Boo!

And the 2008 McNamara Halloween Oscar goes to...Memoirs of a Geisha and It's the Great Pumpkn, Charlie Brown

Our Own Mary Poppins

When your doorbell rings at 3:30 in the afternoon and you're not expecting anyone AND you're in the middle of breastfeeding your 3-week-old, you think to yourself, as you pull your baby off your nipple and head toward the door, this better be good. And boy was it ever! Standing on our doorstep was Auntie Jen, fresh from a conference in Shrewsbury which was let out early and conveniently located near Route 146. Before Auntie Jen could get both feet in the door, I passed MIchael off to her and then Maeve began her attack: "Auntie Jen, do you want to see my tricycle? Auntie Jen, do you want to see my big-girl bed?" I am convinced an angel delivered Auntie Jen to our doorstep yesterday just to give me a break. I was able to prepare dinner IN ADVANCE and pick up around the house. I even debated taking a shower - something seldom done by the mother of a toddler and a 3-week-old. We had a great dinner, then Auntie Jen took Maeve for a ride on the new trike around the block which left Chris and I to sit quietly and actually chat with one another. Go figure. Just a spoon full of Auntie Jen helps the medicine go down.

I never took that shower by the way...

A Lakeville Brunch

So Maeve and Michael and I headed out on Wednesday this week for our first real "outing" to the Graber home where Laura had lovingly prepared a yummy brunch for myself and Colleen and all the kids. She also created an atmosphere for the kids to really hang out and enjoy themselves - a highlight of this being when Laura broke out the Miami Vice soundtrack so we could all "get down" in the living room. We also got to visit with Laura's husband, Steve who now works from home. It was so nice to catch up with them after so much time passing since our last play date! We left there with full bellies and two bags worth of clothes for Maeve and Michael thanks to Laura's talents for clothing preservation! Here is some video from the "line up." Please note what my daughter is up to, would you? Thank you Grabers for such a nice time!

Satisfaction

As one might imagine, Michael is in his most pleasant state, after a good helping of milk and a diaper change. I tried to capture some footage of this so you can see what I'm talking about, especially for any of you who have only heard him at his crankiest...

Camera Shy

Here's the assortment of "nursery photos" that Michael gave Chris and I to select from...

I wonder if the photographer ever had a more difficult client to work with...

Personally, I'm leaning toward the last one...

Raw Deal

One might surmise that Michael has had a rough go of it during his 2 1/2 weeks spent outside my uterus. I'll give you the low down and you be the judge:

1. Circumcision. Ok, so I realize for health reasons, it was probably the right decision to make on MIchael's behalf, but can we just stop to think about what's actually being done to this poor kid only days after he's bee born? And they can tell me all they want that they make the baby "very comfortable" during the procedure and numb the area but you're not fooling me here. And how would they like being sent home in such a state? Yikes.

Circumcision heals approx. 1 week after birth.

2. One-week check up. So we bring Michael to the pediatrician for his first post-hospital check-up. I should mention here that his real pediatrician returns from maternity leave at the end of October so we've yet to talk with her. He checks out fine: weighs 7.5 oz., has become an 1/8 of an inch taller and aside from some dry skin, looks pretty good.

We put Michael to bed for the night, but notice his left eye looks a little "junky."

3. Michael wakes up the day after his check-up with his left eye completely sealed shut. After wiping it off with wet cotton balls, I call his pediatrician's office and am instructed to bring him back in. After paying another $20.00 co-pay, I'm told he has conjunctivitis and am given Erythromicin to squeeze into his eye for God knows how many days. A good way to tick our son off I soon realize, is to pry his eye open and throw some goo in it 3 times a day...

Fast forward to last night, 10/23/08

4. We feed Michael around 10 PM (oh, and by the way, Chris has been feeding him pumped breast milk for the last day and a half because super mom here has just resurrected her double yeast infection that she battled when Maeve was born) and for the next 2 1/2 hours, cannot console him to save ourselves. After placing a call to his pediatrician's office at 11:30 PM, we're told it may not be thrush he's suffering from as much as it is constipation but if he has a temp. over 100, we'll need to bring him to the emergency room. What?! After exhausting himself from crying hysterically, Michael passes out between Chris and I in our bed (something I don't usually condone) and sleeps for the next 5 1/2 hours.

5. I speak with the pediatrician's office today who explains, I can either bring him in OR I can use a spoon to scrape the inside of his mouth and if it bleeds, then I know it's thrush and I SHOULD bring him in. After telling the nurse that I am still treating him for the "pink eye" a week later, she recommends I bring him in. Uh, yeah.

