"9 Month" Checkup

As of September 19, Andrew's "9 month" checkup (which was really closer to his 10 month birthday, but O.K.), Roo weighs 22 lbs., 14 oz, and is 29 inches long. He's in the 80th percentile for height and weight, and his head measures in the 50th percentile, as it has all along -- although it didn't feel that way when I was pushing it out of my body 10 months ago...

He's very active these days: crawling, standing, pushing things around while trying to "walk" behind them. When I say "The cow says...", he replies "Mmmmmmmuuummmmm!" Kind of like "moo," right? And today I swear that when I said "The sheep says...", he said "buh." Such a clever little pumpkin!

He's getting very good at feeding himself finger foods: vegetables and fruits cut into chunks, cereal, cubes of cheese, bits of toast -- you name it. He's also mastering the sippy cup and even seems to enjoy drinking water. We're keeping our fingers crossed on that one -- don't want to start down the fruit juice road, for fear of tooth decay, beverage pickiness, empty calories, etc. But we'll see.

I've basically decided to stop pumping. Because I left early from work on Friday (more on that later), I didn't get to pump that day, and I didn't pump all weekend, either, so Roo had two bottles of Enfamil at daycare today and was just fine. Of course we nursed when he woke up this morning and just before he went to bed at night, and we nursed on demand all weekend, and it worked out well.

One of the reasons I've decided to give up pumping, aside from my reduced supply, is that I'm just plain exhausted. Today I called in sick to work, rested in the morning after dropping Roo off at daycare, and then saw my doctor around noon. He had the nurse take some blood after listening to my symptoms -- he didn't see any sort of Lyme rash, but I did remind him that my thyroid had given me trouble in my twenties, so he added a Thyroid Stimulating Hormone test to the mix. I'll find out the results later this week, although the Lyme test can take longer. He also asked me if I might be depressed (it's interesting how many of the symptoms of hypothyroidism are also the same as those of depression), but we won't go into that right now.

My mom stopped by the house this afternoon and then accompanied me to the bank so I could deposit the loose change I'd accumulated over the last 6 months or so: $123.50! Then we stopped at Wal-Mart so I could look at thermal curtains, a space heater, and other winterizing materials for the house. I also bought a thoroughly crappy appliance safety strap that's supposed to adhere to the appliance (in my case the oven) and keep your baby from pulling it open. It's a piece of junk: Even though the appliance's surface was clean when I applied the strap, the adhesive does NOT stick. I'm taking it back for a refund. Good concept; poorly executed.

By late afternoon, when Mom and I picked up Roo from daycare, I was feeling noticeably more energetic. "Wow," I thought, "this isn't so bad. I can do this." And then I realized that I have to go to work tomorrow, and the next day, and the next... Life is just an overwhelming slog, and there's no end in sight. I feel like I do so many things, and that I'm expected to do them well -- but I can't find the time to breathe or enjoy any of them, because I'm constantly worried about all of the other things I should be doing once I'm done with the thing I'm currently doing. Does that make sense?

Last week I seriously considered putting my house on the market and freeing myself from my mortgage, the taxes, the upkeep and worry of the house, etc. But of course, putting the house on the market would mean making many improvements to it (fixing the upstairs bathroom, replacing the gutters, LOTS of cosmetic work, and on and on and on) -- and who has time to do that? And who knows? IF there is an economic rescue plan that makes it through Congress, maybe I'd be able to restructure my debt, or something.

I'm going to go read a book and go to bed.