Thursday, January 31, 2008

For All the Pregos Out There

The one thing about having a sick child is that there are many, short sporadic naps through out the day. Because I have nothing better to do or rather I CHOOSE to have nothing better to do, I utilize that "free-time" (I use that term very loosely) surfing the net, reading random articles and catching up on pop culture. A while ago I found this fun quiz entitled "Labor Prediction Quiz". I don't think there is ANYTHING scientific about it, but it's a great way to waste a few minutes of this very cold, long afternoon.

http://www.justmommies.com/quizzes/labor_prediction_quiz.php

According to the quiz results, I will most likely deliver an 8 pounder after my due date. Hmmmm. I don't know about that. Charles and I think that this baby will be smaller than Goose was. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Fun fact: I took the quiz with Lucy and it was pretty spot on, predicting an 8 lb 3 oz baby (correct), after a 13 hour labor (I labored for 15.5 hours, which possibly might have been shorter if her head wouldn't have been so big), after my due date (correct, again). Two out of three. Spooky. One more thing, if you take this quiz, let me know what your results are.

We did it.

After weeks and weeks of putting off sickness, my family has caught the dreaded bug; the same bug that has effected Lucy's entire play group as well as her friends in other states. You know, the one where the congestion, headache, runny nose, stuffy nose, nausea, and fever don't go away? Let me just say that I am glad that I got the flu shot, AND even more importantly, I am elated that currently it seems to be working. (Mama Horton says: I highly recommend the flu shot, along with a daily multivitamin to stave off illness). It's always best that one person in a sick house remains healthy, and even better when that one person is over 18 and can administer medicine (that Lucy is such a slacker) to the unwell.

Personally, I think that Lucy and her father planned this to prepare me for the sleepless nights that lie ahead. After surviving sleep deprivation with an infant, nights like last night are cake. Easy as pie. Mmmmm. A pastry would be good right now.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

A little dramatic, don't you think?

Trying to be a better blogger, I grabbed my camera to snap up some Lucy shots. As always, the girl had her binky stuck in her mouth. I can never get the "money shot" with half of her face being blocked, so I took it from her. She promptly shook her head, "NO". Anyone who has witnessed this display, knows that it's starts out with a gentle back and forth motion, then if her point is not met, turns into what appears to be a full body seizure (i.e. temper tantrum).

Well, apparently my little grump was not in the mood for a photo shoot. I'm a horrible parent. The more dramatic her gestures got, the more I laughed and encouraged this ridiculous behavior. It's so funny. I. Can't. Help. It. Must. Keep. Snapping. Pictures.

Do you suppose she's a little upset?

In the last post, I mentioned Lucy has grown fond of her little blue chair. That is now an understatement. We officially have a new couch potato in our house. If there was any doubt of her lineage, here it is. When she's not tearing the playroom up, her little butt is planted securely in that seat. I can imagine after all this time of sitting on the floor, it's nice to have a soft spot to land, err, I mean watch television.




Here it is, all that requested a belly shot; 32 weeks and 35 pounds. This is the first time it seems the camera has not added ten extra pounds. This picture does not do me any justice, because I feel huge! Wait, I am huge. I have officially stopped counting the number of people telling/asking me "You look like your going to pop!", "Any day now, right?", and my favorite, "Are you carrying multiples?" Sadly, this started at week 25. Seriously, what is wrong with people? Side note: I think that I now have enough material to start my first book, cleverly entitled: What Not to Say to a Pregnant Woman (or Any Woman You Think Might Be Pregnant). I can see it on the New York Times bestseller list now...

