Growing Up

I know Cash is not yet two months old, but he's changing daily and so quickly and I can see the next 18 years go by in the blink of an eye. This makes me excited and sad all at the same time.

I mentioned in a post last week that I'm a lot more emotional about motherhood than I expected. Tonight, we put Cash in his own room (actually just the corner of Buttin's office - but it's a start). We'll see how the night goes. Buttin keeps telling me we can always move him back into our room whenever (if ever) I want. Buttin is being wonderfully sweet about all my silly emotions.

Cash has been particularly handsome (Buttin says he has handsome days and not-so handsome days) the last couple of days.

Here are a few pictures:

Check out the belly and the cheeks!!


I love him checking out himself in the mirror.


This is his "look-away" pose - maybe he's just sick of me taking pictures.


Here's his cute little morning face.

Metamorphosis To Motherhood - Meeting Four

I was unable to make meeting three because of my boob issue, but on Wednesday the whole group was together again (for the first time since the first meeting - there have been various health issues).

We even took a group picture - yup, that's Cash - staring at a fan.


For our fourth meeting we discussed baby massage. Cash seems to like baby massage, but he seems to like just laying around waving his arms and making noises a lot more.

In honor of his noise making (and arm waiving) - I now present, "Baby Noises".

The Sideways Smirk

This is kind of Cash's signature pose:

He's In It To Win It

No, sadly this post is not about running. But, it is about something even more entertaining.

Max is my friend Liz's new dog - he's a seven year old rescue and a sweetheart.

See . . .super cute:


Now that Max is fully integrated into the family, he's begun to exhibit some pretty disgusting habits. He likes to hump the two other dogs, Oliver and Kodi, and my personal favorite - he likes to lick Kodi's ears until they are absolutely soaking in puppy spit.

Jonathan (Liz's husband) is mortified by this behavior, but Liz and I find it hilarious. So hilarious, I had to take pictures.

Here is a tongue action shot:


Here's Max with pretty much his entire snout inside of Kodi's ear:


Max is showing some real effort in vying for the title of the most disgusting animal known to man (and by man I mean, me and Liz), but he's going to have to step up his game in order to compete with this or this or this or (the big winner) this. Good luck Max, I have a feeling we'll be seeing lots more disgusting behavior from you in the years to come.

Whoops!

My home interweb wasn't working yesterday, so I wasn't able to post.

Here's a cute picture of Cash with his new wrist rattle from Gigi. I'll write more later.

A Couple Random Things

I've been a little distracted and scattered these past couple days - just trying to get healthy. This blog post has no real theme, just some random updates.

I had my postpartum appointment with Dr. Elephant yesterday and I told him that I was beginning to think he didn't like me since every time I've ever REALLY needed him (i.e. birth of child & boob infection) he has been unavailable. Harrumph! I was just teasing him, but he said (very genuinely) that he was sorry he missed out on Cash's birth (funny . . .he didn't mention being sorry about missing my boob infection fiasco). He also said I was one of his favorites, to which I said something to the effect of, "oh, I bet you say that to everyone" to which his nurse rolled her eyes and said, "oh no he doesn't".

Everything looks good (except for the boob issue), Dr. Elephant even said when he was pressing on my stomach that it was a very small stomach and said, "good job". It would be rather embarrassing to have a generous weight gain after having the baby.

He did get the results back from the culture that the surgeon took on Monday from my Dr. Seuss milk and said he suspected that the surgeon would probably change my prescription. Dr. Elephant said that it didn't look like milk was collecting in the area so I probably will not need it drained again - just more antibiotics. He was rather impressed (in an I'm a freak kind of way) how large the infected area was - I told him that it used to be twice the size it currently is and that I feel tons better than I did on Monday. I think he expected me to be in more discomfort, but what I'm feeling now is TONS better than what I felt like earlier in the week.

In other Dr. Elephant news, I'm back on the pill. It's a different one for me - it's breastfeeding safe.

(Onto next topic . . . no transition).

Buttin and I decided that we were going to move Cash's bed into Buttin's office. That way, we could kind of have our bedroom back and Cash would have a darker room to sleep (since we're starting to put him to bed between 7 & 8 every night).

I couldn't do it last night. I expected to be a more practical mom, but it turns out I'm a lot more sentimental. It feels so strange to feel sad about this one tiny little step, but I know that we'll probably sleep better and he probably doesn't care one way or the other.

