Sloane and Puffy in Mexico

YOM!

2012-01-27T21:23:34Z

W tried his first sushi last weekend. OK, it was just a veggie roll. (He's hard core, but not THAT hard core.) Anyway, he really loved it.

Shredding in 2012

2012-01-19T22:36:53Z

So, as you may be able to tell from my blog-posting frequency, I'm hanging onto my new year's resolutions by a thread! It has been a very hectic time so far and right now I am figuring out what activities I need to eliminate in my life to avoid complete lunacy. Although a nice rest in a padded room doesn't even sound too bad at this point.

One thing I HAVE kept up with is my exercise. I started the 30-Day Shred on January 3 (yep, padded out that New Year's holiday a bit) and I have done it every. single. day. since then. In case you are one of the three people who is even slower than I am on picking up four-year-old fitness trends, the 30-Day Shred is this video workout deal where you do it every day for around 20 minutes, one level for the first 10 days, then level two, then level three. Your leader is this ~~sadist~~ fitness enthusiast named Jillian Michaels, of The Biggest Loser fame.

How much fitness can be accomplished in 20 minutes? Well, you'd be surprised (and if you're asking, you definitely have not done this workout). There is almost no standing still, lots of jumping jacks and pushups and other things I definitely have not done for a few years. I was way sore the first few days and continue to be sore on and off, but in a good way, except for my poor knees which are not doing so hot. Apparently this is because of the weakness of my surrounding muscles, and I do think the situation is getting better.

So, today will be day 17 of 30 and I am going strong. My resolution to eat better is not going so great, but at least I am exercising and I think it is making a small difference in how I look.

I have also discovered that the baby is willing to hang out in his Pack and Play and stare at me for 20 minutes while I jump around like a monkey. Apparently, this is very entertaining and sometimes he even jumps up and down too. Ah, youth.

Rent-A-Tree

2012-01-14T16:36:30Z

We said a very unceremonious goodbye to our Christmas tree this week (more on that later). But, we didn't send it to the trash heap or the recycler -- we had to give it back to be replanted. See, this year, we rented our Christmas tree.

I always liked real trees, and I never thought twice about buying them and then recycling afterwards, but that changed when I met my husband. He doesn't believe in killing trees for decoration, so we were in a quandary. Two years ago, we bought a live tree, which probably wasn't all that "live" to begin with, since it kicked the bucket soon and blighted our balcony with its deadness for a long time after Christmas. Oh well, we tried to do the right thing.

As we all know, last year we didn't have a tree up due to moving, a certain person's birth, etc.

This year, we tried a different option. A company called "Siempre Verde" will rent you a live tree, then take it back afterwards and replant it. Great idea, right? It wasn't as simple as it sounded, though. So in brief, about renting a tree:

The Good:
We felt ecological. I got my tree, my husband didn't live with its blood (sap) on his hands.

The Bad:
This company was extremely disorganized. The ordering process was unwieldy, they made me print out and scan proof that I had made my payment on PayPal (which is un-green and also betrays a total lack of understanding of how PayPal works). They didn't answer e-mails. They refused to try and help me out with the fact that my condo doesn't accept deliveries after 6:00 p.m.

The day the tree was supposed to arrive, I notified the nanny. Of course, when I tell her anything like that (a repairman is coming, something will be delivered, etc.) that's pretty much the kiss of death and 95% of the time it doesn't happen. And sure enough, it didn't arrive while I was at work. Then, it didn't arrive before my condo's 6:00 p.m. delivery deadline (which is pretty loosely enforced anyway). The company told me not to worry, that if it had to arrive at 2 in the morning, it would get there. This was not comforting to me, since the delivery window was supposedly 8 am to 8 pm. While I admired their persistence, I was not cool with receiving a tree in the wee hours of the morning.

It eventually arrived, at like 7:59 pm.

We were delighted to see it, although its plastic pot was kind of ugly. The company had covers that you could buy, but they had ran out, and I was too lazy to make something.

Speaking of the ugly...

The Ugly
When I reserved the tree, I had to choose the day it would be picked up. January 9 was one of the first options, and that sounded fine since it was the day I had to go back to work, plus it was the Monday after Three Kings Day which is the official end of the holiday season here in Mexico.

So I told the nanny to take off the decorations and that someone would come by and pick up the tree that day. Of course (see above regarding the kiss of death), that didn't happen. I tweeted the company and nada. The next morning, while I was at work, the condo caretaker told the nanny the local government was going to recycle trees, so it was the day to leave them curbside. Since I had not specified WHO would come by and pick up the tree, she figured this was her chance.

OH CRAP.

Awhile later, she answered the phone at home and it was Siempre Verde, calling to schedule pickup. (Imagine that, since I had already scheduled delivery WHEN I RENTED THE DANG THING.) At this point she realized she did something wrong, called me at work and I had a heart attack. (I was imagining how much we'd be charged for not returning this silly tree, which we'd already paid more for than a regular "dead" tree costs. Turns out it wouldn't have been too much, but it would definitely have defeated the whole "green" purpose.) Fortunately, the tree recycling people had not come by yet and we were able to rescue the poor tree from turning into mulch.

