Inheritance

Have you ever sat down and truly thought about your personality and traits, outside of being a mother? Maybe most women think about this while pregnant but recently, it's been hitting me over the head how June may end up with my, how do I say, difficult personality. She's wildly smart but incredibly stubborn (at 7 months. yeah.) and resourceful. Is karma going to bitch slap me for my teenage years? While thinking about all of these personality traits I began to worry about the physical traits we're passing to her as well. What if she gets hairy like Thomas? Oh god, that could happen, right?! 

What I Hope June Doesn't Get From Thomas and Me:

When I was younger, think ages 2 to 10, I constantly stubbed my big toe to the point that the skin would literally flap back and have to heal over and over. I hated wearing shoes but loved running around and my toes simply got in the way. My big toes were big. My cousins teased me and told me they were bowling ball toes. They had a point. I did eventually grow into my toes and I am unashamed of my bowling ball toes now but I hope June skips that whole shame of her toes part. 

Please note my excessively swollen feet. This was 11 days before I had June.

 

I married a man that is equal parts Greek, Samoan, Mexican and Irish. He is simply stunning to look at and while I hope that June one day looks as exotic as he does, I hope that she evades the hairiness that he seems to have fallen curse to. 
 

That's a lot of hair.

 

I don't see shades of gray. ((I don't mean the book, 50 Shades of Grey. I can physically see the book and then say, no thank you.)) I mean this in a figurative sense. In my mind things are very black and white, right and wrong, yes and no. There is no room for a "maybe" or for someone to play devil's advocate. While I can readily admit this rigidity, I simply can't change it. I've tried. Those shades of gray don't exist. I hope June is more flexible in her thinking. 
 

I am terrible at math. Terrible to the point that I think it's a learning disorder. Numbers have no meaning to me. Again, I've tried. I've been tutored, I've taken classes, but all to no avail. 

 

What I Hope June Gets From Us: 

A curious mind. I love to travel and explore the world. I find new places exhilarating. Travel, June, travel!  

Abby and I in Scotland on 4th of July 2007.

 

 

Thomas and I are performers. I just hope she gets a mix of our creativity and passion for something in the art world. 

Godspell. Not as bad as the production of West Side Story I was in but bad. Very bad.

 

 

I hope June loves her siblings the way Thomas and I love ours. My brother and sister are two of my best friends. I couldn't love, trust and admire two people more than I do my siblings. And I know Thomas admires his 3 sisters more and more every day.  

I know, we're a ridiculously good looking family.

 

 

I want to June to want to learn. Thomas and I are both inquisitive. I must learn something new every day or I get bored. I love reading, I love filling my mind with new facts, I love trivia. I hope June is curious.

I graduated! (Also, that gown hid my 6 month pregnant belly quite well!)

 

I just think this is funny.

Mommy's Time Out

As a stay at home mom days often bleed into one another. Mondays and Tuesdays become Moneusdays and I sometimes forget that Thursday even exists. This is not to say that I don't love spending my days with my darling daughter but adult conversation and a fun hobby can go a long way. 

Before June was even a twinkle in my eye and before Thomas was the man in my heart, I was asked to join an improv group. Not just any improv group, the greatest improv team in the world, Cherry Spitz. I nervously attended one of their practices and simultaneously felt at home and intimidated. I hadn't performed comedy since high school but I felt comfortable enough to let loose and try my best. 

Improv has been a very integral part of my life since that fateful first practice with Cherry Spitz. It was through a friend on the team that I met Thomas. While I took a few years off from the team, I re-joined in January. I was feeling antsy sitting at home all day, every day. I needed a creative outlet and a chance to clear my head alone. 

Every Wednesday I put June down for her afternoon nap, get Pandora going on 90's pop and leisurely drive to Orange to meet with my dear Blaire. We catch up about our significant others, jobs, lives and babies (June and Brownie, of course) on the drive to Downey. There are ten of us on the team and we love to mercilessly make fun of one another. That being said, if an outsider were to take a jab at one of us, we would fiercely defend the wounded partner. We're a funny, weird, mean family. We have at least two shows a month and there's nothing like performing for a live crowd. The nervous energy and giggly spirit take over and it's a whirlwind of laughter. 

