Eddie has hit a lot of developmental milestones lately. As you recall, I was super excited when he learned to sit up about a week ago.
Apparently the milestone directly following sitting up is:
SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS
If you don't believe me, feel free to come hang out at our house and I'm sure he'll gladly demonstrate it for you. Or you can ask all the quiet old ladies who were unfortunate enough to be at Joanne's Fabric store while we were there this afternoon. I seriously saw a few of them fumbling to turn their hearing aids down.
It is ridiculous. He looks so amazed and proud of himself when he does it. I can't help smile through my cringing.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
This Time Last Year
Today marks one year since my SVT episode landed me in the ER and then overnight in the hospital. I was 14 weeks pregnant then and was worried that my baby had suffered. Lucky for me he's just perfect!
At the time, the cardiologist told me that I would need to have electrical ablation done to prevent it from happening again (in other words a procedure where the doctor scars the "bad" neural pathway(s) inside my heart). I talked to everyone about this issue and asked who would be a good doctor to see for a second opinion. Cardiologist #1 is known for being pretty aggressive when it comes to doing surgery (rather than having a more holistic, "let's wait and see what happens" or medication/lifestyle management attitude). Eddie's doctor recommended someone to me and last week even THAT doctor said I need to have the ablation surgery!
He said the fact that my heart got up to 270+ BPM and that I had a rare polymorphic tachycardia happen after I reset my heart means that my heart REALLY didn't like it and it will happen again.
Lovely.
I'm still coming to terms with the idea of heart surgery. The good news is that the procedure has a 98% success rate for curing the problem. Which means I will qualify for life insurance again. The only downside is that there are risks, like any other surgery (puncturing a lung or vein, needing a pacemaker as a result, stroke). If the surgery doesn't fix the problem then I'll have to take a beta blocker for the rest of my life, which really isn't the end of the world.
Dave and I are trying to determine when I should do this surgery. It'll be after we go to France (so not too soon) but before I take my qualifying exam (so not too late). I haven't set the date for my exam but there's no way I'll take it before the surgery because I'll probably over-stress about it and set off my heart again. We'll probably wait until summer, when Eddie is much less dependent on me for his caloric intake. All total I should only be "down" for 3-5 days, which is great because I can basically take a long weekend from school for recovery.
At the time, the cardiologist told me that I would need to have electrical ablation done to prevent it from happening again (in other words a procedure where the doctor scars the "bad" neural pathway(s) inside my heart). I talked to everyone about this issue and asked who would be a good doctor to see for a second opinion. Cardiologist #1 is known for being pretty aggressive when it comes to doing surgery (rather than having a more holistic, "let's wait and see what happens" or medication/lifestyle management attitude). Eddie's doctor recommended someone to me and last week even THAT doctor said I need to have the ablation surgery!
He said the fact that my heart got up to 270+ BPM and that I had a rare polymorphic tachycardia happen after I reset my heart means that my heart REALLY didn't like it and it will happen again.
Lovely.
I'm still coming to terms with the idea of heart surgery. The good news is that the procedure has a 98% success rate for curing the problem. Which means I will qualify for life insurance again. The only downside is that there are risks, like any other surgery (puncturing a lung or vein, needing a pacemaker as a result, stroke). If the surgery doesn't fix the problem then I'll have to take a beta blocker for the rest of my life, which really isn't the end of the world.
Dave and I are trying to determine when I should do this surgery. It'll be after we go to France (so not too soon) but before I take my qualifying exam (so not too late). I haven't set the date for my exam but there's no way I'll take it before the surgery because I'll probably over-stress about it and set off my heart again. We'll probably wait until summer, when Eddie is much less dependent on me for his caloric intake. All total I should only be "down" for 3-5 days, which is great because I can basically take a long weekend from school for recovery.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Weekend Review
So much to say!
