Feb. 28: Sylvia had her two-week doctor’s appointment on Tuesday. She weighed in at 8 lbs, 10 oz and was 21.25 inches long.
That’s up a pound and an increase of 2.25 inches in two weeks! She is in the 50th percentile for height and head circumference and the 25th percentile for weight. Her pediatrician thinks that she’s pretty cute:)
My friend Janelle brought us a delicious dinner on Tuesday. My mom friends have organized and are taking turns bringing us dinner every Tuesday and Thursday through March. What a wonderful and yummy treat!
Andrew has continued to say enduring things about Sylvia that make me melty. Earlier this week, he turned to me and said, “Mommy, Sylvia is my best friend.” I think something inside me popped. Then this morning, he came to our bed and saw Sylvia all curled up next to me.
He said, “Aaawweee, Mommy, Sylvia is soooo cuuuute!” Followed up by, “Can we touch her widdle nooose?
I’ve posted some photos from the last few days in the gallery.
Not good news about my grandma
Feb. 26: You know, as I typed the title of this post, I realized that I was applying a parenting technique of my mom’s. She made a point of not using the word “bad” in regards to us…even in regards to our behavior. Instead, she would say “not good” or “not appropriate” or some such phrase. The idea is to focus on what you want (good or appropriate behavior) as opposed to pointing out the negative.
Anyway, there’s some negative to report from Grandma’s meeting with the oncologist today. Turns out that her stomach cancer has pretty much blocked her lower stomach, so food isn’t able to make it’s way to her intestines. She was hospitalized again on Sunday. The oncologist said that her tumor isn’t operable, even if she was much younger and more robust, and chemo or radiation would not be effective.
So now, quite suddenly, Grandma is looking at an end-of-life situation. Dad and Aunt Julie are trying to decide whether to move her home with 24 hour nursing care or to move her to the Hospice center in Madison.
When I think of my grandma, I think of a quiet, loving woman who tries to live her life as responsibly as possible. Her religious devotion is deep and really rather impressive. I love making Grandma smile. Best of all is making Grandma laugh. That really makes me feel good partly because it isn’t too easy. The fact that I’ve gotten her laughing hard a couple times is one of my big accomplishments in life:) I love Grandma’s cooking. Her meals are the staple of our holidays, and I fully associate the taste of her cooking with family and love.
My grandpa died in October, and it’s hard to believe that we’re looking at the real possibility that in the near future, I won’t have grandparents living in Monroe anymore. And my poor dad will be planning another funeral.
As Terry said after being at his dad’s memorial service in Oregon last weekend, “Between you and me, I’m all deathed out.” Agreed. In the meantime, I am going to think through what kinds of things I can do to brighten Grandma’s days while she’s still here with us.
These are the days of our lives
Feb. 26: I think Sylvia is starting to look a bit older. I can’t quite pinpoint where the changes are happening, but she doesn’t look as newbornish to me as she did last week. Yesterday was her two-week birthday. She’s currently nestled on my chest, her long fingers gripping a handful of my shirt. I can almost hear her thinking, “Can’t I nurse again while I sleep, Mom?”
She did a cluster-nursing marathon last night, starting about 6 pm and finally falling asleep for a couple hours around 8 am. I really don’t think she stopped nursing for more than about a half-hour at a stretch all night. I think this is the nursing mania that proceeds the 2-3 week growth spurt. Makes for one tired mommy, though!
Fortunately, Andrew was perfectly content letting me sit on the sofa and talking him through his bird book or exclaiming as he jumped off the sofa onto a pillow 53 times.
Sylvia just decided that sleeping on me wasn’t quite what she wanted. She wants, very strongly, to nurse while sleeping. She normally fusses for about 10 seconds before letting out a shriek, but this time there was nor warning. It’s a stunningly loud sound, somewhat reminiscent of a red-tailed hawk. OK, now she’s a happier girl. Good thing I didn’t have anything planned today!
On Sunday, we drove down to Monroe to see my grandma. She was happy to see Sylvia, and she held the little one in the crook of her arm for quite some time. Poor Grandma is so very frail. The skin on her hands felt almost transparent. And from the sounds of it, her recently-diagnosed stomach cancer isn’t giving her much opportunity to eat or drink. As she said, it’s a hard place to be. It was nice to sit with her, though, and to share Andrew and Sylvia with her.
Sunday night, Sylvia and I went to my friend Sara’s house for an Oscar party. I love watching the Oscars. And now I not only have my fashion tank filled but I also have lots of new movies to add to my Netflix cue.