Here's a cute picture of Cash, post bath with an awesome Daddy hairstyle.

Go Denmark!

So, I'm about 1/4 Danish or something like that . . . this would make Cash about 1/8 Danish (I wonder if this qualifies him for some kind of minority status on his Stanford application).

We have some family and friends who live in Denmark and they sent Cash an awesome football (err. . soccer) jersey onesie.

I went a little nuts taking pictures of him in it because he was being so cute, so here are a few

Cash is happy in his uniform:

Cash with even a bigger grin:

OK, so this one was Buttin's favorite (Buttin is weird):

Here is the back of his jersey:

Must Be Murphy's Law

Murphy's Law (MorMor Edition):

If MorMor is in town (and prepared to stay awake late to feed the baby), Cash will sleep through the night.

My mother (the MorMor) came into town yesterday to help (since I had the boobie procedure) and was prepared to take the 11 PM feeding.

Buttin and I have started this new schedule with Cash where we put him down to bed sometime between 7 & 8. He usually wakes up sometime between 10 & 11, 2 &3 and then again around 5. Last night he was asleep by 8:15.

Buttin and I were in bed and I was asleep by around 10 PM. My mom waited out in the living room for Cash to wake up.

Around 12:30, I woke up (needing to pump) and my mother was out in the living room. I asked her when he last ate - she said he hadn't eaten yet!! I told my mom to go to bed whenever she wanted and I think she made it till about 1:30 AM. At around 1:50 I woke up and went to the bathroom and heard Cash making little noises. He still wasn't ready to wake up.

HE SLEPT UNTIL 2:30 AM!! I didn't completely sleep until 2:30 (I kept waking up with every little noise he was making thinking that he was going to be really pissed off & hungry when he finally woke up), but I certainly got more hours of sleep in a row than usual.

I have no doubt that last night was fluke and just a result of the MorMor's Murphy's Law.

Here are a couple of picture of MorMor and Cash:

Taking a walk with Cash (with the Moby wrap) and the cats:

And here's one with Cash eating:

Boob Update - 2

So the saga of my boob continues . . . let this be a warning to the squeamish.

All weekend long I did everything short of taking magic beans in an attempt to cure my mastitis. The antibiotics didn't seem to be kicking in (I was promised improvement within 48 hours and that was LAST WEDNESDAY). Special thanks to MCM Mama for all her advice - about the only thing I didn't try on her list was cabbage leaves (see, I told you I tried pretty much everything).

I called my doctor's office again this morning and told them that there was certainly no improvement and it may have even gotten worse. Dr. Elephant was still on vacation, so I went to see the same nurse practitioner I saw on Wednesday. She took one look at me and said - "yup, it's worse." I essentially had a gigantic, hard, ouchy red mark on my boob. For those of you who have breastfed, imagine the worst engorgement pain, multiply it by five, raise that to the power of ten sore muscles and then multiply it all times yucky and that's what this lump felt like.

She immediately scheduled an ultrasound and an appointment with the surgical clinic. I admit, I got a little scared (no idea what to expect) and asked Buttin to call my mom. He told me he had already called her and she was on her way.

My ultrasound appointment was relatively uneventful - "yup, there's a big yucky mass in your boob." (As a side note, I don't know if I'm just one of those people who other people like telling their secrets to - but the ultrasound technician told me she breastfed her son for 3 years & 8 months - I'm very pro-breastfeeding, but do not think I could go this long).

So, I went directly from the ultrasound place to the surgical clinic. I wasn't really excited to see a surgeon - those people scare me. The surgeon was pretty nice and he just felt around my big boob ouchy and said he was concerned about an abscess. He said we were going to lance it (I was hoping for some kind of magic pill) right then and there. I was a little nervous about this procedure. I don't love needles or cutting of any kind (who does?).

I must admit that the procedure was actually pretty quick (less than 5 minutes) and relatively painless. The first couple of local anesthetic shots were a little stingy (but I had those shots in my who-ha, and shots in the boob are nothing like shots in the who-ha). I didn't feel any of the actual drainage happening, but I could see the technician's eyes widening, so I knew there was lots of stuff coming out. The surgeon said he got about 30 ccs (which I learned from google is equivalent to 6 teaspoons) of green milk from my boob (yum!).

