The New Year.

I am doing this for the 2nd year in a row. Feel free to post your own answers, either in the comments or on your own blog! Here are mine:

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Co-hosted family Christmas celebrations at our house, became the mother of a toddler, co-hosted a kid's birthday party

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Through calorie restriction and eventually increased exercise, I am trying to lose a total of 35 pounds (non-baby weight) by August 2010. I have lost 12 pounds so far.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Rashmi and Rohit (Ishaan), Holly & Joel (Liam), Rusty & Jayme (Mason), Stacy & Ray (Sara), and Belen and Rich (Isabella).

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.

5. Where did you travel in 2009?
To Harrisonburg, VA, Virginia Beach, VA, and Washington, DC, in March to visit my in-laws, see my husband's alma mater and visit with the Showalters. Over Labor Day weekend, we went to Manitowoc, WI to visit our good friends, the Ablers.


6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
A healthy BMI, a cleaner house and more pleasure reading done

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
6/25/09--the date pop music legend Michael Jackson died of sudden cardiac arrest. The first news reports seemed like a hoax. I grew up listening to his music, admiring his Geri curls and trying to emulate his dance moves. The Thriller music video changed the way music was marketed forever.
8/19/09--Kate's first birthday. We celebrated the fact that we kept her alive for an entire year by making sure she received her scheduled vaccinations.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Kate's first birthday and party; losing 12 pounds in 1.5 months.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Our messy, disorganized house; not exercising enough; having the TV on too much

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Around the time of my birthday, I injured my pelvic joint during a yogalates class at the Y. It seems to have swelled and now flairs up after carrying Kate around a lot on that side or after walking longish distances. I also have fluctuating high blood pressure and high cholesterol I am trying to address through losing weight and eating healthier. Read: Less cheese and smaller portions. Otherwise, our household has so far avoided the dreaded H1N1.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Infared backyard grill, materials to build a backyard deck

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Our family's--for understanding our inability to spend the holidays with everyone at once and for showering Kate with affection, attention and many, many thoughtful and generous gifts.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The people involved in helping my brother learn have failed him. The Gosselin family's extremely public divorce and cries for attention, The Octomom's decision to have 8 children and her fertility doctor's decision to implant 6 embryos at once, the balloon boy's parents' decision to stage a costly publicity stunt, the Nigerian radical who nearly blew his nuts off by attempting to detonate an explosive device on an international flight into Detroit and the military psychiatrist in Fort Hood who opened fire, killing and wounding several people.

14. Where did most of your money go?
House, food, savings and deck

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Kate's development--crawling, walking, talking, eating a variety of foods, developing a sense of humor and a goofy personality. I was also excited to see her reactions on Christmas morning and to watch her play with other children her age. I also loved spending time with my best friend's family around Christmas and watching Kate interact with her nephews.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Something off the Ziggy Marley "Family Time" CD for sure. It gets played over and over in our car. "Walk tall; walk tall; even if you fall, get up!"

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Happier
b) thinner or fatter? Thinner

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Reading a real book, exercising, gone out without Kate

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Worried, being passive, surfing the internet, watching TV

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Chris really decked our halls this year. Kate's Gram and uncles Bill and Matthew celebrated with us in Mason, and Chris (sometimes with his Mom's help) cooked elaborate feasts each night. I did what I am much better at--washed the dishes. Kate was so wound up from spending time with her family the first night, that she could not fall asleep. Uncle Bill bought our family a high quality Lionel train set modeled after the Polar Express that brought Chris to tears. Kate learned to say "Nigh-Nigh" to everyone when she went to bed. A few days later, we exchanged presents with my Mom's side of the family at my Grandma's house, and Kate had her first taste of an Armenian dessert--Halva. Chris also made Armenian shortbread cookies this year among many other treats traditional to his side of the family. We celebrated Christmas at Thanksgiving with my Dad's side of the family at his house this year. Kate received so many presents that she had to take a nap while we finished opening them.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
More and more deeply every day with Kate and with Chris.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
We still watch "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives" and "Brothers & Sisters." I think "The Big Bang Theory," "Modern Family," "The Family Guy" and "The Cleveland Show" are also becoming fast favorites. We also bought and watched Seasons 1-3 of "The Muppet Show" with Kate, who loves it.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No.

24. What was the best book you read?
Sadly, I started to read "The Year of Living Biblically," a secular Jewish author's take on his attempt to live the bible literally for a year, as part of a 2-person book club. Neither of us has made it through it yet. I think I do most of my reading on line, and it is mostly news and child development-related.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Does children's music count?

