Bye Bye Bushie, Hello Barack

2 Months Old!

I can't believe how quickly the 2 months flew by! Yet at the same time it feels like he's been a part of our lives forever.

We're all doing splendidly well. The little guy is such a good baby. He's very happy and laid back, and I can't get over how cute he is. I LOVE being a mother! And I'm so happy the Hub is an excellent father and very involved. He came to every single prenatal appointment with me, and so far has gone to every pediatric appointment as well.

--Flying over Daddy

We have one tomorrow morning and I'm curious to see how much Thomas has grown. Earlier this week he had a growth spurt and was feeding like crazy and seemed to not sleep as much as normal, though he's still giving me 4-5 hour stretches at night; usually from 1-2am to 5-6-7am.

Today I tried to put him in an outfit he was wearing on December 22nd when Elizabeth and Joanna came to visit and he can barely fit into it. We had to retire one shirt yesterday that doesn't fit him anymore. Good thing it's so much fun shopping for clothes for him and I have a friend who works at Gap and showers him with Baby Gap clothes every time she sees him! The Hub also found some really cute Baby Gap ones for him around Christmas time, and we've gotten good finds at Old Navy. I love dressing him in cute outfits; it's kind of like having a doll again =) and I do enjoy fashion.

Moon Dance

It's a marvelous night for a moon dance...

My astronomy class at BU was pretty cool and furthered my interest in the subject. It's hard living in cities and trying to stargaze, but the high powered telescope on the roof of the CAS building along with the IMAX theater at the Museum of Science made learning easier and much more fun than any text book. So if you get a chance this evening peek your head at the moon.


Saturday Night Special: Biggest Full Moon of 2009

Robert Roy Britt
Editorial Director SPACE.com
space.com – Fri Jan 9, 12:56 pm ET

If skies are clear Saturday, go out at sunset and look for the giant moon rising in the east. It will be the biggest and brightest one of 2009, sure to wow even seasoned observers.

Earth, the moon and the sun are all bound together by gravity, which keeps us going around the sun and keeps the moon going around us as it goes through phases. The moon makes a trip around Earth every 29.5 days.

But the orbit is not a perfect circle. One portion is about 31,000 miles (50,000 km) closer to our planet than the farthest part, so the moon's apparent size in the sky changes. Saturday night (Jan. 10) the moon will be at perigee, the closest point to us on this orbit.

It will appear about 14 percent bigger in our sky and 30 percent brighter than some other full moons during 2009, according to NASA. (A similar setup occurred in December, making that month's full moon the largest of 2008.)

High tides

Tides will be higher, too. Earth's oceans are pulled by the gravity of the moon and the sun. So when the moon is closer, tides are pulled higher. Scientists call these perigean tides, because they occur when the moon is at or near perigee. (The farthest point on the lunar orbit is called apogee.)

This month's full moon is known as the Wolf Moon from Native American folklore. The full moon's of each month are named. January's is also known as the Old Moon and the Snow Moon.

A full moon rises right around sunset, no matter where you are. That's because of the celestial mechanics that produce a full moon: The moon and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth, so that sunlight hits the full face of the moon and bounces back to our eyes.

At moonrise, the moon will appear even larger than it will later in the night when it's higher in the sky. This is an illusion that scientists can't fully explain. Some think it has to do with our perception of things on the horizon vs. stuff overhead.

Try this trick, though: Using a pencil eraser or similar object held at arm's length, gauge the size of the moon when it's near the horizon and again later when it's higher up and seems smaller. You'll see that when compared to a fixed object, the moon will be the same size in both cases.

More lunacy

If you have other plans for Saturday night, take heart: You can see all this on each night surrounding the full moon, too, because the moon will be nearly full, rising earlier Friday night and later Sunday night.

Interestingly, because of the mechanics of all this, the moon is never truly 100 percent full. For that to happen, all three objects have to be in a perfect line, and when that rare circumstance occurs, there is a total eclipse of the moon.

