All the C-Section Ladies!

Now put your hands up!  Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!

Oh, wait...  What?  That's not how the song goes?

I've been having an internal debate for some time now...

To c-section or not to c-section?  

Baby #2, that is... 

(Yes, I really am thinking that far ahead.  No, I am not pregnant.  Yet.)

My cesarean left me with a buttload of side effects, good and bad.  I feel muscle spasms and phantom baby kicks on the daily.  And if I'm really lucky, I'll get these sharp burning pains along my incision.  But you know what, I think I'd do it all over again.

Help me decide!  Lets weigh the pros and cons, shall we?

Pros
Less postpartum bleeding
Pain in a different area (belly, not the girly bits)
No painful sex
Plan for baby's arrival
Speedy delivery
No (potential) problems with incontinence or hemorrhoids 
No cone head baby

Cons
Can't hold baby right away
Daddy can't cut the cord
Repeat abdominal surgery may cause problems later in life (hernia, scar tissue)
Excruciating recovery when done med-free
Muscle spasms
Scar (which isn't even that bad)
I feel like I've failed as a woman.

I guess on that note, I should at least "try" a VBAC next time around.  I say "try" because with my luck, baby #2 (and #3 and #4) will be breech.  Where's that positive thinking when you need it?  I guess there's always the version - because that went over real well last time.

Any c-section mommas out there?  How was your recovery?  Are you thinking of trying a VBAC next time?  I'd love to hear any and all opinions on the matter! 

4 (almost 5) Month Wake

::waves::  Hello everyone!  I've missed you!

I thoroughly enjoyed my week off of work!  But wouldn't you know it?  The week I decide to stay home is the week Lucy comes into her 4 month wake.  What is the 4 month wake, you ask?  Let me tell you....

A truly rare site in the Shelton home.

At 4 months old a baby's little brain begins developing cognitive thought.  Babies are observing the world and learning from the moment they are born, but the real fun happens from age 4-7 months.  Babies begin to understand cause and effect, their attention span and memory increases, and (closer to 7 months) object permanence.  Neat, huh?

Casey and I have always known that Lulu is absolutely brilliant, just look at her:

"Oh my, Dada!  Your glasses look dirty, I'll clean them for you."

All these super cool developments do come with a price tag...  Oh hello, fussiness!  What up, distracted eater!  Goodbye, naptime!  Au revoir, sleeping through the night!

So for the last week or so Lucy has been extremely fussy and distracted while breastfeeding.  Like, eat for five seconds - pause - look around, eat for another 10 seconds - pause - whip her head around (with my boob still in her mouth) to see something distracted.  And holy hell, is she a fuss pot!  I have no idea what she wants.  This is the first time I've ever felt truly frustrated as a new mom.

She's also cut her two 60+ minute naps to three, sometimes four, 15-20 minute naps.  And my favorite side effect, so far, has been her nighttime sleeping....she has literally woke up a minimum of five times each night for the last six nights.  Every hour on the hour, after 11 pm.  Including last night.  Only this week, I do have to work.  ::sobs::    

My good friend, Jenn, told me all about the 4 month wake over lunch last week, since her little cutie pie (who's just ten days younger than Lulu) is going through the very same thing.  All along I had been blaming teething pains, ha!


The week wasn't all bad though...

We had lunch dates with baby friends

We swam

We had a birthday

 

Birthday Daddy!

We got new fluff (post to come!)

Yes, that's a paci.  No, she's still not taking them.

And we even started sitting up on our own!

Unfortunately, the only pic I managed to take is blurry.  Poo.

How was everyone's week?  Fill me in!

I have a lot on my mind.

Thank God I don't have work tomorrow, because I can't sleep.

I know I said "minimal" blogging this week, but I have a lot on my mind.  Like a lot, A LOT.

Every night I pray.  I've said the same prayer for years (with the recent addition of Lucy).  I thank God for Lucy, Casey, my parents and siblings, and I ask that He guide us to happiness.  I ask that he provide for us, as he always has.  Well lately my prayer list has gotten a lot longer.  Sometimes I fall asleep before I finish praying.  Sometimes I forget to pray for certain things because there is just so much on my mind and so much to pray for....

Lucy
Lucy's health
Lucy's happiness
Lucy's future
Casey
Casey's health
Casey's happiness
Our marriage
Casey's job
My parents
My parents mental and physical health
My parent's marriage
My brother
My brother's actions
My brother's future
My sister
My sister's future
Our house
Selling our house
Buying a new house
Decorating a new house
Our cars
Casey's education
My job
Getting Lucy baptised
Getting pregnant again
Lucy's rash
Breastfeeding
Pumping
All things baby related - babyproofing, crawling, milestones in general
Checking account balance
Savings account balance
What's for dinner?
Friends that kinda suck
Friends that kinda rock
Blogging
Laundry
Cleaning
Time

I'm probably leaving something off.  And as I've put this list to words, I've expanded on each item in my head.  You can thank me later for not sharing.

