Name That Monkey

So we named the monkey-boy, though he shall remain, probably, for the duration of this blog 'monkey boy', 'mk' or 'number two son". One of the things I adore about my culture is some of our traditions, which seem like no big deal, but which really, really are. A big deal, I mean. And special. Like the naming ceremony, such as the one we had for 'le petit monkey'. What is monkey in french anyway? We just invited a few friends and family, because I didn't want it to be 'business as usual', huge party, messy house afterwards, people you don't care for that much, rahrahrah. Who needs that? So we went the peaceful, intimate route and I got to experience the naming of my second born through the eyes of people who had never been to one, and that was so great. So thank you friends who attended. You know who you are.

In 'Other News Of The Day', two kids is so much harder than one. Believe that. Whew! But I'd do it again in a heartbeat - only cos I am slightly crazy, I guess. :) . What else? Oh, at my last 'weigh in', I had dropped 9 pounds total. I know, it's depressing. Considering my son weighed in at 7 pounds 5 oz or so, I'm doing the math and I still don't get it. Also perplexing is the whole "tummy taut' thing I bought. The jury is still out on that one.

xoxo, pp

So Darn Beautiful...

No, not me, silly. Him. He's here, and he's gorgeous, and little, and all curled up, the little monkey-boy. He so looks like my Father whom I lost last year that sometimes I laugh and cry at the same time, looking at him. "Prof, E biala?" (literal translation: "Prof, have you come?") - most people, including us , in casual conversation called my Father "Prof".

So my darling son came at 1.20 am on the twentieth of january, 2008. Yes, this one is quite the showoff, isn't he? I had no contractions and no sign that he was coming, aside from the fact that my due date had passed and my induction had been cancelled for no apparent reason. But my number two son had his own plans. Long story short, hubby and I were debating over whether my water had broken or if it was just a faucet leak - i know, too weird- and so we decided to let the doctor answer that one. My water hadn't broken, but I was 4 cm dilated, contracting but not feeling anything, which is pretty awesome. Until they broke my water and I was speechless with pain. Couple hours later and after only thirty minutes of pushing, monkey-boy was here! Almost too easy in retrospect. Praise God from whom all blessings flow, for monkey-boy is truly that to me/us.

It's my second day home with baby and I have a couple of interesting observations.

Milk truly IS the new Prada. My milk, that is. This child craves it. I mean like every second. To make matters worse, I have sprouted some hard, ginormous melon thingies on my chest. Arghhh! Anguish. This could actually be worse than labor.

Little man - my number one son - is a brat. How come I never noticed this before? He told me to "be quiet!" today and stared at me defiantly, glowering from his 'timeout' corner. He coughs all over baby, when he has been explicitly told not to. And he does it deliberately. But he is so cute though. And we all know that this covers a multitude of sins.

I haven't lost 40 pounds yet. I haven't lost 20 pounds yet. Okay, I haven't even lost 10 pounds yet. A measly 8 pounds when I weighed this morning. Am I being unrealistic? I vaguely remember dropping 20 pounds almost immediately the first time, and at two weeks postpartum, being 3 or 5 pounds away from my goal weight. Hmmm. Not happening this time around, I'll tell you that. But the good part about this is that I feel and look better than I did the last time. I uploaded a picture of me, 8 hours after having my baby. I look phenomenal, if I do say so myself :)

ttyl, PP

D-Day??

So it's my EDD today. 'Expected Due Date' for the non-moms out there. And nada. Wow, it seems second babies come early for everyone but yours truly. But I will remain positive. And grateful. For I have been truly blessed with a complication free pregnancy. Mild morning sickness, no high blood pressure/pre eclampsia issues, no out-of-the-ordinary aches and pains, no swelling - I am still wearing my wedding and engagement rings with no trouble and all my shoes. I still look good - if I do say so myself- for a 40 week pregnant woman. I mean, I have the 'pregnant moon face' a bit, but hey, at least I'm still walking upright. Yes, the standards have been lowered, people.