So, will we do this again next year? I don't know. I loved the idea but the execution was horrible. I know it wasn't just us because I saw a lot of comments like mine on Twitter. ("Hey, when are you bringing/picking up my tree? Hello?") Maybe Siempre Verde will get better at what they're doing, or maybe some competitor will enter the market. We'll see....

Like Kermit said... it's not easy being green.

So, the elliptical arrived

2012-01-04T04:11:13Z

It came unannounced today but I was so happy I didn't even complain, just felt thankful I happened to be home.

Then they brought it in and asked me where to put it. I took them to the bedroom and told them, right over there on the carpet (especially purchased for this), looking outwards.

This is how they left it.

She's a beaut, ain't she? Gee, how do you think you ride this thing?

2012 is here! Let's resolve.

2012-01-02T02:54:34Z

Happy New Year to all! I have big hopes and dreams for 2012 and I think a lot of us do.

We had a Mexican-style family New Year's Eve, at my brother-in-law's place, and somehow managed to stay awake through a late dinner and the stroke of midnight. It was a little dicey between 11:30 and 12:00 but I hung in there! At the stroke of midnight, we were all ready to eat our 12 grapes each and make our 12 wishes, but I have to admit I hijacked that tradition with a big gringo-style smooch on my husband just as he reached for his grapes. What can I say, the grape thing is probably pretty awesome when you're single, but I wanted to kiss my man!

I think we got 2012 off on a great foot today, with church, a walk (yes, exercise is coming back into my life!), a leftover lunch with the in-laws and lots of playtime with my little one. I managed to avoid completely pigging out for the first day in a long time, so I guess I can officially count this as the first day of my "diet" (if we're being very flexible with that word.) Finally, I am about to finish a book (The Borgia Bride by Jeanne Kalogridis for anyone who cares) which I think bodes well for the new year.

I remember last year being almost taken by surprise by the new year, what with having a newborn, being sleep deprived, etc. I didn't like the feeling of not being able to reflect and plan sufficiently, but ni modo. This year, I could have used some more time to prepare, but I did have time to think about my resolutions!

Blog at least once a week. The past few months have been bloggy death here at sloaneandpuffy, but blogging means too much to me to stop. I would love to update several times a week, but I don't want to set myself up for failure so let's just plan for "at least" once a week, shall we?
Exercise/lose weight. It has been a loooong time since I have used any self control and that needs to stop. Everything I own is tight or doesn't fit at all. I feel gross. So that's a big resolution for me, although I don't feel ready to put a specific goal weight or size on paper. I just want to be healthier and a bit smaller. Fran got us an elliptical for Christmas, so that will be a great help, although it has not arrived yet.
Expand our family again (or at least be on the way to doing so). Yep, we are not expecting or trying at this moment, but this is our desire for 2012, si Dios quiere. This may be one reason I am trying to be flexible with the weight loss resolution... cause I may have to weigh one resolution against the other at some point and decide which is more important.
Positive change in my professional life. I am not sure quite what this will look like but I am confident that, after a year of lots of change and upheaval, I can expect improvements in this area!
Pray more. My prayer life has not been where it needs to be, and consequently my head has not been where it needs to be.

I would like to make a parenting-specific resolution, but I am not sure what, yet. I would like to pray more for my boy, and also spend more quality time with him (away from iPad, BlackBerry, etc.) but I am not feeling super-convinced about making one of those an actual resolution. Any suggestions? What are your resolutions?

Sleep Training Part II, Revenge of the Parents

2011-12-30T17:06:14Z

As the holidays approached this year, we talked about a lot of different possibilities. The beach, a visit to the US, a return to Chiapas, etc. In the end, we took a staycation -- and not one of those ones where you spend all day every day visiting museums and historical sites and rediscovering your city. Nope, we worked on the baby's schedule. And as old and boring as I know this sounds, it has been GREAT.

A little background: we started sleep training when W turned six months. We focused exclusively on nights. I know, this goes against the rules of our book (and probably all the others too). Nights were our domain, with the nanny coming during the day, so it seemed more urgent. For reasons that are no longer clear to me, we didn't feel great about having the nanny do the cry-it-out routine, plus a little part of me was like, well, we're paying her to take care of him so why shouldn't she rock him to sleep?

So nights went well for awhile, until we started bringing him into our bed in the morning. At first, he was waking up at an acceptable time and it was just pure convenience for me to nurse him lying down in bed. Then he started waking earlier and earlier and earlier, and pretty soon he had us hostage - going to sleep every night in his own bed and waking us up at 4, 3, 2 a.m., when we were too addled to think straight and would just bring him to our bed. This was nice for cuddling but overall was not a good situation for us.

