I am happy to report that Elena is over her stomach flu bug. I am also happy to report that the same bug is done being passed around the house. That's right, we all got it.
By Thursday night, it was obvious that I was coming down with the flu. My dear baby was very considerate and slept through most of the night, so I was not up and down with her through my nighttime shift, and was able to get a little sleep.
By noon on Friday, Ray was clearly the next victim. Luckily, we had already made arrangements to visit his parents in Troy for the weekend, and they welcomed us with open arms, despite our germs.
Ray's dad did baby duty all Friday and Saturday night, giving Ray and I two solid nights of sleep, something we have not had since Elena was born. It was heaven!!
Unfortunately, the germs didn't stop their momentum. By Sunday morning, Ray's mom had the bug. This is a tenacious illness, but we are all feeling better now!!
On a lighter note, unless some other crazy thing happens in the interim, we will be homeowners by the end of February. We won the auction for the house we wanted. Yay!!!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
She's In The System
Elena has been initiated. She has joined the ranks of children across the nation who are bound by an unfortunate circumstance. She caught the flu at daycare.
Yes, it's true. I got a call just before 5:00 today to say that she had thrown up. By the time I got to the facility to get her, she had thrown up again (on a teacher.) She threw up a few more times at home and is now sleeping in her chair. She has been banished from daycare until she had a doctors note.
Poor, Kiki. Hang in there baby!!
Yes, it's true. I got a call just before 5:00 today to say that she had thrown up. By the time I got to the facility to get her, she had thrown up again (on a teacher.) She threw up a few more times at home and is now sleeping in her chair. She has been banished from daycare until she had a doctors note.
Poor, Kiki. Hang in there baby!!
So, whatever happened with......
First Day Back At Work/Daycare
My first day back at work was great. There is a ton of stuff to do and it is awesome being back with my work friends.
Elena's first day of daycare went very well. She got a very good report card (curios all day and only fussy when she was hungry or sleepy). I think she had fun and she slept almost straight through the night (to bed at 7:30, up at 2 and 5 for a bottle, and as of this moment, not yet up for the day.)
It wasn't too hard to leave her. Probably partly because the 2 weeks in the hospital trained me up for this, and also because she is so close to work. But by the end of the day, I was certainly looking forward to picking her up.
The House
A continuing saga. Long story short, the bank that owns the house and their agent were not communicating very well. The agent took our offer to the bank, the bank said they had just put the house up for auction. So, we are doing an inspection today, and if all goes well, we will be bidding in the auction for the house. We won't know the outcome until the end of the weekend. I think I jinxed the situation by picking paint colors!!
My first day back at work was great. There is a ton of stuff to do and it is awesome being back with my work friends.
Elena's first day of daycare went very well. She got a very good report card (curios all day and only fussy when she was hungry or sleepy). I think she had fun and she slept almost straight through the night (to bed at 7:30, up at 2 and 5 for a bottle, and as of this moment, not yet up for the day.)
It wasn't too hard to leave her. Probably partly because the 2 weeks in the hospital trained me up for this, and also because she is so close to work. But by the end of the day, I was certainly looking forward to picking her up.
The House
A continuing saga. Long story short, the bank that owns the house and their agent were not communicating very well. The agent took our offer to the bank, the bank said they had just put the house up for auction. So, we are doing an inspection today, and if all goes well, we will be bidding in the auction for the house. We won't know the outcome until the end of the weekend. I think I jinxed the situation by picking paint colors!!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
What was I thinking?
It's simply a bad equation:
Impatient Sarah + Making an offer on a house on Friday + Holiday weekend = Horrible anticipation!!!
Impatient Sarah + Making an offer on a house on Friday + Holiday weekend = Horrible anticipation!!!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Hi Ho, Hi Ho....
...it's off to work we go.
On Tuesday, I return to work (Monday is a holiday.) Elena will be going to daycare. I am excited to go back to work, being that I enjoy my job.
I also look forward to (hopefully) getting Elena into a schedule. I'm thinking that the teachers at the daycare will be a bit more successful in keeping Elena occupied and engaged during the day. I'm afraid that my library of things to do with her during the day is quite limited, so I think that she was bored much of the time, leading to sleep filled days and sleepless nights.
I am interested to see how I will react to leaving Elena at daycare for the first time. I don't think that I will be upset, especially since she will be so close. It's really not like me to get emotional in that type of situation. But time will tell. This IS a totally new situation. Either way, I WILL miss my baby all day long!!
On Tuesday, I return to work (Monday is a holiday.) Elena will be going to daycare. I am excited to go back to work, being that I enjoy my job.
I also look forward to (hopefully) getting Elena into a schedule. I'm thinking that the teachers at the daycare will be a bit more successful in keeping Elena occupied and engaged during the day. I'm afraid that my library of things to do with her during the day is quite limited, so I think that she was bored much of the time, leading to sleep filled days and sleepless nights.
I am interested to see how I will react to leaving Elena at daycare for the first time. I don't think that I will be upset, especially since she will be so close. It's really not like me to get emotional in that type of situation. But time will tell. This IS a totally new situation. Either way, I WILL miss my baby all day long!!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Fingers Crossed
We put an offer in on a house in East Lansing today. Send us good thoughts that it gets accepted!!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Music Picks from the Cradle
Anyone who knows us knows that Elena will be a tech savvy baby. As such, she already has an MP3 playlist for the iPod. This playlist includes several lullaby compilations, as well some silly songs (thanks Garrison Keillor!!)
By far the favorite so far (and Kiki's music pick from the cradle) is the album "Lullabies from the Axis of Evil." She received this as a gift and it has been played MANY times already.
