I know that I've been harping on this snow thing for the last few entries, but this is my record of what's going on, and quite frankly, it's what's going on.
To summarize: last Saturday, February 6th, Philly got 28.5 inches of snow. On Wednesday, February 10th, we got another 15.8. We are not expected to have temps much above freezing for the foreseeable future, and another 2-4 inches is predicted for tomorrow. I love snow, but I would like it to go away once it reaches brown icky stage. The parking situation in South Philly is getting even worse with every few spots being a giant pile of snow.
Getting to work this week was kind of an adventure. Ford Focuses (Foci?) are not known for their all-terrain agility, so I walked in to work twice this week and took the subway halfway home both times. Why not take the subway in as well? Simple, it doesn't run that early. It was amazing to me that the sidewalk in posh Rittenhouse square was more clear than our street (and still is).
I'd post pictures, but really, it's just more of the same white stuff.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Deja vu all over again
When did we move to Buffalo?
Exactly 6 weeks ago, Philadelphia got walloped with 23.2" of snow. It was the second largest snowfall ever and the largest in December. Darren, Calvin, and I enjoyed that Saturday by taking lots of pictures, drinking hot chocolate, and playing in the snow.
Flash forward 6 weeks. As of early this afternoon, we have 26.7" of snow, the second largest snowfall ever and the largest in February (January 1996 was the largest ever with 30"). We are again taking it easy, although I am on back up call. I am one of those people that counts as an emergency worker (yay?). If I have to go in, I will have to walk the two miles.
We'll take out Calvin in one of his adorable snow suits a little later.
Update: the total snowfall was 28.5". Ugh, now we have to dig the car out and get back to the real world.
Exactly 6 weeks ago, Philadelphia got walloped with 23.2" of snow. It was the second largest snowfall ever and the largest in December. Darren, Calvin, and I enjoyed that Saturday by taking lots of pictures, drinking hot chocolate, and playing in the snow.
Flash forward 6 weeks. As of early this afternoon, we have 26.7" of snow, the second largest snowfall ever and the largest in February (January 1996 was the largest ever with 30"). We are again taking it easy, although I am on back up call. I am one of those people that counts as an emergency worker (yay?). If I have to go in, I will have to walk the two miles.
We'll take out Calvin in one of his adorable snow suits a little later.
Update: the total snowfall was 28.5". Ugh, now we have to dig the car out and get back to the real world.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
CMB part II - The long-delayed sequel!
Remember how about 3 weeks ago I finished my blog with "more story soon"? I had stupidly believed that infants sleep 16 hours a day like the books all say. The problem is my silly baby can't read yet (I'll fix that soon enough). He is a very good night sleeper, but during the day he just wants to be held while we are walking. Not a fan of tummy time, movie time, or mommy blogging time. I can occasionally get an hour-long nap out of him, during which time I wash bottles, do laundry, take a shower, and in general try to do all the things I thought I would have so much time for until I have to feed him again.
By the way, I now know why all the books and classes and everything are so encouraging to breast feeding: because otherwise all women would give up in about two days. I'll leave out the graphic details, but I will state that the only time I had to take narcotic medications, after a C-SECTION(!), was because I had back and chest wall spasms from the pain of nursing (I wussed out and took a total of four pills. I really wanted bragging rights). CMB also had a lot of trouble getting the hang of it at first. We got to make a fun four trips to the pediatrician his first two weeks because he was having so much trouble gaining his weight back. We eventually came up with a pretty good system of nursing, pumping, and some formula to fatten him up (gingerbread house not included). Well, it worked. Little buddy chubbed up like a tourist on an all-you-can eat cruise. In the span of about two days he went from looking a little Gollum-ish to being almost too big for his newborn clothes and diapers.
A few other goings-on:
Darren's birthday was last week, and the two of us polished off an entire 16" cookie cake in 4 days. Nice.
My mom stayed with us the first two weeks. We had a lot of fun taking walks with the baby and watching too much tv.
I had to take my annual in-training exam last week. It was really odd going back to work for a day in the middle of my leave, but it went well. I don't really care about the results since I have to take my residency boards (aka final exam) in July. I'll study like crazy for that one.
Mastitis sucks (see paragraph 2)
Time for pics!
The bouncer that doesn't put him to sleep!
My favorite pajamas
When he was still really really small.
By the way, I now know why all the books and classes and everything are so encouraging to breast feeding: because otherwise all women would give up in about two days. I'll leave out the graphic details, but I will state that the only time I had to take narcotic medications, after a C-SECTION(!), was because I had back and chest wall spasms from the pain of nursing (I wussed out and took a total of four pills. I really wanted bragging rights). CMB also had a lot of trouble getting the hang of it at first. We got to make a fun four trips to the pediatrician his first two weeks because he was having so much trouble gaining his weight back. We eventually came up with a pretty good system of nursing, pumping, and some formula to fatten him up (gingerbread house not included). Well, it worked. Little buddy chubbed up like a tourist on an all-you-can eat cruise. In the span of about two days he went from looking a little Gollum-ish to being almost too big for his newborn clothes and diapers.
A few other goings-on:
Darren's birthday was last week, and the two of us polished off an entire 16" cookie cake in 4 days. Nice.
My mom stayed with us the first two weeks. We had a lot of fun taking walks with the baby and watching too much tv.
I had to take my annual in-training exam last week. It was really odd going back to work for a day in the middle of my leave, but it went well. I don't really care about the results since I have to take my residency boards (aka final exam) in July. I'll study like crazy for that one.
Mastitis sucks (see paragraph 2)
Time for pics!
The bouncer that doesn't put him to sleep!
My favorite pajamas
When he was still really really small.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
CMB part I
After weeks of planning and preparation, our new baby took us completely by surprise. We had been told about 3 million times that first babies are usually late and the due date was more of a suggestion than anything. So, I had left a good chunk of cleaning and organizing of the nursery for another day. I figured with a due date of November 12th, I had plenty of time for those last minute details.
On Saturday the 24th (37 weeks, 2 days), I got an email from one of my fellow residents whose wife was due 11 days after me. She had gone into labor at 36 weeks and the baby was born without any problems. He sent me a message asking how I was doing, and my reply was "start the pitocin any time please". Ha ha, funny Jen.
As Darren and I were just lying down to go to bed that night, my water broke. Having not wet my pants in about 25 or so years, this came as a very odd experience. I think I told Darren in the least panicky voice I could that it was time to go have a baby. Another part of me is so accustomed to staying cool under pressure from years of trauma work that I calmly walked into HUP's ER with my soaking wet sweats on and told them I was in labor. By the way, no one mentioned that when your water breaks, it's not a one time deal. It's a little more every few minutes. Awkward.
We got to the L&D floor around midnight. I was 4cm dilated and everything was moving right along. Another bonus with having your water break on its own is that they give you a 24 hour window; no prolonged labor allowed. I was having contractions every 3 or 4 minutes with very little discomfort, and we got an epidural placed around 2am (wait, what's with the "we" voice here? I didn't see any catheters in Darren's back).
Darren and I played cards and watched movies and just waited for nature to run its course. And, we waited. And waited some more. Through the 15 hours between arriving and 3 pm, I was stuck at 5-6 cm dilated. More pitocin? didn't work. Tincture of time? No go. My favorite idea? Go down on the epidural to see if I needed to be in more pain for things to work. Stupid idea, and again, no progression. This kiddo was stuck. (you are allowed to not progress before 4 cm, but it's not a good idea between 5-7). Around 3pm, we decided that that it was too dangerous to allow things to not continue, and we elected to go ahead with c-section. Two quick reasons I was not totally happy with this: one, I wanted to go au naturale, and two, it was right in the middle of the Steelers-Vikings game.
I got wisked off to the OR, where I was given a bolus through the epidural for pain control. Having never had a single narcotic in my system and not having slept in 2 days, I was completely knocked out. I couldn't stay awake the majority of the time we were in the OR. I remember the baby being born and seeing him the first time, but I was so zonked I couldn't really enjoy it.
I remember crying when I first saw my perfect baby boy but it was a really muted experience. When the drapes were taken off in the OR, I was moved to the stretcher back to my room. I was so numb I couldn't move my right arm to hold the baby, so he just went along for the ride on top of me.
The rest of the night was spent trying to feed him and just get used to the idea that this was my son. My parents and mother in law took turns holding him and taking tons of pictures. I passed out for good around 11. More story to follow!
Calvin Michael
3:32pm October 25
7lb, 3oz
On Saturday the 24th (37 weeks, 2 days), I got an email from one of my fellow residents whose wife was due 11 days after me. She had gone into labor at 36 weeks and the baby was born without any problems. He sent me a message asking how I was doing, and my reply was "start the pitocin any time please". Ha ha, funny Jen.
As Darren and I were just lying down to go to bed that night, my water broke. Having not wet my pants in about 25 or so years, this came as a very odd experience. I think I told Darren in the least panicky voice I could that it was time to go have a baby. Another part of me is so accustomed to staying cool under pressure from years of trauma work that I calmly walked into HUP's ER with my soaking wet sweats on and told them I was in labor. By the way, no one mentioned that when your water breaks, it's not a one time deal. It's a little more every few minutes. Awkward.
We got to the L&D floor around midnight. I was 4cm dilated and everything was moving right along. Another bonus with having your water break on its own is that they give you a 24 hour window; no prolonged labor allowed. I was having contractions every 3 or 4 minutes with very little discomfort, and we got an epidural placed around 2am (wait, what's with the "we" voice here? I didn't see any catheters in Darren's back).
Darren and I played cards and watched movies and just waited for nature to run its course. And, we waited. And waited some more. Through the 15 hours between arriving and 3 pm, I was stuck at 5-6 cm dilated. More pitocin? didn't work. Tincture of time? No go. My favorite idea? Go down on the epidural to see if I needed to be in more pain for things to work. Stupid idea, and again, no progression. This kiddo was stuck. (you are allowed to not progress before 4 cm, but it's not a good idea between 5-7). Around 3pm, we decided that that it was too dangerous to allow things to not continue, and we elected to go ahead with c-section. Two quick reasons I was not totally happy with this: one, I wanted to go au naturale, and two, it was right in the middle of the Steelers-Vikings game.
I got wisked off to the OR, where I was given a bolus through the epidural for pain control. Having never had a single narcotic in my system and not having slept in 2 days, I was completely knocked out. I couldn't stay awake the majority of the time we were in the OR. I remember the baby being born and seeing him the first time, but I was so zonked I couldn't really enjoy it.
I remember crying when I first saw my perfect baby boy but it was a really muted experience. When the drapes were taken off in the OR, I was moved to the stretcher back to my room. I was so numb I couldn't move my right arm to hold the baby, so he just went along for the ride on top of me.
The rest of the night was spent trying to feed him and just get used to the idea that this was my son. My parents and mother in law took turns holding him and taking tons of pictures. I passed out for good around 11. More story to follow!
Calvin Michael
3:32pm October 25
7lb, 3oz
Friday, October 16, 2009
36 weeks
Ooh boy, here I was coasting along with the pregnancy, patting myself on the back for the awesome job I was doing, and then I hit 33 weeks. At 32 weeks, 6 days, I was hitting the gym, operating like a champ, and avoiding any semblance of whining. At 33 weeks, 0 days, my abdomen pushed its way up into my thorax and my little dream pregnancy became that third trimester nightmare of diminished lung capacity, fatigue, and inability to sleep more than 2 straight hours. Not every day is bad, but I definitely am no longer comfortable on a regular basis. I've also gotten a few of the "hey, are you having twins?" comments. Geez, I'm not that big yet.
While mommy may be cranky, baby is doing great. He's got his head down crushing my bladder and his little butt is nice and cozy with my rib cage. My weight gain is appropriate, blood pressure in the normal range, and his heartbeat is jumping along at about 120.
We've got some stuff packed for the hospital, but I'm still stalling packing some things while I'm still using them. Our labor room bag includes such essentials as extra contacts, toothpaste, a deck of cards, and Finding Nemo (it's like watching an aquarium with witty dialogue). My project is coming along nicely, although a lot more work than I estimated.
Here's the only pic of Darren and I taken in the last 4 months. We just never seem to get our picture taken together.
While mommy may be cranky, baby is doing great. He's got his head down crushing my bladder and his little butt is nice and cozy with my rib cage. My weight gain is appropriate, blood pressure in the normal range, and his heartbeat is jumping along at about 120.
We've got some stuff packed for the hospital, but I'm still stalling packing some things while I'm still using them. Our labor room bag includes such essentials as extra contacts, toothpaste, a deck of cards, and Finding Nemo (it's like watching an aquarium with witty dialogue). My project is coming along nicely, although a lot more work than I estimated.
Here's the only pic of Darren and I taken in the last 4 months. We just never seem to get our picture taken together.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
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