Yesterday was my first day home alone (but just for the morning) with the kiddos. We packed up and went to the Pinney library branch story hour. A good way to spend some time. I took advantage of my at-home day today by baking a couple loaves of whole-wheat bread. It’s a new recipe that I got from one of LuAnn’s friends. So far, I give the dough some big thumbs up:)
Bryan just got home for the afternoon, and I’m going to take Sylvia in for her two-week appointment in a bit here. Have a good day!
What day is it, again?
Feb. 23: I have utterly lost track of what day of the week it is. I haven’t forgotten that it is winter, but that’s only because of the pervasiveness of the snow. Bryan has been off work for the last couple weeks, and our days and nights all blend together. It’s been a good last week here in the Dotzour home, so I guess knowing the date is
just one of those things I’ve decided don’t matter right now.
Bryan heads back to work next week, but he’s only working in the mornings. He should be home in the afternoons, so that should be a nice transition. Bryan’s mom and dad and Melanie and Ben fly into town next Friday, and LuAnn is staying until Tuesday. Then my friend Grace is coming into town on Wednesday, March 5 and staying through the weekend. Then Joe will be home from Bowdoin until March 23. Maretta will be home as well from March 14-23, so I imagine that there will be lots of opportunities to have another adult around.
On Thursday, I did my first trip solo with both kids. It was pretty low-key…I took them to Gathering Waters to have lunch with my co-workers. Vicki arrived the same time I did, so I even had help getting all my stuff in the building. Karen held Sylvia the whole time – and she loved it.
Yesterday I ended up staying in my pajamas all day long, which was mostly nice, but I kind of felt like a human milk supplier/pillow for the littlest one. Sylvia vastly prefers to sleep on a person than in her chair. And in general, I think she deserves whatever makes her happiest. I hope the magazines I got at the library today will help give my brain something to do during the sweet hours spent with the little one.
Today Sylvia had her first restaurant experience. We went to Rocky’s, where Andrew ordered a slice of pizza “with pepperoni and sausage, but no mushrooms.” When did he grow up?
We are planning a trip to Monroe to see Grandma tomorrow morning, and at this point, we’re enjoying a quiet and sunny wintery Saturday. see, I now know the date:) Pictures from the last couple days are in the gallery.
Grandma Babler’s recent diagnosis
Feb. 22: Some unwelcome news has come out of Monroe today. My grandma (my dad’s mom) was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Poor grandma has been through so much these past months. My grandpa died in late October. In December, Grandma’s osteoporosis got the upper hand, and her hip broke. Since then, she’s undergone surgery and been living in a rehabilitation center. She fell again a couple weeks ago, but didn’t seem to break anything.
My dear grandma hasn’t had much to feel hopeful about these days. It’s been a hard winter for her. Dad gets down to see her a couple times each week and is working hard to keep her spirits up and her life in order. In the last couple days, doctors were concerned with some of her bloodwork, so they did further testing. Hence the new finding of cancer.
I’ve got to think that one of the last things my dad needs in his life is more visits with oncologists. Appointments are scheduled next week to follow-up on the CT scan she had today. From there, we’ll determine if surgery is an option. Grandma is already so frail.
We’re going to try to get down to Monroe this weekend to share some baby- and Andrew-love with her.
Shoes?
Feb. 21: When Bryan and I went out to Olbrich the other day, I packed my diaper bag/purse with essentials for the first time. It was quite a mental exercise. Nursing supplies for me, check; diapers for Andrew, check; diapers for Sylvia, check; extra outfit and blanket for Sylvia in case of a diaper blowout, check; crackers and sippy cup for Andrew, check; camera, check; cell phone – charged, check.
Bryan got Andrew bundled up, and he led him out to the car while I got Sylvia in her seat. It wasn’t until I was walking out toward the car that I realized that I still had on my slippers – and no socks.
Oops.
Getting out as a family of four
Feb. 20: There’s a lunar eclipse going on right now. It’s really amazing looking. We showed it to Andrew and told him that people used to think that a dragon was eating the moon. Afterward, he kept asking where the dragon was:)
We’ve had some nice outings this week. On Monday, I had a most incredible massage in the afternoon. I took Sylvia with me, and she got a little fussy a couple times. I had her sleeping on my chest for the second half of the massage, and it turned out to be a really peaceful and centering experience. A little life lesson in how to tend to one’s self as well as one’s family.
Yesterday was my first just-for-fun outing. I put on my contacts and jeans and some makeup and the four of us went to Olbrich Gardens to walk in the conservatory. It felt good to be out in public. My body feels nearly back to normal, well, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but I do feel mostly like myself other than being pretty sleepy.
Today the four of us went to Mad Town Twisters gymnasium where Andrew had an absolute blast running and jumping and climbing. Sylvia slept the whole time we were there. This week is speeding on by.
My friend and co-worker, Pam, had a baby girl on Monday. Mercy Caroline. So Clara is a big sister now too. All these fresh babies.
