daddy day care

Yesterday I interviewed for a great job that would pay significantly more than what Cory is making at DCWV. If I get the job, we are considering having Cory stay home with the Dot. This would be great for him since it would give him all the time he needs to get his wedding film business off the ground.
I wouldn't start until nine every morning and so I would have a good amount of time with the baby before I leave. What I'm most concerned about is how to continue breastfeeding. I hope they won't mind me going to the bathroom for 10 minutes every three or four hours.
Also, I don't want Cory to expose Dot to too much Halo 2.

nader nod

So despite my aforementioned apathy towards everything politics, I went down to UVSC last night to hear Ralph Nader speak at the BYU alternative commencement. The speakers were great and for some must have been deeply inspiring. I, however, always come away from such speeches a little more discouraged. Hearing endlessly the problems with our government, our politicians, our society and our environment gets a little overwhelming after awhile. I like the suggestions they make but feel that with so few people listening, no real change will ever be made.
But this time, with Dotty in mind, I decided to go with the goal of taking away one thing that I can do to affect change. Seeing as I can't even vote in this country, my impact will have to be elsewhere. Ralph talked about a lot of things, but he talked a lot about the widening gap between fat big business and the poor working class. I decided that one change I can make today is to buy all of dotty's dressing things thrift or go handmade from sites like etsy.

We'll see how long it will last.

I really wish I had brought along a pen since there were so many things I wanted to remember. It also made me sad that I had left his book in a box in California since it would have been nice to get it signed. Isn't this a great book to leave out on a side table? Its really smart too. Great for mother's day.

Better than voting for American Idol

My favorite show while pregnant was Runway Moms on the Discovery Health Channel and my favorite featured mom was Kristy Glass. She's a finalist to be a host of a cool new show. Vote for her here.
It won't make you feel bad about yourself like voting for American Idol does.

Apolitical

Today is Cheney's visit to BYU. Everybody is divided. I hear my mother in law and her friends talk about how disrespectful it is. I hear my friends and other in-laws talk about how awful it is. And sometimes when they talk, I talk. I'll say things that maybe I'm thinking at the moment. But I find myself really not thinking or wanting to talk about it all.
I have never been very political. I come from a very socialist canadian family. My mother voting NDP every election which is about as left wing you can get in Canada without going for the yogic flyer party. I've married into a very conservative family. My father in law listening to Bill O'Reilly every day.
None of this bothers me or affects me. I don't know why.
I do hate the war. I hate hearing about new babies who will never see their dad. Or about people who do come home from the war with ptsd and don't get the help they need. I want the war to end or to have never begun or for Saddam to never have been so terrible. But I can't get myself to feel as sad about Cheney coming to visit BYU.
Maybe its because I never cared or went to my own graduation. Maybe its because I'm not American and can't vote and don't feel attached that way. Maybe its just because I'm shallow. I hope not.
I have a dot that needs a better world someday. Maybe I'll ask her what I should do. Look how wise she is, you can tell she is thinking about this today.

sleepy time

Before Easter Dotty was starting to sleep through the night. Then we got a nasty flu bug and we just slept all the time for two straight days. After the flu came and went, the night sleeping stopped. At first I thought, we are well again, sleep shall return. This didn't happen. I began to credit her prior night sleeping to her cousin William being in the house. He is a great sleeper. Maybe babies sleep cycles are like other cycles...they just match up after awhile. Well with William out of the house and back in California I had to try something else. And it worked. ErbaOrganics lavender oil and lotion has put the bubby right to sleep the last four nights in a row. She now sleeps 9pm to 5am. It smells great and has nothing scary in it. Its great for after baths like these

birth day

I find that I never get tired of reading others' birth stories. So I thought I'd post about mine and then hopefully get some juicy ones in the comments.
Now apparently mine was pretty easy. The hardest part about my labor was that it didn't come. My due date was jan 7th so my mom and anne flew out on the 6th with plans to stay until the 15th. After my appointment on the 11th my doctor said that I couldn't be induced until that monday (the day my mom had to leave). This was heartbreaking and horribly stressful. But the good news was that I needed to go to the hospital on friday for some monitoring since I was overdue. To check on my fluids. When I finally got admitted and they ran some tests, things looked okay but they decided to keep me anyway and just induce me right then. Hallelujia!


They start inducing me with some cervical gel around 8pm with plans to start pitocin around midnight. By midnight I was so advanced that I ended up not needing the pictocin but I did need an epidural. The nurse was reluctant since she didn't want the epidural to stall my labor. Little did she know I was already transitioning, I was just a little too quiet about things. My contraction monitor had fallen off unknowingly and so she couldn't tell that they were intense and two minutes apart. She suggested that I wait a couple of hours for the epidural but I didn't want to do that. So they gave me the epidural and in a coupld hours I fell asleep. Somewhere while sleeping they gave me some oxygen since the baby was a little distressed. Then at 5am I woke up and could feel her coming out. She was. I woke up Cory who get woozy and borrowed my oxygen mask. Then 40 minutes later the baby came. I said "I like her a lot" the nurses laughed. I asked if I tore and the doctor just said "look at your baby." meaning you delivered a heffer of course you tore. I said she looked like Cory and Cory said she looked like me and the doctor said we were crazy since we look exactly the same how can we tell? I asked if I should try and feed her and they said why not? She started eating right away.

I miss that day. It was so fun and then we just got to hang out together at the hospital for a couple of days. We hang out these days too, but it just will never be that way again. Blissful baby days. I love it.
I'd love to hear all your stories. Even if I've already heard them.

diaper lily

this is what dotty's diapers smell like.

bathtime with ella

this is pretty cute

x-ray day

We are now moved up to Utah. Dotty was great on the drive up. She slept the whole time and still slept pretty good at night. We couldn't leave until last wednesday because Dotty had an important appointment at the hospital to check her urinary system. The took x-rays to see if one of her valves was working properly. It wasn't. She has a grade 2 reflux which means some of her pee is shooting up and into her kidneys. They said most babies outgrow this within the year so in the meantime she'll stay on her antibiotics and we'll do another x-ray when she's bigger. But she was such a good baby at the hospital. Didn't even cry once. I think it was too exciting and interesting to cry. Here are the pictures