While I'm On Deadline

I have two projects due this week, so please go check out the awesome writers at "SpouseBuzz" and look at my post and others over at Doonesbury's "The Sandbox."

I'll return to your regularly scheduled blogging really soon!

TWO MONTHS OLD!

I SHOULD be doing work but I just wanted to share with y'all:

My baby is two months old (as of yesterday). She weighs 12 lbs, 8 oz!!! That's right--twelve and a half pounds of sweet, sweet pudge. She is 23 inches.

Everywhere we go, doctors and nurses keep asking, "You're breastfeeding her? And you are JUST breastfeeding her? No supplements at all???"

Lilah did very well at her well baby and THIS doctor actually listened to me and agrees that she is suffering from reflux. Ironically, the doctor Lilah was supposed to see was out and it just so turns out that her PCM (who was not originally on the well-baby schedule) was substituting. This doctor is awesome and she has these beautiful, wild yellow eyes.

As we were waiting for Lilah's shots, two nurses walked by and said, "There's a baby over there who looks just like a doll!"

Here's my "little" doll:

Oh, and here's a smile:

Confidants

"I am so angry at him for what he's doing to you."

"He's out of his mind."

"You are better than I am. I would not put up with this."

I suppose my civilian friends think they are being supportive when they say these things.

What I do not think they realize is that they are isolating me further.

Everyone sometimes need to vent about their significant other--not me of course, DH is perfect *wink*--or maybe even just circumstances.

When DH is home, I tell him about everything...but of course with the deployment, I do not want to bother him about every little thing.

When my civilian friends make statements like that though, I cross them off my list of confidants about military-related gripes.

After all, I do not want anyone to be upset with my DH, especially when it usually is an issue beyond his control. I just want to let off some steam and then let it go.

Even a simple complaint about the 100 degree heat while I was nine months pregnant could bring on a remark about how "unfair it was for him to drag me to Texas."

So, I keep it to myself.

And most of my military friends have husbands in the same unit. With few exceptions, their husbands are directly above or below mine in the chain of command. So, they're off that list, too.

Which leaves me, well...here.

The Mommy and the Childfree Can Be Friends?

A couple of weeks back, Andi from SpouseBuzz posted a reader e-mail about military support for childfree couples. Having been childfree for 5 years of marriage, three of which as a MilSpouse, I can empathize.

That got me thinking. Anecdotally (no, I haven't done a study), MilSpouses seem more reluctant than civilian parents to leave the kids at home. Why?

Now that I'm a mom, I've come up with a couple of theories.

1. Money: As they say, we ain't in it for the money. Duty and honor may be priceless, but they don't pay so well, either.

2. Family: Mine's in New York. The friends here I trust mostly have small kids, too. Those who do not...well...if I were to have them sit, who am I hanging out with, anyway?

3. Deployment: Sure, girls night out sounds fun, but Daddy's a bit far away to watch the babe.

4. Priorities: Hopefully many families (military and civilian) put family time as priority number one, but the difference is that many military families have little time for priorities number 2 and beyond. In today's military, many soldiers are either just coming back or about to leave for deployment, which means there is precious little time to bond.

5. Stability: When Daddy or Mommy has deployed at least once in the last few years, and the family has made who only knows how many changes of duty station, many MilSpouses may be loathe to deprive the younger children of the one stable thing in their lives--even for an evening.

Not all of these apply to everyone, and some may find multiple reasons apply.

All that said, that doesn't mean you footless and fancy-free gals can't be my friend. True, I might beg off on the smoke-filled nightclub. However, not all activities with kids have to be childish. Let's go to an outdoor concert or shopping or go to a museum or go apple picking or you can come over here for a nice dinner with a glass of wine.

I still read and follow the news and have other interests and I promise not to tell you about Lilah's last bowel movement.

Smile for the Camera?

I just sent a bunch of videos of Lilah off to DH so he can see her wiggly and happy. Everytime we webcam, she is either eating, fussy, or sleeping.

I also sent out links for a bunch of photos to DH and the fam.

Lilah is smiling at me but everytime I grab the camera, she stops. This is the closest I've been able to capture:

And this is her opinion of my efforts: