Madness

So, I think I'm too old for March Madness. I've been a basketball fan since I was pretty young, although the time I spend actually following the sport has significantly decreased over the years. The only exception to that is the most wonderful athletic tournament on the face of the earth, the NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship, aka March Madness. I love it. I can't get enough. I always fill out at least one bracket and track them religiously. This year was no exception.

I made some crazy picks, and for once, most of them paid off. My Final Four: Kansas, Duke, West Virginia and Butler. Kansas got knocked off in the second round by Northern Iowa, Duke plays Baylor tomorrow night, and WVU and Butler both made it in today. Woo hoo! Other notable upsets I picked: Georgia Tech, Murray St., Missouri and Washington.

I've been winning my pool at work pretty much the entire tournament, but it really comes down to whether a) Duke wins tomorrow, and if so, b) WVU beats Duke. If those two things happen, I think I have it wrapped up.

And, I just figured out tonight that I went to high school with Brad Stevens, the head coach of Butler. It's good to have a reason to cheer for a team other than wanting to them to help you win something.

In other news, we've now expanded the number of pets in our household. Grandma Darke bought Lauren a really pretty betta a few weeks ago. Lauren named him Luke. Luke went to "swim with the other fishies" and Sammy the betta arrived a couple days later. Sammy almost joined Luke, but I managed to keep him alive. Bettas are pretty, but they're kind of boring. So Chris and the kids picked out a nice little 2.5 gallon tank, and today I took the kids to pick out a fish to put in it. Lauren of course chose a $12.99 green Glofish. That thing better live. We'll get another fish in 2-3 weeks, and maybe one more another 2-3 weeks after that. Who knew aquariums took so long to get going? Apparently there's some nitrogen cycle you have to worry about. But both the kids love the fish. Maybe someday we'll get a really cool aquarium with all kinds of neat fish. Not now, though.

I've got good things going on at work, and so does Chris. We're crossing our fingers that everything pans out the way we think it will. We all need some good news these days...

Evan's 1st Birthday

Apparently I can't even master weekly updates. But in all fairness, there's been a lot going on. My biggest failure is waiting over 2 weeks to post an update about Evan's birthday. Bad mommy. Which reminds me, I posted awhile back about getting the book "Bad Mother" by Ayelet Waldman. I really need to post a review, because I thought it was a really awesome book. Anyways, I digress.

Evan's birthday week o'fun...started when the Bileks arrived. I love that they always come for the kids' birthdays (so far). It's such a long trip for them, and we appreciate them so much when they're here. The week started off pretty uneventfully, with the Bilek Grandparents giving Grandma Darke a much-needed break from the little monster. By mid-week, Chris, the kids and the Bileks were taking a dip in the hotel pool. Lauren's always loved the water, and Evan seems to agree.


Evan's birthday was on a Thursday, which didn't work out too well for a party. But we all went for a lovely dinner at Cap City, Grandma Bilek's favorite restaurant in Columbus. It was a dual birthday celebration, since Grandma Bilek's birthday was only 3 days earlier.

Saturday was the actual party. After every birthday party, I swear I'm going to start preparing earlier, have the cake baked and decorated the day before, and the house nice and clean so I actually have a chance to get nice and clean on the day of the party. And every time, I fail miserably. This was no exception. Chris was working, so thank goodness the Bileks were there to occupy the kids while I grocery shopped, baked and decorated Evan's block cupcakes, and put the final touches on the house.

We just had a few close friends over, which I think makes for a much more fun and relaxing party. Evan looked smashing in a cute little ensemble from Crazy 8 (my absolute favorite store for boy clothes!) and was in a really good mood. We opened presents first, with Lauren and Tenzin "helping." It might as well have been Christmas morning for those two. Evan didn't quite know what to make of it, but thought the tissue paper was pretty darn cool.



Then, it was time for the big event. I smartly removed Evan's sweater vest and dress shirt. I placed the (unlit) candle into Evan's little block, which he promptly removed...the boy doesn't like obstacles to his food. And then it began. The boy ate, and ate, and ate, and ate. His eyes glazed over and he went into the birthday cake zone. The sugar rush hit, and he ate some more. Finally, all that was left was a mess of red icing. Everywhere.





