Galloping Cats

32 Weeks July 6, 2009

Filed under: Pregnancy — gallopingcats @ 4:51 am

Can you believe it? It was around this time with Gatito that walking became incredibly painful. So far, so good thus time, although I wouldn’t mind the excuse to work from home!

The girl is still scaring the crap out of me with occasional days of limited movement. The thing that gets her going is never sugar, always hamburgers. I have a crazy nonstop craving for couscous, too, though she doesn’t seem to react to that.

My iPregnancy app tells me a baby born at 32 weeks has a 97% survival rate and a 15% chance of major medical complications. Last night, as I was putting Gatito to bed, I told him he had 6 more weeks of camp and after that the baby would be born. He is very excited and asked something about her being born now. I told him she wasn’t ready yet, and he asked what would happen if she were born now. I explained that she would have to stay at the hospital for a few weeks instead of coming home to live with us right away.

You know what he said? “Nobody would want their baby to have to live at the hospital.”

Smart, perceptive boy. I’m so glad he’ll be nearly 4 by the time the baby is born. I’m sure we will have our share of standard new sibling issues, but Gatito at 3 was not ready for a baby and Gatito at 4 is going to be an awesome big brother.

 

Feeding July 5, 2009

Filed under: I hate breast feeding — gallopingcats @ 5:49 pm

As you might have guessed, I’m not planning to breast feed this time around. Some stuff has changed since Gatito was born, though. For one, there are now BPA-free bottles, and we are going to give these silicone bottles a shot. There’s also more affordable organic formula available. My primary concern is the hormones in milk. It seems the cans have BPA in their lining, though, so I guess there’s always something.

You know what’s super annoying, though? Practically every review on shopping web sites or elsewhere online begins with a woman providing an excuse for why she is not breast feeding. The baby naturally weaned herself, the baby didn’t like the taste of the mother’s milk after the mother got pregnant again, supply is getting low and need to supplement, blah blah blah. Failing an excuse, and announcement that the mother did breast feed exclusively for however long.

I think it’s great that there is so much more support for breast feeding today than there was for our mothers. But I hate hate hate how much pressure and judgment and guilt surrounds the whole thing. Enough that it even invades the reviews of formula itself!

I say, breast feed if you want to and it works for you and your baby. Don’t if it doesn’t. The first four weeks of Gatito’s life were a misery for me because of it, and I’m so looking forward to that not being an issue this time around. What a relief to look forward to feeding my baby, not to dread it.

 

July 4th July 5, 2009

Filed under: Gatito — gallopingcats @ 8:07 am

Took some awesome pictures of Gatito under the sprinkler yesterday, using the real camera instead of the iPhone. Imagine that. I love this one where I caught him mid-stride.

IMG_1243

A and I also spent much of the time trying to hide our horror at this kids’ ribs. Obviously we seem him every night in the bath, but normally when we are swimming we have a shirt on him to protect him from the sun, so I feel like we don’t see this view, and I have to admit the words “concentration camp victim” flashed through my mind.

“Are we feeding him enough?” we asked, almost simultaneously.

Dear lord.

He has plenty of energy, though, and the funny thing is he kind of has a six-pack, too. And he was just at the doctor for clearance prior to the anesthesia. He measured 43.5 inches and 37.5 pounds and the doctor didn’t declare him malnourished or call CPS or anything, so I guess it’s okay.

He used to not eat much with us but eat tons with Tata. They’d go to a restaurant and he’d clean his plate and half of hers. (This actually started in babyhood, where he’d finish his bottles with his old nanny and not with us.) Now he eats well with us, too, most of the time. I’m just going to think about getting more healthy fats into his diet, like nuts and avocado and stop spraying the pan with canola or olive oil and instead just pour some in when I’m cooking for him. I doubt it will help, though. He comes from a line of skinny men.

Isn’t it ridiculous how much we worry about our kids, whichever end of the spectrum they’re on?

 

Dude. How long have my links been missing?! June 29, 2009

Filed under: Gatito, Pregnancy — gallopingcats @ 8:49 pm

I only just noticed that my whole blog roll was gone and have no idea when or how that happened. But it’s back so I’m part of the community again! Sheesh.

So a friend of mine who has only one child by choice (age 3) asked the other day if I’m ready for a second. Here’s the thing that is getting me worried:

Before Gatito was born, I was expecting caring for a baby to be ridiculously, impossibly hard in ways I could not even imagine. By comparison (with my expectations? with other babies?) it was nowhere near as difficult as my expectations. This time around, in a spectacular show of neurosis, I am worried that I’m not worried enough and that, therefore the comparison with reality will necessarily be negative.

Come on, admit it: If there were some kind of competition for worrying, I would be a finalist, wouldn’t I? At least in the category of creative worrying?

Hey, I need a pseudonym for this baby. I’d like something Spanish again, but can’t think what. Suggestions (in Spanish or English) welcome!

Oh, and that reminds me. Gatito has invented his own language, called (and you’ll have to forgive me because I’m not sure on the proper spelling) Permititee Spanish. It’s kind of a cross between Spanish and English and funny rhymes and silly sounds and he is remarkably consistent in his translations. I.e., the word for “car” is always the same. Sadly, though he is a patient teacher, I am no better at learning Permititee Spanish than I am at learning to count to ten in Japanese.

 

Structural June 26, 2009

Filed under: Gatito — gallopingcats @ 11:29 am

The problem with Gatito’s teeth was a congenital, structural one. Two of his molars apparently lacked enamel, and they were basically collapsing. Nothing we could have done could have prevented this. I kind of already knew it wasn’t our fault, but it was nice to have it confirmed. He had a pulpectomy (or maybe two) and is the proud new owner of two crowns, plus a filling. The good news is that there is no reason to expect the situation will repeat, although there is a possibility that the same problem will exist with his permanent teeth, since they were formed at the same time. I think we’ve got another eight or nine years to worry about that one, though.

I have to say, the whole process was so awful. I cannot even imagine, and hope never to know, what it must be like to have a sick kid. He was so good and cooperative and engaging with everyone when they were doing all the blood pressure checks, etc. By the time he and I walked down to the OR, I heard staff behind me whispering about how cute and smart and sweet he is. The OR is a scary, scary place, and that’s when he started to get worried. By the time they asked him to lie down, he said, “No, thank you.” The mask was where the really horrible part started, as he kicked and screamed and tried to get it off while they held him down. He was terrified and I felt awful. I barely held it together until he fell asleep and they escorted me out, and then I lost it. Horrible.

They told us we wouldn’t be allowed into the recovery room until he was responsive, which I hated. I wanted to be there when he opened his eyes. The dentist appeared after an hour to tell us what had happened and by that point, he told us Gatito was already up, definitely not lying down. But we still weren’t allowed back for another few minutes and by the time we got there, he was hysterical. He stayed that way for the next half hour or so, apparently a normal response to anesthesia, but really heartbreaking. Eventually, he drifted off to sleep in A’s lap and things got better after that.

We’re home now and have just finished watching the promised Madagascar and eating ice cream. (How many dentists tell you to go home and eat ice cream?!) I am relieved that it’s over.

 

Couple of Updates June 25, 2009

Filed under: Gatito, Pregnancy — gallopingcats @ 7:52 pm

Boy, it’s been quiet ’round here in the comments section lately. Not that I blame you. I’ve been reading blogs on my iPhone and haven’t been commenting much myself.

I talked to the camp director today and heard that Gatito had a great first week. He bonded with the teachers, played well with the other kids, did well at swimming. I know all indications have been that it was his school, not him, that was the problem, but I didn’t really know until I put him in another environment. So this is just a huge relief.

Dr. WCS missed my second appointment in a row yesterday. I am starting to think there is something going on in his personal life and worried that he won’t be around on the day of my c-section! There’s really only one other doctor in that office with whom I’d be comfortable having my stomach cut open, so I don’t know what to do about that. I know my options are limited if I go into labor before the scheduled date, but what if something happens day of?

Two weeks ago, I saw one of the other doctors and asked her about the anemia. She talked to me about the risks of needing a blood transfusion after the delivery and convinced me to try the iron pills. So I said fine, and I took one pill and spent the whole day burping metallic burps and feeling nauseated and once I even threw up a little in my mouth. And every day after that I would tell myself that some nausea and metallic burps are infinitely preferable to a blood transfusion and yet, never did I convince myself to take another pill.

Yesterday, I saw the head of the practice, the only other one I’d want doing the c-section. So I asked him about the anemia and he said since my levels were normal at 12 weeks (12.8), the fact that they went down by 24 weeks (10.3) was almost surely a result of dilution– simply having more fluids in my body because I am pregnant. He doesn’t think I’m anemic. “After all,” he said, “Where did the iron go? It’s not like you’re getting periods.”

Isn’t it just fascinating how every doctor has a different opinion about this crap? I’m going with his, and we’ll re-test again in two weeks, and if I have to take the iron pills at that time, at least I’ve bought myself six weeks.

