And Baby Makes 8

...

2008-12-28T20:02:00.000-08:00

She was like,' Really?!? You're really going to make me do this?

Happy Holidays again!

2008-12-22T17:49:00.000-08:00

happy holidays!

2008-12-19T15:29:00.000-08:00

Our tree is a foot and a half tall, so I decided to take a close up so it looks big... I will post another one this evening! I am going to add more stuff...

long time coming...

2008-11-24T10:20:00.000-08:00

Walking, talking, dancing, pitching fits, hitting, throwing, biting, singing, spinning in circles... the list goes on.
Being a mom is great, hard, sucky, super-fun, exhausting, lonely, and never boring. Don't get out much these days, only occasionally, which is really all I need. Don't see friends much, don't see movies, considered a bitch by most, have a new found love for Kanye West, Pink, Rhianna, Annie Lennox and Christina Aguillera, love old haitians, want to build my outdoor woodfired clay oven, and I love Pizzaiolo.

Happy Hippo Pie. Yes, its a Hippo. And its happy. To be on a pie.

The things in the background are trees... Lake Siskyou along with Lake Shasta and The River are pretty much drying up and we are standing on the lake bed in this picture. There were beehives in some of the trees as well as hornets' nests.

trike-a-bike!

2008-10-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, Griff and I met on the street when we were both bicycle messengers in San Francisco. My word it was such a long time ago. 8 years?
So, naturally, we both cannot wait until she gets on a bicycle.
The tricycle is a good start. She loves it. She pushes around in the house, rolls backwards, gets pissed if she can't get out of a dead-end, or gets REALLY pissed if you try to help her.

She is already a freakin' pro. And she means business, asshole. Don't mess with her.

2008-10-10T14:22:00.000-07:00

She loves to brush her teeth, however, she will now onlydo it if I put toothpaste on it. Don't freak out, its baby toothpaste, no flouride or sugar.

Yes, we stole pumpkins. Not really 'stole' but more like 'took' them. She pushed the wagon all the way home!

Her cape makes her superfast!

She really likes the Lagunitas IPA.

This is what happens...

2008-09-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

...when she wants to go somewhere. She just goes... or tries to, anyway. I think that we are going to be so screwed when she is a teenager! I mean in terms of her being driven, or, motivated to get what she wants. I know that Daddy will fold for sure.

i love her more than you

2008-09-15T07:54:00.000-07:00

Everyday its something new.
Yesterday she took two steps by herself. It made me all misty.
Then later that day she bit me and left a hole in my arm. That made me teary as well.
Now she has a little fever. She gets super cuddly when she doesn't feel well, and that makes me all watery like the other things.
My eyes are always wet, which is why I stopped wearing mascara.
Taught how to to do "the robot" on Friday. Thats been the best thing, besides her repeating 'every single word we say', including the colorful metaphors we use everyday.
I miss her when she is sleeping, and love the way she smells.

And she really like being in the kitchen with me at the stove or looking in a pot or sticking her finger or hand in anything I am making. Its damn cute.

Little monster spoon chewer!!

2008-08-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

And then she was surprised at herself.

Apologies for the post about removing the blog...

2008-07-01T10:56:00.000-07:00

Tired, feeling guilty about not posting enough and not wanting to feel like I HAVE to (but I do) and so on and so forth. I will post pictures, I was reprimanded and so I will post. Was not a pity party. Just tired. Thats all.
Here are some birthday photos and stuff.
Enjoy.

One year old tomorrow.

2008-06-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

Not that anyone cares, but Lita will be one year old tomorrow at exactly 1:31 pm.
I am taking down the blog, no one reads it, it has been removed from some lists and I just do not have time to sit and post and wonder if anyone gives a shit.
It was great while it lasted and now its time to go.
I have to go chase my daughter...

Time is a funny thing.