A departing fact: The moon is moving away as you read this, by about 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) a year. Eventually this drift will force the moon to take 47 days to circle our world.

Fire Destroys Fenway Restaurants

I was sad to see this on the news yesterday. These restaurants were good and nicely tucked away behind Fenway Park. They were such a nice alternative to all the chain options that abound. My friend JiYeon is the one who first introduced me to them years ago when we first met Woojin and they weren't as crowded since it was off the beaten path. My favorites were Rod-Dee and the Taqueria. Here's hoping they rebuild.

Fire Destroys Fenway Restaurants
BOSTON

An early morning fire in Boston's Fenway neighborhood destroyed a block of restaurants and forced dozens of people out into the cold Tuesday.

FAST MOVING FIRE

The fire broke out inside Thornton's Fenway Grill at the corner of Peterborough and Kilmarnock Streets around 2 a.m.

It quickly spread to the ceiling and then throughout the block, gutting five other restaurants and a dry cleaner.

"When we first got in there, we thought we had the fire contained in the first building," Robert Dunderdell of the Boston Fire Department said. "But there were no firewalls between the businesses, and it had raced across the building."

DOZENS EVACUATED

About 100 families were forced to evacuate their homes in the neighborhood because of the smoke, heat, and carbon monoxide danger generated by the four-alarm fire.

100 firefighters were called in and they struggled with the icy conditions.

Two of them were hurt when they slipped and fell. No one else was hurt.

CEILING COLLAPSED

Firefighters were forced to pull back at one point because an air conditioning unit crashed through the ceiling of one of the businesses.

Damage is estimated at $5 million.

There's no word yet on how the fire started.

The restaurants destroyed are:

1. Thornton's Fenway Grill
2. Sorento's Italian Gourmet
3. Umi Japanese Restaurant
4. Greek Isles
5. Rod-Dee Thai Cuisine II
6. El Pelon Taqueria

The Mom Song

To All the Moms Out There...

So much ahead...
=)

Happy New Year!

2008 has been a wonderful year and we wish everyone a happy and healthy 2009!
Hopefully little man will give me more time to post about him on line, but for now a quick pic and our best wishes to you and yours!

-Mad Scientist Hair Style

Merry Christmas to All

and to all a good night.
Until Thomas deems otherwise...

1 Month Old

Thomas turned one month old last Thursday and I can't believe how it just flew by! It certainly didn't help being in the hospital for a week, but I'm so glad he is doing much better! He had his one month pediatrician appointment and he now weighs a healthy 9 lbs 13 oz and is 22 inches. This little guy is an eating machine so he really keeps me busy. He is starting to sleep for 3-4 hour stretches at night which has been pretty nice, but he has a hard time falling asleep in his bassinet usually from 12:30am to 3 or 3:30am depending. His schedule does tend to vary, but one thing I've noticed is that when Daddy comes home from work he decides it would be great to sleep for 4 hours, while he stays awake all day for Mommy. Mommy will try to remedy this! I tried to tell him that a 2 hour nap during the day would be SO great, but he wasn't hearing it. The biggest problem I find is that I barely get the time to eat anything, and often get to lunch around 3pm if I'm lucky, but usually 4 or 4:30pm.

He seems to be changing and growing by the hour! Here are some recent pictures...
He has pretty good head control when you hold him on your shoulder, and he loves to be in a vertical position. Today he was fussing no matter what we did until we sat him upright on the couch and suddenly he is as content as can be and looking all around. He thinks he's older than he really is; the nurses were even saying that when he was only a week old in the hospital because he was so alert and curious, and well behaved despite all he was going through.

Well I have lots more to write but he's getting hungry...

Happy Belated Birthday Thomas!

Name: Thomas Alexander
Birthday: 11/11/08
Time: 7:27am
Weight: 7 lbs 14 oz
Length: 19 inches





With everything that's been going on I realized I didn't even post TAD's birthday information. And I've been bad with sending pictures too so here are some for now.










