Remember those Leg Warmers I knit BL (Before Lily)? Well, here she is, wearing them.
baby lily's baby leg warmers
She probably won’t wear them much, though. I don’t think she liked them. Plus, she’s pretty good at kicking them off.
In fact, most of the stuff I knit BL isn’t really wearable, I don’t think. Not surprising, I guess. I didn’t really have a clue. But, the knitting itself sure did whittle the time away while I waited for Lily to arrive.
Baby and Dad are napping, so I figure now is a good time to update that blog (who needs sleep? other than baby and dad, that is).
If you are wondering, Lily is doing great. She is 11 weeks today. Pudgy cheeks from eating so much. Cute dimples when she smiles and giggles at us. The past few days she’s been sleeping as much as six hours in a stretch at night. We are getting more routine now. Every other day I try to make it to the gym for a workout (I’m back to NROL4W, stage 1). In the mornings while I’m feeding Lily, the husband does his workout routine downstairs. We sneak in some walks and easy trips to the store or University Village here and there. And spend a lot of time staring at Lily, trying to get her to laugh, smile, sleep, or eat.
Our favorite pic of her so far:
bathtime with L
Lily hated bathtime at first. We would do the fastest bath possible just so that she wouldn’t cry so much. We also bathed her maybe once a week (Tip: newborns don’t get all that dirty. It’s not like they’re playing in the mud or something) because she dreaded it so much. Just recently, though, like last week, I noticed the screaming fits dwindle down. So, she’s getting used to it. She still hates being cold (and wouldn’t you?) but at least now we don’t feel like we’re torturing her anymore.
Life with Lily is splendid. She is so much fun, and I have never spent so much time gazing at a sleeping human. I can’t ask for much more right now.
Ok. I could ask someone to take these pregnancy pounds off of me. Especially seeing as how summer decided to descend upon Seattle this week. What’s up with that? People keep telling me that you shed those pounds so fast when you breastfeed. Well. Hello. Still waiting. Hm. Gym it is, I suppose.
Guess who’s stirring right now. Back to baby. More updates to come, at some point.
Our Oscar party consisted of feeding Lily, sharing a toasted sandwich with the husband, and this fun dessert:
Paul Newman cookie
Yum.
I told the husband last week that I didn’t want flowers on Valentine’s Day (what we prefer to call “VD”). I didn’t want jewelry (not that we can afford it right now). I didn’t want a fancy dinner. I all I wanted, I told him, was some petit fours from the Market. And he delivered. Hurrah!
petit fours for valentine's day
They are delicious. Light and airy, with a touch of marzipan in the center of two layers of cake. Just the right amount of sweetness.
Thanks to the husband!
Four items I’m glad I purchased for post-partum life … as it turns out, they all happen to be clothing-related. Fortunately my ninth month of pregnancy came right during the after-Christmas super-duper clearance sales.
1) At Victoria’s Secret I purchased two cotton nightshirts, one for $10 and one for $5 (the $5 was purchased after the $10 one, when they had slashed prices yet again. Gotta love the end-of-year clearance). I initially thought I might wear one while in the hospital, but that was just silly talk. The hospital gowns did fine. However, now, I wear these all the time. And, yes, I have found myself still in my pajamas at two in the afternoon.
2) While it may seem silly to purchase a pair of maternity pants so late into one’s pregnancy, I knew that by the time I delivered I would be so tired of wearing the same pants that a new pair would be a luxury of sorts. This is why in early January I got from the Gap (on sale for $16.99) some knit pants (those sweatpant types that you can lounge in) and I live in them now. I’m surprised that so many new mothers are shocked that one isn’t fitting into one’s skinny jeans as one leaves the hospital. You leave looking more like you are six months instead of nine. All of the baby Web sites tell you this. So think ahead, and save those skinny jeans for a few months down the line.
