...No, no, I'm not pregnant.
Yesterday I took Eddie to a radiation clinic in Vacaville to get a sonogram of his "undercarriage." The urologist thinks he can feel Eddie's undescended left testicle but he can't be sure. He said there's a 20% chance that it will come down on its own before the age of 2 and if not, then he will do a "minor procedure" to pull it down. First, though, he needs to determine that Eddie even HAS a left testicle and what it is stuck on.
I'm sure the sonogram technician has never worked so hard as she did to get those images from my sweet baby boy. My sweet WRIGGLY baby boy. We tried having him lie down, stand up, sit, etc. before I finally just held him in a spread-eagle position. Even that was tough because he wanted to grab the wand thing out of her hand. It was hilarious.
I finally gave him my phone and he managed to unlock it and call my brother, who was having an interview with Google in NYC at the time (sorry if we interrupted you, Edward!). My poor phone still works but it took a good hour before the drool dried enough so I could hear people talking.
The technician told me she wasn't allowed to discuss what she saw in the sonogram with me since she's not a doctor. I'm assuming the testicle is actually present because she kept labeling shots with "left test long view" and such.
By the time she got everything she needed, all three of us were covered in sonogram gel.
Eddie and I went to Winco afterward and he was such a good boy sitting in the cart while I did my shopping. He ate 3 whole Ritz crackers and about a million Cheerios.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Glass Plate Photography
My parents went to NY last week to see my brother graduate with his MBA from RPI.
While they were there, my dad and brother met up with a fellow my dad got to know through a large format photography forum online. The three of them made some pictures on glass plates (instead of film) just like in the olden days.
Check it out. Isn't that incredible? They both look as old as my dad feels. Ha.
While they were there, my dad and brother met up with a fellow my dad got to know through a large format photography forum online. The three of them made some pictures on glass plates (instead of film) just like in the olden days.
Check it out. Isn't that incredible? They both look as old as my dad feels. Ha.
Memorial Day
We didn't do much of anything yesterday...no big BBQ with friends like we'd planned, no homemade beer drinking party at our friend Tara's like we'd planned. Dave's still recovering from the flu (his immune system is crappier than most since a bad case of Lyme wiped it out when he was a kid). We did get to have Jamba Juice and donuts while Eddie napped in the car yesterday afternoon and then we rented Up in the Air (it was okay).
Our house is cleaner than it has been since I was nesting--I cleaned EVERYTHING after I got better.
The chickens are now living in their outside coop. At first they looked a little scared of all the space (they were originally in a 4 square foot box, then a 12 square foot box, and now they have 75 square feet to run around in! I'll post pictures later.
I haven't been at school for almost a week due to sickness and the holiday weekend. I'm itching to get back to my thermal analyzer to see if I can get a good standard curve for the sensitivity calibration!!!!!!
After jury duty, days off for sickness and interviews, Dave has only been to like 3 days of work in the last month. GOD. At least he was paid for jury duty because otherwise we'd be beyond broke at this point.
Kay, I have to get Eddie's breakfast ready (he yells when he's hungry) and get us dressed since Anthony will be here in about an hour. It is supposed to be in the upper 80s today so I want to get the baby pool and water toys ready on the patio.
Our house is cleaner than it has been since I was nesting--I cleaned EVERYTHING after I got better.
The chickens are now living in their outside coop. At first they looked a little scared of all the space (they were originally in a 4 square foot box, then a 12 square foot box, and now they have 75 square feet to run around in! I'll post pictures later.
I haven't been at school for almost a week due to sickness and the holiday weekend. I'm itching to get back to my thermal analyzer to see if I can get a good standard curve for the sensitivity calibration!!!!!!
After jury duty, days off for sickness and interviews, Dave has only been to like 3 days of work in the last month. GOD. At least he was paid for jury duty because otherwise we'd be beyond broke at this point.
Kay, I have to get Eddie's breakfast ready (he yells when he's hungry) and get us dressed since Anthony will be here in about an hour. It is supposed to be in the upper 80s today so I want to get the baby pool and water toys ready on the patio.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Barf
Jeez...why did I have to write that last post? The universe must have seen it as boasting (even though it most definitely was NOT) because only 24 hours later our household was hit by a stomach bug. Ick.
I started feeling icky (tired and nauseous) at school in the afternoon but figured I just hadn't had enough water that day since I'd mostly had only coffee. When Eddie and I got home I tried to nurse him laying down so I could rest but had to yank us both to the bathroom instead.
Let me tell you: sitting on the pot and leaning over to the tub to barf repeatedly while pulling your baby away from the tub to see what you're doing is NOT easy.