We happen to have a show this weekend - April 28th. We're performing at Stages Theater in Fullerton. Only $7 and guess what? YOU CAN BRING BOOZE! WOO HOO! It's a fabulous time for a date night with your lovah or your cheap date. 

What is your outside hobby? How do you get that little respite we all need?

Milestones

You can skip this post if you want as it's just some bragging about my smart Buggie Boo. I mean, I recommend you read it because there's some cool stuff about FOOD! All of our favorite subject!

Baby Center is a pretty good resource for all things baby. I have to steer clear of the discussion boards because people love to troll and it infuriates me. So I keep my blood pressure down and try not to peruse those. 

They have this great chart of different milestones that most kids, half of kids and a few kids can do for each month. I was reading over the list and it only pumped up my baby ego. Here's the run down. 

Child's Age	Mastered Skills (most kids can do)	Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)	Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
7 months	Sits without support Drags objects toward herself	Lunges forward or starts crawling Jabbers or combines syllables Starts to experience stranger anxiety	Waves goodbye Stands while holding onto something Bangs objects together Begins to understand object permanence

June can do everything on this list. She hasn't quite started crawling but she's lunging for sure. And she can scoot herself in a circle - just not forward yet. Her stranger anxiety isn't full blown but she definitely prefers me over pretty much anyone else. (Except for maybe my dad - they have this inexplicable, amazing connection.) She LOVES standing at the table and would rather be there than sitting. 

She's also eating a great variety of foods. We only did purees for about a month and went straight to real food. And man, does she love it. She feeds herself and I can really see her dexterity benefiting from that. So far she hasn't turned down a food that we've given her, such a good eater! If you're curious about what we feed her, here's a quick run down:

• Beans - black, kidney or pinto beans. 
• Broccoli - steamed or boiled.
• Banana - usually cut in half and then into quarters.
• Carrots - steamed or boiled.
• Green Beans - boiled.
• Bell Peppers - orange, yellow or red - steamed or boiled.
• Strawberries - cut into manageable pieces.
• Cottage Cheese - just on her tray, she eats the little curds.
• Shredded Cheese - just on her tray.
• Cauliflower - steamed or boiled.
• Papaya - cut into manageable pieces.
• Mango - cut into manageable pieces.

For the slimier foods (ie banana, papaya, mango) I sometimes roll it in some baby cereal. It makes it easier for her to grasp and the taste isn't too strong. Tonight I'm trying pasta with her and I have a feeling my little chunker will love it. What foods do your kids love? I'm trying to mix things up a little bit but I figure her palate is already more diverse than a lot of babies her age so I try not to stress about it. 

Guys, I really want to hear about your babies and your experiences! Please leave a comment and let me know how YOU'RE doing! Pass the blog on to any friends with kids too.

I mustache you a question.
What a hipster baby.

Seven Months of June

I cannot believe my baby is seven months old today. She's a rolling over machine, loves to stand at the coffee table unassisted and is quite the gourmet foodie. She has changed so much in so little time. I thought I'd share some pictures from each month. I love this girl.

Um, yeah. Giant belly. 39 weeks exactly.

This came out of me!

For some reason I can't find her 4 week stats. Whoops...

We were singing together!

She already looks so different from 2 to 3 months.

Her hair! It's hilarious!

She's such a little lady now.

My happy Buggie.

I weighed her with the very scientific method of my weight plus her minus my weight without her. 

PS please forgive the paint versions of the name and stats. My Phonto app keeps crashing on me. So frustrating!

April Sun

The other day Thomas was looking over my shoulder while I read a number of my favorite blogs. "You need more pictures!" was his only note for my blog. While I agree, and I do take a crap load pictures of June, I just never think that anyone wants to look at a gazillion pictures of my life. But, for fun, here's our day in pictures.

We tried tuna for the first time today!

 "Are you for realz?"

 "Oh, wow, this is pretty good!"

My lunch. I've gone off gluten but every now and then I NEED a sandwich. That's about all I ate of my delicioso turkey, mayo, avocado, and munster cheese sammy.

Grumpy pants when she woke up from her nap.

 June proposing to Henry on our quick afternoon walk.

 June in her summer jammies and her Poppy hair!*

*We call my dad Poppy instead of Grandpa. After my baths when I was little my dad would slick my hair back like June's. It would be completely wacky in the morning or he would braid it very tightly back and it would still be completely wacky. June looks like a slimy 80's business man.

