http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/ en Copyright 2010 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:46:05 -0700 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification ]]> http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/11/cold.html http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/11/cold.html Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:46:05 -0700 This is just to say that apparently you can put your baby down in the bassinet when he seems a bit sleepy and he will take whole naps! This is a very exciting development on the sleep front. Up until now, I have pretty much been waiting for him to fall asleep in the swing or vibrating chair, sometimes moving him over to the bassinet if he was really out. This is much better. I will take your advice and see what happens when we skip the 10:00 feeding. I am waiting until the weekend, though. That way if there are numerous night wakings, I can get a nap in the next day. I also will nap if someone puts me down when I look a bit sleepy. http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/11/omg_naps.html http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/11/omg_naps.html Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:31:43 -0700 Wow. I sure haven't updated in...a really long time. And now I feel like I should have something a bit groundbreaking to break my blog silence with, but all I have is a baby sleeping dilemma. But you are my internet baby experts! Who else to go to? Henry is doing really great so far, relatively speaking. He eats around 8:00 pm every night, then promptly conks out. We wake him around 10:00, change his diaper, J gives him a bottle, and then he sleeps until 4:00, 4:30ish. He goes out again quickly and then wakes up around 7. Sometimes he'll even sleep a bit more after that, which is nice for parents who like to sleep in a bit on the weekend (sleep in = 9:00 am). My question is this: he really is out like a light after the 8:00 feeding, but we wake him at 10 because I'm afraid if we don't, he'll just wake at 2:00 am and then again throughout the night. I think I'm just replacing that inconvenient 2:00 feeding with the convenient 10:00 pm feeding, which seems to work out great for everyone. However, the books say: never wake a sleeping baby. And I'm a little concerned we're training him to wake up at 10:00 in spite of the fact he's more than happy to be asleep at that point. He's only nine weeks old or so, so are we cool? And if so, when do we play with cutting out the 10:00 feeding? Baby experting commence! These are my last two weeks of maternity leave. They're my c-section bonus weeks! I can't decide whether I'm excited to get back to a routine involving daily interactions with adults or sad to be ending this incredible bonding period with the baby. A little of both. J and my parents will be taking over baby duty for awhile (J gets a very generous helping of parental leave), so at least I don't have daycare stresses on top of everything else, but those will be coming soon enough. For now, I think I'll focus my stresses on such topics like, what shall I wear to work in two weeks? In going through my winter work clothes, I had a memory of getting rid of almost everything when I was packing it up last year. I believe my exact thoughts were: all this stuff is crappy; I'll just ditch it all now and buy new stuff next year! Very clever, last-year me. Now if only I'd taken into account being on a shoestring budget and having to wear nursing bras and tanks under everything. At least my pants still fit. You think my boss will notice if I alternate wearing the same two tank tops and a hoodie every day? If I wear pearls, does it make the hoodie business casual? http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/11/hey_you.html http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/11/hey_you.html Sun, 09 Nov 2008 20:54:07 -0700 Gilmore Girls. This comes on at 9:00, so is my motivation for getting into the living room and starting the day. Not that I have a choice about when my day starts, but it is something to look forward to. It also gives me a goal of getting the baby quieted down and content for that hour. I never really watched this show while it was on, but I have to say I'm really enjoying it. I have to be very careful to be near the remote when it ends though, because Full House comes on afterward and WE ALL HAVE OUR LIMITS. The television does something tricky at 3:00 and shows--on a different channel--the following episode. It is very tempting for me to watch this, but I don't because I would be so sad the next day with no Gilmore Girls to wake up to. What Not to Wear. I enjoyed this show before maternity leave, but oh my god it is on all the time, all day long. It's sort of my default when there's nothing else on, but boy howdy am I fucking sick of Stacy and Clinton. I'm even sick of Carmandy and I love Carmandy. The Hills, Paris Hilton's New BFF, Dr. 90210. These are shows I should be embarrassed to even acknowledge exist, and yet there I am watching them when they're on and getting excited when they're new. Okay, I was a Hills watcher before, but the other two I can guarantee I would never watch under normal circumstances. Okay, maybe I would have flipped to Dr. 90210 on the weekend during a bored spell, but definitely not Paris Hilton. John and Kate Plus 8, A Baby Story, Bringing Home Baby. Sometimes I find it entertaining to commiserate with other people with children. Most times, I cannot bear to watch screaming children on television when I'm holding one of my own. Every time I flip to these shows I can't believe I'm actually flipping to these shows. Also, there are several commercials that I simply can't watch anymore. Most notable are the ones put out by the corn syrup people to try to make their product look delicious and healthy. I hate this one, but this one irks me the most. (Ha! The upside is that there is this spoof on youtube.) It's something about the girl looking like a cheap Hillary Swank. And of course that these ads hinge on the fact that the people can't come up with anything to say against corn syrup. The corn syrup people couldn't even be bothered to address the real concerns behind their product, but decided having slack jawed idiots hemming and hawing pretty much summed up the opposing argument. There's also this disturbing Sinupret commercial. Creepy! But seriously, I love YOU more.]]