Sunday, November 30, 2008

Mmmm...




White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino



One of a kind and forward looking, you're the first to introduce a wacky new trend to your friends. And even if your ideas seem weird, they get adopted pretty quickly.

First Anniversary


We celebrated our first wedding anniversary on November 26th. Here is a list of the events of the past year, in no particular order:
  • 9 months of sickness (AKA pregnancy)
  • Found out at 20 weeks that our gorgeous baby boy had bilateral club feet.
  • I moved from MN to WA permanently, big road trip across North Dakota, Montana, to transport my car etc.
  • We moved from G's apartment to a rental house. Various weekends spent looking for houses and lots of time spent packing/unpacking.
  • Purchasing new furniture/electronics for the house.
  • I traveled twice to Minnesota to visit my parents
  • G went to China twice (work related)
  • Trip to Cancun, Mexico (last vacation before baby)
  • G went to California for work twice, I joined him once and we visited my best friend in San Jose and his cousin's family.
  • Lots of dinner parties & outings with various friends.
  • I worked from home (on a contract).
  • A trip to Vancouver with friends (G's work related)
  • Weekend road trips to Cascades, Leavenworth, Lake Chelan, etc.
  • Baby shower weekend, two of my close friends and brother visited.
  • Baby Om arrived. My Mom visited for 2 weeks and then G's Mom came to stay for a while.

G took the day off Wednesday to hang out at home. In the morning I gave G his anniversary gift. Later, we had dinner at an Italian place in Snoqualmie, WA and then we went to Roaring River Bed & Breakfast in North Bend, WA. It was nice to get away from baby duties, especially since G's Mom is here to take care of Om so we did not have to place him with a babysitter. Nevertheless, I missed Om. :-)




Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

I've been seeing them all over Facebook and the internet...reasons to be thankful. Made me start thinking as well. It's time to make another wonderful fantastic list! I am thankful for: (in no particular order)

  • My parents and brother, who have supported me, give me freedom to be myself (this is the most important...I can't stress how crucial it is to be yourself at all costs!), and lots of laughter, even if we don't agree most of the time.
  • My friends, who give me courage to stay strong, vent my feelings, and express myself.
  • My husband, for his love, affection, support, and patience.
  • My baby, because not everyone can have children and not everyone has the joy that comes with seeing your baby change and grow.
  • For acquaintances, for quietly helping me enrich my life and give me moral support at random times in life.
  • Ex - friends / boyfriends, for teaching me lessons and letting me make mistakes to help me get a better understanding of myself and what is important in life.
  • The health of my loved ones, my pets, and myself.
  • Always having something to eat, that tastes GOOD, place to sleep, bed to sleep, blankets, and enought money to pay most of my bills.
  • Laptop, cell phone, internet, TV, electricity, heat, good soap/toiletries, car, clothes (you get the idea)
  • My education
  • BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS...libraries.
  • privilege to vote, apply for any job.
  • SLEEP.

The End. :-)

P.S...in the above picture, isn't a little creepy that Snoopy is serving turkey (a bird) while his friend Woodstock, who is ALSO a bird, hovers above him? WEIRD.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Magic Shoes



"Momma said they was my magic shoes, they'd take me anywhere"
--Forrest Gump



Friday, November 21, 2008

Reglan Sucks

Reglan, or the generic version metoclopramide, is sometimes used in nursing mothers to increase the prolactin levels and thereby increase the milk supply.

I hate this medication. Don't get me wrong, it really works...compared to all the herbal products I've tried, this is the one item that will show results in as little as a 1 day. However, while it may help increase milk production, but it may do so while increasing the incidence of anxiety, depression, headaches, stomach cramps, diarrhea and sleepiness in the mother.

A depressed mother who is continously going to the bathroom and is so drowsy she falls asleep while doing normal chores (driving, feeding baby) is not a healthy thing for the baby (or for other family members), no matter how much milk he is getting out of the situation.

