Cori Sidebar

I’ve updated the side to some new things Cori is doing and some people have asked what she may enjoy for her 1st birthday. These are merely suggestions and of course no one is under any obligation to purchase anything! These are just some things we think she’ll enjoy this summer. Unfortunately it seems that the older the kids get, the bulkier the toys get. Good thing we have a basement!

Cori has been crawling at daycare, but has yet to do this for us at home. She is fascinated with her tongue - sticking it out and making raspberry sounds and moving it back and forth. And you already know how she likes to kiss people. We think she may just skip crawling as she is pulling to stand quite a bit and army crawling is really her fastest way to move. She points, she screams, she giggles, and she is eating foods with more texture. She has her sippy cup down fairly well, and she just loves chasing the kitty!

Here’s a funny video of Cori and proof that kids put ANYTHING in their mouth….

Lazy

I’ve been meaning to post for a few days, but I’ve had a serious case of procrastination. Or maybe I was bitten by the lazy bug – who can say? Since my last post, let’s see what’s happened…I turned 35, spent 3-4 days in Palm Springs, and missed Cori’s first word.

One thing at a time – my birthday was very nice. I’m really enjoying the Keurig single pod coffee maker! Unfortunately my impatience to get this item ruined what Dave had planned to get my as his gift. Whoops! So instead he got me alterations… romantic huh? Actually it is what I asked for. I had my first experience at a tailor, and suffice to say that the reason they treat you like royalty is that they think you have the bank account of royalty! Yikes. I should’ve paid more attention when my grandmother was teaching me to sew.

A few days after my birthday, I flew out to Palm Springs for work. Well, technically it was for work, but not much work was involved. And my refusal to pay $15 a day for internet access sealed the deal. This was for an award ceremony for top sales on a team in which I was a member. Thursday made for a long day with much time spent in airports and on flights. CA can feel as far away as France at times. But landing in 85 degree sunshine kind of makes you forget that. And coupled with prepaid spa treatments, pool side bloody marys and good food, it was pretty easy to relax! (Good thing another parternering company paid for this trip, considering I just took a week off to save my company money!)

On Saturday my dear friend Jennifer came to visit me from LA. We hung out by the pool and had some lunch and girl talk which was wonderful. Later on Jen took me to my first casino ever… That was quite an experience – both good and bad. I apparently had the wrong impression of what casinos are really like. For those of you who are “casino virgins” like I was, let me tell you what may and may not happen:

• People will not be dressed to the nines like George Clooney & Julia Roberts in Oceans Eleven. I felt over-dressed and should’ve worn jeans.
• You will not hear “clink clink click” of coins hitting the dispensing tray. If you win, you get a paper pay out ticket?!?! Where’s the fun in that….
• Not once did someone come up to me and offer to get me a drink from the bar.

The place REEKS of cigarette smoke – blah!

I think overall, I just had the wrong impression. We still had a blast, and played some bingo which should’ve made me Grandmother smile from the great beyond… Things sure have changed from the days I schlepped hard bingo cards at the Knights of Columbus. They have ELECTRONIC bingo!?! And all kinds of crazy configurations like “Chinese Kite” and “Crazy Rail Road”. I used to think playing 4 corners was flashy. But I did win $24 on the slots, which I promptly fed back into various machines. No biggie – I think I spent a total of $25 all night for a few hours of entertainment. In the spirit of channeling my Grandmother, I never won at bingo.

But there are some pictures scattered here of my hotel in Palm Springs and a cute picture of Jen and I at 4 AM as I was preparing to leave Sunday morning.

While I was gone, Cori spoke her first word! The magical word…. Kitty. But it sounds more like “gitty”. We always point to Zoe and say “kitty” when we see her – Cori is fixated on our cat which is funny because of course Zoe wants nothing to do with Cori. She tolerates her at best. But Cori pointed to Zoe and said “gitty”. What a proud moment! She’s always very talkative and babbles ma-ma and da-da over and over, but we never know if she gets what she is saying or not. But I think pointing to Zoe and saying “gitty” would qualify as her speaking with intent.