> http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/10/daytime_tv.html http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/10/daytime_tv.html Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:42:03 -0700 cockroach one a couple years ago, but still: every time I'd move the towel or look in the mirror, more of the little fuckers would swarm about. I wasn't having a particularly good day with the baby yesterday, so the fruit flies were enough to send me right to the edge. I looked up some fruit fly traps and made one with plastic wrap and vinegar, but when it became clear the trap wasn't going to work instantaneously, I pleaded with J to do something. Which he did. With his Shop-Vac. Turns out you DO catch more flies with a vacuum than with vinegar! (Side note: there is one swarming around my head right now. Why are they so hard to catch?? Why? They are slow!) Anyway, after a heroic battle in the bathroom by J and the master vacuum, we are mostly fruit fly free in there. They are still around the rest of the house, but not as bad. Enough to make me want to scratch my eyes out when I see one, but not enough to make me want to stab anyone. Progress. The baby is playing a fun game with me where he cries and I run to check on him and then he is sleeping soundly. Or at least pretending to sleep soundly. Fun game. Today marks day two of wearing regular jeans again. Excitement! Maternity pants do have the nice bonus of holding in your stomach for awhile, and they are more comfortable on c-sections than regular pants, but I am very much through with the elastic waist. Oh the joy of zippers and buttons; who knew you could miss zippers and buttons so much? Now if only I had more than four tops and two ratty hoodies that work with breastfeeding, I'd be golden. When is the right time to move the baby out of the bedroom and into the nursery? I know it has to be done at some point, but it is so easy to grab him out of the bassinet at night now. And also, what will I do when I can't listen for his sweet baby breathing in the middle of the night when he is really quiet? Won't I get tired of running back and forth to the nursery just to make sure he's okay? Or do you just pass out from exhaustion and not even wake up until he's crying to be fed? I don't think our monitors come with "sweet baby breathing" settings.]]> http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/10/flies.html http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/10/flies.html Fri, 17 Oct 2008 09:51:15 -0700 After a good night of sleeping (only one 3:30 feeding before getting up at 7:00), I feel ridiculously productive. I even baked some blondies! I am only mildly sleep-deprived today, which is the new-baby equivalent of totally well-rested. I still don't have any non-baby things to talk about, which I'm sure is making this blog a fascinating read for anyone who is actually doing things out in the real world. We're able to be a bit more mobile now--we've all gone out to dinner a couple times and I'm getting good at tossing Henry in the car to run up to the drive-through Starbucks (big treat). He loves the car (or simply can't resist the lull of the engine and the rumbly ride) and zonks out completely as soon as we start moving. Sometimes this can be a great way to kick start a long nap, other times it's just a reprieve until the car stops and we're back home to fussy land. I know blogs are all about broadcasting, but I really wish we could just get together and talk instead. Being home has its perks, but I miss being out in the world and talking to people on a regular basis. I realize the role would change if I were going to be staying home permanently--I'd find groups and arrange play dates and set up a schedule for myself that involved getting out--but for now this staying home all the time can wear thin. It's probably different when your baby gets a little older, too. I'd actually love to sit and have a chat with Henry, see what's on his little baby mind. The sun is shining outside, so I think I'll see if I can take the guy for a walk around the block. You're invited if you want to crash the party. http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/10/tuesday.html http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/10/tuesday.html Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:38:08 -0700 ]]> http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/10/im_stealing_a_blog_post.html http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/10/im_stealing_a_blog_post.html Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:29:48 -0700 American Wife and enjoying it quite a bit! It's very nice and warm outside, though I only get out there every once in awhile. Henry is starting to track things a bit with his eyes, which is fun. It's almost like playing. His eyes are a lovely blue right now and I'm hoping they stay that color in defiance of genetics.]]> http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/09/two_weeks_three_years.html http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/09/two_weeks_three_years.html Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:06:44 -0700 That's pretty cool.]]