Bill & Lez's Excellent Adventure

Further Proof That The Baby is a Vampire

2009-05-01T15:58:00.004-04:00

Well, we always joke that the baby is a vampire, because he seems intent on sucking the life out of me :)

But we have further confirmation that he's vampire (a typical one...not a Twilight one).

We know that when I have ice cream or other dairy, he HATES it. And I started to suspect that it was the same for garlic. He would get a bit fussy when I ate it.

Well it's CONFIRMED. I had a ton of garlic last night and he spent the evening wailing uncontrollably and we couldn't comfort him. Sigh. I feel like I'm still pregnant and having to watch what I eat. So still no sushi or beer, and unfortunately no garlic. And I love garlic. This is tough.

5 Weeks

2009-04-29T09:52:00.003-04:00

I've been lazy and neglectful of the blog...I know.

So what have you missed in Griff's life? Here's a quick rundown.

1. We are addicted to "The Happiest Baby on the Block" which has gotten him to sleep 4-6 hour stretches and to sleep in his bassinet. Success!

Although Billy and I were marveling about how easy the nights have been, so inevitably last night sucked. But I think that was an acid reflux-growth spurt-new sleeping schedule issue.

2. Squirt and I spent our first few nights away from home and dad. He also did a 2 hour car drive - no problemo!

3. He took his first bottle of breastmilk. No issues and dad was happy to finally feed him.

4. The daycare of our choice finally got back to us and Griff is in!! Woohooo!!

Who's Smug?

2009-04-28T15:42:00.000-04:00

LOL.

What the Flux?!!?

2009-04-10T10:31:00.003-04:00

Sidenote. This is me. I'm a milk machine. End of sidenote.

So I'm learning about 3000 new things a day.

A few days ago, Griffin started getting really fussy at night. And spitting up. A LOT. And projectile vomitting curdled milk. And his breath got really stinky like spoiled milk. And he started acting really fussy when he was eating. And has been uncomfortable because he's so gassy even when he burps a lot.

I took him to the pediatrician and he has acid reflux (just like his Lola). Who knew babies could have acid reflux? Apparently, tons of babies have it, but some have it worse than others.

Griffin is now on Zantac and Prevacid and so far, no more projectile vomitting, less fussing. Just some normal spit up. Woohoo!!

I Spoke Too Soon

2009-04-10T10:28:00.002-04:00

Griffin is no longer sleeping in his bassinet. Back to the carseat. Sigh.

That's ok, I guess. I'll keep trying the bassinet, but I read a bunch of forums online saying other people had their babies sleep in the carseats and when they get bigger, they'll wean themselves off of the carseat.

We've had two lovely nights...minimal fussing, sleeping 2-2.5 hours at a time, good feedings, etc. So no complaining from my end. The kid is won-der-ful!

Best Buy Ever!

2009-04-07T14:55:00.004-04:00

Ever since we brought Griffin home from the hospital, he has not, NOT wanted to sleep in his bassinet or crib. He absolutely hates them. Even if he is fast asleep, as soon as you put him down into the bassinet he wails inconsolably.

He will sleep on top of us (which I don't feel comfortable with since I'm so terrified he's going to fall off the bed or we're going to roll over onto him), and he'll sleep in his swing or in his carseat. I think he likes the enclosed-ness of it.

Anyhoo, I've been trying to think how we can break him of this habit because I don't want him to get a weird flat head from sleeping upright. So I did a little research and found this product online -- an inclined sleep positioner -- which is really helped make the bassinet feel tighter and not so wide open. And Griffin's really, really gassy - constant spitting up - so the sleep positioner really helps with that too and would hopefully make him more comfortable when he sleeps. I ran to Babies R Us, picked one up and was ready to try it!

So last night, I swaddled him pretty hardcore in his Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe Adjustable Infant Wrap then placed him in the sleep positioner and BAM! The kid slept two straight hours until his next feeding in his bassinet! Then I fed him, reswaddled him, put him back in and BAM! Another two hours.

Great success! I'm hoping it works again tonight!

He's Good Lookin'...I Know It!

2009-04-02T19:45:00.003-04:00

View Album at Shutterfly

What a difference 11 days makes

2009-04-01T21:45:00.006-04:00

It's been 11 days since Griffin's birthday and I've been MIA. Mostly because I've been so bleary eyed from lack of sleep that I couldn't get online to post any videos or photos.

Billy and I are exhausted but watching Griffin stretch or make funny noises makes it all worthwhile.

Since I'm still too tired to write an actual post, here's a list of things I've learned or now know:

1. It IS possible to give birth without an epidural or painkillers. I'm still pretty proud of myself for this one.

2. A doula and an awesome husband is completely necessary to achieve Number 1.

3. You can't push with your face when it comes to pushing that sucker out. The nurse WILL yell at you.

4. Don't tell a lady in labor to not push so that her doctor can make it in time. I'm going to push, people. There's no stopping it at this point.

