A few things...

1) I shouldn't even be mentioning this because I don't want to "jinx" it, but today I am about 85% sure that Maizey's hemangioma has begun the involution process (when it shrinks away to nothing). Yesterday I was about 50% sure. Maybe tomorrow I will be 120% sure. Let's hope.

2) My skinny jeans from last summer are too big now. I love nursing (even though Maizey is down to breast feeding once a day and bottle the rest of the time--we are working hard to change this), I know that it is the only reason that I keep loosing weight and I'm thinking of pumping for the rest of my life. Erika tells me it's not that I'm skinnier, it's just that I have no butt now (which is, sadly, true), thanks beotch.

3) Maizey is almost sitting up. And, we got to take the infant insert out of her carseat since she is over 11lbs now (we assume). All these milestones that we never even knew existed now elate us!
4) She woke me up last night at 2:30 (this hasn't happened in at least a month) for an hour and a half. She was so hyper and having so much fun, that I couldn't be mad. I took a video--see below.
5) I'm having oral surgery today. I can't even have the normal "twilight" anesthesia they give since I'm nursing. It's just gonna be some local and some vicodin for nreves/pain. Hopefully I don't feel like dying tomorrow...and my mom is out of town so she can't even take care of me (I hate not getting to be the baby anymore).

6) Porter had explosive diarrhea in the kitchen in the middle of the night. My darling husband left it there for me to clean up this morning because, afterall, I don't have anything to do when I wake up, right? What I learned from the clean up process is that poop sticks to natural stone more than it does to mortar. This surprised me.

Video and recent photos of my crazy Maizey...




Ryan and Maize.

She is finally using her adorable "Maizey" pacifiers from Auntie Beth.

With Auntie Erika in the cutest hoodie ever.

This was my hyper, little bambina at 4am this morning.

This is not how I used to vacuum...

I knew my life would change when I became a mom. I didn't know that I would have to multitask even when I vacuum. Here I am breaking in my new heels and baby wearing while I tidy up. These days, the only way to keep Maizey happy is to strap her to my torso.

Here she is being plain, old cute.

This is how I found her when I was done doing dishes. She played herself to sleep and the pacifier just fell out of her mouth. So friggen cute.

Maizer Daze

That's what we call Maizey. Or, pumpkin, pumpkin face, pumpkin sauce, bambina, bambi, bean, love, little love, lover, lover bug, bug, sweet pea, sweetie peetie, babe, Maize, you get the point.

Maizey's teething went from matter-of-fact to "holy crap, this is sucks ass!" Poor pumpkin has had 2 terrible nights in a row. Pretty much the only thing that made her happy tonight was chewing on her pacifier and a the brief moments after the application of Baby Orajel--I can't believe this stuff is only 4 times daily, I think that 4 times an hour would suit our needs better. If there is any positive to this process, it's that she sleeps a TON. Today she basically took a nap from 11am-5pm--she did wake up for an hour at about noon.

We spent the last few days at a family friend's house in La Conner. It was really nice and relaxing and we ate VERY well (good for the soul but not the butt). The weather was crummy so we didn't get to go in her pool, but that's a Seattle summer for you.

Here are some new photos...

Classic Maizey-getting-changed pose.

Maize and Daddy at a visit to cousin Harper's house. Isn't he cute? My Matt Hasselbeck.

Mama and Maize at Shelley's house. Maizey refuses to take a picture where she actually looks happy to be with me.

Juicy buns. Cutest thing ever. Thanks George.

Maizey enjoying her time at the Mexican restaurant.

Enjoying some tummy time today...during her one hour break from napping.

Here I am trying to keep Maizey happy during her tough night.

Do we look alike? Maybe if I smuged some mascara under her eyes and didn't bathe her for 3 days too...

Here is Daddy's attempt at keeping her happy.

This is what a good job he did...

The love...

of my life. Maizey is the love of my life. She is the sweetest little thing and I want to eat her. Literally. I'm so overcome by her that the only way I can think to fill it is to eat her. Mama Dahmer.