> http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/09/diaper_time.html http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/09/diaper_time.html Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:08:42 -0700 Racine's. Can't go wrong with jalapenos, cheese, and beans! At first I wasn't sure I was feeling contractions because I'd been so uncomfortable the whole week that a few more aches didn't seem out of place. But then they became more distinctly cramp-like and I began suspecting this was the real thing. By the time I got home, they were strong enough for J and I to get excited. They were mild most of the night, but by 11:30 they had progressed into holy-shit-ouch territory. I took a couple hot showers, watched some Chelsea Lately while on the pilates ball, and breathed through them until about 2:00 am, when we headed to the hospital. I know all about the importance of laboring at home as long as possible, and the last thing I wanted was to get to the hospital, have them tell me I was one centimeter, and be sent home. So you should know that by the time we got to the hospital, I was in some crazy pain, the contractions were a couple minutes apart and lasting over a minute each. The main thing I was concerned about was that the pain was mostly in my lower back. Imagine the worst back spasm ever, concentrated into a small area above your tailbone, that grows in pain and just KEEPS HAPPENING. Anyway: awful. The L&D ward was actually full when we got there and I was admitted into triage where a very nice nurse checked me out and told me I was exactly ONE centimeter dilated. Meaning I had progressed not at all from, like, two weeks ago. I would have been more concerned if I wasn't in mind-numbing pain. She told me to walk around the halls a bit to see if we could get this going. "Walk" is a very general term for what we did, which was shuffle a few feet and then double over in pain. I do pretty good with pain and did the lamaze classes and am all about yoga, but there were contractions where screaming was as close as I could possibly get to "breathing through it." After the walk, I was still at a centimeter, but they told me they couldn't send me home in this much pain. Back labor is some serious shit, man. At that point I was desperate, and this is what they offered me: morphine. This is how they described what would happen: I would get a shot of morphine, I would pass out, wake up several hours later all well rested, and be much further along. At that point, anything that offered relief sounded good. Unfortunately, a shot of morphine got me exactly nowhere. An hour after the shot, I felt exactly the same and was delirious from lack of sleep and pain. Next option: epidural. Again, this was something I had hoped not to do, but I was past the point of images of my natural birth and signed on for the drugs before they could finish the offer. I have to say, epidurals are maaaagic. Within minutes, my legs were tingly and I couldn't feel the contractions anymore. Bliss! On top of that, with the added numbness my doctor was able to go in and stretch me to 3 centimeters. There was some sort of scar tissue that had been impeding the dilation, so after that was taken care of, I did okay. I slept a little and felt like I could handle the situation again. It was like returning from a vacation my body took. The television in the room was turned to cartoons, which was fine, though I finally drew the line and made them find a remote when Dora came on. I was not going to give birth with Dora and that monkey staring at me. Luckily, J brought the Wes Anderson collection and we got through Bottle Rocket, Royal Tenenbaums, and half of Newsies (not Wes Anderson) when I got the discouraging news. Though I had made it to 6.5 centimeters, I had stalled out. The baby was in a weird position, lodged against the pelvis bone and wasn't responding well to the contractions anymore. I had the option of taking some pitocin and seeing that would progress me enough to try to push, but the doctor worried that I'd do that and still be in the same position I was in with the baby and we'd have to do an emergency c-section. So, I could get the section now, or they'd let me try if I was really gung ho about it. Everyone was really nice about it and the doctor especially was incredibly sympathetic to the fact that this wasn't the labor I had envisioned. However, I am not crazy. I just wasn't willing to sacrifice everyone's health and sanity for the small chance I'd be able to deliver vaginally. Really, I was so excited to finally meet the little guy that had been kicking me in the ribs that I was ready to sign on for whatever option got him to me the safest. So c-section it was. It happened very quickly from there and I was whisked away. After they up the epidural, I really didn't feel anything going on, though the sensation of a team of people cutting a baby out of your abdomen is VERY WEIRD. Actually, the weirdest part was the delivery, where they told me I'd feel "a lot of pressure," What I felt was my chest being compressed rather severely, like I was getting CPR. It was intense enough to make me go, "UHHHHHHHGGHHH" involuntarily. But then! Baby Henry! He was bigger than everyone thought, at 8.5 pounds and had a little dent in his head where he had been pressing against the bone, so the section was the right decision. J was taken away to watch over the weighing and cleaning and I was stitched up and sent to recovery. I was a little sad I didn't get to see him directly afterward, but they brought him to me pretty quickly to feed and hold. I don't think it matters how a baby gets there: when you're holding him or her for the first time, it's really overwhelmingly amazing. So I'm home now and things are going well. I'm a bit sore from the surgery, but healing just fine. Feedings are going well, even though this whole "eat every two hours" thing can be very exhausting. I feel incredibly lucky to have my family and friends here, who have all been great. My mom's already filled our freezer with food and my dad came and did about million dollars worth of yard work. J goes back to work next week, so we'll see how it goes flying solo. Lucky I got this cute one. ]]> http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/09/birth_story_longer.html http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/09/birth_story_longer.html Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:55:21 -0700 ]]> http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/09/baby_henry.html http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/09/baby_henry.html Sat, 13 Sep 2008 16:44:45 -0700 Hi all! I have the happy job of reporting that Liz gave birth to a beautiful baby boy this afternoon! Henry Kahl Kellermeyer came into the world weighing a healthy 8 pounds 5 ounces. He is 20.5 inches long. Liz and baby are doing quite well. Can you all believe it?!? Hopefully we'll have pictures soon. I'm sure he's cute as can be. Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby! Congratulations Liz and J!!!! Love, Willow http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/09/the_baby_is_here_the_baby_is_h.html http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/09/the_baby_is_here_the_baby_is_h.html Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:06:23 -0700 Cringe book--go buy it!), and then attempted to save everything. What I apparently did was screw up so badly that my blog lost everything fancy and wound up back at the default template. Anyway, sorry if you miss the bee and the blogroll. How 'bout this awesome maroon banner! So tomorrow, the 8th, is the official due date for this little guy. Krista and I had a nice talk with him about the virtues of being on the outside of the womb, so I hope he took it to heart. My doctor doesn't seem very confident that this baby will coming close to the due date, however, so we may still be in for another couple weeks. Typing that makes me feel discouraged. I'm mentally prepared for one more week, but two seems like a lot to ask at this point (even though I know it's totally within the norm). Anyway, I go in tomorrow for a nonstress test to see how he's holding up in there. If everything still looks good, another ultrasound on Wednesday will give more detailed info. The emails and texts are starting to trickle in, making sure I didn't go and have the baby in secret. Don't worry, I'm highly efficient. I have Krista on the email front, J calling family, and Willow will be handling the blog announcement. So you don't even have to wait for me to be near a computer! The nursery is finally near completion. I only say "near" because there are a few finishing touches that would be nice. The mural, however, is complete and totally gorgeous. We painted the bottom of the room orange, the top yellow, and then got some of our friends to create little scenes in a white band we left between the two colors. Like so: You should click on that pic to see the rest of the set, because it's pretty wonderful, in my opinion. We've had to work hard at keeping Max out of the nursery and bassinet and car seat. He can't quite understand why we've bought him all these wonderful things and yet won't let him use them. So cruel! Funny story to tide you over until there is any baby news: How dyslexia can win you Apples to Apples [The adjective is "awkward"] G: Let's see, I guess I choose "chickens" because they are pretty awkward birds. [Throws down "chicken" card, along with "incense."] J: More awkward than incest?]]> http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/09/nursery.html http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/09/nursery.html Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:51:01 -0700 Just popping in to let you know there's no baby yet. However, today is the due date the ultrasound technician gave us, so maybe we're looking at sooner rather than later. Can you read the desperation in there? Spicy foods, long walks... http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/09/more_later.html http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/09/more_later.html Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:55:26 -0700 bunker-like basement room and scuzzy bathroom into nice places a mother-in-law would enjoy staying, doing the cutest load of laundry ever, unpacking shower gifts), as well as resting projects (sleeping in, seeing a play, eating out with friends, FINALLY getting to watch The Dark Knight [which, btw, LOVE!]). It is very weird to be working against a deadline that even you can't predict. I'm equal parts rushing and procrastinating, so I guess it equals out. You guys are smart: what to do about a bee colony that is living in one of your window wells of the porch? I think I have taken the very rational stance of "hey, let's get rid of the bees on our porch." J thinks they are harmless ("harmless") and wants to let them live out their bee lives unimpeded. His argument includes cold weather coming soon and the honey bee epidemic. While I'm sympathetic in a generalized Buddhist way to not killing hordes of living things, I do not like bees. They make me nervous. And then on my way out to water the tomato plant last night, I had a brief brush with one that gave me sort of a half sting on my chest. My yelp brought J to the porch, at which point I thrust the pitcher of water at him and told him the bee problem needed to be taken care of. So what to do? Do you just hire an exterminator? Should we wait it out until the cold or will the bees just return next year? Hey! There's a big convention in town! So far it just means I'm avoiding downtown, though I did see a bunch of cops on bikes and a Shotgun Willie's convertible driving around with some booby ladies propped up on the back seat. Already it's spicing up my daily commute.]]> http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/08/hi_hi_im_still_herejust.html http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2008/08/hi_hi_im_still_herejust.html Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:55:05 -0700