26. What did you want and get?
Comfy slippers, a Tassimo one-cup coffee brewer, a sweater, make-up, a bathroom scale, an outdoor shed, Christmas PJs, money

27. What did you want and not get?
Pilates mat and exercise DVDs

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
"The Hangover" or "Up."

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
On my birthday, Chris cooked me a lobster tail and steak dinner, and I attended a yogalates class at the Y. The weekend of my birthday, we enjoyed a discounted meal at Opus One because of Detroit's first annual Restaurant Week. I was 34.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A cleaner and more well-organized house. Otherwise, I am pretty satisfied.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Shirts long enough to cover the gap between my natural waist and the waist of low rider pants. These pants were not made for people with long torsos and big butts, and the baby doll style shirts just make me look pregnant. As I have been losing weight, I am just belting up my old pants and wearing larger shirts, until my shoulders, arms, butt and hips follow suit.

32. What kept you sane?
Sleep, Chris's voice of reason and being able to talk and write about it with myself and friends as we exercise together. Also--doing something instead of just talking about it.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Bradley Cooper from "The Hangover"

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
The state legislature's inability to reach a budget compromise and ongoing problems concerning that subject. At the federal level--the debate over publicly-funded and mandated health insurance. I was also happy that the state legislature finally mandated smoke-free restaurants and bars with a few exceptions.

35. Who did you miss?
My Papa.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Chris and I both enjoyed getting to know Amy and Beau better this year and meeting Belen and Rich.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
One of the hardest and most important things you can be as a parent is consistent.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

From Ziggy Marley's "I Love you Too"--

When you smile I'll smile along
When you cry my comfort comes

When you walk I'll be beside you
Holding your hands
When the sun come out we play
I'll never be far away
When you tell me that you love me
This is what I'm gonna say

I love you too, I love you too
I tell you I love you
I love you too, I love you too
I love you

Out with the Old.

I copied this from Wishokie's site after reading her insightful responses. Feel free to post your own answers, either in the comments or on your own blog! Here are mine:

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Gave birth/became a mother; underwent surgery (C-section); tried to breastfeed; bought a minivan; filled a stocking.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't generally make resolutions, but I always have long term goals like move more, eat less, save more, clean more and call more. I am still trying.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Me on 8/19/08, Becky & Steve (Benjamin), Sejal & Jeff (Shayla), Jennifer & Marc (Alex), Stephanie & Andy (Gretchen), Heather & Jim (Holly), Onya & Clay (Tyler) plus one of Chris's work friends and some on line friends. It is a baby boom in our circles with more on the way.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
My maternal Grandfather died on 12/30/08.

5. What countries did you visit?
Too busy being pregnant and wrangling a newborn to travel.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
A finished basement and a clean and well-organized house. I know, I know....dream on.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
8/19/08 when Kate was born and 12/30/08 when Papa died.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Kate!

9. What was your biggest failure?
Letting my weight creep back up and our messy, disorganized house.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
UTIs, high blood pressure & nausea during pregnancy. Preeclampsia that necessitated the administration of magnesium sulfate, and eventually, a C-section where they also removed noncancerous ovarian cysts. Also, 3.5 months after delivery, I developed an unexplained case of hives all over my body for 2 days that went away with antihistamines. This overlapped with a sore throat from hell that turned out to be nothing.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Our minivan--so much easier. Also--our snowblower. Also so much easier.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Chris's. He is a fun, talented and affectionate Daddy to Kate, and he was a huge help to my family when my Papa was in his last days.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Madoff using a Ponzi scheme to rob people (I also learned what a Ponzi scheme is), IL corrupt politics, the Caylee Anthony homicide and similar crimes and, more generally, others who do not have enough love and respect for themselves to care for their children properly.

14. Where did most of your money go?
House/Baby/food/car purchase

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Obama's election & Kate's smile and giggle

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
The K-k-k aty song that Papa sang to Kate when he met her.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? About the same.
b) thinner or fatter? Slightly fatter, I think. I was only 1 month pregnant then.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Taken more time off work before delivery. Slept & exercised more.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Eaten, fretted, nagged.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
It was Kate's first Christmas, so we decorated our house and filled stockings. We had dinner at my Aunt Julie's on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day, we got up early, opened our stockings and our presents from Chris's Mom and Brother and from each other. Then we had a large breakfast at my Grandma's with the extended family, opened Kate's many presents and ours, visited Papa in the nursing home where we sang Christmas carols and fed him ice cream and came home to a wonderful Christmas dinner cooked by Chris. The days afterward we spent at my Dad's house opening more gifts for Kate and us and playing "Dancing with the Stars" on the Wii.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
More and more deeply every day with Kate and with Chris.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
We rarely missed watching "Dancing with the Stars," "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives" and "Brothers & Sisters." We also bid a fond farewell to "Boston Legal."

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No.

24. What was the best book you read?
It was either The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy, Baby Bargains or What to Expect When you're Expecting. Super exciting stuff! I started to read a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel--really I did. I just did not get very far.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Adele

26. What did you want and get?
A point and shoot digital camera, a Blue-ray HD DVD player, make-up & Chris home with Kate

27. What did you want and not get?
We cannot find a damn Wii console anywhere for its retail price. Nintendo, we want to give you our money. Please take it! Chris has taken to stalking Walmart, Sam's Club, Target and Toys'r Us. Watch out!

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
"The Dark Knight" for Heather Ledger's performance. We did not see many films this year, but we are catching up by using Blockbuster online.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Our neighbor Julie, and her daughter, Megan, babysat Kate while I enjoyed a delicious dinner at All Seasons Bistro in East Lansing with Chris. I was 33.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Not sure.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Anything that actually fits. Thank you, Target, TJ Maxx sales racks and Motherhood Maternity.

32. What kept you sane?
The routine of work, enough sleep, Chris, my family and writing about it.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I kind of have a crush on Jon Stewart and his show.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Worry about the long term impact of a bankrupt Big 3 automaker.

35. Who did you miss?
My Papa. Also, my best friend, Shantala, who lives far away.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Kate. We are still getting to know each other.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
There is no one right way to do parenthood. Also, those tabs on the sides of aluminum foil and plastic wrap are there to hold the roll in place.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I've got you under my skin/I've got you deep in the heart of me/so deep in my heart that you're really a part of me.

2008 Holiday Newsletter

The 2007 Reviews are in…

"You masterfully use the mature ego defenses of intellectualization and humor to delight the reader in your annual newsletter. Love it!"
--Jeanette N., Psychiatrist

“This one was your best yet. Hilarious and informative.”
--Gloria L., writer and editor

“Very funny!”
--Erin L., State Court of Appeals Law Clerk

“I have been looking forward to it all year! :)”
Michelle W., Parochial School Teacher

“There’s so much hilarious stuff in here that I don’t even begin to know how to respond. Who knew that a lawyer and a post doc could write/edit comedy so well?!! Well done!”
Lori L., Economic Development State Employee

“Great newsletter--I laughed, I cried, I felt dirty, scared and nostalgic....who knew your words could do so much?”
Kortni F., Pain Management Doc
________________________________________________________

The Dana family had a fairly uneventful 2008. We only found out we created human life, rushed ourselves to the ER/urgent care 3 times, passed one kidney stone, delivered one baby, cheered on Michael Phelps as he won 8 Olympic gold medals, created a family web site, www.danafamilycircle.blogspot.com, helped the US elect the first President of color, watched gas spike to $4.00/gallon and then back down to $1.50; we worried about the continued viability of the Big Three auto manufacturers, Chris began working as a wedding photographer on weekends and became a stay at home Dad during the week.

A Visit from the Boob Fairy

I have never in my life hoped that I would puke unexpectedly (or at all, really) or poked my boobs to see if they ached almost to the point of causing them to ache. Then I did. For Christmas, I received a new set of inflated boobs that were even noticeable to Chris. At Chris’s urging, I took a pregnancy test that morning, and 2 lines appeared.

Almost immediately after I confirmed the results with a second test, I began to experience the bloat from hell. It was 10 times worse than eating too much chili. I began hoping that my office mate would stay away after the holidays a bit longer, so I could more discreetly fart and relieve the pressure.

Kim’s Deranged Stomach

January marked my first month of pregnancy. Things were humming along, and I did not feel any different, except for an occasional cramp. Then, in February, I realized that I would not escape the nausea fairy. One Slate article used an ages old term for morning sickness: "deranged stomach." Another pregnancy book called it "progesterone poisoning." In any event, I definitely felt deranged and poisoned—night and day. My writhing and moaning was not sexy, according to my darling husband.

Neither was my, at times, unexpected and rotting corpse-like flatulence. Our cat, Kanu, slept curled around my butt one night. The sound and force of the gastric discharge startled him out of a dead sleep, and he soon chose less odiferous quarters, reported Chris--this from a person who once caused me to wake up and scream from the sound of his half awake belch right into my ear.

Our Little Peanut

Our first OB appointment was scheduled a bit too early in the pregnancy at 8 weeks. Medical personnel, including the doctor, desperately tried to locate a fetal heartbeat using a Doppler without success. At one point, the OB had her finger in my vajayjay pushing up against my uterus with my head facing the floor and my feet in the air. Still nothing. Impressed with my own dexterity, I was quickly whisked away for an ultrasound. They immediately detected the heartbeat, and we were able to see the peanut-sized fetus and beating heart on the monitor. This made me cry.

Observations of a Pregnant Woman

The number of pregnancy no-nos baffles me. It is a wonder that we eat and drink anything other than personally purified water direct from a known aquifer that was blessed by the Pope and organic vegetables personally grown in a toxoplasmosis-free soil. Being the natural rebel I am, I had dental x-rays and a root canal, occasionally ate raw sushi, feta cheese and unheated lunch meats, drank diet beverages and caffeinated tea. We are also instructed not to sleep on our backs for fear of cutting off oxygen supply to the fetus. During pregnancy, I slept in a tangle of body length pillows and wedges that increasingly threatened to expel the cats and Chris from the bed each night. Regardless, and to Chris’s chagrin, I often wound up on my back snoring by morning.

As pregnancy progressed, I belched and farted liberally, slept too much, acquired bigger boobs and gained all my weight in my gut so that it hung over my waist band. I also scratched myself all over, b/c of my stretching skin. I became convinced that being pregnant is like being an overweight, middle-aged man…with a fetus.

We Now Know what we Don’t Know

For much of July, we attended childbirth education classes and toured the maternity ward. We learned breathing and comforting techniques, child care methods and misconceptions and later term maternity care. It was useful and nice to be among 30 or so other couples going through the same things at the same time, but most of the information presented could be found in the literature I already read. Basically, we commiserated over how little we knew about what to do once our bundles of joy arrived. I found this oddly reassuring.

Kidney Stones, Childbirth, or Both?

Also in July, we rushed to the emergency room in the early morning hours one night. Although the overnight valet at the hospital thought otherwise at first, we were not there for me. Chris was experiencing severe flank pain reminiscent of the kidney stone he passed several years ago. A CT scan confirmed that he did, indeed, have a stone, and it was rather large. The ER doc referred him to an urologist after controlling his pain, sent him home with at least 3 prescriptions designed to relieve his pain and help the stone to pass. Hours after returning home and taking the prescription medication, Chris began having an allergic reaction. Back to the ER went we. He was fine in a few hours.

While getting prepped for surgery to remove it, Chris decided against it, and we went home. A few days later, after a particularly bumpy ride on Orchard Lake Road and drinking one beer, the 7 X 5 mm stone passed on its own without incident. Thus, my nightmares of both of us lying on adjoining hospital beds like a scene out of a medical drama were dashed.

Around the same time, I experienced an extremely acute urinary tract infection. Knowing that it could harm the baby, we rushed to urgent care. The pain and urgency were intense, and I was scared. My blood sugar spiked high, and they found signs of protein as well as bacteria in my urine. Thankfully, I saw my OB a few days later, and the sugar was gone, no significant protein detected, and my infection was under control.

A Kate is Born

Katherine Rose Dana was born at 6:13 PM on Tuesday, August 19, 2008. She was 7 pounds, 2 ounces and measured 19.3 inches long. More details of the “Birth Day” can be found here. Photos from birth to present are constantly being updated here: www.chrisdanaphotography.com. Most commented on how much hair she had and how much she looks like her Daddy. My Dad, Brother, Sister, Stepdad and Mom all stayed overnight in the waiting room to meet Kate as soon as she was born. Chris’s Mom arrived two days later to help get our house ready for her arrival home and meet her new granddaughter.

My Mom and Stepmom also helped us out in our early days home from the hospital. Many of you visited us in the hospital or upon our arrival home and brought us great comfort and cheer, gifts and dinner. Others sent us gifts, good wishes and love from afar. Thank you all so much!

Boot Camp for New Parents

Nature has a way of training new parents for the immense task of parenthood early on. I like to call it Baby Boot Camp. Along with the general “do I know what I am doing?” fears of new parenthood, there is also the near constant sleep deprivation. Yeah, that. One late night/early morning when Kate was only a few weeks old, we both awoke to her hungry cries over the baby monitor. Chris popped awake and immediately leapt to action. Remembering that it was my turn to feed her, he handed me the burp cloth and said, “Here. This is grapefruit juice. She has had it before. She likes it. It’s good for her.” In my sleep-drunken state, I started to nod my head and say “OK,” when I realized that: 1. She did not eat or drink anything since birth except for breast milk and formula, and 2. He did not hand me anything resembling juice. A few nights earlier, Chris woke up in an agitated state and began frantically searching his pillow for Kate. I am still unsure of whether he thought he accidentally put her inside of the pillow case, or that she somehow escaped her crib, crawled into our room and leapt into our bed on her own. One month olds are crafty that way.

I may laugh at Chris’s expense, but I also exhibited some symptoms of the sleep deprived. During her first few weeks of life, we could not get her to sleep for more than one to two hour stretches, so we each took shifts to get consecutive hours of sleep. While on my 3 AM to wake- up shift, I attempted to pour pre-made formula into a Playtex drop-ins bottle. I did this maybe 3-4 times, each time with the formula spilling in large quantities onto the floor below. All the while, Kate’s hungry wails grew more insistent, and I began cursing the bottle, the formula, etc. Alarmed at the clatter downstairs, Chris came to see what was happening. I was pouring the formula into a bottle holder without a bottle liner to hold it. Repeatedly.

Basic Training

We swaddled, we pacified, shushed and used white noise. When she favored a particular pacifier or toy, we went out to buy out the store of them. Spit up stains were like badges of courage. We felt like baby whisperers. Eventually, Kate fell into a better sleep schedule and was sleeping in 5-8 hour stretches by about 2 months of age. Then she caught a cold and an antibiotic-resistant ear infection in daycare, and our confidence was shaken a bit. After 3 rounds of antibiotics and expelling a quantity of phlegm that even disturbed the people at the day care center, she was cured.

Like her Momma while pregnant, Kate is not shy about passing gas. Her burps cause a room full of busy daycare workers to turn around and take notice. Her farts could be blamed on uncouth, burly men with names like Bubba or Lefty. How that much noise escapes from such tiny holes is another natural wonder. Early on, she earned the monikers of "Gaseous Clay" and "Vladimir Pootin'." The cats are still nervous wrecks from the noise.

I’ve got it Covered

I planned on breastfeeding nearly exclusively for as long as possible. Unfortunately, nature had other plans. Kate would not latch on properly and would fall asleep soon after starting a feeding or cry intensely after a short time latched on. I asked every one of my nurses in the hospital for help, consulted with 3 lactation specialists in and out of the hospital, pumped every 3 hours, took herbs and drugs to stimulate my breast milk producing hormones, and I could still only pump ¼ of an ounce 3 weeks into motherhood. I grew so used to quickly pulling out my boobs, thinking about allowing easy access to my boobs and having others handle and comment on my boobs that I lost nearly all senses of modesty where they were concerned. Fortunately, I taught myself not to do this when I returned from maternity leave. At least there are great formulas on the market now, and Kate is growing and thriving well.

Daddy Daycare

In December, Chris ended his post doctoral research position for the Biochemistry Department at MSU and began staying home full time with Kate. Now, neither she nor we are catching some kind of bug every other week. And he is picking up more wedding photography assignments on weekends, which he enjoys, along with playing the violin with the Mason community orchestra. I am happily back to work full time. It is far less work than staying at home.

Gasp…I own a Minivan

In November and December, we fueled the waning economy with several large purchases. Horror of horrors, we bought a minivan. I never thought I would own one, but I am also all about being practical. I could not squeeze my fat arse in the back seat of my Accord with the car seat and diaper bag to tend to a complaining infant. Also, the mandatory equipment that comes with a baby is a bit too large for my trunk to bear. Parenthood is admittedly easier with a minivan.

I also replaced my dead laptop, finally got new glasses (our cat basically gnawed my old ones), bought a snow blower, and a chest freezer.

Kissin’ Babies

I know; I know. Most of this newsletter is consumed with new parenthood. It kinda changed our lives. However, there was also a Presidential election and great economic uncertainty this year. There were pit bulls wearing lipstick, or were they pigs? There were plumbers with six packs named Joe. Can I call you Joe? Perhaps most importantly, amidst the auto maker and financial bailouts and horrible violence in Mumbai and elsewhere, there is a new optimism in the US and around the world along with the upcoming change in administrations. I don’t know about you, but I am rooting for a better 2009 and beyond, especially now that Kate is here. Happy New Years to you and your family. Let’s do and be more!

Content edited for humor by Chris Dana
Muse: Kate Dana