Dreary Day

It's a dreary day here in Chapel Hill. The overcast sky and subdued lighting haven't done much for my mood, though the extreme difference in temperature is something to covet. It's actually manageable to get outside.
Not that I have much to do; or rather, much that I can do. My poor Subaru is still sitting in the drive, feeling neglected. I finally worked out a way to get her fixed, but must now orchestrate towing her to the mechanic's place in Durham, where she will linger for a few weeks while she gets fixed up. I can't wait to get that done, but for some reason have stalled on calling said mechanic and organizing a time to get her over there. Perhaps I am unthrilled with the idea of waiting on AAA to send a tow truck to me, which I then must follow to Durham.
There are plenty of errands to be run, but I am still somewhat intimidated by attempting to leave the house with Orion on my own, not to mention that my only available vehicle currently is Russell's old massive Expedition, which I have never driven. I'm not even sure how I'm going to maneuver the car seat in and out of the thing while I can barely maneuver myself in and out of it. I suppose I ought to get used to it... maybe tomorrow, if we don't get everything done today.
Not that Mr. Baby has let me do much today. He seems content to sleep until I attempt to do anything, including eat or take a bath. I did manage to actually get in the tub, but it didn't last long, woe is me! At least I don't smell so much like milk and spit up anymore. Ironic that there's no milk in the house (woe is me again; I'd love a bowl of cereal) but I manage to have milk all over me. Milk milk everywhere but not a drop to drink (for me).
Russell is out in Efland getting the Jeep looked at before the big beach trip this week. We're heading down to Ocean Isle for a week on the shore with his mom's family, who have rented a few houses in proximity to each other. I, for one, am looking forward to getting into the ocean in an extreme way. It's been way too long since I've been to the beach. You may recall that I planned on going the day Orion was born, but he had other plans.
At the same time I'm a little overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we'll need to pack for a beach week away from home with the baby. I have thought about it vaguely, but have yet to do a thing about it. Then I think forward to flying to Colorado and realize that I'm going to have to do it again, but with much more frugality, as I can't just throw whatever I want in the trunk. We may have to use disposable diapers on that trip, because I'm not sure I want to dedicate a suitcase to a day's worth of cloth diapers. They're great, but they're bulky.
Orion himself is a sweet baby who only gets cuter as he gets bigger. He makes some of the funniest faces and will stare at us with wide eyes when we mimic his looks. He has also become more adept with his hands, though he still doesn't know that they're his. He is grasping and holding things to his body quite a bit, however. He's also starting to sleep for longer periods at a time, which has been a blessing for me. Four hours is a huge improvement over two hours of sleep at a go; and he's getting confident enough that I can put him down to sleep in his bassinet for at least part of the night, which allows me to sleep more deeply. I am therefore experiencing better energy from day to day, though some days (like this one) still aren't the easiest and require several naps to navigate.
In other news, our turtle Toodeloo has gotten much bigger and has quite a voracious appetite. The day after one of the little neon tetra fish died and was replaced with two more, Toodeloo discovered a penchant for sushi. In any case, two of the three red and blue neons have disappeared, we're assuming down her gullet, and the third is missing pieces of her tail fins. Poor thing; I'm assuming she's the original one who was orphaned when her buddy died, and now she's the last of her kind. Both the orange neons (who are a little bigger) are apparently avoiding her advances, as well as the large silver tetra. I worry about the algae-eater, though, because he may be the largest fish in the tank, but he's also the most sedentary. I've watched Toodeloo scoping him out a few times - and we need him, as he helps keep the tank clean. Russell also experimented by giving Toodeloo some butter lettuce, which she dispatched forthwith, so perhaps her now omnivorous diet will deter her from making short work of the poor fish. She'll be all alone in there if she continues with her current buffet of friends.
And that's the state of things today. I hear the familiar rumble of a diesel engine in the drive, which means Russell has arrived...

The Wedding Adventure Continues!

The world of weddings is a terribly commercialized consumerism-based racket. Sometimes as I'm navigating the advertising-choked waters of wedding planning, I think to myself that elopement is a wise choice!
However, that's just not our style. We wouldn't want to miss out on the party or the gathering of friends and family that a wedding entails. Yet at the same time we don't want to get caught up in the wedding industry's concept of "must-haves" and traditions. We want to do it our way, in our style, without breaking the bank.
We've already had a hell of a time with the first and foremost decision, which is finding a suitable venue. I was excited about the beach house and aquarium option, but the time of year that we could get the beach house at a good price is a bad time for everyone involved in school, which is basically all of the wedding party. Obviously that wasn't going to work for us; not to mention that we couldn't afford the rental price for both venues, even with help. So we bailed on that idea after I had already done a lot of legwork - too bad.
We may still rent the beach house for folks who are available, and treat that as our bachelor/bachelorette party weekend and include a bridal shower (of sorts) and Orion's first birthday celebration in that week. This will all be decided based on budget, but hopefully that decision will get made soon.
Then we got excited about doing the ceremony and reception at Chatham Mill, an old textile mill in Pittsboro. It's a huge room, but very funky and rough around the edges - perfect for our Steampunk theme. We figured it would be cost effective and has all the benefits of being local. But the rental fee is actually more than the aquarium and has a bunch of hidden fees, from hiring a bartender to renting equipment and finally paying a fire marshal to inspect our set up! Obviously that threw a wrench into those proverbial gears and we were back at square one.
This launched me into a very serious internet search for wedding venues. It blows my mind how much places charge for simple structures. The Barn at Fearrington, for instance, is hugely over priced - and it's just an old dairy barn. There are squirrels in the rafters. Really. We looked at the Barn at Valhalla, a fabulous event structure where I've attended a few sumptuous parties - but it's too expensive. The French restaurant here in town, La Residance, hosts weddings, but it's an all-inclusive thing wherein we'd have to do everything through them and it's a per-person fee. Screw that. The Forest Theatre is a beautiful spot, but they don't allow receptions and a ceremony there would be interrupted by the inevitable traffic noise - besides being totally weather-dependent. And that's just a few of the places I've looked into...
Finally we went back to one of our earliest ideas: the grounds at Shakori Hills. It's not too expensive to rent the property there for an event, and I've actually attended a wonderful wedding out there already (not to mention quite a few festivals). The trick is that we'd have to rent some equipment and pray for good weather, but so far it's still the best option.
In the meantime, we're really excited about the Steampunk theme and have started brainstorming our costumes, favors for guests, and decorative ideas. As soon as we get a date and venue set, I'm going to start gathering the forces of our friends and vendors and get the word out. A lot of what we're planning is DIY, with a lot of work going into creating costumes, accessories, favors, and invitations... So if you have a hand and would like to get involved, please do!
We are collecting elements for the work, so if you have any old broken clocks and watches, antique junque do-dads, feathers, or interesting Victorian-esque clothes, let us know!