It’s just amazing how Cori seems to be turning into a little toddler from our baby. She is always trying to pull up onto her knees or feet. We think she may just skip regular crawling and go to walking. She still army crawls and has “regular” crawled at daycare but doesn’t seem to show much interest in it. Here’s a little video of her playing with her favorite new toy – her kitchen from Pop Pop & Grandma Kathy at Christmas. Sorry that you have to turn sideways half way through – Dave turned the camera.

back to the grind

After a hectic week of frenzied cleaning, this weekend was busy with visits from a lot of family & friends. Saturday morning I got to visit my friend's new son Mason, and he is just adorable! Then we had 3 generations girls time Saturday afternoon, followed by a visit from my dad and his wife.

I woke up today and enjoyed a steaming cup of coffee with the new Keurig coffee maker. Aghhhhh! And today Dave & his mom came home from the trip to New England. We all had a nice long visit with my cousin up from Atlanta and my Aunt & Uncle and Mom. There was some competitive Wii action, some good food and laughs. Cori was a happy girl with all the company for the most part. She's fighting off some kind of tummy bug today, and it made for some clinginess and fussiness in the late day. But we had a great time with all the people we love!

Tomorrow is back to work and another year older.
Not sure which I am less thrilled about.

Spring Cleaning

Happy Spring!! This week I said goodbye to winter and purged a lot of tired old thoughts, items, and feelings. Spring is a time of new beginnings right? Don't get me wrong - the things I've tossed were appreciated. But they served their time and purposefulness. I am a big believer in shedding things when they no longer reflect who you really are.

Speaking of who I really am, I've always had a hard time "relaxing". I'm not one to lay on the couch in front of the TV for long periods of time. That was more evident than ever this week. I had the week off from work and decided to use the time to run a lot of errands I'd put off and do a lot of "spring cleaning". It felt good to get so much done, but I'm exhausted!

When I first thought about what I'd do this week, I thought I'd catch some naps, hit the gym daily, reading, and have lunch with friends. Heck, I even contemplated picking up my knitting again. And somewhere mid week when I had made a royal mess trying to clean the kitchen (why is it that it seems like a huge mess is made trying to clean up??) I even regretted my decision to not just "relax" instead of embarking on this big cleaning purge. But I think that was a moment of panic , because I've come to see that I needed this cleaning. It was cathartic for me. Getting rid of some cobwebs to let in the sunshine is just what I needed.

Hope that spring finds you ready for new beginnings, big or small.

little helper

Corinne likes to help us with the laundry.

Did I mention that she crawled for the first time yesterday?! We didn't see it since it happened at daycare, but our little girl is growing up! Makes me a bit sad. Tonight I was putting her to sleep and I held her up against me with her head on my shoulder. This is the pinnacle of contentment for me; it reminds me of when she was really little, in those first few months, and we slept every night in the over-sized chair like that. It is so peaceful that I have a hard time putting her down in her crib. I just want to hold her for as long as I can. Now that she's crawling, it won't be long before she struggles and wants to be free from our arms to move about.

In other, not so content news, Dave has bronchitis. Blah.

coffee snob

I've turned into a coffee snob. If anyone out there has a Keurig coffee maker, you'll completely understand what I'm talking about. Around Christmas a bunch of us at work chipped in and got a Keurig single serve coffee maker. You put in a "K-cup" which is basically a single pod of coffee and pick your size. Stick your coffee mug under the spout and in 30 seconds, your freshly brewed beverage awaits.

It's soooo good that coffee at home just doesn't cut it anymore. Not even the good stuff.

And the variety that is available in the pods! Not only can you have coffee, but tea and cocoa as well. And the kinds of pods - one morning I feel all "dark magic extra bold" blend and then if I want a "pumpkin spice breakfast blend" I can do that too. I'm becoming addicted to pomegranate berry tea as well.

I love this thing so much that to those who are asking what I may want for my birthday.... this is it! I really don't need anything else and this would be a gift that gives over and over. Bed Bath & Beyond has them and would let me use my 20% coupon for big savings. So not that I need anything, but if you really feel inclined to get me something, I'm just saying that a Bed Bath & Beyond gift card would not go to waste.

PS - for those of you who do have one of these magic machines, this website has the best selection and prices for the pods. And shipping is darn fast as well as free with an easily met minimum order.

The week in pictures

This past week Cori finally started eating some puffs and yogurt bites. They need to be in halves because they are too large for her whole. We took a few pictures of her enjoying them with dinner.

