He wants to drive the car!

So, we are getting on with it.

Last night coming back from practice was pretty bad- Nico cried pretty much all the way home. I stopped twice- once on HWY 98 and once in Woodville to get him out of the carseat, check his diaper, feed him some. And each time he was okay for a few minutes then started crying once the car got moving. On the upside, he went to bed at midnight last night and slept till 6:30 this morning- so maybe the crying wore him out.

Speaking of riding in the car- is this not the greatest invention ever?
Its a mirror that sits on the back seat facing Nico... and so what I can do is look in the rear view mirror to see what his malfunction is. It doesnt really work at night (too dark). But isn't that cool? Adding to possible careers that I should have explored before investing so heavily into becoming a PhD is "Inventor of Baby Stuff".

Nico and I did some errands on Monday, which included a trip to Target, which never fails to make me lose my damn mind and buy a whole ton of baby stuff. I saw another really awesome piece of baby stuff: a plastic bag dispenser that hooks onto a diaper bag strap. Isnt that amazing? For those of you who haven't had to change a baby on the floor of a resturant bathroom (twice) for want of changing table- there is a lot of stuff to handle. I have a wet bag in which to keep dirty diapers as well as a bag with clean diapers and clothes, wipes, etc. If we were using disposable diapers, this little bag dispenser thing would be awesomeness.

So Nico was a jem when we did our errands, which included, in addition to Target, Office Depot and the Post Office. I thought that he was going to have the melt down at the Post Office. Of course, this is a fair reaction- we had to wait in line for 20 minutes. In all honesty, I was about to have a melt down too. Seriously? Its lunch hour and there are only two windows open? I hate the Postal Service. Makes me feel better about sending emails to my friends instead of cards. Insert snarky comment from my dad about health care run by the government in 3....2.....1.....

But he was awesome.

Here is a little video of him swinging yesterday. Okay, so he's really sleeping... but he's swinging too...

Proposal

Sorry its been so long dudes!!

My dissertation proposal defense was scheduled for Friday- and since Ike does check Nico's blog every now and then, I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to post neurotic ramblings about how I haven't done anything on the presentation and how they are going to kick me out of the program and yada yada yada. And lets, be real you can only deal with so many of those kind of posts before getting really annoyed with me :)

In any case, the defense went REALLY well. This was in large part due to the fact that Ike wanted me to lay it ALL out in the actual paper- where I went into a LOT of detail. The result was, that most of the discussion at the defense was about the intellectual aspect of it- the possibility of including this or that, this interesting idea, etc. Which, I think is way better than a defense where your committee members are asking questions about your basic concepts or terms... so I passed- straight up, no conditions or anything. Now I just need to, write the damn thing.

The best part was where the committee unanimously agreed that the proposal as it is now is A LOT. They thought that I could basically just look at 2 of the 4 outcomes I proposed and call that a dissertation. Which blows my mind, because it means that I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel. So now when my mom asks how long until I can make Dave call me Doctor, I can give a definitive answer and not just shrug.


Nico is doing well. He went on a lunch date with Lauren, April and Kelly on Friday after my defense... of course, I was chaperoning, making sure that they didnt try to get him any beer or anything (just jokes, they wouldnt try that- he's only a baby). I think he was a little miffed with me, because I wouldn't let him have any tacos (we were at Cabos). But I think he will get over it :)In this picture, Nico is smirking, because he saw that Chelsea lost to Wigan Athletic on Saturday. Ha! Suckas!!

Dave and I were talking about it this week, and we have agreed that every day is more fun than the day before, with this guy. He gets more and more personality each day. He's growing- FAST. Since I dont like overly tight clothes, I have, since he was born, not put him in those newborn onesies, because him being a little bit of a chunk made them pretty tight. Now, he can't even wear the 40 some odd 0-3 month onesies that we got from Target. Seriously, I cant get them over his head easily and I can't get them buttoned up.

He's looking around a lot more these days. I may be making this up, but he seems transfixed by the television... Dave moved the rocking chair from the bedroom out to the living room and I noticed last night when I was watching the Matrix that Nico was watching it too... which makes me weary. Since Dave and I dont want a Zombie Nico, I guess this means more reading books while I am nursing him and less watching tv... (boooooo!). This is kind of a bummer, because I was hoping we might get to 4 or 5 months before we really had to start being careful with the TV... Of course, its possible that I made this up...

Practice and whatnot...

