Look How She's Grown!

Our little girl...


...isn't so little anymore. At 10 months, she is beginning to look less and less like a baby and more and more like a little girl. We're almost positive that her eyes will permanently be blue, since they haven't changed yet. Her hair is getting longer and kind of curly. It seems like every day she's developing some sort of new skill. It's wonderful and exciting, but kind of sad, too.

Susanna and Simon are becoming good friends, as you can see in this picture. She pets him and tries to grab his collar. He puts up with it, and licks her lovingly. It's very cute.

Fourth of July Fun!

Last night, we went out on my parents' boat to celebrate the 4th of July. We cruised around the Chesapeake Bay for a few hours and saw most of the city's fireworks displays. It was great; no crowds, no mosquitoes, and at times we could see four or five different fireworks shows at once. Here are a few pictures of Susanna and James. She's wearing a life vest, per USCG rules. She really didn't like it very much, as you can tell from the picture. We think her expression says, "Oh my gosh, these people are unreal. Look what I have to put up with." She didn't have to wear the life vest in the cabin, so she spent a lot of time in there.

Annual Conference 2008

Susanna and I went to Annual Conference last week. We left on Sunday afternoon and returned Wednesday evening. It was in Roanoke this year (they alternate between Roanoke, Norfolk, and Hampton) so we got to stay with James' mom. We had a lot of fun, although it was pretty busy and tiring.

Here's Tuesday's schedule, to give you an idea:

7:30 a.m. We wake up, eat breakfast, and get dressed.
9:45 a.m. Arrive at the Civic Center (about 15 minutes from Nina's apartment)
9:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m. I listen to the various presentations and participate in worship while Susanna looked around, napped, and played on the floor with Chloe, Anna, and Carson.
12:00 p.m. We eat lunch with Dave, a former pastor and family friend.
1:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Susanna and I stroll around the exhibit area and the Expo
5:00 p.m. Young Clergy dinner at a local restaurant
7:30 p.m. Back to the Civic Center for a worship service, "Celebrating the Ministry of Young People"
9:30 p.m. Back to Nina's apartment.

Can I just say how amazing Susanna is? She was SO GOOD all week. Sometime she got a little bored and then got fussy, but for the most part she was happy to be strolled around, play with her toys, play with other kids, and take in everything that was going on around her.

This year, the Annual Conference's focus was on Young People. It was pretty neat. Most of the music was contemporary (including at the ordination service, which apparently ticked some people off), the lyrics and liturgy were projected onto screens (although also in the worship book), and all day Tuesday there was an Expo with tons of exhibits to give churches ideas about how to better reach young people.

It was great to see my fellow clergy friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in a year. It was also great to see some friends from Charles Wesley, the church I grew up in. I love Annual Conference, because it's a big reunion and also a great time for refreshment, new ideas, and getting reconnected.

I've posted some pictures for your viewing pleasure. The first one is of Susanna and some friends (a.ka. "the childrens' delegation") playing on the floor during a session. The second is of Susanna holding the Book of Reports, our agenda and guide for all of the sessions/presentations.

What a messy eater!

This morning, James decided to let Susanna feed herself breakfast. She took that to mean "grab spoon with one hand, put other hand in jar and go to town." The end result was slightly messy. However, she did have a blast doing it.

Needless to say, she received a very thorough bath after breakfast.

New skills are always good...

Since I am a stay-at-home mom until September 2, I have the wonderful privilege of cooking the bulk of our family meals. James is a much, much, better cook than me. He's really a natural at it, and usually makes Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. However, I'm the one at home during the day and with (supposedly) more time on my hands, so I've been given the fun task of cooking dinner. For the past two years, while things were so busy, my meal preparation involved a lot of packaged stuff and minimalist meals (slab of meat + canned vegetable = meal). Now that I have more time and less stress, I've resolved to work on my cooking skills.

So far, things are going well. Last week, I made some yummy pork chops in a cherry sauce with fresh green beans (cooked with onion in chicken broth). Tonight, I'm making chicken curry with basmati rice. I also experimented a little and discovered a way to make pot roast positively scrumptious (onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup, and red potatoes). At some point I'm going to try and make craw fish or shrimp etouffee, because we're simply dying for some good Cajun food (I miss Joe's OK Bayou in Lexington!).

I've realized that I kind of enjoy cooking when I have the time and energy to plan and prepare a yummy meal. My new hero? Rachael Ray and her 30-Minute Meals. Granted, some of her ingredients are obscure/expensive, but there's a Harris Teeter around the corner, and it has virtually everything I need. I figure that with a few exceptions, it's cheaper to make a gourmet meal at home than buy it in a restaurant. The ingredients for tonight's chicken curry may have cost $30 to buy (that's including the big bag of chicken), but a) what I fix tonight will last us for two meals and b) the ingredients I bought should make another 3-4 batches of curry, easily. Definitely cheaper than buying the prepared product in a restaurant. At least I may have found one domestic task that I may wind up liking and being good at!

However, I wouldn't count on me ever saying that I like cleaning or ironing. Never, ever, ever.

I'm so excited!!!!

In less than a month, my mom, Susanna, and myself are going down to Florida to see my grandmother! We're going for free/extremely cheap thanks to frequent flyer miles. This will be the first time my grandmother will meet Susanna. It will be lots of fun.

I can't wait!!

Patti-1, Icemaker-0

James and I are rapidly learning about the joys of home ownership. This is the second home we've owned, but the first was a brand-new townhouse, so there wasn't really a big worry about something breaking. Our new home is 14 years old, and pretty much everything (refrigerator, stove, roof, a/c unit) is original to the house. It all works fine now, but we're budgeting and planning for some major work in the next five years.

Anyway, our fridge is one of those side-by-side models that have an in-door ice dispenser. Very nice, especially for an ice addict like myself. There's a little problem; the icemaker is very slow. As in, it makes about five (5) cubes a day. I'm not exaggerating. It's been quite frustrating.

So, I figured out a solution. I made a few trays of ice cubes, and tossed the ice cubes into the ice storage bin. Voila! The ice tumbled oblingingly into my glass. I may have to be an ice-making machine for a few days, but hopefully we'll have an abundant supply of ice before long.

James spent this weekend working on our master bedroom closet. A few days after we moved in, half of our closet shelving fell down in the middle of the night. Apparently the previous owners (or the builder) hadn't placed the proper supports on it. Grr....Now half of our closet is redone, and we could probably swing from the rods and not have it collapse. The other half of the closet will be redone probably sometime this fall---after I've started work and have received a paycheck.

How to Transform Your Life in 30 Days or Less...

This blog post will either be very, very long or be split into several parts. I've been very busy for the past six weeks, which is why I haven't posted anything. So, I have a lot of news for you. Let me give you a brief synopsis, so you know what to expect and will stop chomping on your respective bits.

1. As of May 17, I am on family leave ad interim until June 30. This means I am no longer the pastor of St. John's. My last Sunday in the pulpit was May 4, and I took my remaining vacation time, through May 16. My District Superintendent totally supported me in this., and it was something that I needed to do, for a variety of reasons. I'm not going to go into those reasons here; you can e-mail me privately if you want details.
   
2. I've been accepted to a "Residency in Clinical Pastoral Education" at a hospital in Newport News. I begin on September 2. It's a paid position with benefits, and lasts for one year. After that, I may return to the local church or I may get a chaplain position. Only God knows!
   
3. We closed on our new house on May 16. The packers came to Danville on the 19th, they loaded on the 20th, and unloaded in Chesapeake on the 21st. We have about half the house unpacked, including our room, the kitchen, the family room, and most of the living and dining rooms.
   
4. Susanna turned nine (9) months old last Thursday. She has five teeth, number six is poking through, and we're hoping the teeth seven, eight, et al will wait a little bit. She's occasionally miserable, and so are we. Thank God for teething biscuits! She's sitting up by herself, scoots around on her back and tummy, and is making lots of new sounds. This includes "Da-da", which both James and I decided referred to him, since she was looking at him when she said it. Therefore, the kid has her first word at 9 months, and is looking to be as verbal as her mother. I'll post pictures soon, I promise.
   