I made it through feeding Eddie dinner.
He had to have a bath in the kitchen sink since our tub was definitely out of commission until I could clean it (what a nasty, nasty task). Not two seconds after I got him settled in the sink I had to wrap his wet body up in a towel and run to the other bathroom for a repeat episode (except into the wicker waste basket--don't worry, I threw the whole dang thing away afterward).
Luckily I made it through nursing and bedding him down for the night. Somewhere in there I called Dave and told him to come home--I had no idea how long the illness would last or if poor Eddie would get it.
Dave--my savior--got home that night around 11pm and slept on the couch and made sure to wash his hands after touching pretty much anything in the house. He took care of Eddie pretty much all day Thursday, during which time Eddie threw up a few times and had diarrhea. It is amazing how nothing phases a baby--they don't know they can feel sorry for themselves so they just keep trucking on.
Eddie seems almost back to normal today, I'm definitely on the mend...and now Dave is sick. I feel so bad having him come down here to help me and then he gets sick, too. =(
I think we caught the bug from Anthony, who apparently was sick last week. His mom didn't actually TELL me he had been sick until she picked him up from my house on Tuesday (I'd commented on his loose stool). GOD! Everyone knows it is common courtesy to share knowledge of illness among childcare associates--ESPECIALLY stomach bugs! Another little boy I watched for a few hours on Tuesday apparently barfed on Thursday, too. I made sure to tell Cassie about it and she said she'd spread the word around the daycare for everyone else to keep an eye out for it.
I know this type of thing is all a part of parenthood...but it SUCKS.
I started feeling icky (tired and nauseous) at school in the afternoon but figured I just hadn't had enough water that day since I'd mostly had only coffee. When Eddie and I got home I tried to nurse him laying down so I could rest but had to yank us both to the bathroom instead.
Let me tell you: sitting on the pot and leaning over to the tub to barf repeatedly while pulling your baby away from the tub to see what you're doing is NOT easy.
I made it through feeding Eddie dinner.
He had to have a bath in the kitchen sink since our tub was definitely out of commission until I could clean it (what a nasty, nasty task). Not two seconds after I got him settled in the sink I had to wrap his wet body up in a towel and run to the other bathroom for a repeat episode (except into the wicker waste basket--don't worry, I threw the whole dang thing away afterward).
Luckily I made it through nursing and bedding him down for the night. Somewhere in there I called Dave and told him to come home--I had no idea how long the illness would last or if poor Eddie would get it.
Dave--my savior--got home that night around 11pm and slept on the couch and made sure to wash his hands after touching pretty much anything in the house. He took care of Eddie pretty much all day Thursday, during which time Eddie threw up a few times and had diarrhea. It is amazing how nothing phases a baby--they don't know they can feel sorry for themselves so they just keep trucking on.
Eddie seems almost back to normal today, I'm definitely on the mend...and now Dave is sick. I feel so bad having him come down here to help me and then he gets sick, too. =(
I think we caught the bug from Anthony, who apparently was sick last week. His mom didn't actually TELL me he had been sick until she picked him up from my house on Tuesday (I'd commented on his loose stool). GOD! Everyone knows it is common courtesy to share knowledge of illness among childcare associates--ESPECIALLY stomach bugs! Another little boy I watched for a few hours on Tuesday apparently barfed on Thursday, too. I made sure to tell Cassie about it and she said she'd spread the word around the daycare for everyone else to keep an eye out for it.
I know this type of thing is all a part of parenthood...but it SUCKS.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Single Mom Update
About this time last year I wrote about our postpartum living situation--our plan for Dave to continue working up north and my being a single mom/student during the week.
In hindsight, it was really silly to think it would be okay for me to raise Eddie largely on my own. Not because it isn't working, but because it just isn't fair to Eddie. (Or me.) The thought of Eddie realizing that Dave isn't around all the time breaks my heart. But luckily he doesn't have the brain capacity for that kind of pattern recognition yet.
I'm pretty sure my uber-nesting instinct, I-can-handle-anything feeling during the middle of the pregnancy caused me to convince myself that Dave not living at home with me full time was the a reasonable thing to do. And it wasn't necessarily the wrong thing to do (I mean, we've all lived to tell about it with honest smiles on our faces)...but looking back I would have insisted that he start job-hunting right when we found out I was pregnant.
