Tiny Human Blog: The other blog

I've started writing a little more about tiny human things. They are not for the faint of heart (the tiny humans, or the blog topics).

If you want to check it out- its located here: http://oklahomama.blogspot.com/.

I'll probably write on both blogs occasionally, so if you're missing me it may behoove you to drop by over there and see what incredibly embarrassing story I'm sharing next!

Today, I forgot to wear shoes

I don't wear shoes much. It was one of the things I liked the most about working from home, actually. In the summer I go barefoot, and in the winter I wear fuzzy boots, and in my book that makes life just about perfect. Since its July and I am hanging out at home with the tiny human most of the time, I don't wear shoes, except when we go out on errands or to play at Target because we're bored and it has pretty things. 

Today was an errand day. We had an appointment for the dog to get groomed at 8:00, which wouldn't be so bad except that the place we go is 45 minutes away (I know, you don't have to tell me. I do this to myself. What the heck kind of person drives 45 minutes to get their dog groomed? The kind with a neurotic shih tzu who has people issues.) I got us up, and dressed and fed and dressed again after a diaper blow out, and got the dog's crate in the car, and her leash and the baby carrier and the diaper bag and the bottle I was going to feed the baby after she woke up from (hopefully) napping in the car on the drive there. I even took out the trash, rinsed the can since the bag had leaked, and managed to grab a gatorade for the drive. I was killing it as a mama this morning. 

The drive itself was good. The baby didn't sleep, but she didn't cry, so that's always a win. The country station played good music and no commercials, and the dog didn't run in place in her crate like she does sometimes when she is bored in the car. We got to the groomer at 7:55, giving us just enough time to walk the dog a bit to help her go to the bathroom before we dropped her off. I turned the car off and fumbled around on the floorboards for my shoes, since I sometimes drive barefoot in the summer. 

But I hadn't brought any shoes. 

After gathering everything so meticulously... I had forgotten shoes. SHOES. Are you kidding me? I hadn't felt tired or compromised up until that moment... but maybe I'm a little more exhausted than I think I am. Shoes. I forgot my own shoes. 

Fortunately, my groomer is amazing and happened to come out just as we got there, and upon learning of my footwear predicament said she would take the puppy on her potty break before taking her in. I believe her exact words, once she was done laughing, were 'well, you're officially a mom now.' 

So there you have it. Proof of my motherhood. I have a puppy with a cute hair cut, an adorable kid, a lack of mental fortitude, and slightly sore feet. I'll take it. 

Newborns make you write slow

There's a few funny things about having a baby in the house when it comes to things like writing. First of all, particularly early on, I had a hard time thinking of the word that I was trying to say. There was a lot of me, staring blankly at my computer, then trying to hit up the Thesaurus to see what I had been thinking.

A different, but related, issue I started to have was spelling words they way they sounded. I'd like to say this has passed... but to be truthful I typed 'turnt' instead of 'turned' just last week, so, clearly my mental status is improving.

Another piece of the 'why I'm writing so slowly' puzzle involves a lack of space in my lap. When the tiny human was a bit more tiny, I held her a lot during naps. And since the puppy loves a good nap, she would also join the party. Leaving my lap looking like this:

I did quite a bit of single handed typing during the early months, when I could remember the word I wanted to write and how it was spelled.

These days, I have a different issue. I'm trying to balance running the house, raising the kid, and attempting to redefine myself all at the same time. Writing feels silly, like a luxury, which tells me I'm not taking myself seriously as a writer. I'm working on that- taking part of a nap time each day to write (though at the moment, I'm finding blogging to be much easier than writing on novel number 2). I'm even kicking around the idea of starting a secondary blog for all things tiny-human. But we will see- my ambition may wear off after a few more 'I-know-I-used-to-sleep-but-now-I'm-teething' nights, brought to me by my offspring.




Anyway, for those of you hoping for a writing update, I'm on chapter 10 of the new novel. I've been changing the outline a bit as I go, but I think it is mostly coming along nicely. This is the roughest rough draft I've ever put together, which is hard for me because I want to stop and make it pretty and not leave blanks or notes to myself like 'fill in 4 pages here'. But alas. Sometimes blanks and notes are what keep the writing going, so I'll take it.

Tiny Human Blog: I'm Baaaaaaaaack

Did you miss me? I know, I know. It has been a looooong time since my last post. Long time. Like almost 6 months of a long time.

Allow me to address your questions in order:

Yes! We had the tiny human. She is fantastic and perfect and all the wonderful things. She is 4.5 months old and just a little ball of miracle.

We are doing well! Lots to learn (which changes every day by the way) but we are getting the hang of it. She likes to change the game just as we start to get a handle on things- but that's how we know she's our kid.

Nope... probably not. I probably won't post super regularly. I might... but I might not. I'm enjoying a little more freedom in my life than in the past. Having the shop closed down has allowed me to really engage as a parent and I like that flexibility. I'll post sometimes. Maybe more than sometimes. We will see!