2008-05-28T09:02:00.000-07:00

It just keeps passing. She will be one year old on June 19th. Please give me a shot of your finest brandy.
She is totally crawling now, pulling herself up on everything, standing at the safety gate we have in her bedroom doorway and yelling at the dog or at me. Her lungs are very healthy. Its not the yell-cry-momma-come-get-me stuff, she is actually YELLING.
Complete with a scowl and everything. She is NOT fucking around.
I can't believe how much she likes food. I mean its not a big surprise, but given her parents have different diets, she has an awesome palette. Spicy, flavorful food it has to be or she gags. No joke.

She didn't find it funny at all.

Here we are in the Denver airport. She was completely over everyone and everything. No one could get her to smile.

All of a sudden, she is aware of the camera, and she likes to pose or throw a smile. But its really quick, and mostly we miss the opportunities. Slow camera.

Mmmmmmmm ginger fried rice and kobucha squash.

Happy Lita!!!
8 teeth and counting... watch out, she bites you when you piss her off. I am not lying.

Not all fun and games. And Kansas.

2008-05-08T09:43:00.001-07:00

Went to Kansas for my grandfathers funeral, and Lita got to meet her family from my mother's side. Very exciting.

This is her grand uncle Mike, who is my uncle...? so confusing.

Griffin the dunce rockstar?

Lita and her second cousin Olivia.

I am sure that most moms out there come to the shocking realization that having a baby enter your life changes everything. I mean, yeah, other parents try to warn the soon to be parents, but nothing really prepares you. NOTHING.
You think you have issues now? Throw a baby into the mix and watch what happens. Its like baking soda and vinegar or mentos and coca cola. SPLOOF! Not many marriages make it in the first year. That is how hard it is.
The balancing act is the hardest part. Sleep, HOUSEWORK, money, SEX, FUN, family time vs. personal time, friends (or a lack thereof) and just staring at a wall.
Parenting styles really become apparent when the baby shows up. You may think that you are on the same page, but chances are, you are not. Communication is the most important thing but it is also the hardest thing of all.
I like to scream and throw things, but that is not conducive to baby rearing. They start to do what you do at a very young age, trust me. I do double takes every day. Monkey see, monkey do.
I am also in the process of realizing that I cannot be a different person than myself just because I want my child to be a certain way. If I am a slob, then chances are my child will pick up some of that no matter how hard I try to be NOT a slob. They are not stupid. I mean, I can do my best to set a good example, but that is about all. Nor can I make them more efficient. I can teach them the same skills I have and HOPE that it sticks or kicks in at some point. I know that I was a late bloomer in life, in fact, I am still blooming. I know a few other people, too, who are in the same boat. All of this stuff has been magnified since the birth.
Think I am exaggerating? Go have yourself a baby then. And hire a house cleaner. Or, hire me one...

Arizona, wedding cake and pools.

2008-04-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

Some more stuff...

2008-03-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

My whole day life is about to change again.I need an animal pen or something because once she starts to crawl she will cease to be a mellow baby.

She took the car the other night, but she DID at least fill it up with gas.

Some stuff.

2008-03-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

You can insert your own caption if you want to. There are soooo many possibilities...

Zoo time! Went to the zoo in Oakland. Lots of animals. And then there was our pack of kids...

The carousel made daddy sick for the rest of the day.

Aya and Lita's cousin Zoe.

Lita and cousin Odessa!

Aunty Rebecca. She was there when Lita was born. I mean right there, holding my legs up over my head...

Lita and Uncle Chris.

Cakes, naps and other stuff.

2008-02-02T14:15:00.001-08:00

Besides being a mom, I am making cakes these days. This one is gluten-free! A doctor from the Whole Child Wellness Center in Belmont ordered it for her husband. I spoke there a few weeks ago. Hopefully it will bring in some dough. These are pictures of the cake. I am just focusing on 6 inch round masterpieces. Its fun!

Lita and Cat!! She is an architect. Lita is going to help her build stuff.

MEOW!

Daddy like to put stuff on her head, and the she like to pose.

