I should be embarrassed

37

In my defense, I was picturing evil 5 year olds from "Children of the Corn" when I took this quiz.

It's a miracle!

Zachary has been napping in his cradle for an hour and a half! All by himself! The longest he's napped alone prior to now has been 20 minutes. Of course, now I'm worried that he's slept so long without nursing. It's been over 4 hours. And yesterday I was frustrated with him waking up every 1.5 - 2 hours throughout the night to nurse...

UPDATE 12:30pm
I couldn't just let sleeping babies lie. I finally woke him up at 11:15, after he'd been napping for 2.5 hours. It had been 5 hours since he nursed. Now he's fed and happily napping in the Babyhawk MT, so we are heading out for a walk around Greenlake.

UPDATE 5:10pm
This is unbelievable. He's napping in his cradle AGAIN! For the second time in one day! He's been there for over 30 minutes so far this time. Hallelujah!

The power of deduction

Today I had to take my follow up GTT (glucose tolerance test) to see if I'm still diabetic after the pregnancy. The lab is at my doctor's practice, Minor & James Medical. As I was on my way there, slightly frazzled because I had Zachary with me and was facing 3 hours of blood draws after 12 hours of fasting, I realized that I didn't write down the address of the lab. I panicked for a few minutes before I thought, "Hmmm....maybe it's called Minor & James for a reason?" So I drove to the intersection of Minor & James, and whaddya know? There it was!

Baby class reunion

Last night was the reunion for our baby class (the official title is "Childbirth Preparation Class"). This is a six-week course we took through Swedish Hospital before Zachary was born. We learned a lot about what to expect during labor and delivery, so that I could write a detailed and well thought out birth plan for us to promptly toss out the window once we were actually in labor. I also learned labor coping techniques, which were immensely helpful. But I think the thing we got most out of the class was the comradery. There were 15 couples in the class, and overall, it was a very good-humored and fun bunch. At first it was kind of odd to be in a room with so many pregnant women, but it was also nice to not be the only one snacking constantly and waddling to the restroom at every break. The husbands were great too, and Chris enjoyed commiserating with them about his cranky, tired, forgetful, anxious, large and in-charge wife.

All of the babies are here now, so we got together last night to share stories. Of the 15 original couples, 13 came to the reunion, so it was a fun and busy evening! It was odd yet neat to be in a room with so many newborns. Very similar to the "look at all the pregnant women" scenario I experienced while we were taking the class -- only this time, the snacking and bathroom breaks translated to nursing and diaper changes.

Zachary is the oldest of the bunch (he beat Hannah and Hieu by about 15 hours), but he still managed to be one of the smallest. We put him side-by-side with Amadea, who is both the youngest and largest. What a difference! According to Amadea's mom Jessica, Amadea is growing out of 3 month clothes already...and Zachary is just now growing INTO them.

We lined all the babies up for photos, and they were surprisingly cooperative! Unfortunately it was tough to get them all in a photo together (and Finnegan and Tor didn't make it into the photos because it was time for them to eat), but I slapped together a quick composite to try to get them all. It's almost impossible to do a neat stitch job of 11 kicking and flailing babies...their arms and legs are in different positions for every shot so it's tough to merge them together! But I tried.

Here are the stats for the group:

• 8 boys, 5 girls
• 4 of 13 were emergency c-sections (which matches the hospital's rate of 30%)
• oldest = Zachary at 11 weeks
• youngest = Amadea at 4.5 weeks
• smallest at birth = Zachary at 5lb 7oz
• largest at birth = Amadea at 9lb 9oz
• cutest = Zachary (OK, OK...that's just Mama talking)

Pictures: Baby class reunion

Identity crisis

Last night, Meg asked me how it was to become a mom. A lot of friends have asked that, and I haven't been able to give a very good answer.

