Newborn and Mommy get the Flu

It happened. I never leave as I said in a previous post. We hibernate during flu season with winter babies. But I mean we do see people. and i always let other people hold the baby because its important for him to be able to go to someone besides me so that I can run errands, go back to work, and to decrease stress for him around others.
He was 7 weeks old when my daughters birthday came, which was Superbowl. We had a family party, just uncles, aunts, and grandparents on that Saturday and we had some friends over on Superbowl who all have small children and babies so we figured they too would be flu conscious. I put hand sanitizer on ever surface and asked that everyone just wash their hands when handling the baby.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And my good intentions were not rewarded.
My mother in law, unwittingly, brought the flu to us. She didn't have symptoms until Monday. I didn't know she had it and started feeling dizzy and developed a cough on Tuesday. Tuesday night my husband informed me 'ohh mom has the flu.' I freaked. I went immediately to urgent care and demanded a flu test which they thought was crazy because I didn't have flu symptoms. Well,I tested positive for the flu. I started to cry and asked what to do about the baby. I started tamiflu. I called the pediatrician for advice. I kept breastfeeding, disinfected the house top to bottom, worse a mask, washed my hands constantly, applied hand sanitizer as well for good measure.
I started to feel better and continued to wear a mask. My husband sealed our fate though one week after I got sick. He declares that the baby didn't get it.  That afternoon he had discharge in his eye. I called the doctor. They said ohh its nothing if there's no fever. That night he came down with a high fever and we were sent by our pediatrician to the Emergency Room. A bunch of tests later, he also tested positive for the flu. It was so scary. We had to check in with the pediatrician. He developed a ear infection and every time he sneezed, coughed, snorted, whined I jumped. I would not take my eyes off of him. Grandparents came in to help watch him so I could do basic things because I was unwilling to even go to the bathroom without eyes on him. I was so scared he would choke or his airway would block and he would die. I was scared his fever would shoot up if i wasn't checking him constantly and he would have a seizure. I've said it before, I'm a worrier. But he is a toughy and we made it. We are both on the mend and I cant believe how well it went. I don't recommend it of course but the doctor said we had a best case scenario and its because we caught it so early and got him on Tamiflu early.
The following week my mother in law tested positive for the OTHER strain of flu. I politely told her we wouldn't be seeing her any time soon. I cant handle going through that again. But my worst fears were realized and we survived. We basically lost the month of February to illness but I can't complain because we made it through.
My best advise is act fast. if you think something is wrong don't hesitate, even if your husband thinks your crazy or even your doctor. you know best. Trust your gut. I wasn't able to prevent the flu but I was able to make sure we survived it, in one of hte most deadly flu seasons in recent history.

Just Call me Suzy Homemaker

On Sunday, I decided to tackle some tasks outside while the weather was still with me. I had some things that I wanted to paint, if it isn't neutral it needs to be, and my pesky pinecone wreath still hadn't been sprayed. So I took to spraying the items that had piled up, the wreath picture frames, etc. If you had read my past posts I'm sure you have realized that I am crazy for spray-paint. Particularly spray paint that is black, white, metallic, and that's it really. So here's the wreath:

My husband agreed to forgo his beloved football, as long as he could check the stats, and help me winterize while we were outside. Let me tell you, winterizing and spray painting can be challenging tasks when you have a 20 month old. She was constantly climbing on things as we moved them around, getting under tarps and covers and even grabbed a few sprayed items resulting is war-calls on my part to prevent her from wiping the paint on her jacket. Luckily, her favorite dog was willing to entertain her a bit.

In the end we got alot done. Hoses were put away, lawn items that don't like our northeastern winters brought in, birdbath tipped, table covered, and my chairs stacked and covered.

However, we are having an Indian summer. I feel the last few years we have had this where the fall is as warm as summer.  In fact today it is over 80 degrees. As a result my flower pots still look pretty good. While I did prep my front steps for fall with pumpkins and a mum, the buckets in the back were too pretty to dump/cover, so I will have to go back out. Its worth it for a few more weeks of pretty color. I also left my screen room chairs uncovered since my toddler has a obsession with going out there to play. She is going to be VERY upset when it gets too cold.


