Half my brain cells

Went to my child during pregnancy. Grammar, spelling, all have gone down hill.

Famous People born with Club Feet

Olympic goldmedal iceskating champions, football and baseball stars...

(From Wikipedia):

Many notable people have been born with club foot, including the Roman emperor Claudius, the poet Lord Byron, statesman Prince Talleyrand, Civil War politician Thaddeus Stevens, the comedian Damon Wayans, actors Gary Burghoff and Dudley Moore, footballer Steven Gerrard, mathematician Ben Greenberg, and film director David Lynch.[citation needed]
Kristi Yamaguchi was born with a club foot, and went on to win figure skating gold in 1992. Soccer star Mia Hamm was born with the condition. Baseball pitcher Larry Sherry was born with club feet, as was pitcher Jim Mecir, and both enjoyed long and successful careers. Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Freddy Sanchez cites his ability to overcome the defect as a reason for his success [7]. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman also overcame the condition en route to a Pro Football Hall of Fame career. Josef Goebbels, the notorious Nazi propaganda minister, had a right club foot (possibly incurred after birth as a complication of osteomyelitis)[8], a fact hidden from the German public by censorship. Because of this malformation, Goebbels needed to wear a leg brace. That, plus his short stature, led to his rejection for military service in World War I.

Does breastfeeding increase appetite?

It's either that or the prescription medicine I've been taking to increase the milk supply.

(Do not assume from the title of this post that Om's breastfeeding has been extremely successful...we are still working on it, right now he just uses the brown eyes for between-meal snacks and soothing himself to sleep. Oh well.)

I packed up all my clothes so that I wouldn't get depressed looking at them. Few items remain in my closet that fit, but I am still finding stuff on a daily basis that I have to put in the "wait until 30 lbs lost" pile. Keep pondering joining weightwatchers again.

I highly doubt I'll lose weight with breastfeeding like many women do. As with most of my pregnancy experiences, I'll probably be in the small percentage of women who GAIN or maintain their weight and lose it after their babies are weaned.

Possessed

I was talking to a friend yesterday and she was surprised (or shocked) that I let Om's grandma (my mom in law) take care of Om so much. She gives him his daily sponge bath/oil massage and then the weekly bath once his casts come off, then she feeds him twice in the morning and does her daily prayer with him in her arms, then has him listen to her religous chanting music (bhajans) with her. This all happens until 11 or 12noon, then I take over while she prepares lunch. The rest of the afternoon I mess around with Om until his Dad comes home, then we all pitch in to take care of Om. Needless to say we are all his servants. :-)

Anyway, back to my point...my friend was surprised that I "allowed" someone else take care of my baby so much. Today, for instance, I studied in the afternoon so Om was with Grandma almost all day (until 6pm). I guess I'm missing that posessive feeling...I really don't mind if Om's grandma takes care of him so much, as long as I get some time in the day with him (I already spend 5 nights a week with him since I'm on night duty).

Is it wrong to not be territorial about one's kid? I don't mind at all if Grandma or his Dad take care of him. Most kids figure out who Mom is anyway, especially if they breastfeed. I like having some time during the day to sleep, and now with my patent exam still pending I like not needing to put him in daycare so that I can go study for a few hours.

One month old baby cakes

" Yo what's up later there's a party in my playpen, you should drop by...byob (bring your own bottle)"

"What is this nasty stuff Grandma is feeding me? I know I have a tummy ache but dang this stuff stinks! Thank goodness now Mom has to drink the stuff so that I get it by proxy."

(BTW it was fennel seed water...ajwain in Hindi...yeah yeah we aren't supposed to give baby anything besides milk but his grandma insisted)

Pondering life on Mom's chest. Lots to think about and analyze.

Little chipmunk passed out on a blanket...too cute.

"Need to have a serious talk with Mom about her choice of wardrobe for me."

"This is what I wore on my birthday, it was a gift from my uncle Varun." (who doesn't read this blog).

Club Feet Updates

Today was Om's 5th casting in a series. We go every Monday to Children's Hospital in Seattle to see Dr. Vincent Mosca, one of the top orthopedic physicians in the area. Folks come from far and wide to see this doctor...I spoke to one lady last week who was there with her infant son and had to catch a flight back home afterwards. Imagine doing that weekly! Sheesh what we do for our kids. We are so blessed that we live fairly close to the hospital.

Om keeps the cast on all week long, then Monday morning G removes the casts from Om's legs. Om doesn't like getting the casts taken off so is a bit fussy during the process. Grandma (my mom in law) gets all wet in the bathtub with him for his weekly bath (we wash him daily with a washcloth because the casts can't get wet or soiled). He also gets an oil massage from grandma. I dry Om and dress him after his bath.

