Another day, still on the ward

Supposedly, they let us sleep in...so they came to do her vitals at 5 am instead of 4:30. Oh you benevolent people. Munchkin lost weight again, second day in a row. We're talking like an ounce or less each day but she's losing and that's the problem. Part of it, I'm sure is being here. Part is that she normally gets "supermilk" with extra calories at home and that's not happening here. Having a roommate isn't helping either, it's just a lot of extra stress. I know the babies aren't intentionally fussy when the other is sleeping, but it's irksome nonetheless. For added fun, Munchkin made a break for the doors and activated her baby lojack. I had to laugh at her.

Bribery works. It is a beautiful thing, a wondrous thing. Munchkin loves watching Elmo (baby crack , I swear). So he disappears every couple of minutes and she has to have a couple of bites of yogurt to bring him back. We got through an entire container that way. I also unfortunately learned you don't have to actually exit the doors to set off the baby lojack alarms. I have the carpet burn on my knee from a grabbing dive to prove it.

It IS possible to go past the corner in the hallway. You should have seen Mom running after me! When I got close to the doors, all these people showed up and funny lights went off. Mom seemed kind of embarassed about the whole thing really. And you know, those stethoscopes aren't so bad when Mom holds it instead of the scrub people.

Daddy reading to me before he had to head back to work, and this is the result of refusing to nap. I don't know why she doesn't seem to remember that she falls asleep in her food but the result is the same every time!

We've had our 6am Elmo

Why must they wake us at 4am for vitals? Do we really deserve that? And who designed these baby Lojacks that you can't get wet and therefore can't bathe the baby? Munchkin has vanilla ice cream in her hair from last night.

I should have appreciated not having a roommate here on the ward more. Not that the one we have is bad, or(I don't think) staying very long, but when you're in this type of situation you just don't want any more drama coming in your door. And God, bless Steph for unintentionally teaching me that "help" was by far THE best sign to teach Munchkin! It's actually the only one we taught her and now she says the word so it's even better. But making that particular communication saves a meltdown so I love you Steph!

Wow, I CAN go a whole day and actually eat food. Who knew? Starting not to trust anyone in uniform but Daddy...and if he comes in with a stethoscope tomorrow he's on the list too.

In case anyone forgot. I HATE hospitals

Even though it's not so bad here. I HATE hospitals, with a passion. God love the people working in them but it just sucks. We're all checked in and she's not hooked up to any monitors or anything and I am coming to you live from the parent lounge on ward...I could kiss whoever thought this up!

She's eating as she normally would, which is to say pretty crappily but hopefully that will help them get a clear picture of what's going on. Kid barely eats so I think we are quickly figuring out that, duh, she just isn't a big eater. We had a roomie earlier, but he was discharged (RIGHT at naptime, freaking perfect) so it's just us in there.

Reminded of how stupid the Navy is with their rules for the new uniform. Um, if you are going to issue people firearms or put them in the vicinity of things that go boom...PLEASE make sure FIRST that they are intelligent enough to just put on the uniform. If not, please show them the door. These rules about when you can stop at the store wearing what are for pre-teens.

I am quickly learning. It's not just the white coats, but ALL scrubs in general that must be screamed at upon entering the room. And why is Mom letting them do this stuff to me?

**picture pending my getting home***

And later on now, giving Munchkin some private time to get all the way asleep before I settle in. I need to remind myself not to let my impressions and stressors get her, I need to take a page out of her book and just feel what I feel right then. Case in point, the Munchkin chooses today to learn how to say "happy" and clap her hands. She's picked up a lot today. And I've noticed that you can usually tell how much abuse has been taken by the vending machine when you can manage to get 2 quarters stuck in it in such a way that the third rolls right by and is counted. Weird.

Hospitals can be such funny little fun houses of "where the heck am I going". Walking back from the elevators, of which I swear I've come out a different door in a different direction each time, I pass a woman who is obviously walking the halls in labor. She's on a cell phone giving directions to, I assume, daddy-to-be and getting exasperated that he can't find her. Now, I'm sure normally this would be exasperating but in labor I'm sure it reached epic proportions. As I round the corner, I see a guy on a cell phone looking about as lost as you could and he asks me where L&D is. I brushed off the "oh what, just because I'm a woman, I should know where the baby factory is?" and helped him locate the subtly obvious signs right above your head at each intersection. Then we find previously mentioned woman-in-labor and he proceeds to tell her what a pain in his ass locating her was. I entered the pedi ward before the shit hit the proverbial fan and he got a nice come-to-Jesus meeting about pain. Lucky guy. Hope their night went better after that.

