Long ago when I was pregnant, we planned to spend the 4th of July weekend at Pismo Beach with some friends (Becky, Tom, Jesse, Ben, Rachel and Chloe). At the time I was a little worried about being away from home while really pregnant (I would have been 37 weeks, and ~3-4 hours drive from home) but Sage assured me it would be fine… I was unlikely to go into labor early since Riley was a week late (this was the mantra my ob told me at every visit) and even if I did, we would just hop in the car and drive straight home. No problem!
Well, turned out that Damon was born early… and when he was 5 days old, we packed him up in the car next to Riley and drove to Pismo! He did really well with the car trip, and the weekend was really nice. I pretty much sat on the couch with Damon all weekend and did nothing (which was exactly what I wanted to do) while everyone else cooked amazingly delicious food (including a vegetarian middle eastern feast by Rachel for the 4th of July) and kept us entertained. I couldn’t have been happier, or more relaxed, and it was really nice to get out of the house and spend time with good friends.
[Just one example of the gourmet food we ate (mini turkey burgers by Ben, yum)]
[Riley had a good time…]
There is a whole series of pictures of people posing with the pelican at the ice cream score that I wish I could chronicle here because they’re hilarious… unfortunately I don’t have them.
I think Riley really enjoyed herself as well. She got to stay up late and hang out with everyone and basically pretend to be a grownup. She really did not like the fireworks on the 4th (too loud) but aside from that was all smiles all weekend. Damon got passed around from person to person and was generally pretty mellow. Good times had by all…
July 19th, 2009 in
Happenings |
No Comments
A little while back we decided it was time to buy Riley a bike. She was SO excited. It has training wheels and a basket and ribbons… unfortunately our neighborhood is really hilly, so it’s been hard for her to learn. My mother had the brilliant idea to take her to a basketball court, and Riley did great:
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Before starting she had to kiss and hug her lamby, who rode in her basket. Sadly, the experience ended with a bad fall (I think she just turned too quickly. My mom actually caught it on tape, but we erased it because it’s too awful to watch) and Riley scraped up her face and knee. Grandma took good care of her though, and when Sage and I got home she was happily eating a popsicle.
July 9th, 2009 in
Happenings |
2 Comments
Little Damon is 10 days old! It’s been a very mellow 10 days overall, with a fantastic trip to Pismo beach in the middle (which deserves it’s own post, coming soon). He still has never cried for longer then a minute (and usually much less then that) and is very easy to console with shushing and a little bouncing. We’re wondering how long this will last…
I’ve been having to wake him up to eat because otherwise he would sleep sleep sleep. Dr. Woo says he should eat about every 3 hours during the day, every 4 hours at night. We set an alarm at night, otherwise he would just keep sleeping… although recently he’s actually started making some noises before the alarm goes off, so maybe we don’t really need it anymore.
Our first night home from the hospital he slept beautifully in the bassinet for 2 hours. Unfortunately Sage and I did not sleep beautifully alone in our bed, so since then he’s been sleeping with me. I just like to tuck him into the crook of my arm and fall asleep snuggled up with him, such a cutie. Eventually he’ll go back to the bassinet… I’m just not ready yet.
Damon doesn’t sleep ALL the time. When he’s awake he’s either looking all around in quiet concentration or madly flinging his arms and legs in every direction. He’s become much more vocal and even while sleeping has a nice array of cooing noises to make sure you know he’s there.
Riley continues to be a protective doting big sister, and Damon tolerates her kisses and hugs quite well.
Taking a nap together…
The other news for the week is I started classes. So far it seems to be working out well. My mom brings him over between classes if it’s a short break, and if it’s a long break I just go home… I’m sure it will get more difficult, but right now it’s working out well.
Last thing… I took him to the doctor today to see if he’s gaining enough weight. He looks healthy, but I just wanted to know how aggressive I should be about waking him up to eat. Turns out he’s 7 lbs 6.75 oz. He’s been gaining ~60g/day over the last week, and apparently you only need 30g/day to be healthy… so I guess he’s eating enough. Also, doctor says we’re probably in a “honeymoon period” that lasts 2 weeks, and after that he’ll probably start crying more. We’ll enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts…
July 8th, 2009 in
Happenings |
No Comments
Oma Peggy arrived today, and brought a wooden US sates puzzle for Riley with her. Riley is a big fan of puzzles and wanted to do it right away. They were working on it together when Riley noticed the statue of liberty. She pointed at it and said, “With liberty and justice for all!” Oma Peggy was of course surprised (who wouldn’t be?) and asked if she knew the pledge of allegiance… so Riley starts reciting…”I pledge-allegiance-to-the-flag-under-god-united-states-under-god-america-with-liberty-and-justice-for-all!” as pretty much one long continuous word said very quickly (and with a very proud grin on her face). I’m guessing Lucy has been doing some America teaching at the daycare because of the 4th of July?? It certainly didn’t come from us. Pretty entertaining. I wonder if she has any idea what she’s saying…
July 7th, 2009 in
Overheard |
No Comments
We recently went through the baby clothes that had accumulated in the closet in preparation for Damon’s arrival. We sorted out the items we liked, kept anything small and gender neutral for Damon, and sent the bigger stuff to Ronin and the smaller stuff to Lorelei. The rest we put in a box for the goodwill/salvation army.
