I forgot to share with everyone!
Melanie went to the doctor's for her 2 month check up and immunizations. She's now weighing in at 13 pounds, 11 ounces and she's 24 inches long. Yup, I got a big baby! And she took her shots like a pro - she only cried an itty-bitty bit.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
A Moment of Clarity
One of my friends asked me if I felt like a mom yet, and I told her no. When I hear the word "Mom" I have visions of driving a van, arguing with my toddler in the store, knowing the lyrics to Hannah Montana songs, play-dates, trying to connect with my child by speaking jargon that's not hip anymore (probably the word hip isn't hip...) you get the idea.
I'm young! I'm cool! So I have a baby, that doesn't mean I'm a "mother"!!
Anyway, I'm going through the baby pictures and I came across the day in the hospital when I was under treatment for my pulmonary embolism/pneumonia and Melanie was in the NICU for low white blood cell count. I think we've been separated for two days by that point. The nurses from NICU were kind enough to bring Melanie to me for a very, very short visit before stealing her back away to NICU.
I was looking at those pictures of that short time I had with her and it all came back to me. The overjoyed craziness of seeing my little baby girl, my miserableness and helplessness of seeing both of us with IVs and the absolute grief and anger that swallowed me whole when they took her away. I remember crying huge tears of frustration and loss when they left.
And it hit me: I'm a mom. I feel like a mother now. Because I will do anything - ANYTHING to keep my daughter safe and happy. And if I can do that while keeping her forever with me, then I'll be the happiest mother in the world!
I'm a mother! We're mothers! But we aren't JUST mothers. We're friends, lovers, wives, girlfriends, workers, teachers, developers, cleaners, cooks, chefs, organizers, coordinators... you get the idea!
I scooped my sleeping baby into my arms and covered her in kisses. And the next time someone asks if I feel like a mother, I'm going to say, "Absolutely!"
I'm young! I'm cool! So I have a baby, that doesn't mean I'm a "mother"!!
Anyway, I'm going through the baby pictures and I came across the day in the hospital when I was under treatment for my pulmonary embolism/pneumonia and Melanie was in the NICU for low white blood cell count. I think we've been separated for two days by that point. The nurses from NICU were kind enough to bring Melanie to me for a very, very short visit before stealing her back away to NICU.
I was looking at those pictures of that short time I had with her and it all came back to me. The overjoyed craziness of seeing my little baby girl, my miserableness and helplessness of seeing both of us with IVs and the absolute grief and anger that swallowed me whole when they took her away. I remember crying huge tears of frustration and loss when they left.
And it hit me: I'm a mom. I feel like a mother now. Because I will do anything - ANYTHING to keep my daughter safe and happy. And if I can do that while keeping her forever with me, then I'll be the happiest mother in the world!
I'm a mother! We're mothers! But we aren't JUST mothers. We're friends, lovers, wives, girlfriends, workers, teachers, developers, cleaners, cooks, chefs, organizers, coordinators... you get the idea!
I scooped my sleeping baby into my arms and covered her in kisses. And the next time someone asks if I feel like a mother, I'm going to say, "Absolutely!"
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Moments I Fall In Love...
When I sneak in to see her sleeping in her crib - Her arms splayed out overhead, she's completely wiggled out of her blanket, and she's so darn content.
When I peek from her bedroom door to see if she's awake and her feet are up in the air, popping over the crib top.
When she's being burped, she stands tall & rigid against me and looks around at her surroundings, checking the scene.
When she's sucking on her hand - her new thing.
When Melanie is about to latch on, she looks up at me and smiles a big gummy smile. It looks like she's saying thank you! Then she slowly leans in and begins to nurse, keeping eye contact the whole time.
When I'm changing her morning diaper, she's alert and perky. This is when I get the big ol' gummy grin.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Hickory Dickory Dock...
A mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck one
The mouse wailed in protest
Hickory Dickory Dock!
The clock struck one
The mouse wailed in protest
Hickory Dickory Dock!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Yay! It's Friday!
And what better way to express our excitement about the weekend than to bring on the wiggles?!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Clean Bill of Health!
Yesterday I followed up with the lung specialist to see what the status was on the blood clots in my lungs. Dr. Menezes said they were completely gone and my lungs were clear. So I have a clean bill of health! Yay!
(Mom, Dad - Dr. Menezes asked how you were doing and said hello.)
So I am to continue the warfarin until November and have one final CT scan to make doubly sure. I'm also still going to see a hemotologist to see if we can determine the cause of the blood clot.