So we had our first drama driving to practice this week. This has always been one of the things I have feared about the whole baby-practice in Wakulla thing: that I would, at some point, end up driving 45 minutes to soccer practice with Nico screaming the entire way. It wasn't exactly that bad- mostly because I left the house at 430 for a practice that starts at 600. I fed him at 300... got us bundled into the car with all the stuff and Nico commenced crying just north of Woodville... and proceeded to cry all the way through Woodville. I had to keep going, because I was looking for the ice place (where I needed to stop and get ice). I dont know how many of you have ever had to drive with a crying baby in the car- but damn its stressful.



In any case, when we got to the ice place, I took Nico out of his car seat and sat him on my lap as we continued driving down to the high school. Turns out, he was mad because he wanted to drive. Just kidding! I changed his diaper and took off his clothes. After a few minutes of Mama cuddling time, we got on the road again, this time with the windows down. Seemed to do the trick. Turns out all he really wanted was to feel the breeze on his skin... the only thing he was missing was some sunglasses. Is he my kid or what?

The last couple of nights have been a little bit better as far as sleeping goes. I think that he really does like me better than Dave... seems to be fussy a lot more for Dave than for me. This makes me kind of sad, then I remember that Dave is the good cop. So in 16 years when he hates me because he wants to stay out and I wont let him, and I even over rule Dave on the matter, I can look back to a time when he didn't always hate me the most...

The improving sleeping situation is quite fortuitous, actually. My dissertation proposal defense is scheduled for Friday... this is basically where I have to stand up in front of my committee and justify my proposed dissertation research. If I pass, they will let me write a dissertation. Woo hoo!!

His sleeping better has been good for me, because it means that I am not so absolutely exhausted in the mornings that I can actually get out of bed at a decent hour, instead of lounging half the day away. Of course, now that I have breathed mention of it, he has probably just decided that he is not going to sleep one more minute. EVER.

Preseason has been going good. I am kind of annoyed about the team though... I dont know why. I can't quite figure it out... its something. Maybe some of them dont quite understand what I am about.... I know. THE JESSI BISHOP... you can't believe it. We have a bunch of new girls who havent quite figured it out yet... which is understandable, they did just show up five minutes ago... they will come along. But then there are a bunch of girls who were in the program last year, who dont seem to get that I am the one who (largely) decides who plays JV and who plays Varsity. Its shocking how many of them think its perfectly acceptable to carry on a conversation while coaches are talking. Seriously-dude.... you're trying to win a spot on Varsity, why are you talking when I am talking? Maybe its just immaturity. Or maybe its a generational thing... seriously. It was kind of funny when I was ten years older than the oldest girls... but now I am twice the age of some of these kids. But seriously, is it EVER okay to conduct your own conversation when the Coach is announcing stuff to the team? I foresee a "come to Jesus" meeting in the near future...

I am a little nervous about the season... with the flu coming up... plus the thing in Kentucky (where a football coach was put on trial for a kid dying at his practice). Our football team had to cancel a game with NFC last week because 55% of the team was out with the flu. I think our program is vulnerable to flu... we have two sets of sisters (twins). Plus we have several sets of friends who are so close they are practically related (share lots of time together- and thus lots of germs). I preach to them about the virtues of vitamin C and not sharing germs... but lets be real here... missing a game because she is sick never kept a teenage girl from making out with her boyfriend.

Still cant believe that the season is about to start... still cant believe its my fourth. Seems like just yesterday when all my seniors were skinny little freshmen- fresh out of middle school. Now they are all driving and having jobs and whatnot. How time flies!!

Practice

We had a pretty good weekend around here.

This week, we started preseason. Our first day was Tuesday night, during which Nico hung out with Rochelle and Rick (parents of one of the girls) for most of the practice, a prelude for the season coming up... where I foresee Nico spending a lot of the cold night games in the safe warmth of the concession stand.

Saturday was the first Saturday practice... a big test for all of us, but namely Nico. Since there are rules governing who can practice when with who, we get around the rules by Dave practicing with the girls, on the field with soccer balls (I can do conditioning with them, but cant have "practice" yet). It was HOT and gross. There is hardly any shade at the highschool practice fields. But I found a sliver of shade constructed by the football shed.

Overall, Nico was pretty good. I worry about making my kid dehydrated. So I did a little research, and when they are this young, you dont really do anything special, except nurse them to combat the lost fluids (when they get older you give them bottles of water). So I walk Nico over to the 4-Runner, thinking I would just tuck us into the backseat, do our business and then voila, magically appear back at practice (even though they are all girls, I can totally see there being some sort of controversy about Coach Bishop whipping out her ta-tas at practice). The thing is, that having a baby along for the ride increases the accoutrement that we have to tote around in the car... on top of the ton of crap that we usually carry, ball bags, cones, med kit, etc. So I am trying to manuever in the backseat of the car, with the car seat and the diaper bag, etc. And I go to lift Nico up to get him situated on my lap and whack his head against the handle just inside the door (up by the ceiling). Felt absolutely AWFUL.

