Is This Month over yet?????

WARNING THIS BLOG MAY CONTAIN WHINING!!!!!!!!!!!

Lets start on the 5th when we got into that little fender bender in Chicago. $850 worth of damages.

Then my dog was so deathly ill (from the kennel? we will never know) and after IVs and tests and antibiotics = $900+ worth of damages.

At the same time baby had a fever, the stress thinking the dog might have contaminated the baby was high.

Next week, "oh I think I am getting a sty my eye hurts." Nope pink eye in both of your eyes. Two days no work = no pay.

Now the baby is super boogie factory and I have to suck the long strands of mucus from her screaming little face while my husband holds her face still.

Then one early morning Austin asks "Did you like do a load of laundry in the middle of the night?" Me - "Are you crazy? Why?" Apparently the spin cycle was on all night. And consequently the washing machine is broken - well kinda - you just have to move the dial manually.

Just today - damn its hot in here. . . thermostat says its 80 but its set on 74? Wait the air conditioner is not turning on?! Great!

6 more days. . . . will next month be better?

Summer thus far.

So far a great summer! I stepped down at work, taking a pay cut, to have nights and weekends with my family. So far its been a great decision. Although I have to stop myself from online purchases and other cutesy things for Jocelyn. And weekends have been filling up faster then I ever imagined.







My first weekend we went to the zoo. This is Jocelyn's third time there. But our first time going as a family. Once again she was memorized by the fish in the reptile house and the spider monkeys.


The following weekend was fathers day, we spent it in Lake Geneva at my in-laws house. My parents came over as well as my sister. And of course the Hunkins clan, with my cute niece! Guys golfed and the girls hung out, entertaining Jocelyn - or was it the other way around?

I finally brought Jocelyn down to Illinois to meet the family friends. My family isn't that big so my parents' friends have been almost like family to me. Jocelyn was the guest of honor and the life of the party, that was when she was awake! That little girl sure likes to sleep! I got this action pic of Jocelyn with her Auntie Blair. . .

We had to bring Jocelyn back to the doctor for a weight check. At the beginning of the month she was 11.1 lbs. and in the 9th percentile. Now she weighs a whopping 13 lbs. and in the 25th percentile! Girl likes to eat and consequently likes to spit-up. I decided that 8 oz. is too much in one sitting and we are trying a 4 oz. bottle or cereal every hour and a half and it seems to be working. Anyways daycare girls are happier that they get puked on less. Everyone wins!

So, now here we are on the weekend of the 4th already! Three day weekend! We are traveling to Muskegon, Michigan. Normally we take the Lake Express ferry across Lake Michigan, but since we are trying to conserve money we decide to drive. This SHOULD take about five or five and a half hours, and we know it will take longer because we are traveling with an infant . . . under normal conditions it takes about 2 hours from Milwaukee to Chicago this being a holiday weekend it took a little over 3 hours to get to Chicago. Luckily I know people, so we took a small pit stop by Lauren's house.

Nearly 8 hours later we arrive at the parents condo in Michigan. My grandfather from Maryland drove 13 hours to join us for the weekend. Jocelyn gets to meet her great Pop-pop and we take a four generation picture. And I am reminded of the remaining baby weight.

The weather couldn't have been nicer! I wonder why it always seems nicer on that side of the lake? We went to the beach. Jocelyn seemed to like her first beach visit. We did not go into the water, it was delightfully rough. I did get these cute photos. . .

Over all a nice trip. Jocelyn really found her voice and laughed a lot. She also likes music, my sister's boyfriend, Zaid, had her in a little guitar trance and she banged on the piano.

I am not sure that we will drive there again in August. It took 10 hours to get home. Jocelyn was a trouper. We hit construction traffic in Michigan, normal traffic in Indiana, stopped to feed the baby and ourselves. Then continued with heavy but moving traffic in Chicago, was rear-ended on the south side - baby was sleeping then screaming. But we are all ok. It was just stressful and added at least an hour of travel time. Stopped at my sister's on Chicago's north side to feed the baby and chill after accident, and finally made it home smooth sailing to Waukesha. *Sigh* Can I really use this to justify the $500.00 ferry ride? Maybe.

Hockey and Stuff

The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup last night. Grandpa Bob is sure excited about this, since he has season tickets and is such a huge fan. I think its that French-Canadian blood he has in him.