Things otherwise are the same for us this week - working and enjoying the warmer weather. We're still trying to weather the 9 month sleep regression. Some nights are better than others.

We're all trying to stay healthy - Cori still has a cough but is back to her old self. Dave is fighting off the respiratory bug. I was feeling better until Saturday late morning when I had sudden chest pain. It was a heavy pressure in my chest and felt more intense lifting Cori or moving my arms. Nothing seemed to help, and the intensity seemed to stay the same. I had to put off going to the doctor until Sunday due to some prior commitments. After some tests and questions, the doctor decided that I had Costochondritis - an inflammation of the junctions where the upper ribs join with the cartilage that holds them to the breastbone or sternum. He felt the infection was from the intense coughing and respiratory bug I had.

The week's activities can sometimes lead to a messy house and lack of time to clean. Can you find the baby in this picture? ha ha. Truth be told, I don't mind the mess because a weird part of me looks forward to cleaning everything up. Hope you have a great week coming up!

Peek a boo!

Cori likes to pull down the bumper pads in her crib and play peek-a-boo.

Enough of the paparazzi!

Sleeping Beauty

Cori's been fighting her virus all week. Her fever isn't as high as it was on Sunday night, but she still gets them which means her little body is still fighting. Her nose has been extra snotty and she still has that "smokers cough" which scares me at times. Most of all, she's been sleeping up a storm - which is so weird since the girl isn't usually much of a napper. We're talking 2 hr naps, multiple times a day. Plus going to bed at 6PM and waking up past 7 AM.

On Wednesday's doctor's appointment she was measured for her 9 month stats. Our sleeping beauty is 19lbs 4 oz and 28 inches long. Both of those stats place her smack in the middle of the distribution - 50th percentile. What made us laugh is that her head circumference is so large that puts her in the 97th percentile! We figure she just has a large brain. Dave says that the weight of her head is what is making it hard for her to crawl - a lot of noggin to lift!

Finally, I got news this week that I have to take off a week in March unpaid. Our company is doing major cost reductions. Earlier this year they laid off thousands world-wide. Apparently it wasn't enough. Now all employees must take 1 week off unpaid, and senior management must take off 2 weeks. They are also stopping matching contributions to our 401K. Blah. I know that things could be much worse - I'm luckily still employed at all. But it doesn't take the sting out of our tightly controlled budget. I'll be making the best of it by doing lots of spring cleaning, working out at the gym, and catching up on my reading!

Viral Infection

Cori had another fever this afternoon, and tonight her temp was 104.6 (but her coat was still on so we're hoping that contributed). We waited a few minutes and took it again both in her ear and rectally. We ended up calling her pediatrician for direction and they said if she seemed uncomfortable (which she did) to take her into Children's.

They listened to her lungs and did an x-ray - sounded clear and showed a little haze which they attributed to the viral infection. So she's back home and I think Dave and I will take turns taking off this week until she is more comfortable. We're just hoping her fever stays down.

what a week

Last Sunday I happened to jinx myself by revealing to a friend that Cori has a great night of sleep every time I put her in her flannel pink pig pajamas. Later that night Cori had a lot of waking up and a 2 hr stretch of being wide awake in the middle of the night.

Repeat this scenario for the next 7 nights (even with different pajamas).

This after 10 successful days of sleep training. We're tired, frustrated and confused. And now the sleep training is on hold.

We really think the night waking is attributed to a triple whammy of teething, a cold, and the developmental spurt of being about to crawl. It just feels extra awful because non of her spurts like this have lasted beyond a few days before things go back to "normal". Even her daytime naps have suffered and she'll take just one nap a day for 20 mins at daycare. It's so hard because we know she is exhausted, but she won't sleep. A few times we've gone in when she wakes mid-night and she is rocking back and forth on her hands and knees.

She's trying to crawl and can move her knees up to her hands, but she can't seem to move her arms forward. So she runs out of room and is stuck. This has led to a bunch of comical yoga-esque poses where she lifts one leg while balancing on the other, or kicking her legs out to the side.

This morning Cori did start to wave bye-bye when we would wave at her. Here she is helping her dad and Pop-Pop make some brew yesterday. She was a fan of the giant mixing spoon.

tidbits

A few updates to post about

(1) Just got the call from Magee's pathology department - NEGATIVE!! Looks like the surgery got rid of any pre- or cancerous stuff.

