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    From the mouths of babes

    September 30th, 2008

    We were in Trader Joe’s on Sunday on a very brief shopping trip. Since G was being a little fussy, S carried his car-seat, swinging, while I followed with the cart behind.

    Ahead of us in the pastas aisle was a little kid sitting in his mom’s cart. He was probably 3? Maybe 4? I’m still kinda bad at pinpointing kids’ ages, but based on his verbalization skills I’m going to stick by my assessment.
    So this little boy who had been looking at G in his car-seat for a little while decides to engage S in conversation. He looks up at S and asks:

    “Why did you want a baby?”

    I could tell S was a little taken aback by this question. It’s loaded for anyone (over 3 ft tall to ask), let alone that little dude. I couldn’t hear what S responded to him, but man do I wish I had.

    The little boy then followed up with an even better question:

    “Where’d you get him?”

    I was ready to start rolling on the ground laughing. S replied:

    “We made him!”

    The boy looked confused, and I’m glad S wasn’t about to get into the details of how making babies, or even how making our baby works. I wanted to reply “We got him at a baby sale at Babies R Us”, but at his age I don’t think he would quite have appreciated my sarcasm or wit… and I wouldn’t want his parents to be pressured to get him a sibling from a local baby sale anytime either.

    So yeah, high points to that kid. He was cute to boot! Makes me wonder what kind of questions will come from G in a few years.


    G’s 1 (month old) today!

    September 29th, 2008

    G is 1 month old today! In some respects these last few weeks have gone by really fast, and in others I feel like our family has already spent an eternity together. In honor of this occasion, I wanted to reflect on the past few weeks. What follows is a series of non sequitur thoughts and observations.

    • Babies smell good
    • Whomever said that baby poo smells sweet really needs to examine their smell receptors
    • A baby’s coo melts your heart
    • Babies are cute
    • Nature has purposefully made babies cute so that you still like them when they cry
    • Taking a shower is a luxury
    • Brushing your teeth is also a luxury
    • Your kids smile makes you forget all about being tired… even when they don’t mean to smile… or even know they’re smiling
    • Breast-milk will not be going into my cereal anytime soon
    • I have a new-found respect for single parents doing it alone
    • Parents of multiples have my admiration… and sympathies
    • Simple math on a few hours of sleep is hard
    • Even un-circumcised boys produce a fountain-ous spray
    • Being peed on is not as gross as one imagines
    • Yes, you can put a monetary value on a night’s sleep (currently $179 in our house… before taxes, shipping and handling)
    • You can never have enough photos of your kid
    • Taking off your pants (to go to the bathroom) w/ one hand (‘cuz the other is holding the baby) is hard. I have not yet mastered this skill
    • A fart and belch from your partner is gross. A fart and belch from your infant on the other hand is pretty adorable
    • Anyone calling my house after 9pm is looking for a whoppin’
    • It’s almost impossible to walk through a baby store and not Aw at the little clothes
    • Baby stuff is made of some of the softest and cuddliest fabrics ever… and they can’t even appreciate it
    • It’s remarkable how quickly the details of labor disappear
    • Lactation supplements makes sweat (and uhmn “other” stuff) smell like licorice
    • Family pets seem to be more afraid of babies than anything else: apparently size matters not
    • The amount of love you immediately feel for your child is immeasurable

    There’s so much more, but I’ll stop here.

    Happy 1 month birthday G!!!


    Yeah, I’m not very bright

    September 28th, 2008

    I always thought that Lansinoh primarily made products for boobies: nursing pads, nipple crème, pumping supplies… stuff like that.

    One evening while I was opening a box of nursing pads, I was very pleasantly surprised to find a small sample packet of wipes. They came in a boobie item box so I thought “Boobie wipes!” So, naturally, after one of G’s munch sessions I decided to clean myself up with them. They felt cool, refreshing and generally smelled quite lovely.

    The next morning, once the lights were actually on, I told S about my find. He looks at the packet and exclaims

    “These aren’t for your breasts! They’re regular wipes… like the ones we use on G’s butt.”

    He shows me the packaging and sure enough, it was true.

    I no longer felt special. I no longer had wipes just for me. But aside from feeling sad and disappointed, I felt pretty lame… and not too smart. I don’t know what I thought the packaging read, or how I could have interpreted “Clean & Condition Cloths (For Babies Gentle Cleansing)” as something intended for my breasts, yet there I stood blush-faced.

    Yeah, I’m not very bright.

    …but I’m making myself special, because I’m claiming these as MY wipes! On those evenings when I wake up especially sticky from stuff I know I have my sample packet to turn to.


    Foto Friday

    September 26th, 2008

    Thank you Augie 🙂


    G’s big adventure

    September 25th, 2008

    G and I had a long and adventurous day yesterday. We were out of the house for a full 7 hours all by ourselves!

    We started off with a long ride to the North-East Bay to pick up A (of Wishing for my miracle fame). The three of us then headed to Concord for a “New Mommy” get-together. G was the youngest in the bunch, if you don’t count the wee one in A’s belly. It was interesting to see how kids develop over time and to see the milestones I have to look forward to with G. When we walked in, the hostess’ little guy was sitting in his swing just silently marveling at the mobile over it. His mom was prepping some items for the guests in the kitchen. As I parked G in the car seat right next to the swing, I thought to myself “Wow – it will be great that someday, hopefully, G will be doing that too.” Right now, he sits in the swing for maybe a minute before he starts crying.

