Shawna’s Whimsical Weblog

2 months old**

Marshall hit the 2 month mark 2 days ago. And in a true mommy moment I thought that the 26th was yesterday. So all of the “2 month” photo shoot pictures are actually 2 month + 1 day shots. From here on out, Marshall’s age can be recounted in month or half month increments! And to go with his new “all growns up” status, Marshall has thrown down the 7-8 hour sleep period gauntlet the last few nights. It’s still from 7ish PM to 3ish AM, but we’re all very impressed here.

I have updated the November gallery of Marshall with my brother’s Thanksgiving weekend photos, including Marshall’s first visit with some of his extended relatives. For those of you who have lost the link/forgotten the password, go ahead and e-mail me.

Reciprocity at work

http://www.freecycle.org
The motto for the Freecycle Network is “Changing the world one gift at a time”. The Network is how I believe an ideal world would work. People give away items they no longer need, keeping usable items out of the landfills. While I’m also a fan of craigslist, it’s the sense of goodwill that makes the idea behind this network so refreshing. Mind you, this is not a site for people to mooch free stuff off the generosity of others!! I was one of 48 people that joined the 10,700 member San Diego network on November 25th. Someday I hope to donate my baby items to the cause, unless of course my friends are in need of them.

I have chosen to get a daily summary of items that have been offered, taken (from what i’ve seen most items are taken within a day of posting) and requested. I’m hoping more people might be interested in joining their local networks, so I’m going to post what a daily summary looks like. In the e-mail I receive there is also a more detailed listing of the items given, ie for line item 1 -the 3 music CDS are in fact “Bell Biv DeVoe — Poison / Elton John — Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Guns N’ Roses — Use Your Illusion”.

1. OFFERED: 3 music CDs, in EL CAJON From: one_monkie
2. Taken (ppu): Large Wooden Advent Calendar (San Carlos/La Mesa) From: tryin_flyin
3. OFFERED: Droll Yankees brand bird feeder, in EL CAJON From: one_monkie
4. Offered: 2 or 3 garbage bags of Juniors clothes size 9-11(CHULA VIST From: mommyof3lilmonsters013
5. OFFERED: bag of TOYS (mostly toddler) (San Carlos/La Mesa) From: tryin_flyin
6. OFFERED: Toddler bed (San Carlos/La Mesa) From: tryin_flyin
7. OFFERED: Miscellaneous household stuff free - queen bed, grill more From: indiralunare
8. OFFERED: “Texas Fly Swatter” (joke item), in EL CAJON From: one_monkie
9. Offered louvered bi-fold doors - Tierrasanta From: Wendy
10. OFFERED: magazines (22), in EL CAJON From: one_monkie
11. Taken (ppu): Hershey Smore Maker (San Carlos/La Mesa) From: tryin_flyin
12. OFFERED: Wooden SwingSet w/Slide - Laurel Heights/South Park Area From: rfbabydoll
13. OFFERED: styrofoam pellets, in EL CAJON From: one_monkie
14. OFFERED: decorative bird feeder, in EL CAJON From: one_monkie
15. TAKEN (Pending Pick up): Bag of Clothes in Pacific Beach From: mswatts93
16. OFFERED: “The Making of the Precious Moments Chapel” on VHS, in EL From: one_monkie
17. OFFERED: 2 books on tape, in EL CAJON From: one_monkie
18. OFFERED: Bunk bed and two single mattresses (Tierrasanta) From: Walter
19. TAKEN: 3 music CDs, in EL CAJON From: one_monkie
20. OFFERED Big white snowflake lit outdoor piece Clairmont Mesa From: Cheri
21. TAKEN: decorative bird feeder, in EL CAJON From: one_monkie
22. OFFERED: cheap bookshelf (Tierrasanta) From: Walter
23. TAKEN: Droll Yankees brand bird feeder, in EL CAJON From: one_monkie
24. OFFERED: Plastic two-piece doghouse (Tierrasanta) From: Walter
25. TAKEN: Gillette Razor handle (Power Mach 3) and leftover cartridges From: Robert Gottlieb

Is it time you removed the clutter from your home?