Steampunk!

Already I know a bunch of you are going, "huh?" Steampunk?
That's right; we finally made at least one major decision about having a wedding, and we settled on something we're really excited about: Steampunk. For those of you who are unaware of Steampunk as a genre, culture, art, or fashion trend, I encourage you to take a look at these websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk
http://steampunkculture.com/
I've been enamored with Steampunk culture since the first time I really encountered it at Burning Man. In 2007 there was a fantastic Steampunk tree house with an eerie steam whistle out on the open playa. Russell was also introduced to Steampunk art and fashion out at the Burn, and we've both really enjoyed it. Upon further reflection, we realized that a lot of our movie and literature preferences also fell into the Steampunk category. Russell, for instance, really enjoys the anime series FullMetal Alchemist, and we both enjoyed the His Dark Materials series by Phillip Pullman (the first movie of which has already been released: The Golden Compass).
In my case the clothing style is really inspiring; it's got all the romance of Victorian style, with the quirky attraction of DIY upcycling of found materials like gears and clockwork. A broad color palette and a variety of sub-categories make it so flexible in its details. We could take it in a vaudevillian/circus direction, or a post-apocalyptic flavor, or perhaps airship pirate style...
This got me thinking hard about some of the ideas we already had, such as renting a beach house and (possibly) doing the ceremony at the aquarium. How could Steampunk fit in with an easy-breezy beach wedding? The two things didn't seem to fit together well at all. In fact, I had been ruminating on the Steampunk theme idea for a few days without mentioning it, because I had a feeling that Russell would be all for it and I wasn't sure I was ready to commit to it! But I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I said "We could go steampunk" to Russell and that was pretty much that. Now we just have to put it together.
We watched this video (Thanks, StumbleUpon.com, for throwing this one at me): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfJ2xa9nzmw
and it gave me a genius idea and the connecting thread I'd needed: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. One of the iconic examples of early Steampunk, Jules Verne, with an obvious under-sea theme. Perfect for a wedding in an aquarium. And allows for a lot of great images for use in jewelry and on invites... I, for one, am excited.
This is also a huge costuming challenge for me in every way I adore. I'm still in the collecting info stage, but my research so far has been sooo inspiring and fun. I'm about to embark on a major DIY adventure - I intend on doing a lot with feathers, gears, keys, and nautical/sea creature motifs in everything from my bouquet to headpieces. We may even get Steampunk rings, just to be fun.
It's not going to be a normal wedding, but we knew that from the start, I suppose.
We're still trying to make final decisions and settle on dates and places and things, and obviously we've got some time if we're planning on doing this in May 2011. However, the aquarium does get booked up, so we have to move relatively soon. The original date we chose isn't available - but the next day is, which is also Orion's first birthday. We're not sure if we want to double dip like that, but it could happen.
The artwork I've included here is an image I discovered while Google searching ideas, and is attributed to an artist by the name of Lone Momo from the website http://www.hunterbonyun.com/web/about.html - I definitely recommend you take a look at the portfolio - so many fantastic images and great character ideas, with a lot of Steampunk flavor throughout. I'm using it as a basis for my inspiration for the design... And now I'm off to do some sketching! Ahh, inspiration!