Everyone says I should walk more to induce labor, but we all know that you can walk ten miles, drink all the Castor oil available in your local 'Rite Aid', eat spicy tacos all day, have sex 24-7, etc etc etc and the baby will come when it wants to and not before. Unless you're trying to say that all overdue women are nonathletic, bland food eating, frigid women, that hypotheses, holds no water. But I did venture outside for a romp in the snow with my 'hunnybunny', cause he asked so sweetly, "Mama go outside, play in snow, pweeez???". Now, how could I say no? Besides, just in case there is any truth to the 'get moving- have a baby' thingy, I was not about to miss out. No Siree Bob. So there we are, basking in our last day as Mama and only child. You will always be my first baby, but never again the only one. Awww, bittersweet. Good thing he has no clue. And God help us all.
p.s. if I don't post for a while, then I'm probably having a baby.

update - belliesbycalista

I think I kinda posted it, below. But you can email me at calista@calistaclothiers.com for your own personal copy via email.

Countdown to D-day

So everyone who knows me knows that I really wanted a baby girl this time. I have made no secret about this and I even went as far as purchasing cute little onesies (in pink of course) to let my hubby know that we were 'preggers' again. I mean, I was convinced I was having a girl - how could I not be? I love my son, but I am such a girly girl, it's ridiculous! She would wear pink and lavender constantly and I'd have her scheduled for her first mani-pedi by age two. We would bake heart shaped cookies with pink sprinkles for Daddy on valentines day, we'd go shopping for little tutus and all those ridiculously impractical things that they sell for silly moms like me to buy, because, you know we are really buying them not for our precious daughters, but for our inner little girlie girl. Plus when you wore three sets of hand-me-downs, you can be excused, right?

I thought I'd show you guys some more of the really cool designs we have at 'bellies'. Right now I have just the 'preggers in the city' in short sleeve black and 'epidurals anonymous' in short and long sleeve white available, but as demand picks up - I need at least 10 orders per design, I'll roll out more, promise.**Never mind. Blogger doesn't let me upload pdfs. Sooo ridiculous, I know - but I'll figure another way out soon.**

So, how does one go from this (5/6 weeks pregnant) to that (39 weeks 6 days, yikes) ? (I'm still working on those picture links, y'all - but I think you'll know which pictures go with what comment.) I am just pathetically FAT and I can't even blame it on the baby. I am eating EVERYTHING in sight? Little man's leftovers, 2 breakfasts (one at 2 am when I can't sleep, the other when I'm up for the day), it's truly a sight to see. So I guess I answered my own question, huh? Y'all need to pray for me!

P.S It's snowing - truly beautiful (when you are viewing it warm and snug, from your bathroom window:-))

smooches.

PP

Breaking News! Nicole Richie & Christina Aguilera...

...were NEVER pregnant! There. I said it. Got that one off my chest. I mean, granted my statement hasn't the slightest empirical or scientific or even 'close friend' gossip credibility, and it is, admittedly borne out of EXTREME bitterness, but I just REFUSE to believe that not only did these gorgeous twig thin girls with 'pretend' baby bumps, look all glowy and pose NUDE (gasp) while pregnant, they had their babies before me!!! It's a conspiracy, I tell you. I wish them stretch marks and a thousand hemorrhoids for having the audacity to show me up. Just kidding. Well, a little, I guess.
As I am home and a tad bit bored, I decided to come up with a list of things that one should have to feel even a little human post partum.

Number One

is definitely, comfy, yet cool clothes. Take it from me, you will NOT be skinny when you come home from the hospital, so you might as well wrap your mind around it now. You will look at least 6 months pregnant, so plan to dress accordingly. Unless of course you are Nicole Richie. And then, that may not be a good thing, but I digress. In the first picture that's me, modelling one of my fun maternity Tshirts from my own line 'belliesbycalista" The website is still being worked on, but the Tshirts are available for sale directly from me. I have a long sleeved separate shirt cos it was cold and I chose not to wear the long sleeved version for some insane reason.

