One smart little girl...

"We're collecting money for so-and-so's new baby"

I don't mind chipping in money for a co-worker's new baby. I've been doing it for years. I do it knowing that when I have a baby, they would do the same for me. Well, I had a baby and some people that I've contributed to, did not return the favor. This is not one of those situations where you're giving them a gift like Christmas or birthdays and you don't expect a gift in return. I am contributing to help out a set of parents get started because a baby has a HUGE start up cost. So you would think that they wouls realize that and help me out. Some people just doesn't know how to be a good co-worker. Ugh.

My baby lost that "new baby" smell

The drool monster no longer smells like baby. Thanks to the constant drooling, he smells more like sour milk. BWB bathes him every other day but apparently this is not enough. I think I'm going to resort to rubbing a dryer sheet on him like the dogs on the off days. Me <-- best mom ever.

Hello. My name is...

...the dude (name I call Caleb most often)
...baby Hulk (for when he is really angry)
...slobber wookie (for when he is super drooly)
...smiley (self explanatory)

The flu, the baby, and me

This past Wednesday, I came home feeling tired, achy, and with a massive headache. BWB thought it sounded like the flu. Flu? This time of the year? Me? To satisfy his anxiousness, I took my temperature, 100.6. eep!

So while I waited at the clinic, BWB packed everything the dude needs. I called as soon as the lab results confirmed that it was indeed the flu. By the time I got home (15 minutes later, there were no dude, no BWB, no pack n' play). The house was so empty!

Tomorrow, Sunday, they are coming back. Thank goodness. I've missed my boys so much!

Here are some things I learned about this experience.

1. Though your baby can stay with you if you have the flu provided of course you wear a mask, do not breast feed (pump and someone else feed), and washing your hands often, if it is possible, send the baby away, especially if he is under 3 months. Because if he gets the flu or develop a fever, it is a definite hospital stay with a lot of invasive tests.
2. Whether he stays or goes, make sure you continue to pump and let someone else feed him that breast milk. It has antigens from fighting the flu which would protect him from this particular strain.
3. If you are on Tamiflu, he can drink your breast milk because not a lot of it will be in the breast milk and the benefits outweigh the risk. I don't know about Relenza.
4. If you do send your baby away, make sure you do not have a fever (without fever reducing medication like Motrin or Tylenol) for at least 24 hours before he can come back. (Save the breast milk you've been pumping while he's gone to feed him)
5. If you're taking Motrin and your fever has only declined a little, you can add Tylenol to the mix. They are different medications and work on the fever differently. I took the Motrin every 8 hours and in between there, at the four hour mark, I take a Tylenol. Of course, always consult your primary health care provider or pharmacist before starting any medication regiment.
5. The flu virus can live on a hard surface like table for 24 hours and on soft surfaces like towels for 30 minutes. Try not to touch anything the baby will touch/use and if you're anal like me, wipe everything down with Lysol with bleach and wash clothes/bedding in hot water.

I'm so thankful to the nurse practitioner at RediClinic, the nurse at my pediatrician, and the nurse at the local nurse line for all their help and information.

Hi ho hi ho...It's off to work I go

Many mothers face this dilemma, do I go back to work or do I become a stay at home mom (SAHM). I've never had to wrestle with that decision. For one, I love my job too much. Secondly, I miss having adult conversations. Or rather, adult conversations about something else besides babies. And three, I appreciate the dude so much more when I am with him. The first day certainly was hard. I had to put a picture of him as my background image. I even had to drive home for lunch so I could give him a hug and kiss.

I found that 8 hours being with him, talking to him, playing with him, I began to view him as this parasite almost. Someone who was sucking my time, energy, and the me that made me, me. I never resented having him, but I just couldn't be with him 24 hours a day. Luckily my awesome hubby would take the dude and I was able to go shopping (well window shopping), pick up take out, and talk to my girlfriends on the phone.

Now, I get to work on time because I want to get off work on time. I spend all night with him and when I put him down for bedtime, I don't think "the day has finally ended". I, instead, think, "I can't wait to see him again tomorrow".

