The crying game

We have and will continue to show cheerful pictures of our darling daughter. It's more pleasant for you and more encouraging for us. Plus, she's just starting to smile ... so hopefully we'll have some pictures of that soon.

But as Kate and I have discovered these past few weeks, part of having a kid is dealing with all the crying. Thankfully, Elizabeth doesn't do it very much (knock on wood). But even when she does it inconsolably, it's OK. Kate and I realize that it's the only way babies have to communicate, and, frankly, it's not as grating as I thought it would be.

So here are a few pictures from this weekend where Elizabeth was sad, wet, tired, overwhelmed, frustrated, or just bored. I think they're pretty fun.

Xmas photos - need your opinions

OK, folks. We're looking to use one of the four below photos of our little angel for Christmas and we need your help. Please rank these in order of cuteness.

Photo 1 - Big Face:

Photo 2 - Attacked by Pointsettia:

Photo 3 - Baby in the Background:

Photo 4 - Drool puddle:

My heart's in the Harz mountains (now where's my brain?)

We hadn’t even heard of the city a year ago. But there we were one weekend in November – Kate, Kathryn, Elizabeth, and I – visiting the place where my Oma and Opa honeymooned about 60 years ago. A small mining city in the Harz mountains of Central Germany called Goslar.

Barbara and Bill were there, too. Bill was in Germany for work and was between conferences in northern and southern Germany. And Goslar was just about midway. Barbara tagged along.

Here’s a little history. This hard working blue collar city was sparsely populated in the mid 20th Century, as the mines were drying up and the proletariat wanted to get into the heavy industry found two hours west in the Ruhr region (famous for German’s Economic Miracle of the 1950s.)

Perhaps because they needed people, the town became one of many in the region that accepted refugees from former German areas after the war. My Opa and his family – refugees themselves coming from Silesia, now in southern Poland – somehow wound up here and lived here for a few months (we think) before getting jobs and moving further west.

Vacationing here for a weekend didn’t sound too enticing to me either, people. November in Central Europe in a defunct mining town? Germany’s equivalent to Appalachia? No thanks. But, alas, my mom was in town and that’s where she wanted to go. C’est le vie.

Anyway, our expectations were lower than Bush’s current approval rating. But, in all honesty, it was one of the most charming cities we’d ever been to. Undamaged during World War II, this town had beautiful old gothic churches, romantic half-timbered facades, and the types of bubbly cobblestones that lull Elizabeth to sleep in a matter of seconds. Both the town and the mines are UNESCO World Heritage Sites –like the Pyramids at Giza!
But unlike the Pyramids, there really wasn’t much to see, other than insane cuteness around every corner. Oh, and this Glockenspiel that told viewers of the history of mining in the region.
Pecos was there, too, by the way. Although I don’t think he fully appreciated the family history of this town, he did seem to appreciate watching the dancing miners, which we thought was weird and charming. Us humans were more interested in this freakily muscular small man pooing gold coins. Yes, this must be the Appalachia of Germany.
Anyway, it was a short trip – but a good one. Pecos enjoyed the Glockenspiel; Elizabeth enjoyed her first hotel; Kathryn enjoyed the geological findings in the mine, Barbara and I appreciated the family history; and Bill and Kate hopefully liked the town.

Plus, it was a good chance for us to let our scabie clothing and furniture be quarantined.

Elizabeth - Week 4: Getting Bigger

Elizabeth has now been with us for four weeks, and she's more alert everyday. She has started spending a lot more time awake, and seems to be more aware of the world around her. Her ability to focus her eyes has improved and she's working on making eye contact. She also is much better at holding up her head, and even rolled belly to back twice this week (she was especially angry and we haven't been able to get her to repeat the feat).

In her fourth week, Elizabeth got to visit exciting places like the dermatologist (so I could be de-scabie-fied), the laundromat (so all of our clothing could be de-scabie-fied), and the pediatrician for her first check-up.
Elizabeth checked-out at her check-up. Her hips, kidneys, and bladder were all evaluated and were deemed in good form. She also has grown appropriately and as of last Wednesday weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces, a growth of 1 pound five ounces since birth (Yay!).

Probably of greatest excitement in Elizabeth's fourth week was her first tourist trip. My mom, Justin, Elizabeth, Pecos and I traveled to the Harz mountains to spend the weekend in the town of Goslar with Barbara and Bill. It was a wonderful weekend that we'll post a blog about soon. The trip certainly increased my confidence in traveling with Elizabeth.

