Skinny jeans and male Ob/Gyn's

After months of having the munchkin attached me 24/7, I finally needed a break. So I asked my two bosses for a few hours off. I went to go get a haircut, but it turned out bad. Great start. I then decided to go to the mall to go shopping. I needed a wardrobe change. I have clothes, but they were all clothes I wore as a business professional... very few that would work as a full-time mom. I don't dare wear dry-clean only clothes or knit shirts while taking my baby out Little Gym!
I started wandering around, and was quickly getting disappointed by the choice of clothes out there. I wanted something different, but I felt like most styles were targeted towards young(er) women and stylish non-moms. I almost wanted to give up and call home, saying I don't know what my style is. The last store I peeked into was Express. I've always shopped at Express (their pants always fit me well), but I didn't think the store would "suit" me anymore with my new job. I was pleasantly surprised! There were casual outfits that I could easily wear while taking Yuta out and without worrying about getting it messed up. And, they're somewhat stylish so I don't feel like a worn out mom wearing T-shirts and sweats. Best yet, I tried out some jeans... I was 4 sizes smaller!!! I don't even REMEMBER the last time I fit into a size 4! I think it was probably back when I still went shopping with my mom and I had to get whatever she thought was good... Anyway, Express didn't let me down. I went home happy. They got my business.

Second topic (no, they're not related at all). I went to the ob/gyn for a follow-up yesterday. Although they have several doctors there, I guess I was assigned to the one who delivered my baby back in November. The doctor is the only male doctor there, out of 4 ob/gyn's. As long as I can remember, I always requested for a female ob/gyn because... well... isn't it just AWKWARD?!?! It's bad enough you have to go in stirrups, but to have a male peeking in?? Yeah. You know what I mean, girls. (unless you like that sort of stuff) But I have come to realize that in this field, male ob/gyn's are extraordinarily skilled and understanding. Both my past major uterus events have been under the care of male ob/gyn's, ironically.
The first incident was for my ovarian tumor. I had gone to 3 different doctors that all miraculously misdiagnosed me, and the final doctor (just a couple of hours before I underwent surgery) figured it out in a swoop of a finger. Hard to believe.
The second uteran incident, of course, was the delivery of my gigantic baby. I actually didn't have a choice of doctors, it was whoever was on-call that day. The male doctor was extremely patient, calm, and so skilled that he delivered my baby without a drop of anesthetics and with just a minor tear. The great thing about him is that he describes everything to me in detail so that I am never left wondering or surprised. He takes his time to answer questions and never fluff over details. The other female doctors have done that to me on many occasions. Being an engineer, I have to have answers!!
Anyway, long story short, in a female-dominated field like ob/gyn, male doctors probably have to work extra hard to get patient loyalty. They probably have to go above and beyond to best "understand" their patients (because physically speaking, it's impossible for them to ever FULLY understand), and have other traits that distinguish them as better doctors. Kudos to all those hard-working male ob/gyn's!

YoBaby

...makes my son fart. I guess there's too much sugar in it or something. It's a yogurt made for babies, supposedly. But man, he was farting up a storm last night. And I think it was waking him up (and me). *sigh* He went through a mild ear infection and a cold recently, and I am absolutely sleep deprived. I didn't know that a person can go so long without solid sleep. Pre-Yuta, I used to sleep incredible amounts without even moving, so this is a big change. I am exhausted!!!

Let's see. What's new? The little munchkin is now 9 months old, and is bigger than most 1 year olds. Go Yuta! His head was bigger than a 2 year old that I just saw at a play center... that freaked me out a little bit. What is wrong with this picture?!?! He's crawling like a pro now, and wanting to walk. He's doing a funky Neanderthal walk where he's half standing in his hind legs. LoL. Kinda makes you reflect on evolution. He'll stand up using just about anything above shoulder level, including my legs while I'm in the kitchen. Kinda dangerous. I dropped a spoon on his head today, and it didn't teach him a lesson.

We got a used Jogger from a friend, so I am hoping that I will figure out a regimen where I can go for a run w/ Yuta. Too bad most of my free time is in the afternoon, and it's dog hot. And I should wait until Yuta starts sleeping through the night again. I don't know what's wrong with the kid, he keeps waking up.