So, the sleep-training vacation. With the nanny gone all week, we went back to the basics of the book (The Sleep Easy Solution), letting him cry when he woke up too early and checking in after 5, 10, 15, 20 minutes, etc., and also coming up with a nap schedule and mini routine. The early morning thing was the hardest, but after a few nights/mornings hanging out on the couch outside the nursery, that was pretty much set. We made it to an 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. schedule, and I was shocked how easy the nap schedule has been, just letting him be awake 3-4 hours, then having a little story and some milk in the sippy and to bed!

He seems so much more well-rested and I feel like we are, too. The only downside is we have barely any time to do anything outside the house. This is the aspect of nap training and sleep training that we dreaded, because in general, since he was born, we have just carried on with our lives and let W sleep in the car or the stroller. Now, if we're lucky we can get to the nearest mall to walk around for a bit before rushing back to the house for nap time. But I think it's worth it because once we go back to work, the nanny can manage the schedule on weekdays and we can cheat a bit on weekends, right?

Happy Birthday Baby!

2011-12-23T21:55:38Z

Well, he's officially not a baby anymore... we have a toddler on our hands!

We celebrated W's birthday in conjunction with his baptism a bit early (10 days early) to avoid the late holiday rush.

The baptism took place during the regular Sunday service at our church. We had many of our friends from the congregation there as well as friends and family who came especially for the baptism. Many of the Mexican Catholics were surprised because they have heard "Christians" (which Protestants are often called here) don't baptize babies, when actually that is more a question of denomination. Of course, we don't believe W's baptism "saved" him, but was more of a way of publicly dedicating him to God, promising to raise him in the church, etc. When he makes his own decision for Christ in the future, he may be confirmed. Or, there are those who go for full immersion. To each his own.

Anyway, after the service we headed back to our place, which we renamed "W's Farm." We rented the party room in our building, which comes with a little L-shaped garden, and there outside we had a petting zoo set up. We hired the "mobile farm" from La Granja del Tío Pepe and it was a huge hit. (W's nursery has a farm theme, so we just kept going with that.)

We also had a great taco spread with all the food homemade by W's nanny and her family, plus limeade, horchata and beer.

After lunch, we had piñatas (two) and cake... singing Happy Birthday in English and Las Mañanitas in Spanish.

I think it was a great party, but very stressful for Fran and me. I think mostly that was due to the fact that we were at church in that crucial two-hour window when one is usually putting the final touches on a party and also the fact that we did a lot ourselves (of course with the support of family and friends) rather than outsource everything to one or two pros. Anyway, the guests seemed to have a great time! And we will have a great memory of this huge milestone. W had no idea what we were celebrating for him, but one year of parenthood was quite the accomplishment for us.

Having the party before the actual birthday worked well, because it gave me some time to let it sink in and spread my emotional ups and downs over several days.

My baby is one year old! I just can't believe it. He is such a wonderful boy!

W and the case of the evil eye

2011-11-28T23:48:40Z

So I guess when I said I was back, it was sort of a relative term. I have been insanely busy lately with mommying and work and my freelance gig, which I hope to write more about soon. When I have the odd free minute (like now that W is taking a nap), I always find something to do, whether it's work or Words with Friends (hey, a girl needs some leisure) or reading Sweet Valley Confidential, which I am both embarrassed and happy to say I finally found and bought.

One thing that kept me quite busy last month was W being sick. He is fine, and he never needed to be hospitalized or anything, but there were ER and doctor visits and tests and antibiotics and not-antibiotics and stuff.

Cracking up in the ER after he started feeling slightly better

It all started one Friday night when he had a fever that just wouldn't go down. He had been feverish for a few days, but I figured it was teething and we kept it under control with Tylenol. But that Friday night (of course, a Friday night), he was up to 104 and wouldn't budge. My mom was in town, which was great, and we took him to the ER. They gave him a cold bath, more fever-reducing stuff (by a more direct route, eep) and prescribed antibiotics. Over the next few days he seemed better and worse and better and worse. One day he was just really suffering -- crying, feverish and I could tell he was in pain.

That's when things got weird and the nanny delivered the diagnosis. "Mal de ojo," she said -- the evil eye. Someone had looked at him with evil or envy or covetousness or some other bad energy. In fact, she even knew who it was -- one of our neighbors saying how cute he was. (The evil eye is not always "evil" -- it can be completely unintentional.) And she could cure this by rubbing a raw, unopened egg over his body and then cracking it in a glass. She also told me she had told my husband this same thing and he didn't believe her, but we could just do this thing and he'd never know.

Now, this was all fun and games and I was ready to dismiss it, but then she started telling me about her cousin's baby who had died of the evil eye, and her own baby who was terribly sick with the evil eye and the doctors couldn't do anything until she was cured with the egg ritual. It sounds crazy, but when your own baby is sick, it's a bad time to try the boundaries of your disbelief.