Also, we are still posting pictures of Elizabeth on her webpage (http://www.elizabethward.shutterfly.com/), so be sure to check it out.

Yuck - my itchies discovered

I've had a rash since early August. It started as a mosquito-bite-like bump on my hip. It really itched, but I tried my best not to scratch it. Then I got another bump on the other hip. They were symmetrical bumps in size, shape, and placement on me. It itched too. Then those two bumps spread into a rash that looked like they gave birth to a bunch of baby bumps just below them, on my upper thighs. Wow - what an itch. But again, I held off scratching. What I lack in many things I make up for in discipline.

Then I went to the dermatologist - Dr. Broichmann, an arrogant guy who makes me wait 45 minutes for each visit - who said it's probably just a reaction to something. "Change everything - clothes, soaps, detergents, lotions, etc.," he said. He also prescribed an anti-itch cream. Confused, I changed everything and put the cream on religiously ... to no avail. The itching continued. The cream was a waste.

Then those baby bumps had more baby bumps under me bum. Crazy itching ensued. "Did that cream give me more itchies?" But, again, like a proud monk practicing ascetic denial, I didn't scratch it.

Then I went to Broichmann again, complaining. "Oh, it must be eczema," he said. "Of course ... eczema," he said almost hitting himself in the head.

So, despite the fact that I didn't have dry skin and had never had itchy skin before, Broichmann prescribed eczema cream. That actually halted the itching temporarily, but didn't do much for the spread of the rash, which continued its onward front south, enveloping my lower thighs, knees, and then jumped down to my ankles and feet.

So - back to Broichmann's. It's now October. Once again he blew me off, saying it was eczema, it was no big deal, and prescribed a stronger eczema cream and a dry-skin cream. The cream sucked. AARGH! BROICHMANN! The rash spread to my chest, underarms, and wrists. The itching got worse too. It got so bad I couldn't sleep at night, causing me to show up to work in zombie mode, blaming it on the newborn who was such an angel. She slept more soundly than daddy.

It's now November....15 weeks of itchies. I went to Broichmann again determined to get a different diagnosis. I sat there in his office waiting the standard 45 minutes to be seen just fuming. I'm itchy. I'm frustrated. I'm exhausted. And I have to wait for this loser to tell me it’s eczema again.

Broichmann came in. We talked. He listened. He looked on his computer (probably doing a google search) and said I might have Sarcoptes scabiei. Scabies. Latin for scratch.

Yuck – bugs. Hundreds and hundreds of microscopic bugs burrowing in my skin, laying eggs, and poo-pooing indiscriminately. Well, he wasn’t sure, he said. But he prescribed a cream (Infectoscab) anyway. He also took blood and asked for me to bring in a stool sample (nope – not doing that) to determine if it was something else.

So I went home, did some research, discovered that I have all the typical scabies symptoms, tried the cream, and am now enjoying the wonderfully slow recovery process of three more weeks of itching while my skins grows new layers and pushes out all the bug poopoo.

WHAT THAT MEANS. Well, the worst part is that since you scabies is transmitted through skin contact and/or shared linens, I’ve already given it to Kate. So, yesterday we had to take all our clothes and linens to the laudromat for a hotwash.

WHAT THAT ALSO MEANS. I’ve mostly likely given it to our darling three-week old daughter. Sadly, she can’t use the insecticide cream Kate and I used because she’s too young for a carcinogen of that caliber. So, because it takes four-to-six weeks for scabies babies to hatch and become apparent on the skin, we won’t know for another few weeks whether she has it. And if she does, well, that means Kate and I have it again and, once again, we have to hotwash everything. But this time, we’ll give her the carcinogenic insecticide. We have no choice.

Just imagine how guilty I feel.

Oh – and I also gave it to Pecos. Now imagine how dirty it feels to give a freaking dog a freaking mite infestation. Yeah. That’s dirty.

So, as gross, distressing, upsetting, chaotic, confusing, uncomfortable, and exhausting as this has been – and as ill-timed as it was – it’s now coming to an end. Only three more weeks of crazy itching!

Until Elizabeth’s bugs start to hatch.

Yuck.

