ups & downs

June 8, 2011June 8, 20112 Comments

Things in my life have been a bit hectic lately. To begin, my father is back in the hospital. This is nothing new. In fact, if anything, the experience is all too familiar. He has been in and out of the hospital for various surgeries and medical conditions for years. Someday I will write a post on it all and how it has shaped my life, because it certainly has. The good news is that he does not need to have surgery this time, just a serious lifestyle change. Being far away from my family and unable to travel long distances to be with them at this point is upsetting but I am trying to stay focused on the good news. I am so incredibly thankful that he is going to be okay.

I mentioned on Monday that my little family is living in San Francisco for the week. Well, the reason for that is because my husband has been working on a major project for work that now basically requires him to be on the jobsite 18 hours a day (not exaggerating). In the last 3 weeks, I think we have spent a total of 24 hours together while awake. When he is around, he is usually still doing tons of paperwork and more stressed than I have ever seen him. And my husband is a pretty laid back dude. With this baby scheduled to arrive in about 5 weeks, I really want to spend as much time with him as possible before our lives change forever. At this point, we are crossing our fingers that the major part of the project will be over by the end of the week so I can have my husband back. I miss him.

Well, last night I got a little preview of having him back because something came up that actually allowed him to take off for a couple hours and go out to dinner. I declared that I was taking him out on a date and we walked a couple blocks to farmerbown for some soul food. All I want to eat lately is fried chicken and this place has some of the best in the city. Everything was delicious–from the mini jalapeno cheddar cornbread muffins with honey butter to the chicken and waffles, to the indulgent and creamy macaroni and cheese. While the food was delicious, the company was even better. It was such a relaxing feeling to sit there and have an extended conversation with my best friend. By the time we were finished, we were positively stuffed and exhausted but those couple hours were definitely the highlight of my week.

The last couple weeks have definitely made me realize even more how incredibly lucky I am to have the people that are in my life. My family–who always come together in times of crisis and somehow returns from crisis even stronger. My husband–who works so incredibly hard to support our family. I feel so lucky that I married him and started a family with him. He is going to be the most amazing father. At the end of the day, even a stressful one, I am grateful.

hot (pug) child in the city

June 6, 20112 Comments

When Reggie and I were house hunting in San Francisco, we decided not to live in the city for multiple reasons. Beyond the fact that the city is ridiculously expensive to live in, we feared that our pug baby, Crosby, would freak out because of the loud noises and lack of abundant green space. Well it turns out, we were wrong. So wrong.

This week, Reggie, the pug, and myself are living in the city and Crosby is loving every minute of it. In fact, he doesn’t just walk down the street. He has a special little strut going on. Almost everyone stops, squeals, and smiles. In return, he gives them a little wiggle back. He even made a hipster smile. Needless to say, the sound and people has not bothered him at all. He cannot get enough of walking the downtown streets.

And all I can think of while we take our walks is this song playing in the background.

two birthdays

June 3, 20111 Comment

Have I mentioned my son is due the day before my birthday? His due date is July 14th, in case I never mentioned it. The best birthday present ever. Plus, I am excited because we will basically get to celebrate around the same time every year. I just hope if he arrives a day late and we end up sharing a birthday, that it won’t bother him when he gets a little older. If so, I promise he can have the day. It is all his. Then I can just pretend I am 27 for the rest of my life, right? Good. I am glad we have that settled.

Well even though he is due right around my birthday, my very sweet husband will not let me forget that it is still my birthday and insists on celebrating (read: presents). So I told him that I want a whole new wardrobe. In a pregnancy hormone rage I almost threw out all of my clothes because they were “ugly, hideous, and I never want to see them again.” Crazy town has arrived. Kidding!

Instead, I picked out a couple things that I think will be practical, helpful, and fun for my new life as a mama.

Both my husband and I love our TOMS. My dear friend Emma even bought baby boy his own pair. Since these are linen and a little more lightweight, they will be perfect for summer and easy to slip on when I have a newborn baby in my arms. Plus, I am on a major coral kick right now.

I love the color of this drapey top. Plus, with buttons down the front, this blouse is breastfeeding friendly. See, I am being practical!