It wasn't that difficult for me to become a mom (emotionally...the whole pregnancy/labor/delivery thing is a different topic altogether!). Once Zachary was born, I felt an incredible rush of love and awe about this miracle that is my baby son. I will do anything to keep him safe and healthy, and even though he was the first newborn I've ever held, it felt natural and right. So becoming a mom was pretty easy.

Figuring out how to still be myself is the harder part. I'm still struggling with this. Before having Zachary, I had a very full and fulfilling life. I was a wife, daughter, friend, dog-lover, hiker, climber, skier, kayaker, cowgirl-wannabe, traveler, reader, knitter, website surfer, gossip junkie, business IT geek. I loved my family, my friends, my job, my life. Now, I am still all of those things...but how?

Being a mother to a newborn takes up all of my time and energy -- how in the world am I supposed to fit those other things back into my life? I know that I will not be able to completely go back to my prior lifestyle, but I also recognize that I can't give it all up either. That would be unhealthy for both me AND my family. I need to figure out how to fit "mother" into that list of things (of course, it would be at the front of the list) without wiping out the rest of the list entirely.

I am slowly figuring things out, and I know that it will get easier as time goes on and as Zachary grows up and becomes more independent. And while I am looking forward to finding the balance we need, I am also a little bit sad about how quickly he is growing and changing. Each day gets better though, so I can only imagine how much MORE magical it's going to be.

So Meg (and everyone else who's asked or wondered): For me, becoming "mom" was pretty easy. Figuring out how to still be "me" is a little more challenging. But I'll get there!

Just for fun

Way over the hill

Sunday I turned the big 3-5. Since I spent my entire pregnancy marked by "advanced maternal age" (it was written at the top of every record) even though I wasn't yet 35, I'm already pretty used to the idea.

I calculated that I'm exactly 1811 weeks older than Zachary (since we're still thinking of his age in terms of weeks). I wish I were just one week older so that I could use Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" as our theme song -- it was one of my favorite pieces when I was in a clarinet trio. Granted, a musical piece about the French invasion of Russia might not be the best theme. Maybe I should just stick to our current song, Kelis' "Milkshake":

"My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard,
And they're like
It's better than yours,
Damn right it's better than yours,
I can teach you,
But I have to charge."

Anyway, back to my birthday. It was fantastic! Even though it was over and I was getting ready for bed by 8:30 PM.

We started out the day with our first snowshoe trip with Zachary. We packed both the boys (Zachary and Cowboy) into the car and headed to Issaquah to meet up with Katherine and Oliver. Then we all piled into our car and went to Gold Creek Basin to see if the whole snowshoe thing was going to work with a 9-week old baby. It worked just fine! Zachary was bundled up in a fleece outfit and a warm hat from his grandma and I carried him in my Ergo front carrier. We got off the main trail quickly and did a nice hike up a side trail, with Cowboy having the time of his life in the snow. It was relatively warm (we had to strip off layers after we started up the trail) and clear and Zachary slept the entire time. It started sleeting right after we left, so we timed our trip perfectly!

That evening, we packed up Zachary again and headed to Todai for my annual all-you-can-eat birthday sushi dinner. Chris coordinated a large group of friends to meet us, and it was so great to see everyone! This was the first time most of them met Zachary, and he was very mellow the whole evening.

I had a wonderful birthday. I really enjoyed catching up with friends I haven't seen since before Zachary was born, and I'm looking forward to spending more time with them now that Zachary's a bit more portable. I spent most of my 34th year pregnant, and I'm really looking forward to my 35th year as a new mommy!

Pictures: Wenmei's 35th birthday

Wild and crazy New Year's celebration

For New Year's Eve this year, Kelly came over to our place to watch Zachary while Chris and I enjoyed our first dinner out alone since he was born. We went to Kisaku for sushi (my first official sushi since the pregnancy!) and had a lovely evening. We broke all of those rules about how you're supposed to find something other than the baby to talk about when you have a "date night", but we still had a great time. We are so appreciative that Kelly could be here to watch him and let us get away for a couple hours!