The pregnancy and baby are both good. I have narrowed down the cause of most of my hip pain: vacuuming (either I must be one exuberant vacuumer or my hips have reached full stretching capacity and my joints have grown accustomed to their new location). Fortunately for me and unfortunately for Chaz, after learning of this revelation I haven't had to go to the chiropractor in three weeks. Whoopee! Also, the last couple of weeks I've had to contend with random Braxton Hicks contractions. Already. I can't believe it. This pregnancy has definitely been different than the first. Everything seems to happen much more quickly. Thankfully, the BH are no indication that labor is imminent. Still, I can't wait to meet this little girl. Hopefully, she is already well behaved, obedient, and takes direction well. I've been telling her since day one I'd really like her to stay in there and bake until her due date. We'll see. These next eight weeks are going to fly.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

My New Baby.

I don't even know quite where to begin. It feels like forever since we last updated, and for my three loyal blog readers/stalkers this last week and a half must have been pure torture! I apologize and I'll try to make up for it with Lucy pictures.

For those of you who need tangible proof, here it is: my daughter has finally started to nap. Isn't it just the irony of life that as soon as I get Lucy to start napping, I'll have a mewling infant to that will either A: keep her awake by screaming or B: follow in the footsteps of her sister and not EVER nap until she's a toddler? I can't wait to find out.


Lucy and her Daddy love to "conga". At any given moment she will grab the back of his pant legs and follow him all through the house, laughing hysterically the whole way. It's quite strange, but she likes it, so who am I to judge?




Although they are only a half hour away, Lucy doesn't get to see Grandpa Walter and Grandma Boo nearly enough. They visited us this last Sunday and brought lunch. Aunt Sue also stopped by for a quick, which I'm sure was prompted by the mention of food. I'm not sure what I enjoyed more, the visit, the food, or the fact that my father took it upon himself to clean out my oven. I love my Dad... and my very clean oven.


So here's the deal, and as you all know by now Lucy isn't a big eater. The pediatrician said that as long as she's getting nutrients in some form all the while practicing an eating routine (i.e. eating meals at a certain time, eating meals in the high chair), she should be fine. We've devised a morning routine that works out well for everyone.

It goes a little something like this: 7:45 I get up (after listening to Charles hit snooze on the alarm for thirty-five minutes), open the blinds in the living room, dining room and kitchen, make Lucy's breakfast (half a banana nut muffin and 8 oz of Pedisure), make my much needed cup of coffee and bowl of cereal, head back to the bedroom, open up the blinds, push play on the DVD player, lay the muffin and sippy cup next to Lucy, and sit down at the computer to check the news. Lucy wakes up on her own (hopefully by this point Charles is out of bed) and eats breakfast in bed. We both get about a half hour to forty-five minutes to have breakfast and veg. It's pretty nice.

With such a nice laid back routine it was strange when Lucy got out of bed yesterday within minutes of starting breakfast. She grabbed her drink and headed down the hall to the living room. I didn't think much of it, because she can be pretty busy in the morning. You know, doing what toddlers do. After ten minutes of not hearing a peep come down the hall, I went to investigate and this is what I found.

Hysterical. I watched her drinking her milk, tapping her leg up and down for a few minutes. Doesn't she look so grown up? Legs crossed and all. So weird to see my baby behaving like such a little lady.


For those of you who haven't heard, Charles had open hand surgery on Friday. Everything went well and he is fast on the road to recovery. For the last few days and because of incredibly strong pain meds, Lucy and I have been employed as "chauffeurs". The pay is crappy, but the benefits are good (a trip to Starbucks and extra time spent with the hubby). Monday we took Charles to his first occupational therapy appointment. While he was exercising his hand, the goose decided to go rounds with the cinder block in the middle of the room. Needless to say, the cinder block won. She was healing quite nicely until I took a washcloth to face during her nightly bath and wiped away the scab. It looks worse now than it did in the picture. Here's proof that once again, I won't be winning any parenting awards this year.



