Potatoes in the Mist

My family is determined to turn E into a Red Sox fan. He may be the only New York baby to possess 3 Red Sox onesies (2 for an 18-month-old, 1 for a 3-to-6-month-old). My cousin asked for a picture of him in the 3-to-6-month outfit:

I know, I'm addicted to pictures of E. Here he is with his favorite inchworm. He seems to reject most stuffed animals right now, but he likes this one. He rests his hand on it and makes it rattle. I think his pensive expression here is due to hiccups. He just had a bath :)

Just a note to say I'm really enjoying Personal Days by Ed Park - it's a "satire" of the work world, but for me it rings absolutely true! Other goodies: Dorothy on the Rocks by Barbara Suter - about a middle-aged woman who plays Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and stars in other children's productions. The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton - about a group of friends in the late '60s/early '70s. Has a warm, cozy Forrest Gump feeling. The Summer of Naked Swim Parties by Jessica Anya Blau - about a girl whose parents throw naked swim parties in the '70s.

I went swimming today and it was awesome. A couple of things happened: The lifeguard on duty today was from Philly and very chatty. D's father's side of the family is from Philadelphia and D is always impressed by the friendliness there. Anyway, I could tell he was gearing up for a long chat, so I said, "I have to rush back - I only left 3 bottles." His eyes widened and he said, "Okay, have a good day." I realized later that 3 bottles for an hour's separation probably sounded like a lot to him. But he doesn't know how my son eats! In the locker room, I was changing when a bunch of little girls ran into my section, giggling. Their swim teacher suddenly said, "Pregnant lady coming through!" and I thought, "Are they talking about me?", hoping they weren't. I think I only looked pregnant for a week and a half or so after I got out of the hospital. It turns out she was talking about an actual pregnant lady, who told the children, ...

D came back from a client meeting today, amused because one of the guys who works there has reached new highs (or lows, depending on your perspective) with respect to corporate jargon. Examples: going into something in detail = "Let's do a deep dive on this." going to the bathroom = "a bio break" documents = "artifacts"

Here are some more pictures of E for you. It is getting harder to take pictures of him because he wiggles a lot! In the crib: This is one of his favorite things to do: A blurry action shot:

So I gave E his first real bath today. I probably should have done this long ago -- his circumcision and cord sites healed a while ago, meaning I could move beyond sponge baths -- but I never did. I thought it was about time. So I drew a small bath (very low level of water), put his little blue bath chair in it, and put him in the chair. His eyes popped wide open the way they do whenever he has a new experience. I wished I had my camera with me, because he looked really cute, but I didn't want to leave him unattended. I sat on the edge of the bathtub and washed him, and then I saw a little arc slicing through the air. It landed on my knee. When I realized what it was, I started laughing. I remember when I found out he was a boy, I thought, "He's going to pee on me," but now that it's happened, I just thought it was funny.

So D and I went swimming today - my first time since June 3! We took E with us, using the seldom-touched car seat so we could take a taxi. At the pool, some batty lady accused me and D of moving her towels, or making them disappear, despite the fact that they were right there. Finally she listened to me (I kept saying, "Those are probably yours"), picked them up and stormed off. D finds psychos entertaining; I probably let them get to me too much. The swim was good. My arms have gotten stronger from carrying E around. He'll be 7 weeks old on Wednesday, yet he's wearing 3-month onesies!

The bday party went off without a hitch...my actual bday is Tuesday, but I figured, Saturday is a better night for a party. I was getting worried about the food/drink situation (the party was slated for 7, which has dinner connotations), but D said he would take care of it, and he did! Then there was a minor crisis where the oven wouldn't start 5 minutes before the guests were scheduled to arrive. We had little appetizers from Whole Foods to pop in there. Well, I switched the dials, which had ended up in the wrong place, but it still wouldn't work. Proceed to panic. D calmly called a Greek place across the street and ordered in some spanakopita, which turned out to be the best I'd had. And one of our guests was an electrical engineering major at MIT...he dismantled the oven and got it working again (I think). Once the oven crisis passed, I had a great time...as did everyone, I think. I got a number of gifts which I haven't even had a chance to open yet. I have this weir...

E made his debut in the stroller today! I raised the back so it wasn't reclining quite so deeply, put a little head support insert inside (although his head is pretty strong now), loosened the straps and away we went! He seems to like it, particularly when it's in motion. I figured it was just too hot for the Ergo - temperatures are topping 90 degrees in NYC all week.

So I haven't ridden my bike since September - the first month of my pregnancy, when I became too nauseous to go over the bumps. I took my bike out this morning. Going on the path was a lot of fun - it was getting there that was the obstacle. The sidewalk I usually use to get to the path was roped off, so I had to use another one. This sidewalk was full of people walking slowly, dressed nicely and looking sad. I realized they were going to work. Sure enough, they all headed into one building, and then I got to the path! I'm looking forward to going again.

