My life has come full circle

What's this? A 4th blog post in one day? Did I have a boring day? Yes. Do I have a boring evening? Yes. Actually, this morning we went to a local newspaper to have our picture taken because Summer was the 1st baby born in our hospital in the new year. She wasn't, but they think she was, so we went and graciously accepted the gifts from local businesses. In all fairness, I expressed my doubt about being the first, but they didn't seem to care.

Anyway, back to my boring day/evening. In college my roommates and I would often lament about our love lives, or lack thereof. The weekend would come and we would find ourselves without dates, once again. So what's a girl with no date to do? No, not go out and be social and do fun things in hopes of running into a possible mate-don't be silly. No, you stay in and watch chick flicks. Usually Sleepless in Seattle. Because what makes a dateless girl more attractive to a potential mate than being a sappy shut-in? Eventually we must have gotten a clue and made ourselves more visible because we're all happily married now.

Fast forward a few years to today.

Me, on the sofa, watching Sleepless in Seattle. I have a perfectly good husband, a well-behaved baby who travels well, and the hint of the idea of going out tonite. Going anywhere. Just out. Walk around the mall. Walk around Sam's Club. DO ANYTHING.

No. Now I have a husband sleeping on the LoveSac. The person we wait all day for to come home and keep us company has left us once again. And Summer and I continue on doing what we have done for the previous 12 hours.

Absolutely nothing.

Sigh.

My sentiments exactly

A friend, whom I'm sure would like to remain nameless, sent this to me. I couldn't agree more. I'd like to meet the people who made this and shake their icy, numb hands.

The Olsen twins are on Oprah right now. I hate Oprah, but I love the Olsen twins.

Thanks for the info on small plain yogurt containers. I looked again at the store yesterday, and lo and behold, there's a little 8 oz. cup, right in front of me. I swear I've looked a dozen times and never seen it before.

Everyone knows that after you eat Chinese food, an hour later you're starving again. But does this ever happen to you after you eat spaghetti? It does for me. I'm not sure why it is, but I had some for lunch today and like 45 minutes later I was starving again. Same with apples. It's like it does the opposite of satisfy me. I think maybe I've touched on this before. Like in the Phantom Toolbooth, where they eat subtraction stew, and it makes them hungrier. I love that book.

It's -1 with the wind chill right now. Just fyi.

Doogie Howser

Neil Patrick Harris hosted SNL a couple weeks ago. It was a pretty good episode--but this was my favorite. I was cracking up. Not sure why I thought it was so funny, maybe b/c I watched the Doog growing up, or maybe it's all the instruments that turn me on. Either way, I love it. And you know what else I love? That NBC got a clue and lets you embed their videos.

Our desert apartment

Arizona has nothing on us. It is so doggone dry in here. I wake up during the night with my mouth stuck shut, it's so parched. I use so much lotion on my hands and body I should buy stock in Jergens. The other day I put two pieces of bread in the toaster but forgot to start the toaster. Not one hour later I go to put the bread back in the bag and it's hard as a rock. Like, already toast! We received 3 beautiful mini rose bushes for Summer's birth, and they are turning crispy and dying. It makes me sad. I really wanted these roses to live. I water them, trying to keep the soil moist, but I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. It breaks my heart to see these flowers die. Is it something I'm doing, or is it just not in these poor flowers' cards to have a fulfilling life in Wisconsin? Sara, Nikki-my go-to flower gals-anyone, help me out! What can I do to save these withering plants??

Like mother like daughter

I've never met a baby with so much saliva in her mouth at any given time. Despite my best efforts at bulb suctioning, she still sounds like an elephant when she cries, especially after eating. At times it sounds like she's choking and drowning in her own spit. Poor girl. So it shouldn't have surprised me when I looked over at her yesterday as she was napping on the sofa and saw this:

Yes, the girl hath drooled all over the cushion in her sleep, a trait I'm certain she got from her mother. I don't drool when I sleep at night--only when I take naps. Curious...