Friday: My phone has been freezing on me when I take pictures or send text messages (really, the only two things I do with my phone other than bother my dad at work by calling him). So Dave took it to the Verizon store here in town and since they aren't a "corporate" store they couldn't replace it. So they tried to do an over-the-air software update but it completely froze at 0% progress and stayed that way. I could answer calls but not make them.
We signed the docs to refinance our house. Woo! We started the process just before Halloween...it took too long.
Saturday: Dave got up super early to pack for his flight to AR for our nephew's wedding (which is on Monday...who gets married on a Monday?!). I baked cookies and made pizza for the mother-baby group I hosted from 11am-2pm. It was a group of some of the gals from the UCD graduate student pregnancy support group. All the babies played well together and Eddie went down for a nap (with very little fussing!) half way through. So he and I aren't in the group picture...oh well.
I walked Eddie and the dogs to the Verizon store to see if they could do ANYTHING about my phone (I was at the point of using Gmail chat to tell Edward to tell someone else to call me if I needed to talk to them...how lame). The stupid guys there said there was nothing they could do and I'd have to go to a corporate store or mail my phone in.
Eddie and I drove to Livermore with the doggies. He didn't get to bed until 11pm but I was able to do everything in his bedtime routine anyway--with the minivan having so much room I threw his baby bathtub in the back so he even got a real bath! He slept in the Pack-n-Play next to my bed...it worked okay except that he could see me and the dogs through the mesh sides, which was distracting him from going to sleep. I'll have to rig up a blanket on the outside so he can't see through it next time. I might also make the dogs sleep in another room next time because they woke him up in the morning jumping off the bed when they wanted to have their breakfast.
Sunday: We had breakfast at Emil Villas with my parents, then my dad and I went to Safeway to order a wedding shower cake for Dyani's shower. I completely forgot that it was Super Bowl Sunday--the store was PACKED. We ran into Mr. Fong (my high school physics teacher) and it was neat that he remembered who I was. He told my dad that he still has my dad's silly "Physicist At Large" business card and that he wants to make himself a shirt that says "Teacher At Large."
Then we went to a "real" Verizon store where they replaced my phone and even gave me a free 1GB card for my phone. The lady programmed the phone to automatically save all my pictures and videos to the card, just in case the phone craps out again everything is safe. (I'm planning on upgrading to a fancier phone next week anyway but it is nice to have a working phone again.) She also put the automatic contacts update app on my phone, which is great (and free).
Then my mom and I went to the Big White House Winery to figure out Dyani's shower. It's going to be held at the winery in only two short weeks--we bought all the wine we'll need and figured out how many tables we need to rent. It was fun and we got to do some tastings, too. I made a spreadsheet (surprise, surprise) of all the stuff I need to get done for the shower (decorations, make the food, signs to put on the road, etc.).
Since Eddie fell asleep in the car going home from the winery I let him stay in the car with my mom at the house while I loaded everything up. He stayed asleep until I was almost done shopping at Babies R Us in Dublin. A few weeks ago there was a deal on Facebook where you'd get a free $5 giftcard if you became a fan of Babies R Us or Toys R Us. So I did it and got Edward and Dave to do it, too. So I got to spend $15 there today for free! I bought some PJs and a pair of booties for Eddie and a pair of suede moccasins for my friend's baby (they are short of cash and shoes)--everything was on clearance and I only had to pay $3.60 of my own money. Not too shabby for all that stuff! Before heading back to Davis, Eddie nursed and had a diaper change in the "mother's room." That store bugs me because they sell SO MUCH STUFF that babies really don't need ($400 cribs? And diaper wipes warmers, really? We all survived without warm wipes just fine...) but I do love using the mother's room for nursing.
Whew...since being home tonight I've gotten the diapers started in the wash, packed my lunch and got all the nipples and lids put on Eddie's bottles for daycare tomorrow, ate dinner, let Eddie and Edward have a video chat session to show off the little man's sitting-up and screaming skills, and put Eddie to bed.