I remember Googling phrases like, "how to be a single working mom" and being so disappointed that almost ALL the results were about how to date when you're a single parent. What I was looking for was specific "how to" advice--like how exactly does a single mom manage to shower, dress, and feed herself every morning before work with an infant? And how is she supposed to train her baby to sleep through the night without having the benefit of the 'baby daddy' to help wean the baby from nighttime nursing by attending to the baby in the middle of the night? Tips on how to jump back into the dating game were NOT what I wanted! (There were some discussions for military wives with deployed husbands, but the tips offered were not specific enough for me and they usually boiled down to suggesting that mothers get help from fellow military wives...also not helpful for me.)
Finding few useful tips, I made sure to think about how I'd do things with a baby around whenever I did my normal household things when I was still pregnant. I basically ended up buying a variety of baby holding devices at the thrift store so I'd at least have somewhere to put him for a few minutes at a time (bouncy/vibration seats, a jumperoo, a door frame jumping seat, a Bumbo chair, etc.). I also made sure Dave and I got the house in order so daily tasks would be as easy to accomplish as possible (without sacrificing my standards--like avoiding disposable diapers and making all of Eddie's baby food).
It is amazing how things have worked out. Dave still works away from Davis most of the week and I alternate between working in the lab and staying home with Eddie. There have been relatively few hiccups (like watching little Heidi, our nanny quitting, and a horrendous breast infection).
Eddie and I are a pretty good team and we make the whole single mom thing work smoothly. The reasons I think it works for us are:
(Would someone please smack me next time I come up with a crazy idea like single motherhood? Thanks.)
In hindsight, it was really silly to think it would be okay for me to raise Eddie largely on my own. Not because it isn't working, but because it just isn't fair to Eddie. (Or me.) The thought of Eddie realizing that Dave isn't around all the time breaks my heart. But luckily he doesn't have the brain capacity for that kind of pattern recognition yet.
I'm pretty sure my uber-nesting instinct, I-can-handle-anything feeling during the middle of the pregnancy caused me to convince myself that Dave not living at home with me full time was the a reasonable thing to do. And it wasn't necessarily the wrong thing to do (I mean, we've all lived to tell about it with honest smiles on our faces)...but looking back I would have insisted that he start job-hunting right when we found out I was pregnant.
I remember Googling phrases like, "how to be a single working mom" and being so disappointed that almost ALL the results were about how to date when you're a single parent. What I was looking for was specific "how to" advice--like how exactly does a single mom manage to shower, dress, and feed herself every morning before work with an infant? And how is she supposed to train her baby to sleep through the night without having the benefit of the 'baby daddy' to help wean the baby from nighttime nursing by attending to the baby in the middle of the night? Tips on how to jump back into the dating game were NOT what I wanted! (There were some discussions for military wives with deployed husbands, but the tips offered were not specific enough for me and they usually boiled down to suggesting that mothers get help from fellow military wives...also not helpful for me.)
Finding few useful tips, I made sure to think about how I'd do things with a baby around whenever I did my normal household things when I was still pregnant. I basically ended up buying a variety of baby holding devices at the thrift store so I'd at least have somewhere to put him for a few minutes at a time (bouncy/vibration seats, a jumperoo, a door frame jumping seat, a Bumbo chair, etc.). I also made sure Dave and I got the house in order so daily tasks would be as easy to accomplish as possible (without sacrificing my standards--like avoiding disposable diapers and making all of Eddie's baby food).
It is amazing how things have worked out. Dave still works away from Davis most of the week and I alternate between working in the lab and staying home with Eddie. There have been relatively few hiccups (like watching little Heidi, our nanny quitting, and a horrendous breast infection).
Eddie and I are a pretty good team and we make the whole single mom thing work smoothly. The reasons I think it works for us are:
- He's a really good baby (no colic, no major illnesses or confounding health issues (yet), learned to entertain himself very early, good nighttime sleeper, SUPER SUPER SUPER cute--yes, this really helps)
- No postpartum depression
- The most amazing daycare provider I could ever imagine
- The fact that I get to spend every other day at home (allows me to catch up on household duties after a crazy day at school...or at least mess around on the internet like I'm doing right now!)
- I'm really organized with my time and my household infrastructure (laundry/cooking/cleaning routines)
- Constant internet access and an unlimited texting plan on my cell phone. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't at least vent to Dave and my brother at all hours of the day. They don't always answer right away but I at least know they are receiving my messages (I love that Verizon sent messages show a check mark when the recipient has received your message.)
(Would someone please smack me next time I come up with a crazy idea like single motherhood? Thanks.)
Monday, May 24, 2010
9 Months Later...
We've not really had to buy any clothes for Eddie since we received SO much stuff at his showers and people have been very generous with hand-me-downs. It is always fun to go through the next batch of clothes when putting them away and even more fun to pull out the next size when he's ready to use them. It's like shopping!