Bonding Time

I'm taking the week off.  No work.  Minimal blogging.  Just me and my Goose (until Loverboy gets home from work).  Hip hip HOORAY!

What will I do all week, you ask?  I'm going to lay in bed and/or on my dirty old couch with Lulu until my arms fall off (or until Lulu needs to be changed...whichever comes first).    

Confessions: Week 7

Confession #19:  I beat that crazy lady to the conference room!  I turned the corner and cut her off (accidentally, of course), and all but ran to get to the conference room before her.

Confession #20:  When I pump it feels like my nipples are slowly being split open.  Me no likey.

Confession #21:  I only put Lucy to the breast twice yesterday.  That is just how little I saw her.  Part of that is my fault, because we had to reschedule our date night from Friday to Thursday, BUT that ten hour work day isn't helping the situation.



These confessions are part of a series that I started shortly after returning to work, Confessions of a Pumping Mother.  My confessions range from ramblings to fun facts, to accidental mishaps (like this) and extreme pumping.  Did you miss last week's confessions? 

Sassy Pediatricians

Lulu got her 4 month vaccinations on Monday.  It sucked.

She got them at her new pediatrician's office. 

We recently broke up with Pediatrician #1 (after being treated poorly for about four months).  I never actually got around to interviewing pediatricians while I was pregnant.  So we went with a one-woman practice that came very highly recommended.... 

We should have switched practices after the first appointment, when she not only made me cry, but also made us wait 2.5 hours to be seen.  She was an excellent doctor.  We really trusted her opinion and valued her dedication; BUT...we did not appreciate her blunt, extremist comments, nor did we like waiting for hours on end and/or being rescheduled time and time again.  So we switched.

And that sassy pediatrician charged me for it!  25 bucks!  25 lousy bucks to transfer Goosey's file.  The nerve!  AND we even picked it up!  I've never paid to transfer files, and we've changed doctors several times over the years.  Naturally, this pissed me off.  And naturally, I let her know that.  Good riddance!

Enter Pediatrician #2.  I like them.  I really do.  Their office is in Fountain Hills.  They actually have a staff.  They were recognized as one of the best doctors in Arizona in some magazine.  We're cool. 

What's not cool is the sassy nursing staff.  I just can't escape the sass!  They're not the friendliest bunch of gals, at least they weren't until they heard two words:  exclusively breastfed.  Not that that should matter to them, but their tone instantly warmed when they asked about Goosey's diet.

It doesn't personally bother me, so long as my little Goosey girl receives good care (and in a timely manner). 

Who me?

Has anyone out there experienced a similar situation?  Or noticed a difference in attitudes of health care professionals when it comes to breast milk vs. formula?

A New Soul

No, not the song.

Our NEW whip!

Over the weekend we said goodbye to my little yellow car and ventured into a unique, but ultimately awesome car buying experience.

You see, we're trying to cut bills.  We're doing this to avoid future whiny posts...like this. 

In the last month we've sold both of our cars, reduced our grocery budget by 66%, reduced our cable bill by 50% (we were going to cancel it completely, but then they bribed us into staying by cutting our bill in half for the duration of our contract), installed a programmable thermostat, and we've reigned in a lot of our unnecessary spending (eating out, Home Depot, etc).

We do this, so that I can stay home with this little Goose:

So back to this unique and awesome car buying experience of ours....  Casey, the Craigslist Guru, sold the Cobalt on Saturday afternoon and we immediately set out for the Scottsdale Motor Mile afterward.  For those not familiar with the Scottsdale Motor Mile, its the absolute worst place on earth to buy a car.  Seriously.  We spent the better part of 5 hours shopping two dealerships, with absolutely no success.  After drowning our sorrows at Yogurtology, we headed home, extremely frustrated and tired.  Sunday started out much the same, and ended rather abruptly, when my mom, Grammy Goose, had a brilliant idea.

My brother had bought a Kia Soul earlier this year and quickly decided he'd rather have another, more manly, car.  So my parents bought it off of him.  The Kia became their spare car.  And I had been driving this spare car of theirs for the past 3 weeks, while Casey was restoring our Superbeetle.  Well having a spare car is cool and all, but it was an added expense they never really wanted.  Soooo....we bought the Kia off of them!

This car is PERFECT!  This arrangement lowers our monthly payment and insurance by 58%.  It's roomy, it's NEW, and it's totally big enough for a second car seat (when the time comes)!  We're a couple of happy campers, fo sho.


(photo)