You know, there is a huge difference in the way he cries when he is pissed because he is hungry and his n00b parents cant get it together fast enough... to when he wants to be held... to when he is hurt. Man- it was horrible. A good lesson though. Look up when you are lifting a baby in close quarters.

He was pretty good. I am not even going to qualify that statement. Straightup... he was good. Might just make this work afterall...

In any case, I took this video yesterday of Nico smiling. Enjoy!!

good weekend

Had a good weekend this weekend. Granny You (my mom) came up and we hung out. She got to meet little Nico. It was a pretty great weekend, lounging about and watching TV... he wore the Manchester City onesie that my mother made him, during the game... while City did win 4-2 over Arsenal, Adebayor stomped on Van Persie's face, so that is bad... I'd hope that Nico doesnt learn such behaviors... but as long as he spends Saturdays sleeping through Prem games, I guess I dont have to worry much about that...


Nico had his one month appointment on Friday. His weight: 12 pounds, 2 ounces, confirming my suspicion that he has his Mama's metabolism. Seriously, all I have to do is *think* about a cupcake and all of a sudden, I feel my jeans fitting tighter. So he's got that going for him? Our pediatrician (who we love) is less convinced that the Battle of The Gassy Beast was caused by eliminating formula from his diet.

He also has my number because he mentioned that one of the main benefits of exclusive breastfeeding is that babies who are exclusively breastfed are several IQ points higher on average than babies who are formula fed and who are fed with supplementation. I say he has my number, because that is all I need to hear: empirical evidence using methodologies I value to tell me something which will prompt a response from me...

I know, you're shocked... the hippie mom who has dreams of making her baby the smartest, funniest, best athlete takes heed when she hears that development and intelligence based outcomes are associated with breastfeeding. I bet you're getting tired of this story.

Of course, its difficult to say whether its breastmilk or breastfeeding... I think most of the research didnt distinguish between the two...although I could see justifications for either. Maybe women who breast feed are more likely to engage in other behaviors that effect outcomes, but that weren't controlled for. Perhaps women who take the time to pump breast milk are systematically different than those who feed their babies formula alone.

So I have tried another approach with the whole breastmilk thing: eliminating some of the foods that might cause gas, starting with caffeine products (at JSD's suggestion). Much to my chagrin, caffeine seems to be associated with Nico being overly "fussy"... which means that I get to start the soccer season this week driving to and fro without the added benefit of my second favorite stimulant (behind adderall). And yes, I have tried the caffeine free diet sodas, which are actually kind of nasty. So much so, that Jessi Bishop-Royse, self-proclaimed sugar fiend, concurs that they are kind of a waste of time. FAIL!

He is also 22 inches long, which means that he grew 1.5 inches in a month. Isnt that amazing? No wonder he sleeps a lot, its hard work growing that much that fast!!

Gastastic

The last couple of days have been pretty rough at night.

A caveat: this is about to be an explanation of how I am my own worst enemy. This will likely sound a bit neurotic and even a bit whiny. This post also contains information on breastfeeding and nursing as well as pumping... so if you are completely uninterested in the finer details of how I am manufacturing nutrition for Nico, I advise you check back tomorrow or the day after for an update. You've been warned.

So my MO to this point has been characterized by a (perhaps irrational) fear of being in a situation where Nico is screaming his face off because he is hungry, but I cant kill his hunger (via nursing). That is just some stressful nonsense... and usually ends with me crying too- I cant help it. Its a chain reaction. Also, I can't lie, sometimes nursing him hurts...sometimes it doesnt. But the times where it hurts make me want to quit nursing and put that kid on Similac 24-7. In any case, I have attempted to create a stockpile of bottles in the fridge that are ready to go. I have done this by pumping and supplementing with formula (the good stuff mind you- that is fortified with DHA, which I think is good since my diet isn't always what you would call "balanced" or "nutritious"- funny, cupcakes aren't loaded with DHA, but I digress). Yes, I feel the tiniest twinge of guilt for supplementing, but not really. I feel like he is getting the antibodies and immunition qualities, from the breast milk, but also good brain development with the DHA, but whatev. While this has partially been driven by my own issues with this whole breastfeeding odyssey, it was in large part due to the fact that I wanted to make sure that he was getting enough to eat every day (which is easy to do with a bottle).

So I went to the breastfeeding support group again on Tuesday, where I weighed Nico before feeding him and after breastfeeding and determined that he took in about 4 ounces, which is perfect for a kid his size. My conclusion is that my mile supply is established, he gets enough to eat each time he nurses, that I dont need to pump anymore and that sometime someone is going to award me with Mom of the Year, Thank you very much!!