Someone fill me in please

There are a handful of recipes that I make that call for nonfat plain yogurt. But only like 1/2 cup. Someone please explain to me why I cannot buy an 8 oz container of this. It only comes, as far as I know, in ginormous 32 oz. containers. What on earth am I supposed to do with the remaining 28 oz of this stuff? I tried tasting it....gross. No way I can just eat it plain. The only other things I can think of to make using it is perhaps smoothies and tzatziki sauce. Ooooh, tzatziki sauce. Now I'm craving Greek food.

So, anyone know of things I can do to use it up? Or where I can buy a reasonable sized container of it???

Blankets

Living in Wisconsin, I've learned you can never have enough blankets. And you really can't have enough with a newborn in Wisconsin.

My friend Dan sent these two darling blankets that his sister made. Summer loves them. I'm sure your kid will too. Check out her website at Hamababay.com.

She always gives me this look like I'm crazy. She already knows me too well.

Another new baby!!

Congrats to Joel & Whitney O'Neill, and their new beautiful baby boy, Carson Patrick! I got to see the new family in the hospital today. I couldn't get enough of him and his squishy feet and hands. He is such a sweet, sweet baby. I can't wait for him and Summer to be BFFs!

OD on OJ

Is it possible to overdose on orange juice? I have single-handedly finished off a gallon jug of orange juice in less than a week. Is that normal? Do other people drink orange juice as much as I do? Are other people as obsessed with this beverage of choice as I am? While I will drink other bands of OJ, Tropicana truly is the only brand for me. There's no way around it, it's just the best. However, Tropicana has thrown me a curve ball lately. They recently changed their packaging, making it more difficult to find the kind I like: Pure Orange Juice with Some Pulp. For whatever reason, with this new packaging, Some Pulp has been hard to find. So now I am drinking Pulp Free. And while this smooth drink satisfies just as much as the subtle pulpiness of my old juice, I do miss my original love. I don't miss how the pulp sticks to the glass and makes it impossible to wash. And no, I can't rinse out the glass when I'm finished to save myself the heartache of scrubbing the pulp off.

If I start to look orange to you, please let me know. I'll try to cut back. Try.

Tears

I'll admit, I cry pretty easily. I cry during the National Anthem, the Lion King, Cotton commercials, etc. But ever since this bambino, I seem to cry more often.

Case in point: American Idol premier this past Tuesday. The first 5 minutes or so are just a montage of various auditions--William Hung, the David Hassehoff fan, the Clay Aiken fan--and at the end it shows all the winners. I looked on YouTube for a video of this but couldn't find it. Anyway, I'm totally bawling at the end. Really?? Crying over American Idol??

Speaking of American Idol, a conversation between Derrick and I the other day:

Me, panicked: Oh no! Is the induction on a Tuesday? Wait, inauguration, not induction. It is! It's always on a Tuesday. Does that mean American Idol won't be on??
Derrick: Did you just call it the "induction"? And it's on during the day, American Idol will still be on.
Me: Oh, whew.
Derrick: Did you hear what you just said? That's what our society is coming to. People more concerned about Idol than the Presidential Inauguration. Crazy.
Me: Whatever.

And we both cracked up. Hey, I've never ever pretended to be a political genius, let alone have a significant interest. But now I'm just realizing that Martha Stewart will be canceled instead, and I'm a little peeved.

Back to the tears...

Then the other night we were watching "Under the Same Moon", which I've wanted to see for awhile. It's a very sweet movie, about an illegal alien mom living in LA, her son still in Mexico and his adventures trying to get to her. Movies with plots like this always get to me. Being half Mexican I feel for them trying to come to American and make a better life for themselves. I'm NOT getting in a political debate here...so don't even try. The boy in the movie is so adorable, and it's just a really great feel-good movie.



And then there's the tears that come when I just think about Summer's birth. What a wreck!

This little piggy went to boobie...

