I'm an Auntie!!!!

My neice, Abigail Sophia Huizenga, was born last night at 6:48pm to Becky and Byron Huizenga up in Minot, ND. She weighed 5 lbs. 7 oz. and was 18 1/4 inches long. Despite her tiny size, she is healthy and both mom and baby are doing well. I am so excited and happy!!!! I can't wait to meet her next month when we go up for a visit. I wish I could see her now because I have a feeling that by the end of next month she will have put on a bunch of baby chub and will have changed a bunch. However, I wish Byron and Becky a happy babymoon full of rest, family bonding, and blissful peace as they get to know their new little one. Love you guys! Oh, and check her out on the pictures below. Isn't she a cutey-pie?! I think so. We'll see if the dark hair sticks around or if its replaced by some strawberry blonde a la Becky. I'm hoping for the redhead but either way she's a sweetheart. Can you tell I'm excited about being an aunt?

Happy Birthday, Scott!

Hi all. Well, today is my darling hubby's 32nd birthday. Dang, he is getting old!! We had planned to celebrate by going to a Royals baseball game yesterday but with the wet weather and windchills in the 30's, we decided to pass. We're especially disappointed since it was Powder Blue Jersey night and we would have each netted a free jersey if we had braved the cold. But it just wasn't possible especially with a toddler in tow. Plus, last year Scott did brave the cold and he went on to develop a nasty cold the following week.

Scott is getting harder and harder to shop for for me because we have been together for 12 years, married for 5, and I am just running out of ideas! I was hoping an idea would just pop into my head randomly so I waited til the last second to buy him a gift, but no luck. No idea magically appeared.

So, Nicky and I went shopping Friday. Let's just say that Nicky does not like shopping and was not enjoying my browsing and indecision. So, we decided to buy daddy a very nice Fossil watch. Now some of you might thinking, that's a nice gift, and I agree, it is pretty nice. But I feel uncreative at best because Scott just bought me a watch for Xmas, so its not an original idea at all. Oh well, his old watch band was torn and this watch is not only stylish but can also work for work and casual attire.

So, today I set to showing my love for Scott by cooking for him. For supper I made chicken fettucini alfredo the yummy, fattening way - with cream, real Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and butter. Yum! And I made him a chocolate fudge cake (from a box) with dark chocolate espresso buttercream frosting (homemade). Can you tell someone like chocolate and coffee!! Well, better go eat some cake! I'll post pictures once I have a chance to download them.

Yet another Doctor Update

HA! My bone scan was completely normal!!! And this for a normal woman my age, not even a lactating one!!! This is great because after my last doctor's visit, I took the time to do a search of the medical literature regarding bone health and lactation. I found some great review articles and research studies including this one. The gist of all of them is this: during pregnancy, the woman's body pulls the extra calcium for the baby's bones, etc. from the mom's diet (this explains why pregnant women crave dairy and other calcium-rich foods), but during breastfeeding, the woman's body automatically takes the calcium for the breastmilk from the woman's bones, no matter what amount of calcium the woman has in her diet. So, the leaching of calcium from a woman's bones when she is breastfeeding is completely normal and nothing to be worried about because after a woman stops lactating, her body puts back the calcium in the bones. This redepositing of calcium is pretty rapid and occurs within 6 months of the stop of lactation, and it actually leaves the bones stronger than before lactation. Our bodies are so cool!!!

I also found out that my vitamin D levels are high, not low! Yipee!! Guess my attempts to get at least 15 minutes of sunlight a day and taking my Omega-3/DHA supplement are paying off. Sunlight is the best way to get vit. D, though please do not burn yourself in the name of vitamin D! Sadly, the vitamin D the food companies add to our milk, orange juice, and other foods is vitamin D2 which is made from plants and not very easily absorbed by our bodies. Our bodies need D3 and this is what we produce when our skin is exposed to the sun. So all you sun-aphobes, please do not lurk in the shadows! We need vitamin D because it helps regulate the levels and absorption of calcium and phosphorus in our bodies, it promotes bone formation and mineralization, it keeps the parathyroid in check, and it promotes anti-tumor and other immune system activities. So, a bit of sunshine every day = keeps away cancer, but too much sunshine = sunburns and a higher risk of skin cancer. So stay safe! And if you still don't get enough sun, or live in a non-tropical area like most of us do, you might want to consider a cod liver oil supplement or some other Omega-3 supplement since the UV-B rays that are needed to produce vitamin D in our skin:

• Latitude -- the further north you are the less there is
  
• Time of Year -- virtually none available in winter in continental U.S.
  
• Clouds -- can block UV-B
  
• Pollution -- smog and ozone can block UV-B
  
• Altitude -- the higher up you are the more UV-B reaches you

So, in sum, I am a healthy but skinny mama! I need to eat a bunch of calories each day to support me and my bf-ing toddler. Peace out - I need a snack!