And then, from the living room, I see Rachel shoving Tenzin's head in the big bag we were using for wrapping paper remnants. Apparently Z ate something that didn't agree with him earlier in the day. We knew something was up when he didn't want cake. I mean seriously, have you ever seen a 3 year old refuse cake? Our childless friends quickly made an exit after providing Rachel with a lovely pair of pajama pants to wear home. The Thornburgs left just to be safe, even though Tenzin appeared to fine and didn't really want to leave. The Grandma's did a tag-team cleanup on The Ev, and then the evening was over.

We were sad to see the Bileks leave at the end of the week, but they'll be back at the beginning of May to give Chris a hand while I go to Disney for a week for a conference.

Now, I swear, for Lauren's birthday, I'll at least do the cake the day before the party. Right...who am I kidding.

A plea for help...

By now, many of you know about my niece, Ryan. At the beginning of February, my sister went into her room to find her unresponsive. Over the course of the next few weeks, Ryan suffered seizures due to extremely high blood pressure. Finally, the cause was discovered: adrenocortical carcinoma. This type of cancer affects literally 1 in a million people. She underwent a lengthy surgery to remove the tumor on her adrenal gland, and was fortunate enough to receive treatment at St. Jude. While all treatment at St. Jude is provided at no cost to their patients, the medical bills for Ryan's treatment prior to going to St. Jude are astronomical.

My brother-in-law, Jeff, plays for the Missouri Mavericks who were kind enough to set up the Ryan Christian Love Fund to help raise money to offset those expenses. To all of you out there with children of your own, imagine being in this position. All you care about is the health of your child. Not your house, not your car, not the latest fashion or stylish haircut. But the bills still need to be paid. You still need to eat. And yes, you still need some time away every once in awhile.

If you have the ability, please consider donating to the Ryan Christian Love Fund. Once the family's expenses are under control, funds will go to St. Jude so even more children can benefit from the kind of care Ryan is receiving. You can donate here.

To those of you who have already donated, thanks from the bottom of my heart.

The rundown

Well, we survived another week. One utterly crazy week, and there's another one almot upon us. Where to start...

Well, I got my dose of motherhood for sure. My mom went to Kansas City to visit Ryan, which meant that I got to juggle work and home for 3 days. Talk about exhausting...2 hours of Evan, 2 hours of work, 2 hours of Evan, 2 hours of work. Not necessarily the best way to effective at either parenting or working, but I did my best.

One long crazy day at work, and then Chris and I took off for WV. I was going for work, and Chris could come along at no extra cost since my rental car and room were already paid for. Did I mention the meeting was at a casino? Ah, makes more sense now. It was a bit of a treacherous drive there on some snowy roads, and more treacherous driving in snow on the way back. And the best part...a pebble hit the windshield on the way back and it cracked all the way across. I'm still trying to figure out how this is all going to work since it was a business trip. Joy.

Now we're busy cleaning and doing laundry, and really looking forward to the arrival of the Bileks on Monday. Hopefully they don't run into any bad weather on the way down. They'll be here for almost a week, so my mom will get a much-needed break to recover from her stressful travels.

Update on Ryan...she was accepted for treatment as part of a clinical trial at St. Jude's. She really couldn't be at a better place, and they really know how to take care of families in this situation. She arrived there yesterday, and will likely start her chemo early next week. I'm working on setting up some fundraising stuff, so be prepared for a plea for help in the near future.

On the kid front, Evan is a maniac! That boy went from cruising to practically running laps in the course of a week. He's also working on some more teeth, so he's a little crabby. I should have some updated stats in the next couple of weeks. He's due for his one-year checkup, but I wanted to wait until after all the commotion was done so he's not dealing with shots on top of everything else.

Last thing...have you seen the new Nationwide ads featuring the World's Greatest Spokesperson in the World?

Check him out here or become a fan on Facebook. There are some hilarious clips online only.

I'm gonna try this again...

