happy 8 months (and 3 days) virginia!

mia

it's been awhile since my last post. busy, busy. I have 2 more days of favorite things, a uterus update and many new photos to post...
of an 8 month old! 8 months! wowza!

b and I (I mean just "I") have been trying to find decent tenants for our condo. decent being the key word here. it's a friggin' full time job. let's just say craigslist = wackos. tons of them! hours and hours of sifting through emails and setting up viewing appointments -- and nobody shows.

fab 2 BR apartment on yale shuttle

"I think the apartment is cute. would you consider reducing the rent by $400 a month?"

"sure, why not. b and I don't need that $4800 a year to pay our mortgage. when can you move in? I'd love to pay your utility bill as well!

"is the unit soundproof?"

beat it.

"we have 2 cats and 3 big dogs (but they're eight years old.)"

ahhhhhhhh. no.

"you say it's available 15 june. could you hold it until august?"

piss off.

is the apartment near the shuttle?

mama p doesn't want to be a landlord. poop.

you can't make this shit up

I go to pick up ginny at the sitter's yesterday afternoon. she is in a bouncy chair fussing a bit and feeding, god knows what, from a bottle. s (the babysitter from a far away land) tells me (in her broken english) that she will bring ginny to the apartment once she finishes eating. fair enough.

b comes home and surprises me a coffee. we sit and chat until s and ginny arrive at the door. ginny's bib is filthy nasty! what the hell? s gives me the rundown of the day -- nap time, bottles, poopage.
"so what did virginia have for lunch today?" I ask.

"sweet potatos, zucchini, and whale."

"what?"

"ahhhhhh, sweeeeet potaaatos, zucchiiiini, and vale." (mind you, her english, not so good.)

b and I look at each other. words escape us.

"wh...wh...wh...whale?" my voice starts to quiver. I'm pretty passionate about whales (hence my trip to alaska to help study the cooperative feeding of humpbacks.)

she laughs. "whale. no fish. baby from cow. mooooo."

"do you mean (do I dare say it) veal?"

"YES!" (take it easy with the enthusiasm.)

I don't know what is worse actually. meat from my beloved sea creature or flesh from a confined and tortured baby calf. both VERY BAD! there is a reason why momma is a vegetarian.

ginny's nasty, meaty bib - straight into the garbage. s and I then had a "little chat." she heard my english loud and clear.

favorite things - thursday edition

all uterus drama aside, the return of our favorites.
soooooo, today I'm starting with 2 amazing websites for those who make their own baby food. I tell ya, once you start, it's addictive. I have so many frozen organic meals in my freezer, it's ridiculous. check out wholesome baby food and nurture baby. great fruit/veggie combinations! yum yum yum in the tum tum tum.

who doesn't love babylegs and all the fab patterns? b digs the pink skull and crossbones -- surprise, surprise. ginny is no doubt my child (once you see her chubster thighs.) tights are not the best especially if you cloth diaper. fluffy butts are big! babylegs are an awesome solution for girls and boys. I have a client that met the (oh so young) woman that started the company. $,$$$,$$$. all it takes is a clever idea.
















next is hanna andersson. I adore all that is hanna! especially the pjs. easy on, easy off (for diaper changes) and super adorable (in a very dr seuss sort of way.) we get ginny's at our local outlet. these pjs rule!

my uterus is falling! my uterus is falling!

to add insult to injury.

talk about a uterus recall! shit! even when NOT TTC my reproductive organs are problematic. I really thought I was harboring yet another UTI since ginny's birth. a few rounds of antibiotics never seemed to get rid of that pesky infection.
so I thought.

my last pee-in-a-cup adventure came up clear -- no bacteria, nothing, nada, you're "fine."

"however... I think you may have uterine prolapse. come see me." says dr f - my favorite.

ok, prolapse. whatever. it sounded pretty uneventful until I had a small chat with dr google. for the love of god! you have got to be fucking kidding me!