No, I'm not grumpy. Just a little fed up. :( After a week of Papa being sick and another week of Yuta being sick, I am not a happy camper!!

Sand, grass, and separation anxiety

I realized that I hadn't put the bugger on any surfaces outside these days. He's old enough to enjoy it, so I put him down on our lawn. Sure enough, he loved it... loved pulling them out. We tried putting him on the weedy area so that he'd pull out the weeds. But no, he liked the soft grass better. *sigh* He was really going at it like a mad man, pulling out all the grass. I then took him to the beach down the street and set him down on the sand. He loved the sand too. He was diggin' diggin' diggin'. He was wondering why none of the sand that he grasped stayed in his hand. I'll have to take him out more often!
... and that was just the prequel. The REAL topic is, separation anxiety. Just about overnight, Yuta the Calm became Yuta the Anxious. He cries "ma ma ma ma ma" every time I stand up to leave the room. Not only that, he thinks that he'll always find me in the kitchen, so even if he hears my voice from elsewhere, he'll go straight to the kitchen. His cognitive skill goes only so far, I guess! When he's playing in the playroom, he mostly likes to keep one hand on my leg, or use me as a prop to stand up. It's a little ridiculous how close he needs to be! I have to admit, at the same time, I feel pretty special and I secretly love it. LoL. Well, until I really need to go to the bathroom or I need to make food or something. Then his crying gets really annoying. Papa's a little jealous too, but he's being a good sport about it. He tries to keep the guy busy. I just have to be careful not to show my face because it reminds him that I was gone. Supposedly it's a cognitive advancement but... when will he move on?

Yattane!!! Pooooop!!!

Such an exciting news for ya'll today. Yuta went poopy in his potty! Woo hoo!! Yes, he is only 8 months old, and yes I am potty training him. What else can I do at home? I've figured out his timing for peeing-- immediately when he wakes up from his nap, and a few minutes after he drinks milk. He goes with no fuss. The poopy-ing has been tough, because he seems to go at odd times. Sometimes while he's eating, sometimes while he's playing on the floor... and by the time he's turning red and going unnnnnggggghhhhhh... it's too late. LoL. But this morning, he was doing that during breakfast and I thought he had already gone. I checked his diaper and it was still clean. So I put him on the potty. He was silent for a while and.... voila! Poopy in the potty! Am I not like the super-duper mom or what?! Actually, my mom said that she had all four of us off the diaper by age 1, so that's what I'm aiming for. Honestly, I think that's a great idea. I mean, by the time they're 1, they're already used a lot of stuff and they get pretty independent. The habits are hard to break, which is why potty-training is so difficult. Right now, he'll do just about anything I put him to, and he seems fine with it. He even seems relieved to go potty. So here's to potty-training early!

Cheerio butt

My lovely little son is now past his screaming phase and is hard at work crawling. He's a heavy one, so it seems it takes a lot of strength and effort to get anywhere. He looks like an elephant. He learned how to back up into the sitting position... except, he doesn't really look where he's sitting. The other day, we were practicing our fine motor skills, picking up cheerios and eating them, when he decided to go for a toy a little out of his reach. There were cheerios on the floor where he was eating. He started to crawl towards the toy, got it, and backed up into the sitting position. He sat right in the cheerios. He then saw the cell phone (he gets his own, because he loves cell phones and we can't afford to get drool damage on our working ones... I don't think it's covered by Verizon), started to crawl towards it. I just about died laughing because he was boldly crawling with Cheerios on his butt! Hearing my husband and I cracking up, my son turns around and gives us a huge grin, not knowing what's funny but knowing that we're having a blast. *sigh* How much cuter can he get??
So yeah. The first several months I was wondering what I got myself into by having a baby... but these days I can't get enough of him. He is such a cutie! I know, blah blah blah, another over-indulged parent... But I tell ya, babies have a natural talent to charm their audience. It's sort of a survival skill. Sadly, most of us lose that charisma as we get older... *sniff*
I think I had something else to say, but I forgot. I guess I'll post it at another time... if I remember...!