In the above pic, Om's feet are clearly turned inward. This is before the casting series.

In this pic, Om was getting his first casts applied by Dr. Mosca. (He's content in sucking the bottle in this pic, which is not always the case!)

Above Om is getting his casts removed by his Dad. Again, he's quiet, but usually he hates when his casts come off (probably feels funny to the little guy!).

Here's Om before today's visit to the hospital. You can see the difference between this picture and the first one...his feet aren't as twisted anymore.

His feet are still odd looking, but MUCH more normal than 5 weeks ago! All the extra folds of skin are a good sign...it means the foot is changing to a normal shape and he will eventually grow into the extra skin.

Next week a procedure called a tentotomy will be performed on both of his feet. His achilles tendons will be snipped and then a new cast applied to last 3 more weeks. Fingers are crossed that Om suffers through it like the brave trooper he has been...and that all this work eventually leads to healthy normal chubby cute feet! Please keep us in your prayers / positive thoughts!

Hallelujah

After a month of trying, today Om successfully latched on to Mommy's boob.

For thirty whole minutes. And he had a mouthful of milk afterwards (I had to make sure there was actually something coming out!)

Fingers are crossed that this continues and the bottles will be put on the backburner for storage.

100th post and Birthday

This is my 100th post...yippee! I also turned 29 today...woot woot one year away from the big 30!

Let's see...what have I accomplished in 29 years? How about a fun list?:-) Time to brag and remind myself of what else I need to finish before turning 30! (This list could be VERY long, if you add all my failures, missteps, and learning experiences...so we'll just keep it simple).

1. Bachelor's of Science in Bio/Chem

2. Juris Doctor (JD) of Law (finished law school)

3. Admitted to the Washington State Bar

4. Got married.

5. Had a kid.

Before next September I want to pass the patent bar exam. I don't have any other goals, but I could easily add finding a job and losing 30 pounds of pregnancy weight here. I'm going to play that by ear, right now I'm in my first month post partum so it's hard to think that far!

One year ago I would never have guessed I would be living in a house with my CHILD, hubby, and mother in law. Ack!

We had a low key day for the birthday. I went to the temple with my mom in law (more for her than for me) and then had lunch at home. Later G took me for a couple's massage at a spa in Bellevue...it was relaxing, post partum you definetly need a massage! Thanks to the silly goose hubby for the gift! Muah I love you.

Infant Sleep

Infant Sleep

Remembering 9 / 11

I was in my senior year of undergrad, and I woke up late in the morning in my shared co-ed apartment. I walked into our shabby living room and turned on the TV to see the news on every channel, scenes of people falling off the buildings.

Was freaky ...

Prayers (or positive energy) go out to those who lost someone they loved.

Recent Reads

Takes me much longer to finish a book now!


The Palace of Illusions - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Sharmila's Book - Bharti Kirchner

One Night at the Call Center - Chetan Bhagat

Thank heaven for Swings!

The only reason I am able to read my email, blog, and check facebook. :-)

Labor and Drugs

I didn't take Demerol or any sort of narcotic, but I did get the epidural during Om's birth. This scene isn't very accurate (why is John Travolta in scrubs and a mask? and 5 to 6 cm dialated is fine for drugs) but it's cute to see the baby acting high inside her (and I sympathize with her intolerance to the pain...you don't understand until you are actually in that moment!).

Updates

Update on Om:

Om is now 3 weeks old. He is still adjusting to a sleep schedule. Today, for instance, he has only slept in small fits. Otherwise he demands to be held and rocked to sleep.

He has oohed and aahed a little bit, but is very alert and watches the surrounding scenery. Yesterday evening we took him shopping and then to a friend's house for dinner. He was extremely aware of everyone and everything. I think he gets a bit too stimulated at times, because the remaining night he slept very little.

His feet are doing better, but the casts annoy the little guy. Tomorrow will be his 3rd casting. Last time he cried bloody murder, and wouldn't even take the bottle. A nurse showed up with a binky and sweet gripe water, which he took for a little while before spitting it out. I can't bear to see him cry that hard, but I think he's a bit of a drama queen. He cries equally hard with the casts as he does when we check his temperature! Sheesh.

I'm also don't know what to do about his gassiness. He kicks his feet and arches his back, and spits up, then cries. I've tried adding Gas X to his formula and breastmilk, but it doesn't seem to change his behavior that much.