Now can somebody please remind me: How long after giving birth does a reasonably but not excessively fit person regain the ability to climb a single flight of stairs without feeling like she is going to have a heart attack and die?

 

Camp June 24, 2009

Filed under: Gatito — gallopingcats @ 7:41 am

Yesterday morning, we were talking about the first day of camp, when Gatito said, “It’s a Mommy-Daddy-Gatito day, right?”

I told him no, a Tata and camp day.

“But it has to be a Mommy-Daddy-Gatito day if it’s camp, right? Because we are going there together!”

Crap. How did I fail to mention that camp was a drop-off thing like school?! Aggghhhh!

When we arrived, he got teary in the parking lot, didn’t want to go, begged me to stay. Which, BTW, only impressed upon me the importance of camp this summer (3 half days/week) to keep him in the groove of the group environment thing. But I walked him in and the director, with whom I’d spoken about his anxieties in advance, greeted us and helped him get settled. He was nervous, but about 10 seconds after I left, I peered in and he was happily engaged in an activity. When I got home he was bursting with reports about swimming and gym, so yay!

He also got a black stripe on his white belt at karate in the afternoon, and he was very proud!

Friday is his dental surgery. The estimated cost for the dentist and OR, not including the anesthesiologist or x-rays, is up to $5,300. And that’s with a 30% discount on the OR in exchange for paying same day. To think this is how much a simple dental procedure costs. You can see why major, or even minor, illnesses can bankrupt families. It is frightening.

While I’m not worried about the dental procedure itself, the general anesthesia scares me. Good thoughts would be appreciated.

 

He totally thinks it’s his June 16, 2009

Filed under: Galloping Cats — gallopingcats @ 4:02 am

 

Getting excited! June 15, 2009

Filed under: Gatito, Nanny diaries, Pregnancy — gallopingcats @ 9:16 pm

The baby’s furniture was delivered on Friday and the room formerly known as my home office is now a nursery. I won’t deny that I will miss having the luxury of my own space, but it does look awesome in there. Ten weeks to go. I am really looking forward to cuddling a newborn! While it seems unlikely, I can’t help staring at red-headed girls wherever I go and wondering if this is how she will look as well. What could be cuter than red-headed siblings?! I’m not getting my hopes up, though!

Gatito has been very sweet, telling everyone that he’s going to have a new sister. Yesterday he spontaneously told us that he was really looking forward to having a baby sister. He has *some* idea of what that means, since two boys he hangs out with just had a baby sister two months ago. But he is very needy, so it’s going to be a big adjustment for him. In the rare instances where we turn on the TV for him, he insists that one of us watch with him. He doesn’t even like it if we sit near him and read. So you can see what we’re up against!

I worked from home last Friday to wait for the furniture delivery and was able to sneak out to see Gatito in karate, which was recommended by the shrink. He’s doing awesome, and I’m referring more to his complete comfort in the situation than to his physical ability. The woman who had signed us up commented on how far he has come in the last month, from needing to be coaxed into the class that first day. (Of course, something else changed a month ago, and that is that stupid school let out.) He also surprised me by counting to 10 in Japanese the other day, which he had learned at karate. He tried to teach me, but I was unteachable, much to his frustration.

The cats, of course, are pretty sure we set that room up for them and are making themselves at home in the crib, the rocker, and on the bookcase benches. I remember being worried when they did that in Gatito’s room, but they gave it a pretty wide berth once he was born.

Gatito’s dental surgery is scheduled for next Friday. I’m not worried about the dentistry part (except for the bill! UGH!) but am a little freaked about the general anesthesia and trying not to think about it. I will be relieved when this is over and that kid had better not get another cavity (they will be sealing all the teeth) ever again. I’m serious!

Oh, and Tata’s Facebook status over the weekend made reference to being hung over after an evening of tequila. (I had to seek help from some Latino co-workers to translate part of the slang!) I have never been so happy. She is really not the type to get drunk while pregnant, so I am thinking I jumped to conclusions. Perhaps the thing that she wasn’t ready to talk about is that she is getting back together with her ex-boyfriend? And he was just helping her out by watching the kiddo while she was at the doctor? I hope?

 

I could hold out no longer June 13, 2009

Filed under: Uncategorized — gallopingcats @ 6:00 pm

I simply HAD to visit the baby girl section of H&M. After all, it will still probably be warm for a couple if months after she is born and all the stores will be selling winter stuff by then. Ahem.

Gatito picked the strawberries. Wouldn’t have been my choice, but it seemed wrong to discourage him, plus for $3…