Aunties Angela and Michelle with Marshall at Seagrove Park on Thanksgiving

I woke up thankful on Turkey Day because Marshall had slept a 7 hour stretch the night before. Much like Steph and Gordie’s Matty, he did the stretch from 7 PM to 2 AM. However, the next night it was back to a 5 hour stretch, followed by the 4 AM wake-up call. I still believe Marshall is about to turn a corner here and sleep through the night. I bought a space heater online for Marshall’s room today, just in case he’s waking up because he’s cold. It should show up sometime at the end of next week. Once he’s sleeping through the night, I’ll tackle setting up a more routine nap schedule for him during the day.

Obviously Marshall’s lengthy sleep is a very minute transpiration for which I am thankful. I’m far more thankful that Marshall is healthy and happy, that my husband has been so helpful, supportive and loving these past few months (not to say he wasn’t before, but it’s been needed more with Marshall), and that I have such wonderfully generous and caring friends and family. Yesterday’s reflections on all that I have to be thankful for, lead me to think about what is to come in the next few years for me. I do want to be the best “mom” that I can be for Marshall, but I don’t want to completely sacrifice being the best person I can be for myself. This lead me to thinking about my current career choice. Yes, I enjoy computer tech support, but I’m not truly passionate about it. It was something I did because I knew I’d be good at it and be able to find a decent paying job. Last night I decided it was time to return to my true passion- working in the realm of environmental conservation. I figure I have about 3-6 years before I return full time to the work force, depending on whether or not we have another child. That’s plenty of time to look for the “perfect” job and decide if I want/need to get more training/schoolwork (perhaps a Masters in Environmental Science!?). I could also choose to continue working in the I.T. field, but look for a more environmentally geared company (not one that is filling the landfills with a disposable medical product). For now, I probably should get to networking in some of the local conservation groups to see what kinds of jobs are out there.

I Hate Shots

Marshall weigh-in on 11/21: 11 lbs 4 oz (+ 1 lb 4 oz)
Shawna weigh-in on 11/21: 143 lbs (-3 lb)

I realize I missed my “7 weeks” Marshall update last week. I think I was waiting for the day that I could victoriously cry “he’s sleeping through the night!” Unfortunately I’m left with the longwinded and highly unsatisfactory cry of “he would be sleeping through the night if he wasn’t such a restless sleeper.” Starting 2 weeks ago Marshall demonstrated the ability to sleep for 5 hour stretches. This means after his last feeding(10 PM ish) he’d sleep soundly until 3 AM ish. He would start crying and I wasn’t sure if he was crying because he kicked his blankets off or his crying for some other reason resulted in him kicking his blankets off. Was he hungry? At first I thought so, but then I realized he was just as happy to take a pacifier at 3 AM. If I held his thrashing arms and legs still, he would drift back to sleep. Marshall, who had once taken to swaddling, now often worked himself into a crying tizzy when we tried to swaddle him. What was a parent to do? I didn’t relish the thought of finding a more industrious baby straight jacket (I was reading forums where parents were using packing tape to swaddle their restless babies!!). I figured Marshall was done with swaddling and perhaps given the opportunity to practice he would bring his flailing arms and legs “in check”. However, it was getting cold at night, so we couldn’t leave Marshall blanketless. (For non-parents out there, you aren’t supposed to introduce a blanket in the style that we’re accustomed to (under the arms) in the crib until the baby can successfully roll over, otherwise you run the infinitesimally small risk of having your baby suffocate on the blanket) Deb had suggested we try a sleep sack out (see picture to the left). We introduced that last Thursday. Marshall continues to wake up at 3 AM (we hear his restless grunts), but at least he doesn’t wake up crying with his blankets lying around him anymore. I’d like to say he doesn’t thrash as much as he used to, but I think I’m going to have to wait a few more days to see if it’s truly the case. I read somewhere it takes 4 - 9 days to see a change in a baby’s habit.

But other than the 3 AM wake-up call, Marshall is a dreamy baby. Marshall is smiling and babbling more and more. I look forward to seeing what he thinks of his new (used) playmat that I bought for him yesterday. He checked out perfect today at his “2 month” check-up. He wasn’t too pleased about the 3 shots he received in his thighs, but he took the oral vaccination (polio) and infant tylenol very well (he still very much likes to suck on things). He has continued on his previous course of being 50% in weight and 75%(24 “) in height. Our doctor says that “tall and thin” is a pretty good place to be. I couldn’t agree more.