Being us, that box sat around for a while, and Riley soon discovered it was full of all kinds of exciting clothes… particularly dresses, which she is really big on these days. (“Why can’t I wear only dresses and skirts?”) Her favorite dress is from Becky and Tom’s wedding, which she frequently wears around the house. (It’s fancy, but we can’t think of any real reason not to let her wear it all the time. Although we do draw the line at the park and daycare.) The rest she likes to put on her animals.
And then she reads to them.
Riley’s version of reading usually consists of a stream of consciousness mash-up of said book and any other books we’ve read recently. (She’s getting much better at actual reading, but I think it’s usually too slow for her tastes.)
[Ha ha!]
[So funny!]
It’s amazing how easy it is to love a baby. Damon continues to be incredibly sweet and wonderful, and very easy to take care of. I just cart him around the house with me wherever I go and he seems cool with it. Thursday is orientation for the program I’m starting this summer, and I really want to just take him with me. He’s so mellow, I really think it would be ok… We’ll see. Tomorrow is also his first doctor’s appointment with Riley’s pediatrician Dr. Woo, hopefully that will go well.
Riley continues to be really excited about Damon, and wants to hold him all the time. This morning she kissed him all over then said, “Damon thinks I give too many kisses.” (We have a game we play where I say, “Mommies give to many kisses,” and she says, “No more kisses!!” then I smother her with a million kisses and she giggles and laughs and tries to protest – though of course if I stop she says, “Do it again!”) She’s very protective of him as well. We tried to cut his fingernails (they are so long!!) and it seemed to hurt him, even though he was asleep, so Riley immediately got very concerned and made us stop… I mean literally, she blocked the way until we put the cutters down and insisted we not try again. The other day when I was changing Damon he started crying and Riley ran over to sooth him… she shushes him and strokes his head and it actually works. He calmed right down. Very sweet.
To Damon’s credit though he is exceptionally chill and easy to sooth. He sleeps a lot, and I actually have to set an alarm to wake up and feed him or he’ll just keep sleeping. When he is awake though, he is very alert and opens his eyes wide to look around. He’s already found his fingers and mostly figured out how to suck on them (good life skill). All in all, quite the sweetheart, and we’re all very happy to have him.
July 2nd, 2009 in
Happenings |
1 Comment
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Riley got to meet her new baby brother yesterday. She’s going to be a great big sister.
On Sunday June 28, 2009 at 22:58 Damon Jasper Weil was born (though to be completely truthful, at the time he was Baby boy Lawson). He was a little early, Sunday being 36 weeks and 3 days, but still weighed 7lb 2oz and was 20.5 inches long.
It all started Saturday morning. I was on-call at our county hospital in the valley, Olive View. Got to work around 5:45am and pretty much felt like a normal weekend day. On the drive in I kept imagining what would happen if I went into labor, or baby stopped moving, or anything like that during my shift. It was my last call night, Tuesday (June 30) would have been my last day of work, but honestly I was ready to just be done with Olive View and have my baby. Anyway. The morning proceeded uneventfully until around 10am. It was busy… no time for breakfast yet, not a lot of sitting, but not really too out of the ordinary. I was admitting a patient in the ER when suddenly I distinctly felt leaking. I quickly ran to the bathroom and realized my water had probably broken… 4 weeks early. Part of me was excited, part nervous and scared, part embarrassed, all my body shaky. It was so unexpected, Riley was a week late and Dr. Johnson seemed convinced this one would be too. I found my team and told them I had to go see the Ob residents and get checked out. They were… well, less then thrilled. Anyway, the ob residents were awesome, especially considering I’m obviously not a patient at Olive View. They checked me out right away, did an ultrasound, and monitored the baby. Since baby looked ok they agreed to let me drive to UCLA as long as I wasn’t alone. Sage and Riley drove out to meet me and drove behind me just in case.
On the drive to UCLA I called my family. My mother immediately sprang into action and found a flight to LA from Boston. My brother Michael and his girlfriend Courtney offered to come down from Santa Barbara and help out with Riley. I distinctly felt like I was putting everyone out with this sudden news… first at work, and now with my family. My family is so awesome though, not put out at all, and Michael really made an effort to be sure I knew he was happy to be there.
Once we got to UCLA there was a whole lot of nothing going on. They gave me 6 hours to start contracting, and when my body didn’t get going on it’s own, they decided to start pitocin. By midnight my mother arrived and as nothing seemed to be happening, Sage went home to sleep and my mother stayed over. Took a break from the pitocin and tried misoprostel instead, so I was actually able to sleep much of the night as well. In the morning they started back on the pitocin and just waited waited waited all day. My no-nonsense nurse convinced me to get an epidural around mid-day when the contractions got strong. I felt like I was handling them pretty well (residency seems to have raised my pain tolerance), but she said she could crank up the pitocin and speed things along with an epidural. I agreed, and in no time the anesthesia resident was there and ready to go. Of course it was someone I’ve worked with, and he immediately recognized me as well, but somehow it didn’t seem too weird. My epidural at Stanford was pretty much a disaster, but this one was totally smooth and perfect. They put me on a rate where I could totally feel my contractions, but they weren’t overwhelmingly painful, and I could still move my legs. I had a button I could push for more, but didn’t really have to.