Jocelyn has such a neat family background, a super melting pot of an American. My mom is from the east coast and is 50% English and 25% Irish, 25% German. My dad is a little tougher to breakdown. . . his family is from the Chicago-land area he is 50% Italian and 25% French-Canadian (with a little native Canadian tribe mixed in there), 25% Irish - I think (backgrounds kinda muddy here). Mom's family background is upper middle class, and making their money in real estate. Always moving around the East Coast and fun times playing with sailboats. Dad's family lower middle class, blue collar hard working people from the Windy City. Also rumored to have been kicked out of Canada for stealing horses and followed the railway to Chicago. Both the French-Canadian and Italian last names were changed when coming to America, making them more English friendly. French-Canadian last name roughly translates to mean "branch of love" which sounds nice but most likely means illegitimate child or love child.

Jocelyn also gets a lot of Scandinavian background from her father. Where his mother is Swedish and his father is Norwegian. Austin also has told me there is some Dutch in there but I am not sure from which side. Both of his parents come from a small but charming town in southern Minnesota. Where its such a treat to have all four grandparents living there today! Its neat to see a street named with the family's last name. Austin is an Electrical Engineer as is his father and his father's father. In this Minnesota town there is a business - Morem Electric, a family owned and operated business. Austin's mother's family built and owned the town's only hotel at one point. That is still there to this day.

I hope Austin and I can leave our own mark on history. I also hope we can pass our family history on to Jocelyn and it won't fall on deaf ears.

Doc visit

Jocelyn is in the 9th percentile for her weight. So, the doc was asking me a ton of questions. . . in the end we decided to try an acid reflux medicine. She spits up, but all babies spit up don't they? My mom said I was a spitty baby, so maybe it just runs in the family right? Well, last week day care teachers called both Austin and I claiming that Jocelyn was projectile vomiting. Stop moving her around so much then! We go in for a weight check at the end of the month, so time to get chubby!

She also received 3 more vaccines, which 2 days later she still has a little fever. The baby Tylenol we had was part of the recalled batch so we tossed it, and the store didn't have any more stocked so we had to rough it out. Which = crabby baby. In fact for the first time ever Jocelyn refused to eat at daycare, so hopefully today she can consume her full 30 ounces. Yesterday she only ate 18 and the day before 24 ounces, its hard to gain weight this way. Jocelyn grew 2 inches though, and that will put her in the 59th percentile for height.

On a side note my milk is starting to dry up. I can only produce 6-9 ounces a day.

Time not wasted

I work 45+ hours a week and Austin also works full time. So when I have a day to spare it pains me to waste it. I didn't work on Tuesday and I have a head cold, so when Jocelyn was napping I was napping. Instead of cleaning, laundry, gardening or grocery shopping I slept. Boo.

Today however we went to the zoo! This is the second trip this month, I think I may need to invest in a membership. The first time we went she watched the spider monkeys swing back and forth across their exhibit. She also was quite fascinated with the fish in the reptile house. Cute puzzled expressions as she watched the cheetahs pace in front of the glass. Today she was squealing with delight at the otters and fish. She also loves any exhibit information sign that is lit up.

Jocelyn has found her feet, and sometimes a foot finds its way into her mouth. She will be 16 weeks tomorrow and everything goes into her mouth! I suppose at this age I can also try to feed her some cereal - for fun, just to see if she will eat it. It should make for some fun pictures.

pumping . . .

So, this whole breastfeeding thing. . . yes, I know the benefits and yes, I know how much money we save but really its hard to go the recommended year. I started back at work 2 weeks ago. In anticipation of not being able to keep up with pumping I spent 75 dollars on 3 huge jars of powdered formula. I also was feeding Jocelyn a little bit of formula here and there to make her little belly used to the fact she will not be drinking mommy milk exclusively.

I can usually pump once maybe twice a day at work. Which is weird in itself, I refuse to lock myself in the bathroom stall so I go in the back dry storage room. And my freezer supply of milk has run out. So what started as one bottle of formula a day has turned into 2 and soon turned into as much as three. Jocelyn tolerates it well, in fact the breast milk seems to make her spit up more.

