Powered By Blogger

Monday, August 31, 2009

A "Mommy and Me" pic

I took this on Saturday, with the help of the self-timer and my new tripod.

I have to get Andrew's birthday party pics from yesterday uploaded, but we had a lot of fun! Everyone invited attended and there was a lot of food. Andrew didn't care too much about the presents and kept running away when we were trying to open them. :) Like I said, the kid doesn't like toys. He had fun with his balloon!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

And now, a positive post. 14 week belly pics, and I've officially popped!

In the past 3 days, I have really noticed a difference. Today at work, there were random people noticing my belly and saying they didn't know I was pregnant.

I snapped these yesterday:
Side

Front


I'm still down 2 lbs. from what I started this pregnancy out at, but I KNOW it will start picking up soon. :)

Stupid hubby.

He can go suck a fuck.

Bonus points if you know what movie that is from.

I am having problems weaning Andrew. He only nurses when I get home from work, before bed, and usually just once at night. Last night he slept all the way until 5:20 a.m. and then woke up, so I gave him a little milk thinking he'd fall back asleep. But, he kept sucking and sucking until finally at 6:10 I was like, okay, that's enough now! So I take him off and he whines, so I go put him back in his crib. I let him cry, but you know what he does then? He starts banging his head on the crib rails, hard enough to leave goose eggs on his head. He has all these big bumps now. I feel horrible. This is his way of dealing with things...he doesn't just have a tantrum, he hurts himself. What do I do? Do they sell padding for walls so I can just let him rock and roll in there? Do I get him a helmet?

It is so much harder to wean him than I ever thought it would be. My husband says I don't know how to raise a child and Andrew is good for him, so it must be me that's the problem. He doesn't understand that Andrew is just more attached to me, and it can be normal for toddlers to throw more tantrums for Mom than Dad (right?).

I am just so sad right now. I want Andrew to be done nursing--two was really my outer limit (I knew we'd make it to one, but I never, ever in a million years imagined two). I don't want him to hurt himself. I need him to be weaned before February (there is no way in hell I want to tandem nurse). The average natural age of weaning (in the world, not the U.S.) is 2 - 2 1/2, so I would think he would wean on his own? My husband thinks I'm just doing a horrible job and there must be something wrong with him if he's hurting himself, and that he thinks the doctor will eventually want to put him on medication. MY HUSBAND DOESN'T UNDERSTAND TERRIBLE TWOS AND THAT THIS IS PROBABLY JUST PART OF THAT.

I'm going to stop now because I can't be crying at work. I feel so helpless because I am just trying to keep everyone happy and apparently it's impossible.

Next Tuesday Andrew has his 2-year check-up and I will see if the doctor has any advice.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Two years ago...

Two years ago, I was in active labor on this day. I woke up at 5:00 a.m. with contractions that were 5-8 minutes apart. By 11:00 a.m., they were 4-5 minutes apart and starting to become more painful. I couldn't really eat anything all day. By 3:00 p.m., they were 3-4 minutes apart, and I was having trouble talking through them. I was mostly on the couch, but walking around some of the time. After talking to my mom, she urged me it was time to go in. So, off to the hospital we went. They checked me in triage and I was at a 2 and 90% effaced. They confirmed that my contractions were 5 minutes apart, and said I would definitely be back later, but to go home and labor some more there, because I'd be more comfortable (why, in the appointments do they tell you to come in when they're 5 minutes apart, then? Oh well).

So, I went home. Two hours later, I was lying on the couch watching Thirteen Going on 30 (giggle), one of my favorite girlie movies, trying to distract myself, when I felt a gush. I thought, oh good, it's my water!

But, it wasn't my water. I went to the bathroom and it was blood. It was really gushing out. Like, I had to use some pads and I was going through a few of them and just peeing it out (like a heavy period day). Uh oh. My belly felt hot to the touch, and I was so scared. I was on the phone with my mom as this all happened, and she said to call the doctor or go in.

I called and the nurse was like, "well, it's probably just bloody show, but you can come in if you feel like it". Um yeah, we're going in. I am not chancing this!

I was in tears in the car, so afraid something horrible had happened, like my placenta detatching. We get there and they ask me if I want a wheelchair for the ride up, and I take one simply because I have a super pad on, but feel like I am going to gush over all over the place.

I get in triage and now I'm at a 3 and 100% effaced. They monitor my contractions and my doctor comes and checks me (yes, my doctor was the one on-call that night--yay!); he doesn't seem to be concerned at all about the bleeding and says it's probably from dilating. ?? WTF ?? I finally get admitted around 7:00 and they take me to my birthing suite.

Wow! It was gorgeous! They had recently remodeled, so we're talking hardwood floors, a very large room, a big-screen t.v., a couch for the hubby, a rocking chair, and a nice bathroom with a deep bathtub. I was very impressed. First I got settled in and then they hooked up my I.V. (I was GBS positive; the only "downfall" of my entire pregnancy, but really no big deal) and then told me I could walk around if I wanted to. So, we did. I went down the hall because I knew my friend's mom was working in the nursery. I said "hi" to her in-between contractions. One of the nurses showed me how to grab the handrail when I was having a contraction and squat and push through it (I felt like such a dork). I had to go to the bathroom and had this, and I'm not kidding you, over foot long clotty thing come out of me. I had more blood. Come to think of it, I should have motioned the nurse to come into the bathroom and see, but I flushed it because I was in pain from my contractions and if the doctor said I was okay, I must have been. I walked around for awhile and then headed back to the room.

After a little while, Dr. M came in and asked how I was feeling. He checked me and I was at a 4 at this point? I think? He asked if I wanted my water broken, and I said, "sure" (why not get the ball rolling; I had been in labor now for 16 hours). He said, "you have a tough bag! It took a couple attempts with the hook thing, but he got it. It seemed to bring on more frequent contractions, but I didn't really notice.

Around 11:00 p.m., I decided I wanted to labor in the bathtub. Maybe the hot water would help. I spent two hours in there. At one point, I yelled at DH because he was sitting next to me, smacking his gum (I kid you not) and asking me questions DURING the contractions. After I yelled at him (barely), he said, "I'll just go home if you're going to be like this". I was like, "no, it's not that! Seriously, just don't smack your gum, and don't talk to me during a contraction because I need to focus and get through them". The nurse came in a couple times and told me what a good job I was doing!

At 1:00 a.m., Dr. M came back to check me. I was now dilated to a 5. A five. Seriously? I had now been in labor for 20 hours and I was to a 5. Wow! So, I asked for the epidural. They came right in and inserted it. Why are people so scared about the needle? I mean, when you're in a ton of pain from the contractions, a needle is the least of your worries (a little advice to those who haven't been through labor yet, LOL, I know this was one of my concerns pre-labor). Instant relief. I felt nothing, literally, after about 60 seconds of that being in. The nurse told me to get some sleep, but I was too excited about labor! I could not sleep a wink. I was glad DH got to get some sleep; he was on the couch. The next time they checked me, I was at an 8. The nurses were coming in seriously every 10-15 minutes, maybe because one of them was a student nurse being trained (she graduated from my high school in a tiny town, two years after me--funny how you don't mind having someone you sort-of know seeing your girlie parts on display, not to mention being completely naked in the tub).

So, finally I was to a 9. And then, still a 9. And still a 9, and my contractions had basicaly stopped (not that I could feel them either way). You know how when you have an epidural, they have to keep checking you to make sure it isn't up too high (they had ice in a rubber glove)? Well, I couldn't feel it wherever they put it. I was numb up to my clavicles, and I could feel my neck starting to tingle. They elevated my upper body then. This was when all the chaos went on, because it was all of a sudden time for them to give me pitocin to get my contractions started up again (mention of the "P" word elicited fear in me because I was afraid of ending up with a c-section), but it worked. The contractions started up again. Then my blood pressure crashed to 88/30. I started shaking really bad, uncontrollably. I threw up my ice chips (all I had eaten all day, so it wasn't very much). They had to give my epinephrine to get my BP back up. There was chaos in the room, so this part of the story is hard for me to remember.

