The Little One

So I'm feeling kind of bad that I didn't write too much for B's birthday. I think about when it was just Miss A and I blogged so much more, recording so much more of what she was doing and what she was like. Obviously I don't have the same kind of time that I did back then but I also seem to be a bit lazy about it. I'll try to make up for that a bit now.

Here are some pictures from B's birthday. Here she is, not really eating her cake because my mom stuffed her so full of food that cake did not appeal to her.



Opening presents.



And here she is just being her usual charming self. This picture perfectly represents her sweet personality and when I look at it I feel a tad less bitter about the entire year of sleep that I have missed out on.



The girl still does not have ONE. SINGLE. TOOTH. Any of you who were reading my blog back when Miss A was a baby will remember the dozens of posts I wrote obsessing over her lack of teeth, whether or not she actually had any teeth, wondering if I should be worried and possibly taking her to the dentist, and WHERE THE CRAP ARE HER TEETH ANYWAY? And this time I haven't complained or mentioned it once. I guess that goes to show how much more laid back you are the second time around. I'm not concerned at all. I know they'll turn up eventually. I'm slightly impatient because I secretly wonder/hope that once they start to come she'll start sleeping like a normal human being and therefore so will I.



She is a total blankie girl. I'm not sure why, but this took me by surprise. I guess because Miss A has her 'baby' the soft little pink dolly that she is attached to. I think I expected B to become attached to something similar rather than a blanket. The blanket seems to be a far more dangerous thing to be attached to since she often slips on it while dragging it around with her and sometimes takes pretty rough tumbles followed by plenty of crying. The most hilarious thing she does is walk around with her blankie on her head. She wanders around like a tiny drunk person, bumps into things and falls on her bum. We simply shake our heads.





These days I am feeling more and more like our family is whole, certain that we are 'finished'. Though it is a hard thing to finalize. Baby B is the perfect addition and completion for us. And that gives me a great feeling of peace and satisfaction.

Umm... This is Late

Baby B was ONE on Friday. As many of you know I like to make montages of photos from the year. The first year always seems so extra amazing. I totally procrastinated this year and then when I really needed to get it done I ran into some technical difficulties. In any case I stayed up FAR too late last night finishing it and I believe I barely completed it before the day of her birth was through. Not that SHE cared but I did. Because I'm a crazy.

Anyway, it's been a crazy year. I simultaneously can't believe how big she is now and how small she was only one year ago. I also can't believe a person can survive on so little sleep for an entire year and not go insane. Yay me. I'd like to say it's better. I'd like to. I won't because I don't want to jinx the miniscule improvement that has been made in the past couple of months. Let me just say that five hours of uninterrupted sleep is pretty sweet right now and it's becoming more consistent all the time.

Sleep habits aside, she is the sweetest little soul. She is incredibly easy going most of the time but when she finally loses it, she really loses it. She adores her big sister and wants to do everything she does. One of her favorite things to do is wrestle with her and she gives Miss A a run for her money. She's very sensitive, her feelings are easily hurt but we can also make her smile or laugh with very little effort. I never tire of watching her change and grow every day.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Limbo

I am healed. Walking normally and stuff. And yet, here I sit with a bandage on my ankle and can't really do much. I was supposed to go back to work yesterday but I won't actually be going back until next Wednesday. I think I could have gone to work if it weren't for these dumb staples that I can't get out until Tuesday. The thing about having a bandage on your foot/ankle in the summer as opposed to the winter is that you aren't inclined to wear socks and are going outside in the dirt and it therefore becomes filthy. I will do my best not to be embarrassed when I go get it removed along with my staples but it feels a bit like going to get a physical when you haven't changed your underwear in two weeks. Okay, maybe not THAT bad.

I am actually have more pain in other areas of my body. Mostly because the rest of it is having to overcompensate for the current weakest link. Yesterday I hyper-extended my left knee which I am sure is directly related to my bum ankle. Also, the muscles in my lower back and arse (that's the technical term isn't it?) are KILLING me. I will be having a massage on Friday and I hope that I can get comfortable enough to enjoy and benefit from it.