It feels like my supply is dwindling a little bit so I will try to pump more. My doctor told me that babies are the best milk extractors and if I only pumped that I would make less milk. However, on my last day off I nursed her and she just falls asleep, its so comforting to her. I also noticed she was crabbier with she nurses exclusively maybe because she isn't getting enough, as far as ounces of milk. The books I have read suggested 30-40 ounces of milk for her age and I figured that we were feeding too little. I even got paranoid. . . is she making enough pee diapers when was the last time she pooped does she have tears when she cries??? Errrrr. . .

So, I feel less pressure this way and Jocelyn gets her 30 ounces a day. So, everyone's happy right? Then why do I feel I need to justify this with a blog?

Mother's Day

Yeah its my first mothers day! My parents and sister came up from Illinois for the day. Really just an excuse to see Jocelyn, but I won't ever complain about that! We made a ham - Alton Browns recipe - it was delish! And Blair brought me this cake from Chicago, it was carrot cake with butter cream frosting. Yum!


I got lots of pretty flowers, I could get used to this! So once this autumn-like weather gets out of town I (hopefully) will find time to do some gardening.

Last mothers day weekend we conceived, so depending when you believe life begins, Jocelyn is a "year" old! She was her typical smiley good little baby. Entertaining everyone while barfing on their clothes.


My first week back at work went well. I am feeding Jocelyn one bottle of formula a day, I can't keep up with pumping at work. That seems to be ok. She also is rolling over a lot now, and sleeping on her belly. I know its taboo but she is strong and comfortable so I leave her on her belly or side.

Dear Jocelyn Rose,

You are 12 weeks old today! If the rest of our lives go by this quickly I must remember to make time to slow down and enjoy it. I never imagined my life like this and now I couldn't imagine my life without you and your father. I am very lucky to be surrounded by such love.

Next week I go back to work, and you will start daycare. Your teachers are very nice and caring, they will take care of you for a couple of hours three days a week. Your Nana Carol will watch you and your cousin, Ella, on Fridays. I think you will like the newness of it all.

You are such a good baby. Just like your Mom you like to sleep, Papa Bruce calls us mattress muffins! You eat very well, and continue to grow into a cute little baby! Just this last week you started to grab things, and you try to "pick" the animals off the pages in your favorite book. The last couple of days you really started to get an opinion and if you don't like something you arch your back and go stiff as a board. Yesterday you were singing to me! You are quite the talker, and you think its really funny. When you get excited your beautiful big eyes get real wide and you kick like crazy. I hope you will find excitement in the rest of your life and share it with me.

We Skype Grandma Amy and Grandpa Bob almost daily. You look at the computer screen and I wonder if you can make the connection that it is your grandparents. We also occasionally Skype Great-Grandpa Pop-pop. He is a funny man I hope you will be able to meet him someday.

Summer is almost here and I can't wait to show you the world! There will be trips to the zoo and to the beach. And maybe a baseball game and camping trip!

Thank you Jocelyn for giving my life a little sparkle. I love you.

Mom

Jocelyn keeps us busy!

My little Jocelyn, is such a ham! In these pics I was sticking my tongue out and she was trying to do the same then proceeded to crack up! This was a perfect birthday gift to me on 03.26.2010 she was 8 weeks exactly. My parents came up to babysit while Austin and I went to dinner. We went to Roots in Milwaukee it was wonderful! It was a nice gift and Jocelyn slept the whole time!

Jocelyn is going to be a wild one, I can tell! She loves to be on her changing table where she kicks like crazy. Stretching her legs out by standing (with help of course) she loves to bounce and move around to get different views of the world! Jocelyn wiggles all over her crib, she is never in the same place that we put her down. We had to invest in a breathable bumper for her crib, there were multiple times when I would find her with an arm or leg sticking out of the crib. On one occasion she had both legs sticking out of the slats!

We have had unusually good weather for spring and living in the Midwest so we have been walking around the neighborhood. The first couple of times she would just sleep. Now I really think she enjoys it, and looks at the passing trees. She really hates the sun in her eyes and will screech if it is too bright. But I can't blame her! Finding a little hat to fit her head proved to be a surprising challenge.

Easter we drove down to Illinois, 2 hours, on the back roads with Jocelyn and Leon in the back seat. It was great, everyone slept in the car. Jocelyn was a good baby on her trip, entertaining everyone and sleeping well. Her Easter dress is so cute!