Ahhh, kids and their understanding of things...

I got a call from my nephew E this morning. He wanted to talk to Munchkin. So after a few minutes of barely intelligible conversation from him and her saying "Hellow, Hellow".



I got to talk to my sister a bit, which is nice we seem to miss each other a lot lately. She is due with their first daughter soon, I'm excited to have a niece and not just as a place to loan Munchkin's VAST wardrobe! E apparently thinks all the work on the nursery is for Munchkin, he thinks she is the sister he's getting and that the new room is for her! They are thick as theives when they play together; he wants to teach her everything. He has been calling the chair in the nursery "Munchkin's" chair and bringing in the toys he knows she has played with. Absolutely adorable.



Here they are last year at Christmas...just too cute together. This was after he tried to teach her to use a straw. In hindsight, perhaps grape juice wasn't the best choice.

Every princess needs

...someone to help her pick out her tiara
...someone to pick up and carry her train lest she stumble.

God, please let me always be there, lest she stumble.

This sucks. Today sucks. Medical crap sucks.

*Keep repeating to yourself it's for her own good, it's for her own good...*
So the showdown with the pediatrician was today. We've agreed to admit Munchkin to the pediatric ward for observation and further testing. Not only did she not meet her weight gain goal AGAIN, she lost 3.5 ounces in a week and a half. All her labs are normal, from the amount she is taking in they've determined she's absorbing it appropriately. They just have to figure out why she isn't taking in much.

But this is it. They don't get answers from this round of evaluation and testing, and they are leaving her alone. She's dainty and small, it's hereditary. But after her injury earlier this year, I just can't let it go until they really evaluate her calorie intake and such.

When your baby's growth is at stake, you'll eat your words pretty quick.

Mom seems bummed out and really exhausted, I'm not sure why but I'm pretty sure I don't like it.

How much Elmo?

I have figured out, in less than 4 straight hours of Elmo, you will be legally insane. After 7, you may consider having someone off the monster. Then, when sanity returns...you realize how far you went imagining offing a muppet. Ahh, kiddie TV.

Mom seems kinda stressed out...I don't know why. How could she be stressed??? Elmo's been keeping us company all day. Figured out today that "Pease" gets me whatever I want...even when what I want is about 30 chocolate covered raisins. Great-grandparents are so easy!

Of rain and Bounce-and-Spin ponies

Children really force you to live in the moment. As a stay at home mom, unfortunately, those moments can tend to get mundane or monotonous with the screams and the non-surgical lobotomies that happen daily from screaming and too much kiddie TV. But it is really nice when without even doing anything other than being totally grounded in their own innocence and fascination, your kids can take you along for the ride and remind you how interesting EVERYTHING is.

I'd forgotten how much I used to love playing in the rain. Were it not for the glasses (an eye infection has temporarily stolen my contacts) I would have gladly played with Munchkin in the "sprinkles" that the Heavens were offering readily. Just now, her ability to entertain herself awes me. She has the plastic bag from her Bounce and Spin pony I just put together and she's running laps around it. Singing happily to herself...when was the last time I was so absorbed in something?

Mommy got me a new toy (Not really, this was a Christmas present from Gigi and Grandpa...but she's just now big enough that her feet reach) and it is absolutely awesome! I can sit on it and it bounces all around. Mom said it will be even more fun when she puts in something called "batteries" and hooks the smart function up to the TV. Whatever, I'm just excited to be able to sit on one of my toys to play!!!

Coming in from the car today Mom kept asking me if I wanted to play in the sprinkles. I kept getting hit with these nice cooling drops of water that seem to just fall from the sky. I wish we could have stayed out to play but Mom had assured me that I'd enjoy my new toy even more.

More video!

We've just been reorganizing the last couple of days (well, ok, Mom has been reorganizing) and just finally getting settled in from the vacation. JUST in time to get on the road again to head home for a bit. Isn't that always the way?

I have to say, though, I am completely LOVING being within driving distance of all the family again. There are some things about Rhode Island I miss (believe it or not!) but the distance will never be one of them.