It took me about a month to find the pattern. When I took Reglan, I was so unhappy. At first I blamed it on general post partum blues, but then I found that when I was off of the medication I was in a better mood overall and didn't fret needlessly over Om. And when I say fret, I really mean FRET...I would imagine all sort of wild scenarious of what could possibly happen to my baby. Om falling off the bed, suffocating, getting burned, tumbling down the stairs with me, getting overheated, too cold, getting smushed, drowning, you name it. And I know these worries are normal, especially with new inexperienced Moms, but I was REALLY worried, more so than was normal. Constantly dreaming of these situations is not healthy. And then Reglan made me more emotional & tired overall so the crankiness factor also played in.

Anyway I'm tempted to take it again once in a while to get the milk going, but I am warning Moms who decide to take this medication. There is another medication called domperidone that is not approved by the FDA but widely used in Canada, but I have no experience with it.

Another breast feeding post

I am not going to get into it too much, because 1) It's depressing; and 2) I feel so guilty.

But, I have learned a great deal in the past three months about breast feeding. How come no one ever told me it would be so difficult? I've sort of comes to terms with it now though...at least my baby got SOME b-milk the first 3 months of his life. And he will continue to get a little bit more each day until Mom can't take it anymore.

There are so many foods and herbs to eat, so many ways of pumping and latching, such specific "techniques" to encourage milk flow and have the baby suck properly.

I took it for granted that it would just work. My baby would come out of my womb and magically grab onto the breast and suck like there was no tomorrow. Little did we know!

I can't even blame my Mom or Mom in Law. They had no advice because in their time everything worked so smoothly. They had no idea of the concept of pumping, or Le Leche Leagues, or that a baby can have a weak sucking reflex and the Mom can have inverted nipples.

Okay, anyway. In the next post I'm going to get into the horrible medicine called Reglan.

One Good Thing


Is there ANY positive aspect to your baby having a bar lodged between his stiff leathery shoes 23/7?

The diaper changes. It is SO much easier to hold both feet together when we wipe his little tush. Just grab the bar and lift!


Thursday, November 20, 2008

People surprise me

The other day had a major craving for a vanilla latte from Starbucks. Decided to go through the drive-thru, BAD idea when I ended up waiting more than 20 minutes! (I couldn't back out because there were drivers behind me). Well some lady in front of me was having some issues with her coffee so that was the reason we were being held up. After having a baby, I HATE having to wait for anything...I'm always in a rush to get in and get out of any store etc so I can get back home quickly. So I was in turmoil waiting, thinking of all the things I needed to do when I got home and if MIL needed to go for a nap/walk.

But, once I got the coffee, the server said the lady before me had already paid for my drink as a way to make up for my wait. How nice!

There is hope for people after all. :-)

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

My Boyfriend

Om, AKA chipmunk, AKA my boyfriend, turned 3 months on Tuesday. He is a smiley, giggly child who loves to look around at the surroundings and also excerise his lungs with lovely baby talk. Sometimes he gets REALLY loud. His favorite time of the day to babble is early in the morning. Often times I will wake up to him talking in his bassinet, and if it is before 6am I just feed him and put him back to bed while I go to sleep. He continues babbling until Grandma comes and gets him for his bath. :-)


Sweet picture of my baby!

"I like to wear my hat to the side, very fashion conscious." Sweet dreams.

All giggles for Grandma!



"This book is SO fascinating."


"Umm did you want something? I was in the middle of reading my book!"

Monthly Update


I have been so lazy with updating the blog, it's been too long...I keep thinking of things during the day to blog about and then never get around to actually posting. Meh. Of course now I've forgotten all the stuff I wanted to blog. Oh well.

The above picture is from Diwali (Hindu Festival of lights). We got all dressed up for a party, I had fun trying to wear a silk sari (one of the saris I recieved during our wedding). Got some much needed help from a friend (thanks Amrita!). Om wore a traditional outfit that was a bit on the large size for him.

We also celebrated Halloween by handing out candy to kids in our neighborhood. Om wore his very first costume, a little mouse. We had SO MUCH fun with him in costume...Does little mousey need some milk? Is mousey wousey sleepy? Hehe.


Picture of my two favorite men. G went to Behjing for a week for work, so Om, Grandma and I spent a week together. It was interesting because, without G around, we ended up going to bed at 8pm every night! Too funny.