He sent a sample of my Dr. Seuss milk to the lab and gave me another prescription for some antibiotics (sadly, no magic pill). I go back to see him on Thursday afternoon.

Currently, I can still breastfeed and pump with my right boob. I am already feeling tons better and I just hope that these antibiotics knock out the infection and remove the clot. As much as the drainage wasn't a big deal, I'd rather not go through it again.

Daddy Recliner

Still not feeling that great, but here are a couple of pictures.

Daddy recliner before:

Daddy recliner after:

Boob Update

OK - so really no better, but also no worse. At least I don't have a fever.

I called the nurse yesterday and she said so long as it wasn't getting worse I should just keep taking my antibiotics (and massaging my boob) and keep my Wednesday morning appointment (it's my postpartum visit with Dr. Elephant).

Today, we all spent the day relaxing and I got a 3 hour nap!

Here's Cash relaxing:

A Little Late

Like by 3.5 hours, but here's Cash-man's cute little mug:

Slacker

Sorry for not posting a picture yesterday evening. I finally got the fever to go along with this infection last night and started feeling crummy too. I think I'm improving today, at least that's what I'm telling myself.

Here's a cute picture of Cash in his ACDC onesie.

Mas-whatis? Bleh.

***Waring - Contains Details On Boobs, Specifically Mine***

On Sunday evening I started to get a soreness, combined with a hard knot in my right boob. As a breastfeeding mother - I had read all the literature and was pretty sure that I had a clogged milk duct. I quickly went to the interweb to do some research.

I found out that a clogged milk duct is fairly common, especially in the first several weeks of breastfeeding (and in winter - which I don't really get, but that's what they say). A clogged duct can occur for many reasons (like, not completely draining the breast or skipped feedings or stress or sleeping on your stomach) or for really no reason at all. So, I read all the interweb advice, talked to my mom and the women in my support group. The risk of an uncleared duck is an infection called Mastitis. Not wanting to get an infection, I quickly did everything I could to clear the clogged duct:

• Massage
• Warm compress
  
• Breastfeeding and/or pumping at least every two hours (starting with the clogged boob first); and
  
• Changing feeding positions (including feeding upside down - which was somewhat tricky and did no good).

The only thing I didn't really try was "rest" - that's not a viable option when you have to breastfeed or pump every two hours - I bet a man came up with that suggestion.

I also started eating ibuprofen like they were Cadbury Eggs and the heating pad that I had put away (thinking my recovery was over) quickly became my breast friend (I'm a dork, I know).

Well, two days went by and no improvement. It actually started to feel worse. The symptoms for Mastitis are:

• Breast tenderness or warmth to the touch - CHECK!
  
• General malaise or feeling ill - I CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS AND MY OVERALL FATIGUE, BUT I HAVEN'T FELT "FLUISH" - THANKFULLY.
  
• Swelling of the breast - CHECK
  
• Pain or a burning sensation continuously or while breast-feeding - CHECK
  
• Skin redness, often in a wedge-shaped pattern - CHECK
  
• Fever of 101 F (38.3 C) or greater - NOPE, NO FEVER
  

I called my doctor's office this morning, even though I knew Dr. Elephant was out of town. I was hoping his nurse could get me in with someone else (anyone besides Dr. Bitch) or I was prepared to call my general practitioner if she couldn't get me an appointment.

I got a noon appointment with the practice's nurse practitioner. Sadly, this meant I wouldn't be able to make my mom's support group.

The very nice nurse practitioner took one look at my boob and said - "Yup, it's mastitis." Oh goodie! She prescribed an antibiotic (dicloxacillin) that I'll take for the next seven days. She said I should feel relief by Friday and if I don't, I should call back. Hopefully, I feel relief sooner.

On a slightly positive note, I've lost 20 of the 30 pounds I gained during pregnancy and I've actually been at this weight during my adult life without being pregnant.

I guess I'll just add Mastitis to the list of things that I'll hang over Cash's head when he's sixteen and does something horrible, I'll say - "I had an unmedicated birthing time (because I'll still use Hypnobabies language) with you and all I'm asking you to do is take out the trash." OR "I got a boob infection feeding you so the least you could do is pick your clothes up off the floor." See, I'm learning this mom-guilt-trip thing pretty good, aren't I?

