Friday, November 6, 2009

6 Months Old

Lia is half a year old.

Major accomplishments: eating "real" food Her favorite is rice cereal
sitting from lying down
jumping jumping and more jumping
screeching and blowing raspberries

Likes: baths
sleeping in on the weekend
whistling
flirting with men

Disklikes: getting dressed
diaper changing
relaxing or chilling

And here are some cute videos

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Long Hiatus - Lia is 5 months old!

But now I finally have a vacation from school. 7 weeks of work with a baby done! And they were tough. Hopefully after this two week break, life will get a little easier.

Lia is doing incredibly well. 5 months old, going on 12 :) She had her first meal last night, in her brand new tripp trapp chair, and ate like a pro. I am now waiting on the result of this meal - the dreaded first solid food poop.

Lia also can get up on her hands and knees, but isn´t quite crawling yet.

Here is an adorable baby slurping up her rice cereal :)

Before


Hey, this is pretty good!


Yum, yum, yum

Sunday, July 19, 2009

On Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is a great joy, but also a great challenge. Little did I know, 3 months ago, that I would be able to squirt milk, out of my boob, clear across the room. This is quite a talent - and was a shock - the first time I did it.

Lia and I had little trouble getting started. Once she came out, my body was free territory, and the senior midwife stuck my boob in her mouth and off we went. Our midwife said that we were naturals and we should teach other woman. Great.

At that point, little did I know, that Lia would assert her own opinion about that whole thing, and torture me at will.

Here's what happens. Lia goes on a hunger strike. My boobs hurt. Lia gets hungry. Much awkward positioning and crying follows and ...

somehow I find myself sticking my boob in front of Lia's mouth, in the middle of a traffic jam, in a tunnel, not really caring when my sister points out the old man in the next car checking things out. Unfortunately, the body contortions and shamelessness did not pay off, and Lia gave me a look that said - what are you doing to me, get that thing out of my face, and punctuated it with some crying. That is the first in long string of what the hell moms.

Lia and I are living in the lap of luxury at my parents house, where we usually recline on the bed, and Lia can eat at her leisure. I think this is bad training, because next time we are jambed in an airplane bathroom, standing against a wall in a dark corner, or hiding in Lia's UV beach tent, Lia will turn her head in disdain as if to say, forget it, find me a double bed with 400 thread Egyptian cotton sheets, gently position me on my side, position yourself just so, allow me to ponder it for a while and then MAYBE, I will eat, stopping my hysterical crying and your chest pains.

Despite the challenges, breastfeeding is a bonding experience, and a joy, and a miracle of biology, and yes, I will really miss it when I am sitting in a cramped bathroom at work hooked to a pump, and of course, best of all, it is free.

Fast Approaching 3 Months



Baby smiles!!!!!!!

My sweet little baby will be three months old in a few days. Time is moving far to quickly.

Lia is still a sweet and wonderful baby, turning baby haters to baby lovers in an instant.

Her likes include:
Staring at a hand of cards - completely mesmerizing
Blowing raspberries
Smiling and raising her eyebrows
Standing (with assistance)
Kicking vigorously
Doing shoulder bridges
Baths

Her dislikes include:
Being held like a baby - so undignified
Planes
Eating when overly hungry (this can be an issue)
Tummy time for longer then 2 minutes
Shirts that go over the head
Hooter Hiders
Going to bed early

Achievements
Lia has progressed to making angry noises to warn you that she is about it cry if you don't do something FAST!
She can roll over - but only by accident
Many noises - the favorite is oooo gaa
And Lia is a baby body builder - she is pure muscle

Saturday, June 6, 2009

6 Weeks Old Already

Wow...having a baby keeps you busy. Yes, there are long periods of sleeping, but those periods are being used to recover from the awake periods of constant baby interaction. When somebody asks me what I have been doing. The answer is often...well, hanging out with the baby.

Lia is a sweety. I think she is probably a relatively easy baby, but she does have her moments. Babies can really scream. And when they start up, they often don´t want to calm down. Luckily, the screaming does not even happen every day, just occasionally and afterward she passes out for hours. I still don´t understand the evolutionary purpose of the screaming - I mean, she has all of her needs taken care of and really, there is no point in screaming. But, she seems to get really pissed off at the world sometimes and ready to let go.

