MILP #195

Proto Atty had it.  Here next week.

Angelfish Two Months

So I am just not as together as the awesome mommy bloggers who write wonderful heartfelt letters to their kids at each stage of their development.  That probably won't ever happen here. 

That said, it really is amazing how Angelfish went from this little pipsqueak of a newborn with curled limbs and clenched hands to a chubby infant who reaches out an explores her world.  She loves her mirror and a turtle that has a bell that rings when she hits it.  I have both on one of those infant playmats that suspend toys so babies can reach for them.   My girlfriend has one with an octopus right over the baby's head (Baby Einstein) and when her baby is done with the playmat, her face crumples into tears.  That is when the octopus "turns evil."  Angelfish does the same with her mirror -- after a little while she's just done and lets us know.  Does that mean the mirror baby has turned evil?

The social smiles have started -- she has at least a dozen variations on her smile and we see all of them whenever we change her diaper.  She gets so excited when we go to the changing table.  Bullshark suspects its the bright colors we chose for her room.   I suspect its because she lets out enormous gas whenever we open her diaper.  Seriously, girlfriend needs to lay off the pinto beans and cabbage.

I think my favorite smile is what I call the slow half-cocked smile.  It starts on one side of her mouth and spreads slowly across her whole face.  Its like it starts as a smirk and then you watch recognition dawn and move across her features.

She has this little "meh" cry she does when she wants attention, but she's not otherwise hungry or gassy or in need.  Like when her mobile stops -- she'll "meh" til someone starts it again.

Since quite literally birth she has made these awesome old man forehead wrinkles -- she looks alternately puzzled or concerned when she does it.  Its a feature that comes from my Dad's side of the family... I do it too.  For at least the first month, her left eye always looked squinty and she still squints a bit in pictures.  I used to do the same.  Hell, if the light is wrong, I still do.  It is so weird how inheritance works.

Seriously, for posterity, it took me OVER FOUR WEEKS to nurse this baby without crying (literally crying, yelping and gnashing my teeth) in pain. 

I went back to work this week on my new (almost) full time schedule and it hurt. I feel like I am missing so much and I know I promised I'd write about my daycare arrangements and work and how pumping is going and how Clownfish likes being a big brother and how my fantastic husband has really stepped up ... but right now I just wanted to focus on my little miracle and record some of the awesomeness of this age before she's old enough to write her own damn posts.

MILP #194

Ptlawmom had the Roundup. I do not hate her. :-)

How to make me hate you on Facebook

High score makes me wish I never accepted your friend request.

10 points: Join the fight against (something terrible) by posting this status to raise awareness (list some facts)
+ 5 Get people to change profile picture to something odd as part of this "awareness" campaign
+5 Implore people to just change their status "for an hour" -- is that too much to ask for the poor victims of (something terrible)?
+ 5 Vaguebook by getting people to post crazy things in order to get people to ask "why are you posting (your shoe size)" so you can respond "duh, its (toe fungus) awareness week"

10 points:  Poem (or other sad cliched attempt at eloquence) and "repost if you" love (something everyone loves like mom or puppies) or lost/miss someone.
+ 5 Invoke 9/11
+ 5 Invoke heroes:  troops, cops, firefighters, first responders, nurses, teachers...
+ 5 Actually be about moms
+ 5 Invoke dead babies
 
10 points:  Manage to imply that most people WON'T repost because they are just not as (courageous/aware/involved/wonderful/supportive of some group) as the poster is especially because the post involves controversial topics like
+ 5 God/Baby Jesus/Faith
+ 5 America
+ 5 Heroes:  troops, cops, firefighters, first responders, nurses, teachers...
+ 5 How people are all so willing to get behind (cause X) but don't pay sufficient attention to (cause Y)
+ 5 the media
+ 5 the lamestream media

Less offensive, but still annoying, so you can take some points off your score if:
- 5 If the post is an ironic mocking of these kinds of statuses:  Did you lose a loved one on the Death Star?
- 5 If the status is actually funny or charming.

Welcome back

"Is it a relief to be here, away from the baby?"

"It must have been so hard to leave her this morning."

"What do you mean you didn't bring any pictures?"

"We just had a conference about [ongoing contentious topic] and the only thing we could agree on was on how good you look."

"How old is she now?" (Eight weeks.) "Time flies, I guess."

"You look great.  Feel ok?"

"It'll be a lot easier when you have a new assignment to really lose yourself in.  You won't even notice you are gone all day."

"Are you getting any sleep?"

"Did you leave her with family?"

"You back full time yet?"

"We stored boxes in your cubicle while you were gone. It was such a pain in the ass to clean it out yesterday before you got here."

"Damn, is that what chasing after two kids, instead of one, does for you?"  (Hand motions indicating I look thinner.)

"Did you have over 500 emails or what?"

"I [got staffed on two of your projects] while you were out."

"Does she sleep through the night yet?"