In 2002, President Bush coined the term "Axis of Evil," identifying specific countries as the enemy in the fight on terrorism. Acts such as these do much harm to divide the peoples of the world, to set us all apart as fundamentally different. The producer of this album identified one thing that makes us fundamentally the same the world over. The lullaby. So simple, and used around the globe to soothe and comfort.
This album is a collection of traditional lullabies from artists in these "Axis" countries with translations from a variety of Western artists. The songs are beautiful performed and exquisitely arranged. There are some that are great for a bit of calming dancing, and others that are perfect to listen to as you fall asleep.
This is by no means only an album for babies. Elena and I would recommend it for anyone. Some of our favorite tracks are Lalolalo-Don't Worry My Child (Kulsoom Syed Ghulam & Lila Downs), Stars Are Rising (Sun Ju Lee & Eddi Reader), and Garibe-Watch Over Me (Halla Bassam & Ricki Lee Jones).
(E and J-If you want to borrow, just let me know.)
By far the favorite so far (and Kiki's music pick from the cradle) is the album "Lullabies from the Axis of Evil." She received this as a gift and it has been played MANY times already.
In 2002, President Bush coined the term "Axis of Evil," identifying specific countries as the enemy in the fight on terrorism. Acts such as these do much harm to divide the peoples of the world, to set us all apart as fundamentally different. The producer of this album identified one thing that makes us fundamentally the same the world over. The lullaby. So simple, and used around the globe to soothe and comfort.
This album is a collection of traditional lullabies from artists in these "Axis" countries with translations from a variety of Western artists. The songs are beautiful performed and exquisitely arranged. There are some that are great for a bit of calming dancing, and others that are perfect to listen to as you fall asleep.
This is by no means only an album for babies. Elena and I would recommend it for anyone. Some of our favorite tracks are Lalolalo-Don't Worry My Child (Kulsoom Syed Ghulam & Lila Downs), Stars Are Rising (Sun Ju Lee & Eddi Reader), and Garibe-Watch Over Me (Halla Bassam & Ricki Lee Jones).
(E and J-If you want to borrow, just let me know.)
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Last Trip to Ann Arbor
Yesterday Elena officially had her last appointment in Ann Arbor. Her 1 month surgical follow-up was performed and it was deemed that all future checkups will be conducted with the pediatrician at home. We basically just need to monitor her weight, to see that she continues gaining. She no longer has to take Zantac and she had her first "real" bath today (not a huge hit with the baby).
The trip itself was a challenge. The peds surgery office was a bit backed up, so our 2:40 appointment really began around 4:45. Luckily, we brought a few bottles with us. One we used during our time in the waiting room. The second we used in an emergency pit stop at Aunt Carol's house.
We thought we were going to make it home before feeding Elena, but she had other ideas. She began crying almost as soon as we got on the expressway. Thankfully, Carol lives in Brighton, so we made a quick stop to mix some formula and to feed Elena. We visited with Carol and played with Everett a bit, and then continued on our way.
Very exciting not to have to go back to Ann Arbor and to know that Elena does not have any further restrictions or medications. Good job, my quick healing baby!!
The trip itself was a challenge. The peds surgery office was a bit backed up, so our 2:40 appointment really began around 4:45. Luckily, we brought a few bottles with us. One we used during our time in the waiting room. The second we used in an emergency pit stop at Aunt Carol's house.
We thought we were going to make it home before feeding Elena, but she had other ideas. She began crying almost as soon as we got on the expressway. Thankfully, Carol lives in Brighton, so we made a quick stop to mix some formula and to feed Elena. We visited with Carol and played with Everett a bit, and then continued on our way.
Very exciting not to have to go back to Ann Arbor and to know that Elena does not have any further restrictions or medications. Good job, my quick healing baby!!
Sunday, January 06, 2008
4 Weeks Already!?
As of Friday, Elena is 4 weeks old. She has had a very busy first 4 weeks of life. 2 weeks in the hospital. Christmas with both sides of the family. Ringing in a new year. And sadly, her first cold (RSV without the bronchiolitis).
With so much going on, it has been a bit difficult for her to settle into a schedule. But slowly, as she begins to get over her cold and all the holiday activities draw to an end, we begin to get acclimated to our life together.
Ray is back at work, so Elena and I currently spend our days together. Last week, Aunts Suz and Rae came over two days to help mom and get to know Elena a bit better. It was much appreciated and they really worked their magic with her. She will sleep in her bouncer or even her crib occasionally now!!
Monday brings a visit to Ann Arbor to check in with the surgeon. Hopefully our last trip! I will return to work on January 22nd, so the schedule this Tuesday will include a visit to daycare, just to check things out one last time. Friday will hopefully include a visit from Grandma R.
As things continue to settle down, I'll keep you all updated. Sorry it was so long between posts this time, but I've been busy, as you can imagine!!!
With so much going on, it has been a bit difficult for her to settle into a schedule. But slowly, as she begins to get over her cold and all the holiday activities draw to an end, we begin to get acclimated to our life together.
Ray is back at work, so Elena and I currently spend our days together. Last week, Aunts Suz and Rae came over two days to help mom and get to know Elena a bit better. It was much appreciated and they really worked their magic with her. She will sleep in her bouncer or even her crib occasionally now!!
Monday brings a visit to Ann Arbor to check in with the surgeon. Hopefully our last trip! I will return to work on January 22nd, so the schedule this Tuesday will include a visit to daycare, just to check things out one last time. Friday will hopefully include a visit from Grandma R.
As things continue to settle down, I'll keep you all updated. Sorry it was so long between posts this time, but I've been busy, as you can imagine!!!
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