I'll post a cute picture of baby Cash later, I didn't really want to include it with this wonderful post.

School For Cash

This morning I went to visit a potential school/daycare for Cash. I must admit the thought of being away from him (even for a half day) makes me want to cry, but I know interaction with other children and adults would be good for him. It would also make it easier for me to contribute more at work.

We would probably only do a half day until he turned one year (I would still want to have him all to myself or share him with my co-workers in the afternoons.)

I visited a Montessori school today and I really like the Montessori philosophy on child education.

Here are the principles of a Montessori education:

• movement and cognition are closely entwined
• a sense of control and choice improves learning and well-being
• interest in the content promotes better learning
• employing extrinsic rewards as motivators negatively impacts motivation when the reward is withdrawn
• collaborative arrangements are conducive to learning
• learning within a meaningful context is often deeper and richer than learning in abstract contexts
• particular forms of adult interaction are conducive to more optimal child behavior outcomes
• an ordered environment is beneficial to children

Here is how the school I visited today structures infant education:

During this period infants evolve from helpless to active beings; one of the greatest gifts we can give them is independence: they can begin to solve problems (like reaching the book or getting more milk) and soothe themselves without adult intervention – if they need us we are right there, but the more they do for themselves, the more meaningful the experience will be.

Some key experiences for the children are:

• as soon as infants can sit up, they eat meals sitting in small chairs at a small table
• rather than using cribs, we will have low beds for the infants so they will have controlled independence and the freedom to move about when they awake
• children are actively involved in diapering with the adult talking them through the process, washing their own hands at a custom sized
  sink after
• we promote communication and expression by using American Sign Language with the children (even infants younger than 9 months old can make the signs for “more” and “milk”)
• the children are on individual schedules, eating when hungry, sleeping when tired and when they are awake they have empathetic adults to assist them through the sights and sounds of the world around them

I plan to visit a couple more schools, but I really liked the director of this school and the facilities. They're also cloth diaper friendly!

Now, hold onto your socks . . .here's a super cute picture of Cash in nothing but his diaper and his first pair of boots.

For The Grandmas

I don't know if anyone else (besides the grandmothers) will be interested in my first movie featuring Cash (can't believe I waited this long - I'm a horrible mother). Maybe I'll try to do one of these per week.

Turn on the sound - don't worry - I didn't include my voice in the video.

Yes, I've Been Running A Little

The schedule that Buttin and I made a couple weeks ago has been working out pretty well.

I've manged to run three mornings this week (Cash and I also went for a 2 mile walk yesterday morning) and although the runs haven't been very long, fast or good - it makes me feel a little more human when I sweat.

Today I also got the best gift from Buttin - a THREE HOUR NAP! I don't think I've slept three hours in a row since Gigi was in town a couple weeks ago. I feel like a new person.

Now for a couple cute pictures:

Quick Little Saturday Post

It's a little out of focus, but here's Cash:

Outtakes

Here are just a couple of pictures that aren't necessarily cute, but I find hilarious.

I love the belly and the blank stare.

This is a little tummy time funny face.

This one cracks me up the most. He just looks like he has come to terms (sadly) with the fact that I will never stop taking pictures of him.

Metamorphosis To Motherhood - Meeting Two

On Wednesday, I had my second MTM meeting.

It was nice to see everyone again. It's strange, but as a new mother you have a pretty instant connection with every other new mother that you meet.

This week's discussion about breastfeeding was a little more pragmatic than last week's discussion.

All of us are breastfeeding and it's just so nice to hear that breastfeeding is universally horrible for the first couple of weeks. I hate to admit it, but the first week or so I would actually dread hearing Cash cry because I knew all he wanted was to eat and I was in so much pain. Dr. Elephant prescribed vicodin for my who-ha injuries, but I would actually take it (along with some Motrin) about a half hour before I knew Cash would want to eat.

I didn't really learn much from the guest speaker (she's training to be a lactation consultant) considering I spent tons of time with a lactation consultant in the hospital and then for another couple of hours when Cash was four days old, but it was good to have a conversation with other women about breastfeeding issues.

Next week's meeting is with a physical therapist and is about getting back in shape after pregnancy. Speaking of getting back in shape, I had a dreadful run this morning. I only went two miles and I felt so sluggish. I'm going to blame the humidity - bleh!