Summer had her 2 week appointment today, on the coldest day of the year, of course. I was curious to see how much weight she gained, thinking she would be around 6 lb 4 oz or so. Boy, were we surprised to hear she had jumped from 5 lb 13 oz at her last appointment to a whopping 6 lb 15 oz! An 18 oz gain in 8 days! Guess I'm producing nothing but the good stuff! She's in the 14% for weight. She did grow a half inch, now 19.5", in the 22% for length, and her noggin grew 4 cm to 36.5 cm, now in the 66% for head circumference. So, little body, big head. But a cute head.

I pumped for the first time today, to try and get Summer used to taking a bottle for when I go back to work. Or just go out. I felt a little bit like a cow, but man is pumping quick and easy! I'm almost tempted to just feed her that way, but I do love the time we get to spend together breastfeeding, even if she hurts me sometimes. Anyway, here is Derrick feeding Summer for the first time. He was a natural. And isn't this the sweetest picture?

We got a video camera today, so be on the lookout for videos of Summer coming to to a blog near you. She does all sorts of exciting things, like sleep, lay there, sleep, look around, sleep, grunt when she poos, and sleep. Really quite riveting stuff. I'm sure you'll find it as fascinating as we do!

My new best girlfriend!

Yesterday was a busy day for us! We ran all sorts of errands. We stopped by my work, where all the girls got to meet Summer. Then we hit up Target and Wal-Mart. Hey, this girl's gotta learn early where the good deals are! Today we took her to get newborn pictures done and then cruised around the mall for a bit. I think Dad's already a little nervous at how we'll spend our days, and his money....

13 Below. Below Me.

Anyone want to come play this week? My poor MIL flies in on Thursday, straight from sunny Los Angeles. Bless her, and bless her little fleece "coat".

Word Wars

The always gracious Jason & Erica gifted us with a Netflix subscription, knowing we'll be stuck inside for the next 3 months here in the arctic tundra. Awesome gift, if you ask me! Not only do we get fun mail, but we get to watch movies!

First on the list to show up: Word Wars, a documentary on the National Scrabble Championship Tournament. As a lover of words and their meanings, and a lover of Scrabble, I was super excited to watch this.

I'm pretty sure Derrick and I are two of only a handful of people who have even watched this. It was a quick watch, and seeing the way some of these people think is just nuts. I like to think I'm pretty intelligent when it comes to anagrams and word play, but these people make me look like I'm only as smart as an amoeba. It's incredible.



It's unrated, so beware of some colorful language if you decide to watch it.

I thought watching it would spark the Scrabble bug in me, but actually, I feel so inferior to these players that I'm scared to play for fear of looking like a lame amateur. Besides, I can't find my Scrabble dictionary...

One week

I can't believe it's already been a week. Over a week, actually. Everyone keeps saying how fast time goes by, and to enjoy every moment, and I'm starting to believe them. So I have been trying to enjoy every moment, knowing that they grow so fast. Part of me wants her to stay this size, in this stage forever--so cuddly and sweet-smelling. The other part of me can't wait to see her grow and learn new things.

We're all still doing great. Although I'm getting major cabin fever. Derrick is home on paternity leave for the next week, which is kind of weird--I don't think we've ever had so many days off and not gone anywhere. A staycation, if you will. I wish it weren't so cold out so we could go on walks. The end of next week we're supposed to have wicked cold weather. Like, -10 is the HIGH cold weather. So cold we got a notice to run our water every so often and flush all our toilets regularly so the pipes don't burst cold weather. Please, remind me again why I live here???

Seeing Derrick with Summer melts my heart. He's already the best dad. I knew he would be.

I still can't get enough of this hair!! I love it!

Quote of the day:

Derrick, who was sleeping in the LoveSac, woke up to Summer's wimpering, says to me: "You know I'm a dad when I fall asleep during the National Championship football game."

Welcome to fatherhood, pops!