So, that kind of scared me, but I stood firm. I told her that kind of thing was "forbidden in my religion." She never brought it up again, W got back on antibiotics (it turned out to be a virus/infection combo) and all was well again in a few days. A small part of me wonders if she did the egg thing behind my back and is now adding another to her list of scary mal de ojo stories.

It was a bad time -- poor baby was so miserable, and we were all so confused about what was wrong. The doctor even had him tested for typhoid at one point, to give you an idea of how bad it was. (Apparently there is no test for mal de ojo.) Baby was forced to give blood, stool and urine samples (if you are interested in the awful mechanics of this I will explain sometime) which was not pretty. Finally once all that took place he got on the right medicine and got better, and I thank God for that! (Not some egg!!)

I'm baaaack

2011-11-07T00:13:37Z

Or am I? I started this post yesterday on my new iPad and I was sooo excited to be able to blog without using my work computer (I just start feeling all work-y just turning it on, even after hours) or our home computer, which takes 5 years to boot up. But after entering the super-optimistic post title above, I discovered I was not really back! Because Quick Blogcast (GoDaddy's free blogging tool), which I've known for awhile was not the best set-up, doesn't work on iPads. I know, I mean, who uses those newfangled thingamabobs anyway?) Anyway, Quick Blogcast doesn't recognize the post template's main text field, which is problematic for many reasons. So that leaves me with three options:

Blog only via post titles (would be original but a bit limiting)
Continue to struggle through my current situation
Switch to another blogging platform.

For a LONG while I've been thinking about switching (probably to Wordpress) but I think this is the kick in the rear I need to do so. The idea is a little daunting, what with exporting and importing and whatnot, and I would also like some new art (a new header). So maybe over the holidays I'll buckle down and get on all that. Any advice is most welcome.

In the meantime, I am going to do what I can! I really miss blogging, but between working, mommying and the fact that my husband has a new and very demanding job that has kind of changed our domestic setup a bit, it's not easy to find the time and energy. But find it, I must! So, see you soon around bloggyland, people! (I started to write blogosphere, but it sounded too hoity toity.)

I was going to end this post with an adorable pic of my seemingly impossible 10.5 month old, but you guessed it, Quick Blogcast is again conspiring against me.

When animals attack

2011-10-05T01:24:53Z

So, file this under the weirdest* thing that ever happened to me while breastfeeding my baby.

On our recent trip to DC (which was awesome by the way), we settled in on a bench somewhat near the Vietnam Memorial so W could get some milk. I was not aware this was the territory of this psycho maneating squirrel.

At first, I was like, "aww, how cute! he's so tame!" So tame he would NOT leave us alone. This thing literally would have been on top of me and the baby had Fran not been their to shoo him away again and again. And he kept jumping back up. Maybe he could smell Tastykake on the baby's breath since his daddy had just given him his first few crumbs? Anyway, I really thought he was going to bite us. And if you don't believe me, he did bite Fran's foot at some point (just the shoe, thankfully -- no rabid husband).

Finally he went away to bother some other tourists. Psycho.

*The weirdest breastfeeding moment, not the most annoying -- that would have to be the lady who told me I had plumber's crack while I was breastfeeding, which I am not sure she was telling me to be nice. It came off kind of witchy, and also made me really nervous and self-conscious, which is NOT conducive to breastfeeding. I did cover my rear though.

Traveling with The Babe

2011-09-21T02:15:51Z

We are back from 10 days in Washington, DC and Martha's Vineyard, and lived to tell! It was a great trip and the whole point was to attend an amazing wedding.

It was also a reminder that the word "vacation" takes on a whole new meaning when a baby is involved.

Vacations used to mean extra hours of sleep. Now, it means the baby's schedule is all off, then "hey look, he's sleeping in my bed because otherwise his crying will wake up everyone in this friend's house/hotel," and consequently, no sleep for mama while baby catches up while riding around town in his stroller.

Vacations used to mean pleasure reading. I brought three books on this trip, and they weren't War and Peace, either. Silly mommy! I actually did finish one yesterday on the way home from the airport. It was about 150 pages of large type teen lit.

Vacations used to mean heading out for the day for unknown adventures. Now, it's "can we take the regular stroller? or do we need the carseat snapon? What if we need to take a taxi?"

So, those are the tough parts and the reason why I breathed a sigh of relief to arrive home and realize: back to the old routine! I can finally get some rest!

But, I have to admit traveling with a baby is still worth all that. His cute little smile-and-wave routine charms people everywhere we go, he's so fun to be around and he's great company.

Also, he's a great navigator.

Goodbye, friend

2011-09-09T02:16:01Z

This is a tough post to write -- not just because it's sad, but because I don't know how to sum up all the laughs and happiness Puffy brought into my life and all that she meant for me. No blog could do her justice.