So Michael will be seen at noon today at which time I'll figure out whether I'm losing my mind, or I'm being a good, proactive parent. This is one of those times where I really do wish I could snap my fingers and make it all better. For now, I'll continue to slather my nipples in some yellow goo, feed my kid every two hours and reassure him he's worth every bit of it.

Up Close And Personal

This is footage that only a mother could love (we'll actually, I can think of a father and a few grandparents that might like it too). It's super uneventful, super unembellished and I've fallen super in love all over again:

He'll Eat Just About Anything

Here is some footage of Michael snacking on his Dad's nose, AFTER a 20-minute nursing session. It's like getting the hungry horrors a half-hour after you've eaten Chinese food...

Michael Brennan McNamara

After 13 hours of what turned out to be a much more grueling labor and delivery than Maeve's 22-hour show-stopper, Michael Brennan McNamara has finally graced us with his presence! Weighing in at 7 lbs., 13 oz and measuring a decent 21 inches long, he is nothing short of everything we ever hoped for and is thriving as I post this blog. He is masterful at both sleeping and eating (despite the fact that I am currently battling some of the worst nursing discomfort possible). We'll continue to muddle through however and enjoy each moment we possibly can as we adjust to our new, and certainly improved family. Attached are a slew of some of our most favorite pictures from Michael's first few days outside the womb...

Hmmm...do you think this picture was taken before my epidural or after? Hmmm...

Sleep Eating

This is a video taken the night my water broke (10/5/08). We sat down to a late dinner but decided to make it more enjoyable by sitting in front of the Red Sox game. Maeve did her best to hang in there however the nap-less day caught up with her rather quickly, but not before she got in some apple with peanut butter...

He's a (not so) Regular Guy

So with less than 48 hours to go before my scheduled induction at Sturdy on Monday at 8 AM, I was so relieved to get a call from my Auntie Ann to invite us over for a visit with them in Somerset where they were hosting Fr. Mike O'Grady, cousin to my maternal grandfather and one of my most favorite people on the planet to say the least. Just being able to get out of the house was terrific but to have the Ariagnos and Fr. Mike to hang out with, if only for a couple of hours, was a true treat for us. Of course, it took Maeve the better part of the visit to warm-up to Fr. Mike which I felt awful about because I wanted her to just enjoy him from start to finish but she did make a couple of observations which were revealed to me when I took her into the bathroom to do tinkles. As Maeve sat on her "throne," Maeve declared the following: "Momma, Fr. Mike is a pa-reest (priest), but he's also just a regular guy." Immediately, I knew exactly where Maeve was coming from, because ever since I've known Fr. Mike from my early childhood years, I've enjoyed him not only for his holy persona but also for his down-to-earth, family connections and often, when I'm able to visit with him, I find I can appreciate him on so many levels because he's such an easy person to be around. Despite Maeve playing the shy game with Fr. Mike most of last night, I think she picked up the same qualities that make Fr. Mike so special to me. Like mother, like daughter. It was so important to me to be able to squeeze in a visit with Fr. Mike before my blessed event tomorrow at 8 AM! Here's a picture taken very lovingly by my cousin Meg just before we left last night. Thank you again to the Ariagnos for including us in their evening. It meant more to me than they will ever know.

The Nerve...

So, Maeve and I made one last supermarket trip this morning before things give way at Sturdy Memorial Hospital. Usually we travel 10-15 minutes from the house to hit Stop & Shop in Attleboro where we employ our re-usable shopping bags and the handy "scan as you shop" option, which Maeve enjoys because I give her the all-important job of holding the scanning "gun" while I hold the item to be purchased so she can scan it for me. Today, however, I decided not to venture too far from the house in the (un)fortunate event that my water decided to break in aisle 7. So our destination (after picking up some chocolate munchkins for the munchkin) was Stop & Shop in Pawtucket. Upon entering the store, I wasn't noticing the self-scan kiosk that one usually sees at the doors so I asked a sales associate who was standing nearby if they offered the scan as you shop option. Much to our dismay we learned that they did not have that option available at their store. I thanked the woman and headed with Maeve over to produce to begin filling our order. On our way there, Maeve asked me, "Momma, what did that lady say to you?" I responded, "Oh, she told us that they don't have the scanner with the yellow button for you to press to help Momma out." Maeve's response? "That was so rude, Momma."