I've decided that family blogs are the modern version of the baby book. Now that Evan is almost 1 (yes, he's really 1!!!!!!), I've been looking back through this woefully out-of-date blog to see how he's stacking up to Lauren. In the process, I realized that I had created a really great account of our family's first couple of years of life with kid(s). I sat here for almost an hour reading month after month of posts, laughing, with tears in my eyes, wondering what the heck I was thinking. And then I was sad because I stopped doing this. So, starting today, I'm going to try to post once a week. I'm sure I can find something interesting to write aboout at least once a week, so why not?

Our lives have generally been good since the holidays. Evan is now the pro sleeper, and Lauren's the one waking us up in the middle of the night and super early in the morning. Please, someone explain this to me? Lauren is now a "Cookie Monster" at school and had her first Christmas program at school.


She still loves school. We're trying to figure out a way to get her there full time instead of 3 days a week, but we just can't afford that right now.

In even bigger news, Evan is now WALKING!!!!!!




Dear God, help me! I had learned from my first parenting experience and savored the little time I knew I had left before he started walking on two feet. He now has 5, almost 6, teeth, and loves eating people food. We're starting to move him off formula (yay!) and on to whole milk. He's over the bottle, so the sippy cup is making an appearance.

We're getting ready for the Bileks to arrive in a couple of weeks to celebrate his first birthday. No specific plans yet, but there will be a custom-made, hand-decorated cake of some variety. And a huge mess.

In less happy news, we're sending our best thoughts and wishes to cousin Ryan in Kansas City. She's been in the hospital since the beginning of February with what was originally seizures, and has now been diagnosed as adrenal cancer. She's a true fighter, making it through a 5-hour surgery to get rid of the nasty tumor. Fingers crossed, she'll be going home early next week to finish healing from the surgery. Then, 8 rounds of chemo to follow. It sounds rough, but this girl is one tough cookie. This silly cancer doesn't know what it's up against :)

Okay, I feel fairly caught up now. And keep me honest...

New pics...finally

More on Facebook. Did I mention you should join?

Thankfulness

This holiday season I'm falling prey to the tradition of reflecting on the year and what I've learned. It's been a year filled with ups and downs, joy and sorrow, and just life in general. From the elation that accompanied birth of our baby boy, to the devastating loss of a good friend, I think we've covered it all. So I'm thankful that I have a wonderful, healthy family, even if I do complain about the craziness. I'm thankful Chris and I both have jobs when so many don't, even if it means I'm stressed out. And I'm thankful for everything I've learned about myself through it all. I just might have turned out to be a decent grown-up after all.

I hope you've all had a good year, whatever that means for you, and that the year to come will hold more of the same.

Really, anyone who still reads this blog needs to get on Facebook. Cause I just don't have the time to update anymore. That being said, I feel guilty that when Lauren was a baby everyone got the play-by-play, but nobody gets to hear squat about Evan. So, let's see what's happened in the last 2 months. I don't even know where to start.

Evan: 2 teeth, 2 more on the way, crawling (more like "the worm," but I still think it counts), definitely sleeping through the night (thanks to nighttime diapers), eating lots and lots of baby food, fits nicely into 12 month clothes. At 6 months old. Loves his walker, so over his saucer. The saucer and the swing went by the side of the road yesterday, and someone picked them up within 1/2 hour. He's still a spit machine, but it's getting better and I've figured out several tricks to minimize the spitting. Probably one of the cutest babies I've ever seen, but thanks to Murphy's Law of Child Photography, it's impossible to get a good picture of the kid.

Lauren: POTTY TRAINED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I'm safe saying that since she finally pooped in the potty tonight and learned it wasn't scary. She's even been dry overnight a couple times. That's not consistent, so she still wears a pull-up to sleep, but it's been a joy not changing her diapers. She's moved up to the "Big Birds" class at school and thinks that's pretty cool. And her birthday is this weekend.

Chris: Entered is mid-30s this weekend with a golf outing at Longaberger Golf Course, the top-rated public course in Ohio. Took Lauren to visit the Bileks in Minnesota for about a week.

Deena: Completed my first Master's in Marketing class, and did such a good job my team and I got invited to present to the Chief Marketing Officer and everyone who reports to him. I have some other things in the works as well, but we'll keep that under wraps for now. Got rid of my car and took over my mom's old one when she bought a sweet new car. This way we'll be able to avoid a car payment for another few years.

