Could it be teething?

My little guy is out of sorts - has been for over one week now. He had those bad weeks when we got back from California, and now this. I could be wrong, but perhaps he is teething? It could just be the reflux, I suppose, but he hasn't been feeling 100%. He has had a pretty drippy nose, but I don't think it is a cold (it is just clear). It could be allergies. He has been wanting to gnaw on everything, though, and he has been pretty drooly, too. He seems to be in pain/discomfort, especially at night, and tylenol seems to help. His tummy has been bothering him on and off - so who knows! I'm going to ask the doctor again on Monday when we go in for his 4 month checkup. Poor guy - I hope he starts feeling better soon! I don't know what I'm going to do if he actually pops a tooth through!

Another story I shouldn't share

Since I seem to be on a roll sharing embarrassing stories, I have one more in my arsenal I might as well divulge (and I do not think I've shared this one online yet). A few weeks back, I was home alone with Micah and Nugget. I finished nursing Micah, and placed him on his tummy on his playmat. I went to the kitchen, and all of the sudden, I was hit with horrible stomach cramping. I've been having issues with this ever since I got pregnant, but something about nursing (probably the oxytocin) gives me all kinds of stomach issues. The bathroom is located right next to the kitchen, so I ran in there, thinking I'd just be a minute or so. I left the door open so I could listen to Micah and talk to him.

Needless to say, the minute I entered the bathroom, Micah started to cry and fuss. I was talking to him from across the hallway, and singing to him in an attempt to calm him. No such luck . . . his fussing escalated to flat out crying. I was doing my best to settle my stomach so I could get back to him ASAP, but I was afraid of leaving the bathroom at that exact moment. Suddenly, Micah became very quiet. Naturally, like every good mother, I panicked that something horrible had happened because I failed to answer his cries with sufficient speed. All told, I was probably only in the bathroom 2-3 minutes. When he got quiet, I raced out of the bathroom (thank goodness all the windows were closed or I would have been humiliated beyond belief) and ran to make sure my baby was okay.

To my shock and amazement . . . . I found Micah on his back (he'd rolled over) with Nugget on the playmat next to him, gently nuzzling his face and body while he cooed at her. My wonderful dog decided she would take care of him! Like every good mother would do . . . I went back to the bathroom since Nugget had it all under control.

Drivin' & Pumpin'

Yes, it is true . . . you can pump and drive. I know I should not admit that I have done this, but on Monday I felt as if I had no choice. I had a crazy day on Monday - running around in the morning and dropping Micah off at daycare for the first time, followed by my meeting downtown. I knew Micah's next bottle was due sometime during my meeting, so I could not pump at that time (don't you think pumping in a meeting would have been worse?). I also knew that by the time I got home, Micah would want to eat again within a short period of time. I was afraid of waiting too long after he had last eaten to pump because it could inadvertently take away some of his needed food. So, when I left my meeting around 4:20, I knew I was easily 45 minutes from home. I called Elliot - he was picking up Micah, and told me Micah had last eaten at 3:40. I thought it through for a few minutes, and decided that I needed to pump, immediately.

I could have just pumped in the car before driving home - that probably would have made the most sense. However, I was parked out on the street, so it wasn't exactly a private location (yeah . . . and driving on the roads is MUCH more private). However, my meter was almost up, and the street parking rules on that block did not allow for parking after 4:30 pm, so I was concerned that a police officer would give me a hard time. I discretely put on my pumping bra, hooked up the pump, and put it on its battery-powered setting. I was smart in how I had dressed - I had on a blazer, so my sides were well covered, and I had on a sleeveless shirt underneath that I was able to pull down over the pumping attachments. So, nothing was showing and I was hands-free. After considering my options another moment . . . I put the car into gear, and hit the road. The first 15 minutes of the trip, I was all hooked up and pumping. At one of the lights, I turned off the pump after my time was up. It was pretty uncomfortable to be hooked up, and I was paranoid that people would look at the car window and wonder about the strange shapes causing my shirt to protrude. I also became panicked that the cups would fall off and all that precious milk would spill in the car. So, at each of the lights, I slowly worked at unhooking the pump, combining the bottles, and capping the milk. I was quite impressed with my abilities!

So . . . note to self . . . it is definitely safe to pump and drive.

Finally . . . our tile!

We made this tile at All Fired Up as part of our OnesiesDC class. I know I'm not artistic, but doesn't Micah have the cutest feet?

Cherry Blossom Weekend

Let's start off with a belated picture from Micah's first seder:


After the seders last week, we were expecting some family time on Friday. Elliot's parents, Steven, Jodi, Stephanie and Brian joined us Friday for breakfast. I made matzah brie, which is basically french toast made with matzah. You soak the matzah to soften it, mix some eggs through, then fry it up. You can serve it "savory" (with salt and/or cheese) or go the sweet route (cinnamon, sugar, syrup, chocolate . . . whatever floats your boat). I made a big giant vat of matzah brie, we put all the different toppings on the table, and we had a lovely breakfast. We were expecting Elliot's other brother, Daniel, his wife Jody, and their son Ethan to join us on Friday. They called to say they would be here in an hour, so we waited. And waited. And waited. 1 1/2 hours later, they called to say they wouldn't be joining us. We still don't understand exactly what happened.

Once we got the green light, we stopped waiting, and took off to tour the area. It is a beautiful time of year here, with all the cherry blossom trees in bloom, so off to Kenwood we went! Kenwood is one of the oldest and prettiest neighborhoods in the air, and every street is lined with cherry blossom trees. We went to wander around and enjoy nature.











After touring Kenwood, we decided to take Roberta (Elliot's mother) shopping for a new pair of shoes, so off to DSW we went. We all managed to buy a few pairs of shoes. When we came back, we enjoyed a late lunch of egg salad and matzah pizza. We relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, and around 6, my friend Tammy (and I was previously chastised for using the word "old" to describe our friendship) from college arrived to join us! (Long story short . . . I didn't realize my in-laws planned to stay through until Saturday, so I invited Tammy down on Friday and their visits overlapped). Despite this little scheduling blip, we had a lovely dinner together - Tammy joined right in and we enjoyed leftovers from the previous night.

Saturday morning, my in-laws returned for lunch before their drive back home. I made tuna salad, we cooked up a few more matzah pizzas, and a "secret" family recipe that we call matzkes (it is basically a special sweet cheese mixture that you spread on the matzah and bake). My family matzkes were a hit! The family departed for home, but not before Poppy Ira had a chance to hang out with Micah:
After our family left, Tammy and I decided to go back to Kenwood. After a long, exhausting day, we spent a quiet evening at home. Elliot made fish and veggies for dinner (not that I ate the fish - I'm a vegetarian). Sunday, Tammy and I decided to adventure a bit - we took the metro downtown, checked out the cherry blossoms along the tidal basin (unfortunately, we were a few days too late - the cherry blossoms had passed their peak, and we saw tons of green foliage instead of pink flowers). After a short walk (the wind was blowing so hard that we were worried about Micah and cut the walk short . . . that is our story, and I am sticking to it!), we went to the American History Museum. It was the first time I had been since it was renovated.



We had a wonderful day, and Micah enjoyed his first trip downtown and first museum visit. We returned home around 5, and Tammy decided to head back home.

All in all, a wonderful weekend!