Somehow Eddie ended up with the same outfit in newborn size and in 12 month size. Although it is a very "Julie" thing to do, I can't take credit for having them both--I think they must have been shower gifts.
I was super excited when I found a second stripped outfit. Dave was outside at the time and I ran out there to show him. He just looked at my blankly because he had NO idea that we ever owned anything like it before. Gah! Just like a man to not remember anything about clothing...
Despite his poor memory, he was a good sport and helped me (attempt) to pose the same pictures of Eddie on the changing table. Unlike his slothy newborn self, Eddie was NOT interested in staying still for the pictures so they are not perfect. He wanted to get down off that table to crawl around instead of let his weirdo parents put dirty money on his face. But you get the idea anyway.
Two days old:
Nine months, 3 days old (look at how big is ear is now, compared to the quarter!):
Two days old with Grandpa:
Nine months, 3 days old with Daddy:
Somehow Eddie ended up with the same outfit in newborn size and in 12 month size. Although it is a very "Julie" thing to do, I can't take credit for having them both--I think they must have been shower gifts.
I was super excited when I found a second stripped outfit. Dave was outside at the time and I ran out there to show him. He just looked at my blankly because he had NO idea that we ever owned anything like it before. Gah! Just like a man to not remember anything about clothing...
Despite his poor memory, he was a good sport and helped me (attempt) to pose the same pictures of Eddie on the changing table. Unlike his slothy newborn self, Eddie was NOT interested in staying still for the pictures so they are not perfect. He wanted to get down off that table to crawl around instead of let his weirdo parents put dirty money on his face. But you get the idea anyway.
Two days old:
Nine months, 3 days old (look at how big is ear is now, compared to the quarter!):
Two days old with Grandpa:
Nine months, 3 days old with Daddy:
Friday, May 21, 2010
Mother's Day 2010
I'm not gonna lie--my first Mother's Day as a mama started out "eh" but ended up being quite nice. In true Julie fashion, all I really wanted to do that day was to stay home with my boys and work in the garden. (I also wanted to get my nails done but I'm cheap AND most salons are closed on Sundays so I figured I wouldn't be able to do that anyway.)
But when a little birdie told me that my mom was pouting because I hadn't planned anything for "her" Mother's Day, I realized I was going to have to trade my rubber muck boots and jeans for a skirt and make up to go out for high tea with some lovely ladies. I did realize at some point that it was my FIRST Mother's Day and she hadn't planned anything for me. (Whatever...)
My mom, Gayla and Amanda Lucas, and I went out for a girls-only luncheon at Ciocolat in Davis and then got our nails done (my mom found a place that was open!). The food was super yummy and overly filling...course after course of little sandwiches, cakes, quick breads, and fruit with cream. Unlike last year I got to sip on a free mimosa, too, which lightened my mood quite a bit. =)
We ended up having a really good time; chatting with Amanda while our toes were soaking at the salon was really fun. The massage chairs we were sitting in were a little bizarre, though. Our faces kept changing from normal having-a-pleasant-conversation-together to painful-and-unsure as the massaging mechanism moved up and down our backs, pounding and jabbing somewhat randomly.
My mom and I both ended up getting purple nail polish on our toes!
I was bitter about not getting any special treatment on my very first Mother's Day, but I'm over it. In the end it was more important to pamper my mom since I know that in reality I have more of these specials days ahead of me than she does.
But when a little birdie told me that my mom was pouting because I hadn't planned anything for "her" Mother's Day, I realized I was going to have to trade my rubber muck boots and jeans for a skirt and make up to go out for high tea with some lovely ladies. I did realize at some point that it was my FIRST Mother's Day and she hadn't planned anything for me. (Whatever...)
My mom, Gayla and Amanda Lucas, and I went out for a girls-only luncheon at Ciocolat in Davis and then got our nails done (my mom found a place that was open!). The food was super yummy and overly filling...course after course of little sandwiches, cakes, quick breads, and fruit with cream. Unlike last year I got to sip on a free mimosa, too, which lightened my mood quite a bit. =)
We ended up having a really good time; chatting with Amanda while our toes were soaking at the salon was really fun. The massage chairs we were sitting in were a little bizarre, though. Our faces kept changing from normal having-a-pleasant-conversation-together to painful-and-unsure as the massaging mechanism moved up and down our backs, pounding and jabbing somewhat randomly.My mom and I both ended up getting purple nail polish on our toes!
I was bitter about not getting any special treatment on my very first Mother's Day, but I'm over it. In the end it was more important to pamper my mom since I know that in reality I have more of these specials days ahead of me than she does.
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