So, this has still been a pitiful update with no links or pictures. But, Evan has his 6 month appointment on Wednesday and Lauren's birthday festivities, complete with Grandma and Grandpa B, will be taking place over the weekend, so in theory I should have a better post in the near future. Don't hold your breath, though. Sign up for Facebook. Seriously.

Okay, over a month since a post. If you haven't already, sign up on Facebook and be my friend. It's much easier to post a quick snippet every other day than to compose an eloquent (hah!) post on here.

Anyways, life at the Bilek household is moving along pretty nicely. Lots of news on the Evan front:
--We're into a really nice 4 hour schedule, which means sleep from around 8:30pm until 7am, with a brief interruption for feeding at 11pm still. Gotta get that one cut out. Still, I think that's pretty good for a 4 month old!
--Just started a little baby food last week. I know they say to wait until 6 months, but he's the size of a 6 month old now (over 20 lbs.). So far he's tried rice cereal, sweet potatoes, peas and bananas. He loves it all, or at least the novelty of getting to eat like the big people. Oh, and he's completely off the boob now. Woo hoo!
--We'll be switching to the convertible car seat this week. I think the weight limit on the infant seat is 25 lbs anyways, plus Evan hates that thing. He can almost sit up completely unsupported now, so I think it's time for it to go. Hallelujah!
--Evan loves playing in the saucer! He's never really been one for laying down, and now that he has something he can stand up in, he's in heaven.
--Did I mention he's a big boy? He's wearing size 9 month clothes, and an unofficial weighing has him somewhere around 20 lbs. My co-worker's 2 year old weighs 27 lbs. Guess we just breed big babies.

Lauren is still Lauren...curious, happy, and funny. Her vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds, and we laugh just about everyday at something that comes out of her mouth. She loves that the weather is nice so we can take walks to the park or go swimming. Her knees are pretty much permanently skinned, but I guess that comes with the territory. Still no progress on the potty training, though. She did go in the potty a couple of times last week, but I think that was just a fluke. Every mention of it since then makes her scream and cry. Someday, she'll stop wearing diapers. Hopefully.

Our house just underwent an extreme makeover. Well, not really extreme in the classic sense, but it does look different. Chris' mom and sister came down to repaint our entire first floor. After much deliberation over color, we landed on a nice, neutral color palette that still provides some definition to the various "rooms" in our open floor plan. Chris and I never would have gotten it done, and it came down to the wire with the three of them doing it, but in the end it's definitely worth it!

So, that's it in a nutshell. No, no pictures to add yet. Who has time to take pictures?

What a week...

And not necessarily in a good way. The great potty training adventure officially began, and also ended nearly as quickly. Lauren's obviously old enough to do it at 2.5 years old, but she just isn't interested at all. No really, she ran away from us when we put on the big girl undies. After two days of screaming and fits when she had to sit on the potty, and lots of messes for Chris to clean up, we decided to give up for now and try again in another month or so. Everything I've read and everyone I've talked to says you can't do it unless they want to, and she DEFINITELY doesn't want to. We were all really happy when it was time for her to go to school this morning...Lauren included.

In happier news, we eliminated Evan's 11:30pm feeding last night, and he still slept till his normal time! Woo hoo! Chris is ecstatic because now he doesn't have to stay up late to feed him, and I'm happy because we're moving a little closer toward total bottle-feeding. Breastfeeding is great for lots of reasons, but it's so hard to keep it up after I go back to work. I'm also going to Dallas for a weekend at the end of June, and I don't want to pump while I'm there, so we need to start getting him off the boob.

The little man has also discovered how to work his hands, so now he's grabbing toys and fingers and necklaces and pretty much anything that comes in range of his grasp. The boy's also strong...he can support his weight on his legs with hardly any help from us. I have a feeling he's going to be an early walker.


Tavis Smiley stopped by Nationwide yesterday. Nationwide sponsors the On Your Side Tour with Tavis to promote financial literacy and wealth planning. He was a great speaker, and I got a free copy of his new book, Accountable. The concept behind the book is great: our elected leaders (especially Obama), make lots of promises on the campaign trail, and it's our duty as citizens to help make them great leaders by holding them accountable for the promises they make. The book has a chapter for each of 10 major issues, and at the end of each one there's a checklist for you to keep track of what the president, congress, state government, local government, and you are doing to further progress in that space. Gotta add this one to my stack of books...

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

Random thoughts

Just some things running through my head this week...

--Why don't we own more than one umbrella? And why isn't one of those non-existent umbrellas in my car? I got drenched walking into work this morning. Nothing like starting the day looking like a drowned rat. And why does it always rain on days when Chris is home with the kids?

--American Idol--yea, Kris Allen is in the final! Although Adam Lambert will likely win, his performances have gotten a little over the top. I told Chris his rendition of Aerosmith's "Cryin'" reminded me of what Aerosmith would sound like if they turned their music into a Broadway musical, a la "Mamma Mia!" One more week, then on to So You Think You Can Dance. I love my trashy reality TV.


--Bought a couple of new books. Not sure what I was thinking since I don't really have time to read. One inspired by an interview on Fresh Air on NPR (Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman) and the other because I really want to understand more about cooking so I can do more than just follow a recipe (I'm Just Here for the Food by Alton Brown). Both look promising already.

--I'm getting really sick of all the Twitter talk. Twitter isn't new. It's been around for awhile. All of a sudden it's all you hear about on the news and talk shows. Wonder what the next "new" thing will be. That being said, I'm not on Twitter, but I am on Facebook. It helped keep me sane and connected when I was home on maternity leave. It's also helped me reconnect with a lot of college friends I had lost touch with. I wouldn't say it's a substitute for real human interaction and personal relationships, but it's the next best thing.

--We're starting to contemplate what we might need to do to possibly get the house ready to put on the market. I sound pretty confident in that, don't I? We're definitely outgrowing our house, but the thought of going through the home selling/buying process scares the bejesus out of me. In any case, it can't hurt to take care of a few little things, even if we don't end up selling.

--Back to work four days a week starting this week. This morning was rough getting up, even though I slept almost 8 hours. I think it's just a matter of getting used to a working mom routine, instead of a stay-at-home mom routine. It's crazy how fast the days go when I work. I get home with Evan around 5pm, then it's on to dinner, bath, and bed. I'll get used to that eventually.

--Looking forward to spending some time with family over the next month. And a trip to Dallas for a weekend at the end of June for sorority stuff. Hard to believe June is already here.

Over and out...

Happy Mother's Day!

Just to get it out of the way, happy mother's day to all you mamas out there. Thanks for all you do for us! Alright, now on to an overdue update.

I'm honestly not sure where the time goes these days. Lauren has been in daycare for over a month now, and absolutely loves going to school. We're also into the swing of all the school activities...attended a chicken noodle fundraiser and muffins with mom breakfast. Lauren also went on her first field trip to the zoo. She's adjusted really well, and even naps there now on a pretty regular basis. By the time the weekend hits, she sleeps in a little, until almost 8. We really like that. Grandma Darke is going through some withdrawal, but at least she has the little man to cuddle with 3 days a week.


I've been back at work for 2 weeks, and it's really great to be back. Being out allowed me to get out of some of the work I really didn't need to be doing, so I'm starting with a clean slate. Evan also started sleeping until around 5:30 on a regular basis, so I'm going back to work 4 days a week instead of 3 starting this week.

The little guy had his 2 month check-up, and his first round of shots...5 shots and 1 oral vaccine. He did great, and he really is a big boy. He's in the 95th percentile for height (24.5"), and off the charts for weight (14 lbs. 12 oz.). No wonder his 0-3 month clothes don't fit him anymore. He loves interacting with anyone, and is gaining coordination in his hands and arms. We can also prop him up in the corner of the couch now, so hopefully he'll be sitting up on his own before too long. He's also reaaalllly close to rolling over...he almost rolled off of the examining table at the doctor's office!

Spring has officially arrived, so we're working on getting the yard back in shape. The squirrels really do a number on the grass. I may even get some flowers planted this weekend. Chris is happy because he can get out to golf on a regular basis without having to bundle up.

We're also gearing up for the latest visit by Grandma and Grandpa Bilek. This one mixes business with pleasure, since Grandma is in the Columbus Arts Festival. She did great last year, so hopefully this year will be just as successful. Come on out and check out her beautiful pottery June 5-8 near the CCAD campus. She'll be under the "A" of the big "ART" sculpture.

Time for the next big change in our lives: Lauren starts daycare on Monday. We've been fortunate enough to have Grandma Darke in town to provide excellent, affordable care for Lauren since she was born. Now Lauren's getting to the age where she needs to be around other kids so she's not completely socially inept when she goes to real school. Plus, now Grandma Darke gets to look after Evan. And I'm not going to make her try to watch both of them...they're definitely a handful, and besides, she already did this once with her own kids.

So, it's off to Play and Learn Christian Child Care at the Gethsemane Lutheran Church. It's less than a mile from the house, and they had a part-time opening that coincided perfectly with my return to work. Everyone seems really nice and it's actually fairly affordable. I've been a little bit leery about sending Lauren to a relgiously-affiliated daycare, but there really aren't a whole lot of other options out there. It doesn't seem like they'll be pushing religion down her throat.

So, my baby, now the resident "big girl," is off to school. I have to admit I'm worried sick about how she'll do. Much more worried than I am about how Evan will do once I go back to work. Will she play okay with other kids? Does she measure up to them developmentally? We've been in our own little bubble with her until now. Hopefully we haven't done anything that will make her stick out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the kids. We'll just have to wait and see.

Evan is plugging along. We've gone the last couple of nights without a 2:30am feeding, so hopefully he'll sleep through the night before too long. Right now he'll sleep from about 11 to 2:30, then from about 3 to 5:30, and again from 6 to 8:30. Not bad, but I'd love to get him to sleep from 11 to 5:30. I'm trying to keep myself from falling into the bad habit of sleeping with him on the futon in his room. Some nights it's been the only way to get him to sleep (which means I get to sleep), but I don't want to end up like one of those moms on Nanny 911 that's still sleeping with their kids when they're 4 years old.

The baby acne is still around, all over his face, scalp, and now his shoulders and chest. The pediatrician confirmed there's nothing I can do, and did say it will be at its worst when he's around 6 weeks old (next week). I just hope it goes away soon so I can have cute pics without pimples in them. The smiles have also arrived, especially when he sees me first thing in the morning. It's a great way to start the day.

We're looking forward to visits from Chris' sister Brea, my sister Dorie, and our niece Ryan this weekend. We'll be doing the traditional Easter barbecue to welcome them all on Sunday. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Happy 1-month Birthday!

Wow. I can't believe it's already been a month since Mr. Evan joined the Bilek clan. In some ways it feels like it was just yesterday we brought him home, but in others it feels like he's been here all along. Here are some things I've learned in the last month:

--Boys can pee really high in the air. Always keep the "hose" covered with something during a diaper change. Even this won't protect you, but you'll just be damp instead of soaking wet.

--It's possible to breastfeed your baby and play with your toddler at the same time. Awkward, yes, but possible.

--Newborns are much easier to take out in public than 2 year olds. Why we didn't realize this with Lauren, I'm not sure.

--I hate baby acne. It looks like it hurts, and there isn't really anything I can do about it.

--I bought about 400 diapers on sale about a week after Evan was born. They're almost gone, thanks in part to diaper changing sessions that go through 3 diapers. See item #1.

--Size 6 diapers (which Lauren wears) look like adult Depends next to Evan's size 1-2 diapers.

--Babies grow really fast. Evan's already outgrowing 0-3 month clothes.

--Baby toys become really interesting to a 2 year-old when she realizes someone else might play with them.


--I actually miss going to work. It's my one break from family life, and pretty much my only interaction with other adults.

--A long, hot shower will do wonders for your mood.

--Friends and family make life much easier. It really does take a village to raise a child.

Two great products. If you have babies/toddlers.

Just had to share my happiness over two products we found. First, the Brights Starts Infant Seat.


This is Evan's daytime home. With Lauren, we set up the gigantic pack'n'play, which took up about half of our living room, just to use the changing tray and bassinet. This time, we don't have that luxury of space...our home office is now in our living room to make room for Evan's bedroom. So, we found this gem. It's about 2 feet off the floor, has a storage bin underneath, and kickstands you can kick up and rock it with your foot. Once he's older, it can also sit up more, but right now it's fully reclined for a nice, baby papasan-type home. Love it.

I also just pulled out a book I bought awhile ago and never flipped through for some reason: Unplugged Play.


This book is full of ideas for fun with your kid, age 1-10, with regular stuff around the house. Other than making me feel stupid for not thinking of these things myself, it's awesome.

Lots of Evan pics in the Kodak gallery!

Welcome to the world, big guy.

Well, Baby Watch '09 did in fact end up with a baby. Things got a little crazy at the end, so here's the scoop.

Nationwide lets expectant mothers take off the 2 weeks prior to their due date. That meant my last day at work was February 13, the day after my birthday. Just as I was wrapping things up at work, Baby Boy Bilek decided to make an attempt at arrival. I was having contractions about 5 minutes apart for a good 2 hours, so I called the doctor at 3am on my birthday and then made a trip to the hospital. After a quick check and walking around the hospital for an hour, they sent me home. False alarm #1 over.

The next week we had false alarm #2. Again, contractions pretty strong and regular, so we sent Lauren over to Grandma's house for the night in anticipation of the big event. As soon as Chris got back home, the contractions went away. At this point, I was really frustrated.

Finally, my doctor scheduled my induction for 2 days after my due date. At 5am. Not really the time slot I would have asked for, but it ended up turning out just fine. We got to the hospital, completed our check-in and got settled into our room. At 6am they broke my water and started Pitocin to get the contractions going. Around 7am I got the epidural, plus a fabulous little drug called Nubain right before that. It made me warm and fuzzy and happy, like having a couple glasses of wine. I highly recommend it. Anyways, around 8am the nurse came in, checked my progress, and said, "We're going to have a baby by 10." Wow. That was fast. I was induced with Lauren, too, but that took 20 hours.

Around 8:30, something went a little funky and a bunch of doctors ran in and made me get on my hands and knees and gave me a shot of something in my leg. Turns out my uterus was hyperstimulated (going a little crazy, I guess), and little Mr. Bilek didn't like it so much. I knew it wasn't anything too serious when I looked back and saw one of the doctors still had a Tim Horton's cup in his hand. If it's not worrisome enough for the doctor to put down his coffee, I guess it's not that big of a deal. All this craziness apparently finished the "prep work," and I started pushing shortly after. Three contractions later, Evan Michael Bilek arrived.




Everyone was surprised by his size: 21.8" long and 9 lbs. 9 oz. Yeah, he was a big guy. Luckily I was still in pretty good shape, so we got to go home the next day. That was one of the bonuses of a 5am induction and only 3 hours of labor. The hospital stay was fine, other than the horribly uncomfortable bed and bad food. Grandma kept Lauren for one more night after we got home, and then it was on to real life.


Grandma and Grandpa Bilek arrived 4 days later, and they were a huge help with Lauren. She's fine with Evan, but has figured out that I can't keep her from doing things when I'm feeding Evan...one of the joys of breastfeeding with a toddler around. I didn't get the baby blues anywhere near as badly this time...only a couple of unexplainable crying fits to date. Evan is actually a pretty good sleeper, so I'm getting anywhere from 6-8 hours of sleep total a night. Not consecutively, of course, but I'll still take it.

So now it's been 2 weeks since he was born. He weighed 9 lbs. 14 oz. at his appointment yesterday, which is a gain of 11 ounces in about a week (he lost 6 ounces before leaving the hospital). It is pretty cool to realize that's entirely because of me. What can I say, he likes mama's cooking.


This time around is a little different. Boys can definitely put some more power behind their pee than girls, so we go through a lot of clothes each day. And diapers and wipes. Chris and I are much less frazzled. I think we just know what to expect and are more proactive at avoiding the crying spells we encountered with Lauren. There's also a sense of knowing that this stage will pass, and then we'll be on to the next parenting challenge, and the next, and the next. I guess it never ends.

Baby Watch '09--The Wait Continues

Yep, still no baby. At least not outside the womb. First weekly appointment was today, and while some progress has been made, it's not enough to actually have a baby yet. Darn. I am down to only 6.5 days of work left, though!

