January!

Kathleen had her baby, Mia Evangeline, early this month. Her labor and delivery with her first daughter, Kate, had been very easy so she was expecting a comparable labor and delivery. She had to be induced and then there were many events, some that in hindsight seemed avoidable, that led up to C-section. Kathleen was not prepared for that. I can see going in for your first delivery knowing a C-section was a possibility but for your second… I know for mine I expected one just like the first, and it was. Kathleen was very upset about it and said it was a lot more difficult than a vaginal birth. Jill and I went to the hospital to visit Kathleen on the Saturday after she was born and she was her usual feisty self. Mia is cute with a full head of black hair. Jeanette was already there (Jeanette, in her late 30’s, is expecting her first baby). Tracy showed up a few minutes later so we ended up having a little party in Kathleen’s hospital room.

The next day I met my friend Missie for brunch at the mall. She is breastfeeding and so she was wearing a bra without much support (underwire causes clogged ducts). I introduced her to the no-underwire bras at Victoria’s Secret that I love. I discovered them while I was breastfeeding Ty and wore them after I weaned him and now post surgery. I am anti-underwire and believe you should be able to get ample support without wires with a well constructed, structured bra. Missie looked fantastic in the new bra. She poked and prodded my new breasts in the Banana Republic dressing room, something I have gotten used to lately (being poked and prodded!) I asked her what she was going to tell her husband about them when she got home. She said, I’m going to tell him to start saving his money!

The next Friday I dropped off dinner for Kathleen. She was doing well but had found out her incision was infected. Poor Kathleen! On Saturday I reluctantly went to a home show of food products but was pleasantly surprised by their beer bread and dips, so I bought several boxes. I hope the book club likes them because I will probably just bring beer bread for the next few months. Brian, Jack and Ty loved it too. That night I went to a white elephant party—a party where you brought your worst Christmas present. I really didn’t have any terrible presents but I do have too many bath and lotion products that have been given to me over the years. There was a gold clock, a cardinal bath set with soap dispenser and tiny decorative towel, and a hideous ceramic holder that had NUTS emblazoned on the side. I came home with a horrible bath set (brand called “Dirty Girl”) with a scent so horrible I wonder if it could be used in lieu of bug spray.

Work has become very stressful and difficult. I tend to think about it a lot at home and on the weekend. I hate that. This is one of my new year’s resolutions… to get back to compartmentalizing work and stress at work. Life is too short otherwise. But after a terrible week, it was Annette G’s birthday on Friday night. The girls went to Roy’s for martinis for about an hour and half and the guys were supposed to meet up with us after that. Annette introduced to me to her sister and friends as Kelly—“she just got a boob job”. Good thing it wasn’t a huge secret. I got rave reviews for my new cleavage and got poked and prodded again. Lots of pictures were taken but I haven’t seen any of them yet. If I get some sent to me, I will be sure to post them. The guys met up with us and around 9:30 went to a very crowded piano bar where Annette was pulled on stage. She didn’t seem too embarrassed that they were giving her a hard time. Some of the group went to Denny’s afterwards but we went home because I was exhausted. I woke up with a hangover the next day and after taking Advil and a short morning nap, I managed to get to Connor’s 3rd birthday party. The kids had a good time and I felt a ton better after eating. On Sunday, Kathleen’s sister, Andrea, came over to check me out (and do some poking and prodding). She had a lift and augmentation scheduled with Dr. Spies on Tuesday and so wanted to finalize on the size she wanted to be. Andrea is a triathlete and very tiny but had one child, then triplets and then another child. Obviously she is very strong and resilient woman. I can’t wait to see her results.

I went back to exercising this week. I did a couple minutes on the ROM one day and 3 minutes the other day. This just about killed me. I did Pilates twice. One of the Pilates classes is at work and when I showed up, my fellow classmates (who I have been exercising with for years) said, Oh, I haven’t see you in a while. Since we have seen each other naked for several years, I ‘fessed up to the surgery. I think they were surprised initially but then started asking me a ton of questions and saying what they wanted done. I’m pretty sore after the two classes after not doing it for 5 weeks but it feels good to be back into exercising.

This week I met up with a work friend from out of town, Eric. He was my HR rep years ago and we became friends. I’ve met his wife a few times—once they came here together for a vacation and other times I have seen her on a business trip. He would like his wife to get some enhancement surgery but knows that as a man and faithful husband, you just can’t bring this up. He admired the post-surgery results and declared Brian “a lucky man”. But mostly I got a chance to bitch about work and since he works with my senior management, he can understand.

On Friday I had another post-op with Dr. Spies. I ran into a friend in the waiting room who wants to get an upper and lower eyelid lift. She said she was definitely going to schedule with him. I think she will look fantastic. She is only in her early 40’s and so looks much older because of her eyes. Dr. Spies’ assistant started to tease me because I had referred Andrea who had her surgery earlier this week and then Jill B and my other friend had their consultations that day. Dr. Spies said, How do you know all these people? I said, I know a lot of people who want their post-baby tune-ups. He said he really appreciated the referrals. Everything is looking good and I go back in 6 months. Dr. Spies and his office are really great. He is very personable. Jill sounds like she is scheduling her surgery for April. Friday night I went to the YMCA for a family night with Brian, Jack and Ty. They had chili and games for the kids. I left early to go to book club. Kathleen was drinking again and was in good spirits despite the fact that after everything she has been through, now her incision opened up and they have to pack it daily. What a nightmare. With three women pregnant (2 for the first time), conversations center around pregnancy and breastfeeding a lot. We have all shared the same ob/gyn and now the same plastic surgeon. Tracy was doing a cleanse and so had low energy and was not drinking so she wasn’t her usual self. I am going to start the cleanse that Brian did on Monday starting with a precleanse this weekend to make sure I am not going to go through caffeine withdrawal too badly.