I did mention I was anal right?

After the fiasco that were my c-section and hospital stay we took the dude home. The first few nights were...exhausting. He cried every hour. The breast feeding never worked out so I pump and he kicked the formula habit. We used the book "The Complete and Authoritative Guide: Caring for Your Baby and Young Child" by the American Academy of Pediatrics to guide us from sleeping to changing to bathing to feeding. I followed it to the letter. So after 3 days, he was eating 3 ounces every 3 hours, had the right number of wet and dirty diapers and hardly cried because all his needs were met on a regular cycle. Now of course I did try again to breastfeed him, but all it did was throw his schedule out of whack. And I ended up doing 3 times as much work (breast feed, pump, bottle feed with breast milk). After the 3rd week, I gave up breastfeeding entirely and exclusively pump. Hey, at least he's getting breast milk.

The book is quite thick so it was quite daunting to read all at once. I read just ahead of where he'd be. It keeps the info fresh in my mind and I'm not bogged down with too much info.

How to get your baby to breast feed...

...don't do what I did.

When we left off, Caleb, aka the dude, has just been brought into the world. But let's look at what you should do and what I did do.

Step 1: Don't have a c-section
The first 4 hours, they kept him in the nursery. Actually, not even the nursery, the pre-nursery. It is hospital policy to keep babies there to make sure they are alright. For women who have vaginal births, they get to hold their babies for an hour before the babies go into the pre-nursery. For women like me with c-sections, they take your babies right away because the doctors have to stitch you back up so you literally get 5 minutes to bond.

Step 2: Get an LC or doula for after birth
So 4 hours later, they bring him to me and I want to breast feed him so he would get the allimportant colostrum. Mind you, it is now close to 11 and the lactation consultant has gone for the day. But I thought, how hard could this be? Babies want to suck, I have boobs for the sucking. It should go great. Not so much. So after wrestling with him for 30 minutes, the nurse came to take him for his nightly stats. And because he was hungry while at the nursery, they fed him formula.

Step 3: Keep the baby with you at all times
I did not know this. You can have the baby stay in your room as long as they dont need to check his stats. It seems so logical now, but at the time and being on pain medication, I was oblivious. So the first night, he stayed in the nursery. The second night, I told the nurse who was taking him away for his stats that I would like for him to stay in the room with me after they were done with him. I fell asleep and when they called, my husband told them to keep him in the nursery. Again, they fed him formula

Step 4: No schedule, just feed him
They had been feeding formula every 3 hours so I thought I had to do the same with breastmilk. So after 2 hours of having to wait, he was so hungry and frantic, he would not take my breast because the flow is much slower than the bottles they've been using in the nursery. We finally had to give him another bottle. This went on for the next 3 days. Boob, 3 hours later, would not take boobs, gave bottle. He was ok for 2 hours. Sucked pacifier for an hour, tried boob, would not take, gave another bottle.

Step 5: Bring pump to hospital
I was so confident that my baby would breastfeed with no issues, I didn't bring or prepare the pump. So when he wouldn't take the boob, I had to give him formula. I was not producing milk at this point (just colostrum) so the breasts were not engorged, but if I had the pump, I would have pumped and fed him my milk instead of formula.

Well there you have it kids...learn from my mistakes

The transformation

Has it been that long? The last time I wrote, I was about to be induced and now "the dude" aka Caleb is about to turn 3 month. I can't say I've been busy because the dude is really a pretty easy baby. Now I precede easy with "pretty" because there were times I thought we had to return him. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The day he came
At 5:30 AM the phone rang (trust me, I was not asleep). It was the hospital. They have a bed available so I will be induced today. Yipee! The following are my emails to my friends as I waited for the arrival of the dude.

5:57
Just got the call from the hospital...they want me to come in...woohoo...
i'm taking bets to see how long i'll be in labor for...closest without going over will win babysitting time...hahaha...
i'm so nervous i feel like barfing

10:30
Been on petocin for about 1.5 hour. Dr will break water @ noon.