While Mommy is still trying to capture a picture of me smiling (you think she’d just take a video and be done with it, but she’s not too bright), I thought it would be fun to play a little game. It’s called “match the picture with the correct caption.”

a. Eeeuuuuh.
b. Bye-bye!
c. Smiling is overrated.
d. I know Kung-fu.
e. This is as close as mom’s going to capture me smiling.

I missed my “being up and running by Nov 1st” plan. I did try a simple jog down the field last week, but found I was too jiggly in the breast, booty and tummy regions to be comfortable. My solution? Wear two sports bras instead of one. One as a simple bra and one that fits long over the abdomen. It solves two of the jiggly regions at least, plus it makes you look thinner. My 6-week post partum check went well on Monday, but my doctor recommended I start taking Ibuprofen for my foot condition. As a bonus, it would also help with my sore back (from toting around jr. and breastfeeding at funny angles). I have to say that it seems both conditions have improved since I have started taking it. My question is why do they have to coat it with the grossest taste on the planet? I have to take the pill with a TALL glass of water followed by another glass of water as a chaser. I’d even prefer it to taste like the nasty cherry-flavoring associated with many medicines.

Tim and I headed to the park today to practice our soccer skills. I was dreading to see how terrible I was going to be. It turns out I still remember how to dribble, do short passes and trap (well.. trap as well as I used to). However, I cannot lift the ball. This requires my foot to be at a certain angle that aggravates my heel problem. Throw-ins are straight out. I’m still considering heading to my soccer game on Sunday, but only if they are short players. Otherwise I will try and make it to the last game of the season in 2 weeks. It did feel good to run around the park today. Even if soccer is a bust, I’m going to see if I can’t start going to play floor hockey again.

Where is my 6-week old Marshall picture!? I know Marshall’s adoring fans are looking to me for weekly updates, and I’m sorry to be somewhat of a slacker. I was trying to get a picture of Uncle Brian with Marshall, but that didn’t pan out. Marshall has decided to have his deep sleep cycle during the evening hours. Tim and I go for an evening stroll around 6 o’clock. Marshall might stay awake for the first lap around the park (although usually he’s out before we even make it down to the park, the quitter). When we return home, we put a mostly comatose Marshall to bed and wonder when he might wake up. As one might imagine, this cuts into evening socializing. Don’t get me wrong, we’re readily encouraging lengthly sleep cycles. Having him sleep through the night would be a joyous occasion. However, an even more joyous event is going on. This week, Marshall has really started to smile on a regular basis. He lights up when we smile at him or when I (Tim refuses to) babble at him in babytalk. I tried to capture his smile today, but he doesn’t quite understand what “smile for the camera” means yet. Here is series of pictures snapped today. Yes, I realize I didn’t get a picture of him smiling. It’s hard to believe, but picture #2 is actually of him between smiles. I think I’ll need another body present to get the shot so Marshall can see me cooing at him, instead of being hidden behind the camera. I have added these pictures to the gallery as well as pictures taken on a walk with Deb and Aidan last Thursday at Lake Miramar.

I’m not going to get into what I consider to be good or bad about yesterday’s election. I am surprised on how close some of the proposition results were, which made me wonder about what percentage of people are actually getting out to vote. Looking at the results in California, 6.5 million came out to vote. Fortunately, with the help of google i have voter statistics at the click of a button. I can’t tell what I’m more flabbergasted by: 1)that the number of people eligible to vote, but aren’t registered (~6.8 mil) is equal to actual number of people who came out to vote or 2)that 9.3 million registered voters couldn’t find the time to vote yesterday. The sad part is, I don’t know if I should be grateful that those 9.3 million people didn’t come out to vote or not.

I thought it would be interesting to log what happens on our average 5 week old’s day. Here we see Marshall’s day on November 1, 2006. Perhaps I’ll even make it into a monthly series. I could then later compare how much free time I used to have I’ve *-ed items that don’t happen on an average day.

There you have it. All the fun of raising a 5-week old. Noone call child services on us, ok? You can see that a baby’s day is not all that varied. Our son slept for 12 hours and cried for 2. He took 7 feedings and needed his diaper changed 8 times. I’ll try to do this again on December 1st.