And We Marched

On Saturday, we got up at 5 am. We loaded into the car and headed into San Fr.ancisco over the bridge we would soon be walking to. We parked at Ft. Ma.son and waited with hundreds of people to begin, and we listened to their heartbreaking stories and admired their courage. As 9am grew nearer, we became more and more inspired, moved, and motivated to make a difference.

Saturday was the SF March for Babies, and Isaac and I were on team Marching for Monkeybutts in honor of D's preemie twins, Drew and Drey. It was a gorgeous, gorgeous morning and the weather was perfect. We got there pretty early so we had breakfast with some other walkers. Isaac was excited. And so was I. We wore our Monkeybutt shirts with pride, and I wore a purple headband for Maddie.

The walk was about 6.5 miles from Ft. Ma.son to the Gold.en Gate Bridge and back. It was beautiful. It took a bit of time, walking with 3 kids under 2 who wanted to walk by themselves and didn't understand the limitations. But we did the whole thing, from start to finish.

We did the whole thing to help prevent premature births and to help families with children born prematurely. We did the whole thing in memory of those babies who became angels too quickly, and to show support for their families. We did the whole thing in celebration for those babies who struggled in the early weeks but are now thriving.

Drew and Drey were born 9 weeks premature and spent 5 weeks in the NICU. My Isaac was born 3 weeks early, but we were blessed that he was born without any complications. It is heartbreaking to hear the stories from families who lost their babies, and I cried about 3 times before the March began.

I look at my beautiful son and feel so blessed. He is my heart and soul, and I would do anything to protect him. I will do this March every year to make sure every other mother can do the same.

The day was moving. I did more physical activity before noon than I usually do in a week. I love spending time with D and her boys. She inspires me in more ways than one, and more than she will ever know. We are blessed to have her presence in our lives. Isaac enjoyed the scenery and got his first real look at the towering bridge.

Our team raised over $3200 for March of Dimes. It's a beautiful cause and so many people supported us. A huge thank you and hug goes out to every single person who donated to our team! :)

Tree Huggers

I figured Isaac needed to get started early in embracing his inner environmental geek side. This past weekend, a co-worker and I participated in the first annual Lagun.a de Sa.nta Ro.sa TreeAThon, helping to plant over 850 Valley Oak trees, shrubs, and rose bushes to ecologically restore parts of the Laguna. And of course, Isaac came along. I was a little worried about how he would do, outside, in the chilly air, for the entire morning. He was fascinated. I borrowed a baby back pack carrier from another coworker, so he rested on the ground most of the time, in his puffy coat and 40 layers of clothing. He likes people watching, and there was alot of movement around him.

We did great until someone knocked him over, or he tipped himself over. I, personally, would like to believe he knocked himself over because you would think that if someone knocked over a baby, they would have the common decency to be embarrassed and apologize ten million times, or at least once, which no one did. I heard him cry and looked up from planting to see him face down in the grass. No worries, he was easily calmed by the puppy that was there. However, after that, he was DONE with tree planting. We went back to the parking lot and waited for everyone else to get back.

In the meantime, we played with his mittens. He was fascinated by them. It's like he couldn't figure out where his fingers were, but he could still feel them. :) And he had fun clapping his hands together in them.

When we got home, we were both pretty tuckered out. We crashed together on my bed for about 2 and a half hours. He always sleeps better cuddled next to Mommy. :)

Oh, and my coworker and I raised over $1000 in pledges for the TreeAThon! We raised the most money in the "team/couple" category and will get a VIP Laguna tour and Winemaker dinner and tour at a local vineyard. :) However, Isaac will not be attending those things. ;)

Ppppppppffffffffffftttttttttt!

That is my best stab at spelling the new farting noise Isaac has discovered he can make. It was all I heard this weekend!

And I never thought I would be saying this but I wish the sound was coming out of the end it was meant to! Baby boy hasn't pooed in 3 days, and it has us a bit concerned. Oh, the gas is there. The child could clear a room. Seriously. We have given him a small amount of prune juice, but no avail. The child is backed up. Any suggestions? Yes, I am asking for help on poop. Ah, the glamorous life I lead.

