Sunday, September 28, 2008

LOL Milestone

Alexander laughed out loud (or LOL’ed as the kids say) for the first time this morning. I wish I could say it was the result of some ironic joke, or even the result of tickling his feet. I actually have no idea what was on his mind that prompted the laughter. And as much as I wish I could rewrite the story of his first laugh, I have to admit it happened while breastfeeding, just before he latched on. My boobs are trying not to take it personally, but it was a bit hard on their self-esteem.

Anyway, a laughing baby is officially the most mind-blowingly adorable thing you’ll EVER see in your life. I swear it. Maybe someday he’ll tell me what struck him as so hilarious when he looked at my breasts…and then the real healing can begin.

In other news, I had my 6-week postpartum appointment the other day. Everything looks pretty good. I’m still anemic, but I’m now allowed to cut back a bit on my iron supplements. I found out I had developed HELLP syndrome during delivery. No, that isn’t a misspelled cry for assistance, it’s an acronym that stands for … Hemossssblahblah Elevated Liver Lowered …Peanuts….?? I don’t know. Do I look like a doctor? It is somehow related to the pre-eclampsia and must have happened during or after delivery. Of course, no one told me this while I was in the hospital. Maybe they figured I already had enough pregnancy drama to fill an entire “very special episode” of E.R. Or maybe the doctors decided to invoke the Freedom From Information Act. Apparently my liver enzymes are still elevated as a result of this HELLP syndrome… that or else I am secretly drinking about a dozen pina coladas a day. No worries. Things should return to normal soon. I’m feeling pretty good anyway… but that could just be the pina coladas talking.

Tim helped with the ‘Friends of the Lake’ clean-up day yesterday. He’s good at representing our household as being neighborly types. Local drama continues in the 'hood. The president of our association regularly sends out mass e-mails that include swear words and threats to quit. I’d post one of his e-mails here, but they are so over-the-top you would never believe it came from the association president. He is an angry angry man. He also never says hello, never smiles, and never wears his shirt. His reign of terror can only end if someone else is willing to be president. So far, apathy has prevailed and he remains president. Or maybe everyone is just too entertained by his rage-fueled mass e-mails to let him step down. That’s the neighborhood news.

Uncle Dave and Aunt Rachel are coming into town this week to hang out with Alexander. We told Alexander and he seemed excited. We hope he is happy for their visit, and flashes lots of gummy smiles. But all visitors should be warned that Alexander has some impressive mood swings. He may look happy in pictures we post on the blog, but individual results may vary based on time of day, hunger level, air temperature, and literally thousands of yet undiscovered baby variables. Prepare for total unpredictability. (How do you do that again?) But, more importantly, prepare for lots of yarrrr.



Speaking of unpredictability, I've gotta run.

End transmission.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My theory: Alexander is showing his Palmer genes. They all seem to laugh when delighted. Nicolas usually interpret laughter as directed "at" something, and freak out at this. But when you meet Tim's and my Uncle William, watch for this. It's pretty endearing, actually. So, I think Alexander just realized at that moment that finding the breasties and warm and nourishment were a regular pattern; and he was extremely pleased at this. What a wonderful thing, to have a happy baby.
Love from Aunt Rachel