Mom learned: (yesterday) If you are shopping and you love something...BUY IT. You can always take it back but you can never buy it after it's sold out. Never. And if you hear that a store is going out of business, go the first few days of the sale and take what discount you can get. Waiting even less than a week can mean you are greeted by a fixture sale and miss out on what you really wanted.

(today) With all this cleaning, I realize I really do hang on to a LOT LOT LOT of crud I really don't need. Life would be much more serene around here if we just fessed up to truth and got rid of crap we don't need. Oh, and I learned yet again that Munchkin is flat out adorable. She was playing with a carousel at Cracker Barrel and when I turned around there were about 6 people just watching her dance with smiles plastered on their faces.

Munchkin learned: (yesterday) If Mom stops at ChickFilA and gets a large drink, go to sleep. You are going to be in the car for a WHILE. And, Mom warned me, but I apparently have gotten her "shoe gene". I now own the CUTEST pair of pink patent leather penny loafers you ever saw in a size 3!

(today) We learned a bit about something called "shade". We walked out to get the paper and stepped out of the sun behind the car's "shadow". I stopped and pulled my hand out of Mom's to bend down and touch the driveway and tell her I'd noticed it was cold. The world is so weird.

Oh, and musical carousels are mesmerizing!

Yesterday and today

Kind of a stall in time for us, we have finally settled in from getting back from vacation and then soon we head out to my sister's baby shower in GA. Always the traveller, we'll make sure to get some "Tutu travels" shots while in GA. I can take Munchkin to some of my favorite places, well, at least the ones I didn't promise MunchkinDad I'd wait until he can go. His work schedule just went all to hell again. What are ya gonna do?

Mom learned:(yesterday) There ARE some doctors out there who still believe AND function as if their patients' best interests are what matters! Who knew? God Bless and a big thank-you-hug to Dr. Alexander...my new opthalmologist and quickly climbing the charts of favorite doctor ever (Dr. Wilson and Dr. Steuer are still battling for first place, hard to top the two who've saved my life, twice). And today I learned how to make a pretty darn kick ass Beef Wellington...even if not quite the traditional way (I HATE pate)...and it was a LOT easier than expected.

And, I got reminded how much I miss my Annie when we finally got to catch up a little today. MunchkinDad said he knew that must have been who I was talking to because she's the ONLY person alive who can out-talk me. Miss ya sweetie!

Munchkin learned: (yesterday) I learned that all slides are not the same and that if I don't put my feet down I can go a LOT faster! Now that I think of it, Mom's been trying to tell me that (shhh, don't tell her I think she's right, it will totally go to her head!). Today, I figured out how to say 'Gatorade' (well, it comes out gate-aid but you get the idea) and I figured out that when mom covers my ears...don't fight it...she's probably just protecting me from the jet noise. Again, shhhhhh, don't tell her I think she's right. Deal?

The scratch on her cheek she did herself sometime during the night. Child grows talons in a matter of minutes, I swear.

A little extra "Baby Hulk" action when I tried to get her off the swings. She means it.

Adventures in specimen collection

I truly believe that there is no way you can possibly be prepared for all that being a parent will throw at you. Case in point, I was sent home from the pediatrician with cups and bags to collect numbers 1 and 2 from Munchkin. She was not amused.

I realize they serve a function and are actually decently designed but I just have to wonder about the person who came up with infant urine collection bags. I really do. It took 4 freaking bags and trial and error to even get enough to hit the lowest mark. I can't imagine it was fun for Munchkin having adhesive on her most sensitive areas.

Mom: Obviously, I've learned how to collect these type of things. Not a skill I ever wanted.

Munchkin: The past two days have been really really odd. I'm thinking, trust NO ONE.

Crappy day

Mom learned: Well, relearned, how much it SUCKS to hold down your baby while she gets blood drawn. 7 vials later and I needed either to deck someone or have a drink. It's 8pm and I'm still undecided on which option to choose.

Munchkin learned: People in lab coats are trouble. I've decided the best method of dealing with them is to begin screaming the second they come in sight. And a good nap afterwards. I hope tomorrow's better.

The Loop

To the loop...had a neuro checkup today. Nothing unexpected, doc wants another MRI to monitor the swelling from the radiation. No news there.

We got a video of the munchkin that is too cute not to share!