So Much Music, So Little Time (and money)

Russell and I both love music, especially when it's presented in festival format. There is something so special about being sequestered away from 'reality' or 'the default world', surrounded by other like-minded people (read: hippies), and inundated with great music for several days straight. Personally, spending a weekend at a festival makes me feel more alive, more myself, energized in a way I just can't get any other way. It's like being a kid again!
Some festivals, like the Lake Eden Arts Festival and the Shakori Hills Grassroots festival, are super kid-friendly, especially because they're both smaller and NC-based. I grew up going to music fests; indeed, LEAF is in large parts responsible for who I am today. I so look forward to introducing Orion to the festival world of fun clothes and play-all-day music and new friends. I know he will enjoy it as much as we do!
In the meantime, though, we've missed all the spring festivals this year. I can honestly say this is the first time in nearly 20 years that I have attended not one festival during the spring season, when they are happening almost every weekend all over the East Coast. Orion is a worthy reason for the festival attendance drought, but I still really miss them and envy my friends who report back on various bands' sets, etc. I also just adore my time with Russell at the fests, since he's such a great travel partner and we have an excellent time together. It's one of the many ways that we are clearly made for each other.
I think my true goal/dream in life is to travel around from spring to fall, hitting every festival possible along the way, supporting myself by vending cool clothes and then hibernating/sewing all winter. It could happen...
To go along with my nostalgic mood today, I've included a photo of us from the Rothbury Festival 2009 (easily the best big music festival currently occurring in the U.S.).
Can't wait till next year - see you there!

Another Shout-Out to the Glam-Moms!

I just wanted to share with you this wonderful project that Jo Ann, Russell's mom, has taken on. She is a quilter, and like most folks who sew she has gathered a wealth of fabric, some of it too small to really be used in another project. Like me, (and most others) she has a hard time tossing it out - and now has found a great use for it.
Jo Ann makes teddy bears - cute, simple, little bears - and donates them to the Orange County/Chapel Hill EMT/Ambulance teams to stock in the emergency vehicles. When a kid has to ride in the ambulance, either because they are hurt or accompanying an adult who is, they get a bear to hold and take home. As an adult who is absolutely not ashamed to admit that I still have my teddy bear (given to me by my best friend Nicole for my seventh birthday) and keep him by the bed, I think it's amazing what Jo Ann's work does for these kids. A bear to hold can be a very comforting thing during traumatic times.
She's made quite a number of them already, and they are now included on the official supply re-stocking lists used by the response teams.
Apparently she's even saved a few for Orion to play with when he's at her house - he's a lucky boy!
And I know how much the kids out there benefit from her bears, and I think it's really special that she does this for them.

Turtle World

Life in the microcosm known as our fish tank continues to develop! Toodeloo, our Red Eared Slider turtle, is noticeably growing. She has also become quite accustomed to us and will swim to the front of the tank when we open the hatch. She knows who feeds her, that's for sure! She is great at making eye contact, even, and will smile up at us as we drop the food in.
The tank does get dirty rather quickly, so we have to keep up with cleaning it regularly. We've also had a problem with algae springing up in the past few days, so Russell gave the tank a good cleaning. Sadly, when he was relocating the fish to a temporary home in a vase, one of the tiny neon tetras chose a bad time to bail on the net and got crushed. We were bummed about that, especially because his little buddy seemed very forlorn without his twin companion.
This clearly occasioned a trip to the pet store, where we picked up two more tetras and a Plecostomus, an algae-eating fish. We now have three blue and red neons, two orange neons, a silver tetra (by far the biggest and fattest fish of the bunch - he even eats the turtle food!) and Toodeloo.
We're aware of the fact that Toodeloo may at some point decide that the fish we got to keep her company are better used as snacks, but at the moment she's too little to catch them. Hopefully that will continue for a while, because turtles are actually quite social animals and I don't want her to get lonely in there. If it were legal to sell turtles as pets in NC, I'd pick up another baby to keep her company, but so far I haven't seen any other baby turtles in need of a home.
Some years ago I actually bought two Red Eared Sliders for a friend who had always wanted pet turtles. I knew she'd been looking for them and was frustrated by the NC ban on turtles. Florida, however, had no such law at the time and I was surprised to find a kiosk in the middle of the mall full of super-cute quarter-sized baby turtles. I called her, confirmed her turtle desires were still in tact, and bought two. They lived in a tiny plastic tank in a Victoria's Secret bag from St. Petersburg back to Chatham County, in and out of hotels and fast food joints the whole long road trip home. I gave them exercise on an upturned frisbee in the car... Hilarious. The last time I saw them, they were both huge and doing well. I hope that Toodeloo grows up big and stays with us for a while. They can live to be around 40 years old, so she could be part of Orion's life for a while.
In order to give her better shell-health, we got a better full-spectrum bulb for the tank, which she seems to enjoy. She hangs out on the 'basking shell' we built for her a good part of the day, and is no longer so shy that she slides into the water if we get close. She likes to do a funny move where she stretches all her limbs out away from the shell, so that her shell is balanced on the high ground and everything gets plenty of 'sun'. We call it 'turtle yoga'!
I still find having the tank in the house very relaxing. The stream of the filter supplies some nice water white noise, which I enjoy when I'm dozing during mid-day naps with Orion. It's also very soothing to sit and watch the fish - Russell even likes to hold Orion up to look at the tank. He does look, but at this point I think it's mostly just the color and light that attracts him. Regardless, I think we all benefit from our little underwater world.

Orion the Socialite

This photo is a good example of how attention-getting our little man was last night; folks at nearby tables are clearly looking at him and Russell!