I went to my doctor's appointment today, and used the Ergo because E hasn't warmed up to the stroller yet. He melted down after I took him out of the Ergo...and this happened while they were taking my blood pressure...resulting in a higher reading than I got during my hospital stay (but still nothing to be concerned about). I ended up nursing him in the exam room till the doctor got there, and feeding him again in the waiting room. That might count as my first public feeding, except the room happened to be empty (well, there were 2 receptionists, but far away from the corner I put myself in). So it was a little harrowing. Also I had to step on The Scale. I wish my appointment had been in the morning before I ate anything, but it was at 1 pm. Anyway, I lost 26 lbs. I wish I lost 30. I know how sulky that sounds. And objectively, 26 lbs in 6 weeks is great. And now I can exercise more and all that. So I did the postnatal yoga DVD when I got home. And it felt good.

So I had lunch today with another girl who's a mom, and lives in one of the buildings of my apartment complex. T, the friend we have in common, wasn't able to make it as she was running late from a tutoring session she did. But it was great to meet the other girl, who has the same name as me. When I came in, she said, "Are you Bearette?" And I said, "Yes! Are you?" (We have the same name.) I peppered her with questions, but she didn't seem to mind -- everything from "How long did you have to wait for your 2-bedroom apartment?" "A week and a half, but we said we'd take anything "; "How long did you breastfeed?" "Sixteen months"; "Do you want to have another one?" "Maybe"; "Did you breastfeed in public?" "I was shameless!" I, on the other hand, am shy about it, and D is definitely inhibited about it. She told me she has some great super-thin cotton shawls and would be happy...

Well, D stays up a bit later than I do, so he planned to try a bottle while I was sleeping. It didn't work, so I thought, "I guess E is an anti-bottletarian." This morning, I woke up after D, and D told me he had given E the bottle! Yay! Of course, he still wanted to nurse about a half an hour* later (E is what the Sears baby book calls a "marathoner"). And my pumping session this morning yielded a full bottle. So hopefully he will like the stroller better the next time I try it. A couple of nights ago, I put him in the stroller and he looked around with big, bright eyes - This is exciting! Then I strapped him in and he started to wiggle and fret. When I told D, he laughed and said, "Well, you don't like being restrained, either." So for now, I'll take him to the doctor's office in the Ergo. *Actually, it was probably more like an hour. Hard to keep track of time when you're sleeping ;)

Well, I realized the breast pump is the solution to my problems. So I assembled it last night. The only problem is...I didn't get much milk from it. 1 1/2 oz on the left, 1 oz on the right. Now we know why E is a left-breast man. I guess I'll try again later? I could have let the session go on longer, I guess. I have to remember to put it on a slightly slower speed next time.

So after I posted earlier, I popped E into his Ergo again and we went to Old Navy for non-maternity clothing (plus a little outfit for him; it had a strawberry on it and said "I'm berry cute.") Now, I didn't want to take the Ergo off so I could try things on. Instead, I tried some of my old clothes on at home, noted that they fit but were snug, and went a size up, which brought me to a medium. So I bought a medium dress, 2 medium tops, and 1 medium skirt without trying anything on. Daring, I know. I got home and everything fit!!! Granted, the dress is kind of clingy, and I might want to lose a couple more pounds before wearing it, but the shirts and skirt fit perfectly. Now I don't have to wear my maternity shorts anymore (though I still will sometimes, because they are big and comfortable, though they are starting to fall off and give me an unwitting hip-hop look). I still don't want to go on the scale, though. Question: I'd rather bring E to the doctor...

So I took the e-babe (as my mom calls him) to a sandwich shop today. I figured I could make a quick getaway if he melted down. It went without incident, though I got some food on the outside of the Ergo carrier. You win some, you lose some. Next week is E's lunch with two babies, my friend, and the girl I haven't met yet. It will be at the same sandwich shop. That same week, I have my 6-week postnatal appointment where I will find out potentially good/bad news such as how much I weigh and if I am ready to step up my exercise level. I've been walking and doing gentle Pilates, but I'd like to get back into yoga and swimming. I can do the yoga at home, but I will need a "swim buddy" to hold E in a deck chair by the pool (indoors, out of the sun) while I swim for 20-30 minutes. Fortunately, the pool is very baby-friendly and my SIL may be up for the job, and D sometimes might be too, though he prefers biking to swimming.

We had a friend over both Friday night (before heading over to our neighbor's to see the fireworks) and Saturday night, and E seemed to take it well. I had to rush off with him a few times to nurse, but other than that, things seemed to go without a hitch. I *still* have not pumped. There should be a requirement that nothing needs assembly when new parents are involved. I looked at the instructions, saw all this talk about tubing and valves and boiling everything first, and my brain just shut down. Let's face it, when I am not feeding him, changing him or sleeping, the last thing I want to do is work with complicated machinery. Anyway, this weekend reminded me that it is nice to be social, so I think I will take the plunge and have a birthday party in a couple of weeks. Wish me luck!

So E saw his first fireworks last night, from a neighbor's apartment. Actually, he slept through them in his Ergo carrier. But he woke up when they were over:

Here are some pictures my sister took this weekend. I didn't include any with my mother in them to protect her privacy :)