Eventually, I was to a 10 and it was time to push. This was at 6:30 a.m., 25.5 hours after my labor had begun. I couldn't believe it was finally time to push! The only thing was, my legs were dead weight and I couldn't feel when a contraction was coming (even after they turned down the epidural twice. Why in the world didn't I tell them to just turn it off? I didn't know it was an option, that's why. Oh well, live and learn). The nurses told me when a contraction was coming, and then I would push with these muscles I couldn't feel. Very strange! I was also coughing the entire time because I was on the tail end of this horrible cold. Every time I would cough, it helped him come out a little more. He was crowned for what seemed like a long time! I used the mirror and I would rub his little head. So, this went on for 1.5 hours and at 7:53 a.m. on August 25th, 2007, Andrew was born.

He had a squeaky cry! "Uwaah-squeak...uwaah-squeak!" His little mouth was quivering and at first, his little nostrils were flaring. He was so little! That was my first thought. I said, "wow, he's tiny!", and he was. He weighed 6 lbs, 6 oz., which I found out later. First it was time to snuggle! They got him on my chest skin-to-skin and helped me get him latched for the first time. They wrapped us in a heated blanket and I just enjoyed snuggling with him. He was so cute and small! OMG, I couldn't believe it. Later, I asked DH what he thought when he came out, if he was freaked out, and he said he was more amazed that something that (seemingly) big could come out of there!

Our first family picture:



The rest was history. We had a ton of visitors because it was Saturday. At one point, it was like a zoo in there and I seriously wanted everyone to shut up for just a second (the nurse came in and asked, "do you need some water?", our code for "get these people out of here--but I was cool with it; I knew they'd eventually leave). My perfect little guy roomed with us (our room they gave us had a double bed, so DH stayed there with me). He liked my body heat, and a couple times the nurses would get him all burrito wrapped in his basinet, and they would put heated blankets on him, but as soon as the heat wore off, he would be crying. Both of us got up with him and comforted him the first night. By the time I went to sleep, it was 1:00 a.m. on SUNDAY, so I had now been up for 44 hours straight! I couldn't do it anymore. I remember rocking him in the rocking chair and my head kept nodding. I was thinking, "this isn't safe". My aunt was working that night (Labor & Delivery nurse) and she came in and said she'd hold him and snuggle so I could get some sleep. She took him and brought him back early in the morning. I slept like a zombie, especially after I got my cough drops (they had to bring me some from the pharmacy because I was literally coughing all night). I loved nursing him, and it really clicked after the first couple of times of having the LCs help me.

Finally on Sunday at 11:00, it was time to check out. I got my cutie into his carseat (OMG, so tiny) and we went home. The newborn outfit I had as his going home outfit was too big on him; luckily, one of my friends bought him a couple preemie outfits. When we left the hospital, he weighed 6 lbs, .5 ounces (by his 2 week check-up, he was all the way up to 7 lbs, 5 oz.; amazing).

Wow, if you read this all! :) I hope the next labor is shorter (haha, 27 hours is a bit long) and I am not getting the epidural for sure. I am not sure about other pain relief via an I.V., but I hope to go natural.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Boat ride!

We took Andrew for his first boat ride today. He liked it! After I took him out of the car, I put his life jacket on while DH got the boat in the water. This was the part I was worried about, because in the past, he freaked when we put the life jacked on at home. But, once I got him bucked and zipped, I let him walk to the boat dock with me, and he looked a little proud of himself, to be honest! :) When we first got in the boat, he clung to me and put his head against me. I could tell he was scared. After holding my hand for a little while, he finally lightened up a little. We slowed down and drifted and watched some ducks (which we threw bread to, but they were too lazy to come by us) and some seagulls (they swooped down and were grabbing pieces of bread out of the water). Andrew was fascinated by the birds!