How's that book coming? I am currently waiting on an agent who has requested my full manuscript. I'm trying hard not to geek out about it, but this agent is pretty cool. As in, we would be friends if she didn't live 7 states away cool. I'm working hard not to obsess... though I may be stalking her twitter feed with the ferocity of a very hungry caterpillar.

Why'd you come back? If I'm not planning to post constantly... then what am I doing teasing you with the occasional drive by? I don't know. I was missing writing something other than novel number 2, and as I learn more/drown daily in this new parent stuff, I thought maybe writing about it could help other learners/drowners in the baby world.

So... this is going to be a baby blog now? Make up your MIND woman. I know- this blog has definitely run the gambit of topics. Remember when we started and I was planning my wedding? And totally photo stalking my family (which is why I deactivated the old blog, btw). And then came the Etsy shop, and lots of travel... and then I started talking more business and writing, and then started posting about the tiny human. I really don't know what the blog will be about. I do have some tiny human info that I'm anxious to share with any mamas out there, but I hope to have info about writing to share (cross your fingers, everyone) and just general life and things. Then again... I could also go underground for another 6 months if I see my shadow... so... it may not be an issue.

Tiny Human: 5 Pregnancy Tips

There is a LOT of baby information on the internet. A lot. A lot a lot a lot. And among that information is about 1000 different answers to every question that you want to ask, and that will just leave you feeling even more confused about things than you were to begin with. So here are 5 things that I would want to know, if I did it all from scratch again. These are my opinions only, obviously, not medical opinions.

A couple of procedures involved in pregnancy specifically filled me with a sense of dread and weren't as bad as I expected:

Is the Glucose test as gross as everyone says it is?
Before I had my Glucose test, I read that the drink would make me want to vomit and that I would feel lightheaded and icky for the rest of the day. I found the drink to be sweet, but nothing I couldn't handle, and while I was a little jittery as I waited the hour, I didn't have lasting effects (I stopped and got Chic-Fil-A on the way home to absorb all that sugar). This is just how it was for me- I know that the experience varies a ton from person to person, but take heart! It may not be so bad for you.

Does the Rhogam shot hurt as much as everyone says?
Everyone kept telling me that my Rhogam shot (its a shot they give you if you are a negative blood type to make sure your future pregnancies don't have rejection issues if your first kid has positive blood) would be absolutely horrid. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't pleasant (a needle in the rear really shouldn't be) but on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being, say, having a bikini wax, the shot was like a 2. This may be because I had a fantastic nurse, and also maybe because I was expecting it to be the end of times in regard to pain.

There were also a couple of things that didn't go quite like I expected:

About Ultrasounds:

I somehow didn't realize that the first ultrasound would be done from the inside rather than the outside. It makes sense, the baby is very small when they first show you the little peanut, but I was a little taken aback by that process. Its totally worth it, but it is a little uncomfortable.

When we first heard the baby's heart beat, the nurse talked over it the whole time, telling us some story about a Dr. she used to work with and how she wished he hadn't retired. She got done and pulled the wand away and we were like... wait. Was that our baby? Shouldn't there have been some pomp and circumstance?

At our gender ultrasound, I expected to want to cry or have really strong emotions when we got to see our little baby looking more like a baby than a peanut. My eyes did water (I have a weird problem with my eyes watering while laying down in dental/medical offices) which made the smartest THINK I was crying... but truthfully my emotions were pretty steady. We were obviously excited and she was beautiful, but it is kind of a weird experience to have someone taking a bunch of photos and measurements of your baby without being able to say reassuring things like 'everything looks good' or 'that may look like she has a three legs, but we're actually looking at her lungs'.

Blood Draws:
There was a lot more blood work in the beginning than I expected. If you have a tendency to struggle with giving blood, I would recommend asking your Dr. or the practitioner at the lab how many vials the order indicates before you show up there, having eaten only 1 piece of bread that day. I had an order for 7 vials, and got so woozy that I thought they were going to have to put it back. Eating, asking to lay down during the draw, and keeping my body temperature cool would all have helped with this, had I been smart enough to ask in advance.

Birthing Class:
We took an 8 week, one night per week for 3 hours course, which was a huge time commitment, but we feel like we learned a ton. I definitely would recommend taking a class, and keeping an open attitude about it. The breathing exercises the first night made me feel like an idiot, but by the 8th night I was all about breathing and relaxing and just embracing the weird.

New in the Shop: Wishes for Baby

Nothing quite says "spring" like a bumper crop of babies popping up at church. With all of said babies slowly filling the pews in front of us- I have been attending more than the average number of baby showers as of late. From these showers, I have picked up a few new fun ideas for the shop- including baby wish cards.

New in the Shop: Baby Posters

Guess what I've been up to today? Adding a little bit of baby-ness to the shop. After working on some birth statistic posters for a friend of mine from church, it occurred to me that this time of year might be perfect for finally getting the jump on some of the shop baby ideas I have rolling around in my head. I think my favorite is the narwhal... primarily just because I like narwhals. Check out all 5 here.