by dimsumdebutante on May 14, 2012
Yesterday I celebrated my third Mother’s Day and my last as mommy to just The Nut. Next year I will have a six month old, too. It’s incredible. And mildly frightening.
I had a pretty perfect day. I slept late and was greeted with coffee, pastries, flowers, a balloon, lots and lots of candy and a toy police car. Obviously The Nut had a little something to do with the gift selection.
We joined my in-laws for dim sum and then they treated us by taking The Nut home with them for the rest of the day.
B and I organized our storage unit, got manis and pedis and enjoyed an adults only dinner before picking up The Nut for bedtime. I couldn’t have asked for more.
I noticed that even though my own motherhood was the main focus of our day, many of my thoughts drifted to the other mothers in my life.
I thought of my mother, the 32+ years she has devoted to adoring me (and my brother), and the beyond extraordinary grandmother that she is today. I thought of her mother and my father’s and how in the heck they managed to raise handfuls of children and make my parents the wonderful people that they are.
I thought of my mother-in-law, her years of backbreaking work, and the endless energy and love she is still willing to shower on her grandchildren each and every day.
I thought of the mothers that surround me every day. The women who love my child and whose brilliant children have been her first friends. The women whose presence at the playground makes sitting on a bench a lunch date rather than just another afternoon of eating the rejected half of a banana I found in the bottom of the lunch box. The women who share my questions, my worries, my annoyances, and my delights at being the mom to a wild and fabulous pre-schooler. Without this community of mothers, I’m not really sure to what extent I could have enjoyed the day-to-day of the past three years. Children are wonderful, but I can’t say that I’d be terribly fulfilled if The Nut were my only companion. We’ve held hands as we’ve forged our own uncharted territories and I’ll be eternally grateful for their company. And for the Friday night wine.
Thank you to all of the Mamas.
by dimsumdebutante on May 10, 2012
I haven’t been out much lately. And I’ve pretty much disappeared from the blogging world. But when I was invited to attend a mother/daughter event sponsored by Mattel and held at Dylan’s Candy Bar, I knew I had to toughen up and go!
The Nut and I both made our first trip to Dylan’s that day. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, it’s the place to be!
Upon entering, The Nut got to choose her very own from the new line of Little Mommy dolls. We then proceeded to a play area filled with doll-sized baths, bouncy seats, high chairs, cribs, and strollers. The little girls got to play “Mommy” to their new babies while the real mommies enjoyed brunch snacks, conversation, and a create-your-own bouquet flower bar.
Feeding time!
The Nut’s favorite activity was having her baby use the potty. If your little one is potty training, I think this could be an amazing tool. The potty interior is blue but with the pressure of a little doll tush on the seat, a little pee and poo appears. You can then flush and it flips back to blue. I seriously think The Nut could have played with this for hours!
Potty party!
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect for us as I am really trying to foster the tender and nurturing tendencies The Nut has in preparation for her coming baby brother or sister. She has always loved caring for her babies and stuffed animals and I think all of this pretend play will be really useful in getting her ready for the day-to-day care the baby will need.
We have since added a toy crib and changing table to her collection and every night she tucks her five babies into their crib and kisses them goodnight. I hope this is a glimpse into our futures (and that the new baby sleeps more like those dolls than like big sister!) She is proving to be quite the little mommy!
Next step, Mattel? Little Daddies!
by dimsumdebutante on May 8, 2012
My mom always told us how much she adored being pregnant. If the end result wasn’t such a headache, she might have stayed that way throughout her adult life. She felt amazing. So beautiful and energetic. She craved banana bread so she baked it for herself each day. She had a garden and canned produce and worked.
Of course I saw this as my pregnancy future, too. Nine months of rounded glowing bliss and gorgeous hair.
Yea. Not so much.
I woke up on the first day of my fifth week of pregnancy with The Nut with the world’s worst hangover. Then I remembered I hadn’t touched a cocktail in a month. WTF? I waited for the disgusting feeling to go away. It took three months.
I puked day and night. I lost a lot of weight. I missed a lot of work. I wanted to give up. I swore I would NEVER do it again.
I never forgot how bad it was, but in February of this year I decided it was worth the risk of trying it again. No two pregnancies are the same, right?
Heh. At exactly five weeks I got that nasty feeling from my stomach up to the back of my throat. The next day The Nut came down with a vicious fever (nearly 105) that lasted for six days. She finally recovered and I immediately fell ill. Aches, chills, cough, sore throat. The works like none I had experienced in years. I was sick sick for almost three weeks, culminating in a sinus infection and ten days of antibiotics and all the joys that come along with those. You know what I’m talking about, ladies.
This was all on top of extreme nausea and food aversions. We’re talking bad.
But I’ve hit the thirteen week mark and things seem to be on the upswing. I can now look back and appreciate the amazing people in my life who took care of me and The Nut when things seemed impossible.
My in-laws have been absolute lifesavers, taking The Nut overnight AT LEAST once per week.
My friends have been amazing, coming to visit and to play and bringing flowers and food.
My husband has been a complete and utter champ, taking over night duty 100% and every single morning wake-up, along with most of the cooking, cleaning, and errands.
Most of all, The Nut has proved that she can roll with the punches. It can’t be easy to hear Mama choking up her belly button a few times a day and to be bounced around from caregiver to caregiver. But she’s a tough cookie. And she’s going to be one incredible big sister.
For those of you who may need to know, here are my best tips for “morning” sickness:
-Hard candy. I keep a handful of Jolly Ranchers on my person at all times. I’ll probably come out of this with no teeth, but at least I haven’t thrown up on my child’s teacher.
-Benadryl. A midwife told me to try it during my first pregnancy. It helps. If you can stay awake. Even better if you can’t!
-Keep eating. I basically fasted through my first trimester with The Nut because I became so terrified of throwing up. I now know that only made me feel worse. This time I try to have a snack every two hours and it does help keep things under control.
-Zofran. It doesn’t make me feel “normal” but it pretty much prevents vomiting. It does come with some gnarly side effects, though, hence it not being right for everyone.
And mostly, you may never forget how bad it felt, but you really won’t care when that little booger is in your arms for the first time.
by dimsumdebutante on May 6, 2012
I’ve been away. Not from the country or even my apartment. Just a different state of mind.
Things have been a little complicated (mostly in a good way, with some vomiting thrown in for kicks) and blogging just hasn’t made a bleep on my radar.
But now I’m ready and I’m back.
And here’s one of the little things that’s been on my mind and that will no doubt fill this screen over the coming months.
Yippee!