So, a few weeks ago I started sleep training her for naps and she has responded quite well. In other words, she goes down for a morning nap around 9ish for an hour or so, then goes back down around 1ish for an hour or so. Every day. Then she goes down for sleep at night around 630ish 7ish. She isn't sleeping through the night, and so far I haven't let her cry it out. I am just too frigging sensitive. However, the lack of sleep is no longer fun and I am slowly losing my mind. I entertain the idea of letting her cry it out every night when she wakes up to play or just tweak my nipples instead of actually feeding. Yeah, I said 'tweak my nipples'.
Anyway, I am tired of not sleeping. I don't think I have slept more than 4 hours at a time since I have been pregnant. So, she might be doing some crying this week.

Constipation, more teeth and stupid mail carriers.

2008-01-19T08:56:00.000-08:00

BATHsheba.
She loooooves water. Likes to stick her face in it and choke, scare mommy and daddy, then laugh in our faces and do it again.
This kid...

We thought she kinda looked like a character in Stars Wars or something here.

This is the look of constipation, not consternation.
Poor thing.

Ok, Dot is not a 'dangerous' dog, she's a frickin' Labrador. She is also not 'large'.
She is a runt of a doggy. And then there is the fact that she never even saw or met the mail carrier. He was down at the corner and we saw him pull up and promptly went inside.
Since when did they become such pussies?

Christmas and Shhhhhhhhhhhhasta!

2008-01-03T17:44:00.000-08:00

Her great-grandfather and my muffin-top!

The day after we arrived in Hawaii, it was my 36th birthday and my mother gave me this really neat hat... ahem, you know, its cool.

They were totaly sizing each other up. Thats my mother she is with, in case you were wondering.

Her great-grandfather!!

Here she is with her Daddy's mama. I found that whenever I tried to get a photo of her face, grandma dodged the camera. I will capture her one of these days.

Then we went to the snow in Shasta the day after we got back.

Three of Eight.

2007-12-12T06:45:00.000-08:00

Dance, dance!

2007-12-10T07:37:00.000-08:00

ho hum...

2007-12-06T07:02:00.000-08:00

I can't wait 'til she starts flingin' it everywhere.

She kept pushing my hands away and fussing every time I tried to reposition her so she could be comfy when she fell asleep, just like her father.
Oh, and check Blanche in the background trying to get up on the counter. She is still up for grabs, you know.

Gangsta-style, silver dreams and TEETH.

2007-12-01T05:49:00.000-08:00

SO we got this huge box and enormous bag of clothing from a friend who knows someone who was looking to unload all of their babygirl clothes on an unsuspecting couple, because they had no idea what to do with it (imagine that), and one of the awesome things we got was a sweatshirt with a bulldog or something on it. Its blue, with a red interior, not your average run of the mill girly style color scheme. Anyhow, so, we started joking about the colors and the fact that we live in Oakland and ooooohh crippy blood/bloody crip yaddah yaddah and then I decided that she needed to girly it up so I put a RED headband on her and then she just ended up looking like a tennis player or something and headbands are stupid anyway.
But secretly, I like them.

After she puked 3 times on her sweatshirt, I put her in her pope outfit, not really, but, after she fell asleep, the hat moved and thats what she looked like... but I don't think the pope has a silver moon rattle. At least, not in public.
She really did fall asleep with it in her hand like that.
She also has cut 2 teeth. Yikes.

Thanksgiving casualties and oh my god...

2007-11-27T08:09:00.001-08:00

BEFOREMATH...

AFTERMATH.

She kept trying to eat his nose.

Then she finally took a break.

She pretty much sits up on her own now, and oh my god she weighs 17 pounds, 12 ounces!! she has gained 2 pounds since her 4 month check up a month ago.
Chunka-chunka.

I love my baby.

Bathysphere.

2007-11-20T16:52:00.000-08:00

Clean, big-eyed baby.

Its been awhile, but pictures are coming...

2007-11-20T16:42:00.000-08:00

I promise.

Eating some food and hanging out upsidedown.

2007-11-07T08:12:00.000-08:00

Going in...

Mission impossible. She ate most of it. The second feeding she was 'diving' for the spoon. She is still confused by the whole food thing, though.

She likes to hang out upside down. Often.

STATS!!!!!!!!

