Coo coo ca choo

Milkalepsy

Milkalepsy is my made-up word of the week. It describes what happens to my son when he has a full belly of milk: he passes right out, without warning or any control on his part. It's cute.

New developments for Henry in the past week include real smiles and an occasional, actual, giggle sound. He is gaining more and more head and neck control and threatens to rear back and bonk Momma a black eye or a fat lip. His hand eye coordination is coming along nicely and he will now lay and stare up at the colorful toys dangling above him in the crib. He will do this for a long time before he gets bored. He enjoys tummy time and prefers the natural rubber German pacifiers to the plastic American type. This makes total sense given his parents affinity for German things, particularly bier :D

Henry has lost most of the hair on top of his head and looks a bit like a monk or an old man that is sadly attempting the comb-over thing. He also has very dry, flaky skin on his noggin' known as "cradle cap" so he really resembles a monk with severe dandruff that is prone to vomiting milk onto his robe...

We moved him from the bassinet in our room to the real crib in his room last night. It was scary for Momma to have him so far away, but successful. He slept 5 1/2 hours and we are praying for a repeat tonight. He digs the classical music lullabies and continually makes wild arm motions as though he is conducting the orchestra. He's obviously brilliant.

The kid is also growing like a weed. He's stretched the cotton fiber limits of the 0-3 month onesies and is rapidly outgrowing everything in the 3-6 month size range. We expect him to be at least as big as Grandpa Merald by the time he's twelve.

The boy is not showing a preference for one hand or another yet (c'mon lefty) but we see great promise in him already. Right now we are predicting that he will grow up to be a genius-scientist-athlete-gardener-tree hugger that will retire wealthy from a successful baseball career and use his MIT education to solve the global warming crisis. But, you know, no pressure.

Henry's First Thanksgiving

Mysterio Predicts the Future

Henry's One Month Check-up

He's growing!

Henry weighed in at 12.06 lbs this morning and he's already grown 2 inches in length, up to 24! He's all full of love and Momma's milk. He he continues to have a somewhat random sleep pattern, although last night was fairly typical of the last week in that he slept from 10p until 1a, nursed, and then went right back to sleep from 1:30a to 5ish. However, he then figured he was up for the day and we had a major spit-up, two diaper changes and a round of major fussing that lasted until 7a. Daddy got up with him then and entertained him until he wanted to nurse again about 8:30a. We are going to soon start to implement a bedtime routine and hope that he will be sleeping longer by the end of his second month.

In other news, the pediatrician had a second look at what may be a birthmark on Henry's left arm. It appears to be what they call a portwine stain. It's what Gorbachev had on his head. The doc seemed unconcerned as Henry shows no other signs of trouble, be we'll be keeping a close eye on it and will likely go see a dermatologist when he's six or nine months. We hope it's a sign that he will be a left-handed fireballer in the major leagues when he grows up :)

So Little

Despite being in the 99th percentile for weight and length, Henry is still so little. My aching back disagrees, but even when he is mega fussy, I look at him and realize that he'll only be three weeks old once. Soon enough he will be a big, stinky teenage boy that regards me with contempt. So, for now, I get to kiss his tiny feet and hands a hundred times a day.

Bath Time!

Daddy gives 'lil Hank a bath

Passed Inspection

Grandma Carol and Grandpa Lowell inspect the new grandson.

The kid's alright

Mr. Milk Face

The last seven days have been a blur. It is amazing how little sleep I can function on. Little Dude's sleeping and eating pattern is no pattern at all. I alternately adore him and fear him. My nipples are raw from his constant gnawing. His head is the sweetest and softest thing on the planet.

Henry's "screw you, lady!" look, as in "how dare you put me in this cutesie t-shirt?"

My Baby Boy

Please welcome to the world Mr. Henry Carl Nesje

Born October 29, 2008

10 lbs 2 oz

22 inches long

38.8 Weeks

The stretch marks have begun to set in, but Tiva doesn't care.

