Being home with my little girl has forced me to seriously think about my life. When the knowledge that every action will eventually be mimicked by a little one, it forces a serious look at lifestyle choices. Even in the midst of hours of colic, I find myself looking into her wide blue eyes and thinking to myself, “Is this the woman I want to be for you?”
We all know by now that life doesn’t turn out the way you expect it to and you don’t turn out to be the person you thought you would be. I am no different. (more…)
I cannot pretend that I am anywhere near 100% though physically I have healed from labor and have a healthy, determined little girl in my arms. I say this so you can be gentle as you read my next few posts - I have only been able to sleep in 2-4 hour shifts since my 44-hour labor. As a person with bipolar, I can’t express how much this has diminished my mental capacity - right now Dora the Explorer’s plot lines lose me. So be kind or I’ll have to go postpartum postal on your bupkes.
Despite my mental fog, it has been three weeks since our “blessed event” (what a semi-sarcastic euphemism that is!) and I really should at least attempt to tell my tale. Or return to writing. Or whatever.
Let me start by saying that child labor - as in the kind that brings children into the world, not putting a child to work in the coal mine with that little canary - is not at all like they show on television. A woman’s water typically doesn’t suddenly break and bring an onslaught of contractions worth screaming over. Oh, nay nay! Labor, for most women as it was for me, is a game of hurry up and wait. Contractions come - they range from uncomfortably ticklish to truly painful - and then they go for a few minutes. For hours on end, it’s an ebb and flow situation with little progress as far as dilation. Only 1 in 10 women will actually have her water break on its own, the rest of womankind must wait for the good OBGYN and his/her giant crochet needle. Oh my, but I get ahead of myself! (more…)
We are proud - no, thrilled - to announce the birth of our daughter Miriam Rose! (Regales of my 44 hours of labor - yes, FORTY FOUR - to come once we’re settled and I’ve had more than 3 hours sleep in any 24-hour period.)
Born Tuesday, 25 March 2008 at 3:35 pm
5 lbs 3 oz, 17.5 inches
Welcome to the world, precious girl!
Obviously, some things have changed since I first made my declaration back in February of this year.
First, an injury to my left leg in April (torn plantaris tendon, torn calf muscle and sprained hamstring) that took me both out of work and off my feet which is STILL healing. From the lack of mobility and the good food my Mom cooks, I gained another 15 lbs to put me at a whooping 220 lbs which is a lot for my medium 5′7″ frame.
The next surprise was our unplanned blessing of Miriam Rose (due April 17th for those of you not paying attention), which brought a horrid bout of “morning” sickness that made me lose those previously gained 15 lbs before beginning to put on the pregnancy weight.
I am currently 215 lbs (up 10 lbs from the “pre-pregnancy” weight of 205 after the “morning” sickness took its toll), which is on the low end of what I should gain by this time in the pregnancy.
While dieting is OBVIOUSLY not a good idea while pregnant (more…)
Every year I like to set some financial goals and compare to how reality took place at the end of the year. To be honest, I did this in the beginning to make sure I accomplished the rather lofty goals I set for our family. Now I do it as a lesson in crisis management as well as evaluating how realistic the goal was in the first place.
Now, this year was a doozy as far as curve balls went! (more…)