5. No one ever tells you how much pain you'll feel after you give birth.

6. Having your baby room in with you at the hospital is nice, but so is calling the nurse to take him to the nursery when you want to get some sleep.

7. The baby doesn't care that the breastfeeding book says to feed him every 3 hours. He wants to eat every 30 minutes.

8. The baby doesn't care that it HURTS to feed him.

9. You don't think you will be one of those ladies that becomes hysterical at 4 am saying, "I can't do this, I can't do this" but you end up being that crazy lady at some point.

10. You can't help but look at your baby and think, "Wow, me and my husband make one good looking baby."

Here's a few videos we've taken over the last 11 days...

What's It Going to Take...

2009-03-19T20:29:00.006-04:00

...to get this kid out??

I think we've pretty much tried every old wives' tale...spicy food, walking, hanging curtains, cleaning...but no such luck. Squirt is ensconsed in there.

But I have been telling Squirt that if he wants to come out today, that's okay. But if he wants to hang out a litle longer, that's okay too. Whatever he wants to do.

But any new ideas on how to coax him out?

Because I'm so EXCITED (to see him), but I'm so SCARED! Lol. Okay, I just wanted an excuse to put this on the blog.

Baby Update -- *Oink, oink"

2009-03-17T21:09:00.002-04:00

I went for my checkup today and had the third and final doctor in the practice, who I love. I've actually met him before and he's fantastic. Anyway, you don't care about that.

On to baby news.

First, Billy and I went in for an ultrasound. Billy was running late and almost got a speeding ticket trying to get there. Luckily, the cop pulled over the guy behind him. Also, irrelevant.

Anyhoo, at the ultrasound we found two things out. One Squirt is a little piggy. He's a big boy - in the 86th percentile, which is pretty astonishing since Billy and I are...not. He was all squished up so it was hard for them to tell but they thought he weighs about 7 lbs, 11 oz.

The second thing we established is that we were right - the poor kid has a Filipino nose. It's like...all I could focus on during the ultrasound (we had a regular ultrasound and a little bit of a 4D ultrasound to look at his face).

So, then we saw the doctor, who told me I'm 85% effaced but still 1 cm dilated. But then he said, I probably won't dilate more than that until I'm actually in labor because I have some scar tissue from an old procedure.

The doctor also thought that they might start thinking about inducing since Squirt is so big and my fluid looks a little low. I'm hoping we don't have to induce. We'll see.

And since my fluid was low, they made me do 25 minutes of fetal monitoring. Where I learned that I was having the type of contractions that normally make people squirmy and tense, but apparently, I just slept through them. LOL whoops!

Gettin' there!

This conversation just happened...for real...

2009-03-15T20:13:00.001-04:00

Billy: Is it getting chilly in here?

Leslie: No, grandpa.

Billy: Well, I don't have 70 extra pounds padding me.

Wow. Nice, Billy. Reeeeaaal nice. :)

Gifts That Made Me Laugh

2009-03-13T23:28:00.003-04:00

I got a bunch of really adorable baby gifts at my three showers, but these in particular made me laugh. Which is really dangerous for a pregnant lady with a compressed bladder.

First off...that's right...New Kids on the Block-inspired!

And then...Twilight-inspired onesie! It's Edward-licious!

Aren't my friends crafty??

Final Countdown

2009-03-12T21:45:00.001-04:00

Almost time! 20 More Days!

No News...

2009-03-10T21:36:00.004-04:00

Went to the doctor today, but didn't get an update on how many centimeters dilated I am. I didn't have my regular OB/GYN today - my doctor wanted me to meet the other doctors in the practice. I met the young doctor in the practice today who is the only woman and she was extremely nice.

She did my belly measurement and it measured small today. I've never measured small -with my regular doctor, I'm always right on target. Last week I was 36 and this week she measured me at 33!!! I think she just measured wrong.

But anyway, since I measured small, I'm scheduled for an ultrasound next week to see how big Squirt is and what position he's in. I'll be excited to see him in an ultrasound, even though I don't think I need one!

TMI Post of the Week

2009-03-03T20:38:00.002-05:00

1 cm dilated, 50% effaced, -2 station.

Now, I'm pretty sure I'll stay at these measurements for 5 weeks. I can see that happening...

Head of the Class

2009-02-24T22:50:00.005-05:00

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So Billy and I are the type of people that like to glom onto any information. Hence why he and I feel the need to take all these baby classes. So far, we've done a Baby Basics class and a two-day Childbirth Education class. Then we'll be doing a few hours of comfort measures and labor and delivery stuff with our doula.