Orion's Big Night Out

Weaver Street Market is an excellent little natural foods co-op in Carrboro, which is sort of like a conjoined twin with a slightly different personality to Chapel Hill. The Weave, as we affectionately call it, has a nice lawn out front and they host a music shindig on Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings. We finally managed to get out of the house and to the happenings last night, and we were really glad that we did.
Not only did we see a lot of our friends, but we also met quite a few new folks. Turns out having a cute little baby makes one particularly popular, and folks were coming up to us all night to meet Orion. He was quite the little star!
We also got some good time in with Kevin, my dad, and he was quite the proud grandpa, carrying Orion around and introducing him to his many friends at The Weave.
Orion, of course, managed to sleep through almost the entire evening of live outdoor music, dinner, and conversation (part of the reason I ended up awake with him most of the night, I suppose). Music seems to lull him and he's just not at all perturbed by people. I even nursed him for a very short while out on the lawn, but he didn't stay up long for that before conking back out.
Russell and I felt really good about getting out of the house for a while and getting so much social time in. We hatched plans with some of our friends to get together and do some art and sewing projects, which I am looking forward to, of course! There's always so much stuff to be made, and I sure have a wealth of stuff to make stuff with! Speaking of which, I may try to do some sewing today if the little man will let me, but it's really always up to him!

Progress...

It's funny how, in life, things seem to stall out for a time and then will suddenly develop in leaps and bounds.
That is of course the way of it with childhood development and growth. Orion, for instance, has been experiencing a growth spurt recently and has been eating like a little piggy. He's 'filled out' quite nicely and has been awake and alert more and more often. His sight is also rapidly improving and he gazes a things that catch his eye in complete wonder. He seems to really like the star lamp in our bedroom and the prayer flags in our living room best of all.
Then there's the type of progress that refers to organizing and planning, etc. We have two major things we need to accomplish; the most immediate of which is getting my car fixed. I have a bad wheel bearing, a blown head gasket, and may as well replace the timing belt since the engine has to be removed to fix the head gasket. The local auto place quoted the job at about $2,500 for all three repairs - the amount would be hard for me to handle if I were working, which I'm not, so my poor car has just been sitting idle. We hatched a plan to take it to my old hometown mechanic in Siler City, who would hopefully give us a better price, and would allow me to apply for a NAPA card (which has a one-year no interest deal). We still were going to wait until I was back at work to do that, however, as we'd have to start making payments right away and that was still out of our budget. However, while we were waiting to enact these plans, our good friend John recommended a friend of his who does auto repair work on the side. Danny quoted the head gasket job at $800-$1,000, roughly $700 less than the place we to her initially. Obviously this is a good route to go - and on top of that my dad offered to help us pay for it, so now we're in business and I may actually have my car back soon! This thrills me to no end, as being stuck in the house all day has made me pretty stir-crazy. And anyone who knows me well knows how much I love to travel and that I enjoy driving in general. Plus I adore my Subaru and hate to see her out of commission!
We've also made some great progress as far as wedding planning is concerned. We've been engaged since early March, but as of a few days ago we hadn't managed to pick a date or even a season. Folks keep asking us when we're getting married, and we've been explaining that with having a baby, wedding plans were set aside. But now I'm spending a lot of time just hanging out at home with Orion, and could actually accomplish a certain amount of planning from my couch via the 'net... But we still were having a lot of trouble settling on any kind of idea. Granted we've got the time, as it's just not possible financially for us to get married in 2010, not to mention a bit too much to pull together with a newborn in the house as well. After much discussion and idea proposals, we decided that we definitely wanted to have a beach wedding, we just weren't sure which beach or what it would look like. I stumbled on the idea of having the ceremony at one of the NC Aquariums, focusing first on the one at Fort Fisher, which is the only location I've ever been to. But then Kevin, the wonder-dad (and now proud grandpa), put me in touch with a friend of his who owns a beach house on Emerald Isle. Said house is only eight miles from the Pine Knoll Shores aquarium. Some dates in May seem like they will work well for all involved, and Austin even offered us a deal on the rental. Couple that with Kevin's quite generous offer to help us pay for the house rental, and suddenly our ideas are coming to fruition! Though we haven't settled on anything just yet, we have the beginnings of a great wedding plan here that also includes a beach vacation and Orion's first birthday. I like that, as it will allow for our families to celebrate with us as well! So it's possible that we'll be at Emerald Isle from May 18-25, the wedding would likely be Saturday the 21st, Orion's birthday is Sunday the 22nd, and Kevin's birthday is the 24th - a stellar week and plenty of reasons to celebrate!
I, for one, am glad to have an idea - even if it's not the one we ultimately go with. It was stressing me out a little bit that we just had no clue what to do, although Russell assured me that we'd figure out just the right thing for us. He was right - and I always appreciate his confidence when it comes to stuff like this. There are a lot of reasons that I'm excited to marry him, and that's what's important anyway!

