Project Life – Week 3

Busy-ness as usual around here, so here’s Week 3, a bit later than I had planned.

We did Aoife’s 7-month photo shoot, and she acted like the little model she is. It’s just too darn easy to take good photos of that little girl. And then there’s the cat.

The weather has been nice lately, so I took advantage one day when Aoife fell asleep in the stroller on the way home to do a bit of extra walking, which is when I took the statue picture. We’ve been rebudgeting, so that is featured. I cut a 4×6 photo of Aoife’s books so it would fit in the smaller pockets. No journaling this week, but I did include my 5-star books from 2012 that I wrote about.

We also did an outdoor photo shoot to finally get a shot for the title page of the album. I don’t have that ready to reveal yet, but I did include a couple of the outtakes, when I was lining up the tripod. I love that Ryan’s and Aoife’s heads are cut off in one of them, and yes, at Walgreens they asked if that’s how it was supposed to be.

Project Life – Week 2

Here it is … week 2! I have some tendonitis issues going on, hence the picture of the wrist brace … a couple of “at work” shots … and baby-heavy, of course.

And a few “things” slipped in for good measure. A tag from Aoife’s new diaper cover, the tag from my new camera bag. A little bit of journaling, and the week is complete. Just the way I like it.

Best Books in 2012

All right, so I read a lot in 2012. Like 100 books a lot. That’s what happens when you have a baby and spend 3 weeks in the hospital with nowhere to really go — you read the entire Song of Ice and Fire series, because what the heck else are you going to do.

Speaking of, I enjoyed that series, but I didn’t rank any of the books higher than a 4. Respectable, but here’s a list of those books that received a coveted 5-star rating from yours truly.

1. The Phantom Tollbooth: Re-read! I felt the need to brush up on some of my childhood/teen favorites now that I’ve got a kiddo of my own — as if I needed an excuse to re-read this crazy word-and-numbers conglomeration. I have to admit that I am pretty tempted to get tattoos of Rhyme and Reason.
2. A Moveable Feast: Hemingway has that way of writing that is so straightforward that it seems like something I should be able to do, but no matter how hard I try I can’t match it. Plus, this book is about Paris, which is always a plus.
3. The No S Diet: This is the one and only diet that has actually helped me lose weight. This is another re-read, since after having a baby I kept eating like I was still pregnant. The best part about this book is that the diet that it outlines is hardly even a diet.
4. The Knife of Never Letting Go: This book aimed at young adults is just incredible. Even with the touch of science fiction, it seems so amazingly real and it completely drew me in. I had to read through tears because I just couldn’t put it down.
5. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: As you read this book, you might think that there must be some science fiction involved, between using cells without a person’s consent and keeping cells alive some 60 years after the person’s death. Nope. It’s a mix of awe-inspiring and horrifying, but it’s all real.
6. Battle Royale: I’m a sucker for a good dystopian novel, and after reading The Hunger Games (you may have heard of it) in 2011, I guess I felt the urge to keep reading about kids being forced to kill each other.
7. Bringing Up Bebe: And finally, this book about the difference between French and American parenting styles was a very interesting read. I’m curious to see which aspects I borrow as I find my own parenting style over the years.

If you want to take a look at any of the 90-odd also-rans, click over to GoodReads.

Project Life – Week 1

So I’m pretty sure I will perpetually be a week behind on Project Life. I’m not printing photos and things at home; I’m getting them printed at good old Walgreens on the cheap and picking them up. Which means between finding time to upload photos, edit them, order them for printing, and actually pick them up … I’ll be a week late or so.

That being said: I love this!

I don’t have a title page yet. I want to get a nice shot of our little family, using the tripod and self-timer and all that, and today was just bitterly cold. So, I’m waiting with the title page for now, but watch for that.

Without further ado, here is week 1:

I’m using the Design A pages for the weekly spreads, and it really is just as easy as slipping pictures and “stuff” into the pockets. I made the little slip that shows which week it is (stapled to paper in the top left). The bottom left journaling page is from Miss Tiina, the receipt is from Home Depot, and I found the quote on Pinterest, of course. I’m not sure if I’ll stay with the handwriting or if I’ll print the quotes.

So that’s it! Shots from our New Year’s game playing, playing in the snow, the 2012 photo album finally in completion (watch for a reveal soon), and lots of baby shots. I love it.

I love fresh starts.

I’ve always loved New Year’s, maybe because of the hours upon hours of board games my family plays or maybe because of the wanton snacking that goes on during said hours of game-playing. Or maybe it’s because it represents a new beginning, a fresh start. I was that kid who loved the first day of school because I got to use my brand-new notebooks. Who am I kidding — this obsession continued up through grad school and continues now when I get a new calendar at work or a new planner or a new Moleskine reading log.

So, I suppose that’s what brings me back here. That, and the fact that there are three baskets of laundry on the couch to be folded, and you know I would do a lot of things to avoid folding laundry.

Remember the 500-photo capacity album that I was looking for? Have I completed it for 2012 yet? Nope, because having a baby seriously cut into the time I had to edit and process photos. Am I going to finish it? Yes — I have 156 photos sitting at Walgreens right now, just waiting to be picked up. Is it going to be as cool as I hoped? No, because I lost track of it in all the craziness, lost some of the fun stuff I was going to include, and because I was trying to make do with imperfect tools for the job.

Which brings me to what I hope are the right tools for the job. You may have heard about Project Life — it’s been mentioned on a lot of blogs out there. I first heard about it on Elise’s blog, which I love. It’s basically scrapbooking without having to actually do the scrapbooking, and for someone who’s never been able to scrapbook more than a single page, it sounds like a dream come true.