"Uterine prolapse means your uterus has descended from its position in the pelvis farther down into your vagina. Normally, your uterus is held in place by the muscles and ligaments that make up your pelvic floor. Uterine prolapse occurs when pelvic floor muscles and ligaments stretch and weaken, providing inadequate support for the uterus. The uterus then descends into the vaginal canal."

if this is indeed what I have, life is cruel. hours and hours of trying to push out a sunny-side-up child was traumatic and completely destroyed my pelvic floor (b's words.) I'm totally unable to do a kegel, I feel like I always need to pee and I have major pressure when I walk too much or too fast. these symptoms scream falling uterus and/or bladder. we shall see.

oh joy.
this sucks.

favorite things - tuesday edition

love, love, LOVE these! they're perfect for trips to the outside world. if ginny smiles or decides to "chat" out falls the pacifier and then momma is out of luck (if the mood should happen to change.)

















I got the beat! how cute is THIS?! nothing like an anatomically correct plush toy for the surgeon's daughter. in fact, this company carries most vital organs. unfortunately they just recalled the uterus. faulty ovaries or something. I can totally relate!

a week of favorite things! weeeeeee!

in our travels, virginia and I have stumbled upon many things that we find pretty groovy. during my pregnancy, (most/some) fridays were dedicated to my fave things. no more belly butters or maternity undies. now it's all about baby, baby.

the beaba babycook rules! this all-in-one machine makes cooking your own organic baby food a snap. it steams AND purees/chops! I make an entire week of dinners in no time and with very little effort or clean-up. $$$ but it rules! (especially when you don't have to pay for it.) ginny looooves her fresh pears with avocado!
I recommend the beaba BPA-free multiportion freezer tray as well.













got drool? next is the organic cotton drool bib. ginny has been a toothless drooling machine for months now and we love these bibs. they are super absorbent and small enough not to ruin a cute outfit. we like that! good stuff. now where are those teeth?

happy happy easter!

ok. enough of this crap.

why do grocery stores insist on hiring idiots?
help me out here. I need to figure out how to respond to all these jackasses.
because it happened again, yesterday.

"awwwwww. she is so cute! how old?" asks the 17 year old girl at the register.

"thank you! she's 7 months old. and thanks for acknowledging that she's a girl. we get a lot of "boy" comments."

"are you kidding?! how could anyone think she's a boy?"

I'm psyched. finally! this might be my first normal conversation with a cashier.
until...

"is she yours?" like that is a reasonable question.

yep.
geeez, people! I know I'm a geriatric mother with an asian inspired baby, but... come on!

in hindsight, I should have said - (I'm not terribly quick on my feet.)

"are THOSE yours?" pointing to her giant boobs spilling out of her skin tight, belly baring, and soooo inappropriate for the workplace tank top.

"and it's 36 friggin' degrees outside fool!"

the return of p & v's favorite things

this entire week was going to be dedicated to our new "favorite things" but a lot has been going on. a fellow saIF buddy lost her twins, phoebe and evan, after being born at 24w 1d. the news is absolutely heartbreaking. I cannot even imagine having to bury a child let alone two. C and I emailed back and forth quite a bit last fall and I felt a real connection to her. her loss is something that I cannot fathom. my (broken) heart goes out to her and her husband R. what a tragedy.

we also had some great news as well. square peg got an amazing fert report from her first DE cycle. she transferred 2 beautiful 5 day blasts yesterday. hurray! she and D have struggled through numerous (4 maybe?) IVFs. this has got to be "it" for them. I had a vivid dream last night that she was carrying twins! she also had a very cool orange stroller (I don't think it really exists.) I was terribly jealous. fingers and toes crossed everyone, for her upcoming beta!

and... a fellow cornell IVFer delivered a gorgeous baby girl, isabella, this week. B and I cycled together twice -- both failures. I'm looking forward to seeing her again (but not in a hospital gown and paper slippers) once we move back to nyc. what a glorious reunion!

a little update: awesome and encouraging news for IVF 40+! her beta for IVF #2 has more than doubled. this is fantastic!

it feels good!

to knit again! AND to actually finish a project! hats are fab. they're super easy, they provide instant gratification and they make a (certain) baby (wink, wink) look pretty darn cute. not bad, right?

wanna talk infertility?

I finally uploaded the IF awareness logo to cafe press (late at night when I finally had a moment to myself.) they've got bibs, organic onesies, mousepads, mugs and tees. spread the word. IF is nothing to be ashamed of.
I'll tell you all about my miracle.