300

Wow...this is my 300th post. Who knew when I was lying in bed on bedrest after IVF that this little past-time would develop into something that's a consistent part of my life.

300 posts, following all I've been through since Novemeber 5th, 2007, when I had my eggs harvested, taken to a lab, introduced to Ajay's swimmers, baked in a petri dish, and re-implanted on November 8th, 2007. We have come a long way.

About two weeks later, we found out the procedure worked...we found out that two of the four embryos "took". We survived the first trimester of my twin pregnancy, with migraines, daily sickness, and fatigue like I'd never experienced. We found out at our 12 week scan that I was having a boy and a girl. We began thinking about a unisex bedroom for both or our little babies. Through it all, I've never been happier.

At our 20 week scan, we got tragic news that our little boy had died. Looking back on that day, I realize now that we also got the wonderful news that our daughter was fine and would be unharmed by his demise. I've never felt sadness like that day. I hope to never feel that sadness again in my life.

Throughout the rest of my pregnancy, I was nervous. I quit exercising. I wished I could wrap myself in bubble wrap. I wanted to be a kangaroo so I could look inside my little pouch and be able to see my baby developing and make sure everything was okay. I was so scared. My OB picked up on this and sent me to fetal diagnostics for the last month of my pregnancy so I could do just that.. see my baby and have reassurance every week that passed.

Finally it was time to have our baby. I decided on an elective C-Section because I couldn't handle the thought of delivering the remains of our little boy in addition to our thriving baby girl. And what can I say...it was the happiest day of my life finally getting to hold my little baby. After all we had been through leading up to IVF and after, she was finally here. My beautiful perfect little girl.

So now I suppose my blog has transitioned for the time being from a fertility blog to a Mommy blog. My days are spent caring for this little 3 month old. She is a sweet, happy baby...well, except for bedtime, when a demon takes over her soul...but for the most part she is a joy.

And a month from now? When we begin trying for baby #2? I suppose this will become a fertility blog again!

Thanks for reading!

Banana Republican

Okay, so my last two entries may have been a little political for my normal readers. I'll stick to what I know best...my immediate surroundings.

Today I decided that we should have an outing. And since Alia loved her last retail experience, I thought, why not go to Banana Republic by my house? It's located in an upscale strip mall (for lack of better word) not too far from home, so in the event of a melt down, it would be a mild 10 minute drive home with Alia screaming in the back seat.

So I packed myself up, packed up Alia, and hit the open road. We arrived just in time for Alia's noon time feeding, and found a nice spot in the shade. She ate, gazed into my eyes, smiled a big toothless smile several times throughout the feeding, and promised me that we were going to have a nice little stroll afterward.

But what do babies know? After Alia ate and burped, I attempted to put her in the stroller. Huh? You don't want to be in the stroller? Well, let's just try? Please? No? Okay, Mommy can carry you.

Off we go. Me pushing my $700 baby carrying apparatus (loaded with toys, my diaper bag, sunglass case, keys, extra outfit, extra formula...yeah...all for an hour long outing) sans baby. Alia wanted to be carried. No, not over the shoulder. The Alia Special...you know, in a sitting position facing outward...her back to my stomach. That is the only surefire way to aggravate my left-hand carpal tunnel, after all! So off we go...quite a site. Me pushing the monstrous stroller with my right hand, and carrying my 15 pound over sized monkey in my left hand. But hey, we're out, no one is crying (anymore...since I gave up on putting Alia in the stroller), and we're managing.

We turned the corner, and that's when I realized that the sun was going to be beating down on us in our faces for the duration or the walk...maybe a city block or two...not far, but still. And seriously...is it me or is it 88 degrees out? Oh, it's not just me? It is 88 degrees today? Why wouldn't it be...it is almost November after all!

So now sun is beating down on us, Alia is squinting because her sun hat is in my purse...in the trunk of the car...because it wouldn't fit in my stroller's basket with all the other useless crap under there, and I'm still determined to make it to Banana Republic. Why? I don't know! But still...we're going.

Finally, with my arms aching, we got to the door...closed of course...in fact, it's the only door in the entire mall that isn't propped open beckoning consumers to enter. I struggle into the door, baby on one arm, door in the other, whip my bootie around to hold the door, push the stroller through the door, all just in time for the door to literlly hit me in the ass. That's when I vaguely notice Alia is now squirming a bit and is kind of sweaty. I ditch my stroller in a corner and try to distract her by showing her all the pretty jewelry. Nope...not working. Squirming, sweating, and now her face is red. Oh shit. Literally. Shit. Alia is pooping while I have her sitting on the jewelry case. And it is not dainty. It is smelly. It is on her leg. And my left hand. And I'm afraid to look anywhere else.