The Honest Truth

I have been more or less hostage to the house for two weeks now, save midwife appointments and short essential errands (I had to renew my driver's license before the baby comes - cruel to make you take a photo at nine months pregnant...) I am growing a bit fussy because of this confinement or convalescence, depending on how you look at it, and so Nathan took me out for dinner last night at one of my favorites, Heartland. By the way, the poached pear dessert they have right now is righteous.

As we were being seated, we passed a table with a mom, dad and young man of I would say three or so. The boy looked up at me and said, loudly, "WOW - SHE'S FAT!" I turned to him and said, "Yes, yes I am." The dad sunk his head into his hand in embarrassment while the mom attempted to explain to junior that I wasn't fat I was just pregnant. Very, very, very pregnant.

I think Nathan was worried that it would somehow break my spirit, but I found it amusing, not to mention, accurate.

Back to the couch now for Big Momma.

I hope I really like my house...

Yesterday was unexpected. Nathan and I arrived for our regularly scheduled 36 week pre-natal appointment, expecting a fairly routine visit, maybe a half hour, and then we'd be off for lunch somewhere. I had had a busy morning at work and was formulating plans and emails in my head for when I got back to the office. Suffice to say, plans derailed! First my weight was up. Way up. I had gained 8 pounds since my last vist. That's a red flag. Second, the edema in my legs had reached the "pitting" stage. That's another red flag. My blood pressure?, normally very good, was high. Red, red, red. The low-tech, yet somehow very accurate, belly measurement that they take each visit was big, too. So, in addition to the regular tests for Group B Strep and iron, they ran a series of tests for Preeclampsia and sent me off to the maternity triage room at St. Joe's for an ultrasound and a non-stress test.
I was a bit shook up by all this news of course and I ran back to the office to see my HR and IT folks between the clinic and the hospital. My midwife wrote a note that I gave to my HR department that stated that I am under orders to stay home and off my feet as much as possible for the duration of my pregnancy. I packed up my desk, hugged my co-workers and had an overwhelmingly surreal feeling as I left the office, realizing that I wasn't likely to be back there until January.
So, to the hospital we went and the ultrasound showed that the baby is very healthy - he's practicing breathing, moving a lot and all his organs and parts look normal. We also found out that he is big. We suspected that he was big, but the ultrasound estimated him at 9 lbs 6 oz and he's not due for 24 more days. In fact, the ultrasound estimated that my due date should have been September 28th. That's, um, four days ago. Now, granted, an unltrasound this late in pregnancy can be off by more than a pound, but that means he's likely already at least 8+ pounds!!! After this, I was also hooked up to a fetal monitor for a half hour and all signs are good. The boy is doing just fine.
As for me, we'll have to closely montior my blood pressure and edema and we are going to have to discuss induction if things don't start progressing naturally on thier own realtively soon. I hope to work for at least another week, albeit from home. So, I hope I really like my house, because that's where I'll be until further notice!

Scum Pickles: The mysteries of open crock pickles

My co-worker made a batch of these earlier this summer and brought them to work. They are delicious! She gave me the recipe and even gifted me my very own stoneware crock to use. I wandered the farmer's market in downtown St. Paul and found the baby cucumbers. However, the farmers were all out of dill. Every one of them! I eventually found some fresh dill weed, not seed, at Mississippi Market. Either/or should do just fine. So far my pickles have been hanging out on the kitchen counter for about a week. The "scum" that I'm am to skim daily according to the recipe is both

scum-like and mold-like. It is whitish-grey and ranges from a flakey sort of scum to a fuzzy kind of mold. It's mildly disturbing, but (I've been assured) perfectly normal. The brine on these ends up being cloudy rather than than the clear that I'm used to with canned pickles. If you've ever been to the Rennissance Festival, you've likely had a version of these from the super-hot "pickle man."