(2) We've been "sleep training" for a week now using the Ferber method. This method basically has you put your baby down drowsy but not asleep, so that they learn the proper sleep associations. Crib = sleep, not mommy's arms = sleep. They learn to self-sooth; some crying is involved, but you check in on them in progressively increasing intervals for both your sanity and their comfort.

Well, initial night time has been a little easier because she is usually tired. Nap time has been much harder, and any middle of the night wakings were half and half. It's been a week, and we're really pleased with how well things are going. Cori has been sleeping great (11 hrs, sometimes 12!) and self soothing when she stirs at night. She's usually back out in under 30 seconds. Even naps are going better! Granted, she's only been at daycare one day this week which has allowed her to nap well, but still.

(3) Cori is such a hoot these days - she will give kisses, but much to our surprise, she gives open mouthed kisses! We joke about how this is not a good thing for when she is a teenager. Cori is definitely all about exploration with her tongue, which is natural for a baby her age.

(4) I've been enjoying one of the newer pieces of cardio equipment at the gym. I can burn close to 400 calories in half an hour without any strain on my joints or anguish to "the girls". I wish I could have one an arc trainer in my house, but they are like $5K. I really enjoy using it and time flies by when I'm on. If you every get the opportunity to use one, give it a try!

(5) I won a sales contest as part of a team at work, and thus will be taking a trip to Palm Springs the week of my birthday. Unfortunately Cori and Dave can't join me, so it will be some "me" time and time with a friend who lives in LA. Dave and I were there in 2007 and had a great time - the spa is amazing! I can't wait to lounge pool side and relax for 4 days.

Happy Valentines day from Corinne! Still no camera, so no pics to post.

side bar & recovery

I updated the side bar on the blog to post some things Cori has been doing. I'll keep up with it over the weeks.

I'm home recovering from the procedure at Magee yesterday. It seemed to have gone as smoothly as possible and physically I'm feeling okay. Pathology will review everything during the week and I should have some results back next week. Thanks for all the nice comments and texts and phone calls!

Under the Knife

I go in Monday for my light-saber surgery. I'll be home bound for 2 days recovering. Hopefully they will remove all the pre-cancerous stuff and not find anything else. I'll post more later next week.

Greetings from Six-Burgh!

Cori made it through half of Superbowl XLIII - I'm kind of glad she didn't have to endure the stress of the second half. I was shocked when she slept through the noise of the celebration outside in the street. Here are some pictures from the pre-game party with family; please excuse the poor quality. I've been spoiled from my Nikon digital SLR and found myself with a disposable Fuji film device!

Corinne & Mommy

Smiles for silly Uncle Mark

Cori her crab

All the celebration has made Cori sleepy!

Saturday I got to have some much needed girl time with one of my best friends - we spent hours at the mall shopping and gossiping and laughing. I even used some giftcards to get some new perfume, but most of my purchases were for Cori. It's hard to resist little girl clothes, and shopping for swimsuits for our beach vacation was too fun!

Still no crawling yet but lots of rocking on hands and knees. Maybe she's waiting for mommy to get her good camera back?!

8 months - rock on Roo!

Cori (who we sometimes call Roo) is 8 months old today. No stats on height or weight as she won't have her next pediatric well-visit until she's 9 months old. She is getting ever closer to crawling - this morning she was rocking back and forth on her hands and knees. I'm hoping that this is why the past few nights her sleep has been crappy... apparently she didn't get the memo about night-weaning from the bottle. And she's been waking up midway though the night and WIDE awake. I think that is what is most frustrating. She isn't fussy, she just wants to be awake. She lays in your arms just looking at you and babbling.

So here's a picture of our little Roo today (with her new favorite toy - her hairbrush). After this picture, our camera promptly broke and must be sent in for repair. I suspect it was over-loaded with cuteness.

History

Thanks to Michelle for this cool site.

What a day! I am filled with hope!

And I can't wait to tell Corinne one day that while she was too young to comprehend it, today was historical.

Asian Chicken & Broccoli Slaw Salad

I made this for dinner last night; it was simply too yummy to not share! Plus, I know that some of you enjoy cilantro almost as much as I do.