I purchased enough Design A Pocket Pages to get me through the whole year, with two pages to a week. I also purchased a pack of Design G Pocket Pages for additional photos of special events, a pack of White 3×4 Cards, and a White Signature Binder to contain it all. I’m really excited about using the cards for journaling and quotes, as well as filling the pockets with all kinds of ephemera that I collect throughout the year. I want to add pops of color and patterns with some of my own scrapbook paper that I have sitting around unused.

So why Project Life? I love that it can be as simple or as complex as you make it. I love that you can display photos alongside “stuff”. I love that it’s just about printing and collecting things and then filling pockets.  Is all of this a guarantee that I will stick with this all year? Of course not, but at least I’ll be preserving more memories than if I wouldn’t do it at all.

Just for fun, here’s how I fared on the other goals I listed in that post:

Reading. I kept up with this consistently, reading at least one nonfiction book each month (usually around three, actually). I was afraid to put down a number, what with Aoife coming and all, but I actually hit 100 books, which is an all-time high for me (in my adult life, at least).

Project 365/6. Fail. I still took lots of pictures throughout the year, but in no way did I take one every day. I’m ok with that.

Etsy. Fail. I put the shop in vacation mode after Aoife came and just have not taken the time to get everything re-listed. Extra cash would be nice, but the extra work of getting the word out, making things, and taking photos has been moved lower on the list of priorities.

Living with an Apnea Monitor

One thing that has taken some getting used to when we brought Aoife home is using an apnea monitor. I wanted to write about this because people often have questions about the mysterious wires leading from our baby when we are out and about, and also there are many people who are unfamiliar with apnea monitors when their children require them — we were unaware of them until my family and the doctors mentioned the possibility of having one.

We are renting the machine until Aoife’s pediatrician decides that it is no longer needed. Many premature babies have apnea episodes – they stop breathing for a certain period while they are sleeping. Aoife had a couple of these episodes while still in the hospital, where she was treated with caffeine (yes, she DID have an IV of caffeine — eat your heart out, java junkies!). When she came off the caffeine, she was monitored further in case there were any more apnea episodes. The apnea monitor, once we came home, enables us to know if Aoife has any more episodes – it gives a very loud beep if her heart rate falls outside of the desired range or if she doesn’t take a breath in a certain number of seconds.

Having the monitor is great, because we know if something was wrong, the machine would beep. Driving in the car and can’t see her in the car seat? Going to bed and leaving her in her crib in the other room? No worries!  It measures everything through two electrodes, one on either side of her chest that are secured by a thin foam belt. There are wires that lead from each electrode to the machine. The machine also beeps if the cords become disconnected, which can be frustrating when you are trying to wrangle a squirming baby or transferring a sleeping baby to the crib. So not only do we have crazy beeps to tend to – we are also tethered to a machine by an 8-foot cord at all times. The only time Aoife doesn’t wear the monitor is when she gets a bath. So if we want to go for a walk in the stroller, the machine comes too. Sitting outside on the porch, going shopping for groceries, being held by Grandma – the monitor is always there.

The good news is – it’s not there forever! Aoife has been episode-free for several weeks, and we will talk with her pediatrician at her next appointment about possibly discontinuing the use of the monitor. We are overjoyed that we will be able to carry Aoife around and not have to worry about stepping on cords or how long the unit has been running on battery power and when it needs charged again – but we will have to learn how to live without this safety net. It will be a challenge for all of us, but I think we are ready for that challenge.

Surprise!

The best laid plans …

So little Aoife, who was due on August 10, decided to grace us with her presence eight weeks early.

It’s a little surprising and scary when your water breaks only one week after your baby shower, and one day after being at an out-of-town family reunion. And it’s even more surprising and scary when you find out that you will be flown in a helicopter to a hospital three hours away! Above all, it is scary to see your brand new baby girl surrounded by cords and wires and tubes and connected to monitors that flash and beep while in the NICU.

That said, it is a GREAT feeling to know that she is healthy and is being taken care of by the best doctors and nurses possible.

Over time, Aoife was able to come off the IV and eventually her feeding tube was removed as well. After just a couple of days in the NICU, Aoife was moved to a special care room where I could stay as well (and where I spent most of my time). Between feeding times, I had just enough time to grab a bite to eat in the hospital cafeteria (surprisingly delicious!) OR grab a shower OR get a bit of sleep – but never all three!

After three weeks of hard work growing, Aoife was ready to come home. She was just over 5 pounds when we left the hospital for the three-hour drive home (which becomes a 7-hour drive when you have to stop to nurse a baby and stop to get health insurance information up to date).

Suddenly, a week after we got home, she was one month old. Already! Aoife continues to grow and get bigger and stronger. She has grown so much lengthwise that she has outgrown some of her newborn-size outfits already.

So what happened here at home in all that time I was away? Our fantastic families pitched in to take care of the dog and the cats and clean our house, and they helped the proud papa get the nursery ready so that Aoife had a place to sleep when she finally got to come home.

It’s been a very crazy summer, and everything that does not involve this little girl has been put on the back burner. However, I have learned that time spent nursing is also a great time to think of things to blog about! Be warned, there may be some baby-centric posts coming your way.

I hope to focus on handy tips and tricks that I’ve learned from parents who are much more experienced than I am, as well as life after baby in general: getting back into running and exercising, finding time to keep up my busy reading schedule, and of course, the great stuff I make (and as time goes on, the great stuff Aoife and I make together).

So far, blogging with baby just means that I stop every few sentences to kiss this little head, so accessible when Aoife dozes on my lap as I type. It’s addictive, I tell you.