5. The movers killed James' plasma TV. Thankfully, we had full insurance, so it will be replaced. However, in the meantime, we're back to the 10 year old 20" TV James bought in college. It's better than nothing, but we'll be glad when we have another nice, big screen TV again.
   
6. This stay-at-home mom thing is way harder than I thought it would be. I don't think I'm cut out to do this long-term. I love taking care of Susanna, but I'm not that great at domestic stuff. However, I think I will learn to be a better cook in the next three months.
   
7. James still loves his job. He's splitting time between Norfolk and Suffolk, and works what I call the "schoolyard shift" (between 6:30-7:00 a.m. and 3:30-4:00 p.m.) so he can beat traffic and spend more time with us in the evening.
8. It is so, so nice to have our family together again. It's also nice to be closer to my parents (who live less than 20 miles away) and some of our friends. We can actually have a social life now. Woohoo!
9. I feel peaceful and stress-free for the first time in I-don't-know-how-long. My marriage is better than it has been in a long time, and I hope that the next year will bring healing and wholeness.
   

Rocky Update

Yay!! Assuming he doesn't throw up within the next hour, Rocky will be going HOME tonight! My parents are thrilled about this. They knew he was doing much, much, better when the vet called and said that Rocky was pulling them around on the leash. That's our boy!

Prayers for Rocky

Please pray for Rocky, my parents' black Lab. He's 10, and has been diagnosed with pancreatis. He is currently an inpatient in the "doggie hospital", and will probably be there for another day or so. He'll hopefully be fine (although my parents' bank account may not!), but it's still kind of worrisome. We got Rocky when he was a puppy and I was in college, so he's sort of been "my" dog, too.

I really hope he gets better, because I don't think I can handle losing two dogs in three months.

Housekeeping

Now that my blog is 2+ years old and has over 200 posts, I've decided to make it easier for my readers (since I keep running into people who tell me that they read my blog) to access older posts. On the sidebar, you will see a list of categories...Family Life, Vocation, Furry Children, etc. Slowly but surely, I am going through all my old posts and giving them a "label", or a name that describes the content. I'll also start doing this with all future posts. That way, if you want to read a post (or posts) on a certain topic, you can click on the label name and it will show you all posts in that topic. You can also still search the archives by date, if you so desire.

It's going to take a while...I started yesterday and am only up through July 2006.

Product Reviews: The Indispensable, the Useful, and the Useless

I've been a parent for almost eight months now. Oh my gosh, that seems like a very long time. When I was pregnant with Susanna, I read books, visited websites, and viewed lists that told me WHAT TO BUY FOR YOUR BABY. They were very authoritative and convincing; some even made it sound like you were a horrible parent and were sacrificing your baby's future if you didn't provide him/her with the suggested items. After all, how was Baby going to get into Harvard if he/she didn't have a play mat with lights AND music AND nice, bright dangling things??? Truth be told, I fell for it all, hook, line, and sinker. Thankfully, James is a little more skeptical than I am, so he was able to reign in my fanaticism. Another reason why he's the best husband for me!

I'd like to prevent other people from being sucked into the same vortex as I was, so here's a list based on my experience of items that are either Indispensable (I'd rather give up a kidney than lose it). Useful (sure makes life easier, but not totally necessary), or Useless (don't waste your money). All of these things are frequently used sometime in the first six months. Keep in mind that this is just my opinion, and based on my experience.

Indispensable:

-Infant car seat: In those early months of life, when babies fall asleep at the drop of a hat, can't hold their head up well, and can't sit up by themselves, the infant seat allows you to carry/stroll them anywhere without disturbing them very much/at all. They can go from house to car to restaurant to stroller...you get the idea. The height/weight limits on most of them are high enough (29"/22 lbs) that they can be used until Baby is 6+ months old...some even up to a year old. Once Baby is too heavy to lug in the carrier, you can still keep it in the car and use as a car seat until they grow out of it. We used this infant seat from Graco, but in a different pattern.

-Stroller frame: Skip the bulky travel system and spent $50-60 on a stroller frame like this one. Heck, look on Craigslist or scour the classifieds for a used one and save money. It's lightweight, folds up easily, and has a nice-sized basket and cup holders. You can use it as long as Baby fits into their infant seat...usually anywhere from 6-9 months old. By the time you need to buy another stroller, you'll have a better idea of what you need/want, and Baby will be able to ride in an umbrella stroller, if you so desire.

-Play yard/travel crib with bassinet feature: I know a lot of people who forgo a traditional crib and use this instead, especially in a small home. Our initial plan was to use this for the first six months so Susanna could sleep in the room with us, and THEN transition her into the crib. She wound up sleeping in her crib from the beginning. However, we have used her Pack-n-Play a LOT when traveling, for nap times, and occasionally just to let her play in it. Since our new house is two-story, I'm planning on placing it downstairs so I can put her down for a nap/playtime without carrying her upstairs.

-Vibrating Bouncy Seat: I bought our bouncy seat for 1/2 price at a children's' consignment shop. It saved our sanity for the first month or two. I'm not kidding; we would place Susanna in it, turn on the vibrations, and she would calm down. As she got older, she became more interested in the music and light show that played. She grew out of it by five months, but it was really, really great while it lasted.

-High chair: Our is another hand-me-down from my cousin (God bless Lieu!). Even before Susanna started on solid foods we were using it at meals. We'd strap her in and roll her up to the table so she could be with us. Now that she's eating solid foods, we use it about three-four times a day. Look for one with a "sub bar" that's attached to the seat (keeps baby from sliding out) and that reclines. If finances/space are a major issue, consider trying this, which is cheaper, takes up less space, but still reclines.

Breast pump: If you're planning on breastfeeding, buy a double-electric breast pump. Buy one even if you're going to be a stay-at-home mom, because you will want/need to leave Baby with a sitter/relative/friend at times. Buy it BEFORE Baby is born; don't wait to buy it. Why? Because if for some reason you have trouble nursing (with latch, inverted nipples, whatever), you can still pump to build your supply and provide your baby with breast milk while any issues are being corrected. A manual or single electric pump won't be adequate to build/maintain supply. And if worse comes to worse, you can pump exclusively, which is what I did. For six long months. My breast pump (another hand-me-down from Lieu) was the Medela Pump in Style, which I highly recommend. Yes, it's expensive. However, formula is more expensive, and not nearly as good for Baby as "Mommy's milk." Even if you buy a breast pump and breastfeed (by nursing, pumping, or a combination) for just the first six months, you've probably saved $400 more than if you had only fed baby formula during that time (assuming you're using a brand-name formula with DHA and ARA).

Useful:

-Swing: Ours was a hand-me-down from my cousin and the style resembles this. I've heard a lot of people like cradle swings like this, too. Anyway, for now the swing has replaced the bouncy seat as the "soothing device" for Susanna. Who knows what we'll do when she outgrows the swing (very soon) and gets fussy/inconsolable? And for the record, we do hold, rock, talk to, and walk with Susanna when she gets fussy. I don't want anyone thinking that we just plop her someplace once she starts crying. No, we put her in this stuff AFTER we've tried consoling her ourselves, to no avail. It gives us a sanity break.

-Play gym: Beginning around 2-3 months old, this has amused Susanna very, very well. Even at almost eight months, she's discovering new things about it (like the cute baby in the mirror) and is becoming much more interactive, rather than just staring at the nice hanging things.

-Exersaucer: Another hand-me-down from my cousin, ours resembles this, without the arch thingy. It amuses her, it entertains her, and it exercises her legs. It also gives her a safe place to "hang" while Mommy and Daddy take showers and get dressed.

-Baby carrier: We use the Baby Bjorn, which we like and is useful for keeping Baby close to you and your hands free. James has used it in church, so he doesn't have to keep juggling her while getting up and down. I've also heard good things about the Ergo, slings, and some of the lower-end carriers (like the Snugli). It's nice when a stroller is impractical and you need to transport Baby.

-BundleMe/Car seat cover: Great if Baby is a fall/winter baby, because you can zip this baby up and keep them warm without worrying about loose blankets or a coat. Costs between $20-40, but I thought it was well worth it.

-Baby Monitor: Ours is a hand-me-down that we really don't need right now (the parsonage is a ranch, so we can hear Susanna easily unless we're outside/in the basement). I mostly use it at night and keep the receiver on my nightstand. However, we will be using it a lot more once we move since we'll be in a slightly larger house that has two stories. If I was going to buy a monitor, I'd buy this one because it has two receivers and is rechargeable.

I think I'll save the "useless" items for another post. This has gotten way too long.

We found a house!

Last week, Susanna and I met James in Chesapeake to go house-hunting. Over the past two months, James has been working with a realtor and looking for homes in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. He probably looked at 50+ homes and narrowed it down to about eight that he liked and thought that I'd like. We spent Thursday looking at all of these houses. James had done a great job; I wouldn't have minded living in any of them! However, we did settle on a mutual favorite and wrote out an offer for it. The sellers sent back a counter offer, so we sent them our own counter offer. Finally, Kim (our realtor, who is simply amazing) called us this morning to tell us that our offer had been accepted! Yay!

The house is one that we'll hopefully stay in for a while. It has 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, and is in the best school district in Chesapeake (very important now that we have Her Highness). It has a nice yard for Simon and a lovely master suite for Mommy and Daddy. We're hoping to close shortly after Memorial Day. It will be so nice to be homeowners again; we've already begun thinking about improvements and landscaping.

Been to the Emergency Room

I don't think you've fully experienced parenthood until you've made a middle-of-the-night visit to the ER with your child.

Less than four hours after I wrote Thursday's post, I woke up to hear Susanna sounding like Darth Vader over the baby monitor. When I went to check on her, I could hear her wheezing from the doorway of her room. The on-call nurse had told me if her wheezing got that loud that I needed to take her to the ER. So...in the next thirty minutes I did everything possible to avoid doing just that. I fed her some Pedialyte, ran the shower for 20 minutes, and kept her upright to help her breathe easier.

Why did I want to avoid the ER? No, it wasn't for financial reasons. Nor was it laziness. It's because the ER at Danville Regional Medical Center is legendary for being S L O W. I've heard of people waiting FIVE HOURS in the WAITING ROOM, giving up, and heading to another ER (there are about three others within an hour's drive). I didn't want to take her there unless it was absolutely necessary.

Alas, none of my measures worked, so I got dressed, bundled her up and off we went. Please note that I had the presence of mind to write down her Social Security # before we left. We arrived at 1:50 a.m. Thankfully, we were taken back to a room within 45 minutes, saw a doctor almost immediately, and within 30 minutes Susanna was receiving a breathing treatment. She was still wheezing a bunch after her first breathing treatment, so they gave her a second one. Thankfully, the second one did the trick...mostly. She wasn't breathing normally, but was showing enough improvement that the doctor said she didn't need to be hospitalized. He wrote a few prescriptions and told me to take her to the pediatrician that day (Friday). The diagnosis he gave us was: bronchiolitis (click on the link if you want more info).

Thankfully, she's doing much, much better. She's sleeping through the night again, is wheezing very rarely, is coughing less, and has regained her appetite. I'm keeping her home with me for the next few days until she's fully recovered. In the meantime, several times a day we "drug her up" with Amoxocillin (for the ear infection), Albuterol (for the wheezing), and a cough syrup.

I'm hoping and praying that she stays healthy for the next two months. I can't handle too many more weeks like this past week. Of course, I'll deal with it if it happens again. But I'm hoping that it doesn't.

Mama's Girl All the Way!

I am so freaking tired, yet I can't go to sleep. Don't you hate that? I haven't gotten a full night's sleep all week. Susanna is sick. She developed a cough over the weekend. Monday night, we woke up about three times because she kept coughing. Tuesday, I kept her home from daycare "just in case." On Wednesday, a church member had surgery in Winston-Salem, so I took her to daycare, so I could go down there. She seemed to be a little better. When I got back on Wednesday night, she was much worse. She hadn't eaten much at all, she was extremely clingy, and her cough seemed worse. So, I took her to the urgent care clinic. Turns out that in addition to her cold (or whatever it is), she has an EAR INFECTION.

That's where the "Mama's Girl" comes in...I had tons of ear infections when I was little. My very first one ocurred when I was about Susanna's age. Amazingly enough, Amoxocillin hasn't changed in 20+ years...I recognized the smell as soon as I opened the bottle of oral suspension liquid. They also gave her another cough syrup, and I'm running the vaporizer whenever she's in her room. She was sounding sort of wheezy/raspy tonight, but she's asleep now. I'll probably call the doctor in the morning if she's not better.

It's very difficult to get work done while taking care of a sick child. Thankfully, she slept more than usual today, so I was able to get some things accomplished. I'll probably keep her home with me tomorrow, because I don't want her spreading anything to the other kids (or getting another bug). Hopefully she'll be right as rain by Monday!

Time Flies

Wow, here we are at the end of March and it's been over a month since I posted a blog entry with any real content. Lots has been going on. As you can see by the picture, Susanna is growing by leaps and bounds. She now has two bottom teeth and she likes biting anything (and anyone) she can. At her six-month checkup she was 26" long and weighed 17 lbs, 4 oz. We've moved her out of her infant seat (which will soon be going to her still-in-utero cousin, Jacob) and into a "big girl" car seat. It's a Britax Boulevard, which tends to be pretty pricey. However, we got a great deal on it (30% off or something like that) during their annual sale. Yay for Baby Bargains and their cool blog. Besides, she'll be in it for another 3 1/2 years (according to VA law), so it's a worthy investment. Susanna also started on solid foods about a month ago. I'm adding a new food every 4-5 days, to check for allergies. Her repertoire currently consists of: rice cereal, baby oatmeal, sweet potatoes, pears, carrots, bananas, peas, and applesauce. She loves solid food and can't wait until she can eat some of Daddy's pancakes.

Speaking of Daddy (a.k.a James), he's doing very well himself. He loves his new job...did I mention that James has a new job? Silly me! Let me back up about six months...Last summer and fall, James began to get very fed up with NCCU. They were making incredible demands on his time (teach 3 classes a semester, work with 3 or 4 graduate students, maintain the computer server, AND publish one paper a year). It got so that he was working 50 hours down in Durham, driving 75 miles home, and then working for another hour or two. He'd even have to work (at home) for 5 or so hours on the weekends. He was utterly miserable and exhausted. Of course, things got even worse when Susanna arrived. We were at each other's throats a lot. Finally, we realized that things needed to change. James began looking for an industry job in either Tidewater or Northern Virginia. We were hoping that he'd find something by the spring, so he could begin in May or June. Then this job at Booz Allen Hamilton (an international firm that does a bunch of government contracts) literally fell into his lap. He applied, he interviewed, and they wanted him to start ASAP...which meant right before Thanksgiving. We decided that this was too good of an opportunity to pass up, so he took the job. He LOVES it. The only hitch...the job is in Norfolk, which is four hours away from Danville. So, he stays in an apartment in Chesapeake during the week and comes home on the weekends.

Of course, that means that since November, I've been a single mother during the week. Thankfully, Susanna is a very easygoing and healthy baby, so I've been doing just fine for the most part. There have been a few difficult weeks, such as last week, when Susanna had diarrhea, I wasn't feeling too hot myself, and it was Holy Week. There was also the week that I had an upper respiratory virus (complete with fever). I hate having to cart her to every evening meeting at church, but thankfully there aren't too many of those. I also worry about what would happen if someone from church had an emergency in the middle of the night. I would most likely bring her with me to the hospital, and hope that her presence might diffuse some tension. Hopefully that won't happen, though. Generally, it's been very manageable, and at least I know that a) James is only four hours away if something MAJOR happened, b) James will be home on Friday night, and c) this is only for a limited amount of time.

You may have figured this out already, but in case you haven't...I'm leaving St. John's in June and will hopefully receive an appointment in the Tidewater area. Obviously, our family needs to be together again and resume/establish some semblance of normal life. However, I probably would have been moving this year even if James hadn't gotten the new job. Without going into details (you can e-mail me if you want those), the church and I have mutually agreed that I'm not the best pastor for them. I have loved my time here, and have learned a great deal about ministry and about myself. St. John's is full of wonderful servants of God and I will always hold them dear in my heart. It's time to move on, though, and I hope that their next pastor is able to stay for more than two years. I think that they need and deserve someone who can stay a while and really help them grow in ministry.

This post has turned into a novella. The princess (as I call Susanna) will be up between 6:30 and 7:00, so I'd better turn in so I can get enough beauty sleep. Toodles.

A successful marriage...

A marriage and family therapist offered this advice to a group of young clergy that I meet with on a regular basis:

"If you want a successful marriage, marry your emotional opposite, your intellectual equal, and have different hobbies and similar values."

I think that describes James and me very well. After 6 1/2 years of marriage, it's always good to know that you married the right person!

Hodge-Podge Updates

The main point of this post is to move Woody's slideshow down, because it makes me sad when I bring up the blog and see it. We're doing better in that area; last week was pretty tough at times, but Simon and Susanna have helped distract us. I'm glad that we have Simon, so that we still have one dog left. And now that we have a human child, caring for her and loving her takes enough time and energy that I don't think about Woody as much as I would have two years ago.

Our human child and canine child are essentially growing up together. It's sort of fun to watch. Simon enjoys giving Susanna "kisses" anytime she's accesible to him. He's become much calmer and obedient in the past month or so. It's been a while since anything has been "Simonized" (i.e., chewed beyond usage) , he sits at the door before going out and coming in, and I might even begin letting him have the run of the house when I leave for short periods during the day. I think we'll wind up getting another dog sometime this summer or fall, because James wants another one and Simon wants/needs a playmate. We are NOT getting another puppy; we'll go to a shelter and rescue a dog that's already grown.

Susanna is changing every day, it seems. She turns her head very well, sits with support, has discovered her toes, and delights in making sounds. We started her on cereal last weekend, and she LOVES it. She still hates "tummy time" with a passion, and screams when placed on her tummy for more than 10 minutes. I've tried getting down there with her, placing toys within sight and out of reach, and placing her on the Boppy pillow. She still screams, and I still give her "tummy time" because I am a Mean Mommy. However, she'll never learn to roll over or crawl if she doesn't spend time on her tummy. She was 16 lbs 8oz when she went to the doctor on February 5 (for a diaper rash), so I'm expecting her to be around 18 lbs at her six-month checkup next Friday.

In Loving Memory of Woody

I made this slideshow as part of my grieving process. I also thought that some of you might want to see pictures from Woody's life. This is just a sample; we have many more, including more from our time in Danville. These represent some of our best memories, however.

The healing has begun, at least for me. Saturday night and Sunday I just felt shocked and overwhelmed with grief. Today I've felt a void, but also acceptance. We had a wonderful three and a half years with Woody, and I know that he was happy. I'm glad that we were with him when he died (as horrible as that sight was) and that we had the funeral service for him. Simon's presence has helped greatly, too. At least we still have one dog to greet us and cuddle with us.

By the way, I have to give a big shout out to Dr. Kay Geyer at Brosville Animal Clinic (Woody's regular vet), who was wonderful on Saturday. She called down to the Emergency Center for us and even gave us her home number so we could let her know how things went down there. Dr. Jenny Clark and the staff at the Animal Emergency and Trauma Center in Greensboro were also great; they did everything they could to save Woody, and really accomodated our desire to be with him at the end.

Rest in Peace

Woody Elijah Money
December 15, 1999 to February 9, 2008

Woody died last night, at the Animal Emergency & Trauma Center in Greensboro, NC. James and I were with him, holding him when he died. We're not really sure what killed him; he had seemed to be recovering well from him kidney infection, and was even playing with Simon and running around yesterday. Around 4:00 p.m. we saw him begin to breathe very heavily and realized he had a fast heartbeat. We decided to drive him down to Greensboro, since our vet was closed. When we arrived, Woody was able to walk on his own, so we thought he might be OK. Twenty minutes after we arrived, the vet told us that she thought he was dying. His breathing was worse, and he was full of fluid. We insisted on going back to be with him, and he died about five minutes later. We got to spend some time alone with him after he died and they pulled all the tubes, etc out of him. We're having a funeral tomorrow afternoon, and will have him cremated. We're not sure what we'll do with the ashes yet. We just didn't want to leave him behind in Danville.

There's a lot of numbness and sadness. It doesn't seem real...please pray for us.

The other patient

I mentioned in an earlier post that Woody is sick, too. He's been diagnosed with a kidney infection, which will hopefully be cleared up soon. That's been an interesting aspect to the drama of this week...

On Tuesday (remember, that's the day I was sick as a dog and running a fever), I noticed that Woody was walking sort of funny. He also seemed to be in pain. This worried me, so I called the vet, who told me to bring him in. So I took him to the vet after Susanna's doctor's appointment (she's fine; she just had a persistent diaper rash). The vet wanted Woody to stay so they could "observe" him. Sure, no problem. Five hours later, I called to see how he was doing. The receptionist said that the vet was out (maybe on a large animal visit) and would call me when she got back. Two hours later, the vet called me and said that she thought that Woody might have a urinary tract infection, and his kidney function was below normal. They wanted to keep him overnight.

When I picked Woody up Wednesday morning, the vet told me that it looked like Woody's kidneys weren't functioning as well as they should be. She thought it might be due to an infection. So, she sent Woody home with two weeks' worth of antibiotics and a special food to help his kidneys. I get to bring him back in two weeks, when they'll check his kidney function again.

He seems to be doing OK, although he's obviously not in top form. He hasn't engaged in the usual play with Simon. Hopefully this medicine and special food will make him "all better" soon. We want our healthy boy back!

Welcome to Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday, the official beginning of Lent. Normally, I would have just come home from leading my church's Ash Wednesday service. However, I cancelled my church's Ash Wednesday service because I am sick.

It all began with a sore throat on Sunday night. I figured I might be coming down with a cold, so I sucked on a zinc lozenge before I went to bed. Sure enough, I felt fairly stuffy and "icky" on Monday morning. I continued to suck on zinc lozenges throughout the day and drink plenty of fluids. I felt well enough to continue my normal activities. Then came Monday night...

I developed a cough which kept waking me up. Around midnight, I woke up and felt feverish. I checked my temp; it was 99-something. Around 3am, I woke up again, checked my temp, and it was 100-something. By the time I woke up, I was feeling worse and was still feverish. So, I went to the doctor...and they said I have an "upper respiratory infection", which is basically a bad cold. I've never heard of having that high a fever with a cold, but OK. They sent me home with instructions to take it easy and drink lots of fluids.

Since I was feeling uber-crappy, I followed directions. Based on my history, if I don't take care of myself, a cold will develop into either a sinus infection or bronchitis. I've slept as much as possible, in between eating, taking Susanna to and from daycare, caring for Susanna, and caring for Woody (who has a kidney infection--more on that later). The end result; the fever has broken and I'm not feeling nearly as "gunky" as I was 24 hours ago. I'm hoping that a good night's sleep will enable me to be fully functioning tomorrow.

She's five months old!!

I can't believe that Susanna was born five months ago today. Wow. I realize I haven't put up a picture of her in about two months. Here you go. Maybe sometime soon I'll have time to make up a slideshow.

What a week...

I don't know how my clergy friends with big churches or sick and dying congregations do it. Honestly, I don't. I've had a VERY quiet tenure at St. John's--no deaths or life-threatening events in almost 19 months. That changed last Wednesday, when one of my members had a heart attack. He spent three days in the Danville hospital before being transferred to Duke. He underwent triple bypass surgery today and is stable (PRAISE THE LORD). I'm delighted that the surgery went well (in that he made it through alive).

I am however, totally exhausted. In the past week I have made three trips to the Danville hospital (only 11 miles) and two trips to Duke (almost 70 miles one way). I woke up at 4:30 this morning so I could drop Susanna off at daycare by 6:30 and be at Duke by 8. I walked through the door of my house at 5 after picking Susanna up at daycare. It's yucky outside, so my plans for the evening are to stay up until a decent hour (8pm or so) and then crash.

I love pastoral care...caring for my members and their families in times of crisis. It's one of the things that made me want to become a pastor. It is however, utterly exhausting emotionally. It's hard to explain, so I'm not even going to try. However, I do think that my exhaustion and even occasional tears (at the mere thought of having to bury this gentleman) are indicators of my love and my investment, and in that sense, they are good signs.