There's still work to be done, but the danger is gone!
(Mom, Dad - Dr. Menezes asked how you were doing and said hello.)
So I am to continue the warfarin until November and have one final CT scan to make doubly sure. I'm also still going to see a hemotologist to see if we can determine the cause of the blood clot.
There's still work to be done, but the danger is gone!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
My New Favorite Picture
And I just found out that Gramie has been taking pictures of Melanie EVERY DAY since she's been taking care of her - maybe she'll share the pictures with all of us! :)
Friday, May 7, 2010
The Quivering Pacifier...
If you pay close attention, you'll see one of my favorite Melanie-moves: she does something with her mouth that makes the pacifier quiver. :) Enjoy!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Observations on Melanie
Aside from Melanie growing leaps and bounds, I figured I should document some other things I've noticed about her:
Melanie’s long! I don't know how long, exactly, but she's longer than the length of my arms. When Melanie's feeding, sometimes she curls & uncurls and curls her toes into my arms. It's the cutest thing, and she probably doesn't even realize she's doing it. She must be so content!
Melanie’s chunking up – cheeks and thighs are filling out nicely! She's got the cutest double chin that's almost always present. Gramie Linda thinks she's at least 15 pounds by now.
When Melanie wakes up, or wants something (most of the time, just to be held) she gives off a warning cry. It's a cute little burst of a yell, lasting about 2 seconds. It sounds like, "Eh-ah!" And shockingly enough, that's all it takes to wake me up at 3:00 in the morning nowadays.
Melanie is still very much a wiggler, especially after she's gotten a clean diaper and she knows she's about to eat. Now she's getting her arms into it too, so she's kicking and punching. Hmmm... I wonder if she's into the Castle music...
When she's being burped, Melanie sometimes stands straight up on my lap, leaning into me, of course. Which I find hilarous since she still doesn't have complete control of her neck yet, but she's trying to stand!
Melanie's eyes are still a grayish-blue and I'm starting to wonder if they're going to stay that way. If they do stay brown, Wil will still be the only grandchild with brown eyes. Her hair did recede a little, but now it looks like she's growing back some brown fuzz.
Melanie’s long! I don't know how long, exactly, but she's longer than the length of my arms. When Melanie's feeding, sometimes she curls & uncurls and curls her toes into my arms. It's the cutest thing, and she probably doesn't even realize she's doing it. She must be so content!
Melanie’s chunking up – cheeks and thighs are filling out nicely! She's got the cutest double chin that's almost always present. Gramie Linda thinks she's at least 15 pounds by now.
When Melanie wakes up, or wants something (most of the time, just to be held) she gives off a warning cry. It's a cute little burst of a yell, lasting about 2 seconds. It sounds like, "Eh-ah!" And shockingly enough, that's all it takes to wake me up at 3:00 in the morning nowadays.
Melanie is still very much a wiggler, especially after she's gotten a clean diaper and she knows she's about to eat. Now she's getting her arms into it too, so she's kicking and punching. Hmmm... I wonder if she's into the Castle music...
When she's being burped, Melanie sometimes stands straight up on my lap, leaning into me, of course. Which I find hilarous since she still doesn't have complete control of her neck yet, but she's trying to stand!
Melanie's eyes are still a grayish-blue and I'm starting to wonder if they're going to stay that way. If they do stay brown, Wil will still be the only grandchild with brown eyes. Her hair did recede a little, but now it looks like she's growing back some brown fuzz.
Melanie's Weekly Review: 04/26/10-05/02/10
So as you all know, I’ve been giving you weekly reviews. But what you may not realize, is that since I am a baby and therefore unable to type, I’ve been dictating to my Mommy. Unfortunately, Mommy has to return to work so this will be my final weekly review and we’ll have to go back to random posts of eventful happenings. But don’t worry, we’ll keep you up to date with all the eventful happenings I can muster!
Monday: Mommy had to get some diagnostic testing and I was afraid I would have to sit out in the waiting room by myself. But Aunt Dana came to the rescue! Aunt Dana and I hung out at Panera, munching on some scones and bagels while Mommy had her testing done. Aunt Dana had a fun time letting everyone think I was her baby – even once Mommy returned! Then Mommy, Aunt Dana and I stopped by Publix Greenwise to pick up some Mother’s Milk herbal tea and dinner. Mommy said the tea tastes like licorice, which luckily she likes. I like that she’s doing everything to keep me happy and chubby!