It’s enough cuteness to make a person turn to ooze.
I stayed up too late last night. I think my previous bedtime of 8:30 or 9 is much more conducive for an awake day than the 9:30/10:30 bedtime. Sylvia is having some longer sleeping stretches (2 1/2, even a 3 hour sometimes), but she also often wakes up every hour to nurse.
She sure is cuddly in the bed, my little sweetie.
I’m going to try to upload some pictures, but I have to re-install programs to do so. Bryan has our computer up and running again, but there’s lots of little things that need tweaking to get them working!
Photos from the last several days are in the gallery.
What Andrew thinks of his new sister
Feb. 20: Andrew thinks that his new little sister is pretty wonderful. When he met her in the hospital, I suggested that he touch her on the nose (Granny wisely had suggested a kiss on the forehead). Today he probably touched Sylvia’s nose 40 times. It’s his little way of checking in. “I want to touch Sylvie’s nose.” Fortunately, she can sleep though a gentle nose-touch. Today he bent down to kiss her forehead and then went back for two or three more kisses. She’s very kissable. And Andrew isn’t a boy who gives kisses too freely.
Yesterday, Andrew was prancing around the house singing to the tune of “Mary had a little lamb” “Where did little Sylvie go, Sylvie go, Sylvie go? Where did little Sylvie go? I want to see her.” And he pronounces “little” “widdle,” so it’s especially enduring.
Before his nap earlier this week, I asked Andrew what he thought he would dream about today. “I’m going to dream about Baby Sylvia,” he said.
And today as we were leaving the house, I asked him who was in our family. “Daddy,” he said, “and Mommy and Andrew and Sylvia.” I think he has the new family member thing figured out. I feel so lucky to have two so amazingly sweet babies.
Naming our baby
Feb. 17: It’s been so much fun these past days to look at little Sylvia and to call her by her name. I’ve been writing her baby announcements, and it feels sort of crazy to write her name over and over. Sylvia. Sylvia. Sylvia. We could have given her any name, but that’s the one we chose. That’s what people will call her for the rest of her life. It’s a big thing! I have no previous context for the name Sylvia, so now I’m creating the association with this new little member of our family.
Joe did a post on his blog with musings about her name: http://platosfootnotes.net/2008/02/13/sylvia/.
I found the name in December when Bryan and I were pouring through The Baby Name Wizard book. They said, “Concentrate hard on this one. Put aside your preconceptions, close your eyes, and really listen to the name. Lovely, isn’t it.” In the 1910s, it was #73 in popularity. These days it is #561…pretty uncommon. I think the nickname Sylvie is really cute. And I like spelling it with a “y” since Bryan is spelled with a “y.”
I think my favorite part of the name is that it means “from the forest.” So there’s a lovely link to nature, and it also happens that Bryan’s maternal grandpa’s name is Forrest. To me, Sylvia makes me think of a quiet forest painted lavender in the moonlight.
According to one of my mom’s name books, “Sylvia is from the Latin silvanus, meaning ‘forest.’ In Roman mythology, Silvanus is the good of the woods and fields. Silvia is variant spelling. In ancient times, Sylvia was a favorite name for a shepherdess.”
When I did some web research on the name, here are some fun things I found:
There was a good discussion on the Baby Name Wizard discussion board about why Sylvia hasn’t become more popular in recent years.: http://thebabynamewizard.ivillage.com/parenting/archives/2007/11/who-is-sylvia.html
Here’s a poem by William Shakespeare to a Sylvia of alternate spelling:
Who is Silvia? What is she?
That all our swains commend her?
Holy, fair, and wise is she;
The heaven such grace did lend her,
That she might admired be.
Is she kind as she is fair?
For beauty lives with kindness:
Love doth to her eyes repair,
To help him of his blindness;
And, being help’d, inhabits there.
Then to Silvia let us sing,
That Silvia is excelling;
She excels each mortal thing
Upon the dull earth dwelling:
To her let us garlands bring.
Wouldn’t you know…
Feb 19: On Sunday afternoon, I was working on a post about Sylvia’s name. I noticed that Windows wanted to do an automatic update, so I told it to go ahead. When I restarted the computer a bit later, all that came up was a blank, black screen telling me that a system file was corrupted and Windows could not start. Fortunately, my computer-brilliant husband took over. I don’t think I am emotional centered enough this week to deal with either the loss of our web domain or with the loss of our computer. Bryan has been able to remove the hard drive from our laptop and back up (what we hope are all) the important files. Now we’re going to wipe the laptop out and reinstall Windows. Geesh!
I’m typing now on our old laptop that sometimes does and sometimes does not allow you to use the “enter” and spacebar buttons. I guess it woke up on the right side of something this morning.
All is well here aside from the computer fiasco:)