Random Goofiness

Anna's latest goofiness

Twirling. Like a ballerina, only sillier. She puts her arms out and spins in circles until she's dizzy, then she falls down and laughs. Anna also enjoys a new evening ritual wherein we take her clothes off and she runs around in her diaper, shrieking in delight.

Rachel's goofiness

Ok, she's an infant and not really goofy, at least not knowingly, but she is smiling a lot more now and starting to stick out her tongue for no apparent reason.

Date night goofiness

Dan and I had our first night out together in over a year last Friday. No children. Free babysitting (thank you Dan's sister Amy). A quick dinner, the movie I've been wanting to see for months, ice cream after. And what am I thinking? That I am sad that I missed putting Anna to bed. Maybe not so much goofy as pathetic...?

Grandparent goofiness

As told to me by my dad, who visited my grandparents earlier today...

Grandpa (picking up the salad tongs): I need one of these for when I go pee.

Grandma: Ok, I'll go look for small ones.

Or Maybe Not So Much

We tried to recreate the scenario that led to Rachel sleeping all night. It didn't work. I KNEW there wasn't a Santa Claus.

Santa's Late Arrival

Yes, I am Jewish. And yes, I am 34 years old. But I am beginning to believe in Santa. Why? Because last night, my little Rachel finally slept through the night!

I was spoiled with Anna. She basically slept through the night from the start. A few fussy nights here and there, but she'd easily do six hour stretches at night, and soon was up eight to ten hours. I knew there would be payback this time around, but I forgot how utterly exhausting it is to have a child who likes to eat every three hours. Especially going back to work and having to deal with grownup life on no sleep.

The worst part about getting up with Rachel isn't even the feeding. It's trying to get her back down to sleep afterward. Either she wants to stay awake or she wants to be held. Getting her back to her crib is nearly impossible. Sometimes she will tolerate the swing, but that isn't the magic weapon it was with Anna. The low point was two nights ago, when after three hours of crying, she finally fell asleep in her carseat on our bedroom floor with her pacifier. So, I asked the expert (my mom) and she suggested putting rice cereal in Rachel's bottle before bed. I did just that at 10:00 last night. By 11:00 Rachel had finished her bottle, finally burped and cuddled with Daddy for a bit. She was in her crib by midnight. At 6:00 this morning I woke up and found her still asleep in her crib and happy. I even had time to blow dry my hair before she woke up at 6:30.

After two months of fussy sleepless nights, I consider this a belated Christmas miracle!

The Big Return

Ok, so I've let my shame about not keeping this blog updated run my life long enough. So I'm back. I can't promise that there won't be another seven month "hiatus", but I will do my best. Besides, I've been busy having my second child in a year - that is a somewhat time-consuming project.

Anna's little sister Rachel arrived on November 15, 2005. I was really hoping there would be at least one full year between the two children, but alas, I was carrying a Bornstein. Which basically means that she was going to do what she wanted, when she wanted. And indeed she did. Her due date was December 22nd. Somehow, I just knew I wouldn't go that long. Well, lo and behold, I start having contractions on Sunday night, November 13th. I couldn't really tell if the baby was just stretching or if I was having Braxton Hicks or what. But it wasn't frequent or painful, so I went to bed. Monday morning I was still having them, but how many times was I sent to the hospital when I was pregnant with Anna for the same thing? And they kept sending me home after giving me some meds, no problem, right? So I decide to go to work, after all, I had court. So I go to court. I go see a client at the jail. I go back to my office, drink a bunch of water, put my feet up. By early afternoon they were getting a little worse, so I call the doctor's office and head over to the hospital. Talk about denial, I left my laptop at the office, convinced I'd be back the next day.

I got the hospital at about 3pm. On the way, I call Dan and tell him not to worry about meeting me there, it's going to be just like the times this happened with Anna. After some tests, they give me some meds and check my cervix. I'm told that I'm not dialated, so that's good. I still think I'm going to sleep in my own bed that night. But now the contractions are getting a little more painful. Mom is in Florida, supposed to be there for another day and then head to New Jersey for a couple of days. So I am calling and updating her. She asks if she should try to take the last flight out that night or come in the morning. I am surprised. "You're coming back?" I ask her. I was still convinced they would be able to bring this whole thing to a stop.

But it's more serious than all the times this happened with Anna. I end up being admitted for the night. I get an IV with magnesium sulfate and morphine. They send in the nurse practioner to talk to me about what might happen when I deliver, and even send in the anesthesiologist to talk to me about the spinal. I spend the night a sweaty mess (a nice side effect of the mag) and waking up every so often with an especially painful contraction. By morning, no one can believe I haven't had the baby yet. Mid morning check shows that I am slightly dialated and 90% effaced. After more than 24 hours in the hospital, Dr. Houser arrives and tells me we need to get the baby out. I call Dan and tell him to leave work immediately. Rachel was born at 4:54 pm.

My biggest fear was that being not even 35 weeks along, Rachel would be rushed out of the room the minute she was born, but luckily she came out crying and looked good. I got to see her and kiss her, Dan got to hold her. After they had her assessed, they realized she needed some help with her lungs, but she did really well. She was only in the Special Care Nursery for six days and we had her home for Thanksgiving.

She's now over seven weeks old and she's wonderful. At her one month checkup she weighed over seven pounds. Anna can't get enough of her. She gives her hugs and kisses and today she said "hi Rachel". Ok, so it sounded more like "I way" but we knew what she meant. Now she just needs to teach her little sister how to sleep through the night.

I still can't believe I have children, girls, plural. It's been such a whirlwind year.