Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Did They Not Remember Austin's Cornhusk Dress?

Today's Wednesday, PR viewers. Are you ready for your next challenge? Pick a winner for tonight's episode, and post your guess here or on our Facebook page.

Last night, after Shef's soccer game, I carried the following items 400 yards uphill to my car in one trip: the diaper bag, the bucket car seat (with the 15-pound baby inside), the cooler filled with leftover soccer treats (it was my night to bring), and Shef's booster seat.

If I can do that, surely I can guess one little tiny winner. Daniel it is.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Suede F#*$in' Rocked It!

A couple of weeks ago, I ran into my doula, whom I adore, at a coffee shop. She admired the baby and then mentioned that she was facilitating birth story night at an upcoming meeting of the Childbirth Collective. Would I want to come and talk about Mac's birth? she wondered.

Wouldn't it be too depressing for the expectant moms? I asked.

"No," she said, "It was a wonderful birth, and besides, people need to understand the reality of VBAC."

I thought about it overnight, and then I agreed to go. I imagined it would be good for me to tell the story from start to finish. Maybe process it a little.

So Mac and I went, and there were four other moms at the meeting who'd agreed to speak.

The first mom had an idyllic water birth. "Labor wasn't that bad!" she said. "It never occurred to me to ask for drugs!"

The second mom also had an idyllic water birth. "They gave him to me, and it was amazing!" she said.

The third mom had a mostly-idyllic water birth. "I did two pushes, and her head was out!"

The fourth mom had a three-hour labor, and because her hospital doesn't allow water birth, she got out of the tub to push once or twice before her boy was born. "It can go fast, even the first time!" she reminded us.

Then, the group erupted into spontaneous conversation about how to boost your chances of having an unmedicated birth.

"I'm only listening to positive stories," said one expectant mom, bouncing on an exercise ball. "I don't want to hear anyone's scary experience. I think it's bad for the psyche." People nodded sagely.

"So true," someone murmured.

And then my doula invited me to start my story. My pitocin induction/vacuum-assisted/failed VBAC saga.

"Okay," I said, already sweaty and red in the face. "So, because my first baby was born my emergency c-section with general anesthesia, my #1 goal for this labor was to remain conscious."

When I was finished, one of the doulas called me a Birth Warrior, which was nice. But that positive-story lady didn't really say anything at all.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Viewers, This Is A Competition For You, As Well

It's Wednesday, which means it's time to cast your votes for the next three auf in the PR Challenge.

I'm picking Stella, the rocker chick who used the trash bags last week; Blayne, the tanning addict; and Emily. She made that weird dress with the sticky-up blue collar, and I think she might be boring.

Speaking of boring, is anyone sharing my lack of enthusiasm for Season Five? Maybe tonight will be more electrifying? We can only hope.

Post your guesses below OR visit the PR Challege group on Facebook. I think I'm more excited about the possibilities of Facebook than I am about the show. Here's what you do: Become my friend on Facebook. If you want to be my friend, but you don't know my full name, then email me at thesavvymomblog AT gmail DOT com. Then, on my profile, you can see the group "PR Challenge." Join it! Come on!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Once We Know That We Are, We're All Stars

Dan and I are embarking on a new budgeting plan now that we're becoming a one-income family. The plan includes a weekly discretionary spending allowance for each of us. This week, though, we don't get any allowance because of the money sucking endeavor known as Having a Baby.

They charge for that. Did you know? They even charge for anesthesia that you weren't planning on using.

So, I know how this is going to sound, but clearly the major problem this week is that we have no alcoholic beverages in the house. No gin and tonics. No glasses of wine. No relief from the hours between 6pm to 10pm. Only intermittent screaming. And NO ALCOHOL.

The prospect is bleak.

Luckily, Dan had a brainstorm. "I know!" he said, looking smug. "I'm cashing in my change." He has a giant canister on his nightstand filled to the brim with coins he's emptied from his pockets over the last five-ish years.

"Awesome!" I said, thrilled with this idea. "It's half mine!"

He looked dumbfounded. "No, it's not," he insisted. "It's mine. I saved it."

"That change comes from dollars that you withdrew from our joint account," I pointed out. "It's half mine."

"But you spent yours."

"I use my change, and therefore, I withdraw less cash from the ATM. Your change is half mine."

I won this one, ladies and gentlemen. I'll be purchasing some cheap-ass boxed chardonnay for my drinking pleasure, and I won't be sharing.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Don't Mess With the Flow, No No

"You haven't updated your blog or your twitters or anything," said my father-in-law, clearly exasperated. "You're completely worthless."

I know.

What happened was I discovered Facebook, and I can't stay off of it. I think I want to move to Facebook.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

5 Weeks Old. This is All He Does.

Here's a little video of Mac making sounds. I took it yesterday. The kid just starting smiling on Monday, but he doesn't really smile in this video.


Untitled from Savvy Mom on Vimeo.

You can hear me talking to him in the background, and I think I sound pretty lame.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The Tra La La Zone

So, despite a total lack of promotion by Bravo, it appears that Project Runway Season Five premiers tomorrow night.

I'm already really busy on Wednesday nights watching my third or fourth favorite reality show, So You Think You Can Dance. It'll be tough, but I will still make time for Mr. Gunn and company.

And will there be a challenge? YES THERE WILL! YES THERE WILL! HAHAHAHAHA.

Ahem.

Anyway, there will probably also be a fabulous prize for winning the PR Challenge. And don't forget, our reigning champ, my darling sister, is overseas, so it's anybody's game. Let's all watch tomorrow, and then we can guess the next three auf'd designers.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Was It Sultry? YES IT WAS!

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that Mac was pretty fussy. Because Shef was lactose intolerant as a baby, I came to the conclusion that perhaps Mac was sensitive to milk, as well. I decided to remove all dairy from my diet for seven days and see what happened, and what happened was that he seemed less fussy.

But now he seems more fussy than he ever has been, so I'm second-guessing my dairy conclusion. Foregoing dairy has not eliminated any fussy times, especially not the fussy time that begins around six p.m. and continues until ten.

I think I'm going to begin eating foods containing dairy again and see what happens. I love dairy.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

On the Hot Tamale Train

The baby is just about a month old. The days have mostly been a blur, to tell you the truth.

Two weeks ago, I went to the OB's office to have the incision inspected. While I was there, I asked if bladder irritation was a common side effect of a cesarean. After a few follow-up questions, Dr. F. handily diagnosed my problem as Forgetting To Go.

So, that cleared that up.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Unit, Corps, God, Country.

Everyone knows about Dan’s admiration for Padma Lakshmi, host of Top Chef. He says he’s not as attracted to Giada De Laurentiis of the Food Network’s Everyday Italian even though Giada has long hair, a toothy smile, expressive hand gestures, and ample cleavage.



Shef, on the other hand, seems to really admire Giada’s many pleasing attributes. “Is that Giada?” he asked me while I watched the opening of her show the other night.

“Yeah,” I said.

“And is that Giada?” he asked, referring to a clip of the chef cheerily holding up a live crustacean against airy background music.

“Yes,” I said.

“And is that also Giada?” he wondered, as she toasted some friends with some delicious Italian wine.

“Um hmmm,” I said.

“And is that her?” he pointed at Giada laughing, throwing her head back and tossing her hair.

“They’re all her,” I confirmed.

Shef stared at the screen for a few more seconds. “She’s really nice, Mom,” he said.

“She does seem nice,” I agreed.

“She’s way better than you,” he continued.

Humph.

“Way better than me at WHAT?” I demanded.

“She’s a way better cooker than you, Mom,” he declared, quite sure of himself.

I suppose there’s no denying it.