2007-10-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

She got her second round of shots this morning... handled it like a champ. Much better than I would if I had some 2 inch needles stuck into each one of my thighs. There were four needles total, so she got 2 in each leg. My gosh its heartbreaking. My husband said his heart wanted to jump out of his chest. He wasn't there for the first round, so this was harder for him.
However, she now weighs 15 pounds 9 ounces, and she is 26 inches long. When she was born she weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long.
My, she has grown.

Mt. Shasta is awesome.

2007-10-29T09:15:00.001-07:00

We went to Shasta for the week. Technically, its Weed, but it was beautiful anyway, and the people are pretty nice.

Black Bart hid behind this waterfall after robbing a stagecoach in 1869 or 1865. It doesn't look like much but in the spring it flows a bit more.

Crazy eyes!

Good friends of ours have a house up in Shasta, so we stayed there. Can't wait to go up in the summer.

Sundial Bridge in Redding is awesome!!

messing around with the photo booth.

2007-10-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

I live for this shit.

2007-10-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

BFF.

my heart melts every day.

She has been sleeping really long these days. By long I mean 4-5 hours at a stretch. If she goes down to sleep at 830pm she will sleep to at least 130-2ish (am). Then she'll be up for an hour or so, then go back down until 4sh, eat a little, then back down until 730ish. Not too shabby, considering some of the other stories I hear.
I feel lucky that she likes to sleep.
Oh, and she's taken to 'yelling' for what she wants instead of crying. She never really cried anyway, unless I just wasn't getting what she was trying to communicate. Mostly hunger.

Hard to keep up...

2007-10-09T09:32:00.001-07:00

She changes so much everyday. Here, she is not sure what is going on, trying to keep it cool...

...and here we see by the look on her face she is clearly not amused, no sense of humor about it AT ALL.

Maybe she will get the light-eyed half of the genes??

She is a genius.

this is my life... plastic fruit and baby fingers.

2007-09-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

Our little grape.

2007-09-22T19:35:00.001-07:00

Jackson, the Lion...

Piglet...

Blanch the cat, my husband, Lita Jo and the dog were all hanging out on the couch, but you can't see the dog. She was there...

Blanche, with her new 'do'...

We shaved the two larger cats because the hair was getting out of control. Also, they look so damn cute. All I do is pet them now instead of shooing them away. Its a bonus for everyone.

Its a word, I swear.

2007-09-12T14:46:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I know. Its not an actual word, but, I mean, she was trying to use her words.
She has gotten quite good at it.
Just the other day she was telling me that she hates the fact that when she craps herself we laugh and scream,"Good girl!" as if its really all that awesome. She said,"Mom, its just not that awesome."

I guess I would hate it if every time I shit my pants my husband jumped up and down and shouted, "Yay! You pooped!"
That would suck.

Sucker.

2007-09-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

Turn your volume all the way up for this one.
Its sooooo loud when she does it that it sounds almost fake, like there is a hidden speaker somewhere.

Back From Hawaii

2007-08-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

Saying goodbye to Daddy...

The view from up there...

The other view from up there...

And the backyard...

My brother and my daughter...

My pink baby...

Practicing for our trip to Hawaii.

2007-08-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

Me and the baby leave for Hawaii on Monday morning. I got her a hat and sewed a heart on to it and daddy gave her his gucci sunglasses. She really liked the sunglasses.

Check the crib video thingy and new hairstyle!

2007-08-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

First time in the crib. Ever.

Here is how I know she is sleeping and not sneaking out the window...

And this is her new do by Daddy. Tomorrow I am going to show her how to use a curling iron.

Happiness is a warm swing...

2007-08-09T09:23:00.000-07:00

She absolutely LOVES her swing. I feel guilty for putting her in it because I feel like I should be playing with her every single second she is awake. However, sometimes she cries and just wants to be left to swing on her own, staring at things and relaxing.
I want a swing, too.

Burning (out?)

