Sarah’s favorite footwear, the flip-flop, appears to be in some trouble. Or, better yet, Sarah may be in trouble for overwearing the darn things. A new study by the American College of Sports Medicine says that walking in flip-flops is a possible cause of aches and pains all over the body.
ABC News has a story on the flip-flop fallout. Here’s a quote from the article:
“The major shock absorption occurs back on the heel, and if the surface between the heel and the ground is not supported it does not allow the heel to absorb shock as well as it should. Which means the foot works harder than it should and people tend to develop overuse injuries such as tendonitis, or in this case, lower leg, knee, hip and back problems,” explained Dr. Rock Positano from the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.
What’s Sarah to do this summer? I haven’t seen her feet flip-flopless in quite some time!
Category Archives: Family
Sarah’s first week back at work
Sarah’s first day back at the office after a three-month maternity leave was this past Monday. She says it was difficult being away from Oliver. “Obviously, he was in me for nine months, and I felt him kick and move and then, after he was born, I’ve been around him 24-7 for more than 12 weeks,” she said. “Not having him with me was like losing a little part of myself.”
Yes, Sarah has found the experience of leaving little Oliver behind for the day to be sad. She’s probably going to kill me for writing this, because she’s the type of person who hates to show her emotions, but she confided in me that she cried several times on Monday. It started as Grandma Annette drove off Sarah’s work parking lot with Oliver in tow. It continued just about every time somebody asked how Oliver was doing, how she was doing, whether she wanted to grab lunch, and just about anything else. You name it.
Her second day back was today, and she said it was a little easier. However, I don’t think she’ll ever really get over not being able to spend her days with the boy.
On Monday, I captured a picture of Sarah and Oliver in the classic “first-day-of-school” pose. Check it out:
And, after much anticipation, here’s the first really good Oliver smile photo we have been able to capture. Enjoy:
Sarah’s maternity leave comes to an end
Sarah’s maternity leave comes to an official end tomorrow, with her return to work. She’ll be working Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for a few weeks while we resolve our childcare situation and work out details with Sarah’s mom regarding watching the boy.
We have decided to split overnight “Oliver duties” on the nights before Sarah works. We did a test run last night, and my end of the deal was quite raw. If it’s like this every night, I could return to my “zombified” and cranky employee status of a few weeks ago.
To start, Oliver is not sleeping through the night yet. We had a breakthrough a few weeks ago, but it was short lived. He’s been eating every three or four hours, 24-7.
Last night, we set up his new FisherPrice monitoring deviced (the Sony ones we had been using made terribly hissing and popping noises) and put him to bed around 10 p.m. Around 2 p.m., we could hear him crying and the receiver for the monitor was flashing red lights (the louder Oliver is, the more lights that flash). Our room lit up like a police crime scene. It was obnoxious.
I agreed to take the first shift, so I went down stairs, warmed some milk for a bottle and went to Oliver’s room. It took about 30 minutes to feed him, burp him a few times and rock him back to sleep. I hit our king-size bed around 2:30 a.m. I had a million thoughts in my head and my heart rate was up pretty good due to walking around and flipping lights on and off. I must have been in bed a full hour before I decided to get up. I went into the computer room and played an old Nintendo game for over an hour. Then I went downstairs and had a bowl of cereal and played with the dog. Molly wanted none of me, giving me a “please just let me sleep” look.
Finally tired, I went upstairs around 5:30 a.m. I heard Oliver screaming as I turned to enter our room. Sarah was getting out of bed for her feeding shift. I threw my Springfield Cardinals baseball cap over the monitor receiver to block the flashing lights and went to sleep. Was up for good around 8 a.m. What a night.
I’m sure it was equally rough for Sarah, who’s really upset that her three-month maternity leave is coming to an end. I told her I could return to my roots (as Jen and Kristine suggested a while back) and move to a more affordable house in Florissant so she could stay home full time, but Sarah wants nothing to do with my old ‘hood. Guess we’ll just see how it goes. I’m sure I’ll post something in a few days to let you all know. In the meantime, keep Sarah in your thoughts.
First night out without the boy, plus a ‘Crystal Skull’ beat-down
To allow us to celebrate our third wedding anniversary, Sarah’s mom volunteered to stay at our house with Oliver. Yes, after 12 weeks, Sarah and I finally had a night out to ourselves.