Tuesday: We had a pretty lazy day of chilling out until mid-day, then Mommy and I got dressed and drove out to meet Grandpop Harry and Maribeth at Giordanos. It’s a pizza place that serves these huge stuffed pizzas and Tuesdays it’s half off!
Daddy met us up there while we were enjoying an appetizer of fried zucchini, mushrooms and cheese sticks. At first, Daddy ate a fried zucchini, thinking it was a cheese stick. Mommy ate the rest of it, once Daddy figured out what it was. Then Grandpop tricked Daddy into eating a fried mushroom by telling him they were apple bites. Poor Daddy – he doesn’t like mushrooms either.
Me? I slept through all of it, but I’m pretty sure I like zucchini and mushrooms – especially if they’re fried and served with marinara sauce. Everything’s better with marinara sauce! Hmm… I wonder if Mommy’s willing to dip a ninny in marinara sauce for me…
Wednesday: Mommy and me did absolutely nothing today. Mommy figured there was so little time for us to enjoy each other, so she rescheduled one of her doctor’s appointments and just played with me all day. We ate, slept, dirtied diapers… well, I dirtied the diapers, at least.
Thursday: Another dreaded appointment with Dr. Hiben. It started out all right. They stripped me down, but I was hot anyway so I didn’t mind, and weighed me. I now weigh 11 pounds, 4 ounces – that’s over a pound gained in a week! I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten taller too, but they weren’t able to get my height measurement. You see, I peed all over the table again. Why? Because I knew what was coming and I wanted Dr. Hiben to know how I felt about these shots he has me get! I’ll admit, I take shots like a pro – I only fuss for 2 seconds – but I still don’t like it for two seconds!! After that torture, I was exhausted and I crashed.
Friday: Rough night for Mommy – I was wide awake! After sleeping all afternoon on Thursday, I didn’t see the need to sleep all night too. But we had an easy morning and in the afternoon, we went to Mommy’s work to get her caught up on her job. I like visiting Mommy’s office – there are a lot of friendly people there. Ms. Amy took me over to her desk so she could play with me while Mommy got caught up. Then we went home, picked up Daddy and went grocery shopping.
Saturday: I woke up at 3:45 and since Mommy was so tired, Daddy decided to take over around 5:00 while Mommy slept in. I like spending time with Daddy! He’s great – as long as he has a bottle or two for me! Once Mommy got up, Daddy had some errands he wanted to run so we had some more Mommy and me time. And boy, Daddy must have had a lot of errands because he was gone a long time!
…What? Mommy just mumbled something that sounded like, “…If I could leave you home, I’d have lots of ‘errands’ too…”. Surely I didn’t hear her right!
Sunday: Daddy woke up with me again, letting Mommy sleep in a little. Then Daddy went to a comic convention. Well, I decided to do something for Mommy to make her feel better – so I gave her a big ol’ gummy grin! She giggled and asked for another smile, but I decided one smile was enough – no need to spoil her. And that big bulky camera she was sticking in my face was kinda intimidating.
Then I took a nice warm “shower” – my bath water tends to get a little poopy (don’t look at me!), so Mommy just lets the water run over me. Mommy didn’t want to give me a bath until my belly button came off, but I was stinky – and we had big plans today! But, I decided to do another good thing for Mommy and finally let my belly button come off (with a little encouragement from Mommy). And it’s looking like I’m going to have a pretty innie!
Mommy then took me to Lakeland to visit my cousins, Wyatt and Ramona and Aunt Becka. Then Grandpa came over, and he brought Grandma! Well, I was so excited to see Grandma again that I just peed all over her. Grandma didn’t seem to mind though – she said, “It’s just a little baby juice,” and finished changing my diaper.
Then Daddy met up with us once Aunt Becka came home and we had a nice dinner. The waitresses and other restaurant patrons loved our table – we were the desert bar of babies, serving up a 2 year old Wyatt, a 9 month old Ramona and me, a 6 week old. It’s sickening how cute our table was.
Well, that’s all for now. Monday I’m going to stay with Gramie during the day and Mommy’s going back to work. I’m a little upset – I’ve done such a good job breaking Mommy’s will, now I have to start all over again with Gramie. These adults, they make good servants once they’re broken but it takes so much effort!
Monday: Mommy had to get some diagnostic testing and I was afraid I would have to sit out in the waiting room by myself. But Aunt Dana came to the rescue! Aunt Dana and I hung out at Panera, munching on some scones and bagels while Mommy had her testing done. Aunt Dana had a fun time letting everyone think I was her baby – even once Mommy returned! Then Mommy, Aunt Dana and I stopped by Publix Greenwise to pick up some Mother’s Milk herbal tea and dinner. Mommy said the tea tastes like licorice, which luckily she likes. I like that she’s doing everything to keep me happy and chubby!