Jocelyn had her first round of vaccinations. She screamed after the first one, a scream like I never heard before. I felt really bad, she cried so hard that when we got home she passed out. When Jocelyn woke up she had a fever and I could tell she was in a lot of pain still. There is nothing you can do and I really felt helpless as she was hysterical. Otherwise the doctor said she is healthy with a minor heart murmur. She now weighs 10 lbs. 5 1/2 oz. and is 22 inches long! That's 3.25 inches longer then birth and 4 lbs. 6 1/2 oz. heavier! Wow!

The first fuzzy few weeks. . .

We brought Jocelyn home, it was a cold Super Bowl Sunday snow flurries and gray clouds. Running on adrenaline it didn't matter if we got any sleep. We tried but every time there was a little squeak from Jocelyn we were sprinting out of bed to her room. Well when I say "we" I mean Austin, I still love my sleep.

Her first wellness visit was 2 days after we brought her home. Dr. Watson gave us a clean bill of health, but she did lose 10% of her body weight in 4 days after birth. So she weighs 6 lbs. 2oz. at this point. He did sound concerned and wanted us to come back in 2 more days for a weight check. Finally my milk had come in and Jocelyn and I figured out this whole breast feeding thing. When we had gone into the doctors office 2 days later she had gained 8 oz. in 2 days! What a little piggy!


Austin stayed home with me for a week, using up his vacation. I am using FMLA which is 12 weeks off of work, but with no pay. They just have to guarantee a position with equal pay when I return to work. What is wrong with this country? We should move to Sweden! Why can't I get paid time off? I used up my 2 weeks of vacation and 3 paid sick days, but to start a family should you really have to?! When Austin went back to work, my mom stayed with us for 5 days. It was really great to have her here. I hadn't discovered "pumping" yet, so to have her help with cooking, laundry and cleaning was awesome. I can't thank her enough! Plus she got quality bonding time with her first grandchild!


Breastfeeding is hard. There is nothing in my opinion that comes "naturally". Jocelyn likes to eat her hands, she is so strong that I have to pry her little fists away from her mouth. Luckily there is pumping and other people, like Austin, can feed her. This means I can sleep and escape the house!


Leon, our dog, is adjusting well. He vies for our attention especially from Austin who is his play buddy. Otherwise he is very good with Jocelyn. Her crying doesn't even phase him and when I get up all hours of the night he usually doesn't move, or if he does he sleeps in her room in front of the heat vent!

We have had quite the parade of visitors! And Jocelyn has received so many wonderful gifts, her closet is now filled with so many cute girly clothes!


Jocelyn is so expressive! She smiles a lot and makes this great wrinkled brow serious face! When she is asleep she laughs, I mean a crack-up laugh. I wonder what she thinks is so funny?! What could an infant be dreaming about?



I never knew that an infant could be so strong, Jocelyn can move her head around easily and her grip is like a little vise. She also squeaks quite a bit, which makes me smile. We gave Jocelyn her first bath when she was 20 days old. She loves taking a bath and doesn't cry at all! A true little Aquarius!

The story of a birth.

Thursday February 4th, 7:30pm. My contractions had started at home. Austin began timing them on his Ironman watch that he has had since 6th grade. They were consistently 11 minutes apart, then 7 minutes, then 5 minutes. It was 10:30 pm and I called the hospital, we were going in. The contractions were not so painful but they did stop my breathe. After dropping off the dog at Robb's and getting to the hospital, and into my lovely hospital gown I was checked by the nurse and hooked up to the contraction and baby heart monitor.

The nurse told me I wasn't any more then 1 centimeter dilated, which was disappointing because I was at the doctor Tuesday and was 1 cm then. She suggested walking the halls of the hospital to help me dilate. So, we did. I didn't like other people/nurses seeing me in pain with every contraction so that was short lived. And besides we were both tired. Getting back to the room I tried to sit on a birthing ball, which is just a large exercise ball. Leaning forward with my head and arms on the bed was just making the contractions more painful. The nurse was checking me every hour and my contractions were still 5 minutes apart. I told Austin to get some sleep. The most comfortable position for me was slightly reclined and sitting indian-style in bed. I tried to snooze, but with pain coming every five minutes it was nearly impossible.