Home Life

Well, we've been home since Sunday, and we're still alive! My parents got here Saturday evening, and left this morning. It was so nice having them here. My dad, as usual, kept busy and winterized our drafty little apartment and fixed all the little things that we never get around to fixing. My mom, bless her soul, cooked every night for us and cleaned up after us. And of course, they both fought over who got to hold Summer.

Summer is amazing. We couldn't have asked for a better baby. If I could order a baby from a mail-order catalog, I couldn't have picked as good a kid as she is. She is sooo chill and mellow. She eats, then she falls asleep. She lets us know when she needs to be changed or fed with a teensy little cry. She's more alert now, and will stay awake for an hour or so in the morning and early evening. so that's fun.

She poops a lot. Like, a lot. Derrick is getting better and better at changing diapers, much to his chagrin.

I'm scared to even say how awesome she is, for fear of jinxing myself. In the meantime, I'm enjoying this peaceful phase as much as possible. You never know when she could snap and pull a 180 on us!

Tuesday at her first appointment her weight was 5 lb. 12 oz. She's in the 10th percentile for weight and 25th percentile for length. Just a little peanut! The doc wanted to see her again on Wednesday for another weight check, and she was up one ounce to 5 lb. 13 oz. So far, so good!

And me? I'm feeling pretty good. I think I pulled both groin muscles while I was pushing, b/c I couldn't really walk for a couple days. Even now, I'm pretty sore in places I didn't know I'd be sore in. It could be worse, though, right? And I know I'll get hate comments for this, but yesterday I scraped up the courage to try on my pre-pregnancy jeans, and they fit! I was pretty pumped. Sure, I have a little muffin top action, but they fit, and I wasn't in pain from sucking in. Holla.

This childbirth business isn't so bad. I think I'll have more. Of course, it's only been 6 days. Maybe I should wait a few weeks and see how I feel...

One year

I can't believe I started working 1 year ago today. This was like the fastest year ever! But I swear every year that passes seems to fly by even faster than the year before. Am I the only one that feels like this??

I've loved working this past year. I love my job, I love being a nurse, and I love everyone I work with. That's a pretty good combination for job satisfaction, I'd say! I still feel like I have a lot to learn in my position, but it's cool to see how far I've come since my first day on the floor.

I have a feeling these next 12 weeks will zip on by, and I'll be picking up shifts before I know it. I'm glad my job is so flexible where I have the option to work whenever it's convenient for me/us. I love knowing when I'm at work Derrick will be home to take care of Summer, and I won't have to worry about a thing. Well...at least I know she'll be with family. :)

I'm mostly grateful for the education I've been able to receive that's gotten me to this point. Yeah, it was hard. Yeah, it was expensive. But it was all worth it.

Here's to another year!

More pictures

Summer Joyce Callister has arrived!

She popped out at 4:56 pm. 6 lb, 2 oz, 19" long. Absolutely perfect!

I can't believe she's here! We are already absolutely in love with her!

Here's how it all went down....

We got to the hospital at 6:30am and got settled in our room. The nurse checked me and I wasn't dilated. Great. My doc said I had until 10:30am to make some progress or they were going to start Pitocin. So we walked and walked around and around the unit. I foolishly listened to the nurse who called me at home and didn't eat anything. Big mistake. I was starving, and all I could have was jello and popsicles. Luckily they have the all-fruit popsicles which I loved at the beginning of my pregnancy. This made me a happy camper.

So 10:30 comes and I'm still not dilated. So here comes the IV. I have amazing veins, and the nurse somehow manages to blow 2 of them. In comes another nurse and finally gets one in. She starts the Pitocin and the contractions really start to pick up. My doc comes in at 1 to check me and I'm dilated to a whopping 1. So disheartening. My nurse tells me we'll check again at 3. So I keep laboring, and the contractions are getting stronger, and I'm wondering if I can make it without an epidural. She checks me at 3 and I've progressed to.....a 2. Oh man, I started crying. All that pain, and only a 2??? She did drop a LOT though, the nurse says, which makes me feel a little better. I decide to get some Nubain through my IV to take the edge off the pain, although I don't think it did a THING. We agree to check in an hour, at 4. This next hour was killer. Huge contractions. Derrick did such a great job, though. He would push on my back when I told him to, and would stop when I told him the contraction was over. In the meantime he was sitting on the birthing ball watching football bowl games. What a gig. :)