We did end up getting the room set up. Chris has a few painting touch-ups to complete, and we should probably put some sheets on the crib mattress. Clothes hanging in the closet would also be an improvement. But the major things are done, and the room looks really cute. Definitely worth a full day's work on Superbowl Sunday. I know, I need pictures.

I've started buying everyday things for the baby, like diapers and formula. I couldn't believe it when I opened the package of size 1 diapers (8-10 lbs.). There's no way Lauren was ever that small. It truly was a reality check on the size of the kid that's about to arrive. I'm also trying to remind myself what it's like to sleep in 45 minute spurts instead of 8-9 hours straight. The thought of feeding a child every 2 hours or so seems so foreign, and yet it was only a little over 2 years ago I was doing that with Lauren.

Stay tuned for more updates on Baby Watch '09...

Baby Watch '09

The countdown is on: just 4 weeks to go until the officially projected arrival date of Baby Boy Bilek (name still TBD). My weekly doctor's appointments start next week, and I'm technically considered full-term at this point, so pretty much anything could happen at any time. I'm just happy it didn't happen during Winter Storm '09 which has pretty much occupied this entire week in Columbus (2 inches of snow, 1/2 inch of ice, another 6 inches of snow, all in a 24 hour period).

We do have one slight problem. We're really not ready for him to arrive. His "nursery" is in a state of transition, to say the least, and consists right now of a futon, a lamp, 25 feet of cable, a laundry basket full of clothes, and two bags of clothes to donate. Not really the most welcoming environment for a newborn. The crib is in a box in the garage. His closet still resembles the junkpile it became over the last 4 years we've been in the house. Guess the nesting thing hasn't fully kicked in yet, although we did make good progress last weekend. Not to worry, though. We're planning on knocking it out this weekend. Note that "we" means a lot of "Chris" since my mobility is severely limited at this point. Maybe I'll post some pictures after it's all done. No promises, though.

And yes, I realize that I completely skipped the all-important months of December and January, including Christmas. In a nutshell, Lauren got a lot of presents that she's actually still playing with, we had a nice small family Christmas at home, it was cold, it snowed, and Chris and Lauren had a wonderful week visiting family in Minnesota.

Thanksgiving with the Bileks.

Getting close to a month without a post, so I guess it's time for an update. When we last checked in with the Bileks, Lauren had just gotten her new big girl bed...

The following week, Grandma and Grandpa Bilek arrived to help us celebrate Thanksgiving. And see their granddaughter, of course! Lauren was so excited to see them. So excited that she decided to get up at 4, 4:30, 5, 5:30, 6, 6:30, and on and on and on, just about the entire time they were here. Each time she'd get up, turn on her bedroom light, and open the bedroom door. Sometimes we'd hear, "Grandma B! Grandpa B!" Cute, but not really that cute when it's 4 in the morning. By the end of their stay, she was doing better, and now she's completely adjusted to the new bed. It really wasn't that bad in the end.

Since the Bileks were in town, that meant I was hosting my first Thanksgiving. I decided to use my own recipe (found on the internet) instead of one from either family, in an attempt to start my own traditions. Overall, I think it all turned out pretty well.


After lots of yummy dinner, I planned my day after Thanksgiving shopping. I just started shopping on Black Friday a couple years ago, and will only venture out for really good deals on something I already need. This year, it was a new flat-screen monitor for our home computer. I let the crazy crowds pass and got to Staples an hour after they opened. No lines, plenty of my monitor in stock, and I was out in 5 minutes. Then on to Target for some Santa shopping. I have to say, Lauren's going to make out this year. Hopefully she won't remember that next year when she doesn't get as much since she has to share with a little brother.

That evening, we decorated our Christmas tree. This was pretty much a first for Lauren. The last couple of years we've done it while she's sleeping since we didn't think she'd be much help. This year she was such a big helper. I got the ornaments organized on the dining room table, and she'd run them over to Chris to actually hang on the tree. I'm not exaggerating when I say she ran.


Other than that, it was a pretty low-key visit. There's not as much to do in Columbus in the winter, so we just spent a lot of quality family time together. Oh, and we started Lauren on the computer. It never hurts to learn how to type early.