ONCE we were done with that I decided to do some baking. I made a chicken pot pie, a apple pie, and homemade applesauce. Let me tell you, don't use salt in your applesauce! I used a online recipe and it called for a small amount of salt, that in the end pretty much ruined my applesauce. But my pot pie and apple pie were perfection. The apples I picked off the trees myself and  made the crust myself (my great-grandmothers recipe).

I took the pie to work because my husband and I are trying to watch our weight, and it was a huge hit! People said it was the best pie they had ever had. Glad to hear I made my mom proud. But to be honest, on Sunday I would have made Martha Stewart and even a stepford wife proud!

First Christmas

Hosting a holiday is always stressful. Even if you are someone like my mom who thrives on it.

This was the first Christmas hosted at my house because it was my little girls first Christmas. 

Now it should be known that I love the holiday season: the good will, the music, lights, and  the movies. I mean what's not to like? But the day I could live without, the fighting (which we avoided this year- a true Christmas miracle), the food prep, the need to buy buy buy, the mixing of family traditions (a delicate balance) and the mess! When it's all over I miss the season but, am relieved the day is done. I don't mean to say I don't love our families or appreciate all they do for us. I just feel stressed. 

The best  part this year though was the alone time my husband and I had with our little one and canine babies. 

The night before I felt sad. I wasn't going to wake up at my parents house and go get my siblings to open presents. A tradition we had continued into adulthood. I went to my husbands families church and I missed seeing my relatives and the older woman who always wears her Christmas hat. All of that melted away though when we opened our first presents from Santa. And while it was very stressful I'm glad we had everyone to our house to share in her first Christmas.

Family Holiday

An old draft post that I am finally posting...This Easter I hosted my first joint family holiday. My husband and I have been together nine years, owned a home two years and been married for a year and a half. But, it took a little girl to bring our families together for the first joint holiday. To say I was all nerves was an understatement but it went surprisingly well. We come from families with very different traditions and attitudes. His family is quiet and more religious, my family is loud, crazy, and well less religious. I expected awkwardness but instead thanks to their common denominator, my daughter, there was surprising peace. Effortless chatter, smiles, pictures taken, it went well. No we didn't break out the good china like I wanted, no we didn't eat on time, yes my little cousins let the dogs out of the yard and clean up took two days but, still, overall it was a positive experience. Now we will see how future events go but we are off to a good start!

Lowing Expectations

Father's Day was yesterday, and like most holidays I envisioned a day of laughing, hanging out, and enjoying each others company. Instead, it was more a day of aggravation, burnt breakfast and overall disappointment. When I went to leave my father, whom we had spent the morning with, to go back home and meet up with my father-in-law, I apologized for how the morning had went. My father looked at me and said something that I have been thinking about since. He said "it was nice Aim, you need to stop worrying about it being perfect because it only wasn't perfect for you." He then told me that all he wanted was to spend time with the baby and me. Instead I spent the morning trying to print photos of memories, rather than making them. I was also upset that my husbands gift didn't arrive, even though I had ordered it with plenty of time, and at the end of the day realized all he wanted was me to watch TV on the couch with him.  Lesson learned.

Low on Expectations,

High on Love

 I need to stop worrying so much about things being perfect and rather than trying to obtain fanaticized moments I create and cannot actually obtain. This tendency is making all events in my life not seem up to par. And I do it in almost all aspects of my life: I don't make enough money, drive a nice enough car, live in a nice enough home, etc. Nothing is good enough because I want perfection. When really, I have a good job, a nice home, and a nice car. This is something I don't want to pass on to my child. I think a lot of us do this, we build something up in our minds and we are disappointed when it doesn't live up to it. we don't enjoy what we do have. I don't think I can stop being a perfectionist but I need to start taking breaks and see what is good in my life. Hope you can do the same.

 

 

11 days and counting...

I am 11 days from my due date with my first child. Yes, I'm scared to death, excited and over this whole your body isn't your own thing. But, I can say that I have completed a daunting task at work and feel as though I can take my maternity leave without dumping a mess on my co-workers. Yes, this is what I worry about. WORK. In all senses of the word. Will I be able to keep up with my houseWORK (I'm a neat freak)? Will it be hard to be out of WORK so long? Will it be hard to come back to WORK? When will I be able to WORK out again (I love zumba)? Will the baby be too much WORK? Who knows.  I have taken care of kids in my family since I was 9, so can probably handle the baby, but not being able to do what I want to do and go and feel fulfilled career wise might be hard.