I'm headed there myself...another crazy week starts tomorrow...
Friday: My phone has been freezing on me when I take pictures or send text messages (really, the only two things I do with my phone other than bother my dad at work by calling him). So Dave took it to the Verizon store here in town and since they aren't a "corporate" store they couldn't replace it. So they tried to do an over-the-air software update but it completely froze at 0% progress and stayed that way. I could answer calls but not make them.
We signed the docs to refinance our house. Woo! We started the process just before Halloween...it took too long.
Saturday: Dave got up super early to pack for his flight to AR for our nephew's wedding (which is on Monday...who gets married on a Monday?!). I baked cookies and made pizza for the mother-baby group I hosted from 11am-2pm. It was a group of some of the gals from the UCD graduate student pregnancy support group. All the babies played well together and Eddie went down for a nap (with very little fussing!) half way through. So he and I aren't in the group picture...oh well.
I walked Eddie and the dogs to the Verizon store to see if they could do ANYTHING about my phone (I was at the point of using Gmail chat to tell Edward to tell someone else to call me if I needed to talk to them...how lame). The stupid guys there said there was nothing they could do and I'd have to go to a corporate store or mail my phone in.Eddie and I drove to Livermore with the doggies. He didn't get to bed until 11pm but I was able to do everything in his bedtime routine anyway--with the minivan having so much room I threw his baby bathtub in the back so he even got a real bath! He slept in the Pack-n-Play next to my bed...it worked okay except that he could see me and the dogs through the mesh sides, which was distracting him from going to sleep. I'll have to rig up a blanket on the outside so he can't see through it next time. I might also make the dogs sleep in another room next time because they woke him up in the morning jumping off the bed when they wanted to have their breakfast.
Sunday: We had breakfast at Emil Villas with my parents, then my dad and I went to Safeway to order a wedding shower cake for Dyani's shower. I completely forgot that it was Super Bowl Sunday--the store was PACKED. We ran into Mr. Fong (my high school physics teacher) and it was neat that he remembered who I was. He told my dad that he still has my dad's silly "Physicist At Large" business card and that he wants to make himself a shirt that says "Teacher At Large."
Then we went to a "real" Verizon store where they replaced my phone and even gave me a free 1GB card for my phone. The lady programmed the phone to automatically save all my pictures and videos to the card, just in case the phone craps out again everything is safe. (I'm planning on upgrading to a fancier phone next week anyway but it is nice to have a working phone again.) She also put the automatic contacts update app on my phone, which is great (and free).
Then my mom and I went to the Big White House Winery to figure out Dyani's shower. It's going to be held at the winery in only two short weeks--we bought all the wine we'll need and figured out how many tables we need to rent. It was fun and we got to do some tastings, too. I made a spreadsheet (surprise, surprise) of all the stuff I need to get done for the shower (decorations, make the food, signs to put on the road, etc.).
Since Eddie fell asleep in the car going home from the winery I let him stay in the car with my mom at the house while I loaded everything up. He stayed asleep until I was almost done shopping at Babies R Us in Dublin. A few weeks ago there was a deal on Facebook where you'd get a free $5 giftcard if you became a fan of Babies R Us or Toys R Us. So I did it and got Edward and Dave to do it, too. So I got to spend $15 there today for free! I bought some PJs and a pair of booties for Eddie and a pair of suede moccasins for my friend's baby (they are short of cash and shoes)--everything was on clearance and I only had to pay $3.60 of my own money. Not too shabby for all that stuff! Before heading back to Davis, Eddie nursed and had a diaper change in the "mother's room." That store bugs me because they sell SO MUCH STUFF that babies really don't need ($400 cribs? And diaper wipes warmers, really? We all survived without warm wipes just fine...) but I do love using the mother's room for nursing.
Whew...since being home tonight I've gotten the diapers started in the wash, packed my lunch and got all the nipples and lids put on Eddie's bottles for daycare tomorrow, ate dinner, let Eddie and Edward have a video chat session to show off the little man's sitting-up and screaming skills, and put Eddie to bed.