Number Two

Something to hold that deflated, wrinkly balloon like thing that your stomach will be after birth. Take it from a veteran mom, you will need all the support you can get. In many cultures, including mine, we bind the belly tightly until you almost pass out, and then bind it some more. No kidding. I was sucked into the slightly more civilized version by another celeb Brooke Burke. She has the most awesome abs I have ever seen and she has three kids! Working on kid number four right now. Anyway, she has the overpriced corset thing called 'Tummy Tauts' on her website http://www.babooshbaby.com/ which I bought. Of course, after I bought it, I found a million and one cheaper belly thingys on amazon.com. Plus, factor in the fact that Brooke's amazing figure probably has little to do with her belly wrap and more to do with, I dunno, her personal trainer, personal chef, good genes and what not, but I own it, nonetheless, and if doesn't work, you bet you'll be hearing from me.

Number Three

Something for your blotchy complexion and swollen capillary glands. Now I know you're thinking that I am over exaggerating, but I'm just being honest. Noone ever looks great after delivery- you just don't! What with being swollen from all the iv's, all the trauma takes its toll and you are literally "To' up from the flo' up" as they say. So even if the rest of you is not looking that great, you can at least give yourself a 15 minute facial courtesy of Clinique, so that you don't look crazy in those obligatory first photographs. I had to learn that one the hard way, trust me.

Number Four

A present for the new 'big brother' or sister, if it applies. This is necessary for your sanity, when the big brother starts freaking out at the hospital or tries to bite the baby. Even if your little one is an 'angel', it's just nice to have a little something for him. This 'new baby' thing is life changing for everyone.

Number Five

'Push Present' for the new Mother. I just heard about this new phenomenon sweeping the labor wards across America and I LOVE it! Reward the mother for the 'lease' of her weary uterus and the harrowing labor she is about to or has already gone through. It can be anything, but we prefer designer purses. Meet my new baby in fifth photo. WHAT???

Lastly, a few random pictures of things I think you should see, like my uber cute packaging for my maternity T shirts. Chinese food take out cartons! Oh, clever, clever, me! And there's another T shirt design in black. I know, I have to figure out this picture posting thing. I can't seem to rotate the pictures or get them into any kind of order, it's insane. But I will get better, just keep on reading. And commenting. Oh and tell your friends. :-)

Bribing Toddlers and all that good stuff...

We all do it, so don't judge me. Since I'm home on waiting on this 'phantom baby', I have the privilege of 'drop off' and 'pick up' duty of the little prince to/from preschool. Inevitably he cries. But only when 'Mama' is dropping him off. When Daddy drops him off (which is 98% of the time), he is stoic and happy and a regular 'little mr. sunshine'. I don't get it - is it some kind of unspoken male code not to cry in front of each other, even when one is say, two years old? Or is it because he sees me for like 1.5 hours a day (when I am working) that he feels separation anxiety more? I think so, and that's not an easy one to swallow, as an already guilty mom, so hence the bribes. Yesterday it was the promise of a new 'choo-choo', which he forgot about, today it was a pack of construction stickers slipped into his chubby hand as he wiped his face with the other. I just love my little man so much, don't wanna see him cry! I mean. who could resist that face???? Soooo, the bribes will continue 'until morale improves.' Gotta love parenting, no?

Forever Pregnant...

So here I am, 39 weeks 3 days pregnant, convinced that I will be 'with child' forever. This baby is not coming out - like EVER. I am afraid to leave the house, as everyone, from my toddler son's teachers to the random cashier at 'Cosi's" is asking, "You haven't had that baby yet?". Uh... no, obviously. And it's KILLING me! If only I felt that labor was imminent. You know, contractions, pressure, occasional back labor... Nada. So, forever pregnant, but still fabulous. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

But on to my new maternity leave/parenting/fashion blog. I know you must be thinking 'Prada's in The Milk?', 'The Prada Principles', whaa? I know, I know, but I just love that movie "The Devil wears Prada" and I adore fashion and I wanted something that didn't scream just MOM, but conveyed my fashion forward state of mind but would also pique the interest hopefully of fashionistas mamas everywhere - so what better than Prada and Milk? "This Mama Wears Prada" just seemed too easy. But for the record, I don't own ONE Prada item- my clothes horse hubby does, not sure if it counts - but I figure it's a state of mind, if you know what I mean. No? That's okay, you'll 'get' me later.