Puffy, the pomeranian-pekinese I adopted nearly seven years ago, passed away last Sunday morning. Although she was older (she was an adult, around 5-6 years old or so when I adopted her), we lost her much sooner than I expected. She beat cancer, lost an eye, lived for years with epilepsy and an enlarged heart, and endured everything from surgeries to chemo to homeopathic ozone treatments. In the end, we're not really sure what happened -- the vet thinks she may have ingested some sort of poison, which is possible given that she ate anything and everything. It was quick, too quick -- we took her to the vet and around 8 hours later, she was gone.

I am grieving over Puffy, but have tried to focus on the memories. There are so many! How could there not be? We lived so many adventures together, from Portland to Mexico to marriage and a baby. This week I have remembered:

The day I adopted her from the Southwest Washington Humane Society -- driving home for the first time, she jumped from the floorboards onto the seat after about two minutes. Then at home, she jumped from the bed I bought her to MY bed.
The day I saw her have a seizure in the dog park, when I was so scared for her.
The first -- and last -- time she went to see Santa
The day she jumped on the dining room table and ate my Chinese food.
The time she pulled my cousin's shorts out of his suitcase and dragged them around the house.
How she ran through the open door of one of my (unaquainted) neighbor's apartments one morning and I had to get her out of his bedroom.
The first time she was caught making sweet love to a stuffed animal.
(Later, the first time I had to explain to a child what she was doing.)
Flying to Mexico to start our grand adventure together!
Finding her cuddled up to Francisco's dress shirts -- he would have gone nuts but I knew she just wanted to smell him.
How she spent two nights in the car when I gave birth to William, poor thing.
Watching William pull her fur and while I tried to teach him to be gentle.

Puffy and I went many miles together -- she was an amazing companion and adjusted easily to all the changes in our lives. In the end, when the baby came, she didn't get as much attention as she deserved and that grieves me deeply now. Last Friday night, though, I took a little time to just hold her and pet her, which didn't happen all the time anymore, and I am so glad I did. I truly believe God gave us that time as a goodbye, though of course I didn't know that at the time.

I miss her so much and can only hope she knew how much she was loved.

Driving me crazy!!

2011-08-31T01:32:56Z

Mexico City drivers are crazy. And I have to include myself in that category.

When I first brought my car down here, I had pretty low standards for success. I remember the first day I drove to work -- I managed to get there somehow, without hitting anyone or getting hit, or getting carjacked or anything like that. And I was pretty darn proud of myself. Those were the days.

Four years later, I am not so easy on myself or other drivers. I still have not gotten carjacked, although I have gotten (non-seriously) hit a couple of times. With the number of vehicles in this city, I think that's to be expected. In fact, I saw a statistic the other day that 25% of all Mexico City cars are in an accident every year.

The good part about chilango drivers is that they are extremely attentive. You never know when an obstacle or unexpected situation is going to arise, so you can't really be reading the paper or painting your nails or staring off into space like you can while you drive in the U.S. In the U.S., if a lane is going to end, you get plenty of notice. If there's a sinkhole and you fall into it, you can sue someone. Here, you'd just better keep your eyes open is all.

So that's one good thing about Mexico City drivers. Another good thing is... ummm... well, I can't really think of anything else because these people (again, myself included now) are psychos behind the wheel. Outside of their vehicles, Mexicans are extremely polite and conflict averse. I think they're making up for that in the car, because if you need to merge into another lane, cross the street or depend on the kindness of strangers in any other way, Blanche, I feel sorry for you.

You have to be aggressive to get anywhere here. Literally. Once in awhile I see someone who's waiting and waiting and waiting for someone else to let them in, and I imagine how that person will be sitting in that same position all day, until his car runs out of gas, and then that car will probably sit there all night because no one will stop to let the person cross the street to get help. Maybe some people never leave their driveways for this very reason!

This past week has been an especially cruel one, traffic wise. There is a lot of construction going on, plus all othe kids are back in school, and that means traffic is terrible. A lot of days it takes me an hour or more to get home, and work stress plus working mom stress means I am not at my most sane behind the wheel. The other day it took me THREE HOURS to get home from work, after an evening event. It was only 2.5 hours in the car, though, because I had to stop for half an hour at my mother-in-law's house and feed William (who was crying in the car) and take a breath before I absoutely lost my mind.

The next morning, as my dear Facebook and Twitter friends know, I lost my sideview mirror to a semi who got too close. It was one of those classic Mexico City situations -- he wanted to get in my lane and for some reason (I am crazy, or some silly notion of fairness), I didn't want to let him in. I saw that he didn't really care what I felt and he was going, so I stopped and just watched as his trailer got closer and closer to my left side and then my sideview mirror crunched and bent back and flopped over. (His insurance is paying, by the way, so this was a best case scenario.)

That same morning, about 10 minutes later, inching through traffic so bad it HAD to indicate an accident up ahead, I saw a dead guy lying in the middle of the street, apparently a pedestrian. Cops were directing traffic around him but no one had bothered to cover his face or anything. I only got a glance as I drove by but it was pretty horrific, and made me almost forget the mirror incident.