The wife and I had a nice night, though it wasn’t overly romantic or special. It was, however, just what we needed.
We started the evening out with dinner on the outdoor patio overlooking the Missouri River at Lewis & Clarks in Old Town St. Charles. We order entirely too much food. Spinach and artichoke dip for an appetizer, side salads to continue our warmup, and chicken platters with sides. And to make the meal, I had three pints of fresh Missouri Brown Dark Ale, which is brewed up the street at Trailhead Brewing Company. Sarah downed nearly two pints of the Trailblazer Blond Ale. Good stuff.
Afterward, we called to check in with Grandma Annette. Things were going OK, so we headed to see “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” As kids of the 1980s, Sarah and I were anxious to see this movie. In the Lopinot household, my dad (an archaeologist) was our family’s Indiana Jones. “Indy” was a character we absolutely loved. Anyway, with this new movie, Sarah and I went in with high hopes but came out extremely disappointed.
I don’t want to spoil it for anybody, but I think it’s fair to describe the mistake-of-a-fourth-installment in the series in this way: It’s “Independence Day” meets “Tarzan the Ape Man” meets “Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein.” If you have seen or plan to see this movie, you’ll know what I mean (and I’d love to discuss it with you).
The best part of the movie was the fact that Sarah (age 33) and I (age 32) paid the student rate for tickets. Here’s the proof:
How funny is that? We didn’t even ask for the student rate or have to show ID. The sign said something like you have to be 23 or younger.
So after the movie ended, we went home. Oliver was about ready for bed, and we were, too. What a fun night. Can’t wait for our next one.
Happy anniversary to my sweetie
To my sweetie,
Three years ago today we became one. It was just you and me back then. No dog. No Oliver. Just Sarah and Justin.
We learned to live with each other. We learned to love each other even more. And most importantly, we learned to live and love without boundaries.
Who would have thought that the “hot chick” I hit on at a smoky bar almost seven years ago would now be my wife of three years and mother to my beautiful little son? Simply amazing.
Love always,
Justin
The boy finally moves into his own place
There’s no “empty nest syndrome” in the Lopinot household today, despite the fact that Oliver has finally moved into his own place. Yes, after 11 weeks of sleeping in my family’s 150-plus-year-old cradle 2 feet from our bed, Oliver slept in his own room last night.
The result? The best night of sleep we’ve had since March 4, 2008 (two days before Oliver was born).
Here’s the quick play-by-play:
I wrapped Oliver tight in his Miracle Blanket and took him into the bathroom around 10 p.m. I turned the fan on and the lights off (he likes the noise — go figure) and he was asleep in about 30 seconds. I then I took him to his room, put him into his crib, turned on our baby monitoring device and went back to our room.
Shortly thereafter, Sarah and I went to sleep. I can’t speak for the both of us, because I was out cold, but I slept and slept and slept — all the way until 6:30 a.m. A little shocked at first, I quickly realized that our house was completely calm and quiet. So I went back to sleep for two more hours.
I feel amazing today. The boy made it through the night (I found out later that he woke up for a 5:30 a.m. feeding, which I slept through). He’s growing up so fast. The next thing we know he’ll be off to college. Right?
Back at home, feeling refreshed (and tired)
We’re back at the abode in St. Charles, enjoying the last few hours of our three-day weekend. We had a great trip to visit my parents in Springfield, Mo. On Saturday, we went to the Branson Landing. It’s an outdoor shopping area along the lake. The weather was fantastic. I’d say about 75 degrees, but with a nice breeze. We ate dinner there at some bar and restaurant that had outdoor seating overlooking the water. It was pretty cool.
Today we kept it easy prior to our long drive home. We’re all tired now. Oliver has crashed, the dog won’t move unless I drag her across the carpet by her feet (but why would I do that?!!?), and Sarah and I are ready to go to bed (and ignore the 15 or so bags, boxes and piles of stuff from the trip that are piled up in our kitchen).
Below are a few pictures of the boy and the rest of the gang from our first out-of-town adventure. Enjoy.