I'm headed there myself...another crazy week starts tomorrow...
Friday, February 5, 2010
Good Daddy
The FedEx truck pulled up yesterday while the babies were napping and dropped off a package. It was addressed to Dave but since he didn't tell me not to open it, I did. And my heart melted into a puddle when I saw that he had ordered Eddie a CD of kid songs. 
Dave mentioned the tapes of kid songs he used to listen to on the long drives between Gualala and Santa Rosa (the nearest city). Singing along was apparently a whole-family activity. I know he's been looking for a CD or mp3 collection of the same songs that used to be on his 1980s cassettes called Wee Sing Silly Songs. He kept finding collections that were close but not the same. Apparently he finally found it! I think it so sweet of him to buy this for our baby boy. (I just love saying that: our baby boy. I still--after nearly 6 months--can't believe we have our own precious babe.)
Anything having to do with Dave's childhood is special to us. There are a couple of years during elementary school that he hardly remembers because he had a really bad case of Lyme and it affected his memory (he probably also blocked a lot out). So I just know I'll melt into another puddle when he puts the disc into the player and starts singing along for Eddie. Knowing Dave he'll dance along, too!
What a good daddy!
Dave mentioned the tapes of kid songs he used to listen to on the long drives between Gualala and Santa Rosa (the nearest city). Singing along was apparently a whole-family activity. I know he's been looking for a CD or mp3 collection of the same songs that used to be on his 1980s cassettes called Wee Sing Silly Songs. He kept finding collections that were close but not the same. Apparently he finally found it! I think it so sweet of him to buy this for our baby boy. (I just love saying that: our baby boy. I still--after nearly 6 months--can't believe we have our own precious babe.)Anything having to do with Dave's childhood is special to us. There are a couple of years during elementary school that he hardly remembers because he had a really bad case of Lyme and it affected his memory (he probably also blocked a lot out). So I just know I'll melt into another puddle when he puts the disc into the player and starts singing along for Eddie. Knowing Dave he'll dance along, too!
What a good daddy!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Change of Plans
Since the beginning of the quarter I've been baby sitting two babies during the afternoons on the days I'm home with Eddie. Heidi is almost exactly Eddie's age and Anthony is now almost 10 months old.
I wanted to watch other kids because we could use the money to offset the cost of having a nanny or daycare for Eddie. And also because I wanted to help out fellow students who needed affordable childcare. Heidi's mom is just finishing up her dissertation and Anthony's mom is an undergrad psychology major.
Heidi is a much more sensitive child than Eddie or Anthony. She never seemed to relax or enjoy herself while she was here. That's expected the first couple of times as she adjusts to me and our house, but after a while it became clear to me that this situation was just not good for her. There was too much noise with the boys here, too much activity with the dogs running around, and if one of the boys screamed suddenly (as they are wont to do) she'd get so startled that she'd start screaming. Often she'd get into these cycles of screaming, not eating, and not sleeping for the entire 6 hours she was here.
It pained me to watch her day after day knowing there was nothing I could do to comfort her short of taking her to the back of the house where she could regroup. I could do that sometimes when/if my mom were here with me, but generally I was here alone and couldn't leave the other kids for long enough to clam her down. Even so, she was not easily calmed. I think we were both sensing each other's stress.
It became so stressful for me that I began loathing Tuesdays and Thursdays when I should have been looking forward to spending time with Eddie and his pint-sized friends.
After 4 weeks with Heidi I decided to ask her mom to find someone else to watch her. Heidi's mom was surprised when I told her, but she was very understanding. I explained that I just didn't think this was the right situation for Heidi at this point. That night I compiled all the resources I had used to find care for Eddie and emailed them to her...it turns out she was able to get her sister to watch Heidi, which I think is great because it is family.