A Big Suprise

I haven't posted in a while and that's likely because I have been so sick, morning sick that is. Yes, the impossible apparently was possible, the infertile fertile. I am unexpectedly but still happily pregnant. It was quite a shock to both me and my husband. I probably wouldn't even of known had I not gotten so sick and my office mate, and truth be told "work husband", kept telling me that I looked like I had morning sickness not a flare up of my condition, endometriosis. (He knew what it looked like since he has three kids).  He was right, and it only got worse. I spend most of my summer trying not to vomit everything I ate, every time I moved, which was as little as possible. Because of my PCOS (poly cystic ovarian disease) my first trimester was high risk (though I was 2 months into it before I knew and ironically had done everything wrong I probably could have done including falling down a large flight of stairs during that time). 

So I made it through and at my 30th birthday party instead of enjoying birthday margaritas I announced the big news to those who had not figured it out (when I am being social and don't have a beer its a give away). Don't let me pretend its been roses and butterflies. I have horrible morning sickness, migraines, my depression and anxiety as real as ever and I feel betrayed by my own body because everyone keeps telling me "don't do that" when I try to start one of my many projects on my to do lists. Apparently paint thinner and moving heavy things are frowned upon. I keep telling myself its only one summer lost, but it still stinks...

So despite my DIY pity party, I officially will have it all. A great career, a pretty beautiful home (still need work outside but lets pretend), my committed husband, my supportive family, my 'baby' dogs and kitty, and now a baby. I know, your gaging. I am too to be honest. But so it goes. So I may have some new adventures to post but I will continue to keep in the traditions taught to me. Hopefully I can pass down the values of a love of the outdoors, do it yourself mentality that I have been taught, without driving my technology based husband crazy. 

A puppy

I have a dog. I had one coming into the relationship. I grew up with dogs, cats, rabbits, fish and whatever reptile we found in the road (normally turtles no snakes allowed). My grandfather raised hunting dogs, needless to say i love animals. But my husband never even had a fish. He wanted a puppy so badly, specifically a lazy bulldog. We work full time, he works a second job so I'm home at night (usually with someone but that's besides the point) and i have the cat and dog, and a new house... and recently a wedding. Needless to say a puppy was not my dream especially since my dog is younger and just getting calm. OK so back to his puppy, the bulldogs are crazy expensive and sickly, who would have thought they would cost like 3 grand?!

So, being from hunting dogs, i suggested basset hounds- me and my big mouth. After a long campaign which included him recruiting my father to butter me up, we got a basset hound, and I have to say i love her. Eleanor. So cute, but shes houstraining, eating everything, and keeping me up at night. Ohh i cant wait for her to calm down. because right now I'm ruled by the dogs....


PS this is not her, but i hope when shes older she looks like this when she runs lol

Dinners....

A Vent: My husband and I come from different families completely. My family is up in every ones business, loud and constant. His family is quite and less informed of each others lives. Along with our different communication styles we have different styles of eating. My mom was an army cook in another life. She cooks in bulk always, because shes ready for whoever drops in, we eat leftovers because shes too busy to cook another meal every night, and its so good why would we want her to. His mom cooks a small meal every night, a bit more basic.. and in my experience its generally pork. I don't really like pork for several reasons: they are cute and can be pets (think pot belly pigs), its greasy and fatty, and most importantly, they are most associated with humans. Yup, want to know how long a corpse has been laying in a field, well forensic scientists put a pig corpse in similar conditions to figure it out. Need a skin graph, you can use pig skin. There is also research that suggests we can grow human organs, for transplants, in pigs. it has been found, based on cannibalistic tribe information, that human flesh tastes most like pork. That's enough for me not to eat it. But i digress... we have different eating habits and likes.

So now that we are newly married and i have assumed the more traditional role in the household, which is fine because i have my masculine job during the day, i cook.  I'm not my mom, why would i be shes so good i never needed to. but I've picked up some of her simpler recipes and found healthy foods that i try to eat to fight the battle of the bulge. But he doesn't seem to agree. IN fact he refused to eat pasta because it makes him "gain weight" (I cook with the smart pasta that's full of fiber) but he can eat pounds of fast food and grease.



So the struggle continues, i want to eat lean fish and chicken, he wants fried and pork....

it seems that I'm making headway but I have to wonder, is this something unique to our relationship or do other new wives (esp working ones that don't have time for gourmet means every night) have similar problems?