Getting Hitched... Eventually

Russell completely surprised me by proposing on my birthday back in March! I was quite happy to say yes and just love our engagement ring; it's white gold with diamonds and a cobalt-blue sapphire in the center (he knows me so well). We decided to wait until after Orion was born to further the wedding plans, since we already had quite enough going on with moving and having a baby, etc. We've begun talking about it in order to settle on some basic things, like the date and where we'd like to do it, and we can't seem to make a decision about any of it! I think I may have burned out my wedding-planning abilities when I was engaged before. Though I'm partially joking, I think there is some truth in that, since I sort of 'used up' some of the ideas I had and don't really want to do the same things for our wedding.
So here are some of the ideas we've been kicking around:
We both would really like to get married at Burning Man. This, of course, presents a lot of problems. The main one being that most of our friends and family wouldn't be able to attend; it's too expensive and too difficult for most people to get out there. We'd be limiting our guest list to brave 'virgins' their first time to the playa and our trusty dusty Burner friends. Though I'm sure our good Captain Squid would officiate for us, I'd hate to leave everyone else out. We'd also have to wait until at least 2011 to do it, and wouldn't be able to include Orion, who would still be too young to attend.
However, I'm sure we will do a commitment ceremony at the Burn at some point, since it means a lot to us and wouldn't be hard to pull off.
Russell would like to have the ceremony on Cape Lookout, off of Beaufort, NC. This sounds kind of cool, but also would require a lot of work. We'd have to book up space at one of only two local inns (expensive). Then we'd have to ferry all of the guests out to the island. Once on the island, there would be no access to bathrooms. Besides that, I'm not sure it's legal without permits, etc. Then ferry everyone back into Beaufort for a reception, which we'd have to rent out a space for - likely in one of the local restaurants. And we'd probably have to get a caterer or have the restaurant provide food (also expensive). There's also the problem of what to do in case it rains, which would likely require us to do the whole thing at the reception site. So it sounds like fun, on one hand, but also like a lot of logistical planning and moving people around, which doesn't sound like fun.
There's also the (very small) issue of my dress and the general 'what to wear' question. I already have a gown - it's a beautiful A-line strapless number that I got years ago and never had a chance to wear. I tried to sell it numerous times with no luck and have just been hanging on to it in hopes I'd someday get to use it. I'm not stuck on wearing it, but I'd like to - however it wouldn't really work for an informal beach wedding (especially one that requires me to jump out of a boat and wade to shore). I certainly don't want to plan the whole ceremony around this one formal gown, but it has been on my mind.
Another idea is to take a page from Missy and William's book and just rent a beach house somewhere in NC and have the wedding and reception there. I'm most keen on this idea, but we don't know where in NC we'd like to do that. We'd prefer to avoid over-populated built-up 'touristy' spots, but when you're talking beach rentals, what else is there?
In my searching for ideas I hit on something I think is fabulous: the NC aquariums (all three sites) can be rented out for weddings and receptions. I really like this idea! I'd love to have a ceremony in front of an ocean scene, and from the pictures it looks pretty stellar. The question here is cost; but I'm thinking maybe we could do the ceremony at the aquarium and rent a beach house for the reception... I'm just not sure what will work best for us.
We could also shift focus completely and find a spot in the mountains here. There are certainly a lot of untapped options in that direction.
At this point we haven't even set a date yet. There are some financial reasons to go ahead and do it in the 2010 calendar year, but we're not going to be ready to do it this fall and I'm not sure how we feel about doing a courthouse wedding just for tax purposes, though we have discussed it. I think it'll likely be late spring or early summer 2011, especially if we still want to do the beach thing once we make a final decision.
I'm somewhat surprised that we're having so much trouble figuring out what to do, but as Russell pointed out "it's really important" and we want to make the best decision for us as a couple, for our families and baby, and financially.
Anyway, I'll keep you posted if we even manage to settle on anything - I'm sure we will at some point!

Silly Nicknames

Every baby has a bunch of silly nicknames... My mom was cool enough to write some of mine down in my baby book. Orion is no different, so I thought I'd record some of the silly things we call him here. As is typical, a lot of them refer to his daily 'functions'!

Mr. McFarty
Mr. Peepee Sprinkles
Pooper
Poopy-Doo
Pea Pod
Daddy calls him "Ori" (ore-ee)
Cranky Pie
Monster Munchkin

..and I'm sure there will be more to come...

"Sleep LIke a Baby"

Who ever it was that coined the saying "sleep like a baby" has never had a baby. Unless, of course, they intended for the simile to refer to sleeping in short stints of an hour or two, interspersed with intense snacking.
The big news today is that Orion passed his hearing test! The nurse from the Birthing Center, Helen, was kind enough to come out to the house since my car is out of commission. We managed to get him to settle enough to stay still and quiet through the tests until he managed to pass with both ears. This is good, as it's really just a check, but if he 'failed' it a second time I was going to have to take him to a hearing specialist to get tested a third time. I wasn't worried, because I've seen him respond to sound way too often to be concerned, but I also didn't want to have to go to the doctor any more than necessary!
He's sleeping peacefully next to me while I write this, but I know he'll be hungry soon, and then maybe we can have our afternoon nap. I look very forward to those some days. I'm doing all right today, but I know I could settle down for some sleep, even if just for an hour or so.
Saturday was a good day for us all, as I finally got out of the house and cured some of the cabin fever I've been experiencing! We went grocery shopping during the day, which is a social event for me since I work at Trader Joe's. It was fun introducing all my fine co-workers to Orion, who was passed out in the Ergo carrier the whole time we were there. It was also nice to stock up the house; it's been a bit bare here lately.
In the evening we went over to our old neighborhood, the Bohemian Ravine as we affectionately call it, for the annual summer block party. Many of the houses on the street open up, everyone grills out, and we wander around and have a grand time. There are usually a couple of bonfires and folks playing music... It was really excellent to see some of our friends and get some social time. It was especially fine to finally see Iris, a good friend of ours who got stuck in Canada several months back and just experienced the fun of the U.S. immigration system. We're very glad to have her back, because our plans to smuggle her back into the country were rather far-fetched!
Orion was a cutie-pie and slept most of the time, with a few nursing sessions at various houses. The above photo was taken at Jay and Russell's house during the shin-dig! I should also mention the awesome cake that Russell made for Jay's birthday; it was chocolate with chocolate frosting and toffee chips. Mon dieu! Delicious! I should get my Russell to get the recipe... Yum!
Russell and I have talked about finding more baby-friendly ways to get out of the house so that I feel a little less isolated. Aside from having friends over occasionally, we're also looking for easy (and inexpensive) things to do of an afternoon. Part of our trouble is that Russell's job (doing custom carpentry) is tiring, especially in this heat and humidity, so when he gets home he often just wants to relax on the couch. I'm usually in agreement to that plan, however my days now are pretty much made up of that, so when he comes home I want to get out and do something! Once I have a working car again this will all be a little easier, as I can make short trips with Orion during the day. In the meantime, we have plans to go to the Wednesday afternoon farmer's market in Carrboro, to the music on the lawn at Weaver Street on Thursday, and to the music at the river mill in Saxapawhaw on Saturday. Just knowing that there's stuff coming up makes me feel better... And we're looking forward to the beach trip in July! I can't wait to get to the ocean. I was planning a day trip to the beach on the day Orion was born, but obviously he had other plans...