Elizabeth - Week 3: My girl likes to potty all the time

Thank you, Carole, for the award for shortest post ever. We actually wrote this post earlier this week, but blogger ate it when we published . . . and then scabies consumed our lives.

So, a little late, here is Elizabeth's three week update presented in the forms of likes and dislikes she has made apparent.

Likes-sleeping around. Elizabeth is happiest sleeping on or with other mammals. This has been easy to accommodate as she has six willing grandparents (all of whom she's met) and one furry pup who is willing to oblige.

Dislikes-sleeping alone. Actually, we haven't tested out her willingness to sleep alone, but I am guessing she won't be into it. At night, she sleeps with Justin, Pecos, and me. I'm glad we recently upgraded to a king-sized bed.

Likes-re-experiencing the womb during bath time.

Dislikes-being taken from the bath tub. She usually protests by peeing all over whoever is drying her while screaming like a banshee.

Likes-nursing. Elizabeth is a leisurely diner and spends most of her waking hours, and energy, eating.

Dislikes-being awake and not nursing. She seriously needs to find a hobby.

Likes-being lifted in the air. If Elizabeth is fussing, you can just lift her above your head a few times and she'll settle down. We call this her off button. I'm hoping that it will keep working through adolescence.

Dislikes-my lazy attempts, when my arms have petered out, to fake lifting her above my head by putting upward pressure in her armpits while bouncing her on my knees. She doesn't fall for this trick.

Likes-relieving herself on the changing table. Elizabeth likes to wait until I have a nice clean diaper under her before peeing, or pooing, all over it. We go through a lot of diapers around here.

Dislikes-diaper changes. Elizabeth gets seriously upset during changes, expecially it she's just awakened and is hungry.

Likes-being worn. We have five baby carriers and Elizabeth is a fan. Here's Justin and Barbara with Elizabeth in the Ergo with the infant insert. She's currently hanging out on me in the Ultimate Baby Wrap.

Dislikes-being put in the Ultimate Baby Wrap. Those first few minutes after I put her on are filled with lots of screaming. Then, she settles down, and falls asleep for a few hours.

I would still rate Elizabeth is a fairly easy baby. I'm excited to see her grow and change over the coming weeks.

Elizabeth - Week 2: Out and About

Yesterday marked Elizabeth's two week birthday and I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. It was great to have a week at home with Justin to settle into our life together. He is now back at work, but my parents are (thankfully) here to help me out. During the second week of Elizabeth's life, we actually spent a fair amount of time out of the house. We certainly went out far more than I thought we would. As previously mentioned, Elizabeth enjoyed her first game of fetch. She also went to two doctor's appoinments with me, had her first visit to the library, and went to the airport to pick up my folks.
This weekend, we got even bolder, and took Elizabeth on her first out-of-town journey. My parents, Justin, Elizabeth, Pecos and I drove the hour south to enjoy Jay and Linda's hospitality. We had a fabulous Linda-prepared Italian feast on Saturday, went to an awesome brunch on Sunday (Elizabeth's first meal out), and went on a hike on Sunday afternoon.All in all, Elizabeth did very well. She is a very calm baby (until you try to change her diaper) and has yet to make a peep on her many ventures out. Of course, accomplishing this takes careful strategizing and timing, but the process is getting smoother all the time. I think we'll keep her; she's pretty cute.

Happy Halloween!

Today is Elizabeth Ward's original due date - and she's celebrating her 0st birthday in style!

This is not photoshopped at all.....

Sleep deprived

Elizabeth's birth story . . . as told by Kate

All is well here in the Ward household. We are settling in nicely as a little family of four.

I like reading other people's birth stories, so I thought I'd share Elizabeth's with all of you while the memory is still fresh.

Also, here's a pic of my belly on the night we left for the hospital. I was 38 weeks and 3 days pregnant.

When thinking of her birth, I consider the journey to be composed of three parts.

1) The natural labor:

On October 19th, contractions started just as I was dozing off to sleep at eleven. After about two hours of contractions about eight minutes apart, I got out of bed to see if the contractions would go away or pick up. After a short time bouncing on the ball, I timed some contractions and was surprised to find they were between two and three minutes apart. I realized that I was really in labor, and that I should probably pack my bag for the hospital.