Just born

















In the hospital again












2 weeks old and back home again




Wishing you all a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Quick Hospital Update

Yup, we're still here.

Thomas' test results came back showing he has MRSA, the most resistant form of a staph infection. It started to get a lot worse before it got better and his chest was so swollen and red and painful. Today there has been major improvement as the antibiotics are kicking in and the site is draining (something ugly, but I've never been so happy over the sight of oozing puss). Thanks to heat compresses every 2-3 hours on his chest it started to drain on its own late Thursday night, and the pediatric surgeon will not need to touch him since it's better for the body to do it on its own. He was supposed to have his last dose of IV antibiotics tonight at 4am, but earlier this evening the nurses had to take it out again. They have been closely monitoring his IV since it fell out and his arm puffed up a couple days ago and the poor little guy had to be poked a few times again since they have trouble threading the needle into such small veins. All I could think was not again, he cried so much both times they tried to start it, and his skin is all red and irritated from the tape.

Luckily, they've decided to spare him (and they're running out of places to try) so he is going to get the oral antibiotic at 4am. This is the first time today I've had a chance to breathe, and I should probably get some sleep. He has been feeding like crazy today that I think all I've been doing is nursing him. I thank all of you for your voice mail, facebook, and text messages of keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. I'll hopefully be able to return calls soon.

We are expected to go home tomorrow (later today technically) if he doesn't react badly to the oral medicine.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........

One Week Old

and two hospitals.

I will preface this by saying Baby Thomas is doing remarkably well for what he is going through; he is such a little trooper.

Yesterday he turned one week old and though I haven't been online for a few days I was going to try to post a little about his birthday, but instead we ended up at the pediatrician and then at the Emergency Department. We're still here at Newton-Wellesley Hospital and will be for at least 48 hours while he gets antibiotics for an infection he has, and they check for other things like meningitis (just to be on the safe side). It was hard seeing him stuck with so many needles since his veins are so thin and the needle is small; they failed to get it in twice and had to stop. He also got a spinal tap (and didn't even cry) and some cultures taken.

Poor little guy is 8 days old and half of his life has been spent in the hospital. We have to be careful holding him as he is attached to an IV and other monitors so there are a lot of lines connected to him. Overall, he is a good little fellow and still feeding and very alert. He didn't get a fever until today and already the medicine has knocked it down. He is a hit with all the ladies because he is so adorable and sweet (luckily they attached a lojack-like device on his leg so no one steals him! One of the student nurses joked that she wanted to.), and is being very well taken care of.

Hopefully we'll go home tomorrow night if his tests come back alright and he responds well to treatment. Fingers crossed...

Red Sox Baby

OK so it's not the real reason we chose Beth Israel to deliver Thomas, but I can't wait to see him in the cute little cap! Being the Official Hospital of the Boston Red Sox has its advantages. I actually used to go to Brigham and Women's Hospital and had a really great OB/GYN but then she moved to Chicago, and since I already had other doctors I see at the BI, figured it made sense to have them all at one hospital if they ever needed to share information.

BIDMC’s name is displayed throughout Fenway Park while photos of babies born at BIDMC are featured on the jumbotron, wearing the official baby hat of the Red Sox. Each newborn at BIDMC receives the hat and other Red Sox goodies, including a certificate for a free tour of Fenway when the baby reaches five years old.

It's really nice to be able to choose between such top notch hospitals in Boston, but I also wish I were closer to family.

Last Weekend of Blessed Sleep?

So TAD's projected birthday was yesterday and I guess I should have trusted my initial instinct that he will be late (he already takes after his parents!) After my appointment last Monday I thought he was a lot closer when to my surprise the doctor told me I was 3-4cm and 90% effaced! It wasn't the cms since I know plenty of women who have walked around for 2 weeks being a few cms dilated but it was the effacement that really caught me off guard. I have been feeling a lot of pelvic pressure, but no contractions. The doc said I would probably be fine if I wanted to get it over with and be induced as he was pleased with the progress and said I would probably not need a c-section. He said I could have the baby tomorrow if I wanted. I told him I had to vote and still had things to finish at work. Since I wasn't expecting the news too I didn't feel ready either!