So there is our day. I also saw Dr. Latino this morning for a check up and the good news is that I'm pretty awesome at knowing when I'm ovulating because he could tell that I had just ovulated this weekend and BAM - that's what I had down in my handy iPeriod app. I'm oddly proud of this fact. 

It's the little things in life.

Also, that random fluid in my uterus is gone. He is giving me a few names of infertility specialists to get a few second opinions, if I want. He said most specialists will either not touch me with a 10-foot pole, or want to start every test (including counts for both Thomas and I), or keep us on the same path we're on. I'm pretty confident that the only speed bump right now is going to be the Asherman's so I'll call around but I really like Dr. Latino and trust we're doing the right things. 

PS I seriously cannot get enough of June's face. It's normal to be obsessed with how gorgeous your baby is, right?

 

Internet Fun!

Story:

When I was in 8th grade I LIVED on email. This was the very newest and greatest form of contact. I was allowed to get my own email address, gidget1585@(something).com. I loved surveys that were passed around my 13 year old friends. I gladly filled them all out including the questions: 

What color bra are you wearing: pink! It's my favorite! 

What's your favorite hobby? Making out with my boyfriend, Brian!

I sent that particular survey around after school and when my dad came home from work he had an awfully strange look on his face. Turns out, I had accidentally sent that survey to a 60 year old co-worker of my father. Their awkward exchange consisted of the co-worker printing out the email and telling my dad (with a great lack of eye contact), "I don't think she meant to send this to me." Whoops. I don't think I got in trouble but learned a great lesson in internet safety and how to be more discreet about my love of making out with my boyfriend. 

So now, I have another survey that Suzanne from the fabulous BeBeh Blog posted. Let's play along (in a modified format)! I'll answer her 11 questions and ask 11 more. Post a picture of yourself and then answer the new questions in YOUR blog and let me know, I want to read the answers!

The few moments I was lucid after June's birth.

1. What is your favorite color and has it changed over the years? 

I'm really into pink these days. It's only changed one or two times. I used to love orange and before that was black.

2. How well do you remember your first kiss? Details, please.

  Very well! I was in 8th grade and it was my first boyfriend, Brian Hoffman. We went to see 10 Things I Hate About You and at the very end he leaned over and french kissed me. It was kind of gross but I felt like such a grown up.

3. Where is your favorite vacation spot? 

Ensenada, Mexico or Palm Springs, CA. Both for different reasons.

4. How many siblings do you have and are they older or younger? 

I have a wonderful younger sister, Emily and younger brother, Ian. I am 5 and 7 years older but as we've gotten older, we've become very close.

5. What are the baby names you used to LOVE but haven’t/wouldn’t ever use? 

I loved the name Miranda when I was younger. I also still love the names Piper, Mercy and Trace.

6. What was your first car? 

1991 Honda Accord. Loved that little car!

7. How do you feel about trivia games? 

I will ALWAYS win them. I have more useless knowledge than anyone I know.

8. What is the worst job you’ve ever had? 

I was an overnight nanny for some very, very rich parents in Laguna Beach. They would come home at 4am, wake the baby up then let me put him back to sleep. He was sick all the time because they never let him sleep. It was so sad to witness. Then one morning I woke up with the baby and the dad told me to make him (the father) pancakes. Um...no.

9. What movie do you watch every time it’s on TV (even though you probably own it)? Any Christopher Guest movie. Especially Best In Show.

10. Do you collect anything? 

I guess maybe journals/notebooks. I have a ton that are half filled with thoughts and random things. 

11. What color is your house and would you change it if you could? 

Well, we live with my parents in their gorgeous yellow house. I love it. 

Now you answer MY 11 questions.

1. What was your dream job as a kid/teen?

2. Have you ever played a sport?

3. What's your favorite guilty pleasure website?

4. If you could only drink one beverage for the rest of forever, what would it be?

5. If you could change your name (or your child's name, I know some people regret their choice), what would you change it to?

6. What is your least favorite household chore?

7. What was your favorite toy as a child?

8. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

9. Siblings, ages, names?

10. What has been your favorite age to be, so far?

11. What is your favorite TV show? (current or not)

Now go answer them either on your blog or in the comments of my blog! Please play with me!

