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    Any weight changes in the last year?

    March 7th, 2009

    I’m applying for life insurance. I’m covered 2x salary through my employer, which is good (as in better than not), but I’m realizing it’s insufficient for what I’d like to leave behind for G and S in case something were to happen. Additionally, I’m not completely comfortable that this is something that would change based on my employment status, and I’d prefer my own, independent coverage. Hence the applications.

    The application process requires a physical exam to be conducted by the insurance’s dedicated medical staff. I was pleasantly surprised that they’ll come to me (whenever/wherever), so I requested a week-end appointment at my home. Score!

    My appointment was this morning. The nurse, an older lady, arrived early (which is good given that you have to fast and I was hungry) and we set up in our living room for the exam.

    We check my weight, height, go over my name and general medical history.  Then she goes down a list of questions. Pregnancy? Yes, baby boy born 8-29-08. Where was he delivered? Who’s the OB? Then she looks up at me and asks:

    “Any significant weight changes in the last year?”

    Insert a long pause and blink here on my end.

    Not a minute prior we went over the fact that I had been pregnant in the last year. Meanwhile S is standing about 20 feet away holding G (aka the product of significant weight change). Having listened to this exchange S starts laughing… loudly.

    “Ughmn, yes I was pregnant.” and then we just looked at each other.

    I think it was only at this point that she realized what she was asking.

    I tried to make her feel better by clarifying how much weight I had gained, and the fact that I’ve returned to my pre-pregnancy weight, but I still wanted to reach over and smack her on the forehead.

    I do hope I get approved though.


    Once upon a time…

    March 4th, 2009

    G was the star of his very first faerie tale last night. It went something like this…

    Once upon a time in a kingdom not too far away there lived a young prince. His name was G. He was generally a happy young lad, and when happy all the people in the kingdom said he was exceptionally cute. But when Prince G was sad, the whole kingdom was sad around him.

    Prince G and the Poop Faerie were good friends. But one day the Poop Faerie came across the mean Constipation Faerie. The Constipation Faerie was jealous of the Poop Faerie’s friendship with Prince G and the locked up the Poop Faerie in the dungeon of Colon. This made Prince G very sad… and mad. Queen Mommy and King Daddy hated seeing Prince G so upset, so Queen Mommy went to the neighboring kingdom of Walgreen’s to seek out the great OTC Wizard in hopes he would help rescue the Poop Faerie. The OTC Wizard thought hard and gave Queen Mommy a potion: The Tablet of Glycerin. Queen Mommy took this magic potion to Prince G and with it Prince G quickly defeated the Constipation Faerie and rescued the Poop Faerie.

    Then Prince G and the Poop Faerie were good friends again. And Prince G was happy, as was the kingdom around him. And they lived happily ever after.

    The End!

    Ok, this story isn’t 100% real, but it’s a good cautionary tale 🙂


    Dear G,

    March 1st, 2009

    Today you are 6 months old. In those 6 months you’ve taught me so much about you, and also so much about your daddy as well as myself.

    I’ve learned that you…

    • love music and listening to Pink is your favorite (please someday tell me why). Also songs that you heard often in my belly make you pause to listen
    • love to talk, especially to Monkey or Froggie. You tell them about your day when you go to bed and about your dreams when you wake up
    • have a good sense of humor and know just when to smile when your daddy or I are being silly
    • have a very intent stare
    • love to swing things: your Gum Drop, Monster-dude… really just about anything you can wrap your fingers around
    • like to do things your way on your own schedule and if you don’t get it, our ear drums hear about it

    I learned that your daddy is an even better father and husband than I ever thought he would be. We’re even closer than ever before and it’s because of you.

    I’ve learned that I have far more patience than I ever thought I would; that wake-ups in the middle of the night are rough… very rough… yet still manageable; that stinky diapers aren’t nearly as bad as I had imagined (although there’s still time for that to change); and that despite the fact that we spend all this time together I can’t wait to come home to you every day and spend every minute possible with you.

    Thinking about you makes me smile, and I love all the little things about you. I love…

    • the smile you give me when I wake you up in the morning
    • the sound of your voice when you talk
    • your big toothless grin
    • the way your eyes sparkle when you smile
    • the little white milk stain on your tongue
    • how funny you look when your eyes go cross-eyed because you’re so intently focusing on an object close by
    • the way your ears stick out under your beanie, making you look like an elf
    • how you rub your hands together as if you’re plotting some world domination scheme
    • the way your legs bounce when you’re excited
    • the fact that you giggle in your sleep
    • your constantly sticking out tongue
    • the way your rub your Froggie or Monkey blankets on your face when you are ready for a nap

    And so in honor of your 6mo birthday, here’s a little walk down memory lane:

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-y7WD-9PPs]


    G must be really smart

    February 27th, 2009

    We had G’s 6-mo well check-up appointment.

    His weight is on track: in the 3rd percentile (boo!), but he’s staying on the 3% curve consistently.

    He’s shot up in height and is now in the 10th percentile (before he was in the 5th range).

    But above all, his head is jumping curves. He’s in 35th percentile for head. Ya — my little dude’s got one big noggin’. That certainly explains why we can’t find hats that fit. His pedi was very excited about this, although I don’t really get why having a big melon’s a good thing. Feel free to enlighten me. He’s obviously making room for some big knowledge in there.

    Overall, G got a clean bill of health. Dr. M’s very excited about him, and G in turn spent the whole appointment just grinning at him.

    Best part? When G hot his shot today — NO TEARS!!!! Remember the crying video? Yeah… none of that! Not even a whimper. I had a bottle in his mouth which he was happily eating when the shot went in.  Kid did’t even flinch. A big relief for me since this was my first time taking him in on my own. I can’t watch when he gets poked, so it was a good thing that he just kept sucking on his bottle.

    I’m so proud of my little man! We’ll be celebrating by cracking open a jar of sweet potatoes tomorrow. First “real” food, baby!


    6 months of boobie time

    February 27th, 2009

    This Sunday (if there were 29 days in February) will mark G’s 6mo birthday. As special as this is (and I’ll devote a whole post about it) there’s another event I want to acknowledge: 6 months of me breastfeeding our son!

    This may not seem like a big deal to some of you, but it’s HUUUGE for me. Coming from a family where neither my mother nor her mother were able to breastfeed successfully (and not for lack of trying, believe me), I was fully prepared that their condition would follow me as well. I had hoped to breastfeed, but knew that any day that I could do it was to be savored because the next day might not be. As a result, I’ve been extremely sensitive about baby feeding, G’s weight and his overall development.

    I discovered early on that talking to mothers and mothers-to-be about breastfeeding is like talking to someone about religion. Just like religion there is no “right” or “wrong” choice — just the choice that each family has made given their situation. I try not to judge as I vividly remember a conversation (pre-birth) with a friend who laid in on me about breastfeeding G without listening to my concerns.

    After G was born and I realized that I got lucky, I set my first milestone at 6 months. Getting G to be breastmilk fed for 6 months would make me thrilled. Getting to a year, ecstatic. And here were are: my first milestone.

    I really AM thrilled! And to be quite frank, relieved. It’s given me hope about reaching a full year.

    It hasn’t been easy. Keeping up supply has been hard work, and stressful, but it’s worth it to me because I really want to be “here” and this is something that was important (to me) to do.

    Hurray for boobies!

    I feel, by the way, as if I’m at a graduation ceremony listening to a speech about accomplishments and goals and the future. Except the graduates are my boobs.

    Ok, enough pep-talk. Now… onto a year.