meant I didn't get to take my nap right then, which is bad because she's usually fussy after her 3:00 feeding. Thank God, Gavin came home a bit early and was able to entertain her after that feeding while I grabbed an hour of sleep. By then it was 5:30, and she was wanting another meal. I considered it a triumph to shove her back in Gavin's arms and head out to the pharmacy and Quiznos to pick up dinner. Yes friends, the highlight of my day was driving to Walgreens.

Actually, that's not true. The highlight of my day was the few precious minutes of cuddling her after she'd eaten and was content. I'm sure when I look back on this in a month or two, what I'll remember is that cuddle and not the near-despair of the next two hours. Memory is funny that way.

Bathtime

Carina's umbilical cord stump fell off a couple days ago, and tonight we gave her her first "real" bath. In the infant tub, of course, but she actualy got to sit in the water. I think she liked it a bit better than the sponge bath - she didn't start really screaming for a few minutes. It may have taken us a bit too long, though, because I think she was a bit cold when she came out. She's been sleeping like a dream this evening, though. :)

Last I wrote, I was starting to plan my first Astros outing since the birth. A) I needed a break and B) it was the Mariners! Sarah was out of town this weekend, but Jason thought he'd be able to go. The idea grew on me to the point where after I found out Jason was going to be stuck at work and couldn't find anyone else to go with me, I went anyway. It wasn't bad. All the season ticket holders around us wanted to hear about the baby, so it wasn't really like I was there by myself. I had to leave at the 7th inning stretch because I really need to get to bed early these days. But, still, go me!

More Baby Photos

Because, at the very least, her grandparents will care...


Photos of Carina in the NICU and at home are posted on her web page. The NICU photos are a little sad with all the tubes coming out of her, but it's all good now that we've got her home. :)

Same old, same old (or same new, maybe) here. I got out of the house to go to lunch with Becca yesterday. I'm considering trying to go to part of the baseball game on Saturday. I'll probably have to leave early, because 9:00 is a pretty hard bedtime for me right now, but it would be nice to use a ticket.

First Outing

Yesterday, we got adventurous and took Carina to a wedding. It was close to home, a short ceremony, and no reception just cake and punch at the church. We were there less than two hours. She got hungry after the ceremony, and I had to retreat to a stifling hot bathroom to feed her, but otherwise it went OK. I had a very, very strange moment, though, when she started crying during the ceremony and I ended up in the back of the church with other parents who's kids weren't sitting still. I suddenly looked around and realized that I was one of those mothers who were only paying half attention to what was going on because they were concentrating on keeping their kids quiet. Very weird.

I'm having this strange thing where I keep wondering when this little experiment is going to be over and someone is going to come make this seem more normal. Or like she's going to go home soon or something. I'm finding it hard to believe (and rather intimidating when I manage to believe it for a bit) that this thing is FOR LIFE. I mean, she's here until she grows up and goes to college. That's a long time. I'm not sure I ever really got that into my head before.

I keep feeling like I should write about something else, but there's nothing else to write about. I've been doing baby, baby, and more baby. At least that won't last forever.

The Silver Lining

We've been getting questions about when people can visit. Basically, we're good to have visitors any time, just call ahead and check that we're not napping or something. Nap times for the parents tend to be in the early-mid afternoon.

Carina had another rough night last night. She ate about every two hours, and fussed in between.

Breastfeeding has been very frustrating for me. Carina is impatient, which makes waiting for the right moment to latch hard. She's not latching right, and I'm sore as a result. Even though I know there's a problem, it's been hard to do anything to correct it.

The silver lining is that I've been dropping weight like crazy. I went in to the hospital for delivery at 233 lb. The day I came home, I was 220 lb. In the next 24 hours, I dropped 5 lb. Today, I'm right about 200 lb. I never thought I'd be excited to get back under 200, but I am. I've been going out for a walk once a day. I can't go far yet, but I figure establishing the habit is good.

Sleep is Good

I'm feeling much better today. After a minor mental breakdown yesterday afternoon when I was convinced that I was failing at this whole breastfeeding thing (aided and abetted, no doubt, by the 10-day-post-pardem hormones), Carina slept in 4 hour chunks all night last night. I also went to bed at around 9:00 PM, which I'm sure helped tons.

Today, I hope to escape the house for a bit. OK, fine, I'm just going to go to Target to get some more nursing bras, but it feels like I've been home all the time forever. Just perception, of course. Yesterday was really the first day I haven't gone out for anything.

Honeymoon Over

On Carina's first night home, we only delt with one slightly fussy period between 1:00 and 2:00 AM. Last night, the fussiness lasted from 2:00 AM until 5:00 AM. As close as I can tell, she has her days and nights mixed up and wants to eat every 3-4 hours during the day and every 2 hours at night. Not so happy for Mom and Dad. Hard to tell if it's a pattern yet, though.

We went to the pediatrician this morning for a post-NICU checkup. He says that she looks great. Carina showed her displeasure at the rectal thermometer by peeing and pooping all over the exam table.

One of the interesting things we've experienced is that we're getting different advice about things from different healthcare people. Clean the cord with alcohol. Don't clean the cord with alcohol. Feed every 3-4 hours. Feed when the baby wakes up. Feed every 2 hours during the day and 4 at night (would be nice). Use the breast shield to help her latch on. Don't use the breast shield; it does more harm than good.

My conclusion: Everybody just wings this parenting deal. Which isn't going to help me get more sleep tonight, but there you go.

Carina Comes Home

She's home! We went to the hospital for her 1 PM feeding, and while we were there the doctor came by and said she was ready to go home. The process of discharging her was kind of long, and we were all exhausted when we got home.

We were really excited to see how the dogs would react to Carina. We cooked up a plan on the way home to leave her in her carseat on a high surface, let the dogs in, let them smell her hat, and then get her out of the seat and let them meet her.

Well, we let the dogs in, and Roxy's nose started going as soon as she came in through the door. She sniffed around right up to the table in the living room where we had the car carrier. Both dogs were trying to see into the carrier to figure out WHAT IS THAT? I got her out, and sat down on the couch. I don't think I've ever seen them sniff something so much, ever! Interestingly, Zoya seems more intrigued that Roxy at this point which is opposite what I expected. Zoya actually looks at her in much the same way as she looked at Nick's bird. Hmmm...

Expected Homecoming

Carina is doing very, very well. She's been put into the level 2 NICU now, so we don't have to wear gowns to visit her anymore. She's taken all her feedings very well, and I was allowed to breastfeed her directly tonight. The nurse told us that they're considering letting her come home on Monday.

Our little girl is quite the eater. I thought she was going to suck my breasts right off tonight! I knew I was in for it when we visited her the other day, and she was making these very loud sucking noises on the pacifier. The couple across the way thought it was us blowing kisses at her! :)

I can't say how thankful we are that she is OK, and that we're going to have her home soon. It's too bad that she had to go through all this, but at least we're sure she's OK now.

By the way, if you follow the "Baby Countdown" link to the left, there are now links to photos of Carina.