Saturday, November 6, 2010

"Be My Echo"

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Penelope's words

Dat (Cat)
Deedup (Teacup)
Daydeebah (Ladybug)
Badidah (???)
Dap (Max)
Eee-dye (Eli)
Mommymommymommy (almost anything that's not me, apparently)
Daddy (Randy)
Baboon
Beh (Bear)
Baaaw (Ball)
Bah (not sure)
Beebee (baby)
Dis (this)
Dat (that)
Hat
Oh!
Fsssssssssh (fish)

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

My Pregnancy Blog

Hey, did you love my pregnancy posts the first time around? Looking for more, you glutton for punishment? Follow my pregnancy on my CafeMom blog -- part of The Stir, their new blogapalooza.

http://thestir.cafemom.com/pregnancy/100150/pregnant_life_a_pain_in

you can subscribe to my updates (to all my blogs, on sex, relationships, entertainment, and pregnancy) here:
http://thestir.cafemom.com/blogger/23/amy_keyishian

i'll keep posting here, too, but not with the same detail! This is still Penelope Central.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Monday, February 15, 2010

News

So, I guess it's time to go public with this: Penelope's going to have a little sister in August.

Am I surprised? Yes. Thrilled, but surprised. Never let anyone tell you breastfeeding is birth control. Not that I thought it was, but I DID think that being 42, having had trouble conceiving the first time, and hardly having sex was. Turns out: not so much. (Sorry for the TMI, parents. I mean dad. There's no such thing as TMI with my mom.)

Am I worried? Oh hell yes. Truth be told, this is not my first time around the pregnancy block since having Penelope. (I know. I'm a slow learner.) I was briefly pregnant last summer, which ended without much fuss in September. I barely processed it. I could win Olympic gold at denial. So I basically spent the first 10 weeks of this pregnancy going "Yeah, well, we'll see." In fact, at my first meeting with my new doctor, she said, "So, you're pregnant!" and I literally said "Yeah, well, let's see." Then I heard the heartbeat and burst into tears. IT IS SO MUCH FUN TO BE ME!

Anyway, I have switched OB-GYN practices, to the one that delivered Penelope. The doctor who delivered her has moved to Oregon, like half of the rest of this kooky state, but a gentle and friendly front-desk nurse steered me to another doctor, also specializing in high-risk pregnancies, and also awesome. I am very happy with her. She's bossy, well-informed, and as worried as I am.

Unlike the fucking healthtards at my old OB practice. WHen I called to tell them about the last-summer pregnancy, the midwife dismissed my worries completely, saying "Just beause you had ONE high-risk pregnancy doesn't make this one high-risk." Uh. I delivered at 30 weeks and nobody knows why. Maybe you could muster up your concern between your pitches for your hemp home-birthing kit and your anti-epidural speeches, BITCH. OOPS I LOST IT. Happy now?

But I'm not bitter.

Anyway, back to the task at hand: Keeping this baby in me. I'm taking a supplement called DHA, which is omega-3 fatty acids, and I am going to do home injections of something called 17P alphahydroxy progesterone. I am fighting with my insurance to get it covered. It's not prohibitive, but it ain't cheap; at the same time, it's a hell of a lot less expensive than the $2500/day isolette. Ya dig?

As you can see, I'm already obsessing over details rather than big-picturing anything. That's how I roll. I'm taking this one week by week and hoping for the best. I'm so happy for Penelope, that she'll have someone to share the burden of having a crazy mother with. I hope they are as close and loving as me and my sisters are.

Anyway, away we go again!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

15 Month Follow-Up

We had Penelope's appointment with the preemie follow-up program today. The last time we went was six months ago, and I don't think I posted about it here ... but from what I remember, her gross and fine motor skills were in line with her adjusted age (from her due date) and her cognitive skills were in line with her chronological age (from her birth date). This is very normal -- preemie brains start developing when they are exposed to stuff, and their bodies catch up when they can.

Well, it's the same deal now. She's getting ready to walk and taking a few steps, and that's in line with her adjusted age (13 months). But cognitively -- socially and w/r/t language -- she's at her chronological age. So she thinks ... just like a 16 month old. She talks... just like a 16 month old. Yes, and she plays... just like a 16 month old. But she crawls like a little 13-month-old. (Sorry, Bob Dylan.) She had a great time with the psychologist, neurologist, and nurse practitioner, who gave her little games to play so they could gauge her abilities and development. After her initial shyness, she did all her tricks, including telling her joke (birdie birdie bir... DEE!), but oddly had a real aversion to the bell. Seriously, she hated that thing and cried when they took it out. She LOVES music! but not that bell. So I suspect Randy has been conducting Pavlovian experiments when I'm not around (which is when, again?).

One thing I thought was interesting -- people have remarked that she doesn't have "that preemie look." I know sorta what they mean -- many other preemies look a little peaked, but I can't put my finger on why, even when they are clearly doing beautifully. You can just tell "that kid was a preemie." So what they told me today is-- the difference is that, from being "supine" so long, most preemies get a looong head before they get a fat head. It doesn't say anything about brain function, I think it's just a cosmetic difference. But for whatever reason, Penelope's got the fat head. So she looks like a regular baby -- undercover preemie. Eeenteresting.

I was worried about her showing too much of a preference for her left hand at this early date, but they said her tone is good on both sides. In fact, her tone is great -- the fact that she loves crawling so much is actually great, because that builds up muscles she missed out on from the womb. So ok, not so tragic that she's not quite ready to walk yet.

Anywho, she napped early because it was just so darn exhausting. We go back in another 6 months. I really like this follow program -- it's more for research than for us, but the information we get from it is so reassuring and valuable. The upshot: She's not 13 months, she's not 16 months. She's somewhere in the middle, which is just right. Most babies are actually caught up by 2 years, but they say 3 to be conservative; she's on track for the earlier estimate. SHE'S SO COOL!

Friday, January 29, 2010

Makin' Faces

Penelope loves the Baby Faces book. Especially Yum, Stinky, and Yippee!