Though the last few weeks of pregnancy are no walk in the park, it doesn't really bother me if he comes late, if anything I'm grateful for the extra time to get things ready, but what I find annoying is the many people who act like he's 3 weeks late (even before his due date); there's only so many times I can stand to hear, "He STILL hasn't come yet?!?!?" or hear the jokes that he will be "4 feet tall by the time he is born" UGH! I consider myself a pretty calm person, but those comments only make me feel anxious and that doesn't do any good. I've still been working, but the last couple of days I worked from home, which is a little less distracting and I can be in my comfy pajamas all day. Everyone tells me I'm crazy to still be working, (and toward the end of this week I've started to think they're right) but I'd rather spend as much time with the little one after he's born.

Besides the whole miracle and amazing process of conceiving and growing a new life, it has been interesting to say the least being pregnant. On a social aspect you really learn so much about people's private lives. I went to go vote during my lunch break at work last Tuesday since I work closer to my old crib in Brighton than where I live now, and keep forgetting to change that; actually they still had the good ol'
Rock for me. It took so long, not because I had to wait in line, but because the women signing me in and then walking me to the booth had a million questions and then had to tell me all about their experiences. Besides slowing me down a lot, I don't mind and find it's funny all the personal stuff you learn about complete strangers! And it's not just women, it's the men too! At times it can be touching as their eyes glisten with joy and pride just thinking back to the day their own babies were born. It's a moment many have tried to describe, and ultimately say it's a feeling you have to experience yourself to fully realize that amount of love...I can't wait!

Week 39

I have a suspicion TAD is feeling quite snuggly, which isn't a horrible thing even with the general uncomfortableness of late pregnancy. Reason being, I still feel like there's a lot of last minute things we need to do; things that of course we can still do after the birth but I'm expecting we'll be both too tired to want to do anything besides sleep when not taking care of the little guy.

I'm still working, and plan to work up until I think he's coming, though it's getting pretty tiring so I may take a day off this week since I have the time, and then I can go run some errands. I put together an Oktoberfest at work and while we were celebrating the office gave me a card everyone had signed and a very generous Babies R Us gift card. It was really nice; then the Friday before last the women of the office threw me a lovely baby shower after work. It was really sweet and felt like a 2nd family. My friend Zoi's little man Rocco "crashed" the party, and he was such a hit. Quite charming at 18 months old. (I may have some pictures to add later, but the coworker who took them is sea kayaking in Mexico (so awesome!), so maybe when she comes back.)

We bought the Baby a new car last weekend, ha ha. I should have thrown that on the registry! It was easy getting by with only one car when we lived in Boston, right on the Green Line, and we had figured we would have had to buy a 2nd car 2 years ago when we moved here, but we actually made it work pretty well, and saved money in the meantime. It's awesome having a 2nd one now though! We bought a 2009 Hyundai Sonata, and thanks to the Hub's diligent research combined with the crappy economy we got it way below invoice. When other dealerships can't even match the price it's safe to say you're getting a good deal.

Well off to do some more cleaning and errands. I can't say I'm getting the "nesting" instinct, but I can't sit around while SD does all the work. Well technically I probably could, he's been so great and accommodating, but I'm not that kind of girl!

Funny Skit

Rarely is SNL funny enough to watch anything other than the opening bit and then fast fwd to Weekend Update, so it's no surprise I fell asleep through all of it last night (well maybe being 8 1/2 months pregnant had something to do with it as well). Thanks to the Internet you can find the rare funny gem like this one.
Lucky for the show that former cast members want to come back for these funny political skits lately.