Boobs and Poop

I officially submitted my letter of resignation... after months of mulling over exactly what to do. I think I knew I wasn't going back when I left for maternity leave, but I was afraid to acknowledge it. Somewhere deep down, I believed that if I were to quit my job, I'd be making some statement against working women. And the idea of not going back to work after maternity felt so final. Like it'd be the last decision I'd ever make for myself. I finally resigned, and it was strange but oddly freeing. In my letter to the company, I asked that they make my final day November 2nd (to coincide with the last day of PFL benefits). So as of November 2nd, I have been officially unemployed and thought I would be completely without an income. But I'd been having conversations and advertising my availability for writing, editing and proofreading contract work, and some work has come in.  I've also been looking for a flexible, creative, stimulating, part-time job where I ...

This image was taken from raredelights.com . When we first moved to Diamond Bar, I thought I'd be commuting back to Brentwood for work and going to Santa Monica for pediatrician appointments throughout the week and the farmers market on Sundays. I've lived in the LA area for a while now and I'm no stranger to traffic. But I just didn't think about it when we decided to move so far east. Well, not just the traffic, but the distance. Diamond Bar is a good 30 miles from Santa Monica. I may have been in denial about the many realities of moving to the suburbs as a city dweller. I just didn't think that going back and forth from Diamond Bar to the westside would be a big deal. I was so wrong! Since moving and having the baby, I quit my job in Brentwood, found a new pediatrician for the baby in San Dimas and have not once been to the Santa Monica farmers market on Sunday . But we have subjected our daughter to that heinous drive a few times anyway. The trek home fr...

When I was pregnant and before we knew the baby's sex, we started calling her "Bumble" (we still do). When I was probably 4-5 months pregnant, I stumbled upon the Bumble dating app . I didn't really know what it was but fell madly in love with the fact that the app is called Bumble, so I downloaded it. As I was setting up my profile, I started to understand that it's a dating app. So I thought I'd have some fun with it, be honest and see if anyone seemed interested. I included the following facts: I was pregnant, engaged and in the midst of wedding planning. I thought I was so funny; then I realized that men couldn't contact me using the Bumble app. I could only reach out to them. So the fun was over - I wouldn't be able to see how many men would still be interested in a pregnant bridezilla. I closed the account and moved on with my day. I only told you that story so I could now tell you this story: A few days after Halloween, a girlfriend and ...

California Condo and HOA Swimming Pools    are now required to post this sign near the pool entrance. I've Googled diarrhea so many times this past week, and I rarely spell it correctly. Baby girl has had a stomach bug. We finally went to the pediatrician yesterday after a week of spectacular diaper shows. We currently go to Foothill Pediatrics , and yesterday we saw Dr. George Madanat. He said it could be a reaction to her recent Rotavirus vaccination (10/22), or it could just be diarrhea. He recommended Pedialyte only for 24 hours, followed by alternating between Pedialyte and breastmilk for 12 hours. My husband and I are a little concerned about this. 24 hours seems too long to go without breastmilk. Won't she be hungry? And honestly, I don't think I really understand why he wants us to do this. What he said was that the Pedialyte will give her digestive tract a break from breastmilk so she can fully digest anything that could be upsetting her stomach. The Pe...

Yesterday, we celebrated Halloween with our 11-week-old baby girl. We didn't dress her up in a costume, although there was some casual discussion about a daddy-daughter Kuato & George costume that never bore fruit. Instead she wore an adorable "So Cute It's Spooky" onesie and black tutu. We didn't take her trick or treating, but rather had the in-laws come over and enjoyed a somewhat fancy fall-themed dinner with Halloween movies playing in the background. We dined on Sausage and Apple Stuffed Apricot Squash and Spiralized Butternut Squash Spaghetti with red wine, and waited for the trick or treaters. I was really not sure that we'd get any trick or treaters, but I was very hopeful. As a kid I LOVED trick or treating every year. And it wasn't even so much about the candy as it was about the adventure and freedom of the night. Even if Halloween fell mid-week, my brothers and I would dress up and go door to door with our friends. If it was cold ...