And no. They don't have a public bathroom.

Why I hate people, Part 2

Normally, I stay clear of topics of religion and politics on my blog. I have always felt that religious beliefs are best left private. This is self serving as an atheist, as it keeps me clear from God-discussions. And being from the mid-west where the majority of people are Christian, well, let's just say that I don't need to trouble my entire family with may damned-to-hell soul.

Politics, too, has been a topic I have steered clear of here on my blog because again, being of conservative upbringing, and having evolved from that to an independent thinker, I don't want my people to feel that they need to bring me back to the herd. I'm happy out here on my own, thinking for myself. In fact, being from such a conservative upbringing and being able to reflect on it, all the group-think I was surrounded by really freaks me out.

So there's where I stand on religion and politics. I think people should focus on living kindly. Respecting others. Living and let live. I think people should be able to agree to disagree. I think everyone is different, and as human beings sharing the same planet, we can learn a lot from these differences. I believe in sharing in the world. I believe there is no true religion. I don't believe you can worship the wrong God. I think if we scratch beneath the surface of most people, we'll find that most people genuinely mean well, even if their presentation is faulty.

With all that said, and having built the foundation so you know where I'm coming from, let's talk about our drive home from the Halloween party yesterday. We left the party a little early and perplexed by the change in the energy and atmosphere there...a couple of really nasty people kind of took over, and we decided it was time to go. So on the drive home, we began seeing people with signs everywhere..."Yes on 8!" "Yes on 8 means Religious Freedom" "Vote Yes on 8 for Parental Rights".

Huh?! Prop 8 is the measure here in California that hopes to repeal the right for gays to marry. Prop 8 is the measure that limits marriage to be between a man and a woman. Prop 8 has absolutely nothing to do with Religious Freedom or Parental Rights.

As I drove on toward home, there were hundreds of these people aggressively displaying their signs of hatred and loathing of people unlike themselves. They flew their banners high, attempting to persuade others to vote their way based on misinformation. They smiled and waved at ongoing cars, giving everyone the thumbs-up.

I wondered to myself, how can hate looks so gosh darn friendly? Aren't these people really saying "down with those faggots" and "don't give other human beings the same rights that I enjoy"? Is that to say that they feel homosexuals are less than humans? I always thought when you talked about human rights, that meant all the humans, not just the ones like me. Boy, and they sure were happy and exuberant about the whole thing. They really were enjoying their display of rights-limiting hatred. I was disgusted. I felt dirty.

As I write this, reflecting on yesterday's drive, I find my head shaking, my lip curling up like there's a bad taste in my mouth. With all that's going on in the world, with the economy in shambles, at a time that 1 in 10 are out of work....this is what the local church group have chosen to focus their energy on? Petitioning to limit marriage? There are no better causes to focus energy on? Shame on them.

Why I hate people

Yesterday was Dr. H's annual Halloween party. Dr. H was our fertility doctor; every year she hosts a huge party for all the babies that she helped to bring into the world. Babies from 0-1 year come from 11AM-12PM, babies from 1-3 years come from 12-1PM, and babies 3 and up come from 1-2pm. 

We arrived at 11AM with Alia all ready...she had her costume, her accessories, even her little sunglasses that matched the pink in the elephant ears. We strolled her over to the tent in the bright sun...it was like, 80 degrees, so shelter was necessary. I immediately recognized a couple that had been in Dr. H's office waiting room quite a bit when we were going through the IVF process...they, too, had a 3 month old.

We were having a nice enough time...Dr. H was late to arrive and we just chilled out under the tent, had a bottle of water, and enjoyed seeing all the little people in their costumes. We compared notes with other parents, adored the triplets dressed as the 3 bears, and watched as little one-year-olds got their faces painted. It was nice.