Yesterday, this happened. A raging driver actually shot at a school bus with kids on it. Because the bus driver wouldn't let the person pass him. Fortunately, everyone was OK.

I think I've made my point. Driving here is as insane as you've probably heard. I am doing my best to relax and return to my early days of just being happy to arrive at my destination. Serenity now!

Paranoid-itis

2011-08-14T22:55:47Z

So, like I mentioned recently, I had to have a few needles jabbed into my neck last week. This is due to my recent thyroid woes, which I don't think I've blogged about. So I'll start from the beginning.

When W was about 6 months old, I started feeling so, so tired and down and I noticed I had started to gain weight again, which is obviously NOT supposed to happen, especially when one is breastfeeding. People told me all the time, "Yep, of course you're tired! You're a new mom and a working mom. It's normal." But it just seemed a little not normal. So, I called my doctor and told her I felt more tired than I did when W was first born. She told me to go get some blood tests to check my iron levels and thyroid function. (That's how it works in Mexico -- you go and get your own lab tests and report back, which is great for people like me who think Googling is a perfectly valid way to diagnose one's own illness.)

When I got my test results back, I consulted Dr. Google and diagnosed myself with hypothyroidism. And guess what? Dr. Google was right.

One thing Dr. Google could not do, however, was palpate my thyroid and identify a nodule. So, fortunately I went to a trained professional for that part. Nodules are not uncommon, but I did have one, so the doctor had me go for an ultrasound. (I know it may sound obvious, but getting an ultrasound of your thyroid is soooo not as cool as an ultrasound of your baby!) After seeing the results, my doctor sent me for a biopsy. He told me the shape of the nodule indicated it was probably nothing, but better safe than sorry.

So, last Monday, I went for this biopsy. There was no cutting -- this was a fine needle aspiration, where they stick a needle in, suck some cells out and call it a day. It really wasn't as bad as it sounds. They did numb the area (my lower neck) first, which was the most painful part. But I'm glad they did it, because there was quite a bit of jabbing and stabbing to come.

The most (not) awesome part of the procedure was where the doctor was trying to get the needle into the nodule, guided by the other doctor who was performing an ultrasound at the same time. I guess the nodule was kind of hard, because the needle didn't want to go in and so he started stabbing it. The other doctor (funny guy) decided to make sound effects like "chaka-chaka-chaka-chaka" every time the needle went in and out. I guess it was kind of funny but all I can say is he's lucky I have a good sense of humor.

After the biopsy I felt like I had been kicked in the neck, but other than that I was fine. The next day, though, panic set in. Googling ensued, which triggered more panic. I saw that nodules that are hard (like mine seemed) were more likely to be cancerous. I also matched some of the nodule's other attributes with my doomsday self-diagnosis, and got to where I was 95% certain I had cancer.

The doctors had told me I would probably get the pathology results the next day, so when I didn't hear from my endocrinologist by the next night, that pretty much cemented things for me. When I didn't hear from him the NEXT day, I thought, "It's so horrible and rare they are not even sure what it is yet! WOE IS ME."

That is the point at which I called up the pathology department myself, played it cool and said I needed to know if the results were in so I could pick up the paperwork for my insurance, which was probably somewhat true. It turns out, they had been in for who knows how long, and either the pathology secretary or my doctor's secretary (or both) does not know how to use the fax machine. They then sent the results directly to me, and after more Googling, I contented myself that I did not, after all that, have cancer. Thank GOD for that!

I don't have cancer, but I still have a bum thyroid (technically, I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis). Fortunately, all that means is that I have to take synthetic thyroid hormone every day. I am feeling better and more energetic, so in terms of health problems, I guess this is a pretty good one to have.

Everything and Nothing

2011-08-09T01:31:12Z

Time has been flying by and almost a month has passed since my last entry! On the one hand, things have been busy and lots has been going on. On the other hand, I haven't felt like I've had that much to write. So how does that work? I'm not sure, actually. I guess most of what I have to talk about is my boy W, and yet I don't want to turn into a one-trick mommy blogger.

To summarize, here are some of the big goings-on of the past month, most of which I hope to touch on at some point in more depth:

I left W in the capable hands of his dad for FOUR nights, my first time away for him for more than a workday, and all of us survived.
I stayed overnight a few nights with W for the first time, without dad.
W made his second trip to the beach and ate some sand.
I thought I was going to die of heatstroke on at least a couple different occasions.
My man started a new, demanding job.
My job situation changed quite a bit.
My milk supply has dropped and I am doing everything possible to get it back up.
I paid someone to stick a needle in my neck (definitely more on this in a few days' time).*

*By the way, it was not this little person, who is loving his new toy:

We took Puffy to her homeopath the other day (I know, that's probably a blog in and of itself), and we forgot to bring any toys. The doctor saved the day with this syringe, which she kindly removed the needle from before giving it to him. Hey, at least we knew it was sterile, which is more than I can say for his other toys. Plus it was kind of funny to imagine what people were thinking when they saw him playing with it in public.

