Amazing

Lots of things have become amazing to me since I've become Mommy to little Tucker.

I am amazed at how long I can stare at one person and not want to look away. Tucker makes the cutest faces, and even when he's actually NOT making any faces, I still have to stare.

I am amazed at how little sleep I can get by on now. Sure, I try to take naps here and there, but the sleep I'm getting is absolutely NOTHING compared to what I would get before. I am a champion sleeper.

I am amazed that I look forward to picking boogies out of my son's nose. They're so cool! Believe me, if it were anyone else, I would barf at the thought of having to dig in their nose. Blech.

I am amazed at how protective I am of him. I didn't think I would be this obsessive, but I am. Brian said he knew all along how obsessive I would be. I guess I should believe him.

I am amazed at the fact that I think I can tell what my little guy is thinking. And he's hilarious!

I am amazed at how much a little smile can bring tears to my eyes.

And finally, to end this post before I start rambling too much, I am amazed at how much I don't care about how I look when I go out in public. I should probably be ashamed of myself, but I'm not. I think I've worn makeup five times in the last almost six weeks.

Seriously?

Okay, let me break it down for you. I just put Tucker down for a nap. Finally I was able to take a moment to read a magazine on the toilet (hey, I'm learning to multitask these days...). It was great! I haven't read a magazine in weeks, and I have a ton of them to catch up on.

So I'm reading all about skin care products in May's Real Simple (keep in mind I have June's issue to get through, too) when the phone rings. Dammit! I always like to get the phone just in case...So I jump up off the toilet (I had already wiped) and pick up the phone. "Hello?... Hello?" You readers know that when you have to say hello more than once, you're usually in trouble. It usually means that it's some sort of telemarketer or pre-recorded message waiting for you on the other end of the line.

I was in trouble. A pre-recorded message finally began, and it was, of all people, The Miz!! You know, Mike from the Real World Back to New York who dated Trishelle, participated on all of those Real World/Road Rules challenges and decided to become a professional wrestler? He was calling to remind me to order the WWE fights that are happening this weekend.

Now, I am a starfucker of the highest order. I am obsessed with celebrities big and small. Hell, I had a small nervous breakdown when I thought I saw Samuel L. Jackson on the street in New York. It turns out that I DID actually see him. In front of Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. Ask Brian how much I freaked out before I realized he was made of wax.

But my point is, normally I would be tickled to hear The Miz on the other end of my phone. Just not when I have to jump off the toilet to do it.

Jury Doody

I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't write in to get my jury duty excused being that I have a newborn and all. Anyway, it was yesterday. I unhappily got up after about three hours of sleep and made my way to the courthouse to do my civil duty or whatever it is you call it.
Did I mention that I've never been called to serve jury duty before? What are the chances that I would get called NOW?
So I got to the courthouse and took a seat, waiting to sign in. Of course they called the group I was sitting in dead last to sign in. I got to the courthouse at 8:30 and didn't get to sign in until 9:30. During that hour, I sat in a chair wondering how the hell I was going to make it through the day given the fact that I was so tired I considered curling up in a ball on the floor and crying. I mean, I didn't know what I was going to do. I brought magazines to read and thank you cards to write, and I couldn't muster up the energy to even open the bag where I stored them.
Finally we got called to sign in. When I got to the front of the line and stated my name, the woman looked at her records and said, "Oh Ms. Rudo, do you have an issue with daycare?"
See, when you send in your form for jury duty, they ask you whether you provide daycare for your children, to which I replied, "Yes."
So I told the woman that I have a three-week-old at home. And she said the words that were music to my ears - "Oh, they've excused you. Didn't you get the notice in the mail? Oh wait, they sent it out Friday."
Friday?!? Yesterday was only Tuesday. I didn't get that piece of mail. And I still haven't, as a matter of fact. It would have been nice to have gotten the notice before I schlepped all the way to the courthouse. But really, I'm just thankful I got to hightail it out of there when I did.

Mmmmmmmommy

I'm back. I feel like blogging. Finally!

I have a little guy sleeping next to me as I type this. He's in his REM sleep cycle, which means that he flails his little arms around and makes cute baby noises. Apparently that's how babies' REM sleep cycles are. I have a lot to learn.

So where do I begin? I'll start on April 15th, when I went to get checked by my midwife. I had progressed to about 2 cm and was 80 percent effaced. I knew that I wanted her to deliver my baby, as opposed to any of the other doctors in the practice I go to. Not because I don't love all the doctors there, because I do. It's just that I had developed a great relationship with my midwife. So...we set a date for induction for Saturday, the 19th because my midwife was scheduled to be on call at the hospital that day. Woot!

So I ended up starting my maternity leave that Thursday the 17th to give myself a couple of days to get ready, do some things for myself, that kind of stuff. I even got a manicure. When I went out in public and people would ask when I was due, they looked a little scared when I told them.

Brian and I went out for a fun dinner on April 18th and I started to get nervous. I hadn't really been nervous for labor prior to that. I guess it just hit me all at once. I had to get up at about 4:30 the next morning, so I'm glad I got nervous so close to my induction.

We got to the hospital at 5:45 on Saturday morning and I was admitted a little after 6. I started the Pitocin at 7 a.m., and started feeling contractions an hour or so later. No big deal. Well, at least at first. Once the contractions got a bit stronger, I asked very nicely for my epidural, which they were more than happy to give me.

Good stuff.

I slept for about three hours after I got that bad boy. In my head I was all, "Labor? No big deal! I could do this every day!" That is, until it came time to push. Not that it was bad, but it was so much more exhausting than I imagined it would be. I pushed for a little bit, and it was determined that the little man's head was face up instead of face down. So they had me lay on my side for about an hour to see if he would flip down. He did!

Then the real pushing began. I swear, I am really proud of myself for not cussing anyone out. I was surprisingly calm. I remember when little man started to crown, my midwife and Brian commented on the fact that they could see his hair. And I kept saying, "Are you sure it's not pubic hair? Are you sure it's not pubic hair?" (Because, let's face it, I hadn't really kept up with the grooming down there. Ahem.)

Just as he was crowing, my epidural started to wear off. Wowsers. That hurt. I said that I didn't think I could do it anymore. I felt like I was going to split apart. But the anesthesiologist came in and gave me more and I was able to finish what I had started. I was surprised that once his little head came out, his body followed so quickly! And I was not in the least bit surprised to hear that it was a boy! I just knew it. I knew it all along.

I can really describe what it was like when they put him on my chest, but I just felt like I had known this little guy all my life. Tucker Scott. We had picked out the name awhile before. It was literally the only boy name we could agree on. Here he is:

I am completely in love with him. The past couple of weeks have gone by so quickly that I can't actually believe it. I don't even know where the time has gone. I spend a lot of it staring at him because I can't believe he's here and that he's mine. Here's another couple of photos for your enjoyment.