Then Dr. H arrived. People began queuing in a line to see her...bringing to mind waiting in line for the Easter Bunny to hold your baby for a photo op. Only there was a little confusion...it seems that there were two lines forming...people didn't know which line to stand in. Ajay and I stayed put under the tent just to enjoy the shade, thinking if we don't get to have our picture taken with the Easter Bunny, I mean, Dr. H, it would be no big deal...Ajay sees her at work all the time and we're going to see her next month when we start thinking about baby #2. We continued to enjoy ourselves; we bounced Alia around, pointed out cute costumes to her, and were having a pleasant time. 

Until she arrived. The know-it-all. The self-proclaimed-authority-on-everything. She came over to those of us sitting and standing under the shade tent and told everyone in a very forceful and hateful manner that the line was forming perpendicular to the tent...those of us in the tent were NOT in line. The line was over there. Even though it shouldn't be...the line SHOULD be under the tent so that people don't have to be in the sun while they're waiting. But she should know, she shouted...this is her 4th year at the party, so she knows how things work. All of us with our little babies obviously haven't been here before this year, so obviously don't know what we're doing.

Huh?! We don't know what we're doing? I thought we were here enjoying ourselves with our baby; I thought we were celebrating with all the other new parents the wonderfulness of having our babies. I thought we were enjoying seeing everyone's little babies dressed up in the cutest ever little Halloween costumes. But apparently, I was wrong...apparently we were supposed to be competing for a spot in the line, elbowing one another out of the way, and getting good and pissed off at all the other people who were there in our way.

That's when the angry lady's toxicity began to spread. As she pointed out that the line was in the sun, a guy said, well, all the people under the shade tent should just move out of it so we can stand in line in the shade. 

Huh?! Wait a minute. All of us, who were pleasantly interacting with one another and relaxing in the tent should have to get up and move? So they could stand under the tent and wait in line? But we were here first...why should we have to move?

The angry lady quickly jumped on the support of the commiserating angry guy and began trying to make all of us in the tent go stand in the sun so that those wanting to wait in the Easter Bunny line could be happy...well, maybe not happy, but out of the sun.

Ajay and I exchanged glances. We couldn't believe the tone that was set by just two angry people.  We were enjoying our family time, enjoying showing Alia something new, enjoying seeing people that also have been through what we've been through with beautiful babies of their own. However, others were hell-bent on controlling the crowd, pushing their agenda, making a competitive sport out of what was supposed to be shared family time...basically, being the stereotypical Americans that people in other countries are horrified by. It was time to go.

I thought I smelled beer on her breath

After my workout, I joined Alia and Ajay for some family R&R in the TV room, and this is what I found.

Nice, Ajay...really nice!

Alert the media

Hold everything.

Hear this.

Alia.

Slept.

Through the night!!!!!!!

Here's my qualifier. She slept exactly 5 1/2 hours straight...from 1 to 6:30 AM, which according to my pediatrician is considered "through the night". My preferred hours for her to sleep! Meaning that normally, her longest stretch of sleep usually begins around 7 p.m. and goes to 11, and then we enjoy seeing each other every 3 hours from that point throughout the night. And although I love love love that little girl, I don't care to see her quite so often in the middle of the night.

I've been asking the universe for some magic...you know, like maybe her long stretch could be in the middle of the night rather than the beginning of the night? So Mommy can get some uninterrupted sleep before it's time to get up?

And my friends, the universe answered. And I feel good. And rested. And I only had to apply a double coat of concealer under my eyes rather than a triple! (Because, still, 5 1/2 hours of sleep isn't close to enough for this girl, but that's not a complaint...don't get me wrong...I'll take sleep from 1-6:30 AM any day!)

High five to the universe!

Alia is 3 months old

Today Alia is 3 months old. This month she has grown so much, both physically and capability-wise. On the physical side, Alia the waif no longer exists. She was previously in the 80th percentile of length and 20th percentile of weight. Well, now my little chunk is still in the 80th percentile of length, but she did some major catching up this month and is now in the 75th percentile of weight...making her perfectly proportioned. 

Alia's interaction this month has been amazing to watch. She laughed for the first time on October 1, and I've spent a whole lot of time trying to coax more laughter out of her since then...only to mild success. As I've said before, Alia isn't a difficult child by any means, but she also really makes you earn her approval!

Alia is now dying to stand up all the time. Her little chunky legs lock into place any time she is positioned upright. She is also sitting upright propped against pillows or in her Bumbo chair. She loves being upright. 