2007-08-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

This post finds me exhausted and a little lonely. Not the type of lonely like being cold and alone, but the type where I miss having just a little freedom to think about anything other than baby. This is typical of new motherhood. I am jealous of people who can sit on the porch and read, who can sit on the computer like nothing has changed, who get to think about anything other than baby.
So tired.
And for other people looking in, motherhood is not interesting to the masses, or entertaining. Its very personal. And I guess that is why its lonely. No one wants to really talk about any of it. Sure its good for a smug laugh or two, then its over.
I say this as my daughter is starting to wake up and Now I am excited.
She is such a thrill.
She laughs now.
It all happens so fast!

Sisters and San Luis Obispo

2007-08-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

This are my little sisters. I had not seen them in almost 10 years.The blonde is a firefighter, and the red head is a mother of two. They are Pretty awesome.

This is my nephew Devin. He has fangs.

Lita Jo had a good time. The hotel was a dive. I should've taken some photos. Its funny how much my standards have changed since having a baby. It definitely makes me want to spend more money on a better hotel.

We were total posers.

These are the days...

2007-07-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

Thumb sucking finally caught on camera! She has not done it since, but it was cute and she was slurping it LOUDLY. I heard it through the carrier and looked inside and she was sucking away.

Notice the arm chub. Its soft and squishy, fat in all the right ways.
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Okay, no, she was not screaming. She was yaaaaaawning.

Hand-modeling in her sleep, which her momma does on a regular. Just ask her daddy about it. He will tell you all the stories of his catching me in my sleep modeling my hands. I am glad she got that part of me because it makes for good stories later in life.

Now notice the leg chub, her royal thigh-ness. Perfect.

We went on a walk yesterday with our friends Christine and Owen and Baby Bea, and stroller princess Lita Jo here rode sitting up in her stroller for the first time. She was like, "Yeah, rollin'... then promptly fell asleep.

We are definitely getting more sleep these days. And she is changing so rapidly its mind-blowing. I am trying to catch as much of it as I can on camera just so we will have something to look at if we forget how awesome it is having a baby around. Believe me, sometimes I am so tired and frustrated that I forget that these are the days when everything she does is a milestone, simply because she was such a blobby blob when she came here. Now she has a personality, and a voice that she uses, and she sees me and smiles, and coos at her daddy and me, and makes really funny faces when she is pooping. Oh, and she weighs over 10 pounds and has grown 2 inches in the last month.

4 weeks old on 7/17/2007!

2007-07-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

Award-winning reproduction!

Smelling her gets you totally high...

...its hard to keep your eyes open around it, its that powerful. All you want to do is snuggle and sleep.

ChubbyBubby.

This is dad's famous football hold. She loves it when she has gas.

She is totally awesome.
I actually am having a hard time believing she came out of me only 4 weeks ago. It seems so surreal, especially when I think about the pain of things leading up to birth. It was all worth it. I would not change a thing.
I am adjusting to the no-sleep way of life. Its kinda like walking around on ether. I am just kind of numb. That is, until she chomps my nipple. THAT hurts in a way I cannot describe. then its bruised for a few days.
Not fun.
But hey, I have lost 20 pounds since I gave birth. All because of breastfeeding.
And one other thing... today is our 7 year anniversary.
How about that.
Cheers.

C-Jo in her first hooded track suit and stuff.

2007-06-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

Right now she is so cute it doesn't matter that I am not really sleeping. And so far the diaper tally is on daddy's side as I have changed a grand total of maybe 10 and he has changed something like a thousand, I think.

Thumbelina.

??? Yeah, mostly I can't see straight. And thats right, you can see down my shirt. Dad took the photo. Take it up with him.

Finally.

2007-06-25T16:40:00.000-07:00

Labor started at 345am on Tuesday June 19th, and ended at 131pm the same day with the birth of our daughter.
It was awesome.
Here are some photos. I will write more later.
We love her so much. She changes every day.
Today she is one week old.

The time has come... and gone.

2007-06-16T09:46:00.000-07:00

Well, she was due to show up on the 12th.
Of course, she just stayed put.
According to the tests and the doctor, everything is fine, and she is healthy, and its common for first babies to be overdue.
So we wait.
And she swims.
Her father is more stressed out than I am, but I am more uncomfortable. I am not sure if either one is worse.
I look forward to her arrival as I can no longer put my own pants on or my shoes.