Today was a really good day. In fact, the last few days have been really good. Last night she slept for 9 and a half hours!!! Then she got up for an hour and then slept for another 2 and a half! I think that part of the reason she is doing so well is that she is off of steroids (for now). They tell you that the side effects are fussiness, increased appetite, and upset tummy--3 GREAT reasons for a baby to scream, scream, scream. As I reported in my last blog post, Monday was really intense, Maizey was so fussy and I felt terrible for her. Monday was also her last day of steroids, then magically on Tuesday and since she has been a good little baby. For about the 3 weeks before that it was really hard to take Maizey anywhere because she'd get so upset (just ask my mom and sister who have both been shopping with me on separate occasions). It was so intense last Saturday that I didn't even buy anything at Anthropologie when I was shopping to buy and that NEVER happens! I've also realized that the less I ask of Maizey, the better her life is. It's always been important to me to get her out and about. For my life to continue on as normally as possible. But, what I'm finding is that Maizey is much happier if we can just be mellow and stay home as much as possible. And, what's good for Maizey (what keeps her calm) is good for me. She is still so little and I realize that I was asking too much of her to take her shopping for multiple hours at a time, or to drive all over the planet with her in her carseat (which she HATES). I just wanted her to be exposed to a lot of different people and places. I wanted her to be well rounded, and now I know that she'll be much better rounded if she can take good naps and spend time playing at home. As she gets older we'll start working on the out and about stuff again. I'm hoping that she'll be able to stay off steroids for a little while, but if her heman (I'm just going to call it that for short now) continues to really grow, then she'll probably have to go back on. Sucky. Anyway, that brings me to my next point.

Maizey had her final laser treatment today. The doc was disappointed to see how much the heman had grown in the last 4 weeks (and it has definitely gotten bigger). Initially the steroids did slow the growth, but then it just got right back going like nothing ever happened. This means that Maizey is going to need surgery. Just the idea of Maizey in a little, baby hospital gown makes me want to throw up. Even if the heman stopped growing tomorrow, it's big enough now that once it involutes (or shrivels away--which it will do eventually), it will still leave a mass of stretched skin that will need to be removed. But, we can just do surgery now and remove the heman before it even stops growing, then we don't have to wait for involution and watch the tumor take over her beautiful face. We won't proceed with surgery until she is at least 6 months old. Once babies hit that mark, they handle anesthesia as well as adults. Before that, it's much riskier. I asked the doc how risky is anesthesia--like what are the stats for babies once they are 6 months? She said about 1 in 10,000 people die (in other words .001%) and I thought I was going to puke right there. That seemed sososososoooooo high to me! I can't let my baby go "under" with odds like those, but then I realized that the population is skewed since people who have surgery are often sick already. I do realize that the odds of .001% are really really teeny, but not when you are talking about your little bambi, the love of your life. Anyway, we'll meet with the surgeon who will be doing the procedure at Seattle Children's next month. The prognosis of these surgeries is really good, they leave little scars that get smaller as the babies grow up. We'll keep you all in the loop with any new info about that as we get it.

Now onto the BIG, HUGE, GARGANTUAN news...

Maizey's cousin Harper was born last night. We went and visited the new family today at St. Joe's in Tacoma. Harper is such a cute, little peanut. It's hard to believe that she weighs almost 2 lbs more than Maizey did at her smallest. I already can't remember Maizey ever being that small!?? Cousin Beth had the dream labor (it was karma since she had the barfiest pregnancy on record) and even did it natural. I'm so jealous and feel, at least, slightly fulfilled by her experience since I sort of got robbed (not that I'm complaining). I already can't wait to see Maize and Harper playing together at the cabin next summer...I can just picture it now...Bethie and I with cocktails in one hand and our daughters in the other. Makin' Grandma G proud...

Maizey enjoying one of her new, quiet days at home. Showing off her new, crazy, mad "grasping objects" skills--and her squishy, adorable, nude body!

Mama Bethie and Baby Harper

This is as close as we could get to a good side-by-side of the tots. Harper was being an exemplary, little baby and Maizey was being her usual spit-fire self.I like this one because you can see Harper rooting. It's the cutest little reflex. I remember when Maize did it...

Big Girl!

I'm referring to Maizey in the title there, not myself.

Not a lot of new info to report. I may or may not have mentioned the fact that my little mamacita is holding her head/chest up like a 4month old (not the little 2.5 month old that she is). She has definitely developed some strong neck muscles, but I think it helps that she has a little head like her daddy. If she had the HUGE Gebow head I can guarantee that she'd be months away from holding up her giant noggin.