Mom Learned: Christmas shopping REALLY early is awesome I can't believe I never did this before!

Munchkin learned: Interestingly enough, I noticed yesterday that that wonderful machine that brings Elmo into our lives regularly apparently has other functions. Who knew? MunchkinDad put in several of those little "DVD's", as he calls them, and not ONE of them gave me my Elmo. I must investigate this once I can reach the machine.

Back from the beach!

Lots of family fun and maybe a moment or two of relaxation at our family vacation in Edisto, SC. How anyone could ever relax with an 18 month old at the beach I'll never know. They are go, go, go. And we had two of them this time, our little Munchkin and her cousin G. And if Munchkin's got energy, G's got enough for four!

Mom learned: Wow, lots to share. I learned to let myself be a tad more childlike when I can...like to choose to see the interest in imperfections around me. I tried showing Munchkin seashells that I thought were pretty...you know, the pretty colors, the whole scalloped shells, that kind of thing. And she showed me how fascinating and, truly, beautiful, a broken shell of any variety can be. Sometimes the big lessons come from the little souls.

I learned a few things about sewing with or around elastic; I won't be making a lot of those mistakes again! I did get her tutu finished...the first one I've ever made. It didn't turn out like I envisioned it, but she loved it. Maybe there's a lesson in there too.

I learned to appreciate each of my inlaws in a different way and just loved to watch the Munchkin building her roots to grow into later.


I also learned about some new magazines I just love reading. I just randomly picked up Organic Spa (they didn't have SpaFinder and what a lucky find!), YogaMom (which just launched and I will be starting a subscription), and TeaTime (a shootoff of another magazine I forget which). These kept me busy for a good 3 hours and it's been a long time since I've read magazines literally cover to cover. Highly recommend all 3.



Munchkin learned: Wow, so much to learn! Discovered that eating corn on the cob is fabulously fun and messy. Also figured out when eating niblet corn, grab a handful of butter FIRST, then grab the corn. Yummy, yummy, and try not to notice Mommy trying hard not to laugh as butter rolls down my arm. Hmm, will have to figure out how not to waste that butter.

Beaches are AWESOME. Period. Biggest sandbox ever with unlimited amounts of these cool things mom says are called "shells". Love the feeling of the water foaming at my feet, I am NOT a fan of the feeling of that strong current pulling me with it when the waves go away. Mom said this is called "undertow" and that I should avoid it. You know, I am totally ok with that.

G can be a pushy little boy. He thought he could take me; I showed him a few times. He does have some really cool toys though! I missed him right away when they had to go :(.

Long drives are NOT fun. When Mommy or MunchkinDad say "we're almost there" do not believe them...they are lying...scream louder.

Cracker Barrel is the BEST place to stop on the road.

I learned to say something and everyone was so excited and happy! Not sure what it means, but man, do they love to hear me say "I uv yooooo". All kinds of excitement. Can't wait to figure this one out. I sort of learned to say "Buffy" (my grandfather) but it comes out "Buppy". Family is still thrilled, they can be easy to please. Buppy got the first "I uv yooooo" and he seemed really impressed.







Tutu's ROCK, any color, and time. I should have many.

The lime

Not much going on right now, so I thought I'd share a funny. Whenever Munchkin gets hurt, all I have to do is ask her "do you need your lime?" and walk her to the fridge. She will take the lime I hand her, chew/suck on it, and sit in the fridge. I have no idea why this works, but it works every time I also have no idea how it came about, I don't remember what made me think "Hey Mom, give that girl a LIME". Call it parental serendipity, I'm just glad it happens. To date, though, it no longer has to be an actual lime. In a pinch, she will accept one of those plastic, lime shaped, lime juice bottles. I have a weird child.

Mom learned: A lot of scary possibilities for testing if Munchkin doesn't start putting on weight. And I learned to seal the side seams BEFORE fusing the backing to a shade...and I also learned that in cost and frustration I should have just bought the baby bedding I wanted and said to hell with MunchkinDad not liking it. I think he'd agree with all the frustration that showed up with this project. Though I am glad about the quilt though.

Munchkin learned: Well, yesterday she learned how to "help" Miss Dawn paint, and she did really well. She learned that closets with hardwood floors make the neatest echoes ever when you stand in them and scream! Oh, she learned how to say "tutu" and to step daintily into one today.