The first other boat we saw go by us, Andrew called an airplane. Silly boy! He sees a ton of airplanes at home since we live by the airport (a tiny municipal airport, since this isn't a big area).

Anyway, we stayed out for about an hour. At one point, Andrew started nodding off, so we went home and put him in his crib. He took a nice nap.

This is definitely something we will be doing again. We couldn't really take him as a baby since they don't really make a good "infant" life jacket, and I was just worried he would scream from having a life jacket on.

I look forward to the day when Andrew can go fishing with his daddy! ♥

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

13 weeks today, and pictures of my Andrew!

We went to Lake Wazee on Saturday, which is a very clear (think the closest thing you can get to the ocean in Wisconsin) lake north of here. It used to be a mine, and they filled it in in the early 80s. The lake is big, and in the deepest part in the middle, it gets to 351 feet deep! Amazing. Oh, we went to the beach side, where you can wade in. There are sunfish and all other kinds of fish that you can see, but the clarity is much better on the other side of the lake. However, the other side drops off pretty quick--it's where we used to go before we had Andrew. It's super clear, though, and the water looks blue.

Anyway, Andrew didn't want to go in the water, so he ran around the beach while we took turns chasing him. Look at his little legs!

I promise, Andrew eats a ton. He is just long and lean. I put him on the home scale and he weighs 26 lbs. I looked in my baby book and at his age, I weighed 20 lbs and 10 ounces! At least he's not that scrawny, LOL, but I think he just has the genes to be a noodle.

Finally, I came home on my lunch break yesterday because DH needed the car. I had fun tickling Andrew!

PS, my ticker (to the right) now has long, skinny legs like Andrew! :)

Monday, August 17, 2009

200 Hospitals across the Nation to Replace Formula Sample Bags with Breastfeeding Support Sample Bags!

A friend on the forum I frequent posted this, so I thought I'd share. How awesome! I know when I was in the hospital, I didn't get anything breastfeeding-related (nursing pads, Lansinoh, etc.). This is great!

http://www.growingyourbaby.com/2009/08/04/two-hundred-hospitals-nationwide-will-replace-formula-sample-bags-with-breastfeeding-support-sample-bags/


This month, 200 hospitals across the country are replacing their formula discharge bags and samples with the country’s first breastfeeding support promotional discharge bag.


The “Healthy Baby Bounty Bag” contains product samples, coupons, and information that support and encourage breastfeeding without a packet of formula and without conflicting and contradictory messages about breastfeeding. Hospitals including UCLA Medical Center, Children’s Hospital in Boston, Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, and Exeter Hospital are among the first to distribute Healthy Baby Bounty Bags to new moms.

The bags are created by Cottonwood Kids, a promotional products company that produces custom gifts for hospitals. The bags are green, made from recycled materials, and are 100 percent lead free. They are designed to serve as a cooler and storage carrier for breastmilk. All items inside are compliant with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes (also known as the WHO Code), and are therefore completely focused on the importance of breastfeeding with no nipples or bottles included.

The samples are as follows:

Disposable Nursing Pads
Milk Storage Bags
Latch on Tips card
Mothers Milk Tea
Diaper Wipes
Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment
Boogie Wipes Anti Viral Tissues
Sani Hands- Hand Sanitzer
Sear Portrait Studio Coupon
Free Gift Card for the mother that gifts can be redeemed on-line. Everyone gets a gift. Prizes include a $5,000 savings bond, free breast pumps nursing pillows and more.
Coupon Book that includes coupons from the following companies