We were done with dinner and back home by 7 PM, and I was in my pajamas and getting Zachary down to sleep by 8:30 PM. I did manage to stay awake long enough to watch Robbie Maddison break the world record for the longest motorcycle jump (no, this is not something I really care about, but it was on TV) but I didn't make it to midnight. My, how things have changed in the last year! At least I got to watch the ball drop with the well-preserved Dick Clark in Times Square, so I celebrated Shilpa and Sita's new year instead. I was also up at 2 AM for a feeding, so I celebrated Sarah's new year in Maui as well.

Even though our New Year's Eve was rather uneventful this year, it was still wonderful. We have had such an exciting year and we are looking forward to all of the amazing new experiences we will be having in 2008!

Pictures: New Year's Eve

First deep thought of the new year

As I sit here at 4 AM, unable to go back to sleep after nursing Zachary, I started thinking about relationships and what makes them work (or not work). I thought about how people often say a good relationship requires a balance of "give and take". I used to believe that, but now I think that description is off by one very important word.

I think a relationship of any kind (social, professional, personal, romantic, familial, even adversarial) requires a balance of give and RECEIVE. Not "take". You must be willing to give what you can, and to graciously receive what is offered to you. "Taking" is much more aggressive, and I believe this concept leads to a lot of the headaches we experience in our relationships. "Taking" implies entitlement, and once a person feels entitled to something that inherently belongs to another person, trouble brews.

Imagine walking into an electronics store and saying, "I'm giving you $5.00, and I'm taking that HDTV". Errr...no. It doesn't work that way. Yet that's how many people approach relationships. "I'm giving you what I have/want/am able to give, and I will take from you what I want." Granted, relationships are not as simple and clear-cut as financial transactions, but there does need to be a bit of the same kind of understanding and respect between the parties involved.

So in this new year, I hope that you all have many reasons and much love, kindness and happiness to give, and that you will graciously receive an abundance of the same.

Christmas week

I'm a little behind on things, so I'm just posting our Christmas pictures now. I suppose I'll get to my annual "New Year summary" sometime in mid-January... I can blame it on the fact that, not only have we had family visiting for almost 8 weeks straight now, but I haven't slept for more than 2 hours at a stretch in all that time as well. Considering that I'm not working, it's surprisingly difficult to get anything done nowadays!

As I mentioned in prior posts, we hosted Christmas this year so that Zachary could meet the rest of the family on the Hill side. Bob, Kelly, Patrick and Kimberly flew in on Christmas Day, David and Jenny arrived on the 26th, and Brendan came on the 27th. It was really fun to have everyone around -- it's always a good time when the four brothers get together! And Zachary was a hit with everyone, even when he hit his "witching hour" (that magical time every evening when he starts screaming uncontrollably) or performed his bodily functions within eye, ear and nose range of everyone.

Kelly cooked a delicious dinner for Christmas evening, and we spent the next couple days wandering around downtown so that everyone could see the sights and go shopping. We had brunch at Julia's, hit some balls at the driving range, and tried to get in some scenic views in spite of the rain. Everyone played "Apples to Apples" after Zachary and Mama went down for the night (the only way to quiet the screams is to attach the screamer to Mama, so when Zachary goes to bed, Wenmei goes to bed), and they even enjoyed a few adult beverages out at the Bierstube and Leny's! (That's an exclamatory statement because I can't imagine being out past 8 PM or enjoying adult beverages...)

It was a wonderful visit and we really enjoyed having everyone in town. We're so glad they were all able to come to see Zachary for his first Christmas! We just wish the weather had cooperated a bit more (of course, it was sunny and clear the day after everyone left), but that just means everyone will have to come back in the summer so that they can actually see the mountains and enjoy the ferry rides.

I've posted a bunch of pictures on flickr and the slide show above -- I'll let them do the rest of the talking.

Pictures: Christmas 2007