1/3 C French's Honey Dijon mustard

1/3 C light Asian sesame dressing (I used Ken's steakhouse brand)

2 Tbsp orange juice

2 tsp fresh grated ginger (I just shaved off a good hunk on my microplane)

1 (12 oz) package broccoli slaw (found right next to cole slaw bags in the produce aisle)

3 cups shredded cooked chicken (I just used 3 nice sized chicken breasts sliced and skillet cooked)

1 red bell pepper thinly sliced

chopped fresh cilantro to taste

handful of honey roasted peanuts

Combine first 4 ingredients into a large bowl. Add broccoli slaw, red bell pepper and chicken. Mix to coat well and chill. Then add cilantro and peanuts prior to serving.

It is crunchy and hearty and good for you. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Jump-a-roo!

It has taken me entirely too long to figure out how to finalize, rip the video, split it and the upload it, but it's done. Apparently technology and I don't mix today!

I just had to post this video of Corinne doing her favorite past-time - jumping in her Jump-a-roo. She would spend hours in here if we'd let her! (If you are a mom to be, I really, really recommend this gizmo! Your kid will love it.)

And you can hear Cori talking up a storm and see her smile as well. For anyone that hasn't met her, now you can see why we think she is one of the sweetest little girls around!

Health update

Just wanted to post "thanks" for the inquiries to my health; I'm sorry if my biopsy comment below seemed out of left field. While I am generally pretty open about my health and my body, sometimes I need some time to digest things or just am not ready to share things in depth. I'm sure you understand. Suffice to say that recently I've been dealing with some things health related. I'm doing my best to stay positive and focus on me and what I need at the moment. Like Dave says, I can't take care of others if I am not taking care of myself...)

One of the things I've been dealing with is the biopsy. Like a good patient (see below) I get my exams as needed. In December, I had my annual pap smear at my gynecologist. About a week later they called to say the results came back as abnormal. But not only were the results abnormal, they were concerned because they found abnormal uterine cells in my pap (which occurs vaginally). They scheduled me to come in and have a few procedures done.

While abnormal paps smears are "normal" or semi-common in most cases, mine was not. I had atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance (AGUS) which occurs in less than 1% of the population. From the American Family Physician:

AGUS occurs in approximately 0.18 to 0.74 percent of all cervical smears. Because of the high likelihood that AGUS is associated with significant clinical disease, simply repeating the Papanicolaou smear is not sufficient for the management of AGUS. Unlike women with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance, a significant percentage of women with AGUS will have more serious lesions, such as high-grade preinvasive squamous disease, adenocarcinoma in situ, adenocarcinoma or invasive cancers from sites other than the cervix. Colposcopic examination is recommended for all women with a cytologic diagnosis of AGUS. Those women with AGUS that is suspicious for adenocarcinoma should undergo cervical conization, even in the absence of detectable abnormalities on colposcopic examination.

What this means (so says my doctor) is that a repeat pap smear wasn't going to do me any good; AGUS is too highly associated with cervical cancer, and not just your typical cervical cancer, but a more difficult to diagnose, rare form of cervical cancer. Yikes. So one of the procedures they did was to obtain a biopsy of cervical tissue to be analyzed.

The results came back okay, but also noted that the sample was inconclusive. What this means is that my doctor wants to proceed with an electronic conization technique (LEEP) where they will gather a larger, deeper sample from all around my cervix. Basically they are going to take a light saber and wave it around my cervix and shear off samples of my cells much deeper. And should they see any cancer, they will remove it.

The main risk to me, or at least the one that concerns me the most (aside from finding cancer) is cervical incompetence for future pregnancies. Apparently the cervix isn't happy to have a light saber waving around in there. Cervical issues during pregnancy can lead to bed rest, incomplete dilation during labor, and even premature labor in the second trimester (thus a miscarriage or stillbirth). I discussed these concerns with my doctor a little and she feels the risk of the abnormal cells outweighs any future potential problems. Basically just one day at a time.

We plan to talk more during a presurgical consult coming up. But for right now, I'll be heading into Magee for a day sometime in February. Emotionally I'm doing okay. I think at most I feel "betrayed" of sorts... with all that I've placed my body through to get pregnant and having a baby, I feel like I've had more people under my hood than the average "motorist". How did this go unchecked? How could this happen?

Take it from me ladies - get your annual pap! And no matter how big a Star Wars fan, forgo the light sabers if you can. But if you do have to undergo this, may the Force be with you!