laughter

Last night Z was lying in his bassinet in the living room and J's hands were doing flybys of Z's face. Z was squealing and smiling and then he started laughing! J kept moving his arms and hands....Z kept laughing which made J and I laugh and cry. It lasted for about 10 minutes and then Z seemed to get bored. Chalk up another first and another wonderful memory.

We've been trying to get him to laugh ever since, but all we get is his sweet smile. ;)

I'm itchin' to sleep...
Eczema has spread from my chest to my belly, arms, back, and legs. I'm assuming it is a combination of lack of sleep and anxiety about returning to work. It peaked yesterday so I went all out: eliminated wheat (my one leftover allergy from childhood - it's mild but present), worked out for 40 minutes, started taking flower essences at regular intervals (5-flower anti-stress formula), upped my soy milk intake, slathered myself in hydrocortisone and vegetable shortening, and took some tylenol and ibuprofen (to help ease swelling and pain). I asked the pharmicist at Walgreens if there were any antihistimines I could take while breastfeeding, but they all find their way into breastmilk. While antihistimines make adults drowsy they make kids hyper - no thank you. I'll be calling the doctor to see if there is something else I should be doing, but having lived with eczema my whole life I doubt there's much more I can do other than relax and enjoy the sunny day (and soak up as much Vitamin D as possible!).

I was fairly concerned yesterday about sleeping, exercising, and not itching, so I asked the universe for help. Wildly enough - Z slept for 5 hours last night then another 3. We all woke up refreshed and were out of the house with dogs by 7. J walked Z and the dogs on the trail while I climbed the stairs and jogged a little. We met up on the trail and talked for a while on the way back to the cars (yes - plural. The dog truck is a 2 seater and the dogs won't fit in the compact car...hopefully we'll purchase an all-purpose car soon so we can all travel comfortably and safely together). Plus, I think I figured out a proposal for how to go back to work in a comfortable way. More on that after I talk with some folks.

so, today's sunny, I slept well, and am less itchy. It looks to be another good day on the ranch.