I dont know what I do this, but it seems like every time I go to that damn group, I start questioning what I am doing... I think its partially a fear over how much weight Nico has gained... he was 12 pounds on Tuesday, suggesting that he had put on 3.4 pounds in about 3 and half weeks. The breastfeeding lady told me that its really easy to overfeed a baby with a bottle, but that it is not possible if you are breastfeeding.

For Tuesday I experimented with the non-stockpiling of the bottles... and it began what I like to think of as the two day long Battle of the Beast. On Tuesday, Nico got about 1 ounce of formula and about 30 something ounces of breastmilk (which is largely different than what he had been getting, which is about 22 ounces of breastmilk and 9-10 ounces of formula). And he was cranktastic Tuesday night and much of Wednesday. Gas-a-rific! Oh, and not sleeping. EVER.

So let me pause this story to make this claim: I didnt believe in colic. Yeah... I just said that. I know... I sound like the president of South Africa, not believing in AIDS... its just that even doctors dont know what causes "colic" (acute abdominal pain)... to me colic is what happens to a horse when they ingest too much sand (from eating hay, food and grass off the ground). It causes horrible stomach pain, and can kill a horse. Since this clearly wasnt this case with Nico, I just figured that he had gas, end of story.

However... it is possible for a mother to exacerbate a gassy baby situation with her diet, especially if it is high in dairy products, which lets be real here, describes me to a tee... love skim milk and yogurt... and will fight with Dave over ice cream. So, to the best of my knowledge, on Tuesday and Wednesday, I replaced a good proportion of Nico's diet with gassy milk and eliminated the nongassy milk. So no wonder he was so cranktastic!! Seriously, it was bad... awake for hours at a time grunting like he was trying to pass gas, and when he wasnt doing that, he was crying... for what seemed like no reason.

Now, I am not sure I would start calling me Dr. Spock, because I want to wait till tonight to see if he really is "cured" or just so tired that he slept like a rock this morning. In any case, Nico is going on hour #2 of solid deep sleep, which is more than he's had in the last couple of days put together. The lesson I learned: don't second guess myself. I am not such a rook...

Holy Tangent, Batman!!

So, not much new to report. You're probably going to stop checking this blog soon, aren't you? I keep telling you there is nothing new to report... then I proceed to tell you about my days- which are quite boring. This is the part where I throw Nico under the bus and claim that if he werent such a baby, I'd have a lot more exciting news to report about his little baby life. But alas...

This weekend was pretty low key. Caught England's friendly with Slovenia on Saturday. It was a tune up for today's qualifier match against Croatia. They are showing the qualifier on pay per view. 2 months ago, I would have taken my happy self to Finnegans to watch the game, but I havent quite decided if taking my baby to a bar makes me a bad mom... so I will just have to chill out about that. Aside from watching LOTS of TV, I didnt do much... this can pretty much sum up what I did this weekend:
So I think the mentality about raising kids has changed probably since the sixties and seventies, where it was commonly thought you could spoil a child by holding him/her too much. Every parenting book I have read since we started this odyssey says that is not possible in the first three months. The thing is, that he looks really adorable when he sleeps.

Nicole and Cody had their baby this morning- Emmerson Rose on 09-09-09... which is two years, two months and two days from the last time they had a baby (Maddox) on 07-07-07. What is surprising to me is that she was able to to it this time without me fighting with her during her labor :)
Can anyone explain to me why she looks so pretty? The first post labor pictures of me, you can tell it was hard for my to smile since my face was so swollen full of liquid... here my sister looks like she should be on the cover of Awesome Mom magazine. Suck!!

So I was thinking about how awesome it is that Emerson and Nico are literally one month apart. Isn't that cool? I think it will be fun when they get to be older. Nicole and I have often talked about the cousins spending lots of time together during the summer. I have no doubt that Emerson is going to be the ring leader. No doubt. Sorry Nicole- but I have never known a younger sister of an older brother who didnt end up bossy (look at Mom- oh snap!! I went there!) Nico will probably end up being the follower, going along with whatever Max and Emme want to do... I think it spells trouble!