A call for help here - Miss A has the mother of all canker sores under her tongue. It is actually two right next to each other. That in itself is bad enough but the real kicker is that it is aggravated by her thumb sucking. (yes, she still does that.) Last night she was up at least four times inconsolably angry because she was involuntarily trying to suck her thumb and would wake up because of the pain. And there was a thunderstorm. Which didn't help her mood any. I had to move the baby to the playpen in the living room because there was no way to deal with both of them at once and with all of A's carrying on it was only a matter of time before she woke her up.

We began swishing with salt yesterday but today I tried an Alum swish which I tested first and it wasn't too dissimilar to salt but has a numbing effect. Miss A is not a fan of either method but I have some leverage by telling her that she won't be able to go to a friend's pool party with a sore in her mouth. This mostly does the trick in helping to convince her. I also threatened that if she doesn't help me help her feel better that she'll have to sleep in the basement tonight because I am not going to listen to her crying and try to comfort her unless she does.

I think it's safe to say I need some more sleep. But then, when don't I? So does anyone have any experience with canker sores and possible remedies? I am actually considering taking her to the doctor to get antibiotics or something to heal it faster and that is so usually not my thing!

This is the Part Where the Control Freak Loses It

So I had my surgery Monday. I had a nice late morning surgery time so I was able to get a decent amount of rest and have some time to mentally prepare (as much as possible) for the day/week ahead. This is a good time for me to mention how much I love my husband. We actually had fun together as we hung out pre and post surgery. We shared inside jokes, knowing looks, smirks and laughs. He made fun of me pre-surgery asking if I'd had any loopy drugs already which I hadn't. I think stress sometimes makes me act inebriated.

Anyway, the surgery went as well as it could have I guess. I asked to see the metal bits I had removed and they were very obliging. I can't say I'm sorry to see it go, there was a lot of metal in there! My anesthetist was not as 'slick' as the last one I'm sorry to report. It didn't hurt exactly (but then I'm kind of a freak) but it did feel like someone was fiddling with my spinal cord which I could compare with repeatedly having your funny bone hit with a tiny hammer. Except you need to stay really still while it's happening. It also takes forever for it's effects to wear off with me, I have no idea why. It does make me feel very relieved I never needed one with either of the girls because I wouldn't have been able to nurse them for hours afterward.

As expected I felt great for the remainder of the first day due to the local anesthetic that hadn't yet worn off. Tuesday was sucky and Wednesday would have been okay except that the day started off with me feeling okay so I was all "Hey, I can limp around without my crutches because I am obviously awesome" and ended in "God Lord, what have I done I am in agony over here!" Today I was on strict orders to stay on my @ss which I think I did particularly well and I and my ankle are feeling much better.

The nights were pretty much as horrible as I had imagined they would be. My darling baby was up several times the first night and it involved a gong show of Peter getting up and getting her out of bed and bringing her to me who had hobbled to the rocking chair. Then later me whacking the corner of the couch with the remote control to wake Peter up (when repeated whispers of his name didn't do the trick) so we could all go back to bed.

The worst part of this whole thing is having to sit back and let everyone else do everything for me/my family. And also having to keep my mouth shut about how it's being done because, duh! you're lucky someone is doing it for you at all. I've been finding it difficult not be cranky when in a lot of pain, sleep deprived and trying to heal with whiny children around me.

Another awesome thing that happened was that my doctor had told me I would only need to book one week off work when I actually need two. So. I had to have our receptionist reschedule a week's worth of appointments for me. Not only that but I am booked up into August so I have no room to have them rescheduled with me so they will need to see another stylist. Under other circumstances I would offer to work extra hours to accommodate them but I think I will be on my ankle enough when I'm back as it is. I have no idea how he made that mistake but I am rather unimpressed. Thanks for putting me back together and all but Geez!

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. My ankle is feeling much better today and I have carried Baby B to bed three times already tonight! (Awesome! The next time she's up she'll be in the playpen for the night.) I might actually be able to enjoy some of this involuntary time off since it looks like I'll be working my butt off for the remainder of the summer!