Update on his parents:

Mom got a much needed sleep break this weekend. G spent Friday and Saturday night with Om while I slept a straight 8 hours. It was GREAT to sleep through the night without needing to get up. However I still need to find some "me" time...sleeping is great, but spending all the waking hours on baby, watching whatever everyone else watches (which is either sports or desi television), and small household chores gets a bit old. I am blogging while simultaneously rocking baby with one hand (he's been moody). Mom in law managed to go out for a walk and socialize a bit, plus watched our wedding videos and do her daily pujas. She has been a great help, making most of the meals. Dad went out for 4 hours to the gym and shopping, plus watched his games and worked from home. I have managed to do one load of laundry, but our bedroom is still needing some serious organizing, which I wanted to do today but oh well. Otherwise I have been bound to the living room with baby, pumping and feeding and doing small kitchen chores. I have managed to check email and chat with my sister in law. Otherwise I am still sitting here without a shower at 8pm. I wanted to go out for a run and get some excersise, but oh well. Maybe tomorrow....but tomorrow is full of baby's doctor appointment, then the maid (thank god I hired them, I don't care how much it costs!) is coming at 2pm and I need to follow her around the house while she works.

Goals for this week:

I want to get out and start excersising.

I want to re-open my books for the patent bar and continue studying. Even if just for a little bit.

I want to get rid of Om's infection in his mouth...that requires diligent application of his medicine, 4 times a day. He gets extremely cranky each time it's applied, so it has to be timed just right.

2 Weeks

Baby Om is two weeks old today. His umbilical chord stump fell off this evening, right on schedule. I was supposed to be cleaning it with rubbing achohol but didn't realize until today after I researched it on the internet, so I hope there is no infection...woops! Sorry Om, your Mom is quite the space cadet lately.

His sleep schedule is pretty random, which we think is normal for this age. He got his first casts put on last week with Dr. Mosca (the pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Children's Hospital). Poor guy is used to kicking his feet and doing the bicycle, so having those heavy casts on his legs isn't very pleasant, to say the least. He was very fussy the first day of the cast, but has progressively gotten used to the sensation of the fiberglass casts.

Physically for me, I still feel pregnant. Nothing much has changed in my body except that my stomach is flatter (if you can call it that) and my heartburn/swelling is gone. Otherwise I still have the horrible itch (PUPPS) and the rhinitus is actually getting worse. I'm sitting here in bed with a pile of tissues next to me, very reminscent of early pregnancy in the 2nd trimester (the trimester from Hell, as I like to call it). Also, I'm having plenty of post-partum cramping that gets worse with each breast pumping session. Naseau is also making a comeback...I constantly drink different types of liquids (water, juice, diet coke) to try to change the nasty taste in my mouth and keep me from running to the toilet.


*Sigh* Deep down I know it's all due to breast pumping. If I weren't breast pumping, my body would slowly go back to normal and all the hormones would leave my body once and for all.

The worst part of my day is the feeding schedule. Honestly, I would rather just feed Baby Om formula. That way I wouldn't be bothered with the whole pumping scenario every two to three hours. I have to pump because Om doesn't latch on...he fusses and gets very upset whenever we try to breastfeed. I have to keep on trying, however...apparently there is still a chance that the baby can latch on despite being on bottles.

I hate the two little pumps I attach to my breasts. I can't do anything else while pumping besides stare at whatever television show my husband has decided to watch. Also, I have to simultaneously massage myself to get more milk...it just gets so stressful to hope for 3 ounces of breast milk each time. In the morning I get 3 ounces, then progressively during the day the amount decreases. At first I was also pumping at night, but that got to be too much craziness for me, so I've decided to only pump between 6 am and 10 pm. That way the night time schedule is excusively changing diapers and feeding him formula.

For foods that increase milk production, I'm taking Fenugreek capsules several times a day and eating some Indian concoction that both my Mom and MIL made...Mom's is a sweet mix of gram flour with ground nuts and dried fruits, and MIL's is similar except it has a lot of ginger.

My breasts ache with what I think is engorgment...but I still don't produce enough to give Om exclusively breast milk.

Anyway, in summary it's guilt that drives me to continue pumping. I know breast milk is best for baby's health, so I will suffer for 3 more months (yes, only 3) before deciding whether to continue pumping or switch excusively to formula. Babies need breast milk, but babies also need normal mother's who are not going bananas mentally. I also want to ENJOY my time with my baby, not constantly stress over the amount of milk he's getting or how crappy I'm feeling with the hormones surging through my body.