MILP 192: Take it easy

The Weekly MILP (Moms In the Legal Profession) Roundup is hosted on a rotating basis between PT-LawMom, Butterflyfish, and Attorney Work Product blogs. We originally rounded up just the moms in law school, but then discovered that those women eventually graduate. Who knew? So now all the moms in the legal field (heh) are represented. We aim for Sunday posts.

"Well, I'm running down the road / tryin' to loosen my load / I've got [lotsa] women on /my mind . . .
Take it easy, take it easy / Don't let the sound of your own wheels / drive you crazy."

~ The Eagles 

So, I managed a theme last time. Right now, I'm sterilizing my pumping equipment and getting ready to go back to work this week (details to follow).  I'm giving myself a break this week. 

Two MILPs welcomed babies this week.  -R- posted here and Magic Cookie. CONGRATULATIONS!!

In other news...

• Cee is frustrated by the reproductive process.
• Googiebaba is frustrated by "office" politics (if you have the password) 
• LEO is swamped but happy. 
• Shan is in the midst of 1L spring. 
• Sammie B is inspiring. 
• Lag Liv appreciates her law degree. 
• Izzie somehow got lost in transit -- a lesson in documentation. 
• Suzy shows us the glamorous side of Biglaw. 
• LC settles a case and loses weight -- I'd call it a win week. 
• Atty Work Product on marital money.  (Follows a thread started by Magic Cookie not too long ago.) 

And remember folks, "lighten up while you still can / don't even try to understand / just find a place to make your stand / and take it easy."


___________________________________
If you’d like to have your blog added to the MILP blogroll for weekly review or would like us to consider a specific post, drop the hostess(es) an email or leave a comment at any of our sites.  Expecting moms in law school and attorneys are welcome! 

Corner turned

Yesterday, I paid a brief visit to one of my Lucy Job bosses at a location near my home to introduce her to Angelfish.  I got caught up on some of the office gossip in preparation for my return next week, and was much praised for my beautiful baby. Angelfish was snoozy through most of the visit, which was good because we were in a building in which noisy babies probably would not be tolerated well. 

I also visited my old job, and Angelfish was just delightful.  She was awake and flashing smiles from her stroller.  I received a warm reception from former co-workers and met some lovely new people, including an expectant mom who wanted to chat about the local daycare scene.

More importantly, my former boss and I had a chat about the possibility of my returning when the Lucy Job term expired in July.  We have been in touch periodically since I left.  She knows I want to come back, at least for another year.  Because its such a family-friendly work environment and because I really love the work, I could spend my career there, though such positions are few and far between.  She couldn't make any promises, etc., but was hopeful that I could return for at least one year.  I promised to keep in touch.  

It was a hectic two hours overall, but I got home just in time to feed the little munchkin.

I have been feeling pretty good lately. I've been working hard to keep the postpartum at bay.  I haven't felt like crying.  With Bullshark's help, I've been getting some sleep.  I had some friends over for dinner last week.  Its cold outside, yes, but also sunny, which helps a lot.

I go back to work two-three days next week and full time March 14. I am not ready, but I doubt I'll be more ready in two more weeks, so I'm coming to a place of acceptance.  I think I've turned the corner.

What You're Missing

The backlash to the media coverage of Charlie Sheen's public descent into madness has begun. See, for example, this Yahoo news story, stating that some professionals feel that because Sheen has clearly had clearly "suffered some sort of mental disturbance," "it's unseemly for news professionals to keep using his outbursts to feed the 24/7 news cycles."  

I never watch Two and a Half Men.  Let me rephrase -- I watched a rerun episode once several months ago to see what it was about.  I recently described the show on Twitter to a friend who asked what the premise was:  "I think the premise is Ducky from Pretty in Pink lives with his mildly retarded son and perv addict brother played by Charlie Sheen.  Misogyny ensues."

Allow me to be the first first to lash back at the backlash to the media coverage.  Yes, its clear the man has issues.  He's probably gonna die of an overdose of some kind, sooner rather than later.  That's sad.  But its not tragic on the scale of what else is going on in the world.  Let the man rant.  BOOM. Winning.

And now, what you're missing... an occasional feature in which I round up of some of my recent Twitter posts.

• My last full week as a stay at home mommy. I has a sad.
• I like singing made up songs to my daughter, usually based on songs that exist. Today, I sang "Cranky Baby" to the tune of Hallelujah Chorus
• Clownfish's new television obsession? Tom and Jerry cartoons. Yeah. I can live with that.
• Thanks to the internet, I now know how to reassemble the breast pump I bought seven years ago.
• Discovered the *real* purpose of swaddling a baby: keeps her from knocking the pacifier out of her mouth a dozen times before her nap.
• After ten months or so of no appetite, i now i feel like i am *always* hungry. Like minutes after I eat, a voice says *must NOM NOW*
• Finally sat down and listened to Cee Lo Green's Fuck You, not the radio friendly Forget You version. Cannot get it out of my head!
• Parent win of the day: My six year old can finish the line "Hello, my name is Indigo Montoya...

MILP #192

is up at Proto Atty's place.