1:46
Ok. Doc just broke water. Apparently, I'm a gusher. Ew. So now I just
wait until I'm fully dilated. This is taking forever. I'm so bored.

3:04
Already had the epi. Can't feel a thing. Hehe.

3:29
It's the weirdest feeling to not be able to feel your legs. At this
rate, I prolly won't have the baby til tomorrow!

5:27
Well that was scary. The baby's heartrate dropped to 34 for a second.
Almost had to do an emergency c-section. Things are fine now. The
nurse thinks I might have to have a c-section. That'll teach me to
complain about being bored.

Because Caleb's cord was wrapped around his midsection, he was not able to descend into the birth canal and any attempt to moved him would put him into distress. The doctor's recommendation was to have a c-section. After having been at the hospital for 12 hours, I made peace with the fact that this kid was not coming out of my vagina and had the c-section. At 6:37, they pulled an 8lb 4oz screaming boy from me.

Next up...Breastfeeding fun...

Tomorrow's the day!

Wow. After nine months, tomorrow, I will have a son. It's weird to even type that. I am so excited but so scared at the same time. Some people are meant to be moms, I'm never realized that I could be one of them. Now I'm having all kinds of doubts that this was a good idea. The cost. The time. The energy. What if I fall apart? What if he hates me? Man, I wish I could drink. I could use a magarita right now.

The countdown starts...

It's weird that I should be excited about my cervix softening. Anyways, according to the doctor, I am dilated 2cm, the cervix is 50% effaced, I am at station 2 and apparently could go at any time. I might actually have this May baby in May. However, should I not go on my own, she has decided to induce me next Thursday, the 21st. With my gestational diabetes and pregnancy induced hypertension, she feels that the longer I go, the more dangerous it is for me and Caleb. I am all for taking this dude out. Only thing is that the 21st is dad's birthday and I'm not sure I would like to have my son and my dad share a birthdate. My cousin Danny and our grandfather, though didn't share a birthday, always celebrated theirs together because it was only a few days apart. How sucky is it for a kid to never have your own birthday cake? His cakes have always said "Happy Birthday Danny and Grandpa". Funny I should stress about this. I supposed it's because otherwise I would stress about the fact that in 6 days, I will have a tiny human I will have to take care of.

3 Weeks and counting

Three more weeks until...

Until what? It's not like he'll magically appear on May 28th. One encouraging news is that I am 25% effaced. So at least progress is made.

Good news...bad news...

The good news is, Ngoc is pregnant. In fact, she's been wanting to have another baby for the last 7 years. Her husband, Charlie, is decisively against it. Not that he doesn't love kids, but he is still in school and she doesn't make a lot of money and he feels that a second child would be a strain on their financial resources. I'm quite impressed actually that the pull out method worked as long as it did for them. So now they are expecting their second in January.
The bad new is, they will need their crib and I will have to buy a new one. Luckily I have a baby hammock and a pack 'n play so no need to spend that 800 bucks until at least 5 months from now.

You look vaguely familiar

BWB's first semester in law school did not go well. He is ADD but was not on medication. Luckily, he is on my insurance now and has been on Vyvanse for this semester. Finals start Wednesday. I am confident he will do much better. And though I am happy that is able to concentrate, I am without a husband for the last three months. In fact, I've seen him a total of 10 minutes in the past three days. He came home Friday night to shower then left again for school. He said hi to me Saturday morning as he went out to walk the dogs. He didn't even come back in to say goodbye, just opened the door to let the dogs back in. And this morning, he crawled into bed at 6:30 in the morning as I was waking up to get ready for work. And this is only year 1. There are still two more years to go. If you see my husband in his cubby, would you tell him his wife misses him?

I can do this mom thing...I think...