When I arrived at the hospital at about three in the morning, I was two centimeters dilated. I walked the halls for a couple of hours, swaying between contractions, and was five centimeters at my next check a few hours later. After a couple more hours of walking, I asked to have the tub prepared so I could use it for relaxation. The midwife checked me before I got in and found I was almost ten centimeters dilated. At this point, it was just before ten in the morning.

I labored in the tub for awhile and really enjoyed the ease with which I could switch between positions. I started pushing in the tub, but after awhile, and not showing much progress, the midwife told me to get out of the tub and try to push in some different positions. I continued trying to push until about twelve, but still was not having success getting the baby down.

Overall, I found this part of my labor experience to be pretty easy to handle. I really enjoyed moving around and never felt the pain was unbearable. I just listened to my body, and it did what it needed to do.

2) The uncomfortable part:

At about noon, my midwife told me to stop pushing. My contractions were still coming very frequently, and the urge to push was very strong, but I was instructed to take shallow breaths during contractions and not push.

This was probably the hardest thing I've ever done. I was really putting everything I could into not pushing, and it was exhausting to fight my body's need to push. But, try I did, and after about two hours of not pushing, numerous internal examinations, changing positions a few times, and an ultrasound, it was determined I was in need of a C-section.

Though my OB had previously said my daughter was in a great position, it seems she somehow turned her head 90 degrees and assumed a position that would not allow for a vaginal birth.

3) The C-section:

The forty-five minutes between hearing I was getting a C-section, and receiving the epidural were probably the most difficult. I was still having frequent contractions, and I was still instructed not to push, and knowing that all of that work was not going to bring the baby out just made me want relief.

The C-section itself was fine. The epidural brought immediate relief and I felt lucid for the first time in many hours. After some cutting and tugging, my daughter was born.

Overall, it was not how I imagined or hoped Elizabeth's birth would go. However, the end result of a healthy baby and healthy mom was achieved, so I'm okay with it. I was very impressed with how I handled the whole thing, and will certainly try for a natural birth again next time . . . not that that will be anytime soon.

Elizabeth – Week 1: The Fecal Position

Hi all – Just wanted to give a brief update on life in the Ward family this week.

After spending a few restless and sore nights in the hospital recovering from her C-section, Kate was feeling well enough on Friday to come home with our stinky sprout in tow.
We’re now adjusting to life’s little miracle by buying lots of German breastfeeding products, taking naps, and manipulating our sleeping baby into poses no child should ever be subjected to, such as playing air guitar, doing the cha-cha, and (Kate’s favorite) getting the shakes while benchpressing too much weight.

Family Ward is also enjoying the kind convalescent care the Ward Seniors (Jay and Linda) are providing, including frequent commissary trips, enchiladas, and phone check-ins to make sure mom and baby are adjusting to life A.D. (after delivery).

Pecos is showing affection, but is generally still undecided about the whole baby thing.
And we finally made our first foray into the Great Outdoors – to get mail and play fetch with Pecos. All seemed to go just fine…no apparent allergies to air or grass or nature yet.
Oh, and about the title: Babies poop. A lot. As such we have a whole fecal station set up to handle the frequent and massive movements. As Kate’s still on the mend, I’m usually the one taking up the Fecal Monitoring and Janitorial Service positions. And it’s not too bad. Baby poop, I’ve discovered, smells like chicken, which is far better than regular poop.

Either way, Pecos loves the smell (and taste) of her and continually asks for more, ostensibly because he's so caring. Check out his eyes in this picture. Deep down, though, I think he thinks she's dinner.

Elizabeth Bruhy Ward's 0st birthday

Well ladies and gentlement, Kate and I are proud to announce with a decent amount of fanfare that as of 2:22 p.m. on Oct. 20, there is a new bundle of poop and joy in our lives. All 6 lbs. 6 oz. of her.

Elizabeth Bruhy Ward didn't want the fanfare that would greet her on the outside, though. At least that's what Kate thought after 15 hours of labor and four hours of being told to NOT push through the contractors even though she was dilated 10 cm. and not pushing would be very painful. The baby wasn't coming out.

The problem wasn't space. Apparently there was enough of that for even a bigger baby. And the problem wasn't the birthing process. Kate's contractions were "Wunderschoene" and the baby's heart rate was healthy and strong the whole time.

The problem WAS that Baby Elizabeth didn't want to turn her head the last 15-20 degrees, meaning she would have come out face down which is apparently a bad thing. So, after much discussions, consulations, and exhaustion, the doctors said the only alternative was a C-section. And we agreed.