Missing the Burn

Pretty much everyone is aware of the fact that we conceived Orion at Burning Man last year. We're immensely proud of that fact. He's certainly not the only one to claim such stellar beginnings, but we knew it would happen there. We also feel that he's destined to be an excellent addition to the planet, having come through the ether to us in such a special place.
The countdown to the Burn has truly begun, and since we're on the mailing lists we've been kept abreast of the situation. I got to the point where I delete the Jack Rabbit Speaks emails without reading them, because it just makes me bummed that we can't go this year. However, the other day I got caught up in the list of registered theme camps for this year and was in agony on the couch for a minute - I had to stop reading the list!
It did make me feel better to watch the "Confessions of a Burning Man" documentary last night. Though I can't be there this year, watching footage from previous years can be really inspiring. There has yet to be a temple that doesn't bring tears to my eyes...
Russell and I feel really strongly about the Burn - it's more than just the place where we created our son. I could go on for days about it, but I'll suffice to say that it's a really special place and a really important 'happening' each year. I can't wait to get back there - in the meantime, it's worth it to miss a year because we've got such a wonderful baby with us now.

Hard Days' Night

And the sleep deprivation begins to set in...
Orion apparently has his days and nights mixed up, which I've heard is fairly typical for new babies. He sleeps like an angel most of the day, and then gets into a feeding-changing-burping cycle at night that seems endless. We've been trying to keep him awake some during the day, especially in the evenings, so that his internal schedule will shift. This has worked a few times, but sometimes he's just so out that he doesn't wake up and stay awake despite our best efforts.
Since Russell is working, I have tried to bear the brunt of the night work. I don't want him going to work over-tired, because the potential for him to get hurt is just too high and I worry about him. So late nights have had Orion and I on the couch, watching stuff on Netflix and nursing or diaper changing or burping or just hanging out making baby noises. I tend to do ok with it, but sometimes it's infuriating. Take last night, for instance, when on three separate occasions he fell asleep, I got him upstairs and into bed, laid myself down, and had him wake up ten minutes later fussing. So up we go and back to the couch! Finally we went to bed around 3am, and managed to do the side-by-side 'sleep and feed' through the morning till about noon, when Russell came home.
Russell said some of his coworkers were impressed that he's not a sleep-deprived zombie, and gave me props for trying to handle the night nursing frenzy on my own. Apparently their wives kept them up all night, too, work or no! I ask for help when I need it (sometimes Daddy is just the only one who can get that burp out!) but I don't feel like it's fair to keep Russell up all night when he's got to work - especially since he comes home and does a lot to take care of me then, too. It's a team effort, but to me that doesn't necessarily mean doing everything together.
Today it was nice for him to come home and just take the baby for a while as I took a nice, long, hot shower on my own. Ahhhh.
Though I've been tired, today I managed to do a few things around the house and wrote some thank-you notes. A small sense of accomplishment does a lot for my sense of well-being!
Our cousins Hill and Melissa had their twins yesterday (and for that matter, our other cousins Ross and Rachel also have twins)! I just can't imagine trying to do this with two babies at once. I have to send a lot of love and good energy their way; I know they'll get through it and be great parents - but I also can't imagine how overwhelming it would be to have another baby as well as Orion. Goodness.
Orion is getting bigger and more active every day. He's been eating a lot, and pooping and peeing a lot, so we think he's in his two-week growth spurt (which also has the added benefit of insuring my milk production, yay). We can really see the development in his face, especially. His eyes are also starting to turn color. They were a really dark blue to begin with, but I think they're changing over to brown. It's interesting to watch the transition; I couldn't really say what color they are right now. It's fun having him awake more often (well, excepting those late-night cranky burping sessions) as he is starting to see better, notice things, and interact some. He loves looking at faces and brightly colored things. He caught sight of the string of Grateful Dead bears that I have hanging in my room and gazed at them with a look of complete wonder on his face. That was pretty cool!
Well, it's not all fun and games in babyland, but looking at his sweet face or little toes sure makes the rest of it worthwhile.