The day passed slowly and I actually got some rest… finally around 9:00pm they checked me and I was 7cm, 100% effaced. By 10:15 I called Sage and told him he should probably come back to the hospital (he had gone home to put Riley to sleep). I asked the Ob resident to check me again, and she said she could feel the head! ~20min of pushing later we had a baby boy! They weren’t worried about him at all and gave him to me right away (“skin to skin”) while Sage cut the cord. He cried just enough to let us know he was okay, then opened his eyes and looked right at me, very calmly. I know I’m biased, but I think he’s ridiculously cute and I love him. He was very active with his hands right away, grabbing on to things, and nursed like a champ in the delivery room.
We were in L&D for ~38 hours, but overall it was really very smooth and easy, not nearly as dramatic as the first time. Sage, Michael, Courtney and my mother took turns keeping me company (I got very emotional when left alone) and entertaining Riley. Riley was actually around a lot of the time. I wonder what the expereince was like for her. the first day was confusing I think… she didn’t understand why i couldn’t go home (and later why Damon and I couldn’t go right home) and the medical stuff was very foreign to her. I had a giant right antecubital IV that got in her way (very uncomfortable. They stuck me 6 times and had to call the anesthesiologist before getting one. I guess I was dehydrated? My veins are usually huge and easy to find…) and the monitors on my belly (one for the baby’s heartrate, one for contractions) and the blood pressure cuff… Just a lot of wires going everywhere, and she was mystified by the tacky hospital gown (she really didn’t like the pattern). For a while on Sunday she didn’t really want to come near me… but on Sunday night when I wasn’t feeling too good she climbed into bed with me and started showering me with kisses and hugs and telling me she loves me. She got up close to my belly and told the baby it was time to come out. That night she really didn’t want to leave and said she could just sleep in bed with me. She was finally convinced when we told her the baby would be there when she came back in the morning.
Overall I feel very lucky and grateful for how wonderful everyone was. Sage and my mother obviously knew what to do from last time. Michael and Courtney were so great to have around, especially for Riley, but I really appreciated having them there as well. My fellow residents Sigrid, Danielle and Aqsa had to scramble to cover my absence, but made it work. The nurses and care partners and residents were all great… even the food is good! Overall I’m very pleased with our UCLA experience and would recommend it to anyone. The resident who delivered Damon was fantastic, I think her name is Meredith.
So that’s the story! My mother took plenty of pictures, which I promise will be up soon. She tried to take pictures during the delivery, but I shut that down right away, don’t worry.
Riley drew a family portrait a few weeks back–her first. Too bad it’s already out of date!
June 29th, 2009 in
Pictures |
No Comments
Riley recently had the honor of being a flower girl at Becky and Tom’s wedding. When Becky gave her the big white dress (with orange sash) back in February, Riley refused to put it on. As the wedding approached I started to get worried she wouldn’t wear it… so one morning I bribed her with mini-ginger cookies. One before putting on the dress and one after. It worked! Of course once she had the dress on she wouldn’t take it off. So fickle.
By the wedding day Riley was so excited about carrying the basket and walking down the aisle. I suspected she would get nervous in the last second though, and indeed she did. I had brought a little bag of m&m’s and jellybeans as an enticement, and made a deal with her that she could have them for her basket as soon as she got to end of the aisle. She agreed, and started walking hesitantly. I walked alongside (hidden from view by trees so I didn’t disrupt the ceremony) encouraging her and she slowly got more into it. By the end of the aisle she was emphatically throwing flower petals in every direction.
Before the ceremony (a little shy and nervous)
After the ceremony (very proud of herself)
The candy that replaced the flowers (all blue because they were from George’s baby shower, which unfortunately meant her teeth and lips turned blue too…)
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Riley made rainbow goldfish soup for dinner. yum. she actually ate most of it!
The wedding was beautiful and so much fun for all. Riley danced up a storm in the evening, then passed out in Sage’s arms and slept.
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Weeks later I finally got her dress dry cleaned, and when we brought it home Riley wanted to put it on. I can’t really think of an occasion when she’ll need to wear it, and she’s going to grow out of it in no time anyway, soooo… it’s part of her costume box now. Last weekend she wore it the entire weekend, complete with her silver shiny ballet slippers. We went to see a movie with Josh and Tweeny (Riley’s first movie!!) and she wore the dress to the theater. (we saw Panda Diaries, part of the LA film festival, a documentary about a panda breading facility in China. It was a sweet movie. Riley made it about half way through before getting bored and falling asleep.) It was pretty cute. She’s too light to keep the theater seat down if she sits back, so she sat on the edge of the seat in her big dress with her hands clasped in front of her in anticipation.
Riley is already talking about her next flower girl gig… Ben and Jesse’s wedding in September. Can’t wait!!
June 28th, 2009 in
Happenings |
No Comments