Alia is now watching me from across the room. She doesn't like it when I'm not around. She tracks me constantly. Although I'm definitely her center of focus, she is also showing signs of being very social. She loves to meet people...neighbors on our walks, people on the street when we're strolling, you name it. She is interested in faces, and loves to hear her name.

Alia's new favorite game is "baby in the mirror" which is where I stand her up on her little locked out chunky legs on the bathroom counter top and point to the baby in the mirror. I bounce her up and down, saying 1-2-3333333333333 and lift her high on the 3, all the while her gaze is locked on her smiling reflection in the mirror. She really finds herself fascinating.

This month, we've also been getting out more with Alia. I'm taking her places by myself, which is a good thing for both of us. And Ajay and I are much more likely to take her to the mall, out to eat, etc.

Sleep is another story. I'm still waiting for her to consistently sleep longer hours. Right now her longest sleep stretch happens from about 7 in the evening til 12 in the morning. From there she may wake up 2 more times in the night, roughly every 2.5-3 hours. I am very tired. I would like more sleep in longer stretches for both of us.

Watching this baby grow and become has been the highlight of my life. I can't imagine our life without this little person!

My little retail girl

Saturday, the stars aligned. Alia was fed, clothed, clean, and happy at a time when both of us were rested enough to consider driving. So Ajay and I took the little munchkin to the Japanese market---Daddy wanted some Soba noodles. Afterwards, we planned to hit South Coast Plaza if she held up.

Now, the Japanese market that we love is filled with a wonderful food court with maybe a dozen different restaurants to choose from. There is also a Japanese toy store, video store, cosmetics store, a full scale grocer, as well as some pottery shops with teacups and figurines just to name a few. I immediately chose the toy store with it's bright colors and tons of Hello Kitty things for Alia to look at.

And was Mommy right, or was Mommy right? Alia was like a kid in a candy store...or rather, a baby in a toy store. Her eyes lit up with all the things to look at. Her little melon head darted from here to there. She made her excited little breathy huffle puffle noises. She was in retail heaven.

From the toy store, we hit the food court. Alia loved looking at everybody. After Ajay got his fix of soba noodles and tempura, we headed for the car. Alia, who had been held the entire time in the market, surprised us when we attempted to put her in her car seat. Tears began to flow, sadness oozed out of her little soul. She did not want to go. She loved her retail experience. 

So me, being completely in tune with my little girl, raced her over to South Coast Plaza for more retail stimulation. And all was right with the world again.

I can't help myself

I went down to town yesterday with Alia. By myself...no extra set of hands just in case. Yes, she's 12 weeks old, but I am a woman  intimidated by my own stroller. Baby steps.

So we strolled around downtown Laguna Beach, and I ended up in a child's clothing boutique. Okay, first of all...I adore all the cute little political onesies..."My Mama's for Obama" or the little Beatles onesies and the Bob Marley onesies...I just love 'em. As I was sorting through, trying to decide which of the wide variety I'd be taking home with me, I noticed the price tag on these adorable little morsels...$40!? for a freaking onesie? That Alia will wear for about 13 days at this rate of growth? 

Seriously. Am I crazy? Or is that just what things cost these days? Did I miss something along the way? 

Well...let's just think this through...those little boutique onesies are awfully cute...and I do tend to put the cuter outfits on her more often...so they probably cost the same per use, right? RIGHT???? And let's not forget about the socks!

This is what I get for sleeping

This morning, after Alia woke up wanting to be fed at 5 am, I convinced her to take a little nap with Mommy. Although she was fussy, she decided it would be okay to lie next to me if I would let her chomp away on my index finger. I drifted off to sleep thinking hmmm, I wonder if Alia is teething already?

So off to napland I drifted...and I had the most bizarre dream. I dreamed that I was brushing Alia's teeth with one of those rotary toothbrushes made for kids...only it was now...and she didn't have any teeth yet!

So I freaked out, wondering just how much damage I had done to her baby gum tissue with that brush, and decided the best thing to do would be to wash her gums with a wash cloth. Because yeah, that would make it better. Totally.

Whew

What a couple of days it's been. No, nothing crazy...no one got hurt. No one broke a bone or ended up in jail. But can I just say how challenging it is to function on so little sleep for 3 months? Just when I thought we rounded a corner and Alia slept for 5 hours one stretch and then another 4 hours all in one night, she's back to waking every 3 hours.