Sleepers

Two-Week Check Up

Today was a big day in Orion's life (and ours) for several reasons!
The biggest one for me is that today was our first day home 'alone'- just baby and me. It started out kind of tough, because I had to get us both up and going... I nursed Orion before getting out of bed, and once he was fed and mellow I hopped into the shower. He started fussing, though, so I didn't quite get through the morning routine before he was ready to eat again. I did at least manage to get my hair braided, though, which is a lot more comfortable on warm days when I have a lot to do. We came downstairs and by then the cats were fussing at me, too, waiting to be fed and let out. The turtle and fish needed some love as well in the way of food and tank lighting... so I ran around for a minute getting everyone situated before sitting down to nurse Orion again. At that point I was pretty hungry, but knew I'd be on the couch for a while under baby. Thank goodness for Netflix 'watch instantly' as I hung out with My Name is Earl for most of the day. I did finally manage to get some breakfast and even did some laundry once Orion was settled and napping after his second breakfast.
It occurs to me that babies are a lot like Hobbits in their eating habits. Hobbits love to eat and have many meals a day with snacks in between; the food agenda is something like Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevensies, Luncheon, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, and Supper. I can't imagine what Hobbit babies' nursing habits must be like - around the clock feeding!
Russell came home in the afternoon and we had lunch before heading out to our 2-week check up at the Birthing Center. Both Orion and I checked out fine, with just a couple minor issues. Not surprisingly, my uterus is still measuring quite large due to the fibroids. They are shrinking but obviously not totally gone, though it'd take an ultrasound to find out how big they are and their placement. I also got some of my stitches removed, and things are healing well. I will, however, have some damage that can't be totally resolved but won't affect how things work in that area. I won't go into details there... Sort of a bummer, but no big deal. Also, I'm almost down to my pre-pregnancy weight already! I do want to lose some more inches, though, as pants still don't quite fit right...
Orion is doing well - he's up to 7lbs, 12 ounces, so he's already over his birth weight. The midwife, LeAnne, said he was doing really well considering how much weight he lost initially. He didn't do so well on the hearing screening, but I'm not worried about it as I've seen him react to noise too much to believe he's got a hearing problem. The machine thing they use is rather dinky, and the nurse didn't seem like she was really on her game either (she kept checking the wrong ear...). We need to go back to the Birthing Center sometime this week to have them try it again before we get referred to a hearing specialist. This time they want me to come in when he's really knocked out asleep, as him being awake and making noise can also affect how well the machine works. Not a very good diagnostic, if you ask me.
After our appointment we stopped by the wonderful (if pricey) boutique attached to the BC. I got some desperately-needed nursing bras and some gripe water for Orion, as he gets some serious hiccups and that can make him cranky.
Finally we headed home with a stop at the grocery store to pick up some basics and do the WIC shopping for the month. This was Orion's first trip the grocery store, which he slept through. I think he was out after all the poking and prodding at the BC, but he was cute and angelic through the whole trip. He did attract a lot of attention from other shoppers and the cashiers and got lots of compliments. People were surprised that we were even out of the house, but I was pretty happy to see more of the world than the sights from my couch.
We're home again and settling in... Russell's making an awesome dinner of "random stir-fry" with all the veggies he found in the fridge, plus some mashed potatoes. I am, once again, acting the dairy cow and nursing our little munchkin. He's a good baby - I'm sure glad he's here!

Sleepy...

Last night was our first really tough night with Orion. He's apparently got his days and nights mixed up; in any case, he gets really alert around 10-11PM and stays that way until around 2-3AM. Initially I just sat up and watched some TV while I nursed and played with him, but around 1:30 he got too fussy for that anymore and I was up walking and bouncing him, trying to get the burps out. We gave him some catnip and tried to get him settled, to no avail. So it was back to the bath tub for me, as I might as well be relaxing if I'm going to be up all night. Orion does mellow out some in his bouncy chair by the tub, assuming I have the exhaust fan on and keep a hand on the chair to keep the bounce going. Back to bed and he was still fussing and crying, so it was a nurse/burp/bounce marathon until around 4AM, when I finally got to sleep. And then up again at 7, and 9, and 11... I could still be in bed, but we wanted to get some time in with Mom before she has to leave later on today. Of course the little goober is sound asleep now. My thought is to get up him and not let him sleep for a few hours before bed time in an attempt to start shifting his schedule. We'll see if that works; after all, he is the boss.

Three Generations

Nani, Noni, Nona... We're not sure just yet.

My mom, Susan, has been with us for the past few weeks from Colorado, but she is on the way back West tomorrow. She's bummed to be leaving us, especially Orion, and we're going to miss her, too!
She's been a big help around the house, shopping, and supplying us with cloth diapers so Orion can be a green baby! She's also helped with keeping the cats happy, fed, and attended to, and is a big fan of our little turtle, Toodeloo. That has allowed me to stay on the couch, get healed up, and spend a lot of time sitting with Orion on my lap. That makes those late night hang-out with baby sessions a lot easier, too, because if I need to sleep in or am a zombie all day it's ok...
Russell's mom, Jo Ann, has also been super helpful. She's been on the ball about making sure we're fed, even while we were in labor! She's been a great support, and we're really happy to have a grandma in town as well.
So here's to the grandmothers, or 'glam-mothers' as a friend quipped...
We're lucky to have such great moms, and Orion's lucky to have such fabulous grandmothers!

