Singing the Parenthood Blues

All I'd like is to be able to sleep for as many hours at a time as my body would like. And that is something that apparently won't happen ever.again.in.my.life. Or at least not until after I stop nursing and/or Ryder goes to college. This morning I was so exhausted after the 3am feeding and the 7am marathon nursing session that I slept through the next demand for food--an hour later. Jaime says I mumbled "Mama called it" when he brought our crying son to me. He asked "what?", wondering what I called. I replied "the green box". Of course. Makes perfect sense. Uh huh. I don't even recall hearing Ryder crying much less the talking in my sleep part. It's a good thing my boy had already hoovered the boobs dry or else they'd have possibly exploded. I did get a little extra sleep, though.

But the good news is that he laughed today. My sweet papoose actually laughed. Why did he laugh, you ask? Because he'd just finished peeing. On his daddy. Oh yeah, we are in for a wild ride with this child.

A Month Old

Already! Ryder's already over a month old, really. One month and 4 days old. Growing like crazy, sleeping (except when we want him to), eating, pooting, pooping and peeing. Oh, and puking. We've entered the spit up phase of newborn life. I don't have a scale but I think he weighs in the 7lb range...maybe 7.5lbs or close to 8lbs even. He's still in newborn clothes but has outgrown his preemie outfits.

Just when the sleep deprivation was at it's worst, Ryder's aunt came to town. Tía Kim was a miracle worker with a gassy baby boy. She left after five days during which I don't recall doing much other than sleeping. Oh, and visiting The Salt Lick for lunch. Here's my boy with his first BBQ dinner. Too bad he chose breastmilk with a Similac chaser instead of that delicious pork rib.

This week we've had milestones. Ryder slept for more than two hours in a row overnight! He's also mastered the art of belching like a trucker. And one day, in the Newborn Trifecta, he managed to pee, puke and poop on me all in the space of a few short hours. The poo part was most amusing to Jaime but not so much to me, considering I was changing Ryder's diaper at the time and will now need to have my comforter dry cleaned. I'm washable, so it's all good.

And Baby Makes Three...

Ryder Joseph in his first family photo. He weighed in at 5lbs, 14oz. None too happy to leave his warm & cozy womb, he loudly protested his entry. Trust me when I say he has rock & roll lungs. He might've practiced his pedal kicks in utero but this little drummer is destined to be a lead singer.

Ryder's original due date was March 15, 2009. My c-section was scheduled for February 18th. My body decided that waiting was no longer an option and jacked up my blood pressure, resulting in a birthdate of February 16, 2009. The emergency c-section was interesting and slightly scary but all's well that ends well. I didn't get to hold my son until 26 hours after he was born but I'm making up for that now, snuggling him as much as I want.

Ryder was born on his grandfather's birthday, a quirk of fate since we'd discussed my grandpa's name during the name-choosing-negotiations. My grandfather is Lonjino S. Contreras. We'd chosen Joseph for his middle name, just like Jaime's. It's a Dilworth family name and I wanted a family name of my own for our baby's first name. However, everyone agreed that Lonjino would become Lonnie and that a Lonjino Joseph in Texas would surely be called Lonnie Joe. And a guy named Lonnie Joe sounds like he's headed straight for the penitentiary. Definitely for a life of crime. Can't you hear it? "Lonnie Joe, where you headed with that rifle?". Or "Damnit, Lonnie Joe! I told you I'd help rob the gas station but I don't wanna cart off the ATM. It's so heavy it'll ruin my truck winch." Luckily I had the fateful dream that would bring the name Ryder into play.

I'm happy with my name change. I whisper to Ryder over and over that Mommy loves him. Daddy loves him, too. Life is good.

A Day in the Life

Randomness about me today...

I'm sitting at home being a good, good girl on bedrest and thinking ahead. If all goes well, then on Wednesday we'll get to meet Ryder. I'm excited and nervous. As usual when I think too much, my brain starts working in weird ways and I came up with Ryder's personal ad:

Strong but sweet HWPD&DF male looking to find MF couple for mutual love, affection and life adventures. Anticipating much cuddle time, great meals and learning about this crazy but gorgeous world together. Likes: naps followed by tons of activity. Dislikes: sudden loud noises, green chile.

Jaime's out this morning, playing at mile 25.2 for the Austin Marathon. This is the first time I've missed being at the marathon in years. I was ultra-disappointed to stay home but my blood pressure was elevated this morning. I have to do what's best for my baby & my body right now. So...I caught a little on the news instead. The weather is awesome, possibly a little too warm for the runners. I wish I could be out in the sunshine, cheering them on. Umm...okay, I'll stop whining now.

I'm always proud of my runner friends when they tackle something like a 13.1 mile run or a full 26.2 mile marathon! I think it's incredible what your body can do even when your mind says "you think you're gonna do what??". For several years I've coached a walking group for the Cap 10K. Some of my walkers had never gone more than a mile before starting our training. It felt wonderful to know that on the day of the Cap 10K they walked 6.2 miles to a fantastic finish.

Yesterday was a great Valentine's Day. Jaime surprised me with a beautiful flowering cyclamen and a wonderful meal. The man who can't cook whipped up a surf & turf meal of steak, Jonah crab claws, pasta carbonara and garlic bread. It was delicious! Here's a picture of the feast:

Yummy! And in return, I gave Jaime his engagement ring. He'd told me on many occasions that it's unfair that women get a sweet piece of jewelry to show they're taken and men have to wait and wait until finally they get a band. And sometimes that band isn't much, other than plain gold. I made sure Jaime's ring is what he wanted, a tungsten carbide (translation: indestructible) ring with an intricate engraved design. The pictures I took don't do it justice, so here's one I ripped off from the manufacturer:

I hope everyone's having a great weekend. My plan now is to move to the couch and watch some silly & terrific chick flick.