iohelix

When Skye was born, one of the first things the main nurse that was in the room with us during the C-section had us do, was try to get in some skin-to-skin time as soon as possible.  For normal people, this might have been in a few minutes when they had finished stitching up my wife, and had wheeled her back into her room, possibly after she had regained a modicum of consciousness—but not this nurse, she wanted it now.  Read the rest of this entry »

it was fun while it lasted…

note to self: although this is not a super invasive surgery, it’s still surgery. never underestimate the knife!

What a birthday!

It started off like any other day and I went to finally check my work email around 11:30.  The agenda for the annual CA meetings was there from Friday which reminded me I needed to start preparing for my big presentation tomorrow.  I checked the agenda for the meetings and noticed that my name wasn’t on the list for tomorrow.  I got a terrible feeling in my gut.  I checked the schedule for today and saw that I was supposed to present at 2:00…  TODAY!…  In 2 1/2 hours!… Holy crap.
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Yikes! Another year gone by, quicker than the last!  With Skye here, time is relentless, and is cruising by at warp speed.  That reminds me how much I miss any new Star Trek TV and movies.  The new movie will be awesome, I’m sure, but it won’t be the same without Data and that cast.  :(

Ha! Wow, anyways, yeah, the big 3-2!  Well my 30th bday was a little rough emotionally, but what a difference 2 years makes.  My life is full, and I can sincerely think of nothing I want, but continued good health for my family and friends.  Maybe that’s why I am taking on Europe.  I’m finally at a place where I can ask the universe, what else does this big world offer, now that I have it all?  A strange little country on the edge of the world?  OK, we’ll try that.

Here’s to the next two years being as full as the last!

i don’t know where she got it from, but apparently my little girl likes to put guacamole in her diaper.

chunky dark green guacamole.

So my menses finally returned, after almost a year and a half reprieve.  It’s just as fun as I remember.  Skye is just over 5 months and I stopped pumping a week or two ago, so it makes sense.  It also makes me think back to the last time I had it, and ultimately back to when we first started trying to conceive.  The time it takes to think about this, and the little memory flashes that go with it, do not do the length of time justice.  It was 3 years ago, on our honeymoon in Hawaii. I remember we were driving up a windy road to a black sand beach and I was a little nauseous, thinking, This is it!  I was so extremely ignorant of the womanly processes, but also very eager to have a baby, that I actually thought I could be pregnant on the honeymoon, from the honeymoon.  I was quickly educated over the next few months as we bought a thermometer, cycle calender, and the like.  All that is left of that time is the agony of getting my menses month after month, endless waiting for everything, and thinking that it would never, ever happen.  Well, that and the Beautiful, Perfect Baby Girl we were blessed with.  I hate to think that this precious time with her right now will one day flash before my eyes in a matter of milliseconds.

Over labor day weekend, we went up the Unitah’s for an overnight camping outing.  I had no idea what to expect with a 5-month old, and I still have mixed feelings about it.  It was really nice to get up there, be around camp fire and dirt, ride the 4-wheelers, hang out with the family, and do the outdoorsy thing.  My parents recently bought a used camper, which is the only reason we even considered going.  It was very nice to have the indoors to go to when it got too buggy, too cold, or too smokey.  I’m pretty sure Skye had a great time, since she loves being outside.

However, she had two stressed out parents once the sun went down.  First of all, at our house, we have a constant glow of nightlights in every room we use past midnight.  In the camper, it was black.  Pitch black.  Skye co-slept with me, but I haven’t done this since she was born and I couldn’t see her at all.  Nothing.  Not even her silhouette.  I could not sleep all night in fear that I was mashing a pillow or blanket in her face.  Benjam recently read a SIDS article and was kind enough to cite his concerns about the camping situation.  So then I had to keep putting, well finding first with my hand in the dark, my hand on her stomach to make sure she was breathing.  Usually my hand would find her nose first, then her freezing hands and then finally her slightly pulsing belly.  She actually slept really well, only stirring a few times.  I had the bottle of water and formula ready in hand for the exact moment she needed it, so I wouldn’t’ disturb the rest of the camper.  At least she got some sleep, because I sure know I didn’t.  My eyes were burning and stinging with fatigue by the time the sun finally rose.

I think we’ll wait a little longer before trying to tackle her second outdoor adventure.  Or at least find battery operated nightlights.

being a web developer, i try to keep up with what’s going on in the browser realm of the interwebs. today saw the release of the new Google browser: Chrome.  a new browser release is nothing new, but the fact that Google has, for quite some time, been the main ‘internet’ company, providing everything from search engine and page cache, to email, web documents, and calendar, all online, makes this browser release something to look at.

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