And finally... let me introduce you to my new Baby, baby bag that is. For Christmas Charles special ordered a hand bang for me through the lovely ladies at my favorite store, Farmstead. She just came in today, and I couldn't be more thrilled. Seriously, I got teary-eyed when I saw her for the first time (I'm ridiculous, I know). I love purses and bags and shoes and all things accessory. This is no exception. Isn't she beautiful? Charles wanted to get me a nice diaper bag, but I wasn't liking ANYTHING out there. So he suggested I design my own through hand bag designer Glenda Gies. Actually, all I did was pick the style of bag and fabric, so as right now, she's one of a kind. Technically, she is not a diaper bag, just an oversized purse, like all of my other diaper bags. The inside is a beautiful brown and white polkadot satin, and the jeweled broach on the outside (it may be hard to see) was a gift from the store owner as a thanks for purchasing the bag. I really, really love her. Is it wrong to love a bag so much?

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Compare and Contrast

Saturday Charles and I got to see our sweet Baby's face for the first time. We did the same thing with Lucy, and I think knowing what to expect made the visit that much more exciting and enjoyable. Boy, is she cute. See for yourself...

Unfortunately, our little one is a bit stubborn and "camera shy". She failed to understand the dollar value of a good hour and a half long 3-D/4-D ultrasound and spent the majority of the ninety minutes with her feet, hands, and umbilical cord on or near her face. No amount of poking, prodding, begging, bribing, bathroom breaking, or position changing (mine that is, not hers) urged her to move the tent of extremities she used to shield her face. Although, she can't communicate with sound yet, the message here is loud and clear. Just like her father, she is good at demonstrating strong nonverbal skills. Although, he's usually in the car...

Here we have both Lucy and Baby's 29 week ultrasound pictures. Both girls are making similar "kissy" faces. Lucy's picture is first. They both have their Dad's full lips and Mom's itty, bitty chin.

The only differentiator: Baby's super chipmunk cheeks. I already want to pinch em'!

Lucy's feet: Just like Dad's with the toes making a perfect staircase. Normal looking toes as my sister Sue so eloquently puts it. She has a slight arch, which does not come from the Asian side of her genes. Flat applied to many parts of my body pre-pregnancy... What puberty didn't take care of, pregnancy finally has!

Baby's feet: Poor baby, flat as can be with the second toe slightly longer than the first... just like Mom's. (Spoken to my unborn child:) Sorry for the wonky feet, kid. You'll learn that even though they are not the most attractive, they are definitely functional. Hey, life's about finding the silver lining, right?


For those of you blog readers that don't actually like to read, either close the window or proceed with caution. There are no more pictures. You've been warned.

Good news for those of you holding your breath in suspense and wonderment, I passed my glucose test like a champ, as well as the anemia screening. I, like you, was concerned about both due to my previous testing history, but everything turned out well and I couldn't be more relieved.

Lucy is even more fun and crazy these days. She is getting so big and tall. Just in the last few weeks, we've been noticing that every time we dress her she looks as if she's prepared for a flood. Time for some new pants. Eating is still a challenge; thank the Lord for Pediasure. She's talking much more these days. I think it's due to the fact we hardly ever give her the binky anymore. Without the cork, she's quite the chatterbox. Go figure!

Baby is active, active, active! I'm telling you, the girl is always on the move. Sometime soon I'll post video of her kneeing and elbowing me. It's pretty extreme. Saturday the ultrasound technician even commented on how she could teach fetal anatomy with my belly. Sleep is an after thought these days. With the baby constantly in motion and my hips constantly slipping out of joint, I just can't seem to get comfortable. Ah, the joys of pregnancy and the sacrifices we mothers make for our children. (Can hear the violins playing in the background?)

Speaking of pregnancy, my sister has finally joined the blogging world. Check it out in the link section under Supavan and Kevin. She'll have her first ultrasound next Friday and we'll see if the Khamphakdy side will ever have a grandson! She and Kevin are our only hope.

Also, one of my best friends and her husband, Amy and Adam, are pregnant with twins! Now I'm waiting for them to start a blog (hint, hint). Baby A is a boy and as of right now, Baby B is shy. Twice the fun and twice the love. Congrats, you guys!