Susanna @ Four Months

Sickeningly adorable Christmas pics will come later. The digital camera doens't always like me, and sometimes gives me trouble when I try and download stuff to the computer.

Her Highness had her 4 month check-up today. She is 25" long (85th percentile) and weighs 14 lbs, 6 oz (76th percentile). She also got her second round of shots, which was NOT FUN.

Susanna has entered that "absolutely delightful" stage of babyhood. She smiles, she coos, she makes rasberries, and she sort of "talks." She's sleeping 11-12 hours at night and is willing to play alone for decent stretches of time. She can grasp medium-sized objects (like her rattle, teething keys, etc) and can sit with some support. It's very exciting.

We had a lovely Christmas and New Year. We left Danville on the 26th, spent the week with my parents, and returned yesterday. Lucky me, traveling with a baby and two dogs for 200 miles. Since James and I had a free baby-sitter in residence (a.k.a. Grandma), we got to have two dates. I don't think it was exactly a chore for my mom, who keeps exclaiming about what a wonderful baby Susanna is. One date was solo (we went to Bonefish and for a drive) and one was with another couple on New Year's Eve. It was nice having some time together without Susanna. Much as we love her, it's nice to have time apart.

One Year Ago Today...

We found out Susanna was on the way! Then, she had just barely begun to form. Now, she's a delightful four month old baby. We are truly blessed.

Three months old!!

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything. November was a pretty wild month for the Money family, and of course December is a busy month for any pastor. Between family and church, I've been lucky to catch my breath. However, Christmas is only 15 days away, and then things get calmer. :)

On Saturday, we dressed Susanna up in her ultra-cute Christmas dress and headed for the local mall to meet Santa. We were hoping that Susanna would grace Santa with one of her lovely smiles. Sadly, that was not the case. I think a few factors contributed to that. First, she's been teething (more on that later) so her "happy moments" are fleeting. Second, she was due for a feeding and was probably beginning to get hungry. Needless to day, we decided not to spend $25 on a photo package. Now, if she had been smiling, it would have been a different story. I may take her again before Christmas, and see if we can produce a smile.

In regards to the teething...many people have said, "she's teething at three months? Already?" Apparently this stuff tends to be genetic, and since Susanna's mother (yours truly) cut her first tooth at three months, it's highly possible that Susanna will be an early teether, too. She's also exhibiting all the classic signs: prodigious drooling, rubbing her jaw a lot, fussing for no apparent reason, and waking up in the middle of the night. I even took her to the doctor's office on Wednesday, because I was afraid that she had an ear infection (even without a fever). The nice Nurse Practitioner said that Susanna looked perfectly healthy, and the symptoms sounded like teething.

By the way, the kid weighs 13 lbs.

Happy Anniversary, Simon!!

One year ago today, Simon became a member of the Money family. The above pic is what he looks like now. The below pic is what he looked like back then. What a big change! We love our sweet "little boy"; he loves to cuddle with us and makes an excellent guard dog!

My future model??

So, we're back from the pedi's office for Susanna's two-month checkup. She screamed when she got the shots (three of them), but we had given her Tylenol right before, so she is now sleeping happily.

The big news...Susanna weighs 10 lbs, 13 oz. That puts her in the 59th percentile for her age.

The bigger news...Susanna is 24" long. Yes, that's twenty-four inches. As in, two feet. She grew three inches in the past month!! Her current length puts her in the 95th percentile for her age.

My baby girl is shaping up to be long and lean. Maybe she'll have a career as a model??

Susanna at two months old

Here's a quick picture of Susanna, who is growing so fast it's hard to believe!! She turned two months old last Monday, and has her two-month checkup (complete with shots) on Friday. Today was her first full day in day care (sniff, sniff). I miss her like crazy, but I am getting SO much more work done. Susanna is being baptized this Sunday. Our friend and former pastor, Dave, is doing the baptism. Therefore, I feel the need to really have a kick-butt sermon this week. Not that I don't try to have a great sermon every week, but it's not every week that your former pastor is in the congregation. :) Off I go to exegete and apply...

Why I'm Doing This To Myself...

I've been gently reminded by my grandmother that it has been a long time since I posted. That's mostly because I've been busy. Susanna is now sleeping through the night (meaning 8+ hours at a time), but she never naps during the day. So I was able to get NOTHING accomplished for the last few weeks of my maternity leave. However, I am sleeping somewhat decently at night. That's good, because I returned to work last week. Don't expect to see much posting in November, either. Charge Conference is on the 29th.

An update on the breastfeeding front...it's been a rocky ride. I am still pretty much pumping exclusively, simply because it's less frustrating to pump than to deal with our nursing challenges. I finally got her to latch on (thanks to the wonders of nipple shells) and we had a few happy weeks of nursing. Then things got rocky (it seemed like she wasn't getting enough and my supply started dropping) and I started pumping again to build my supply back up. It's still not up, and I've had to dip into my (small) stash of frozen milk and even supplement with formula a few times. However, I have an iron will when I so desire, and it is my firm desire to supply my daughter with breast milk until my supply dries up, or until her first birthday, whichever comes first. Therefore, every three hours during waking hours and once at night I hook myself up to my Medela Pump in Style for 20 minutes. Why am I torturing myself this way, you ask? Because of this:

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20061209/bob8.asp

The health benefits of breastmilk are incomparable and obviously God-designed. There's nothing wrong with formula; it's a wonderful invention and provides adequate nutrition for babies whose mothers can't breastfeed or who are adopted/in foster care. In fact, I usually wind up giving Susanna formula at least once a week. But formula was designed as a substitute for breast milk. Even the best scientific minds will never be able to perfectly replicate breast milk. When I feed Susanna "Mommy's Milk", she receives antibodies from me that help her immune system resist infection, viruses, etc. This is especially true if I get sick; she'll receive antibodies that will help her fight that specific illness. Of course she's still going to get sick at times, but it is my hope that by feeding her primarily breastmilk she'll be healthier than if she was primarily formula-fed. There's also the fact that breastmilk is free and formula is not free. I'm getting frugal in my old age. :)

So, I'll keep popping the Brewer's Yeast, eating oatmeal for breakfast, and hook myself up to the pump in order to provide the best food possible for my daughter. But if I have to switch to formula at some point (due to a low supply), I'll do so knowing that I tried my darndest to feed her breastmilk and I'll be satisfied that she is still receiving the nutrients she needs to grow and thrive. And thanks to the nice folks at Similac, Nestle, and Enfamil, I have enough samples to last a month and enough coupons that I wouldn't be paying full cost for another two or three months.

I'd better end this now...it's time for a pumping session. Moo...moo...moo...

Exciting times...

It's been a fairly exciting week in the Money household. Here are the highlights:

• Last Friday, Simon turned one year old. Above is a picture of the birthday boy.
• Last weekend, we made a spur-of-the-moment decision to visit my parents in Virginia Beach. While there, we got to meet up with our friends Joel and Melissa. They met Susanna for the first time and (like the intelligent people they are) declared her absolutely adorable.
• On Saturday (the 29th), Susanna turned one month old!
  
• Tuesday night (the 2nd), some of our neighbors' cows broke out of their fenced pasture, and decided to come visit us and meander in the road. I was unaware of this until someone rang our doorbell (at 9:15 p.m.) and informed me of this. The next morning, we found a "cow patty" not 50 feet from the front door.
  
• Wednesday afternoon, someone ran off the road right near our house. One of the occupants was bleeding, so the police and EMS arrived at the scene...and the ambulance parked in our driveway.
• Today (Friday), Susanna had her one month checkup. Everything looks great, and she is 21" long and weighs 9 lbs, 1 oz.
  

Susanna turns one month old!

Susanna's Birth: The Untold Story-Part 2

OK, so part 1 ended with the nurse telling me that based on the contraction log, my contractions didn't seem that intense. Of course, she meant that she thought they weren't doing anything. However, she did say that the doctor on call (who, thankfully, was MY doctor) would come in once she finished up a delivery to check things out. I was nearly in tears when she left because a) the contractions were REALLY hurting by now-my legs were shaking when they peaked and b) I had been having contractions for nearly 16 hours, and was devastated at the thought of being sent home.