In addition to his first major bout with constipation, Isaac visited the Mar.ine Ma.mmal C.enter for the first time yesterday! He loved it. He even dressed the part, in his walrus onesie and socks from friend K, and his MMC bib that we bought him. He really liked to hear the elephant seals barking (although if you have ever heard an elephant seal, it sounds more like a monkey). And mommy loved the littled harbor seals. :) It was chilly on the headlands, but we had a lot of fun.

The majority of his 0-3 month clothes have been packed up. :( Still in size 1 diapers. And a first for mommy? Fenugreek. God bless you, fenugreek. I am definately seeing an increase in my milk supply. Again, the glamour. :)

Evolutions

While we were in Ohio, my husband and I did alot of soul-searching and discussing of what we want for our future as a family. As I have talked about before, we don't want to be in California forever for three reasons that we agree upon: 1. It's too expensive to buy a gallon of milk, let alone a home. 2. We don't want our kids (yes, plural...we do eventually plan to have more) to go to school out here. Private school is way, way, WAY too much and the state schools are not so hot anymore with all the education budget cuts and increased class sizes. 3. It's just too darn far from our families.

Because of this, we were trying to figure out our "gameplan." It made me take a hard look at my life, and where I want it to go. Everything truly changes when you have a baby, and my dreams now include a wonderful life for Isaac. I spent alot of time thinking about how I can give that to him and still balance in my own life and my husband's.

I started this blog to track my pregnancy and give updates to those far away (who, by the way, do not COMMENT!). Now that I have a beautiful baby boy, it seems fitting that it has just kind of evolved into one that tells my stories of motherhood. Being so far away from most of my friends and all of my family, I don't have alot of people to talk to, or alot of time to really talk to them with time differences and busy schedules. It just kind of comes out here. I have tried to keep my posts focused on all things baby, and my motherhood updates, but I realized that at this point, those two aspects are truly defining in who I am becoming and my/our goals. Herego, I am going to branch out a bit and talk more about a few things, including work, finances (moolah) and preparing to buy a house and for the future, my volunteer work, my hobbies (or lack there of), and of course...I will still primarily focus on my beautiful Isaac and how I am dealing with being a mother.

Ok...with that all said, there are a few more changes in me and Isaac that I have noticed. :) Prepare for an all things baby update:

Isaac does not like to burp anymore. He is so hungry, I think, that he does not want to burp in between sides. We try so hard, but nothing. Because of this, he gorges himself and then usually spits up about half of what he ate from the second side. Yes, all my clothes are starting to smell of spit-up. He even got some in my bed the other night! We aren't talking a little drool of milk here. I mean about a full ounce come flying out of his mouth in projectile format. Because of this bad eating habit, my milk supply is increasing AGAIN. Since he is feeding more often now, it is starting to wear on me again. I think I may have to pump more, just so he doesn't overeat if he isn't burping between breasts. Maybe 1 ounce since that seems to be what is coming up. I still am trying to work on the burping, but seriously....I can't beat on the kid's back for 20 minutes. Even after he is done, we have hard time getting the burpies up.

In another aspect, we are hard-core preparing to buy a house and move. That means serious saving and debt reduction. I revamped my spreadsheet of debts and interest rates and payments, and am going to take a hard look how to throw more that way. Our tax returns are really helping. We agreed to use half to pay off debt and half to save to create a cushion. That way, we can push more toward debt reduction from our weekly paychecks. (NOTE: when I talk about debt reduction and saving money, I don't intend to ever use real figures as this not a finance blog, just what we are doing to decrease debt and spending, and increase saving.) I am returning to work with 4 9-hour days rather than 5 8-hours. It's only a 4 hour a week income loss, and I think we will be fine, even with the added daycare expense. I am looking into some supplemental income options, and will post more on that soon when I am further into it.

Ok...my tummy is rumbling and I am starving! Time to eat breakfast before baby boy wakes up from the morning nap. :) We are going to meet with our lamaze class friends today for a walk around the nearby lake.