    After the get-together, G and I spent some good, quality time with his “uncle” Augie. Augie has two boys of his own, and I’m always impressed with how immaculate his house is. Even the toy den with toys scattered is pretty organized. G and I had some words about toys observing the loot of goodies… well it was obviously me doing the talking while he stared up at me with that newborn cross-eyed look of his. I made it clear to him that he and I will be fighting over his Lego’s. I LOVE Lego. For my college graduation gift, I asked my parents for a programmable Lego robotics set. I got a DVD player instead (which I’m not complaining about), but I still yearn for that Lego set.

    All and all, throughout the day G did very well and I’m really proud of my little guy!

    G’s mommy on the other hand proved herself to be completely irrational and probably somewhat certifiable. Since this is our first day out on our own, and probably my second day driving G I couldn’t stop but think about these crazy-terrible “What If” scenarios. Things like:

    • If there is an earthquake right now (we do live in CA) while I’m driving on this bridge and it collapses (it did happen in ’89), how will I get G out of his car-seat? I’m a terrible swimmer: how will I keep him alive?
    • If I’m in a car accident and knocked unconscious, will the people who come to my rescue be honest enough to not kidnap my child?

    Yep – I told you I was completely irrational. These are very unlikely and obscure scenarios, but honestly, I was driving around with that in my head. Please tell me I’m not the only first-time parent that’s dealing with Doom’s Day preparation.

    See.. this is why I should never be left alone with my thoughts.


    A post-partum belly

    September 23rd, 2008

    As of a week ago my belly has majorly deflated (see 39w shot). My abdominal muscles are reclaiming their position and I am down 23.5 lbs with another 19 to go to get to my ideal weight (a little less if I just want to get to my pre-pregnancy weight). I’m both happy and sad over this.

    Happy because I feel like my sessions with my personal trainers (both before pregnancy and during) have really helped me recover quickly from the cesarean surgery and also get to this point. I know these last 19 lbs (and XX inches) will be rough to loose, but we’ll get there.

    Sad on the other hand, because I loved being pregnant and not knowing if I’ll ever have that experience again is incredibly sad for me. For the little things that I don’t miss about being pregnant (back-pain, having difficulty trimming my own toenails) there were 10 other things that I do (baby kicks, big round belly, lack of hair-loss, … sleep). I knew I wouldn’t stay pregnant forever, I just didn’t think letting go of the experience would be as hard.

    Taking care of G, though, is a full-time job which leaves very little time for thought beside the task at hand, so it’s a good distraction, and a good way to get over my sadness and rejoice in him being with us.

    G also must like having a fit mommy. I discovered a quick way to get him quiet on his crying sprees. Put him in the Moby wrap and then get on the elliptical — no joke, that knocks him out in a good 2 minutes flat! I’m hoping that by the holidays I’ll have my old figure back (if not the weight) and by the end of September I’ll gear up the courage to try my pre-pregnancy pants 🙂


    Cat vs. Kid

    September 23rd, 2008

    I haven’t written yet about Neko’s response to G.

    Let’s put it this way: Neko spends most of his day in the farthest corner of the house from G. It’s not just the crying baby that gets him: I genuinely think Neko is afraid of G. Yep, my 17lb, twice-the-size-of-the-baby Maine Coon is afraid of G!

    Where Neko used to come into the nursery before G was born, he is now intimidated by that room. It took him a long while to even enter and when he does it’s barely past the door, hunched down. He makes a run for it as soon as you gesture him to come in. When I pick him up and carry him over to the baby he pushes back and can’t wait to get away. He also gives us these looks: ones that seem to say “The new toy you brought home seems to be broken. You taking it back?”

    On the bonus side, I guess my dad would be pleased: he was ready to buy us a tent for the crib so that Neko won’t jump in there. Even before G Neko would never get in the crib. Hide under it? Sure (and swat for strangers’ legs), but never in it. Now I think Neko first needs to get in the room before he even considers getting in the crib. I think we’re safe for a long while 🙂

    G on the other hand is completely ignorant of Neko’s existence. This doesn’t surprise me for the time being, but I do wonder when he’ll realize he’s a “little brother”.

    I’m looking forward to them playing with each other though. Even if all that means is Neko tolerating G as G tries to suck on his tail… or ride him.


    How to deal with unwanted solicitors

    September 20th, 2008

    G seems to have an uncanny ability to detect when I’m on the phone with someone I enjoy talking to. About 2-5 minutes into my conversations he goes from silently placated (or asleep) to full-on cry. Why is it that he can’t do the same when solicitors call?

    This morning as yet another call came in, I was thinking “Man, I should really record G’s wails for moments like this”. Seriously, as soon as Mr. Solicitor starts their 10 min long schpeal, you start the recording straight into the phone microphone. If the sound of a shrieking kid doesn’t get them to pause (and if I’m lucky hang up) I’d be impressed.

    Hmn… Maybe there’s a business oportunity here : solicitor repellant sounds.


    G’s new wheels

    September 20th, 2008

    … well technically it’s S’, but we all know that the reason we got a second car is because of G.

    After many months of thinking, talking, researching, and waiting, S bought the new Honda Fit.

    Yep, our second car is even smaller than our first (a Civic). S wanted small. I wanted big… but he won that argument. In stereotypical fashion, I thought that our “baby” car would be something bigger, like a CRV, or a Rav-4, but after considering all the things I wanted out of a bigger car, I realized that my “needs” were only satisfied by a minivan, and quite frankly I’m not ready to go “there” yet. I wanted the space to get G, ourselves and our parents in the same car in when we’d go out places, but given the fact that our parents live out of town, it made no sense to drive around a much bigger vehicle than we need for a couple of days a year. With gas prices being (and staying) high, the cost we’d be saving on gas alone would make up for driving two cars out during their visits.

    Our new vehicular baby comes home (following some upgrades) next week. Just in time for S to go back to work 🙂


    Foto Friday

    September 19th, 2008