"I went to the doctor and the doctor said..."

2007-06-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

...that there was no change in dilation but the baby was definitely lower and on the launching pad.
She is going to 'launch' out of my vagina, I guess. Like a rocket? Scary prospect.
All I know is that I am really looking forward to giving birth. I watch ANYTHING on tv about birth or babies, I get all teary and stuff and my husband makes fun of me. Like when we watched The Happiest Baby on the Block dvd, I got all snively. Just seeing a newborn on screen is enough to set me off.
(I love this dvd, by the way. The newborn reaction is amazing. I can't wait to try it out for myself.)
And at this point, I can't watch violence toward children of any age anymore. Not in movies, not on tv... I can't take it. I literally want to scream. I don't, of course, but the rising up in my gut is definitely there.
I am going to eat some breakfast now. I am happy to announce that I can now eat full portions as I have more room for my stomach. However, I pee every 20 minutes.

OK, this is ridiculous!

2007-05-29T07:08:00.000-07:00

So its been 13 days and she is still hanging out in utero. She must be really comfortable, which is more than I can say for myself.

I went to my doctor's appointment last Monday and found out I was 2cm dilated and 25% effaced. And then come to find out that some women stay at that point for a very long time. Go figure.
So after losing sleep in anticipation of the events to come, I have given up all hope and am continuing on with life as usual, with the exception of not traveling too far from the home and hospital, and not hanging out in bars.
At least the nursery is finished.

LET THE BLOODY SHOW BEGIN!!!

2007-05-17T09:38:00.000-07:00

Yeah, well, all I can say is "Big whoop."
I was so jazzed up! I mean, it was like, "This is it, folks! She is coming!"
I got up yesterday, had some breakfast, did a few things around the home, called a friend to help me with the grocery shopping and then went to the potty.
Talk about slimey gross-ness... so I wiped it up, flushed the toilet and got going.
After the store was done and the groceries were put away, I went to the potty again. Its about 1pm.
it looked like I started my period, only slimy-er. Geeze.
I woke my husband and we concluded thru reading books that this wass the mucous plug/bloody show portion of the birth process. So I called my doctor and the nurse practioner and was told to come in when contractions are 5-10 minutes apart.
Wha?
Labor? So soon?
So then I remember that since last Sunday I have been having mild alternating with strong contractions. At night. And the funny thing is? EVERYONE said, "Oh, you mean Braxton-Hicks contractions?"
Hear this- THEY ARE NOT THOSE. Not even close.
So anyway, we were told to expect labor within 48 hours. Or so it usually goes. Could go up to a week or so, but prolly not.
Hmmm.
So last night I did not sleep, had some painful contractions, then just had a band of pain around the middle of my body.
Fell asleep for an hour and 9 minutes.
And now I am drinking coffee and getting ready to take my shreddables to the shredder man, get a pedicure and finish setting up the nursery.
And so it goes.
Still leaking stuff from my nether regions.
I will keep you posted.

It's not the Virgin Mary, exactly, but...

2007-04-21T11:01:00.000-07:00

...its definitely something.

The baby shower is tomorrow. Should be lots of fun. Lots of women getting excited about babies, and a few token men, watching it all. Who started the whole baby shower thingy anyway?
I have not been able to get a line on that. Wikipedia has a huge section on it, but nothing definitive. In some cultures its considered bad luck to buy anything before the baby is born. I did find it interesting, however, that in some places like Africa, Latin America, and India, its become more common to hold baby showers for women because of the influence of western culture.
Scary to think how much influence western civilization has over other cultures. And what makes it worse is that we rip off these cultures first, then present it back to them. Or sell it back to them. I think just found my new business venture. I am going to rip you off, then sell it all back to you with a 300% mark-up, because I will have convinced you that you need it in order to live.
Yeah. Watch out.

Well...