Tuesday: We had a pretty lazy day of chilling out until mid-day, then Mommy and I got dressed and drove out to meet Grandpop Harry and Maribeth at Giordanos. It’s a pizza place that serves these huge stuffed pizzas and Tuesdays it’s half off!
Daddy met us up there while we were enjoying an appetizer of fried zucchini, mushrooms and cheese sticks. At first, Daddy ate a fried zucchini, thinking it was a cheese stick. Mommy ate the rest of it, once Daddy figured out what it was. Then Grandpop tricked Daddy into eating a fried mushroom by telling him they were apple bites. Poor Daddy – he doesn’t like mushrooms either.
Me? I slept through all of it, but I’m pretty sure I like zucchini and mushrooms – especially if they’re fried and served with marinara sauce. Everything’s better with marinara sauce! Hmm… I wonder if Mommy’s willing to dip a ninny in marinara sauce for me…
Wednesday: Mommy and me did absolutely nothing today. Mommy figured there was so little time for us to enjoy each other, so she rescheduled one of her doctor’s appointments and just played with me all day. We ate, slept, dirtied diapers… well, I dirtied the diapers, at least.
Thursday: Another dreaded appointment with Dr. Hiben. It started out all right. They stripped me down, but I was hot anyway so I didn’t mind, and weighed me. I now weigh 11 pounds, 4 ounces – that’s over a pound gained in a week! I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten taller too, but they weren’t able to get my height measurement. You see, I peed all over the table again. Why? Because I knew what was coming and I wanted Dr. Hiben to know how I felt about these shots he has me get! I’ll admit, I take shots like a pro – I only fuss for 2 seconds – but I still don’t like it for two seconds!! After that torture, I was exhausted and I crashed.
Friday: Rough night for Mommy – I was wide awake! After sleeping all afternoon on Thursday, I didn’t see the need to sleep all night too. But we had an easy morning and in the afternoon, we went to Mommy’s work to get her caught up on her job. I like visiting Mommy’s office – there are a lot of friendly people there. Ms. Amy took me over to her desk so she could play with me while Mommy got caught up. Then we went home, picked up Daddy and went grocery shopping.
Saturday: I woke up at 3:45 and since Mommy was so tired, Daddy decided to take over around 5:00 while Mommy slept in. I like spending time with Daddy! He’s great – as long as he has a bottle or two for me! Once Mommy got up, Daddy had some errands he wanted to run so we had some more Mommy and me time. And boy, Daddy must have had a lot of errands because he was gone a long time!
…What? Mommy just mumbled something that sounded like, “…If I could leave you home, I’d have lots of ‘errands’ too…”. Surely I didn’t hear her right!
Sunday: Daddy woke up with me again, letting Mommy sleep in a little. Then Daddy went to a comic convention. Well, I decided to do something for Mommy to make her feel better – so I gave her a big ol’ gummy grin! She giggled and asked for another smile, but I decided one smile was enough – no need to spoil her. And that big bulky camera she was sticking in my face was kinda intimidating.
Then I took a nice warm “shower” – my bath water tends to get a little poopy (don’t look at me!), so Mommy just lets the water run over me. Mommy didn’t want to give me a bath until my belly button came off, but I was stinky – and we had big plans today! But, I decided to do another good thing for Mommy and finally let my belly button come off (with a little encouragement from Mommy). And it’s looking like I’m going to have a pretty innie!
Mommy then took me to Lakeland to visit my cousins, Wyatt and Ramona and Aunt Becka. Then Grandpa came over, and he brought Grandma! Well, I was so excited to see Grandma again that I just peed all over her. Grandma didn’t seem to mind though – she said, “It’s just a little baby juice,” and finished changing my diaper.
Then Daddy met up with us once Aunt Becka came home and we had a nice dinner. The waitresses and other restaurant patrons loved our table – we were the desert bar of babies, serving up a 2 year old Wyatt, a 9 month old Ramona and me, a 6 week old. It’s sickening how cute our table was.
Well, that’s all for now. Monday I’m going to stay with Gramie during the day and Mommy’s going back to work. I’m a little upset – I’ve done such a good job breaking Mommy’s will, now I have to start all over again with Gramie. These adults, they make good servants once they’re broken but it takes so much effort!
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