An hour or so later (around 8:30), the doctor came in. She checked out my contraction log, checked my cervix, and proclaimed me in "active labor." I was 4-5 cm dilated. Yay! Things moved really quickly then. My nurse admitted me to the hospital (which took 1/2 an hour), I watched the epidural video, signed a bunch of forms giving them permission to do everything and anything to me, received a hospital bracelet, etc. Around 10:00, the anaesthesiologist came to do the epidural (the actual procedure sucked, but the pain relief was worth it) and by 10:45 I had complete pain relief. My nurse did another cervical check, and I was 6 cm dilated.

I settled in for a nap, because I was quite exhausted and knew I'd need strength for pushing. I didn't really sleep, but at least I got some rest. Every once in a while, James would go over and look at the monitor. It was amazing to see how intense and close together the contractions were coming. I was grateful for the epidural. I knew that I could have gone without pain relief if I had no choice (like women did 200 years ago), but the epidual made things so much bettern. I could feel the pressure, but none of the pain. Before, I had been a zombie from the pain, and all my energy was focused on surviving each contraction. Now, I was able to rest, regroup, and enjoy the experience. Since it had taken almost eight hours for me to dilate four centimeters, I thought Susanna might not arrive until daybreak. But I was wrong...

Around 1:30 a.m., my nurse came in and checked on me (she might have checked earlier too, but I don't remember). I mentioned that things felt a little different "down there", so she did a cervical check. Wahoo! I was fully dilated and ready to go. Of course, the doctor had gone home, so they had to call her in. Meanwhile, they began prepping the room for delivery. It was amazing to see how they totally transformed the room in about half an hour. Cabinets were opened and equipment removed. Surfaces were covered with sterile cloths. A big, bright light was brought in to shed some light down where the sun doesn't shine. :) The doc finally arrived around 2, and I began pushing immediately. There were three (3) nurses in the room along with the doctor. Apparently there are always two nurses present for a delivery, but I think my doctor was worried that I'd have trouble giving birth, so she requested an extra nurse. Once everything was in place, I began pushing. I had been afraid that I'd be "bad" at pushing; that my muscles wouldn't be strong or something like that. They were great about talking me through the whole thing, which made it much easier. Apparently I did fairly well, because Susanna came out relatively quickly and I had no bloodshot or black eyes and only one tiny hemorrhoid.

I pushed for forty-five minutes, and then finally I heard the doctor say that the head was out and then heard her tell James (who had wanted to cut the cord) that she (the doc) was cutting the cord (apparently it was around Susanna's neck). Another push or so, and I heard something along the lines of, "here we go" and "it's a girl, alright." However, they detected some meconium in the amniotic fluid (which hadn't broken yet, so it came out with her), so they immediately transferred her to the incubator and began suctioning gunk out of her and the like. Apparently she was a "blue baby" when born, but within a few seconds we heard her crying lustily. Her first Apgar score (at one minute) was a 7; the five-minute score was a 9.

While the nurses worked on Susanna, Dr. G and another nurse began working on me. They delivered the placenta (which James termed, "disgusting"), cleaned me up a little, and then the doctor proceded to begin stitching me up. She let me tear rather than have an episiotomy, which was fine with me. When I heard her say, "I'm calling this a third degree tear", I asked her how many degrees of tears there were. She told me four...so Susanna did quite a number on her mommy! It took her a while (close to an hour) to stitch me up, so once Susanna had been suctioned, scored, weighed, and cleaned up a little, James held her and bonded with her. During the stitching, we (the nurse, Dr. G, James, and me) talked about dogs...because it turns out that we're all dog people. It helped pass the time, anyway.

Finally, sometime around 4:00 a.m., we were both declared "done." James handed Susanna to me, and the nurse helped me with my first attempt at breastfeeding (which, ironically, went very well, given our later problems). I called my parents and James called his mom. We waited until 8-9 am to call everyone else (I'm sure you appreciated that). We stayed in the L&D room for another hour or so, and then Susanna got sent to the nursery for observation and I was transferred to my postpartum room. My nurse got me settled in, my IV lines were removed, and we went to sleep for a little while (they had a futon-like thing for James to sleep in). I was sore, we were both exhausted, but we were SO thankful for our beautiful little girl.

The End.

Susanna's Birth: The Untold Story-Part 1

Her Royal Highness is sleeping right now and has been for almost two hours, which has been wonderful. I've been able to pump milk, take a shower, get dressed, check my e-mail, and eat lunch. I thought I'd take advantage of the peace and quiet to share some of the details of Susanna's birth. I'll try not to be too graphic/detailed, but if you really don't want to hear about it, then just don't read any more. OK?

The week before I gave birth, I had been experiencing some kind of "event" every day, whether it be Braxton-Hicks contractions, cramps, or a backache. This was very frustrating. I had also tried every "natural" way of inducing labor, with the notable exception of castor oil.

Monday, August 27
That morning, I had a doctor's appointment. He didn't do a cervical exam, but he verified that the baby was head down and assured me that if she hadn't arrived by next Wednesday, we would "do something." I left with an appointment for September 5. I was not happy. As I left the office, I told one of the nurses that I REALLY didn't want to see her next week. That evening, I spent an hour or so with my PPR Chair, making the final arrangements of my maternity leave. As I left her house, her husband (who is my Church Council chair) commented on the full moon that was in plain view (folklore has it that a woman who is near her due date at a full moon will go into labor. Apparently there's some truth to that, because L&D units tend to be busiest around the full moon). I smiled gamely at him and said something to the tune of, "let's hope!" That was around 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, August 28
Susanna must have taken that as her cue to arrive, because I woke up at 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning with contractions. At first, I figured they were just more Braxton-Hicks, and I went to sleep. Around 5:15 a.m., I felt the first slightly painful contraction. I sat up in bed, and that's when James woke up. We stayed in bed for another hour and a half or so, while I experienced mild to moderately painful contractions. They were about 15 minutes apart.

Around 7:00 a.m., we decided to get up and get dressed, because we either needed to go to work (and for James, that involves a 90-minute drive) or begin timing the contractions and making final preparations for baby. I did everything I knew to make Braxton-Hicks contractions go away; showering, drinking tons of water, and lying on my side.

At about 8:00 a.m., the contractions began coming 10-12 minutes apart. They still weren't very painful, but I had the feeling that this was IT. So, James called his department chair and made arrangements for someone else to teach his classes for that day, and maybe the rest of the week. I called our dog-sitter to put her on alert and sent a few e-mails (still more maternity leave stuff).

By 10:00 a.m., I was experiencing contractions 7-10 minutes apart, with some coming as quickly as 5 minutes apart. I still wasn't in a huge amount of pain, but we figured we needed to head in the direction of the hospital "just in case." So we headed towards the hospital, via a few detours:

• Church, so I could put a "maternity leave" message on the machine, pick up my focal point (a ceramic cross), and get a copy of the new church directory.


• The bank, so James could get some cash out for food while we were in the hospital


• Chick-Fil-A, because I figured I should have lunch before arriving (they only allow ice chips once you're admitted)
  

By the time we finished our lunch around 12:00 p.m., my contractions had eased up somewhat. I was majorly disappointed, to say the least. I was afraid that this was simply a case of false labor. So, I told James to drive to the mall, in the hopes that walking would speed things up. We walked around the mall for an hour or so, with no major changes. I told him to head home. He had a class to teach at 5:15, and I figured that if nothing had happened by 3 p.m., I'd send him down to Durham. We hadn't even been home for half an hour when the contractions started to intensify and become more frequent...they were about 10 minutes apart and lasting 60-90 seconds. And they hurt more than before. By 2:00 p.m., I suggested that we head over to the hospital. I knew it was still early, but I wanted to see if I had progressed any (in terms of dilation/effacement). I was also afraid that I'd send James down to Durham only to make him rush back.