So we dressed in scrubs, went in the OR, and a few minutes later had a beautiful little baby girl - sans the conehead that comes from vaginal delivery.

Right now, momma and baby are doing well in their respective recovery rooms. They'll probably be there until Friday or Saturday and I'll of course keep those interested parties sated with pictures.

Babyness overload

The baby’s not here yet and already we’re overloaded with babyness.

We had three baby showers in two weeks (one was “virtual” for Kate). And while that was an awesome boon to our munchkin clothing inventory and we truly thank everyone who came and/or sent gifts, it was, admittedly, a little embarrassing for Kate and I … who never really like to be the center of attention or overdue our ooohs and aaahs to appease the crowd.
We now can dress a whole army of dolls in pinks and a whole army of garden gnomes in browns and imagine them fighting each other with multitudes of soft baby spoons and throwing nipple protectors at each other like ninja flying stars.

Or at least that’s what I TRY to imagine sometimes because, frankly, it gets my mind off the imminent arrival of our own little mini life complicator...who's in here, somewhere.
It’s not like I’m franticly trying to escape or think we’re so unprepared that we’ll fail. (Yes, mom, I know we’ll NEVER be prepared and we have NO idea what we’re getting into. Sure. Got it.) But it’s just been a lot of babyness lately. And, without an actual baby here, it just seems silly and excessive.

Once the baby gets here, yes, there will be much more baby talk. (Is that sound normal? What orifice did that come out of? Hey, come here and smell this.) But I expect that. And I’m excited for it. This whole preparation thing….what can I say? Dude needs a break.
Oh here's a fun but lamely narrated video of Kate "zipping up" her gut.

All growed up

It's October in Germany. And that means it's a little depressing outside. So I'm a little depressed inside. I just realized that we're officially ... adults.

We sold our beloved, fun, and zippy Ford Ka and replaced it with a more staid and zzz-inducing station wagon. I just got promoted to supervisor and now work more.

Kate’s having a friggin baby.

I made my own cheese recently and get WAY too excited about that. BOR-ING!

Kate insisted we get a picture of her practicing her civic duties and voting for president.

And, similar to my cheese overjoy, Kate got all sorts of excited about our new bedspread. (Pecos obviously is wary of all these changes.)

So, I wanted to take a moment to reminisce about the great times Kate and I had with the Ka…..during our sometimes incredibly long car trips.

In the two years and two months we had the Ford Ka, we traveled about 30,000 miles, more than the circumference of the globe. Now, that may seem pretty normal for the U.S., but when you consider that I walk to work and that Kate only uses the car to run errands and take Pecos to the fields, the number is pretty astonishing.

Here’s a list of some of the more massive driving trips we took with our Navy Bean:
Switzerland – Aug 06: 1000 km
Munich – Sep 06: 900 km
Holland – Oct 06: 900 km
Paris, Strasburg – Nov 06: 1600 km
Nürnberg – Dec 06: 600 km
Grafenwoehr – Jan 07: 725 km
Paris – Mar 07: 1200 km
Hamburg, Amsterdam – Apr 07: 1500 km
Switzerland – Apr 07: 1000 km
Garmisch – Apr 07: 1200 km
Berlin – May 07: 1250 km
Dresden, Wroclaw, Krakow, Prague – May 07: 2400 km
Rothernburg ob der Tauber – Oct 07: 450 km
Switzerland – Nov 07: 1000 km
Nancy, Metz, Luxembourg, Trier – Feb 08: 600 km
Zermatt, Milan, Turin, Geneva – Mar 08: 1900 km
Bruges, Keukenhof – May 08: 1250 km
Salzburg, Dolomites – May 08: 1400 km
Prague – June 08: 1200 km
Berlin – Aug 08: 1250 km
Sylt, Copenhagen – Aug 08: 2100 km

Here's our Ka covered in snow in Switzerland.

Plus countless trips to Heidelberg, Rüdesheim, Limburg, Köln, Kaiserslautern, which I’ll estimate at about 7,000 km, bringing our total road trip miles to about 20,000 miles. This means that about 68 percent of the mileage we put on that car were roadtrips. That’s pretty good. What percentage do you do?

By the way, here's me and that crazy unnamed dog from the last blog jumping into a vortex like the ones Bubbles from HBO's The Wire created on the last episode of Heroes.