Survival

I survived my jaunt to Arizona without my baby! It was a very long five days that I nursed my dearest Abby back to health. I watched a lot of interesting documentaries, ate some delicious Fruity Pebble frozen yogurt, gorged on gluten and slept for more than 4 hours in a row (not by much, but I did!). I FaceTimed with my Junie on Wednesday but worried that I would confuse her. She was adorable. She reached for the phone and tried to kiss me through it. I swear she she said, "mama" while we were talking.

We're feeling the repercussions of my absence though. She cries a lot more when I leave the room than before. She wants to be held a lot more than before. She's still her adorable, funny, smart self but seems a little more anxious. I'm chalking this up to me being going and also, I think she's going to get her bottom two teeth ANYDAYNOW. I'm doing my best to accommodate her and hold her as much as I can. 

I wanted to say thank you to everyone that has commented, e-mailed me, Facebook messaged me about trying to conceive. It is awesome to hear everyone's experience. The great news is, none of you have had extensive problems conceiving! The average was 3-4 months and quite a few "accidents!" 

I also feel like I should revise my last blog about how surprised we were when Junie came along. I am an avid/compulsive tracker when it comes to my body. I have tracked my period for over 5 years and had been using the iPeriod app, I was checking my ovulation and basal temps. So in all honesty, we should not have been that surprised. I figured that I wouldn't get pregnant because we weren't "trying." We had used spermicide which apparently is not a highly effective method alone. So I suppose I know the hows of getting pregnant. I'm now curious about the whens. Does anyone have any stories of what day in their cycle they tried? I promise, soon enough I'll be done asking for weird, awkward information. But for now, hang in there with me!

Hypochondria

There are very few things worse for a hypochondriac than to actually have an illness, disease, syndrome, disorder, etc and double that worseness if the malady is rare. 

I am a very self-aware hypochondriac. I remember sitting on the landing between the master bedroom and the dining room at my grandparent's house reading their medical dictionary. (Who owns those, anyway? I wonder where that went...) I loved to use medical terms and exclaim, "My spleen hurts!" 

When I was pregnant with June I was very careful to explain to Dr. Man that I erred on the side of paranoia when it came to my health. I always armed myself with a notebook full of questions for every visit. He was incredibly patient and explained his answers with full medical terminology and balanced with the gentle reassurance I needed. Thomas was surprised with how low-key I was and how great I felt most days. I have to say, I impressed myself too. 

I officially have Asherman's Syndrome. Basically, my post-pregnancy, post-d&c uterus has scarred itself shut; instead of healing in a healthy manner, it just scarred onto itself. I have about 75% of my uterus surface area that is "healthy" and viable. The remaining 25% is shut. Gone. Unavailable. 

This is a problem for a few reasons:

At the moment, I have fluid in my uterus from only God knows what. Even Dr. Latino has no clue what it's from. However, we do know that it cannot come out. It could be stuck in that scar tissue. It could be that the bottom of my uterus is too scarred for it to be released.

For the future this is a problem because when we choose to get pregnant, there is a limited amount of surface area for the embryo to implant. This raises the risk of miscarriage. This raises my anxiety. Dr. Latino has taken me off estrogen and told us that our new plan is "hands off." His thinking is that getting pregnant right now may be the best thing for my body. It may open my uterus and give it time to heal. Is this ideal for us? No. Do we desperately want another baby even if it's RIGHTTHISMINUTE? Yes.

Side note: It's so incredibly odd for me to say, "we're (thinking of) trying for baby #2!" Why? Well because that basically just means, "we're having a lot of sex!" Think about it. It's just a declaration of a lot of unprotected sex. 

So I guess to sum up my health right now I'd say that it's problematic. If we can get pregnant, it will be considered high risk from day one. I will more than likely need to be on hormones to assist the embryo with growth and development. I would love to hear from friends and readers if anyone has ever had any sort of reproductive issues. I truly accidentally got pregnant with June and so this whole thing is so foreign to me. How did you decide to "try" to have a baby? Did you check your ovulation? Was it like the movies where you rushed home because you were ovulating? If you don't feel comfortable with leaving a comment here, please email me! 

amber.losey@gmail.com

I NEED this plush toy. Please, someone, buy it for me. Seriously. www.iheartguts.com/uterus.