We have been making a lot of progress. I no longer am terrified to be alone in public with Lia (this resulted from the hard core screaming that happened the first time I took her for a walk alone). Nothing like a screaming baby to make you feel like the most negligent person ever. Here we are getting ready for an outing.



Since then we have mastered the stroller and the Moby wrap. Lia and I are becoming pros at leaving the house.

Every day, Lia is more alert and interactive. She coos and has conversations with us, and is more and more aware of the world around her.



Here she is checking out the patterns in her bassinet. (Thanks for the baby stimulating blanket Grandma!) Yes, babies like bright colors with sharp contrast - as they can actually see them.

Our neighbor knit Lia the cutest outfit. She very nicely slept through the fitting session.



She may have a future as a clothing model.

I will leave you with the cutest thing ever...a baby butt!!

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Baby Sarah and Baby Lia





Lia and I seem to have scowling and pinchably fat cheeks in common.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Letter to Lia - 1 Week Old Today!

Dear Lia,

You are one week old today! I can’t believe it. Time has been flying by. I can already not imagine life without you. We were very lucky to have your grandma and my mom here to help us. She helped make the transition – me to being a mother, and you to being a baby (as the doctor kept saying, just over one week ago, you were still just a fetus) – smoothly.

You are an incredibly easy baby. You almost never cry. You look at everybody with your blue eyes and they fall in love with you. Evolution did a good job with making babies lovable, but you are especially lovable. The midwife says that we are doing an amazing job breast feeding and you easily gained back your weight. (I will tell you a secret though – I have no idea what I am doing, so you get all the credit.) She also says that you are already getting a bottom and developing your curves.

The nights have been long, but not even too hard. You wake up and want to eat, need to be changed, and like to be held. Today you were very alert during the day, so maybe you will go easy on me tonight!

I love holding you and watching your face change expressions. You are a master of facial expressions, smiling one moment, grimacing the next, then yawning (when you yawn you look like a turtle). You also move your arms all the time.

Your daddy also loves you very much. He thinks that you are so smart that you are ready to play catch. He is especially good at calming you down when you have indigestion. (I think this might be a family calamity.) We found out that the two of you have the same little indentation next to your ears.

It amazes me that you developed out of a microscopic sperm and egg. Then you grew in my stomach nine more months, and here you are. You are doing such a good job entering the world. (I know it must have been pretty traumatic.)

I love you forever and more than I could ever express Lia.

Your Mommy.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Birth Story (Warning - may be graphic)



Here I am during labor - very attractive.



Here I am the same day after labor - I am totally out of it, but doing much better.

Lia Grace took her time coming to the world. She was due on April 15th but finally made an appearance on the morning of April 23rd. Here is the story.

April 22nd was a beautiful day. My mom and I spent the morning walking and eating delicious food. I took a few hours to paint "Red Fish" for Lia´s room and felt like I was having contractions most of the day. (The Braxton Hicks kind). Jan came home (exhausted) and we had lentil casserole for dinner.

Then mom and I decided to take a walk down to the ice cream shop. (at about 7:30pm) I had almond and she had Raffaello (named after a coconut flavored candy). As I was about to start on my latte machiatto (yes, I drank too much caffiene during my pregnancy), I felt a gush of warm fluid. My first thought was - did I just pee. My second thought was...there is a puddle of fluid forming under me, how embarrasing.

I called Jan and told him to bring me my emergency change of clothing (which I had been faithfully toating around with me, but left at home that night.) After a few attempts at standing up - more fluid came out every time, I managed to get to the bathroom and change. By the time I was out a taxi arrived and my mom and I headed to the hospital. Jan went to get the supplies.

I still thought that it may be a false alarm - but sure enough . it was the amniotic fluid and it was gushing. The contractions were coming - but the midwife thought that they "were not the the real thing" and told me that I should walk around. She checked Jan and I into a room where we could sleep and rest up for the labor. Jan decided to hang out there, while my mom and I met Cheryl and Jane to get some walking in.

We walked around the block and by then (very quickly) the contractions felt like "someone shoving a knife into my stomach." Basically they were horrendously painful. In between I was ok though. So I walked and then slumped against any available wall during the contractions. We got around the block and sat on the steps. Drunk people and students road their bikes by us, and the high light was being offered, in slurred English, a cigarette. I turned it down.