Butt waggles to the rescue

After the last appointment where the doc told me that Caleb is breech and only has an 8% chance of turning, I didn't let it discourage me. I sprang into action. Starting with the simpliest and cheapest option, spinningbabies.com. The one I tried had you get down on all four and walk 2 steps down the stairs. I did that for two days, 2 minutes each. The blood rushing to my head was not fun. So then I did the modified version of it, getting on all four on my bed, then laid my head completely down on the mattress, spread my arms and wiggled my butt. Did that for 5 minutes a day for about a week. Then one day last week, I noticed how much the baby was moving. It was just the one day but from what everyone told me, that's usually a sign that he's turned. Since it was another 4 days until my next appointment and when the doc could use the ultrasound to check for position, I decided to go for option two, "breech presentation massage". Apparently, you can get this massage that relaxes your muscles and encourage the baby to turn. Not to be confused with external versioning. Also in the works? I scheduled an acupuncture session. Apparently, people swear by this process. But it was the most expensive so I decided that if the baby is still breech then I would pay the $185 a session for three sessions which would be a lot cheaper than a c-section and a whole lot less painful.
What do you know, I didn't need the massage or the acupuncture, Caleb has turned. Not sure the butt waggles did the trick, but I'm glad that's one less thing for me to worry about. Let's hope he stays that way or I'm gonna ground him for the next 5 years.

As the baby turns...

Went in for my 32 week ultrasound. Found out the baby is still breech, frank breech to be exact (his legs are up by this head). According to the doctor, there's only an 8% chance he would turn head down by the time he's due. Because of this, she has schedulded me for a c-section on the 26th, two days before his due date. Of course she'll check again in 5 weeks to see his position but the chances aint great. I'm not sure why I'm so bummed. People have c-sections all the time. You don't have to worry about contractions and water breaking and delivering the placenta. Heck, that whole problem about pooping on myself is also solved. But there's a part of me that feels as if I'm going to miss out on the whole pregnancy thing. I didn't lament that I didn't get to experience morning sickness or weird cravings or stretch marks, but not pushing a baby out my vagina is really causing me sadness.
There are things you can try of course to get the baby to turn. I've been hanging upside down on the stairs. I will start swimming and I have a prenatal massage scheduled that supposedly will help. C'mon Caleb! How am I supposed to guilt you with stories of how many hours I was in labor with you if you wont turn?

Baby shower = clothes

Having read about baby showers and how most guests will bring clothes and other "cute" items instead of things you actually need/registered for, I was prepared. Sure enough, I got lots of clothes but I didn't care. The small size made it so much more fun and I even get to drink a mimosa, virgin of course. My only regret is that my stomach is so squished right now I couldn't eat all the yummy food. Oh! The cake turned out well. Phew!

April Fool's joke?

I told Darlene that I would get the cake for my baby shower this weekend. My cousin got this delicious cake for her birthday and I thought the guests would like it. The icing is whipped and light and not too sweet and the fruit filling is fantastic. So today I drove to the bakery to order the cake and found out that it was a Chinese bakery and the guy only spoke chinese and broken English. I speak English and broken Vietnamese. 30 minutes later, I left feeling like I've been on a set of a sitcom. I called my mom and she promised to go to her bakery and order another cake, just in case. I prayed he understood not to put any durian in the filling.

And you thought smoking during pregnancy was bad...

Breast pump as a shower gift

On one of my registries, I registered for a breast pump. Not that I want someone to get me a breast pump mind you. Baby-r-Us and Target will allow you to buy any products that haven't been bought as gifts at a 10% discount after the due date. So I have some high end products (pack 'n play) and some odd ones (breast pump) that I absolutely do not expect people to get but that I can take advantage of the discount later. To my surprise, someone bought the breast pump when I checked the registry today (it's only 9 days til my baby shower). I'm grateful, but slightly disturbed.

Oh the humanity

The constipation saga continues. Thursday, embarrassed by husband. Friday, more of the same, except hubby was not home so only private humiliation instead of public one. Saturday, no matter how hard I strained, nothing would come. The odd thing was, every time I tried to push, one spot on the right side of my tummy would hurt. A call to the doctor (yes, I'm paranoid) revealed that I had pulled a muscle from pushing too hard. An actual pulled muscle. From pooping. Will the humiliation never ends? No, of course not. Now i have to drink prune juice and Metamucil. BWB had mentioned earlier in the pregnancy that I should take pictures of my belly to remember how I've changed throughout this pregnancy. Ha. I have Metamucil bottles to remind me for years. Trust me. I'm not forgetting this pregnancy anytime soon.