ELECTION DAY - I exercised my right to vote on Nov 4th at a local church. Due to my last name change there was a bit of confusion (my driver's license still has my maiden name), but the election official (really old man who could barely see) decided to let me vote based on my YMCA membership card. Hehe.
I usually vote for the issues and not the people, but I just love that a skinny dark dude with a funny name was elected. Gives me hope for my children. :-)

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Short Post

Okay so I haven't had a chance to do some "proper" blogging for over a week now...my last few posts have been pretty random!

To Do:

- Upload pics from past 2 weeks (for some reason when I sit down to the computer the camera card is several feet away from me - usually upstairs or downstairs!)

- Write updates for past couple of holidays.

- Update the blog roll list (need to add several new blogs, some are for desi mom's and some for club foot blogs)

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Meme

Got this from chubbymummy's blog at www.chubbymummy.wordpress.com... feel free to copy and make your own list to share!

8 TV Shows I Love to Watch:
I don't watch much TV, hate being addicted to shows! I'm a random channel surfer. But if I must list some:

- Seinfeld
- Simpsons
- South Park (hilarious)
- Project Runway
- Top Chef
- Oprah
- The Office
- Random shows on TLC


8 Favorite Places to Eat:

- My Mom's house
- My own kitchen
- Cheap Mexican places (Chipotle, Taco Bell, etc)
- Gas Stations (yes, seriously...I love cheap coffee & slushies)
- I'm not very creative in this section...I'm usually open to eating most places!


8 Things That Happened Yesterday:


- 45 minutes on the elliptical trainer
- Grocery shopping (how I hate thee)
- Got through 2 hours of a lecture DVD on a home study course for the patent bar exam.
- Gave Chipmunk a bath
- Ate too much random stuff
- Forgot to call Chipmunk's doctor (again)
- Blogged
- Vented my feelings about motherhood to a fellow Mom for an hour on the phone.


8 Things I Look Forward To:



- Sleeping straight through the night (both me and Om)
- Sleeping in the same bed with G on a regular basis.
- Becoming a nuclear family again. (Extended version at the moment)
- Chipmunk holding his head up ALL the time with ease
- Chipmunk being able to wear the brace for only 12 hours a day (down from 23 hrs).
- Warm weather
- Passing the patent bar exam
- Starting work again



8 Things I Love About Fall:



- The color of the trees
- Pumpkins and Squashes
- Socks
- The fireplace
- Hot chai
- Hot coffee
- Charlie Brown TV Specials
- Fallen leaves

8 Things on my Wish List:


- Housekeeper
- A daughter
- A huge brick home with seperate living quarters for visiting parents
- Weekly Massages
- Chipmunk's feet no longer needs the brace.
- Laser surgery for permanent body hair removal
- Job that I can work from home
- A house in India



8 Things I’m Passionate About (not in specific order):

- My independance (generic, I realize)
- Getting my nails done (hehe)
- Fairness (no one getting the short end of the stick)
- My baby
- My husband
- Dogs and small furry creatures
- Being a helpful person

8 Words or Phrases I Use Often:

- Okay
- I don't know
- I guess
- So...
- ...But...(ending sentences with the word)
- f***!
- Cool
- Eh.


8 Things I Have Learned From My Past:

- Memorize...Memorize...Memorize.
- Time heals all wounds.
- Get it in writing.
- Write that email, and then delete it.
- You plan, God laughs. Hard.
- Be appreciative, (through words or actions).
- Thank God for unanswered prayers.
- Help others.



8 Places I Would Love to Go or See or Visit:


- Ireland
- Hawaii
- Alaska
- Australia
- African Safari
- The Moon
- The Past
- The Future


8 Things I Currently Need or Want:

- naps
- lose 30 lbs
- privacy
- more exercise clothes
- a trip to the salon for various things
- for chipmunk's doctor to return my call
- hubbie to return from work trip to China
- a massage

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Post Partum Support?

Here is one conversation I had with someone that made me change how I think of her:

Me: I heard that M is about to have her baby, can you give my regards to her and tell her that the terrible symptoms will soon pass and if she's feeling a bit depressed it's totally understandable?

Her: Depressed? Why would she feel depressed?

Me: It's the life changes and hormonal fluctuations...I went through something similar, it's called the post partum blues.

Her: You were depressed? How come you never told me?

Me: You never asked.

Her: Wow if I had a baby I would be euphoric with happiness.

Me: Good for you.