Today was a pretty intense day. I cried at Babies 'R Us. Maizey had a pretty tough morning but calmed down enough that I thought it was safe to run errands. Well, I was wrong. Maizey had a major melt down and I spent over an hour in the 90 degree mothers' room at Babies 'R Us trying to calm her down. To add insult to injury, they don't even carry the replacement part for my pump that I drove all the way down there to get. Anyway, I think the melt down can be attributed to the steroids she is taking for her hemangioma, she seemed to have a pretty upset tummy this evening and I think that caused the fussiness, and that the steroids caused the upset tummy. But my husband swooped in and saved the day, he came home early to take care of poor Maize so that I could finally eat a meal (it was almost 3pm and I hadn't really eaten) and decompress with a bowl of gnocchi and some Flipping Out on Bravo in my air conditioned bedroom. I can't imagine being a single mom who doesn't have someone to "save the day" on those occasions when we mamas need saving. God bless them.

Moving right along and on the sort of same topic, Maizey's hemangioma continues to grow. The steroids seemed to slow the growth initially, but it just keeps on truckin'. I'm trying to stay positive because at the end of the day I have a beautiful and healthy baby girl, but it's hard to see this tumor taking over her face. I try not to notice when people look at her hemangioma before they look in her eyes, but I see the strangers at the mall and at the grocery store doing just that. I'm sure I'd do the same, it's hard not to notice it. And of course Maizey is too little to know the difference, but I still have a strong desire to protect her from those reactions--and to protect myself. Anyway, we have another laser treatment this week and I will have the opportunity to chat with the dermatologist about what the next steps will be. I feel pretty sure that I won't keep her on steroids, and I really won't consider surgery until/unless the growth really starts to impede vision or ulcerates badly--but I'm not sure that I will have any other options than those, except for the wait-and-see. I will keep everyone updated about that.

Anyway, it was time to update the blog with some recent photos. So here you go...

This is Maizey's stinker face. But isn't the outfit from auntie Jessica so cute? She finally fits into it!

Here is my smiley baby at her doctor's appointment. Weighing in at a whopping 10lbs 6oz. I'm so proud!!

Maizey passed out in bed with her papa.

This is today, when daddy saved mama from a mini-nervous breakdown.

This is daddy burping Maizey--he can always cheer her up (to my delight/chagrin)!

Here is Maizey showing how even with a BMI of only 14 (yes they actually told me her BMI), you can still have a double-chin (or as I like to call it--a frame for her pretty face). Look at those big blue eyes... even after an hour of screaming in the mothers' room at BRU, all she has to do is flash me those eyes and everything seems okay again.

Her favorite place to be.

So pleased with herself!

Look at my strong baby! She is growing up...

This is how her face looks when she coos--notice the flared nostrils?? Too cute.

Happy 28th to me!

So, today I turned 28. Ryan made sure it was memorable, as he always does. Today followed an already fabulous week. We left for Tahuya last Tuesday and came home yesterday. It was a long relaxing/sometimes chaotic vacation for our family. We got in some good quality time with each other and my family. Maizey was on her best behavior, and although we had some fussy moments, mostly she was pretty laid back. Auntie Ricky took some beautiful family photos--all in only 15 minutes since RyRy HAD to get back to watch Wimbledon. We had a great time, but we were all glad to get home.
Back to today. Ryan took the day off. I knew we were doing something but I didn't know what. We woke up after a good nights' sleep--all happy to be back in our beds. We readied Maizey to spend a long day with her Grammy (the longest we've ever been apart). After we dropped her off we had breakfast of my choice which was, of course, Starbucks. Ryan then revealed to me that we were headed to Uvillage for a shopping spree! A REAL shopping spree--something I've always hoped would happen, but was still anxiously waiting for. I hadn't been to Anthropologie since I found out I was pregnant--I'd been avoiding it because it's too hard for me to go in if I can't buy. It's actually emotional. I realize this sounds so ridiculous and shallow, but it's really hard to watch your body slip away from you and now that things are normalizing again it's important that I feel good about myself. Anyway, after a long day of shopping with my hubby (who morphed into the world's best shopping partner for a day) and lunch, I was treated to a long, lovely massage and then dinner with Ryan's family. It was a great day and it was so good to get back to my Maize after spending time being totally self-absorbed, I couldn't get enough of my girl and her sweet, squishy cheeks.
Now it's nu-night time. I'll try to get some pics up soon.