In any case, I started walking last week... I put Nico in the Baby Bjorn and we walked around the neighborhood. Its amazing how out of shape I am- Holy Good Lord. Of course, it is a bit of a workout to tote around a beast... One very important point that was driven home to me this week was how dramatically pregnancy changes your body. Seriously. I wish that someone had told me that. I dont know what I would have done about it. I have lost all but about 10 pounds of the of baby weight I gained- which I would like to be impressed with- but realize that its mostly a function of the the fact that Nico was almost 10 pounds and I seemed to be carrying about 700 pounds of fluid in my hands, feet and face (and not that I worked really hard in the gym or anything). Going back to how much more thankful we should be to mothers... :)

In any case, its shocking how out of shape I am. Now, granted, I am moving at a brisk pace, but holy crap, my 2.5 mile walk last night just about took it out of me. Looks like I got a long road to being able to run in Disney's Pretty Princess Half Marathon in March...

Mom and Dad (maybe) are coming up this weekend. I think Mom is looking forward to meeting Nico. I know I am looking forward to waiting on her. She promised me a shiny new quarter if I rubbed her bunions (props to anyone who gets THAT movie reference). You know, its funny with Mom- its not like we're gonna go craxy shopping or engage int Monster Craft Weekend... its likely that we are just gonna sit around and gab and watch TV... but it will be fun.

Nico Smile and Noms

Caught Nico smiling the other day. Isnt he adorable? This picture is a double win, because he also has eyes open.

Dont have much planned for the weekend... except maybe catching up on some sleep. FSU is playing Miami here in town on Monday, so whatever the weekend holds for us, it will likely mean staying away from campus and downtown on Monday.

The Prem is on an international break- meaning that there are no games because many players are with their national teams for World Cup qualifiers. Am hoping to catch some of those games, but are planning on taking Nico to the downtown Marketplace on Saturday (the hippie market thing downtown). Am hoping that this trip will involve some street noms... becuase that really is the best kind of food.

Speaking of street food... so there is Guy Fieri on the Food Network that hosts a show where he goes to Diners, Drive-ins and Dives... seeking out the best food in the country in places that you might not expect. Makes me re-think my current career trajectory. But then there is Anthony Bourdain who has a show called "No Reservations" where he basically travels the world sampling the best cuisines that various cultures have to offer- Phillipines, China, etc. And yes, he actually did a special show on street food... man!! Remind me again why I am going into academia? Career: FAIL!!

One food network show I would not want to host is "Man versus Food", basically where this guy travels around the country partaking in food challenges... like there is this icecream store in San Fran that has a challenge, if you can eat this monstrous Sundae in under an hour, you win free ice cream for a year. That is over two gallons of icecream... yeah. I love me some icecream, but I am not sure I could best that challenge!!

Sorry for the tangent! Have a great weekend!

Logistics

So not much new to report. Nico and I dont have the most exciting days...

The trip down to Wakulla went well. The girls all gooed and gaaaed over him and his cuteness. A couple got to hold him- while he was being his most precious. I felt compelled to tell them, "Graduate from College First!" Overall, he was pretty "good"- he slept in the Baby Bjorn for most of the meeting. There were a few dicey minutes in the beginning when it sounded like he might want to have a meltdown. But Dave ran most of the meeting and I could deal with him.

He was a gem in the car-which lets be real here, its hard not to be... Mama had music on, it was a little bit rainy and the traffic moves pretty well when you get past Capital Circle... if we are really honest about it, its hard for Mama to stay awake if you put her in a car for more than about 10 minutes. Am thinking that driving down to Wakulla five or six days a week during the season might not be so bad.

Speaking of traveling with a baby- there are a lot of logistics that go into traveling with a baby- and I am not even talking about big time air travel with the little beast . There is a ton of stuff to carry with you: like diapers and a diaper bag and what not. Extra clothes for the baby in case he has a technical problem with his bodily fluids and his wardrobe. I know I should have an extra change of tops for me in the diaper bag, but personal hygiene is one of those things that got displaced by Nico... so I have no qualms about showing up places with baby spew on my shirt. Isnt that awful? I just dont care...

And the car seat, which weighs a ton disincentives one to carry it around, so I usually take the Baby Bjorn if we are going to be someplace for long... then there is getting the kid ready. You gotta make sure you feed him just before he goes into the car seat... otherwise during the strap in process that looks a lot like the kid is going on the Apollo 11 mission is just gonna piss him off and you have a situation like I had yesterday where Nico is screaming his face off and I am crying too, because well, its a natural reflex, for me...

In sum, it is a total production to go anywhere...

Speaking of crying babies, anybody hear about this story:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20090903__If_you_don_t_shut_that_baby_up_____.html

Some guy slapped a 2 year old girl in the face because she was crying in a walmart. All I can say is this: it is purely a cosmic stroke of luck that this happened up in Atlanta and I was not involved. Let me tell you if a this guy had slapped Nico, the story would have been about me being arrested for assault and battery and how this guy had to spend a week in the hospital because I went ballistic!