3) At Target I bought flimsy ballet flat-like slippers on uber-clearance for a mere $3.97. And I did wear these in the hospital. And I still wear them. When my mom visited she asked me if she should buy me some new slippers. I was like, “Why? These cost me $4”.
4) A few days after we returned from the hospital I sent the husband back to Target to buy some XL boxer briefs underwear for me. This has come in handy during my C-section recovery. $7.99, and the only thing that was not on super-duper clearance, but underwear can’t wait for sales. I can just picture him finding some kind Target worker and hurriedly asking her, “Underwear. Hanes. XL. Where they hell are they?” Thanks, husband. Thanks.
Twilight Turtle via Amazon.com
A few things that have made this week easier:
Twilight Turtle Constellation Nightlight. Courtesy of Grandma Judy. I saw this in Lola’s room when I visted MJ’s over the summer and thought it was so cute I added it to the baby registry. Little did I know it would actually come in handy so soon. Runs on batteries, which is actually a plus for us because our outlets are screwy. Turn it on and it stays on for 45 minutes, perfect amount of time to drift off to sleep (actually, it would need to be on for 5 minutes for us to drift off to sleep). Cute softly lit stars litter our ceiling, and you can choose between amber, green and blue. Gives off enough light so I can find my way around the bedroom, and sorta see what Lily is up to if necessary.
Nursing Pads. Courtesy of the boss. I also have washable cloth pads, which I’m mostly using, but the small handful of disposable ones that the boss threw my way are quite comfortable and do not leak at all. The cloth ones I also like (Thanks, Sis), since they are easy to wash, and well, we are a family of reusable goods. But, I think I will also invest in some more of these disposable ones for their comfort and convenience.
Baby Mittens. Suzanne gave us these little mittens that Lily wears so she won’t scratch her face up. We bought some more at Target, but they don’t stay on as well as this one pair that Suzanne donated to our Lily cause. We love ’em. Thanks, Suzanne!
A few people have complimented me on my amazing artistic skills as seen from the walls of the nursery. I have to set the record straight that a smiley face emoticon is about the best artistic skills that I have. This jungle scene comes courtesy of blik Wall Decals. This particular theme is from wee gallery. They are removeable, too, so when we tire of the jungle look, we can go for something else … clouds, farm animals, robots, etc.
walls of the nursery
This was not my original intention, btw. My aunt created a beautiful paper cut-out art piece that I had hoped to have framed and hanging from the wall. It is done in a beautiful blue and would have fit perfectly with my hopes for a primary-colors look. Unfortunately it also cost over $600 to frame (and I’m talking the cheapest of the cheap frame from Michaels), and at this point we just didn’t have the funds to do it. These decals cost about $50.
wall decals - the lion sleeps tonight
Shout out to Eva, who suggested finding some wall decals in the first place. Vanpool discussions are the best. She is a true interior designer.
Welcome, Lily Jackson Cha Christiansin.
Born on January 19, 2009
7 lbs, 3 oz
20 inches
Lily plays innocent and sweet while Grandma holds her.
Meet Lily
I realize that not everyone wants to read about a birth story. I myself didn’t think much of these stories until I was pregnant. Everyone has a birth story. And everyone that gives birth soon finds out that what you thought you were going to go through is so far from what you actually end up going through. At least,that was the case for me. Read on if you’re interested. If not, just skip to the bottom to find the Flickr link to see more pics. If you are not even interested in pics, then this is going to be a very boring blog for you in the coming weeks.
Part 1: The discovery
1) The husband and I went to bed shortly after 9 p.m., after an evening of disappointing football games (I really wanted the Eagles to win). We are early to bed, early to rise kind of people.
2) At approximately 11 p.m., I woke up. 10 seconds later, I felt lots of fluids leaving my body, in a kind of way that really jolts someone awake. Honestly, I let it gush for a few seconds while I decieded what to do.
3) A few seconds later, I decided it would be a good idea to get up, especially as I didn’t want to get the sheets dirty. Yes, this is why I decided to get up.