Lansinoh – Gel Pads
Lansinoh- Breast Pads
Lansinoh- Pumps
Lansinoh- HPA Lanolin Breast Cream
Lansinoh – Breastmilk Storage Bags
Bravado Designs Breastfeeding Bras
Mother’s Milk Organic Tea to promote lacation
My Brest Friend Nursing Pillows
Bebe Au Lait Nursing Covers
Aquaphor Diaper Cream, Shampoo and Healing Ointment
Sear Portrait Studios Portraits
Seventh Generation Diapers
Seventh Generation Wipes
Seventh Generation Natural Cleaning Products
Seventh Generation Feminine Care Products
Boogie Wipes Anti Viral Tissues
Sani Hands Hand Sanitizer
Ergo Baby: Ergonomically correct baby carriers
Baby Stay Asleep: Infant positioning System to help with reflux
Belly Bar Nutrition Products for Mothers
Milkscreen Human Milk Banking Association of North America
The coupons themselves add up to over $100.00 in savings.

Visit www.cottonwood-kids.com/gift for all the details.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Andrew's (almost) 2-year photo shoot!

Andrew turns two on August 25th! It's hard to believe...

Anyway, yesterday evening, it was overcast--perfect photo weather, so I took Andrew outside and took all these pics. Believe it or not, he was moving around the whole time!

Enjoy!


















Wednesday, August 12, 2009

12 weeks - appointment today

I just got back. Everything is good. I got to hear the heartbeat for all of 10 seconds and he didn't tell me what the BPM was. :( He's nice, though--this is the doc I had last time, but not my primary doctor (who wasn't available for scheduling this week). The reason why I switched from this guy to her was simply because he never told me the BPM when I was pregnant with Andrew! Aren't I silly? No, but seriously, everyone else gets to know--why don't I?

Anyway, I'm still at 131, what I was last time, so my "gain" this pregnancy is -3 lbs. I'm sure I'll start picking up here soon, especially since I'm feeling better. Blood pressure was 104/60, but mine is always on the lower side of normal so yay for me! He told me I couldn't start off a pregnancy better--he said I'm "disgustingly healthy". Haha....I told him I have felt gross lately since I haven't been walking much (due to feeling sick and tired) but I hope to pick that up real soon. I feel seriously gross and out of shape, even if I haven't gained weight. I can't explain it--I just feel gross when I see my thighs and love handles (where I am starting to gain).

My big ultrasound is just six weeks away! It's scheduled for Monday, September 21st at 1:45 p.m. They do them at 18 weeks at my clinic instead of 20, so that's exciting. We will be finding out the gender again, like we did last time, so hopefully he/she cooperates! :) I don't care, honestly, either way, as long as the baby is healthy! If it's a boy, I have tons of clothes; if it's a girl, I'll have one of each!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Finally, a crib!!!

I forgot to post that I got fed up with waiting for that part from Once Upon a Child. Several days had gone by and I hadn't heard anything so I called them and then they said they would call the manufacturer. Two or three days later, they call me and tell me that the manufacturer needs a different model number. I could not come up with a different magical number from my ass or elsewhere because the same number on the instructions was the one on the crib, so there was no possible other model number. I even gave them the manufacture date (November, 2006--how hard can it be for the damn company to figure out which model it is?).

Another week went by so I took the effing thing apart and loaded it up in the car (at this point I was pretty mad because we wasted another two weeks, I spent over an hour assembling the crib, and OUAC didn't seem to understand that it's not safe to use a crib with a side that can detatch--that's the whole reason why the other ones were recalled). I also went online and found other people with this same crib who had the same broken plastic part on theirs. I then read a mother's post saying, "Don't use this crib; my baby died when the side detatched". That was enough for me.

Anyway, to make a long story short, Friday I was in the staff breakroom and talking to a co-worker. She was talking about this rummage sale she is having next weekend and she's selling all of her boys' clothing. I, half-kiddingly, asked if she was selling a crib too, because I had just gotten done venting to another co-worker about my crib dilemma.

"Yes", she said, "and you can have it. It's older and it has some scratches on it, but we are getting rid of it". I told her I'd give her something for it, but she didn't want anything.