The chemistry of it all is a bit mysterious. While the mold/scum is a bit disconcerting, it is merely a bi-product of the fermenting that the pickles are are actually doing. The salt and the vinegar in the brine render any dangerous-type organisms completely harmless. You may be wondering to yourself, "why would a pregnant woman take her chances with mysterious food science?" Well, because its pickles.

So, these little beauties should be done working thier crock magic on October 7th. I really don't need a whole gallon of pickles, so if you want some, come on by. Or try a making a batch yourself:

Dorothy's Open Crock Pickles
1 Gallon Crock
Lots of tiny cucumbers washed and dried
Place a layer of dill in the bottom of the crock
Sprinkle 1 TB pickling spices on top of dill then layer the cucumbers on top
Cover with another 1 TB of pickling spices and another layer of dill
Add as many peeled garlic bulbs as you like
Add 1 or 2 hot red peppers
Cover all with brine

Brine (add according to how much space you have left--you may not use all of this)
Boil together for 2 minutes then allow to cool before pouring over cucumbers in crock
1/2 C canning salt
2 Qts water
1/2 C white vinegar

Timing
Leave crock on countertop at room temperature for at least 3 weeks and then refrigerate
Weight down with an inverted dish and a pretty rock and let sit or "work" until cucumbers are crisp and uniform in color
Skim the whitish-grey scum off top daily

Community Supported Agriculture - Eating Locally

Summer's bounty! We joined a CSA this summer, meaning that we bought a share in a local farmer's crop for the year. Since June, we've received a bag of vegetables from our farmer every week. The contents of the bag are entirely dependent on what's ripe and ready to pick that week. Our little 1/2 share in Burning River Farm over in Fredric, WI is more than enough for me and Nathan and then some. The harvest this week was beautiful and delicious. I made tomato-basil-fresh mozzarella "caprese" salads, creamed cucumbers, and a killer stir-fry. Nothing tastes quite as good as fresh, garden tomatoes. The grocery store tomatoes from California and elsewhere taste bland and mealy and, well, ishy comparatively.

I plan to make some steamed beets and sweet corn with Hope Creamery butter to have with a roast chicken tonight. We got a wee bundle of fresh thyme that will be wonderful with chicken.

This week we also got summer squash, really sweet little carrots, leeks, pac choi, arugula and spinach for salads, kale, green pepper and onions :) I am looking forward to the fall winter squashes and to pumpkins and fresh apples to use to make pie filling for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Suns of Munich Baby Blessing

At our annual gathering of festive souls, a couple of dear friends helped me to bless the baby by applying a Mehndi design on my belly. Henna is believed to protect and bless the mother and the baby and to bring about an easy delivery and healthy child. The sun is a symbol of blessing and fertility. It also looks absolutley beautiful. Thank you so much to my friend, Matt, who did the application and design and my dear, Reena, who assisted and added flair with the jewels. It has been three days and the design is still lovely. I hope it will last for days to come! The baby assisted in the design as well by moving vigorously throughout the two hours it took to apply, kicking Matt every couple of minutes :) Good baby.

Matt and Reena at work

Completing the central sun design

The finished design with jewels (32 weeks)

The Mehndi "tatoo" two days after the paste application

Nouveau American Gothic

Photo by Nataraj

Click on photo for a larger image!

I absolutely love this photo. We look very content and happy and, indeed, I think we are. I think we also look strong and confident and ready for the new life that is soon to join us.

Midwives, Doulas and too much information

I've attacked pregnancy with an academic vigor. Not surprising given how nerdy I am, but, there is such a thing as too much information. I have collected 20-some books on pregnancy, childbirth and the first year - of varying opinion and perspective - from ob/gyn's to midwives and those in-between. I've mined the internet, asked my sisters, mother, friends and random strangers to tell me thier birth stories, compared and contrasted methods and styles, researched c-section and episotomy rates, medications, interventions, breast pumps, bpa-free plastics, circumcisions and just about everything else. We've hired a doula and switched from a ob/gyn to a midwife and we've decided to try for a waterbirth. I've subscribed to parenting magazines, discussed at length various issues with Nathan and made list after list after list. I like lists. I like crossing things off of lists even better.

