Rock My World

A friend of mine had a little girl at the end of May. When I informed her of Dominick's birth, she told me to be prepared. He would simply rock my world. I knew without a doubt, I would love the little bugger. But rock my world? That was a bit of an overstatement, wasn't it?

So now he is here. He cries on occasion, he sleeps the majority of the day, he pees constantly, he projectile poops while I change his diaper, he has given my nipples a lifetime of beatings in only 15 days, and he doesn't know any tricks.

Yet, my friend was 100% correct. He rocks my world!

Best Buddies.....Someday

Dominick has been alive for a full two weeks now. Amazing. We went to the doctor today for his 2 week appointment. The doctor said he is perfect. I can't help but agree!

Dominick and Shea are getting along. Not getting along great or poorly, but simply getting along. The problem is Shea is a little bit afraid of the little man. The little man who weighed in at less than 5 pounds 9 ounces when he first came home. 

The first few days we were home, Shea, who has slept with Jeff and I in our bed since a very young age, would not even come upstairs. He could be found sleeping like this:

Sad, rejected, confused. Shea went through those first few days very mopily and with somewhat of a chip on his shoulder. In between feedings, cuddling, and napping, I made sure that I found time for Shea. Time to go for walks, time to go throw the ball around, and time to rub his belly. Soon enough, Shea realized that he hadn't become the ugly step-sister overnight. He was still loved, there was just a slight change in the daily agenda. Suddenly, Shea was back to his normal self: loving life and loving that he has a little brother.

Ok, maybe he doesn't quite love having a baby brother. Yet. But, he now knows that he will not be ignored and that we can still have fun with the little guy around. Although they are not best friends, they will be some day. I continue to remind both of them of that on a daily basis. 

Runny Poison

I haven't exercised in the past week and half. That is a new record for me. However, I need full and complete nourishment in order to feed the cutest baby in the world.

So, while I have not been exercising per say, I am burning enough calories to eat like a small cow. Jeff has been very supportive and willing to cook every and any meal in order for me to do just that. I, being a big egg fan, have been requesting eggs every few days or so. Today, however, I got a little crazy. 

For dinner, I skipped over the sunny-side-up eggs, my favorite of which I was not allowed to eat while pregnant, for french toast. Yum, french toast. Just some toast frenched up. Right? Wrong. Jeff never does anything small. 

When I sat down to eat, I noticed this wasn't just any regular french toast. This french toast had runny eggs in the middle. Immediately, I asked Shea an important question, "What could be better than french toast? French toast with runny eggs in the middle!" 

When I was on the last bite or so of this delectable dinner, Jeff informed me that he had used six eggs in order to make this concoction. Six eggs in one sitting. Six eggs that will force me to get my cholesterol checked at my next doctor's appointment. Apparently Jeff is slowly trying to kill me. At least runny eggs are more pleasant than poison!

Extreme Weight Loss

I may have a million dollar diet plan. Last Thursday, I looked like this...

Yup, chubby. Now, what you can't see from this photo is that my ankles were those of a 200 pound woman, I was missing my achilles tendon in each foot, my thighs touched, and my feet had no bones. That all changed overnight, literally. Before noon on Friday, I looked like this...

The secret? All you have to do is endure a little bit of discomfort...

And  push until something the size of a large sack of flour rips through an M&M sized hole...

 

Even more amazingly than the instantaneous weight loss, you get a beautiful little baby...

Dominick made for quite the surprise, arriving three weeks early. I'm not sure if it was he who was ready, my body that was ready, or the fact that I went for a run and was shooting baskets last Thursday that knocked him down the birth canal. Either way, we are beyond ecstatic that he is here. I can't get enough of him and to get an extra three weeks of life out of him was well worth the very painless delivery process. No lie, painless. Epidurals work wonders! 

A Rarity

It's very rare for there to be a bad day in the world of Shea. Yesterday was a rarity.

Like any typical afternoon, you could find us in the backyard playing fetch. And, like any typical afternoon, the ball happened to bounce off of Shea's nose and into the bushes at the backend of our yard. Since Shea does everything with gusto, he dove after the ball with all of his might. What happened then was not typical. Rather than running out with the ball, he ran out yelping and limping.

I'm not sure I have ever sprinted across the yard so fast, especially considering I am carrying an extra 25 pounds. Shea's dewclaw, the "toe" that is higher up on his leg, the equivalent of the human thumb, was sticking straight out and beginning to bleed. After the Big Guy calmed down a bit, he still wanted to play. I ran to the pet store and got some blood stopper, and it stopped the blood. Weird how that works.

The nail eventually fell off. Although slightly mopey, after some research and a call to the vet, essentially the dewclaw will heal on it's own. Certainly not the worst injury he has had!

Believe me, those were worse!

Elephantitis

It all happened this weekend. Suddenly my slowly transforming body decided to go a little crazy.

I remember the last time I could get my wedding band and engagement ring off. The following day, sitting on the couch next to Jeff, I could not remove my ring. I specifically said to Jeff, 'the next time I can get my rings off, I am going to keep them off.' Next time never came. All that happened is that my fingers got more and more swollen.

It all climaxed this weekend with the hot temperatures. My fingers were like little cocktail wieners, my ring finger visibly more swollen due to the pressure of the rings. Since my parents were here visiting, and a mother's job is to worry, she wouldn't leave until I went and got it taken care of.

The cutting off of the ring was not a pleasant experience. But, luckily for me and my marriage, they can be mended. 

Now, a few days later, the swelling in my ring finger decided to spread. It bypassed my whole body and headed straight towards my feet. Wearing my flip flops to summer school, the swelling took it's toll on my day. Walking with my class on the way to morning assembly, my flip flop strap simply couldn't handle the pressure of my fatty feet anymore. It popped right off. 

Walking through the hallway was difficult, and I am not big on being barefoot in a public place. So, I did as any sane person would do, I sought out duct tape and fixed the problem. 

I will spare your eyes of seeing a picture of the ridiculous swelling going on in my feet. I will just let you imagine what a 400 pound woman's feet would look like with the addition of severe elphantititis.

Naturally Unnatural

My brother is excited to become Uncle Nick. It was obvious from the get-go. And, even more evident when he sent a box full of baby clothes, mostly consisting of Mets gear.

In addition to the Mets onesies and player jerseys, Nick included a Mets hat made specifically for a newborn's head. Absolutely adorable, right?

I agree, it is awfully cute. However, I was overwhelmed by the size of this "newborn-sized" hat. I called my mother in a panic, "Please tell me that this hat is big for a newborn!" She didn't say much. Since that day, I have decided to keep my mind completely clear of any negative thoughts. This includes how big the baby's head may be. All until today.

Jeff headed out to San Diego this afternoon, leaving me to talking to Shea and searching the Internet. I began to grow a curiosity about what goes on in birthing classes. I opted against taking them because, well, I felt as though I would not take it seriously. So, I watched some videos of birthing classes. Good thing I didn't go, because I did not take it seriously. I would have laughed in the instructor's and all the other people there's faces.

Due to watching this silliness, I decided I wanted to watch a live-birth. Big mistake!  I will never look at another mother or baby in the same way. With just a month left until my son is due, I have come to two conclusions from the unfortunate decision of watching this video. One: There is no way giving birth to a baby naturally is healthy. Two: There has to be a better way. I am dedicated to finding that way. Right now, I am thinking that maybe I can throw him up orally.