All through college I nannied and babysat (even did some geriatric care) and I've always felt that getting paid for this type of work should be the perk, not the reason. If you woudn't watch a particular person for free then you shouldn't do it at all. You have to be passionate about helping and caring for other people. This was a perfect example of that: the situation was not good for anyone (me, Heidi, Eddie, or even Dave since he had to deal with my stress).
So now it is just me, Eddie, and Anthony in the afternoons. Already I feel better. I'm less stressed so the kids are undoubtedly happier and I feel better knowing that Heidi is getting what she needs.
I wanted to watch other kids because we could use the money to offset the cost of having a nanny or daycare for Eddie. And also because I wanted to help out fellow students who needed affordable childcare. Heidi's mom is just finishing up her dissertation and Anthony's mom is an undergrad psychology major.
Heidi is a much more sensitive child than Eddie or Anthony. She never seemed to relax or enjoy herself while she was here. That's expected the first couple of times as she adjusts to me and our house, but after a while it became clear to me that this situation was just not good for her. There was too much noise with the boys here, too much activity with the dogs running around, and if one of the boys screamed suddenly (as they are wont to do) she'd get so startled that she'd start screaming. Often she'd get into these cycles of screaming, not eating, and not sleeping for the entire 6 hours she was here.
It pained me to watch her day after day knowing there was nothing I could do to comfort her short of taking her to the back of the house where she could regroup. I could do that sometimes when/if my mom were here with me, but generally I was here alone and couldn't leave the other kids for long enough to clam her down. Even so, she was not easily calmed. I think we were both sensing each other's stress.
It became so stressful for me that I began loathing Tuesdays and Thursdays when I should have been looking forward to spending time with Eddie and his pint-sized friends.
After 4 weeks with Heidi I decided to ask her mom to find someone else to watch her. Heidi's mom was surprised when I told her, but she was very understanding. I explained that I just didn't think this was the right situation for Heidi at this point. That night I compiled all the resources I had used to find care for Eddie and emailed them to her...it turns out she was able to get her sister to watch Heidi, which I think is great because it is family.
All through college I nannied and babysat (even did some geriatric care) and I've always felt that getting paid for this type of work should be the perk, not the reason. If you woudn't watch a particular person for free then you shouldn't do it at all. You have to be passionate about helping and caring for other people. This was a perfect example of that: the situation was not good for anyone (me, Heidi, Eddie, or even Dave since he had to deal with my stress).
So now it is just me, Eddie, and Anthony in the afternoons. Already I feel better. I'm less stressed so the kids are undoubtedly happier and I feel better knowing that Heidi is getting what she needs.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Weekends Are Too Short!
Our weekend was fabulous...but way, way too short.
Dave was here on Friday to take care of Eddie while I was at school. He showed our "manny" (a nice student named Jacob) how to take care of Eddie and let them hang out for an hour to get to know each other.
The weather was AMAZING on Saturday so we got up early and let Eddie have his morning nap in the stroller while we walked the dogs downtown.
We ate breakfast at Bernardo's, then hung out with some other dog owners at the Farmers Market (border collie owners have a tendency to find each other). Then we ran some errands. My favorite part was stopping at a new mom-and-pop cafe for a treat. There is a proper changing table in the bathroom and no one minds when I nurse Eddie there--two things I have grown to love in an eatery. (Dave liked it because Office Space was playing on the TV behind me.)
When we got back home we all worked outside in the fresh air. Eddie spent more than an hour happily bouncing in his jumperoo seat on the patio while I weeded the little yard. Then he spent another hour in the backpack while I weeded and raked leaves in the front yard. Eventually he fell asleep...so I just set the pack on the porch, threw a blanket on him, and kept on working.
We ended the day with our friends, John and Jessica, coming over to make s'mores around the fire pit. Eddie was asleep by that point so it was nice to have some adult time. =) Not that I really feel like much of an adult. More like a kid with a kid...but you know.