I'm saturated. My brain is full, and instincts are starting to take over as my first real desire to nest kicked in this week. I think its probably time to put the books away and to start letting all of that information (much of it conflicting) sink in and sort itself out. It's time to get the nursury ready and get stocked up on the basics like diapers and burp cloths. That and try to relax, nap and enjoy quiet time with Nathan before the boy makes his grand entrance.

Speaking of the belly tot, he is doing well. He is moving and kicking and spinning and roiling around with frequency and urgency. He is getting big, too! I am starting to look almost cartoonish in proportions. My feet are constantly swollen and nothing has felt quite as good lately as swimming in a nice cool lake and letting my knees, hips, feet and joints have a break from all this extra weight.

I am looking forward to the whirlwind of birth classes and baby showers that are scheduled for September as well as camping Labor Day weekend and swimming as much as I can in that sweet, cold, clear lake water... ahhh...Week 30 (Month 7)

Breaking the Law

...before it breaks me. I finished the third class in my Master's degree today. I hit send on my final term paper and promptly celebrated with an orange soda and some tacos. (Man, I miss beer...) Anyway, I really liked this class and my professor. It was Nonprofit Law and, being that I've long flirted with law school, I knew I'd like it. I even did all of the reading, including the tomes on nonprofit law written by the American Bar Association. The better news is that my classmates tell me that law is the most feared and most difficult class in the degree. If that's true, I should be able to finish the Master's with little problem, just time. Is my nerdiness becoming? Do I look more lovely in the dim glow of a musty library? Want to be on my trivia team? Oh, yeah.

July 4th Weekend - Babies and Sunshine

Cabin rules: Let the kiddies get as dirty as they can all day, then scrub 'em up good in the outdoor tub before bed :) Lukas, age 1; Miranda, age 3; Tobin, age 1: Each with an assigned parent.

Six months pregnant! It's the first time in my life that I'm not a bit self-conscious about how I look. What better time to finally break out the yellow polka dot bikini? Lots and lots of suncreen was neccassary, however.

Early summer in the garden

Our big and beautiful Black Walnut tree, after having a year off from nut production last year, is back with a bumper crop this year. The tree goes in three year cycles. Amy and I have been researching the best way to harvest, cure and store the nuts this year. We'll have to fight the hoard of squirrels that flock to the tree for them. They like to sit up on the lower limbs and throw the walnuts at passing humans. Seriously. They are cantankerous little bastards.Columbine

Hosta, astilbe and a rock cairn I don't know what these delicate little yellow flowers are called, do you? I like to find out...
Heliotrope
Verbena

We have a lot of purple plants for some reason!

Iris

The Belly - 21 weeks

Photo by Nataraj

Love and Baseball Weekend

What we call "Love and Baseball" is our unofficial anniversary. We celebrated this year by traveling to Wisconsin to see friends in Madison and the Twins in Milwaukee. We were nearly thwarted by the horrible flooding and road closures and what should have been 9 hours of driving turned into something more like 14 as we circumnavigated the state. The Twins won and there was blueberry pie at the Norske Nook at the end, so it was still a good weekend for us.

Twins vs. Brewers at Miller Park in Milwaukee 6/14/2008

Twins won 9-4 in 12 innings

GREAT game!

Snips and snails and puppy-dog tails

Well, well. Babe is 20 weeks along in gestation and we had our half-way point ultrasound today. Looks like we have a healthy little boy in there!

Fist headed to mouth, sucking his thumb already!

Obama at the Xcel Center

Nathan and George were able to go. I had to miss it due to my law class. However, my professor, who is a PhD in Political Science as well as a lawyer, was late to class because he had done several interviews with local media regarding the event. So, at least I got to discuss it with my class! Here's the note from Nathan, in case you didn't see it!

Long line...And worth it. George and I started in Rice Park.

