MJ, Telenovelas, and The Tale of the Hives...

Today I spent I don't know how many hours watching MTV (but only got to see my favorite video, Thriller, once). I can't believe Michael Jackson is dead. Jonas seems to really like his music, and I found him 'dancing' to some of it.

I did have to take a break from MTV at 2 so I could watch my new favorite tv show- "Valeria" on Univision. Then my next favorite show comes on after that- "Juro que te amo." The best thing about soaps is that you don't need to speak the language to understand what's going on. At night I've been watching "Manana es para siempre." I keep seeing adds for "Betty la fea" (the real Ugly Betty), but it comes on a channel we don't get. Boo. It looks like it's way funnier than the English version.

Yesterday on "Valeria," a chicken ate an engagement ring, which I think should have been physically impossible for the chicken to do. Today Mr. Pink-Argyle-Tie actually proposed to his girlfriend, Miss Crazy-Head-to-Toe-Red-Outfit and then showed her the chicken. Then Fake-Boobs-in-a-Green-Halter-Top came in later and took the chicken home with her. From the chicken sounds she made at it, I think she just wanted it for a pet. I don't think she knows that it has a giant honking diamond inside. Meanwhile, the girl who I think is Valeria is on her honeymoon in New York with Husband. I don't think she wanted to marry him because she wouldn't kiss him at the end of the wedding ceremony yesterday. Today he made her drink champagne and talk on the cell phone to Hunk-on-the-Beach back in Miami. I think Hunk-on-the-Beach is her ex-boyfriend. He was really upset. Valeria didn't want to say anything to him, but Husband had some weird, Vulcan-like, death grip on her shoulder. Then he hit her, and he started crying. She begged him to not feel bad, I think. Then I must have missed something because the next time I saw her, she couldn't find him. Then he walked back into the hotel room shirtless (thank you) and apparently totally drunk. But he may just be pretending to be that drunk to con her into doing something. Sure would help if I understood Spanish.....

Sooooo.....I am really, truly allergic to stress. Not just normal stress, but long-term, so-stressed-I-don't-know-I'm-stressed stress. About five weeks ago, I noticed an itchy bump on my hip. I thought it was just a bug bite. Fast forward to now: I am covered head-to-toe in hives! I am one big itchy mess. I did some soul searching and figured out that breastfeeding, or my version of it, was my biggest source of stress. First I'd always been stressing because Jonas wouldn't latch on correctly, and I blamed myself for it. Then I was always stressing about making sure I got in enough pumpings, that I was pumping at least 30 ounces a day, that I was always home in time to pump, and how many months should I keep pumping anyway......and the whole time I was still feeling guilty for not breastfeeding the traditional way. I was also stressed out because I have the most awesome electric breast pump, the Medela Freestyle, but I've only used it a few times. I just felt more comfy with the manual pump. So I felt guilt over not using the fancy pump (which cost a fancy penny.).

Well, enough! I've quit, or am in the process of quitting, and I refuse to feel guilty. Let me repeat that: I refuse to feel guilty. Especially because Jonas seems to be doing better on formula. He's less gassy. He doesn't need to eat as much or as often. I wish I'd switched him earlier! I'm still having to pump, to wean the girls from milk production. I throw the milk out because of the antihistamines I'm taking aren't good for babies. And to counter balance the drowsy side-effects of the pills, I've been staying hopped up on caffeine, which also isn't good for babies. (I've been able to renew my love affair with Arizon diet green tea with honey. Luckily it forgave me for dropping it like a hot potato when I found I was pregnant because- according to my pregnancy book- the anitoxidants in green tea seriously affect the development on babies' spianl cords and brains. Not good for babies. But oh so good for my taste buds! Yum. Yum.)

He's Sleeping!

I know he's supposed to be sleeping on his back. However, he wants to sleep on his front. And when I'm awake and keeping an ear and an eye on him, I don't think he'll come to any harm. Anyway, he can roll from his back to his side now. Possibly he can roll from his tummy to his side, too.

Since my last entry, I've read 7 or 8 books. Turns out having a baby wasn't the reason I hadn't finished the Nora Roberts book. It's the book itself. Well, not completely. I'd already seen the made-for-tv movie of the book, and I think that killed the suspense. I discovered this when Jonas and I went for a walk to the post office to mail some thank you cards. Walking felt so good, I didn't want to go right back to the house. There's a bookstore on the square that I've always wanted to go to, and I thought, why not? I love it there! You can buy new and used books. (You can also take used books and turn them in for credit towards almost anything in the store.) From there we went to the library. Jonas didn't make a peep while we were in there.