Just shoot me now

I'm having horrible constipation. I know I need to drink more water. So I'm sitting on the throne last night and pushing with all my might. I thought that baby would come out! The worse part was the stupid turd would not. But I'm making all these grunting noises and panting between pushes. I almost died of humiliation when BWB came flying into the bathroom thinking I was in labor. There I was, gripping paper roll holder in one hand, the window sill in the other, my face beet red from pushing, a giant turd on its way out, and my husband is staring at me. On the bright side (however dim) he has yet to press send on the 911 call he was about to make.

"Splash" the baby

Caleb's heartbeat has been hovering around 155 since the day we could hear it. But today, it was 168. Being the curious person that I am, I asked the nurse. Her question to me surprised me. "Did you drink or eat something cold just now?" Why yes I did. I drank some ice water. Apparently, cold water wakes up a fetus and make their little heart race. Who knew. So the next time you're little one is feeling sluggish, lick some ice cream and get his heart a jumping. He'll thank you for it.

There's a baby room...finally

After weeks of hasseling BWB to clean out the extra bedroom to be used as the baby room, I finally took matters into my own hands and did it myself. Not the actual cleaning. I called for reinforcement. My whole family, Mom, Dad, brother, aunt and uncle came over Sunday and got the room completely cleaned out and sorted in an hour. It was definitely an 8 hour job for one person. Now we just need to hire someone to shampoo the carpet and the "fun" can begin. God, I love family.

My baby attribute wish list

Mai and Justin just had their new baby, Austen. She's kinda disappointed that he has her very Asian eyes and "weak" chin. It made me think about my impending bundle of joy. I remember asking the ultrasound technician the last time if she could tell if his chin is very prominent. So here's a list of attributes, if I could pick, I would like for Caleb.

• BWB's eyes. He has gorgeous eyes. Long beautiful lashes.
  
• Not sure about the nose. Mine is too squat but BWB's is too long and crooked.
  
• My lips. Full pouty lips.
  
• If only we could combine our chins and divide by two, the resulting chin would be perfect.
  
• We both have short stubby fingers. Let's hope he gets my mom's.
  
• We both have great booties so the kid is set, unless he gets my mom's, then he's in trouble. She has the "as-sa-tall" syndrome.
  
• I come from a long line of strong thighs and calves. On a boy, that wouldn't be too bad. BWB is a bit chicken legged so maybe it'll be better with mine.
  
• I'm 5'1" and BWB is 5'8", this kid aint gonna be a basketball player for sure. Let's pray there's a recessive tall gene somewhere in both our families. I'll be happy if he's 5'10". That's a respectable height.
  

Can't wait to see him!

Pregnancy positive I could live without

One of the positives of being pregnant is that you have a lucious head of hair. Well that's all fine and good for the thin-haired folks, but for someone like me with thick, coarse hair, it's a nightmare. All the new growths are short so they stand straight up. The ones that are hidden under my longer hairs make me look like a chia pet. I cannot wait for this kid to come so I can get back to my thick but managable hair. I'll keep the big boobs though. Heh.

Cheerios kicks Glucerna's ass

I've been to Walgreens every night this week. First to pick up Methyldopa for my PIH, then to pick up Glyburide for my GD, then glucose test strips. I would do it all in one night but my memory is about as short as that of a gnat. Anyways, on one of these trips, while waiting for the pharmacist to fill the prescription, I noticed boxes of Glucerna cereal. If you don't know what Glucerna is, it's a new product that's marketed to people with Type 2 Diabetes. Supposedly it helps control your blood sugar from spiking. So I looked at the nutrition facts. 28g of carbs per serving. 3g of protein. 10g of sugar! Having GD, I can only have 12g of carbs for breakfast and at least 6g of protein. My Cheerios has only 20g of carbs, 3g of protein, but only 1g of sugar. How is this Glucerna better? They say it contains chromium picolinate which helps your body's own insulin work better. Yeah. Like I need to put more chemical into my baby. I'll stick with my Cheerios and string cheese thank you.