And tonight, I did a two and a half hour breastfeeding class. Which was...overwhelming. I haven't felt overwhelmed or freaked out after any of our other classes, but this one freaked me out. It was major information overload. Too much stuff to remember. And maybe it was because it was the first class I did on my own without Billy and there was a lot of pressure to remember everything.

But then I thought about that scene in Knocked Up where Katherine Heigl is complaining that Seth Rogen isn't reading any of the baby books. And he says something to the effect that the ancient egyptians didn't have "What to Expect When You're Expecting."

Which always makes me feel better :)

5 Weeks Left!

2009-02-23T22:03:00.006-05:00

The belly...stretch marks and all!

A girl and her birthing ball.

9

2009-02-11T22:56:00.002-05:00

Water seems pretty inocuous. Water's good for you, right?

So why does it feel so bad when you go to the doctor and he uses water to make excuses for you?

I gained 9 pounds this week. Ouch. I think it was the longanisa. And the donuts. And the huge bag of Halloween candy.

My doctor was pretty sympathetic this month...he said since I was swollen in the hands and feet that part of that weight gain was probably water weight.

It still feels not great :)

You asked for it...

2009-01-27T22:27:00.006-05:00

I don't know why people want to see this. Looking at my lack of a waist makes my eyes hurt. :)

Sneak Peek at Squirt's Room

2009-01-27T22:20:00.003-05:00

We're going with an enchanted forest/knights and castles theme. Billy is painting a beautiful but massive mural on two walls for Squirt, so I thought I'd give everyone a sneak peek in the work in progress.

Here's Billy in action painting the start of a sleepy dragon resting in a cave.

The Joys and Perils of Longanisa

2009-01-26T21:10:00.005-05:00

This is a two-part post.

First off, I made longanisa for the first time. You may not know this but I love longanisa. And you may also not know but longanisa is Filipino sausage. Fatty, tasty and wonderful. I was super proud of myself for boiling then frying the sausages in their own gristle. Delicious.

But, that's part one.

Part two is I ate all the longanisa and now my fingers resemble longanisa. And I can no longer wear my wedding and engagement rings. I had to PRY them off this morning because they were cutting off my circulation. I think they have to be retired until after Squirt.

So the lesson there is 'eat longanisa, have fingers that resemble longanisa.'

Choices, choices...

2009-01-22T22:24:00.004-05:00

So, one of the fabulous Christmas gifts I got this year from some lovely folks, was a spa gift certificate. Which was perfect for me, because frankly, there's nothing I love more than massages, body wraps and being pampered.

Of course, being pregs, my selections of what I can get done are limited (sniff, sniff - no body wraps, hot stone massages or sauna for me), but I'm torn between a few things - when to go and what do have done.

I'm definitely getting a maternity massage - my back is killing me, both my lower back and my kidneys.

But do I go for the hour and then a haircut? Or do I do two half hour sessions and break up the wonderfulness into two days? Should I get my massage now or wait until I'm really miserable in a few weeks?

Decisions, decisions.

A New Day

2009-01-20T20:01:00.007-05:00

I was slammed at work today, but I managed to sneak the inauguaration on my computer as I did some work. (Why was I slammed you ask? Because one of my co-workers was lucky enough to be able to go DC to witness the momentous occasion in person).

I'm still a little speechless that the day has finally come.

It's hard to feel hopeful lately when there are so many bloody conflicts around the world, tons of lost jobs, an economy spiraling out of control, and the world's opinion turned against us. But today I feel hopeful and I think it's infectious no matter who you voted for. We can start fresh today.

So, the hours spent registering volunteers for the Obama campaign were worth it to me...because today I know Squirt can look to the highest, most influential office in this county and see someone like him. Someone who doesn't fit neatly into a census box. That there's no longer a "profile" of someone who can succeed, who can be a politician, who can be a leader. And that's the type of world I want to bring our baby into.

A Push Gift Perhaps??

2009-01-07T20:58:00.003-05:00

Releasing just in time for Squirt...March 21st take home the magic on DVD!

What's In a Name

2009-01-05T20:47:00.008-05:00

I just read that Rebecca Romijin Stamos (ok, I know her name is not Stamos anymore but that's how I think about it) and Jerry O'Connell just had twin girls. And they named them Dolly Rebecca Rose and Charlie Tamara Tulip.

Oh gosh, really?! Really!?! Dolly? All I can think about when I hear Dolly is that cloned sheep. And then I think about sheep eating grass...and flowers...like roses and tulips.

Although, I guess it's better than Bronx Mowgli. I love Disney too but Mowgli might be the last character I name my child after.

Maybe I'd go with Ursula or Jafar or even Dopey...