Throughout the morning hours I had dilated a couple more cm, so now I was at 2-3 cm. I was starving and could only eat jello or popicles. I was tired and couldn't sleep. I kept thinking that this was really happening and a new life was about to be born. My doctor came in around 7:30 am on February 5th and checked me, she told me we would break my water. She was hoping that things would progress more quickly. Contractions were still painful and five minutes apart. I would breathe a heavy in and out with every contraction and with every exhale pictured the pain as dust I was blowing off of a shiny metallic object. We had picked out two names one for a boy and one for a girl. But the gender was still unknown.

I don't remember when but at one point the contractions and lack of sleep was wearing me down. I asked for a narcotic, to as they say "take the edge off". I was able to sleep a very small amount then. At 2:00 pm my doctor checked me again. At 4 cm, and she ordered pitocin to speed things along. I knew that this was used to induce labor and could make things very intense. Wanted to go as long as I could without one, but it was now I told the nurse that I wanted an epidural. I knew it was going to be intense but I had no idea! The half hour, 2:30-3:00, when the pitocin kicked in and before the epidural was the most pain I have every been in. I was screaming with every contraction, I couldn't "blow" away the dusty pain. And every minute long contraction was coming quicker then 5 minutes.

After the epidural was administered, 3:00 pm, I was numb from under the breasts to my feet. I had no control of my lower half. You know how your arm feels strange and foreign to you when you sleep on it funny? That's how my whole body felt and its a scary feeling. But I could finally get some good sleep. Or could I? The nurse, Rachelle, who was monitoring me saw something with the baby. Every contraction that I was having, the baby's heart rate was going down. So she had me rollover to one side and then the next side every ten minutes or so to try to make the baby's heart rate stabilize. Moving when you are this numb is not an easy task. Especially when you have many things attached to various body parts. I had the epidural catheter in my back, an oxygen mask on for the baby, baby heart rate monitor around my belly, blood pressure cuff on my left arm, IV in my right hand, an internal contraction monitor, and a catheter. Good times.

At 6:00 pm the Dr. Olson checked me again, I was 10 cm and ready to start pushing! The room was quickly transformed, the lower half of my bed detached, the lights on the ceiling turned on, and various "carts" were wheeled in. Austin had my left leg, nurse Rachelle the right, and Dr. Olson had the helm. I could feel the contractions at this point but they were not painful, they felt like a lot of pressure. Three pushes per contraction, heavy duty breath holding pushes. At one point I turned to the nurse and asked how long this usually takes. Because I am a first time mom and I am extremely numb, 2-3 hours! Dr. Olson asked Rachelle how numb I was and her answer was an 8, my doctors eyes went wide. I am not waiting that long I declared!

Once the baby was crowning there was some discussion over what color hair the baby had, the baby has hair! I was so excited. Dr. Olson said, "I am getting boy vibes. What about you?" Rachelle said, "I have been calling the baby a boy because I have a son at home, so I'll go with boy." Austin said, "I am still going with boy." When they asked me what I thought I said boy, because I did think it was going to be a boy. However, since we got to the hospital there was a song that was stuck in my head. A song by the Grateful Dead, "Did you say her name was rambling Rose? Ramble on baby, settle down easy. Ramble on Rose."

It happened so fast, 48 minutes into pushing our baby was born! I will never forget Dr. Olson's face she looked down and stuttered a "Its, its a girl!" Austin cut the cord, they quickly wiped down our baby girl and put her up on my chest. Austin and I were both amazed and I cried a little. As the nurses weighed and measured her, Austin was so in awe they had to remind him to get his camera. Little Jocelyn Rose Morem, 6 lbs. 15 oz. and 19.75 inches long.



We had lots of visitors those 2 days in the hospital. Both grandmas were happy to buy pink clothes!

40 Weeks and waiting

We are at the 40 week mark. Still no baby. No dilation either. The plan is as follows. . . Next Tuesday, February 2nd, doctors appointment to see if there is any changes. Then Friday, the 5th, another appointment to see if the baby is in distress at all. It is running out of room. If there is any sign of distress, Jade will be induced then. However, if there is no distress we will wait until Monday the 8th to induce labor. Hopefully the baby will decide to join the world before then. But really its 3 degrees outside right now, and 98 degrees inside mom. Where would you rather be?!