We arrived at Labor & Delivery at 2:50 p.m. They checked me into a room and did a cervical exam. To my great disappointment, I was 2 cm dilated and 90% effaced. When they had examined me on the 16th (during False Alarm #2), I had been 1 cm dilated and 70% effaced. However, they told me they'd observe me for a few hours and see how things progressed.
James and I hung out in the room. I made a few calls, we walked the halls a few times, we even tried to watch a DVD before we realized that there was no DVD-viewing software on our laptop. At one point (around 5:15 p.m.), the nurse came in, looked at the contraction log, and said that I was definitely in "early labor." She offered to order me a meal tray, since they don't restrict food intake until you're admitted (I was still technically an outpatient). I jumped at the thought of food, and James headed down to the cafeteria for his dinner.

The shift change occurs at 7:00 p.m., so sometime between then and 8:00 p.m. my new nurse came in, introduced herself, and took a glance at my contraction log. She then uttered words that nearly put me in tears: "I don't know...these don't look very intense. We'll have Dr. Gray look at you."

Her Highness has woken up and is demanding food. To be continued...

Yeehaw!!!

OK, UK is definitely going to be moving up in the rankings this week...or at least be high in the SEC rankings. We played Arkansas today, and it was our first SEC game. Even though we were 3-0 going into this game, everyone thought we'd lose. However...

We won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We won the game, 42-29. In the 4th quarter, we scored 21 points. So now, UK is 4-0. That's pretty incredible for a team that went to its first bowl game in YEARS last year.

Let's hope that the Redskins play as well against the Giants tomorrow. Then both of my teams will still be undefeated.

By the way, Susanna slept through most of this game.

Woohoo!

The only two teams I really follow are the Washington Redskins and the UKentucky Wildcats. Both teams have had rather...um...disappointing track records in recent years. However, this year is shaping up to be very different. Currently, both teams are undefeated; UK is 3-0 and the Redskins are 2-0. How cool is THAT? On Saturday, UK beat Louisville (ranked #9) for the first time in five years. Yesterday, the Redskins beat the Eagles (Patti sticks out tongue at Chalmer), last year's NFC East champs.

I think it's gonna be a good season. Now, we just need to get Susanna a Redskins outfit.

Susanna-weeks two and three

Finally--pictures of Susanna!

Bumps in the Road

The past two days have been very interesting...

On Wednesday, Mom and I took Susanna to the pediatrician for her 1-week weight check. Afterward, we went to the mall for lunch (at Chick-Fil-A, of course) and some shopping (because we're related to Jean Van Delft AND I needed nursing bras). We walked around a little bit, and then came home. Around 3, I started getting some cramps. That's normal, since my uterus has to shrink back down to the size of a fist. However, these cramps HURT, and the ones I had been feeling previously had merely been annoying. They got worse as the day/night went on, and 800 mg of Motrin and heating pads barely made a dent in them. Honestly, at the worst point I felt like I was in labor again. It was that bad.

On Thursday morning, I called my OB-GYN, and they scheduled me for that afternoon. She poked around and said she thought they were just severe uterine contractions, but wanted to send me for a CT Scan to rule out an abdominal hematoma or appendicitis. So, Mom and I headed over to the hospital, she dropped me off, and headed home to meet James' mom, who was supposed to be arriving momentarily.

[Insert fun adventure of two moms exchanging baby and keys to our Escape, and then a trip to the hospital to pick me up, with my mom leaving to go home right after]

When I got to the Radiology department, I was faced with two bits of unwelcome news. First, I had to drink this really nasty stuff that would highlight my intestines...and it takes two hours to take effect. That meant I either had to stay at the hospital for two hours OR go home and come back. Second, during the CT scan I would be injected with a contrast dye that would pass through breast milk for 48 hours...meaning I had to "pump and dump" during that time and supplement with formula.

I was able to go home and have one last pumping session before the CT scan. Thankfully, I had already stored about 10 oz of breast milk in the freezer and had another 6 oz in the fridge. I also had a bunch of formula samples that I had received at the hospital. So...we've been alternating giving Susanna pumped breast milk and formula. I just gave her the last of the breast milk, so until the 48 hours is over (at 7:00 p.m.), she'll have to get all formula. So much for my desire to give her ONLY breast milk her first six months...

Thankfully, the CT scan was normal, and showed no signs of a hematoma or appendicitis. My OB gave me Darvocet, which greatly helped the pain. I'm going to try and go without it today, and see how I do. I can't drive while I'm on the Darvocet, and I would like my independence back. The question that's on my mind: why, after a week of mild postpartum symptoms, did I suddenly get an attack of the Cramps from Hell? Anyone have a good guess?

Susanna's First Week

Susanna is one week old today. This parenting thing is wonderful, but exhausting and scary, also. Sorry there aren't pictures yet. I have a bunch, but I have to take the time to sort and post. I'm a little tired, due to a severe lack of sleep. Here's a rundown of what we've been up to:

Days 1 & 2: We're in the hospital. Susanna is discharged at 6:30 p.m. on the 30th, and I am discharged (by my condescending and inconsiderate nurse) at 7:45 p.m. Note the time difference...we waiting in my room for that long, and James hadn't had dinner yet.

Day 3: The very early morning is a disaster...we term her "Miss Fussybutton" because she either wants to be held or swaddled TIGHTLY. Later in the day, James goes to town and buys a Swaddle Me (currently useless, because she's too small), bottle brushes (since I'm having to pump so much), and deposits my paycheck. She finally quiets down and we get some sleep.

Day 4: She still won't nurse, and my nipples remain stubbornly inverted, despite nipple shells and pumping. We follow our intuition and decide that feeding her with the little medicine cup is a bad idea, so we break out the bottles and nipples and use those to feed her the pumped breast milk. She eats, she's happy, she sleeps, we're happy.

Day 5: It was weird being in the parsonage and not going to church. This was only the third Sunday in 14 months that I hadn't been in a worship service somewhere. Susanna has her first outing...to Food Lion for some necessities. Patti's mom arrives in the afternoon.

Day 6: It's Patti's 31st birthday. We decide to go to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. Susanna sleeps through the whole thing. We go home and eat yummy chocolate birthday cake. Four hours later, we discover that Susanna does NOT like chocolate in mommy's milk. Or maybe it's the Bloomin' Onion she doesn't like. Regardless, a very long night ensues for Mommy and Grandma (we let Daddy sleep because he had work and a long drive in the morning).

Day 7: A beacon of hope on the nursing front: Susanna nurses on one side for 20 minutes. She refuses the breast several times that evening, but we're still holding out hope. In the meantime, the breast pump is our best friend. Hey, it's the same product, just different packaging and less portable.

Day 8: Susanna's one week "birthday"! We have a big day: to the pediatrician for a weight check (she's gained back 6 of the 7 ounces she lost in the hospital), to the mall for Chick-Fil-A and shopping, and then to PetSmart and Food Lion for doggie and big people food. She slept through everything, except when she woke up briefly for the weight check. I had a Coke with lunch, so we'll find out tonight if she likes caffeine in Mommy's milk.

Pictures will follow...soon. I promise. In terms of "postpartum recovery", I'm feeling pretty good. I think I overdid it today, though; I'm feeling very crampy and sore. Thank God for the high-octane ibuprofen my OB prescribed. :)

Susanna is here!

Susanna Patricia arrived at 2:45 a.m. on Wednesday, August 29. You can see her ultra-cute picture at the Web Nursery site. Just request all babies born in August, in the state of Virginia, with the first three letters of my last name. You can even leave messages. :)

She was 7 lbs, 10 oz and a whopping 20.5" long. I was in labor for 22 hours, but thankfully only the final eight or so were really bad, and I had an epidural (wonderful invention, by the way) for the last four hours. I pushed for 45 minutes, and she gave me a 3rd-degree tear. She is worth every pain and every stitch!

I promise I'll post some photos within the next week. We got home last night and James and I are exhausted, I'm still sore, and we're having some problems with breastfeeding (I have slightly inverted nipples, which make latching a challenge). But it's a joy to have our little girl with us, and such a relief to not be pregnant anymore.

James was WONDERFUL during labor and delivery, and has been so supportive in this postpartum period. He's great with Susanna. Woody and Simon are very interested in her, and gave her many welcoming sniffs last night. My mom will probably come on Sunday to stay for a few days and help out, and then James' mom will come next weekend.