So I get checked at 4 and I'm now at a 6!! Best news I've heard all day! They ask me one last time if I wanted an epidural and I said no. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel now! My doctor was off at 5, and said she would stop by before she got off to see how I was doing. She shows up at 4:30, checks me, and announces we're about to have a baby! I can't believe I dilated so fast at the end!

In a flash, out comes all the equipment-the baby warmer, the sterile tools. They take off the bottom of my bed and I scoot up and Derrick holds one leg and the nurse holds the other. And then I push. And push. I push for 22 minutes and out comes Summer! They put her right on my chest and I got to hold her for a few minutes before they take her away and clean her up. She had a low temp at first so they kept her under the warmer for a little while longer and waited to give her a bath for a couple hours.

I had a lot of bleeding after delivery so they worked on me for awhile until I was stable and not hemorrhaging anymore. Yummy.

She has tons of brown hair, which I'm sooo in love with. Really, it's the only thing I wanted her to have. As she was crowing I even asked if she had hair. You know, the important stuff.





She wasn't having anything to do with breastfeeding, though. She wouldn't even suck on my finger. So she didn't eat for a good 8 hours after delivery. I was a little nervous that she wouldn't get the hang of it, but now she's doing great. Eats like a champ, just like her parents.

I definitely think she's gotten a lot cuter since yesterday. She pretty much just sleeps and eats right now. I'm just waiting for her to wake up out of her baby coma and make things more interesting. In the meantime, I'm trying to sleep as much as I can!

Thanks for all the well wishes, emails, and texts! We can't wait for everyone to meet her. And more pictures will be coming soon!

So much for predictions....

It's 5:00 am...my water broke at 4:35am and we're on our way to the hospital! And yes, I'm blogging about it. I'm not really in any pain, so I don't feel like I need to rush anywhere. Derrick took a shower and shaved off his beard, and here I am blogging and updating Facebook. Ahhh...technology.

So....stay tuned! I'm sure I'll be posting as soon as I'm done delivering the placenta! :)

Wish me luck!

Happy Nude New Year!

It's 2009! That's crazy! I honestly don't know where 2008 even went!

We spent New Years Eve with friends and had a fabulous fondue dinner. And even though everyone left by 11:30, it was still fun. Today we slept in, had a nice big breakfast, watched the Rose Parade, and took down our Christmas decorations. So sad. We had dinner with more friends and now we're just being blobs on the couch. Derrick has had a cold for like a week, and has passed it onto me. Which sucks. I can't really take anything (or at least I don't want to), so I'm just dealing with the sore throat and all that goes along with it.

Anyone making any New Years resolutions? I think my main one is just to try and keep my child alive. You know, start out slow.

Overall, 2008 was a pretty great year. We were able to travel a lot, and see family a lot. I can't believe I've been working for a year already. I love my job (most days...when I'm not so pregnant) and Derrick's been blessed with a stable job. We've been able to start expanding our own little family. We've enjoyed the company of good friends. We've been healthy. We don't have very much to complain about these days, and for that I'm extremely grateful.

I'm sure 2009 will be quite different for us than years past, but I'm excited to see what it brings!

Happy New Year!

Predictions

11 days and counting....

Let's hear your predictions of when you think this kid will make her blessed arrival.

Gimme a date, and a weight while we're at it. If you're closest, I'll let you buy her an outfit. :)

Here we are at a whopping 38 weeks.

Things are most uncomfortable now. Sleeping is no good. Sitting is no good. Standing is no good. Working is most DEFINITELY no good. I imagine it could be worse, so I shouldn't really complain. But I do anyway.

I have another check up tomorrow...hopefully things are still progressing!