2007-04-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

I can no longer see my feet. It makes me walk funny, especially if I am on uneven terrain. My but kinda sticks out at an odd angle and and my arms swing out in order to compensate. I trip ALL the time. And I am at that point where my belly knocks in to almost everything.
And it hurts to sit down... for reasons I will not go into.

Entertaining reading, I must say.

2007-03-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

I picked this up in Hawaii about 5 years ago. Its currently out of print and was being discarded.
Lots of interesting stuff. Lemme know if you want to sit down and look at it sometime. It makes the whole process of pregnancy very scary, especially if you are not a white person. When you look at it you will see what I mean.
Check out the first copyright. 1902? And the last is 1964. 62 years of progress documented right here in this book.
There are quite a few pictures like this one, and they call the babies monsters. This was the only one I could bear to post up. Maybe I will get more brave later.
I have been told by my birth attendant, or 'doula', if you will, not to look at myself in the nether regions after birth for awhile. This picture is the first stage of the head getting ready to come out. I am sure you can imagine all the other stages. Need I say more?
And finally, this is my husbands newborn photo that I wanted to share. Cute, isn't he?

Latest purchases.

2007-03-25T14:08:00.000-07:00

Being pregnant can be expensive. And weird. I was getting ready to take a shower the other day and I noticed one of my boobs was leaking. WTF?
This has totally thrown me off. I now have to wear an official nursing bra. And the lady at the store told me that once the baby comes, I am going to want to sleep in one as well. I am going to want to sleep in one? Wow.
Pregnancy and birth and babies is so... sexy?
Do you see the size on those puppies?
I mean, I know there are women out there who are much bigger... but I am not a big girl. Just average, maybe on the smaller side of average. I never imagined I would wear an E cup.

Getting fatter...

2007-03-25T13:47:00.000-07:00

My mother has left and I swear, just from the stress, I grew, like, 3 sizes bigger. No joke.

Here she comes.

2007-03-12T22:02:00.000-07:00

My mother.
Arriving on Wednesday, leaving the following Tuesday.
There are stories. Just look at the picture. You could probably make one up yourself.
I will post more photos after she leaves. I am sure there will be some winners.
Its weird being on my way to motherhood, and not wanting my mother to be involved all that much. My aunt said her daughter (my cousin) wouldn't let her come out when her baby was born. She brought the baby out to see her 3 months later. I totally understand that. Besides, my mom lives in Hawaii so it will be awesome when the baby is a few months old to be able to go and sit on the beach and swim in the ocean, don't you think?

If you're a dude...

2007-03-09T09:17:00.000-08:00

...Don't ever ask a woman who is pregnant 'what' she is doing for the preparation of the baby to come.

If you're a dude, you have no idea what she is doing. She is doing stuff you can't see, as well as stuff that you can see. She is busy being overwhelmed with hormones, emotions, tasks that need doing, and a nesting instinct so strong it keeps her up at night. Oh, and so soes the little one in her belly. She also gives up any right to her body whatsoever, turning it over to hemorrhoids, spider veins, swollen body parts, heartburn, constipation, insatiable hunger, chronic shooting pain in parts of her body where she has never felt pain before, big, sore boobs, skin irritations, goddamn the list goes on. And some of these things happen all at once. Imagine that.

She is also 10 times more tired than you are, no matter what you do, and she won't tell you that because that is just part of building a baby inside of her body.

If you are a woman who is pregnant or has been pregnant I give you a GIANT high-five, and if I know you and you contact me, I will buy you a milkshake or a banana split just because. Just because. Just because.

Simple pleasures.

2007-02-27T09:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.colitz.com/site/3216423/3216423.htm
A close friend sent me this link. I am thinking about using it. There are more illustrations. Its all about centrifugal force.

It kinda reminds me of that story by Kafka. http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/kafka/inthepenalcolony.htm
What a crazy contraption.

Previously unreleased

2007-02-23T10:23:00.000-08:00

This must be what I look like everytime someone tells me,"You HAVE to get this for the baby," or "You soooo don't need that."