Then mom said good night, and Cheryl and Jane escorted me to my room. Jan was there and I told him that I didn´t think we were going to get much rest as I flung my self on the floor and moaned in pain. (really). Then a midwife came and measured my contractions some more. After maybe an hour and a check she determined that my cervix actually was closing with each contraction and that Lia was facing forward and jamming her forehead into my pelvic bone with each contraction. She recommended an epidural. We wanted to avoid all needles, so asked for a second opinion. The midwife didn ot appreciate this, but she did say we could try out the birthing tub. (that was the closest I got to my dream of a water birth) After writhing around in the water for a while, we decided that this really was not helping anything, and that we would go ahead and get the epidural.

This was pretty traumatic (think catheter in your spinal cord), although I agree that it was for the best.

As the epidural was being adminstered I started shaking uncontrallably - this continued for the next several hours. The midwife even tried to stop it by sticking a needle in my head (yes, accupunture - I was really not into the needle in the head thing)

Unfortunately, the epidural did not do much for the pain and in fact half of my body was totally uneffected. The other half did feel numb for a while, but the pain quickly came back. After another dosage of drugs, there was still no change.

Then, to continue the medication trend, they gave an IV pain killer. This was great, not because it got rid of any pain - but as I read somewhere - the pain mattered a bit less and in between contractions I could relax much more. This was also the most productive part of the labor (prob from 4am to 6).

Around 5 the midwife said she was getting a coffee and the shift would change soon - someone would check on us in 30 min. or so. This was a bit upsetting given the excrutiating pain and the fact that I felt like was dying - ok, enjoy your coffee while I lie here suffering.

Then the new team showed up, checked me, and I was 10 centimeters dilated. The baby was ready to come. They disconnected me from everything, and Jan and I tried out a variety of labor positions. Standing, hanging, sitting up, moving around. It worked, and after pushing very hard for what felt like a long time, Lia came out. It hurt a lot, but knowing the pushing actually would end the pain and that my baby was coming, but it much easily.

I am not (too) ashamed to say that I screamed a lot and made a ruckus. I had been training for months while pooping, so I was ready for it. (As Jane says, I need to eat more fiber).

At 8:13 am. Lia showed up, not very wrinkly, and incredibly alert. They laid her on my chest immediately - she looked and me and her daddy, and did not cry at all. After about 10 minutes she breast fed for the first time and was already a pro.

I was shocked to find that she was not a giant baby like I had been and the ultrasounds had forecasted, but actually fairly average sized. She weighed a bit over 8 pounds. All of the baby clothes we have are too big!

The new family

Lia Grace - Born April 23rd

We waited



And waited



And a baby was born!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

1 Day Past Due Date

and still no baby.

Everything is well, the baby and I are both healthy, but it has decided to stay put for now. We are really hoping that it decides to make a move before Easter vacation is over and everybody has to go back to work (that is, everybody but me) but the baby is not being cooperative. So everyday we are hoping the baby decides to come (but I also am secretly happy that I did not have to go through labor!)

I am having a lot of contractions, but they are not really painful and obviously are not especially productive. The doctor tells me that I should come in every two days, and then in ten days things are out of her hands. I think this is a nice way to say, you will go to the hospital and be induced. VERY much hope it does not come to that.

We are very lucky to be having a spring baby, the trees have been blooming, there are tulips everywhere and the world looks very pretty. We have been able to grill and hang out on the balcony for about two weeks now, and it is great!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Verrrrrrry Pregnant - 38.5 weeks



Belly at 38.5 weeks. I have been lucky as far as stretch marks go, but do have two lovely purple ones courtesy of my belly ring compromised derma in the belly button region.

So...there is my giant pregnant belly for those of you who have been eager to see it. I am fairly sure that the baby in there weighs over 10 pounds and I am looking forward to its exit from my body. Although I have been enjoying my new status as an obviously VERY pregnant woman (this means that people offer me seats, stare at me in wonder, and ask me what the hell I am doing still commuting to work), I am getting restless regarding sleepless nights, not being able to get off the couch, having trouble tying my shoes, constantly having to pee, being punched in the sides by the baby, etc.

That said, I don´t really want to give birth. I would rather just fall asleep and magically wake up to my baby, outside of my body. Ideally with no visible damage to my body and 25 extra pounds gone. Hey, I can dream.