4) As I get up, the husband wakes up with a jolt. I say to him, “I think my water just broke.” In my haste to turn the lamp on that sits on my night table, I knocked over a glass of water. I remember thing, hmm. kind of comical.
5) As I am cleaning myself up, the husband says, “So, are you going to call the doctor”? And I think, is that what I’m supposed to do? The husband, reading my mind rephrases this. “Call your doctor”. I page the office and the doctor on call returns the call nearly instantly. She’s probably about to tell me to not sound so panicky until I mention that I’m scheduled for a c-section later on in the week because the baby is in the breech position (also know as Frank Breech, where the butt is where the head should be. No jokes, please).
“Oh!” she says, “Well, then, gather your things and get to triage. You’re going to have a baby tonight!”.
6) WHA???
7) I gather my things. I’ve got a bag already packed, but the last thing I remember thinking is, oh, I’ll need my hair brush. So I took my hairbrush and put it in my coat pocket, where it remained for the duration of my hospital visit.
Part 2: The hospital
1) On the way over, the husband asks me, “Would you like to go on the freeway, or take the backroads”. In my most calm voice (because I do not feel calm), I say, “Honey. I don’t really care.” We take the back route through Capital Hill.
2) Boring boring. The membrane continues to rupture. Monitors are attached. Ultrasound is double-checked to ensure baby is still breech. She is. One unboring part … by the time we arrive at the parking lot (at this point it is around 11:30 pm so at Swedish First Hill you have to enter through the ER entrance. Just FYI). I start feeling what must be labor. And it’s not that bad. At first.
2) 90 minutes later they are ready for me in the OR, the “not that bad” cramps are getting really frikkin bad. I have no idea how deep I am into the entire labor process, but I don’t think I was all that far into it. And all I can think is, “So-and-so endured 27 frackin’ hours of this?? What?”
3) I won’t get into the operating room except for these few memories:
4) BTW, yes, I had to have a scheduled c-section. Maybe sometime I’ll get into the pre-quel of the delivery.
5) About eight minutes after they started, the husband heard them say, “Here are the feet …” and a few seconds after that the rear end and finally the head. I bawled like a, uh, baby. The husband says for the few seconds or minutes after I saw Lily I finally stopped shaking. We were both bawling. And then when they were stitching me up I started shaking again.
6) BABY! Lily was born at 1:30 a.m. on MLK Day 2009. The next day, we watched Inauguration Day coverage together from my hospital bed. So, while I had hoped that Lily would not have to experience a day, even an hour, during the Bush Administration, the little independent thinker just had to go see what it was all about. Still it was a very special time that I won’t forget.
I am continuing to upload photos to Flickr as I take them (and remember to upload). Just look for the pics tagged “Lily”:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chattycha/tags/lily/
Yay!
Today marks the five-year anniversary of my stint at the firm. It is the longest tenure I’ve held at a company in my job-holding years. To celebrate this truly exciting milestone, it is customary to bring in a pound of M&M’s for every year you have worked at the firm. I did not know until this weekend that M&M’s don’t always come in 1 lb bags. Depending on what you get (Peanut vs. Almond vs. Peanut Butter vs. Plain etc), it could be 11 oz, it could be 14 oz, it could be 12.5 oz. I bought all of the different types, including some holiday stuff that was on clearance. Hey, M&M’s are expensive, and if you haven’t noticed, we’re in a recession.
Note, in the pic, the little thing of hand sanitizer. Take the hint and use the frikking Dixie Cups! C’mon people. I still saw some hand grabbers, though. Nasty. I kept a stash stored away as to avoid the grubbiness. I also separated the plain from the peanut. Good for those nut allergy prone kids.
5 lbs of M&M's
This actually isn’t 5 lbs. I took the pic at around 2PM and by then several co-workers had stopped by for some sweets. Also, I still have a bag left on my desk which I didn’t manage to get into the tupperware (dark chocolate, plain)