Solid food

2011-07-11T21:49:38Z

Six months was a big birthday for the W-man... not only is he sleeping in his own bed in his own room at his own bedtime, but he's also eating solids. Our doctor had us wait until the recommended six months (although some babies start at four months or so), and that was fine with us because we are all about not complicating life! But now that he's eating veggies and such, it is a bit more complicated but also fun!

We jumped right into 2-3 meals a day. W's first food was avocado, which we chose because it's healthy and smushy. We are doing kind of a hybrid of traditional purees with a touch of Baby Led Weaning, and this was super easy with avocado. It was a little slippery but he liked it. We also mashed some up and fed it to him with a spoon to ensure some was actually getting into his belly.

Since then, we've done green beans, chayote, peas, broccoli and are now on Swiss chard. (I know, right? Ever heard of giving that to a baby? It's called "acelgas" in Spanish and I didn't even know what it was called in English until I looked it up.)

He has liked all of that so far, and he also likes his brown rice cereal, which he eats in the morning for breakfast. (I have been swayed by this movement against the "typical" first food of white rice cereal... I am sure there are plenty of refined and processed carbs in W's future, unfortunately, but I don't really see why that should be his first food. Luckily, Liverpool, a Mexican department store, carries Plum Baby organic brown rice cereal, which can be yours for a small fortune. Good thing he only eats a little bit at a time, because when I asked the pediatrician about brown rice cereal, she started giving me pointers on how to grind up the brown rice myself and I just didn't see that happening. I may make W's food myself, but so far that has only involved, at the very most, boiling and blending... not too complicated.

Puffy is loving W's mealtime. It's raining food, hallelujah! She sits below the tray when he's eating and often when he's not, and even the fact that he dumped water all over her the other day has not deterred her.

Once we make it past a few more veggies, we're going to throw some fruit into the mix. (There will probably be some actual throwing involved, so stay tuned!)

Birthday, Part II

2011-06-28T12:20:00Z

I wrote about my mixed feelings regarding my birthday here the other day, but it deserves an update. I may never lose those birthday blues, but I have to say this year was a pretty great one! On my actual day, we had a nice romantic dinner at a Casa Portuguesa in Polanco, which I saw as a nod to our honeymoon in Lisbon. I really let down my hair and had two kir royales, along with noodles and mixed shellfish in squid ink and shared a pasteis de nata for dessert.

I was content with my birthday and had no idea my sweet husband was planning a surprise party for the coming weekend! Several friends from church and a few from not-church joined us for a dinner in our house, including two different kinds of lasagna (meat or shrimp) and this amazing pear-strawberry salad prepared BY said sweet husband. So just when I thought I had packed it away for another year, we really did my birthday up right! So happy day to me and major big thanks to him, the guests and any others who helped pull it off.

Lactation Cookies

2011-06-27T12:56:00Z

The first night we put W in his own room, I found the perfect distraction: baking cookies. The funny thing is, he went to sleep much faster than I expected and I was in the kitchen baking these and wondering why I was not in bed. Anyway, they turned out great!

I used this recipe for lactation cookies, which are supposed to boost one's milk supply. Supply isn't really an issue for me, but it seemed like a legit reason to make and eat cookies.

I had to make some substitutions where the sugar was concerned -- I used a mix of regular white sugar, brown sugar and powdered sugar because I ran out of the first two. They were very tasty and I was surprised by the number of non-lactating people who are more than willing to eat them. (Of course I guaranteed them they would not spontaneously begin lactating. My husband claims he began lactating just thinking about how delicious they were, but don't believe him.)

I'm no food photographer, but so you know what they look like...

The ingredients that make these cookies "lactation" cookies are oats, brewer's yeast and flaxseed meal. In the remote case that you are in Mexico and wondering how to get your hands on these last two ingredients, they're called "levadura de cerveza" and "linaza molida" and they are available at the ubiquitous froyo/health food chain, Nutrisa.

I can't really tell you for sure whether these work in terms of boosting milk supply. I have a feeling they work, but since I try to keep my distance from my pump on the weekends as much as possible, I don't really have a way to measure. We are also adding in solid food right now, which is a whole other variable and also a whole other blog!

Sleep Update

2011-06-25T16:15:41Z

Well, we're two days into our sleep program... not exactly how I had planned it out. We are following most aspects of the book, much to the babe's dismay.

This book! I must destroy it! Along with the little makeup-wearing coverbaby!

W had his six-month appointment with the pediatrician this week and I brought all my cry-it-out vs. attachment parenting baggage with me. I think there is good information on all sides and it has just really been hard for me to make up my mind about this. But, I really trust the pediatrician and she is a sensible, sensitive person who really matches with our parenting style in general.