When I am not busy dreaming, I am getting ready for a hopefully drugless, natural child birth. We will see how that goes in actual practice, but there is no way I am willingly letting anyone put a needle in my spine, nor do I want an IV, nor do I want to end up with a lethargic baby. I had an unfortunate Noro - virus incident a few weeks ago and the resulting hospitalization confirmed that doctors are not capable of putting IVs into my apparently oh so delicate veins. I was stuck a total of 6 times and had 3 veins give out (they stopped "working" resulting in massive bruising and pain.) Luckily the German midwives seem to be very pro natural childbirth and encourage birth without intervention, so I am in the right place. (Although my motives may not be so pure.)

Progress Towards Birth

For those of you who know technical words - I am partially effaced - 1cm left. The head is engaged in the pelvis, and all things point go. So the baby is ready to come anytime. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that it won´t decide to baste in the comfort of my womb for another 2.5 weeks.

Other big news is that today was my last day of work!!! Now I have no excuse not to do the laundry, clean the house, finish my Dr. Suess paintings, eat healthy food, go for walks, and basically become an improved person. Darn. But I will get a lot more sleep, be less stressed out, and take great pleasure in my "vacation."

Another wonderful thing is that the sun has been out, the flowers are blooming, and spring time has come. April is a wonderful month to have a baby. Hopefully the weather will hold for another few weeks and shortly the baby and I will be chilling on the balcony, drinking fruit smoothies together.

Friday, March 6, 2009

The Pie Maker

Jane introduced me to a new (prob. not so new, but new to me) television show while she was visiting, called 'Pushing Daisies.' Although I found both the main characters annoying and way to goody goody and earnest - the show did grow on me. One of the main features of the show is the Pie Hole - where the main character works. Seeing pie after pie inspired me to make my own. I never was big on pies - but they definitely could grow on me. Jan warns me that I have to try to control my sweet tooth, so the pies come very rarely.




Here is the crust with the apple filling. I should have put more apples but I ran out.



A close up.




Finished product.

And yes it was delicious!

I am going to try 'muffin pies' next. Mini pies made in the muffin pan.

In other news I am still pregnant but I am about ready not to be. We are approaching the 35 week mark now. Ok, if I am honest, 34.5 weeks, but who is counting.

Cons of pregnancy
1. Being overly emotional. (yes, it has finally kicked in)
I did start sobbing in a train, and I definitely freaked out the old German women who were sitting across from me. Excessive displays of emotion are so not German.

2. Toating around all of that extra weight.
Most of which is sticking out in front of me in the form of a giant belly and giant, well, other parts.

3. Constantly being out of breath.
Walking up the stairs - asthma attack.

4. Three days of leg pain reminding you - no you shouldn´t run to catch the last train for the next hour or to make it to the library to return the dvds that will cost you 4 euros if you don´t return them.

5. Getting up in general.
I have mastered scooting, and rolling, and performing squats now that I cannot use my stomach muscles for anything.

Pros of pregnancy
1. You get a baby at the end.

Of course the pros grossly out-weight the cons. But that baby can come any time now! I am ready not to be pregnant!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Alien Worm

As I was half asleep on the couch last night - Jan came home and the baby decided to suddenly wriggle in my stomach - startling me and waking me up. It felt exactly like a snake moving under my skin - so freaky. Don´t worry - I usually have more maternal feelings, but baby, stop the slithering motions - better to deliver a nice kick. I think I told Jan something like - there´s an alien worm in my stomach - I am clearly very good at this bonding thing.

Windy Freiburg

Jan has been sucked into the student teaching world, so I have my afternoons at the apartment to myself these days. That means that I get sucked into the Internet - but I also get to try baking.

Tonight I am planning on making brownies for one of my classes after a day of much much much improved behavior. (Yes, I resort to bribery) But unsurprisingly my plans are on hold because they sell no peppermint extract or unsweetened chocolate at the supermarket I stopped by. There are surprisingly few baking supplies available in Germany (no brown sugar, no vanilla extract, no corn syrup, etc) at least at the more local chain stores. I will stop by Migros (giant Swiss store in the middle of the city) in hopes that the Information desk will help me out and I will be able to make these brownies tonight. Because they sound sooooooo good.