Last Friday, Jonas & I had lunch with Emily N. Then we stopped by the bank to visit my old coworkers. Plus it was Kelly's birthday (three days before mine), and I had promised her that I would come back to celebrate our 30th birthdays. We were there for 3 1/2 hours!

Sunday, Mom and Dad came over to babysit so Jason could take me out on a date. We saw The Hangover (hilarious!), ate dinner at Ginza (mmm...sushi), and got ice cream at Baskin Robbins. We also picked up an ice cream cake for me. Everyone has to have a birthday cake!

Monday, my birthday, we woke at the crack of dawn to take Jonas to his wellness checkup and to get his shots. I almost cried when he got the first shot. His entire head got super red, and he wailed in an inhuman way. Thankfully for me, he recovered quickly. He weighed 12 lbs 7 oz and measured 23 in long.

Gotta go. The little cutie is awake and demanding attention....

That Woman

The other day I lamented to Meli that I've become that woman who only talks about her child...It's not surprising, really, considering that I spend ALL DAY LONG with the wee fellow. I did get out of the house on my own Saturday night. My cousin Katey sang at the Lincoln Jamboree. She was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I am so proud of her. She is an excellent singer, and she's very beautiful, very photegenic. (She's also very smart.) Jason stayed home to watch Jonas, while I enjoyed the evening out with my Aunts Mary Bess and Anna, Uncle Steve, Mom, Dad, Blythe, Detre, Jimmy, the Maldanados, and the Barnhills. (LCHSers- Mr Sprowles was there, too, and he hasn't changed a bit since 1997.)

Today Jonas and I went for my checkup with Dr P. Everything is good. I've lost 35 lbs. (Wait before you get excited.) I've lost 35 of the 50 lbs (!) I gained. And that's not counting the 30 lbs I gained between the miscarriage last spring and this successful pregnancy. My goal is to get back to pre-miscarriage weight by Jonas' first birthday. I'll keep you updated. Because the most important thing in your life is knowing whether or not I can comfortably squeeze back into my fave GAP khakis, I'm sure. I'll tell you right now- I will most likely never fit back into my fave green cabled sweater due to the fact that the girls blew up to Fs. Yeah, they're Fs, as in FREAKING HUGE! (I had the most wonderful dream a few weeks back that I quit breastfeeding and the next day woke up with full, firm, perky Bs. I thought Mom was going to pee in her pants when I told her that dream.)

I noticed something disturbing today. Jonas was fussing when I was watching The View. (I've also become that woman who watches The View and looks forward to it.) Mandy Moore was on, and when she started singing, he quit fussing. He even smiled. Later in the car, he was calm as could be. Then I put on Aerosmith, and he freaked out! How can my child love Mandy Moore and hate Steven Tyler??? I mean, I love Mandy Moore as an actress, but I can't stand her music. I was somewhat distressed by this until I updated my iPod and discovered that Jonas really likes Lady Gaga. So I'll forgive him for his current love-Mandy/hate-Steven attitude. (Don't worry, Barb; surely he'll love Steven & the boys someday.)

Jonas' Journal

Back in 2007, I read in article in Newsweek about a man who kept a daily journal for his son. I think it was for 18 years. Anyway, I really liked that idea so I started keeping a journal for my son. His baby book has sections to record the milestones, like smiling and walking, but there isn't a section for the small things, like "when I started wearing deodorant" or "when I got my first chest hair." No, I never wondered when I got my first chest hair, but I do wish I knew when I started wearing deodorant. I think that's when I stopped being a child.

The whole point of this entry isn't deodorant or hair, it's that whenver I get a nice little chunk of free, quiet time (not often) I find myself writing in Jonas' journal rather than blogging, reading or knitting. I don't recognize myself sometimes. And that's okay. In five, ten, fifteen years, having written in that journal will be inifinitely more important to me than knowing that I ever finished the Nora Roberts book that I started reading BEFORE Jonas was born. (FYI...it has taken over a month for me to read a mere 200 pages. I read the last Harry Potter in about 6 hours. Reading a book for over a month is so not me. OK. So it took me roughly 8 years to get through the FIRST CHAPTER of Gone With the Wind. At least I stuck with it. Don't judge.)