She recommended we get started with the sleeping schedule, ahead of the usual 7-month-old bout with separation anxiety. She also suggested we just put him in his crib straightaway, without sleeping in there with him. She said we can go 8:00 p.m. at the latest for a bedtime, and that we start with a wakeup time of no earlier than 4:00 a.m. to feed. (That stretch should get longer.) Something that helped convince me (along with all the other good feedback and comments) was that she mentioned how hard it is to do this when they're old enough to bang their heads and hurl themselves out of the crib.

So, Thursday night was the night. To me, the anticipation was one of the worst parts. To see his innocent little smiling face, knowing he would soon be crying alone in his bed

We did our ritual: nursing (frequently interrupted by my "wake up!!! it's not time to sleep yet!!!"), diaper and pjs, bedtime story, giving him his lovey (one of those tiny blanket/stuffed animal hybrids), cuddling, praying, affirming him and turning on the trusty Sleep Sheep. (Affirming him was Fran's idea -- that's where we tell him how much we love him, what he has done to make us proud and how we know he can sleep through the night.)

That first night he fussed for about 15-20 minutes, then cried for another 20 or so, then fell asleep. It was not easy but we did it, checking in on him once he started crying, after 5, 10 and 15 minutes. He slept all the way through to almost 4:00 a.m. (I made him wait till 4 on the dot), ate, went back to sleep with minimal crying and slept until I woke him up at 6:30.

Last night, we repeated the whole thing, but this time he got straight to crying, and subsequently fell asleep faster. He also slept until slightly after 4:00 a.m. and went back to sleep after crying for only a couple minutes, and he slept until after 7:00 a.m.!

I know we have several more nights until we get this down, but I feel happy that we've started and optimistic about not being a zombie anymore. Thanks to all for your advice, prayers and good vibes!

GO TO SLEEP, BABY

2011-06-20T12:25:00Z

As I write this, W is lying in his seldom-used crib, with his lovey, listening to the soothing sounds of the Sleep Sheep and whining and mumbling to himself. Um, is this sleep training?

Recently I was in LA, where I visited many wonderful people and places, among them my friend Susan and the amazing Pump Station. I highly recommend both of them Anyway, friend Susan told me, "When you go to the Pump Station, look for this book, The Sleepeasy Solution. You HAVE to get it."

Yep, a sleep training book. Or, as the authors call it, "sleep learning." I think that is supposed to sound more edifying and less like there's a dog whistle involved, but, you know, semantics.

You see, W started "sleeping through the night" by two months. I thought things were going great when he would sleep for six to seven hours straight. The problem is, we kind of got stuck there. In fact, things seem to be getting worse, not better, ever since around four months. Now he's waking up every morning to eat around 4 a.m., and sometimes at other times, too. No good.

So, this book. I was kind of reluctant to buy it, because Sus seems a bit more hard-core than I am. In fact, I'm afraid I'm turning into one of those moms who is too wussy to let her baby sleep in his own room... or cry it out, even just a little bit. And this book does involve some crying. But anyway, I bought it and I've sort of read it. I mean, when your baby is not sleeping so great AND you work full time, who has time to read a book?

It was an overwhelming experience, mostly because we are pretty much doing everything wrong.

We nurse to sleep.
He sleeps in our room.
He goes to bed too late.
He eats in the middle of the night.
And so on.

Add in the factors of teething and being about to start solids, and we are in a transitional nightmare spot. What to do? The book specifically says not to do "sleep learning" when the baby is teething, starting a new food, facing a developmental milestone (like sitting, which he's doing now).

I decided to sort of invent my own modified solution. What do you think?

Step 1. Sleep in own room. This will involve mom or dad sleeping in there for a few nights so he can get used to it. I am going to miss having him so close. And how will I be sure he's breathing? Sad.

Step 2. Night weaning. I may combine this with step 1, not sure yet. Per the book, this involves figuring out when he usually wakes to nurse, and setting the alarm for an hour beforehand, and gradually diminishing the number of minutes he eats, until we're skipping that session altogether. Seems a bit complicated for my level of lucidity in the middle of the night, but it's gotta happen. W is no underweight preemie who needs to eat around the clock.

Step 3. The dreaded cry it out. Well, the "supported" cry it out as set out in the book. Also, the book says not to touch the baby when you come in for periodic checks and he's crying. But I think I might have to give him a little pat on the chest along with the comforting words.

Step 4. Naps. See, the book says to tackle naps and nighttime sleeping at the same time, but I am not sure I feel comfortable having the nanny follow this program. Naps are not a huge problem for us, anyway, although I think we could schedule them a little better. Hope we are not shooting ourselves in the foot by not dealing with naps right now.

I feel a little conflicted about all this still, mostly because right now W lives by our schedule, staying out late or staying in, napping in his stroller, the car or wherever, getting a bath when we say so, etc. I don't really want to plan our whole lives around a 7 p.m. bedtime, especially because that means fewer hours of hanging out with him after work. But I'm also tired of waking up at 4 a.m.

Someone tell me this will be worth it! And do you think my plan will work? Any suggestions?

By the way, remember how I said he was in his crib when I started this? Now he's in my lap. This is not going to be easy.