I would use creme de menthe but these are for my students - better not to give them alcohol regardless how small the quantitiy is. However valium...

In other news the wind is howling and a cold front is coming. Jane - bring your winter coat. Flurries and sub zero temperataures for the foreseeable future await you. Ok - not as bad as Boston, but you actually have to walk around and wait for trains and be outdoors around here :)

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Week 31



This is the baby´s head and foot...the baby performed amazing gymnastics the entire ultrasound.



This is my giant stomach on Feb. 7th. No - there definitely are not twins in there. Just one big baby.

So I am 31 weeks pregnant...

As you can see, the baby has grown quite a bit. It weighs in at 1800 grams or 4 pounds and it has another 9 weeks to go. I am hoping that it decides to come a week or two early...towards the beginning of April. I am not sure if it will happen but I will do my best to encourage it.

I had a fairly rough week of work - the kids are restless and don´t do any better with cold, dark weather than the rest of us. We have two more weeks and then a two week vacation, which is entirely bearable. I plan to try to clean - get ready for the baby, do some painting for the baby´s room and maybe the rest of the apartment, and go walking. I spend a lot of time huffing and puffing these days and I pretend that I get enough exercise by walking everywhere and going up and down the 5 flights of stairs at my school - but it prob. isn´t true.

Then after the vacation just four more weeks (maybe) of teaching for me and I get a loooooooong vacation. It will be very nice and I am glad the I will be able to get to know the baby (and still know that I can go back to work in August).

Other goals include cleaning the apartment - after this blog post in fact I will fold clothes, put them away, and then attack the bathroom. (which needs attacking) We had hired somebody to do basic floor and surface washing for us but she has exams she needs to study for - I think we should rehire! Contrary to the blog name, I am not much of a hausfrau and I am constantly exhausted when I am home - not so conducive to cleaning. I am waiting for the nesting adrenaline surge to kick in though and hopefully I will become a cleaning addict for a week or two.

Jan started his student teaching and spent his first week in the school. He likes the other teachers and the students and is having a very positive experience so far. Luckily for him, his school is 5 minutes from our apartment! Not much of a commute, so he has been finished before me most days.

All in all, everything is going well. We are preparing for the birth and look forward to meeting the baby in about 2 months! Wow.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

January in Germany

January in Germany (and Switzerland) has been very chilly. Nothing compared to weather in the US, but when you have to walk everywhere and constantly wait for trains, any below freezing temperature is unpleasant. WE also have had a covering of snow on the ground! Just a thin, often slushy layer, but at least it feels AND looks like winter.

The bad news is that I have a sore throat. A VERY sore throat. But otherwise no symptoms. Hopefully it will resolve itself. I am staying in for the rest of today and tomorrow to speed up the healing process. My schedule - which isn´t even that crazy - is enough to keep me on the edge of exhaustion most of the time - so I am evaluating what to do about it. I think after the jet lag is completely gone and I get into more of a rhythm it might be better. On the other hand I have a being inside me stealing my energy stores, so it may get worse.

I went to the doctor yesterday (canceled the appt. for the week before due to severe jet lag / exhaustion). Friday afternoons are for napping! But it was exciting because for the first time I was hooked up to the heart/contraction monitor. One sensor measures the hardness of your stomach and the other attempts to measure the baby´s heart rate. The baby was not cooperating and was more interested in kicking at the sensor, so it was hard to find its heart rate, but it was still really exciting to hear it every now and then.

Other big baby news is that now the doctor says it looks like a boy - but wait - that´s the umbilical cord, so who knows. Very noncommittal doctor. Jan says that he thinks he saw a "sack" but basically we have no idea what gender the baby is. I guess we will find out soon enough - but the suspense is killing me! I think it is prob. worse to want to know and then constantly not be told, then to just wait until the birth to find out.

I will now see the doctor in three weeks and then every other week after that. We are going into the home stretch!

I have developed a huge belly (Mostly due to the delicious American food I ate over Christmas. That´s what I get for feeling like I could eat whatever I wanted for ten days.) and am somewhat in disbelief that it could possibly get any bigger. The doctor basically said, eat more fruits and vegetables, but being in Germany and not in the land of foods I crave but I cannot get most of the time I will not be eating so much. (especially if I stop sneaking Starbucks chai lattes and espresso brownies)