Yesterday was  a brutal day for Ajay at work too. So between my continuing fatigue and him getting totally worked at work, let's just say that we were both in bed by the crack of 9 last night. And how out of it am I? I didn't even realize it was the finale of Project Runway last night! I mean, it's not Top Chef, but since the writer's strike of last season, I'm a pretty dedicated addict to Bravo's reality line up! Except Top Design...I don't like the main lady's voice...the Brit? Yeah, she bugs me...but anyway...I've proven that these are the ramblings of a crazy lady!

Alia visits her fan club

Today Ajay had a break in between cases so we thought it would be a good day to surprise the nurses at his surgery center with an Alia visit. These are the same nurses that threw me the most gracious and over the top baby shower when I was about 7 months pregnant.

This is also the surgery center where I had my laparoscopy and hysteroscopy before doing IVF and they took amazing care of me.

Upon arrival, the head of the center was waiting for me at the door. She greeted me with a huge hug and I plopped Alia right into her arms. At first, Alia only had eyes for me...but as more and more of her fan club gathered around, Alia really hammed it up. She smiled. She cooed. She was one very good baby.

Too Tired to Care

Going through the house yesterday, I realized something about myself since Alia joined our family. I am a big, fat energy waster. For example... I leave the living room  lights turned on the dimmest setting all night. I do this because I know she'll wake me up throughout the night, and I don't want to trip over something with her in my arms in the dark. Why can't I just turn them on when she wakes me up?

Another thing is I leave her monitor in her crib, plugged in and turned on all day. Why? I don't know. Same goes for the fan in Alia's room...it's on all the time. I read somewhere that they believe there is a correlation between air circulation and SIDS, meaning putting your baby down for a nap while a fan is on reduces the risk. So the fan is on. All the time. And by the way, so is the white noise machine that lulls Alia to sleep when the time comes, and helps her stay asleep by blocking out daytime noises. 

Oh, and let's not forget my computer...I try to remember to turn it off, but oftentimes when I'm online, I don't finish reading this or that, and it ends up minimized at the bottom of my screen at the end of day, so I don't turn off the computer in the interest of finishing reading what I started. I also don't like to turn it off because it takes it 47 minutes to re-boot. Who's got that kind of time with a 2 1/2 month old at home? Oh, and my computer is not the sleek, modern machine that my husband owns...the new Mac Powerbook. My computer is the equivalent to a 1973 Impala, chugging down energy and belching it out from time to time...it practically produces exhaust it's so old and antiquated and well, inefficient. So it totally makes sense that I leave it on all the time, right? 

So after paying a $500 energy last month, which to be fair, we have had one of the hottest Septembers in history so the AC was on all day every day (and still couldn't get our house below a balmy 78 degrees running full blast), I've challenged myself to try harder. Turn off the lights. Turn off the computer. Turn off the fan. Turn off the noise machine. Leave my computer on because, well, it may not be able to handle one more re-boot. Turn off the closet light. Turn off the stairway light to the garage. Make an effort. I mean, what is the benefit of buying all these environmentally friendly detergents and dish soaps when I can't even turn off the TV? Oh, and the TV? It's not actually playing a program. Several hours ago, I hit pause on the TIVO because Alia needed me, and I never made it back to finish the program or turn off the TV. And it's a big TV.

For the record

Today was a big day in the Lalvani household...Alia laughed for the first time!!! It was the sweetest, most heartwarming moment! So, shall I share what made my little one shriek with laughter? Okay, since you asked....

Ajay was home this morning because he's working overnight tonight. We decided to make a Costco run with Alia...a new feat never before accomplished. The reason for the run? We're dangerously low on baby wipes. What is dangerously low in my mind? Less than a case, or less than 704 wipes. Yeah, I have a strange attachment and need for wipes...I'm a wierdo.

Anyway, I gave Alia a bath this morning, and decided she should wear her Obama onesie to Costco. So while I was dressing her, I was just talking to her, telling her that she was showing her respect from the west siiiiide...I was using my ghetto inflection in an attempt of keepin' it real. And when I said west siiiide, I flashed my west-siiiiide gang sign...you know the one...where you cross your ring finger with your middle finger, and hide your thumb so all that you see is the shape of a "W"?

Well, apparently, Alia knew that her Mommy does not have a whole lot of gangsta in her blood. She looked up with huge eyes, and cracked the biggest smile ever. So I repeatedly represented and flashed my "w" and said " west-siiiiiide for Obama, ahhh, yeeeeah!" That's when it happened...absolutely positively 100% sure...laughter!