Oliver’s face says a lot about what he thinks of Bass Pro:
This is what the next generation of Lopinots looks like after a day of shopping in Branson (woo-hoo!):
Here’s the obligatory grandparent-with-sleeping-grandson photo:
Grandpa feeding Oliver a bottle at the restaurant:
Me taking over for senior Lopinot:
Oliver a few minutes ago, ready for bed:
Molly, our spastic goldendoodle, is even tired tonight, so of course I had to take a picture:
Road trip update
Quick update from Springfield:
Did you know that packing for a road trip with a baby takes much, much longer than you could possibly imagine or plan for? Well, we found that out yesterday. We were up early, as usual, and planned on leaving between 9 and 10:30 a.m. We left ourselves a pretty big window. Regardless, it didn’t happen. Between feeding Oliver several times, getting through showers, etc., it was almost 11:30 a.m. when we hit the road.
On the way, we had to stop at Sarah’s parents’ house to drop off something. By the time we left there, it was 12:15 p.m. and we were starving. We hit the nearby McDonald’s and ate on the move. However, about 20 minutes in, Sarah, who sat in the back with Oliver, began yelling at our dog like crazy. Yes, Molly was going nuts in the back of the vehicle. So we pulled over and set up her crate in the back. She rode the rest of the way back there.
Oliver slept the rest of the trip, which was great. We got here around 3:30 p.m.
Oh yeah, and last night Oliver has his best night ever. He slept from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. It was amazing!
Today we’re planning on heading out somewhere. I’m sure I’ll have more to write about it later.
Road trippin’ with the boy, plus an honest answer at a work function
We are hitting the road tomorrow to take Oliver on his first road trip, as we head down to Springfield, Mo., to visit my parents. We’re taking our crazy dog, too. Should be fun.
I hope Oliver sleeps well down there. He’s been going better lately. Two nights ago, he slept from 9:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. — a new record! Last night, he went to bed around 9:45 p.m. and got up around 4 a.m. Of course, when he woke up, it was with a vengeance. I’m tired as heck today. But oh well. We attribute this new success to the Miracle Blanket, which arrived the day our success started. It’s basically a “baby straight-jacket.” It keeps his arms from moving around, which is great because he tends to get frustrated when his hands get near his mouth.
I like having a “9-to-5” baby. Now if we can just get him to sleep two more hours …
Oh yeah, and in regards to work. We had a retreat today and I made it my goal to join in the conversation as much as possible. It was invigorating. Of course, there was one point where our guest speaker took us off topic and got into some really confusing business-speak crud, and I spaced out. I leaned over to mention something to a co-worker and the speaker asked me if I had something to share.
It felt somewhat like high school. Only this time I was too tired to make something up, so I said, “To be honest, I’m not sure what you’re talking about. You started using a bunch of business language that I didn’t find interesting and I stopped paying attention about 10 minutes ago.” A few people laughed and the speaker went off on another tangent (something about how she usually doesn’t talk to “young” employees but instead CEO types — whatever!). Anyway, my boss came over later and thanked me for making the comment. About a half-dozen co-workers said the same thing. Funny how just being honest all the time pays off so frequently.
Stories about heparin make me sick
All these stories in the news about contaminated heparin and related deaths have been making me sick to my stomach. Sarah took heparin shots twice a day throughout her pregnancy, and we are thankful for all of the medical help she had prior to delivering Oliver. However, this news is alarming.
So now the feds are saying that, perhaps, the contamination was intentional. OMG, I smell a class-action lawsuit. And I’m ready to sign up as a plaintiff.
Here are a few details from an article in today’s New York Times:
Federal drug regulators believe that a contaminant detected in a crucial blood thinner that has caused 81 deaths was added deliberately, something the Food and Drug Administration has only hinted at previously.
“F.D.A.’s working hypothesis is that this was intentional contamination, but this is not yet proven,” Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s drug center, told the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations in written testimony given Tuesday.
A third of the material in some batches of the thinner heparin were contaminants, “and it does strain one’s credulity to suggest that might have been done accidentally,” Dr. Woodcock said.
And more from that same article:
David G. Strunce, chief executive of Scientific Protein Laboratories, the company that supplied contaminated heparin material to Baxter International, which manufactured and distributed the finished drug, described the contamination as “an insidious act” that “seems to us an intentional act upstream in the supply chain.”
The F.D.A. has identified Changzhou SPL, a Chinese subsidiary of Scientific Protein Laboratories, as the source of the contaminated heparin. A Congressional investigator said the contaminant, oversulfated chondroitin sulfate, cost $9 a pound compared with $900 a pound for heparin.
Mr. Strunce said that his company tried to find the original source of the contamination but was stopped by the Chinese authorities.
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