Influx of stuff

Two months ago, I had exactly two baby outfits. Both were christmas gifts from BWB. Two weeks ago, Ngoc had mention that she might be able to give me Morgen's old crib. Today, I have a swing, a baby hammock, and a baby bathtub from Gabbie, a crib from Ngoc, a rocker from Mai, and more clothes than I know what to do with. God, I love having a baby later in life.

The new spring line

I get excited around this time. It's the unveiling of the new spring line from the stores. I love the colors, the shapes. I love it all. Except for this year. Oh how my fashionista side is aching that I cannot partake in the cute clothes that are coming out. I alway buy one outrageous piece that I know will be in style for a minute, and several pieces that I know will endure beyond this season. So instead of clothing, I am going the accessories route. One outrageous pair of shoes or purse and some beautiful footwear that will sure to last.

From hoochie mama to just plain mama

I finally did it. I cleaned out a section of my closet to put up the maternity clothes (up til now, they've been sitting in a hamper). As I'm taking each hoochie shirt off it's hanger, memories of bar/club hopping came racing into my head. Hm, this green wrap that can't be worn with a bra. I remember the comments from the girls about what a slut I am. Haha. Ooh. I love this red top. I've worn it to every opening of a new club. Definitely my lucky top. Ah. Yes. The black, cowl neck, halter top. I wore that on my first date with BWB. We made out in this top.

The more shirts I pulled, the sadder I got. I finally broke down and cried for 30 minutes. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to leave the uncertain 20's behind. I am thrilled to be married to a wonderful guy and I am ecstatic about Caleb. But a part of me misses that girl. The care-free, independent, will do any dare girl. BWB seems to think that I shouldn't throw the tops away and that I could wear them again. What? Where would I wear them to? Caleb's teacher-parent conference? His recital? The PTA meetings? Besides, I look down and mock women who have kids and still dress like they're single. There's a difference between sexy and old whore, people. Demi Moore is sexy, someone I want to emulate. Pamela Anderson is an old whore, NOT someone I want to emulate.

Maybe I'll keep them and wear them for Craig. I'll be his old whore.

"Look at me...I'm special"

I'm not sure why this behavior bothers me. I attended a training session this morning given by our resident corporate trainer, who just got married recently and is pregnant. Before class started, she made the announcement, "In case you're wondering, yes, I am pregnant." What on earth would make someone do this? Because I wasn't wondering. And now I'm slightly annoyed that you think you're so special that we all have to pay attention to you and your singularly unique situation.

How True!

Baby-R-Us now sells pussy

We have a wide assortment of the best pussies around...

What the??? I was trying to call the Baby-R-Us customer service line to inquire about a gift I bought Mai. I hung up and checked their website again. They listed both the Toys-r-Us and Baby-r-Us numbers as 1-800-toysrus and 1-888-babyrus respectively. In my pregnant state, I did not realize that the Baby-r-Us number started with a 888 and not 800. The 1-800-babyrus goes to a sex line. I wonder how many people made that mistake and exactly how much money I'm going to be charged for the 10 seconds I was on.

More meds

After about a month of being on a restricted diet to control my GD, my doc finally prescribed Glyburide to help. Of course I still have to limit my sugar intake, and eat more veggies and protein, but now the glucose readings are much lower than before. Yah.