At first I was really grateful for all of the helpful feedback and advice I was receiving from folks because I felt really overwhelmed, but then I started to realize that I didn't agree with all the advice and helpful hints I was getting. Mainly because I was and am doing my own research, but mainly because I like to figure things out and ask questions. I don't like being given the answers to problems, except if I just absolutely cannot find the solution. This applies to all areas of my life, not just the 'having a baby' part.

I run into this with my husband sometimes. He likes to help. In fact his favorite thing to say is, "Look. I helping," when he is 'helping' me, like during dinner prep. Its cute. Sometimes not.

I think that some people believe that if you are not asking questions, then you are either being naive, or scared, or just plain ignorant, so they offer up advice.

Don't get me wrong, I DO appreciate all of my friends helpful hints, I just don't like the offense that is taken when I don't agree or subscribe to a certain belief. Every child is different, and I don't know what kind of child will be popping out of my womb, so I am content to take it as it comes.

3 of 7

2007-02-19T17:34:00.000-08:00

3 of the 4 cats that reside in the house. The fact that these 3 in particular are sleeping together is unique because the black & white one is constantly at war with the gray stripey one, and the one in the middle loves EVERYONE. After the picture was taken, they immediately disbanded and have not done this since.

I was thinking about finding a place to donate all the loose cat hair so they can make yarn out of it. Seriously. I hear they do that kind of stuff now.
And then, the baby would have some cool stuff to sport around in. Made from cats.
And stuff.

A shiny Dot on the beach...

2007-02-19T17:32:00.000-08:00

Saturday was a bay day for the doggy. Albany Bulb has a great little stretch of beach that you can take your dog to, so we went and got all sandy. And she got all wet.
I pretty much stood up the whole time we were there because its really hard to get up from places now.

Honestly...

2007-02-19T09:07:00.000-08:00

I just have to say that I am not one of those lovey earth mothers who is totally in love with pregnancy. I mean, I love my belly and its contents, but 9 months is entirely way too long to have a living thing gestate inside of you or, take over your body, so to speak.
Seriously. What if the gestation was shared by the male? Imagine that. The first 4 and a half months the man gets to be sick and disoriented and emo-ish. His breasts would go thru 'false' lactation. Ha.
Then the pregnancy would transfer to the woman thru copulation for the next 4 and a half months. The fetus or embryo would still be small enough to pass thru the penis without too much pain.
There could be worse things...
I had some coffee with a friend today and she said, "God, I love how honest you are about it."
Really? I would think that there are more women out there who feel the same way and talk about it.
I actually had a mother scowl at me when she exclaimed,"Isn't pregnancy wonderful?!?" and my response was less than enthusiastic.

"Yeah."

Here it is!

2007-02-10T08:39:00.000-08:00

Ok. The registries are up. Look to the right on your screen. There will probably be more, but for right now, these are the basics.
The Babies R Us link should take you right to the gift page. The Target.com link takes you to the main page, then you do a search under the gift registries 'Find a target baby registry' link under one of our names. You should be able to find it as we are both registered on the account.

Check back in a couple of days because I will post the diaper service we will be using, too.

Oh, have I mentioned that pregnancy is fun AND exciting? Just in case you were wondering.
Its fun and exciting, being kicked from the inside, feeling the little circus performer dancing on your bladder, flipping...

...

2007-02-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

And yes, it says 'Labia'.

Girls, girls, girls!

2007-02-07T08:31:00.000-08:00

Yes, she is looking at you...

Comin' through! Lady with a baby!

2007-01-23T14:40:00.000-08:00

So, we have 4 cats, 1 dog and 2 of us. That's 7. In case you don't know, we are expecting a baby,
and baby makes 8.

We thought it would be easy to list baby stuff here, as well as updates or whatnot, so everyone is in the know.
We have a list of all things baby, which has been requested by some of our beloved family members. The idea behind it is to let people see what we need exactly, and give them the opportunity to get it. Then they let us know, and we remove it from the list in the daily update. The list does not obligate anyone to buy anything. It was merely requested as our families live rather far away.

Also, its a place to post photos and talk about momma-baby-daddy stuff, for entertainment purposes only. (snicker)