But now reflecting on it myself...the white suburban housewife representin' in Laguna Beach, I suppose I do see the humor of it all.

Alia felt that her Obama onesie just didn't have enough pizazz...so she opted to add her flamenco skirt to complete the look

Because it's cute

Just when I thought it was hard for me to get out of the house these days, here's a little bit of inspiration!

My New Blog

Guess what...I began a new blog a few days back...here is a link to the first entry.

This new blog is dedicated to my quest to getting fit again after the baby and will essentially be my fitness journal. I found myself making excuse after excuse as to why it was just impossible for me to do anything other than taking care of the baby.

To be fair, those first 6 weeks of having a newborn at home are tough!!! Getting used to an entirely new sleep pattern and the lack of sleep is enough to throw anyone for a loop. Since I really really want to get into some sort of shape, I thought it might help to keep it real with all my peeps and post my progress. That way I can't back out in a week and say "I don't have the time". By the way, if I do that, everyone has my permission to kick my ass back into line!

I'm doing a workout at home DVD program called Slim in 6...yep, it's the program that you've seen on infomercials. If you want to order the DVDs and start working out at home with me, check out Beachbody.com! And no, I'm not paid to endorse this product!

Finally!

 
It only took me like, 6 weeks to finally get around to ordering prints from Alia's 3 week photo shoot...and can I just say that they turned out pretty adorable?

Baby steps...rather...Mommy steps

Okay, alright, I've admitted it before, I'll admit it again...I am a big fat baby lovin' co-sleeper. Since Alia was born, I haven't slept apart from her. In the beginning, we used the little co-sleeper thing that keeps her safe from being smooshed when Mommy and Daddy drink cocktails and go to sleep with the baby. And before you call social services on us, that was a joke...we spent way too much money making Alia to treat our investment carelessly! Actually we carry her around on pillows sometimes...that is no joke.

The co-sleeper contraption? It didn't last long. In fact, once Ajay went back to work after his "paternity leave" (I use quotes because he basically took unpaid time off work...didn't you know? Doctors have the worst benefits in the world...but that's not what we're talking about today), I just slept with her in a spare bed in her room so we wouldn't wake him...until this week.

After a week spent re-reading Babywise, as well as asking my Pediatrician 100 questions about sleep patterns and what can be expected of my baby at this age, I resolved that it was time for Alia to sleep in her expensive toy box (read: crib). So earlier this week, I boasted and bragged that she made it through one night, on her own, and so did Mommy...and the sky didn't fall. Well, I'm happy to say that things progressed nicely this week; Alia slept in her expensive toy box for 3 consecutive nights, and that's when I decided it was time for me to return to my chambers...that's right...my bed. In my room. Yep, that's right...last night, Mommy moved back to the big bed. With Daddy. And a baby monitor 2.5 centimeters from my ear. 

So I'm here to report that while putting Alia in her crib and letting her sleep there at night (and now for her daily naps) and moving myself back in where I belong was the furthest thing from my mind just 6 days ago, we've accomplished a major milestone in a very short time! As I type, my little cutie is sleeping away in her expensive toy box, and Mommy is coming to terms with that!

Made for kids, Loved by adults!

I'm a Gryffindor, married to a Ravenclaw. I'm pretty sure we spawned a Hufflepuff, judging from her little sounds of distress when her binky falls out.

Are you with me? I'm an adult fan of the Harry Potter series...I have read all the books at least once, have cried and cried when certain of my favorite wizards have been killed off in the interest of making for very dramatic and life like situations...okay, well, not life like in the sense that wizards kill one another with nothing more than their wand and a forbidden curse, but in the sense that even our favorite people have to go sometimes. I've seen all the movies, and am so happy to look forward to the Half Blood Prince as well as the final book the Deathly Hallows being made into a movie. That's right...I'm a bigtime fan.

I love the Weasleys. I despise the Slytherins in a strange love/hate way...they make for a great conflict with my beloved characters! I love Hogwarts, and Dumbledore and McGonagall. I love Lupin and Tonks, I love Mad-Eye and Sirius Black. I hate the Malfoys, Snape, and most pattionately Delores Umbridge (whos carte blanche ban on the teaching of things she deems unuseful remind me of a certain book-banning VP candidate, but we're not talking about that right now...I digress). I could go on for days about my love of this series...

