Over the River and Through the Woods

Too many grandmas...that's my problem. I know some would say that's not a problem at all. Some would consider it a blessing to have two sets of grandparents involved in your child's life. I am not "some people" and have always been ungrateful in the respect that I can not be around family for extended periods of time without developing a stress rash or the urge to hurl myself off a tall building. That's not meant to be cruel, but it is the truth.

My mother has been slowly driving me to an early grave. I can't listen to the phone ring anymore without cringing, and my left eye has developed a twitch that borders on a tick. My mother has taken to the bad practice of just "stopping by" whenever she feels like it. When my husband asked her to please call ahead of time and give us at least a day notice, she became horribly offended and said, "I'm not going to ASK PERMISSION to visit. I KNOW YOU'RE THERE WITH THE BABY." Can we all agree that it's just creepy? I nearly crawled out of my own skin when my husband told me what she had said. GET YOUR OWN BABY, CRAZY LADY.

Other than that, I must admit it's sweet to see her with the kid, cooing and talking her maniacal, loud nonsense to him over and over again. He loves the babble, and although I worry that he will come to like the incessant high volume of noise she exudes, I am glad he makes her a little happy during this time of hardships for her. She has been dealing with a Democrat in office and can't manage to hold back her resentment and hatred of liberals in the White House.

Oh yes, it's practically a Republican convention up in here. I hope it isn't rubbing off. Can babies catch conservative right-wing disease?

The husband has been enjoying the company of his own parents for the past four days (and counting) and has had many opportunities to parade his son around and show him off. All in all I've been taking it easy from the visit this year, hiding out in my room with a cold and napping most of the day away. But occasionally, I've run upstairs to rescue the baby from watching television and having loud toys held up to his face. The overstimulation is making him cranky, methinks.

I can't understand the logic of vacationing away from home just to sit in front of the television for hours on end. It makes no sense to me, and I've always been a little bugged by it. They just stay in the house. They don't go anywhere. Year after year, it's the same.

So Thanksgiving this year was not full of thanks, I'm afraid. I was not in a good place psychologically, which I will blame on being sick with a cold.

Actually, I am thankful it wasn't the swine flu. So there.

Three Months

The three month mark has arrived, and I can hardly believe how big this kid has gotten.  He must weigh at least 15 pounds, if not more.  His head is bobble-headed and feels like a bowling ball.  He's developed the tell-tale signs of a big boy...chub bracelets on his arms and legs.  He has grown out of his zero to 3 month clothing, which made me a little misty just typing it.

He is no longer a newborn.  He is now a real honest-to-goodness baby.  Wow.

Bump to Lump

It's still there. The lump.

In my third trimester, I found a lump in my right breast. It was fairly small, but it was hard and didn't move. I'd say it was about the size of a pea.

The doctor said there was little we could do about it at that point, since my breasts were lumpy anyway due to the impending flow of milk. She said to keep an eye on it and wait a few months. If it didn't go away, she'd check it again and refer me to a breast surgeon to get a second opinion.

Well, it's still there. I have my appointment with my doctor next week, and I'll be pushing for a referral for the breast surgeon. I don't want to take any chances, since my mother just recently battled breast cancer.

Also, I just found out a friend of mine had a mastectomy and didn't say anything until it was over and done with. She just didn't want to take any chances, so she cut most of her breast off.

I take that as a sign that I should take this to heart and take care not to ignore a flashing sign in my face when it's there. Although I'm praying it's nothing, I know that if it's something, I'll be better off knowing sooner than later.

Cross your fingers and wish me luck.