Only $155,715 To Go

If Aunt Liz has her way Cash will be attending Standford University in the fall of 2028.

Today we opened a savings account for Cash (deposited $285) so just for grins I decided to look at tuition rates for Stanford. Holy GDP of a mid-sized country - is this in American dollars? I'm quite certain the value of a Stanford education is worth more than the country of Greece. Sheesh.

I rounded the quarterly tuition to an even $13K and assuming he'd attend four years (three quarters a year) - that's ONLY $156K. Of course that's at today's tuition rate at today's dollar value. I don't remember a lot from finance, but I do remember a little something called the time value of money, so the $156K estimate is extremely low.

I hope Stanford gives out at least partial scholarships for having an awesome dog or super cool socks, because then Cash will be all set.

Thirty Second Movie Review - Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2

Wow - only took me a week to get this posted. Super fun action movie with some dorky dialogue. Not as good as the first one, but I could do a lot worse for a movie night.

Guns N Roses Baby

Too busy to write, but not too busy to dress baby Cash up in a cute outfit and post a couple of pictures.

Non-Sleeping Baby

I promise I have about five blog posts started on various topics (not all baby related), but I can't seem to finish any of them (I haven't even posted my movie review of Iron Man 2 yet).

Today, Cash was a non-sleeping baby (with the exception of a couple cat naps here and there - as you'll see in the picture below) today. He was generally pretty happy, but just not very interested in sleeping.

I got him to sleep for about ten minutes on the beautiful carpet samples.

Here he is:

Mommy Adrenaline

So a couple of weeks ago I was talking about how lightly I sleep (now) with our friends Mark and Jen (they have two kids). I explained that I woke up with every little movement that Cash makes. They could related, but Jen told me that one night I would experience a jolt of "mommy adrenaline". She explained that this would happen when I heard an unusual noise (like a kid falling out of bed). Well last night I experienced my first jolt.

Around 3AM, I stood upright and wide awake when I heard this horrible choking noise. In the brief two seconds it took me to run to Cash's bed, I remember thinking "Cash is choking, I'm not sure what to do - I'll call 911." When I got to his bed, Cash was peacefully sleeping and in no sign of distress.

My heart was beating so fast as I quickly looked around to determine the source of the sound. I soon discovered Scratch (the cat) doing that horrible cat throw up noise in the blanket box (which is located right next to Cash's bed). Scratch up-chucked all over Cash's blankets and then quickly found another place to sleep.

Either Buttin heard the choking noise too or I startled him because as soon as I got to Cash's bed Buttin was semi-upright looking at me. When I got back to bed (about 30 seconds after leaping from our bed), my heart was racing and it took me forever to calm down. Buttin kept looking at me to make sure that I was OK. I don't really think I got fully back to sleep the entire night. When Cash started making noises at 3:45 AM - I just brought him to bed and played with him - just so happy that he was OK.

And now for another sleeping picture of Cash with his cute little (actually rather big and fluffy) cloth diaper.

My First Mother's Day

Lately, my days have been so busy the only thing that I've really been able to do with the blog is post a picture. Today was really no exception, but I'll give a few details.

Buttin and I often make fun of my mother-in-law (Gigi) because after every holiday she says, "That was the best (fill in the blank) ever." Well, I think I can say unequivocally that today WAS the best Mother's Day. At least it was for me and I'm sure the rest of my family would agree.

My grandmother (Bubie) surprised me this morning. She lives in Las Vegas and made the trip to Austin to help celebrate my first Mother's Day. We went out for a nice lunch, but mostly we all sat around in a circle and watched Cash.

Here is a picture - four generations together.

Buttin's family was already in town, here is four generations on his side:


As I'm sure most mothers understand, I have very few pictures of Cash and me. Most of our pictures are of Buttin and Cash or other family members and Cash or the animals and Cash. Today, we got a picture of me and Cash. I love it.


Happy Mother's Day!

Gigi Is In Town!

Buttin's mom, Marsha (Gigi) and grandma, Nana, are in town this weekend.

So tonight, Buttin and I are going to see Iron Man 2 with Liz & Jonathan. That means, I'll have a cookie review tonight or tomorrow! This will be my first movie out since baby Cash was born. I will miss him, but I know that Gigi and Nana will have a wonderful time with him.