But that's not what I'm writing about either. Today I'd like to write about my latest addiction, the Twilight series. That's right, the latest made-for-teens-but consumed-by-adults series of novels sweeping 30 and 40-somethings across the nation. Since Ajay and I traveled a lot in our earlier, pre-baby, pre-infertiilty, pre-pregnancy stage of our relationship, we spent a considerable amount of time observing slices of life in international airports...and I would always marvel at how many adults were carrying with them or deeply engrossed in the Harry Potter series. Now it seems that the Twilight series hopes to follow in those footsteps...at least among women readers.

I recently heard from a high school friend on Facebook that she too is addicted to the series, and was feeling a little bit apprehensive about being so far out of the target audience. Well, I'm here to tell you all that it doesn't matter! Does true love have age limitations? No. So read on, all you 30 somethings and 40 somethings out there. 

10 Week Check Up

On Wednesday, Alia had her 10 week check up. First the details for my family readers...Alia's doing great! Still quite long at 23.75 inches, in the 80th percentile for her age. And her weight...drum roll, please...she weighted 12.8 pounds! That's a 3 pound weight gain in 4 weeks! Can we say growth spirt? Can we say Mama's little girl loves to eat? That said, Alia has progressed from her former, waif-like statistic in the 25th percentile all the way up to the 75th percentile for weight. So she has perfect proportions!

Now the ugly part. Four...count them...four shots!!! My pooooooooooor baby. Seriously...I almost snatched her off the table and ran for it when the nurse came in with a tray of four shots and four itty bitty Tweety Bird band aids. And Ajay? He didn't do much better than I did, although I never saw the raw panic in his eyes that I felt in my own, I did see him well up with tears as our little perfect baby wailed and wailed. They say it was definitely more traumatic for us than her, but I doubt that in the moment...the only advantage Alia has over us is she has a lousy memory at this point! hee hee.

What else...after the doctor's appointment, Alia was totally worn out and asleep in her car seat before we got to the car. So, we took the opportunity to join the other families with infants and elderly early bird specialers and dined at Islands for dinner...at 4:00 p.m.

Yep, that's right...dinner....at 4 p.m. Gone are the days where Ajay gets ready and busts out the John Varvatos suit for a special night out at our favorite dining spot...wearing hair product and cologne, and even shining his glasses. Gone are the days that I shove my uncooperative feet into high heels and a fancy outfit to join my handsome man for that special dinner.

Now, we eat at Islands. At 4 o'clock!

Ewwww! Termites!

Last week, I saw a bunch of dead termites on the floor near our antique Indian hutch. Great. Last year we spot-treated an interior antique window that separates our library and our formal living area...silly me, I thought all the termites were dead.

I suppose there's really no real escaping termites living in a beach side community. Yesterday's termite inspection revealed that there were active swarms coming in on the south winds and smacking right into the front of our house. Seriously...there were like, 50 termites that landed right on our house, dropped their wings, and looked for entry into our structure right before our eyes.

So, with the termites on the inside, and the termites on the outside, there's only one real solution...yep, we're tenting the house. Oh well, maybe we make a nice little holiday out of it since we have to be out of the house for 3 days anyway...not a bad plan, right?

A light at the end of the sleepy tunnel?

Today I woke up feeling pretty good. Yesterday's increase in nap time actually did prove to make for a better night...forget what everybody says and what logic and your own intuition says...fewer naps and less sleep during the day does not mean longer sleep at night...in fact, not enough sleep during the day is pretty much a guarantee that babies have extended bouts of crying in the late afternoon, become overstimulated, frantic, and find drifting off to sleep nearly impossible.

No, I'm not the authority...at all. In fact, Alia has still only slept more than 5 hours at a stretch one time. But we're making progress...last night rather than waking up every 2.5 to 3 hours, she slept in 4 hour stretches, and had no, that's right, NO afternoon meltdown! This after allowing her to sleep almost 3 hours in the late afternoon...which I was very nervous about, but decided to just follow what the Babywise book said and see what happened...after all, it couldn't get much worse, right? The book said basically what my first paragraph details about the need for enough sleep throughout the day. And to my surprise, Alia went off to sleep with minimal reassuring...in her crib/expensive toy box...and remained there all night, except for getting up for her late night feedings. Which, by the way, the author of Babywise says should not be necessary anymore...sure, try telling Alia that!