New car and the importance of scales

Today is the day I really wanted to give birth to Vanya, but Igor and I picked up a new car instead: 2007 Honda Pilot. Yup, an SUV. I never thought I would own an SUV, but my concerns for the environment are somewhat assuaged by the knowledge that we won't drive the car very much. Neither Igor nor I commute by car, but Igor really wanted a 4WD SUV for the times we go skiing, biking, etc. Not that we've done much of those activities lately, and I still believe that people were able to go into the mountains before SUVs. But the most immediate benefit of having a new car is the ability to fit both Nikita's and Vanya's carseats. In fact, I believe that car seat manufacturers are in league with SUV manufacturers.

Life with Vanya is getting easier. Sure, I still get up every 3 hours at night, but I definitely don't feel nearly as overwhelmed as I did with Nikita. Note my ability to help buy a new car - although Igor did do most of the legwork. And recently, I've had the energy not only to do short errands (like picking up some groceries and my favorite ice cream today), but to cook quick dishes as well while Nikita and Vanya are napping. Perhaps it's because I don't need to experiment as much, i.e. I just do with Vanya what worked with Nikita and so far, so good, and in some cases, like breastfeeding (knock on wood), even better. Perhaps it's because Igor's doing a great job of making sure we have food in the house; he just gave me a piece of Trader Joe's carrot cake.

But back to breastfeeding. Last Friday, at Vanya's two-week doctor's appointment, I was reminded of the importance of using the same scale for weight checks. Vanya weighed a good 6 lbs. 2 oz. at his one-week appointment, but only 6 lbs. 1 oz. at his two-week appointment. So, it looked like he had not regained his birth weight (6 lbs. 5 oz.) by 2 weeks. The nurse started to give us advice on pumping and supplementation when we asked to weigh Vanya on the scale from the last appointment. Although she told us there shouldn't be much difference because the scales are all the same make and digital, she complied, and found that Vanya weighed 6 lbs. 12 oz. - a difference of nearly 3/4 lb.! Needless to say, the hospital-grade pump I rented when I was discharged from the hospital has yet to be put to use.