Settling In

At the moment my days are still spent on the couch with Orion as I wait to heal up and feel better. I'm just starting to feel less sore, but boy those stitches just suck, and that's all there is to that. I'm looking forward to being more mobile, though I know that once my mom leaves I'm going to be here alone with baby most days, and that things will be tougher without the extra help. For one thing, I'm going to have to put him down once in a while! We've 'practiced' taking showers and baths with him in the bouncy chair in the bathroom with me, and so far he's been a good sleeper through those experiences. I'm learning to just get him fed and content before I try to do anything - and have managed to eat and even tie a few hemp bracelets with him nursing away on the Boppy pillow.
Although it's going to be tough on us financially, I'm really glad I have the 12 weeks of maternity leave to take care of our little guy during his first three months. I imagine by the end of that time I'll be quite glad to go back to work, though it'll be hard to leave him!
I'm still sort of processing the fact that I'm now a mother - sometimes I look at Orion and realize that I'm going to be oriented to this little person for the rest of my life. I think that's awesome, but it's also sort of overwhelming. Things will never be the same, but I believe that's a good thing! I've wanted to start a family forever, and I'm really glad to have Russell in my life to do it with. He's the best partner I could ask for, and we sure made a cute baby.
On top of that, I still haven't quite processed the fact that I actually gave birth - this blows my mind. Since it was really up in the air until the very last minute whether I would deliver at the BC or have to go to UNC (or even have a c-section), I suppose I hadn't really settled into the idea that I was going to push this baby out the natural way. Even as I was doing it my brain sort of shied away from the fact that I was in labor, even up until the point that Orion was laying on my chest all slimy and still attached to his umbilical cord! Now I look back and think, wow, I did it. Supposed to be the hardest and most painful thing, and I did it - without any interventions. Wow.
And here I am on the couch with him sleeping next to me, making calls to my insurance company and Medicaid to get him all covered and legally registered, etc. It's official now, folks - Russell and Sachi have swelled the ranks of hippie families by one sweet baby boy!

How Do They Know?

How do babies know when they have a new diaper on? In the past day, Orion has managed to soil a brand new diaper directly after being changed at least three, maybe four times. On the one hand, it's pretty funny, but at 3AM after finally getting him settled down only to have to change him (and wake him up) again, it can get pretty nerve-wracking. Add to that a particularly 'stuck' burp bubble taking its time to work itself out, and you have a recipe for a fussy baby and a very tired mamma! This was our night last night, which was finally saved by burp-master daddy Russell, who got up and got Orion to burp (and changed him, twice) before laying him back down to nurse with me - and finally fall asleep.
Yay, parenthood!
I was thinking around 4AM or so that it's a good thing I've got the next three months off, because I don't know how we'd do this otherwise!
Still, he's a cutie pie and I'm glad he's here with us, even while I'm begging him to calm down and sleep in the wee hours of the morning...

(More of) Orion's Ancestry

So it turns out that Orion shares his birthday with my great-grandfather George Denison, and his great-great uncle Runyon Colie Jr. on Russell's side. How wild is that?
Here's the info from Russell's aunt Louise:
"Orion also shares his birthday with his great, great uncle, Runyon Colie, Jr. who turned 94 on the day you gave birth. He's Gie's [Russell's grandmother] older brother. I doubt Russell remembers much, but he has been one of the world's greatest sailors, sailing in the Olympics and winning world championships in one class or another (Penguins and E-skows). So maybe Orion will be a great sailor. Louise"

New Mommy=On the Couch with Baby

The view from the couch hasn't changed much in the past week, excepting the rotating bouquets of flowers and the random baby-clutter. Though the new sun lamp in the turtle tank does add some light and color to that side of the room!
I'm still healing, so I'm still sore and rather uncomfortable as things get sorted out down below. Luckily, I haven't been too hormonal and have only experienced a few cranky days, which is better than I expected! So far the worst thing about new parenthood has been the soreness, which isn't even directly related to baby-raising. I'm just looking forward to being healed up enough to do basic things, like laundry - or even just walking up and down the stairs without having to do so very carefully and deliberately.
Orion is such a sweet baby! He's a good sleeper - so far we've gone out to eat twice and he slept through it both times, completely unperturbed by noise and activity around him. However, he's spending some time each day in the 'quiet alert' state, which means he's doing well and learning. He is more interested in looking around at things and seems curious about the world. He's also quite the mover - he can lift his head and does so a lot, though he can't hold it up long. He also squirmed all over the bed last night in an effort to get closer to Russell and me, and when I turned to look at him he was looking up at my face. Such a cutie pie! He rarely cries, and then only when he wants to be fed, and makes some pretty funny noises and faces when he's working on a burp or a gas bubble.
Since we co-sleep, I haven't felt too sleep-deprived; he stays right there next to me, so when he wakes up to nurse I wake up immediately, and we've had no late-night crying fits. We've also mastered the 'sleep-and-feed' (as Russell calls it), in which Orion lays on his side and me on mine, so he can nurse while I doze. He'll nurse on-and-off for up to and hour and a half without really disturbing my sleep. I'll wake up to find him contentedly snoozing away next to me. It's a nice way to sleep!
Since he was born, Orion has rarely been put down - he's almost constantly in someone's arms or lap. The longest he's been down have been the times that he was in his stroller at the restaurant, and he slept through that. I think this is really good for him, but it can't last forever, sadly! My mom is here till the end of the week, and after that it's just going to be me and him during the days, so I'll have to put him down sometimes. I'm glad we have a swing and a bouncer seat for him to chill in if I have something to do that I can't hold him while doing... I also believe it's time to master the Moby wrap that Jessa made for us, as babywearing time is nigh!

Dreadlock Daddy!