Keep us in your prayers, especially with the breastfeeding issues. Thank God for breast pumps, because otherwise I would have had to at least supplement with formula already!

When IT happens...spreading the word

No, I have not gone into labor yet. Hopefully that will happen this week, because I will be a VERY unhappy camper if I am in church a week from today. As I said today, I love my church, but I really want to have this baby soon! I'm still trying to induce labor naturally, with no success as of yet.

So many people (friends, family, church folk, etc) are sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting to find out if Susanna is here or not. I think people are afraid that they'll "miss the boat" and won't hear anything at all...or hear nothing until Susanna is a year old or something. Therefore, I thought I'd let you all know our "grand plan" for announcing her arrival. My goal is to have just about everyone know within 24 hours, either by phone or e-mail. Those of you who "lurk" will most likely find out from this blog, within 4-5 days after her birth.

I (or James) will call the following people ASAP: My parents, his mom, my grandmother, my PPR Chair, my Lay Leader, the pastor who's covering for me, and my District Superintendent.

Once I've moved into a postpartum room and am a little more settled (probably within 4 hours after the birth), one of us will call: the remaining members of the PPR (who can then spread the word to the church) and possibly some close friends.

At some point in the 24 hours after the birth, I'll send James to hunt down an Internet connection (probably in Pastoral Care) and send THE E-MAIL. Months ago, I composed a draft of an e-mail and created a mailing list entitled "Baby Announcement". There are currently 126 names on that mailing list. All James has to do is enter the pertinent info (date, time, weight, etc) and click "send". I have a similar e-mail draft set up on my church e-mail account, to notify church people (I think between the phone lines and Internet, most of the church will know within 24 hours).

Sometime after we come home, I will post an announcement on this blog, and at that point I'll include pictures. We have a digital camera (packed safely in my hospital bag, along with a spare battery and memory card), but probably won't be able to download pics until we're at home.

So...if all else fails, and you don't receive an e-mail from me, check this blog and you should see an announcement sometime within the next two weeks. Hopefully, it will be sooner.

Oh, and for those of you who are Virginia Conference clergy, there will probably also be an announcement on ClergyNet.

I don't know if I'll do paper birth announcements. It depends if I have the time and inclination to make them myself, because the fancy ones you order are really expensive ($1/piece, minimum) and I don't want to spend that kind of money. Sure, they look nice, but I have other things I could buy with that $$.

Still here...

Yes, I'm still pregnant. I'm big as a house, hormonal as anything, and really want to meet this child! I've gotten to the point where I'll try ANYTHING to go into labor. On Saturday, I went on the hayride at our church picnic. I think people were surprised that I made it to church on Sunday. :) On Monday, I went down to Durham (I needed to get out of Danville) for some shopping, and walked around a whole bunch. Today, I had Chinese for lunch. I may go to a health food store and buy some rasberry leaf tea. I've even taken out my breast pump and used it for a few minutes. Nothing's worked so far...I refuse to try castor oil. That stuff is NASTY.

Please pray that Susanna will come soon...I'm afraid if she stays in there for too long, she'll be gigantic and I'll have to have a C-section. I don't want one of those; I've gone almost 31 years without surgery, and I have no desire to change that!

Top Ten Additions (#4, #3)

#4 Your doctor sends you up to Labor & Delivery (aka L&D) "just in case", no matter what you call him/her for: contractions, back pain, possible amniotic leakage, ingrown toenail, etc.

#3 Your fear of labor pain is overshadowed by the fervent desire to have this child leave your womb NOW.

Happy Lefthanders' Day!

I did not know this...but today (August 13th) is Lefthanders' Day! I am proud to be a "lefty" and one of the 10% of "perfect" people in the world (heehee). I found the lyrics to this song online, and thought it was hysterical. It's called the "Lefty Lament Song". For the full experience, you need to hear it sung, so click on the link below the lyrics.

Three cheers to all the lefties out there!

Left-Handers Lament by Ian Radburn

Now here's the story of my life,I've had fun but lots of strife,

For I was born left-handed, but I'm proud

To be one of the elite, right-handers we can beat

We're the 10% that stand out from the crowd!
But as a little lad, oh the problems that I had

Winding clockwork toys was just a mystery

Tying laces was a pain, couldn't get it in my brain

Everything was back-to-front it seemed to me

Chorus: We're the Cack-Handed Kings, we're the LEFTIES

You right-handers just haven't got a clue

'Cos if you'd been through what we've been through

Then maybe you would feel superior too!

At 5 I started school where I was treated like a fool

Being left-handed I stood out from the pack

And learning how to write was not a struggle - more a fight

For I had my left hand tied behind my back

"Now get it in your head" the sympathetic teacher said

"You use the right and not the Devil's side"

Those supposed men of vision caused me pain and such derision

Is it any wonder often times I cried?

We're the Gibble Fisted Friends, we're the LEFTIES

(repeat chorus)
Time then came when my voice dropped

And my face was one big spot

But I was glad to see my teenage years arrive,

Because I use my left, I was different from the rest

And the girls saw me as something of a prize!
I learned some handy tricks in the back row of the flicks

It used to drive my girlfriends all berserk

For their eyes would keep apace of my right hand - just in case

And they never saw my left one go to work!
We're the Southpawed Princes, we're the LEFTIES

(repeat chorus)
Well I'm married now, worst luck

But my wife has given up

Asking me to help with chores like peeling spuds,

Or trying to cut the bread, I'll get a 4 x 2" wedge

Lose three fingertips and half a pint of blood
I would love to be a dad, but we've hit a little snag

If you can help please tell us what to do

The problem simply said, is that I'm a left-hand thread

But my wife you see, now she's a right-hand

.....OH, YES WE'RE THE
Scrummy-Handed Heroes, we're the LEFTIES

(repeat chorus)
Now we reach today, where you stand and watch me play

And yes, I play right-handed it is true

For the very simple fact is that I've had to adapt

Something all we southpaws have to try and do

We have trouble tying ties, writing cheques out, using knivesand scissors made for use in your right hand

And when it comes to sport once again we are left short

In hockey and in polo we are banned
We're the Cuddy Wifter Winners, we're the LEFTIES

(repeat chorus)
Now I've finished off my song and as you move along

Please bear in mind the things I've had to say

And please show some respect for your friends who use the lef

tThanks for listening to me this Left-Handers Day.
Copyright: Ian Radburn, 2004

http://www.lefthandersday.com/audio/lefty_lament.wma

Top Ten Addition...

#5 You feel as though a beeping sound much akin to the backup alarm on a loader should accompany your rolling over in bed--- and it takes WAY too long to do!

Top Ten Ways to Know It's Time for Baby to COME SOON!

This is a work in progress...I hope to have it completed by the time I actually go into labor. Right now, I've only thought of a few things...

#10 You find yourself not fitting into/barely squeezing into small, tight spaces like church pews and restaurant booths because of your enormous belly.

#9 Your maternity clothes are getting too tight, but it's pointless to buy new clothes this late in your pregnancy.

#8 You can only wear two pairs of shoes because of your swollen feet/ankles (in my case, it's Birkentocks or sneakers).

#7 You find yourself flirting with the idea of abandoning your staunchly-held principles and parking in a handicapped spot, because all the "Expectant Mother" spots have been taken (by non-pregnant people, most likely), the nearest "normal" parking spot is ten spaces down the row, and the thought of walking that far in 90-degree heat makes you whimper. (NOTE: I would never park in a handicapped spot unless I genuinely needed it. However, the temptation is present...)

#6 You take a church member to the ER, and the woman at the registration desk looks at your belly, and asks if you need to be taken up to Labor & Delivery.

Stay tuned to see if I come up with any more brilliant ideas...

Happy Anniversary to Us!!!

Today is our anniversary! James and I have been married for SIX years. I can't believe it's been that long---obviously time flies when you're having fun. Tonight we're going to Yancey House (in Yanceyville) for dinner. Here's a sobering thought--next year we'll have to get a baby-sitter.

So here are two pictures of us: "then" and "now" (sort-of). The pic on the right was taken last May, when James got his PhD. We haven't had too many pictures taken of the two of us this past year.