Check out the full line here: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/archive/2008/06/just_get_in_line.shtml

20,000 people inside the Xcel and another 15,000 who didn't get in watching on the big screen outside. Quite the deal.

-Nathan

The quickening

Or "Holy Mindfuck, Batman! There's something moving inside me!"

The term "the quickening" means a couple of different things. According to The Oxford Dictionary "quicken" means to "give life or vigor to; rouse." So it refers to the point at which a fetus' brain has developed enough to start sending electric pulses to the limbs causing them to move. It also refers to the first time or times a pregnant woman feels the fetus move inside her. This last meaning, I refer to as the mindfuck.

You see, pregnancy is quite sucky the first tri-mester with all the fatigue and nausea. But other than feeling generally crappy like I had a bastard of a Wild Turkey hangover that lasted for six weeks, the whole pregnancy thing was still somewhat of a concept more than a reality. Even after getting ultrasound pictures of the little rascal, it still seemed like pictures of someone else's kid, not mine.

Then, the second tri-mester rolled around andI felt great! I felt so good and normal for awhile that I began, in fact, to question whether or not I was actually pregnant. Not that I want to complain about feeling good but it makes the fact that a child is on its way even more of a concept than a reality. At least when I felt like puking, I knew there was a reason for it.

Then, the mindfuck.

For several days I had thought that maybe some of the odd sensations that I was feeling were more than simply gas pains or run of the mill digestive action, but I wasn't sure. Then one day, I felt this gentle prodding, this poking, this mild jabbing sensation even and it happened five times in a row in the exact same spot. I knew at that point that it must be the fetus trying out its legs. Or arms. Or anything its got, HEY! (I thought you'd enjoy the Hokey Pokey earworm for the day :P) So, whoa! It's not so much of a concept anymore. There's actually something moving around in there! And, it's fiesty. I've taken to refering to it as the Pamplemousse as it's about the size of a small grapefruit these days. Not to mention that I crave fruit, particularly citrus constantly. While it has been hard to imagine that there's a fetus 5 inches long growing in my tummy, it is starting to make itself apparent by rapidly expanding my waistline. I'm starting to look pregnant and I imagine that in a few more weeks the whole world will be able to tell that my belly is the product of more than a weekend cheesecake binge. Mmm...cheesecake... Did I mention that I'm hungry? All the time? So, here's the deal. Want to guess how much weight I'll gain before this is all over? Winner is the closest quess without going over. Leave your guess in the comments and add $5 bucks to the pool next time you see me (or mail it to me). Winner takes all. For reference, I am normally 145-150. Average women gain 25-35 with a healthy pregnancy. I do have an affection for gluttony. Guess away!

4.0

Final grades for Spring semester were posted today and I got an A. This may be the first time ever I've had a cumulative grade point average of 4.0 two semesters running. This semester's class, Professional Ethics, was not hard but it was arduous. I dreaded it, in fact. I've spent a lot of time questioning the wisdom of starting a Masters degree in my 30's. Why, exactly, am I doing this? Yeah, yeah career advancement, blah, blah life long learning, personal enrichment and so on. I'm putting myself through what could potentially be a spirit crushing 8 week law for nonprofits intensive this summer. Why am I really doing this? I am not a glutton for punishment. I don't routinely do things that hurt or, frankly, tax me in any way. I like to lounge about, taking it easy. So, it must be the promise of money. Isn't that the real reason Americans do anything? I will put myself through three years of grad school misery only because there is the promise of a six figure salary at the other end.

The truth comes out.

The Future is Now

Baby is already taking after Daddy.

