Hallllooooooo Out There

Yes, I'm still living.
My new blogging gig has outed me, so my semi-anonymous soap box here is not even partially anon anymore.  This leaves me wondering what I can say here without offending anyone, or sharing more than I'd like, or using up good diabetes blog fodder I could use at dLife.
I do intend to work my way back here.  Things are heating up with the holidays of course, but Maile is almost 5 months and we're getting into a routine with her, so life approaches a semblance of normalcy.
Belated Happy Thanksgiving to the 2 people who are still checking in on me!  I will try to get to the meme this weekend!

Mid-week Moment

Ahhhhh. 9:30 pm. My alarm went off at 5:45 am. My first chance to really breath, yet I'm still having to re-insert pacifier every 3-5 minutes.
(Funny, now that pacifiers are back "in" and proven to reduce SIDS risk, etc - Maile loves them. Kimo never much cared for them, which was good back in the day 4 years ago when pacifiers would ruin their teeth for life, etc, etc.)
Deep breath. No, I wasn't working terribly hard today, but I was still "on". I have been "on" since 6 am.
Yesterday and today I have been eating like the old me. Not good. I have lost almost 40 pounds since Maile's birthday. I don't want to put it back on. It's a stress thing, I'm sure.
I really need to take a few minutes several times a day to deep breath and feel joy and gratitude for this infant and my wonderful 3 year old and my crazy, busy life. Get centered again.
That's the project this week. For right now, I have 15 minutes to spend in mindless games before sleep, and I'm going to do so. Peace; out.

I'm Baaaccckk!

Maile is 8 weeks old, I am back to work and no more excuses for not blogging!  
We are all well.  I am dropping weight quickly, nursing sure helps with that.  Maile is gaining almost as fast as I am losing - well maybe more like 8/1 - I lose 8 and she gains 1!
I just started work up again yesterday, so we're all trying to adjust to the new routines.  I will be working from home a lot the next month, so we're not totally on our new, 2-child routines yet.  Da Kane is having some difficulty adjusting to having me home so much - he works from home already.
Kimo LOVES LOVES LOVES his baby sister.  It is quite sweet and a relief.  We've seen a little regression and acting out, but really very little.  It's hard to believe he will be 4 in about 6 weeks.
I had a birthday this week - talk about hard to believe!  Those birthdays ending in 0's or 5's are so much harder for some reason.  This was a half-decade one - I'll let you guess the first digit.
Maile's most unforgettable trait right now - she eats her fill and pulls off with this milky half-smile, eyelids 90% closed, eyes rolling back in her head. It's most amazing and I hope to figure out how to film it without exposing myself too much!

Maile arrived; safe and sound

Maile was delivered last Monday, 6/18 via an uneventful c-section. She was 7 lbs 13 oz and 20.5 inches long. My tubes were clipped (they don't tie or cut them anymore, they use plastic clips - no growing back together) and we spent 4 days in the hosp enjoying some peace and quiet and *good* hospital food. Amazing, but they have a chef and a quite decent menu.
I talked the ansthesiaologist out of the big shot of opiates after delivery, so I have all my memories intact this time. It's still pretty vague as far as the hour or so after the surgery.
Maile had a fair amount of hair which is a reddish-brown and nice big yummy cheeks. She went from 50th percentile in weight at 7 months to 75th percentile at birth. I suspect my blood sugars are to blame; but she's healthy and so am I so I guess we survived the sorbet and candy bars.
I happily packed away my insulin syringes. I've actually run low a couple days since and I think it's probably breastfeeding along with not being as diligent about my meals as I could/should be. All in good time.
I've lost 19 lbs in the week since she was born. Although it's not "real" weight loss, it does the heart good to see those numbers dropping rapidly.
Maile closes one eye and curls her lip sometimes and we just wait for her to say "ARGHHH", so I have been calling her my Pirate Princess. Kimo is doing well with the transition so far.

38 Weeks, 2 days

I have been negligent in posting again. I shall resort to bullets yet again.

• I went out on medical leave 6/1.
• This is good, because as of today, I am finally starting to feel a little better as far as the sinus/cold/respiratory infection goes. Remember these started in early APRIL.
• This is bad, because it cuts into my yearly FMLA and I feel guilty.
• Maile is just fine. After all my endless debating about a VBAC, I am scheduling a c-section for next week. I seriously doubt she will spontaneously appear before then. I just want to have a baby, meet her and get on with respiratory recovery!
• Maile will be "substantially larger" than Kimo was. Kimo was only 5 lbs, 3 oz. I smoked with Kimo (no flaming please, at least I finally quit Jan 2006), so this is no surprise to me. My ob/gyn says he doesn't believe smoking was why Kimo was so small -- my ob/gyn smokes. Do you see a "Da Nile" connection there? I sure do.
• I am massively uncomfortable. When I arise from sitting or lying down, I walk like John Wayne for at least a few steps while Maile figures out she can't break out with my cervix shut like this.
• My chest gets tight like my old anxiety attacks almost daily. Fun Fun.
• I am still 0 cm dilated, but 60% effaced and my cervix is "soft". These are no indication of when labor might start.
• The guest room still isn't finished. The laundry and assorted other tasks are still behind. I don't care one minute, then feel horribly guilty the next.
• My sugars are all over the place. I'm trying to stay on top of it, but it is so hard for me to maintain any kind of "diet" when I am home with basically no schedule.
• Haagen-Daz Raspberry Sorbet is TO.DIE.FOR. If I ever entertained, it would be so good with some fresh raspberries with it. It is hell on blood sugar - 26 grams sugar per 1/4 cup, but what a taste treat!!