I love EmersonMade and as soon as I get back into fightin’ shape, you better believe I will be buying a few clothing items on my EM wish list. Until then, I would love this lion charm necklace. I call the baby a little lion (super active baby+too much Mumford & Sons) so the image on the charm makes this gift even more fitting.

Compact, easy way to capture videos of my little man? Yes, please!

PS: Mama’s got a brand new gig. I am blogging for a brand new company that is launching this September-Social Plaza. Check out their blog for more information.

a lesson in patience

June 2, 20113 Comments

(Source )

Yesterday was one of those days. The kind where nothing goes right and my pregnancy hormones were raging. My husband has been working ridiculous hours and was not able to come with me for the first time to my doctor’s appointment. After waiting a half hour past my scheduled appointment time I was finally ushered into a room. Immediately, I mentioned to her that I was experiencing some slight pain. Nothing crazy just like a strong “zing” that I thought would be better to discuss than ignore. She smiled and said that it was most likely his head pressing on the top of my cervix. Then she laid me on my back and felt around my belly and she said “yes, that is definitely his head…feel this.” Sure enough, it felt like his head was down and I could feel it by touching the bottom of my belly. A surprisingly large round, hard lump. However, she wanted to do an ultrasound just to confirm.

Immediately, I was downright giddy at the prospect of seeing my little man. I had not seen him since our 20 week ultrasound appointment and didn’t anticipate any more ultrasounds. That happiness soon turned to disappointment as his image appeared on the screen and she shouted “it is his butt and he is big!” Seriously? I totally felt like I cursed myself in yesterday’s post where I said he would be a huge baby. Immediately, my mind went from “that is kind of funny that my kid has a J-Lo booty” to feet down=breech=C-Section.

My doctor told me some exercises I could do try flip the baby- downward dog and getting on all fours and rocking front to back. I left the office immediately and then I cried a little on the drive home. Yes, I am completely aware that 34 weeks is still early and he may turn and all of this drama is for nothing. If you haven’t noticed, I am definitely dramatic. But my doctor c also said he doesn’t have a lot of room to move in there. I am “all baby” and shit. I felt like I did something wrong. Have I not been drinking enough water? Am I too anxious thus tightening my abs and that is not allowing him to move? Or is he just procrastinating and I am completely overreacting? I sincerely hope it is the latter. But seeing as 93% of babies have turned by now, I am worried. Thanks Dr. Google!

At the end of the day, the term C-Section frightens me but not having a healthy baby frightens me far more. The health of my baby is my number one priority. My doctor is going to check him again in 2 weeks and then, if he is still breech, we will make a further decision. Pregnancy is tough like that. You give up all of your control beyond what you eat, drink, and occasionally what you do for movement. There is a whole world in there that feels like it has a mind of its own. Patience is key. And now, more than ever, I am learning to be patient with my body and let him do his thing.

Flip, baby, flip.

PS… Any tips on flipping a breech baby other than ECV?

when it is time to take him home…

June 1, 20113 Comments

At my baby shower, our baby boy received so many beautiful clothes as gifts. So much so that I have spent the last couple days doing load after load of laundry in preparation for his arrival. At this point, he has an entire drawer dedicated to socks, hats, and shoes and the kid won’t actually be walking in them while they fit. Not that I am complaining though. I mean, is there anything cuter than teeny baby shoes, other than the actual baby? I think not.

Not only did he receive a lot of “outfits” but they are all (thankfully) really cute. Most of the gifts we received are in larger sizes because as we know babies grow very fast. In fact, we have hardly any clothes for the 0-3 months age. I think my family and friends are trying to tell me they think this baby is going to be HUGE. Considering I was almost 10 lbs when I was born, having a large baby would not be very shocking. Regardless of their hinting, I don’t think I can take baby boy home from the hospital in this…

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A bit much for a newborn!

Instead, I intend on taking him home in something a bit more simple–think onesie, socks, maybe a cute hat–nothing too crazy. I want to select something I really love for pictures but also something that he can wear as long as possible. It makes no sense to me to pick something that he will wear only once, ya know? Here are some of the little outfits I am considering.