One morning last summer, I put my ring on like I do every other morning. Sure, it was a little snug, but I was six months pregnant and had another baby running around, so I really needed people to see the symbol of marriage on my finger. I guess I felt like I was being judged enough by having a baby on my hip and another on the way.
Anywho, the summer heat coupled with my swelling belly everything made it impossible to take my ring off later that day. And the next day. And the next. A month later I was still wearing my ring. When I delivered Rynn, the nurses had to put tape over it as they wheeled me in the OR because the sucker wasn’t coming off. No worries though, because the same thing happened when I was preggo with Reece and it came off within weeks of giving birth.
With Rynn, however, it did not. I kept thinking that if I could just lose the weight I’ve gained from having two babies within a year and a half (65 lbs gained during each pregnancy, if you must know), then it would come off. Well, it turns out the weight is coming off slowly, very slowly (hey, I’m okay with that…I just keep thinking, “One day…”), and my tiny size 4 1/2 ring wasn’t budging. I tried several times to soak my finger in ice water and use Vaseline, but it was STUCK!
I became desperate when:
1. I realized it had been a whole year since I’ve had it off.
2. The skin around my ring, including on the other fingers my ring touches, was eroding.
3. The chlorine from being in the water with Reece was killing me where the erosion was occurring.
4. General itchiness, pain, and claustrophobia from having the ring so snug around my finger was driving me crazy!
So I turned to Google. I found a list of ways to get a ring off a swollen (or in my case, just plain fat) finger. I went with the saran wrap solution. You simply wrap some plastic wrap as tight as possible around your finger (from the top of the ring, up), then wait until the circulation has been cut from your finger and it turns blue (not what the directions say, but that’s what I did). Then, pull the ring and the plastic wrap off together. With Rynn as my audience, I grimaced my way through the ring-ectomy, and………..SWEET RELIEF! (The “bitter” part in the title is referring to the idea that I would just lose weight and the ring would come off.)
This is my hand after removing a ring that was stuck on my finger for one whole year. How sad is that indention in my finger, and the torn up skin around it?
In case you’re wondering, I bought a fakey at Target, but I’m really just trying to let my hand heal before putting any ring on. I don’t care if I get judged. And I decided that when I finally do lose this baby weight, my reward will be putting on my lovely wedding ring that I already miss.
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Am I a bad wife for not posting on Father’s Day or what?! You wouldn’t think I’m all that bad if you saw all the things Scott got for the occasion. Actually, I was just making up for skipping a gift on his birthday (What?! It was right after Christmas and I couldn’t think of a single thing to get) and Valentine’s Day (we really don’t exchange gifts then anyway, but I think I did buy myself something). Let’s just say he really cleaned up. And he got three cards…one from each of his girls. I had planned on doing a post, so I asked Reece some questions about her Daddy that day:
What’s your daddy’s name? Cott.
What’s your favorite thing to do with Daddy? Juss go fissin’.
What book do you love Daddy to read to you? Two fiss, Red fiss (that would be One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and it really is fun to watch Scott read it because he cracks up the whole time).
Who loves you? Dad-dy
What do you like Daddy to sing to you? Jesus yoves me.
There were more questions, but Reece was distracted by that point. She was probably disciplining her babies or something.
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Parent-Tot swim was an interesting experience this year. Reece reeeeally got excited when we talked about going to swim each day. And she reeeeally loved to tell her Daddy everything she did afterward. But during swim, it was touch-and-go. She experienced just about every emotion I think she could possibly have…from intense fear while walking in knee-deep water to licking my face with glee while practicing her kicks. From happily singing the songs to biting my cheek when asked if she wanted to go under water. My wounds from swim also included scratches on my arms, pinch marks on my neck, and a sore head from her yanking on my pony tail, all in her effort to cling to me as best she could. We were a sight to see. Sadly, I think she was actually doing better in the water before swim lessons.
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She may be a water weenie, but she’s a potty trained water weenie! That’s right…Reece is a “potty giiiiiiiiirl, in a potty wo0000rld!” This is old news to some, but I have yet to blog about it.
This picture was taken in March when we attempted for one-half day to train her…she was so not ready. Three months down the road, it just clicked! She hasn’t worn a diaper in nearly a month now. Yeah for the potty girl! Our next step is to break free from the training potty. She seems to love that thing and insists on using it when we’re home, but I’m so over cleaning the mess!
I realize I didn’t mention Rynn once in this whole post, but that’s because she turns 8 months tomorrow and gets a whole post to herself!!