Here is a picture of Gigi with her sweet Cash.

Quick Pic

Last night was a little rough (I'll write more on it later), so I haven't had too much time today.

Even though he was really grumpy last night, he had some very cute moments today.

Happy One Month Birthday!

Happy One Month Birthday Baby Cash!

Look at those cute socks MorMor!

We had a brief Dr. Sharpie visit today. Here are the updates.

• Cash weighs 9lbs 12oz (that's a 28oz weight gain in about 2.5 weeks). Dr. Sharpie was very happy with his weight gain. He is in the 50th percentile.
• Cash is now 21.5 inches tall. He is in the 25th percentile.
• All of Cash's laboratory work from his 2 weeks visit came back normal.
• I told Dr. Sharpie that I was a little concerned about all of his spit-up, but she said not to worry that it's very normal for babies to spit-up at every feeding. She wasn't the least bit concerned especially considering his generous weight gain (hee . . hee, that's what Dr. Elephant told me when I'd gain a lot of weight, but in Cash's case it's a VERY GOOD thing).
• Cash seems to be favor looking to one side (his left). I think this is because he looks to his left when he looks out the window from his bed and because of the way I feed him. Dr. Sharpie said that if we switch up his bed position and the position I feed him in, it should be corrected. We certainly don't want little man to have a flat spot on the left side of his head.
  

Our next Dr. Sharpie visit is in one month.

Metamorphosis To Motherhood - Meeting One

I mentioned last week that I was joining a new mothers support group and for that decision I received some grief (ahem . . Liz & Jen). Well today was my first meeting (we meet for the next three Wednesdays in May).

We started at 10:00 AM with a walk on a trail (somewhere in Round Rock) and then headed back to the hostess's house for brunch and a guest speaker.

Our guest speaker (Rita) is a certified holistic nurse. Our topic (and this is especially for Liz) for the day was, "Energy work and healing: Love and the holiness in bonding, spiritual practice to help in bonding". Even for me, I don't really understand this title, but the main point was that as mothers we need to tend to ourselves first before we can be good for our children (like the airplane thing where you put the mask on yourself and then help children). According to our speaking, babies have lots of life force energy (her words, not mine) because they are growing and they will give to us exactly what we give to them.

I know this sounds kind of new-age-ish, but it actually makes a ton of sense. If I'm calm, Cash is calm. Babies mimic what they feel, hear and see and when moms are well-rested (an oxymoron if there ever was one), relaxed and happy - babies respond positively. Our speaker also mentioned that having a baby will often bring any subconscious issues that the mother is having to the surface. She gave a pretty cool example (that's just too long to explain on the blog), but essentially, an eleven month old baby was trying to walk with her legs sticking straight out (like a V) and couldn't step forward because of the positioning of her legs. Turns out, the mother had leg casts and braces on her own legs for about a year of her life starting at around eleven months. The baby's V leg position was the same position the mother's legs were in while in the cast. The mother didn't realize she had this issues from her past, but as soon as she dealt with it (within a day), her baby started walking.

OK, I guess I did kind of give the entire example. Like I said, I know this sounds kind of goofy, but this particular case was documented by a couple psychologists along with several other less extreme examples.

The basic message - Happy Momma = Happy Baby.

I really enjoyed meeting the other four other mothers in the group. We all have boys. Cash is the second youngest (one month tomorrow), the youngest will be one month on Saturday, there's another who is 5.5 weeks and two babies who are 15 weeks. Two of the mothers are 33, and one mother is 24 and the other is 25.

Attending this group also made me realize that Cash is a pretty content and happy baby. He fusses now and again (but usually only when he's hungry or fighting sleep), but nothing like what some of these women were describing.

All the other mothers said Cash has awesome hair - even though, I think it'll fall out in a couple of months. They also really liked his name . . . did I mention that I LIKE these women?

OK, now game time (with pictures).

We're going to play - Where's Cash? (like where's Waldo).

Can you find "Happy Cash"?



Can you find "Pissed Off Cash"? (Taken about two seconds after "Happy Cash")


Can you find "Funny Face Cash"? (Taken about two seconds after "Pissed Off Cash")

A 5K

What? A running post on a blog about running?

This morning I went for another run (jog). Buttin and I are trying out this new morning schedule so that hopefully I'll be able to run some mornings.

4:30 (about) - whenever (around 5:45): I feed Cash, pump and get ready for my run. (I TRY to get Cash back to sleep)
5:45 - 6:45: I run (and hopefully Cash and Buttin sleep)
6:45: Buttin wakes up and heads to work (not having showered or worked out)
8:30: Cash and I go to work.
10:00: Buttin goes to work out, shower, run errands and get mail.
12:30: Buttin gets back to work.
1:00: Cash and I head home.

This schedule worked relatively well this morning, except Cash woke up pretty grumpy around five minutes after I walked out the door. Buttin usually wakes up at 6:00 every morning, so he technically got to sleep in a few extra minutes, but had to contend with an unhappy baby.

OK, so back to my 5K! My time was 34:40. My PR is 27:56. It was a slow run, but it felt very good and the weather was nice. I felt productive getting up and moving around (in an non doing laundry kind of way).

When Cash and I got home today (after working very hard) we decided to take a nap. I have so many pictures of Cash and Buttin sleeping, but not very many of Cash and me sleeping. You'll just have to imagine me laying next to him and take my word for it, we were darn cute.

Your Daily Cash

I got a little busy today, but here is your daily Cash picture. He cracks me up all day long.

Bath Time!

Buttin and I have discovered that giving Cash a bath at night really helps him to relax and get ready for bed.

He really enjoys bath time (I don't think I would believe he was my kid if he didn't like the water), but it's difficult to take a picture of him while we're giving him a bath (with all the making sure his head doesn't go underwater and such stuff), but while my mom was in town she took a few pictures.

I love this picture because he just looks really pissed that I'm washing his butt (although, I promise he does enjoy his nightly bath).

The Lizzeuphemism

My friend Liz is many things. She's fabulous, loyal and never has a problem telling you exactly what she thinks. What is it she always says . . ."I am often wrong, but never in doubt"or something similar?

Liz is also fiercely protective of anyone she loves (including me) and she frequently questions things that I do (like buying Cadbury Eggs off the interweb) that she doesn't approve of or doesn't quite "get".

She didn't "get" hypnobabies at all. In fact, I was motivated to write this post based upon her comments to my postpartum appointment post.

I was absolutely rolling on the floor when I read this comment:

Metamorphosis into Motherhood...really?

I sometimes feel like you joined cult with that hypnobabies thing...they don't call things what they are which, to me, is a sign of being out of touch with reality.

For example:

Excruciating pain = slight discomfort
Labor = birthing waves
Drugs to alleviate labor pain = WTF? No way!

What next? Here is how I think these people would like you to describe other common words:

Taxes = Financial Support of Government Programs
Murder = Assisted Transition to the Afterlife
Broken Arm = Bone in Need of R&R
Fatal Car Accident = Vehicular Inconvenience
Dog Bite = Canine Love Nibble
Cat Scratch = Feline Love Tap
Arson = Intentional Roasting of Home & Humans
Kidnapping = Relocation by Unknown People
Ransom = Financial Assistance to Babysitter at an Undisclosed Location

If you start drinking weird Kool Aid and use terms like the ones I described above or if you and Matt decide to move to a commune with your Doula I will lead an intervention. Or your Doula's Assisted Transition to the Afterlife. Really. You can bet on it.

As you can tell, Liz is a fan of complete disclosure and the brutal truth. Don't sugar coat anything for her.

In honor of my friend Liz, I've come up with my own Lizzeuphemisms for motherhood:

Starvation = Desire for food

Sleep Deprivation = Desire for sleep

Baby Poop = Child's gift to parent (or caregiver)

Baby Crying/Screaming = Childhood communication technique

Spit-up = Another gift from child to parent (or caregiver)

Diaper Rash = Tooshie skin ailment

Now, here's an adorable picture of Cash even though he has baby acne (lizzeuphemism - baby acne = little face bumps)

Another Run! Another Run!

This morning I went for another run (jog).

I only went 2.6 miles, but I felt a ton better than I did last week. I think this probably had more to do with a little more sleep (thanks MorMor) than my training schedule (feed Cash, pump, work, do laundry, sleep)

I ran for 29 minutes and 30 seconds making my per mile average of 11:34, which is excellent pace for me if I'm running 15 miles, but a little on the slow side for doing less than three. Oh well, I enjoyed it.