Today was fun because Dave and I got to go on a DATE! When I heard that my 67 year old mother saw Avatar last week I decided that I really had to see it. I'm sooooooooooooo glad that I did. It was really, really, really good. I liked the love story part, all the current events innuendos, and the special effects (we looked stunning in our 3D glasses). I told Dave we might have to buy it when it comes out on DVD...and we'll also have to buy a bigger/nicer TV on which to watch it. =)
Last week I started brushing Eddie's gums with his baby gum stimulator brush that came in his hygiene kit. Dave got such a kick out of watching Eddie munch on the brush after I was done poking around his mouth.
His bedtime routine is getting longer and longer but at least it is firm: around 8:10-8:20pm he has a bath in the kitchen, he gets dried off in the living room, dressed in his jammies, gums brushed, then we try to read a cloth book in the rocking chair (usually doesn't work because by this time he's super tired and fussy), then he nurses, and finally (while still awake) he goes down in the crib. Usually he fusses for a few minutes but he's getting better.
Dave was here on Friday to take care of Eddie while I was at school. He showed our "manny" (a nice student named Jacob) how to take care of Eddie and let them hang out for an hour to get to know each other.
The weather was AMAZING on Saturday so we got up early and let Eddie have his morning nap in the stroller while we walked the dogs downtown.
We ate breakfast at Bernardo's, then hung out with some other dog owners at the Farmers Market (border collie owners have a tendency to find each other). Then we ran some errands. My favorite part was stopping at a new mom-and-pop cafe for a treat. There is a proper changing table in the bathroom and no one minds when I nurse Eddie there--two things I have grown to love in an eatery. (Dave liked it because Office Space was playing on the TV behind me.)
When we got back home we all worked outside in the fresh air. Eddie spent more than an hour happily bouncing in his jumperoo seat on the patio while I weeded the little yard. Then he spent another hour in the backpack while I weeded and raked leaves in the front yard. Eventually he fell asleep...so I just set the pack on the porch, threw a blanket on him, and kept on working.
We ended the day with our friends, John and Jessica, coming over to make s'mores around the fire pit. Eddie was asleep by that point so it was nice to have some adult time. =) Not that I really feel like much of an adult. More like a kid with a kid...but you know.Today was fun because Dave and I got to go on a DATE! When I heard that my 67 year old mother saw Avatar last week I decided that I really had to see it. I'm sooooooooooooo glad that I did. It was really, really, really good. I liked the love story part, all the current events innuendos, and the special effects (we looked stunning in our 3D glasses). I told Dave we might have to buy it when it comes out on DVD...and we'll also have to buy a bigger/nicer TV on which to watch it. =)
Last week I started brushing Eddie's gums with his baby gum stimulator brush that came in his hygiene kit. Dave got such a kick out of watching Eddie munch on the brush after I was done poking around his mouth.
His bedtime routine is getting longer and longer but at least it is firm: around 8:10-8:20pm he has a bath in the kitchen, he gets dried off in the living room, dressed in his jammies, gums brushed, then we try to read a cloth book in the rocking chair (usually doesn't work because by this time he's super tired and fussy), then he nurses, and finally (while still awake) he goes down in the crib. Usually he fusses for a few minutes but he's getting better.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Think Tank
Check out the HUGE fluorescent bulb we bought at Home Depot for one of my dad's photography lights. Isn't that crazy?
I couldn't resist this picture...
If you know our dogs at all, you know that the bulbs are properly placed. Our boy Potatoes isn't the brightest bulb on the chandelier, if you know what I mean. But we sure do love him. Ruby, on the other hand, is a border collie/terrier mix so you know she's always thinking.
I couldn't resist this picture...If you know our dogs at all, you know that the bulbs are properly placed. Our boy Potatoes isn't the brightest bulb on the chandelier, if you know what I mean. But we sure do love him. Ruby, on the other hand, is a border collie/terrier mix so you know she's always thinking.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