Week 15

I visted my OB yesterday and we listened to the fetus' heartbeat using a Doppler. It essentially looks like a microphone that you place on the belly. The sound was clear and very strong, cruising along at a nice speedy clip of 160 beats per minute. I've been feeling just fine, thank you very much for asking! The worst of the first-trimester yuks seem to be gone, only to be replaced by new curiosities like constant heartburn and other unseemly bodily functions. I've bugun to outgrow my wardrobe and will be packing most of it away in tubs soon. I've started wearing some of Angie's old maternity clothes (thanks, poo!) and will be unpacking the ones I got from Sam soon. My close co-workers know, but I have not told the whole world yet. I think they'll start to guess as the weather warms up and my belly gets rounder and harder to hide. I relish the opportunity to red-face the first person who asks by responding that "No, I am not, in fact, pregnant. I've just decided to let myself go..."

One line, two line, pink line, blue line

In reality, the test I took showed two very distinct pink lines. What does that mean? Well, it means that, maybe, just maybe, if all goes well, Nathan and I will welcome a baby into our family in a few months.

The cats will not be pleased.

Crazy Cat Lady

Cari with Tiva, Kiko and Fela on a recent snowy afternoon

My Invalid Kitty

My poor kitty, Tiva, who just turned 13 at the beginning of April, had to go in for surgery yesterday. He had developed two more tumors - one on his back and one on his paw right in between two toes. He has had surgery twice before and I swore after the last time I'd never put him through it again. However, he is really healthy otherwise and his bloodwork indicated that the cancer has not gotten into his system meaning that if they get all of the tumor I may be able to have the mean old bastard around for several more years. So, in he went. Bad news: in order to get all of the tumor on his paw, they had to amputate a toe. Good news: Dr. Braun thinks they got it all. The one on his back was easy to remove. He stayed overnight at the hospital and I picked him up this morning. He's in rough shape. He is covered in dander from the stress and shaved of his luxiorious black fur in several places where the needed to take blood and put in IVs. I'm working from home today so I can monitor him. He hadn't eaten since Monday so I gave him half a can of the wet food, which he never oridinarily gets because he's on a diet. Fatty! Thankfully, he chowed it down in no time flat, a good indicator that he'll be okay. He also managed to get some dry food and a little water down despite the high-sided elizabethan collar that is keeping him from gnawing at the stitches in his front paw. He is sleeping now on his favorite old green blankie. Another good sign. We'll have to keep him sequesterd in the office from the other kitties for several days as he cannot go down the stairs and needs to use special post-surgical litter. He is getting both a pain medication and an anti-inflammitory. Poor sucker will have to wear the e-collar until he gets his stitches out in 10 days. I feel so bad for him. He is a mean and nasty cat to most visitors to our house as many of you well know. But, to me, he is a loving, snuggling good boy and I love him very much! Poor Kitty!

Arizona Trip

I was in Arizona for 9 days, much of it for work, but Nathan joined me and we got to have a little vacation time. We went to the Grand Canyon for the frist time, which really is very lovely. Despite the spring break crowds of children the National Park Service does a pretty good job of herding everyone along. We hiked along the rim trail and enjoyed the view. We had the traveling gnome in our pocket, but sadly forgot to take his picture so I'll have to Photoshop him in later.

In Flagstaff we visited the Lowell Observatory and were a bit startled to find that Percy Lowell is in his own private little mock-observatory/mosoleum right in the middle of the grounds. We went back after dark to look at Saturn through the big Clark telescope and had to wait in the darkness right next to his creepy crypt. He was one strange man. And, speaking of the Lowell Observatory, be sure to ask Nathan about his doorknob of shame.

Now to the other end of the state, we had the opportunity to attend a couple of Cactus League spring training games. We joined my collegue in public radio, Scott and his wife Marilyn at the Giants v. Brewers game in Scottsdale and then went to the Bitch Sox v. Royals game with Nathan's parents in Tucson. The traveling gnome also attended both games. At some point, I will have to do a retrospective of all the places the gnome has been. He's travelled quite extensively these last three years.

We had the pleasure of spending a couple of relaxing days with Ann and Merald at thier place in Green Valley. The guys headed to Kitt Peak to look at more telescopes while Ann and I visited the Desert Museum. I loved the aviary, especially these two pretty birdies.

A Black-headed GrosbeakMourning Dove