Useless Reviews

I love that I can read reviews of products I want to buy ahead of time. About 80% of all my research comes from reviews, editors and users alike. Editor reviews are great but sometimes they are a little over your head, especially when it comes to electronics. Which is why I love user reviews. The only problem? Sometimes, they are completely useless. Like today, I'm reading reviews on a convertible crib I'm thinking of getting/registering for. 103 reviews and none a single one of them are by people who have used it! I see reviews for whether the espresso color really is espresso or a dark cherry. I see reviews for how long it took to put the crib together (while that is a little bit useful, why is the putting together alone deserves 5 stars???). I see reviews about the store's handling of returns. There's even one that griped about the fact she couldn't find instructions anywhere. Really? You needed to write a review of the product based on that? In the 11 pages of reviews, not one wrote whether their kid like or dislike the crib. Whether or not the rail that slides down gave them trouble. So until I find something more substantial than "It took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to put it together", I think I'll pass.

I'm a hot pregnant chick

About two weeks ago, BWB mentioned how hot I look. Me? With a swollen belly? Wearing stretchy pants? Hot? Well of course he has to say that. If he mentioned that I look run down and run through, he would have been run through! Later that week, we had dinner with some friends and they all mentioned how I am glowing and that I look great. Did BWB paid them to compliment me? Or maybe they are friends and saying that to their pregnant friend is expected? But last night, going out with a different group of people, Thaddeus, Ngoc's friend, quite literally the hottest guy, stared at me all night. Not the "holy cow, she's huge" stare, but an appreciative kind of stare. I might be married and it may have been a while, but I remember those stares from back in the day. Definitely the highlight so far of this pregnancy.

Pregnancy Myths

Myth: You can eat whatever you want.

Truth: Ha! Unless you want to develop gestational diabetes catch listeria or pass nitrate to the fetus, you can't eat whatever you want.

Myth: The weight gain is ok. You're pregnant after all.

Truth: Ha! There are very specific guidelines regarding how much weight to gain. Which means you can't eat whatever you want. See myth above.

Myth: You get a pregnancy glow.

Truth: Ha! You might, but you'll get acne first. And backne. And butt-ne. Welcome to your second adolescence.

I've fallen off the wagon...

the caffeine wagon that is. After months, of not drinking a cup of coffee, tea, any soda, I emptied the entire 12 ounce can of Dr.Pepper into my eager mouth. Man, was it ever good. Technically, the limit is 200 mg of caffeine a day is all you should have, so my 41 mg is a mere 1/4 of that limit. And yet, I feel bad.

Boy #2

I'm pregnant with my first son, but he'll be my second boy. I actually don't mind that BWB is a big kid. He's a lot of fun and he makes me feel young. We do silly things and fall down into a heap laughing hysterically. Or he enthusiastically participate in things that are meant for someone a third his age. Like this weekend, we had a chance to visit a friend in Orlando and since I can't go to any of the theme parks that have bumpy rides, we decided to see Disney World - Magic Kingdom. When he ran to catch up with the parade to take pictures of Mickey and Minnie, I thought, "How awesome it will be when Caleb is here and the two of them can share that kind of enthusiasm!". Cus me? I'm jaded. Unless Christian Laboutin has a sales on shoes, I am just not gonna run to see a guy dressed in a Goofy costumes on a float. I supposed I can feign excitement, but it can't beat the genuine look on BWB's face when he saw the parade.

He aint shy

Yesterday was the gender ultrasound and for the first part (where the do the measurements to make sure the baby is developing at the normal rate), the little bugger would not open his legs. But then, when BWB was in the room, he (the bean, not BWB) flashed all of us. His little weiner was dangling out there for all to see. So, guess we're having a Caleb and not an Emma.

a foot

One task down, 100 more to go

BWB is a procrastinator. If it was up to him, he would still be in diapers. But here we are, married, and expecting a baby in 5 months. So naturally, there are things we need to do before then. Because BWB is also getting a law degree, he hasn't had the time to tackle the honey-do list. With his last final on December 19th, I figured, he could probably do about 5 things in the next month. Why, oh why, did I ever think he would be a responsible grown-up at 27? After two weeks of me nagging, he finally fixed the guest bathroom toilet last night. Well, actually, I should said, his dad fixed it and he helped. Now if he would only clean out the storage unit, replaced the carpet, and set up the nursery, I would let him play his stupid NCAA Football for the rest of his life without a peep from me.