So, we picked up the crib after work yesterday. Rob and I put it together right when we got home while Andrew tried to "help" by taking the screwdrivers and running with them (this problem was somewhat fixed when I put in his Clifford DVD). I then cleaned the crib up good with my Orange Plus natural cleanser, and it looks really nice! The crib is old (wow, 1988 is the manufacture date), but the old adage is true: the just don't make things the way they used to. No plastic parts on this. The parts that are plastic on today's cribs are metal on this one. Rob even replaced the four screws with some Allenwrench ones so that he could tighten them easier. The drop-side system from the 80s used metal rods instead of relying on the weight of the crib to be held up by plastic tabs. It is much safer and I think there were less recalls in the 80s and 90s. Why they ever went to the newer system is beyond me, but if it was to save $.50 by using plastic parts, that is pretty pathetic. When babies are dying from being entrapped, it's time for all of the manufactuers to re-think their process. The only cribs I found online that were created solidly were $800 and more. If you could get your hands on an Amish-made crib, they're super nice, but will set you back $1200.

I promised a pic, so here it is! Not bad for free!
Last night was Andrew's first night in it, and he did cry more than normal, but it's because he's had a month of going to bed with Mom and being nursed to sleep. I took him out once because he was just going nuts and I thought he was going to sweat to death. One more nursing session and back in the crib and he was asleep within 5 minutes. He had his little stuffed birdie ("Bird-suh") and his toy power drill in his hands, but he was asleep. Very cute!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Update on family stuff

My mom is apparently going to be living at the hotel (with my two brothers, my brother's daughter when he has her 50% of the time, and the dog) for a month. The inspector from the City and an electrician came and looked at the damage and said she is lucky the whole house didn't blow up.

Her house is about 5-6 years old, and they used this flexible piping for the natural gas. Apparently, had it been built today, they would have used a different system. With the newer system, her house would have filled up with natural gas and all that it would have taken would be for someone to turn on a light and the whole house would have blown up. With the "old" system, it sparked a fire which set off the smoke detectors, so my mom was able to get everyone out safely. They are just damn lucky.

I took some pics of the damage, which I will upload as soon as I can (probably tonight). It really stinks in her house, especially in the basement. It smells like a campfire, but really strong. Ew.

All of her carpeting will be replaced downstairs, the walls will have to be redone (drywalled and painted), the ceiling will have to get redone, and then what burned was the space between the two levels, so there is a lot of ductwork to be replaced, as well as all the natural gas lines involved. It's going to be quite the job, but a family friend has agreed to do it. He was going to get a dumpster delivered yesterday and go to town. Yay!

We already had a pool party at the hotel with my aunts and cousins, so we're trying to just make light of the situation. My mom is hoping to come out ahead. She had just cashed out all of her PTO to pay for the rehearsal dinner (to the tune of $700) for my brother's wedding. She has no money right now.

Monday, August 3, 2009

OMG!

My mom just called and told me her house got struck by lightning last night. About 2 a.m., she heard a really loud noise--she said it was louder than a gunshot. She could smell something burning but couldn't figure out what the source was, because she couldn't see anything. My brother got his daughter out, and his girlfriend got the dog out (it was just pouring out, so they took the cars out of the garage and sat out there). My mom went downstairs and could hear this "whooshing" sound from behind the wall--she opened the storage room door (the storage is under the stairs) and smoke came barreling out.

She called 911 and it took them 15 minutes to get there, but they figured out what happened--the house got struck and the fire was burning between the two floors--so it was basically between the ceiling of the basement and the floor of the upstairs.

They cut a hole in her living room floor to make sure they got it all.

I guess the carbon monoxide levels were really high in the house (in the millions?) so they had to air it out.

My mom, brother, his daughter, his girlfriend, and Bailey (the dog) went over to my grandparents' house. They were alllowed back in to get some clothes, but my mom said it just reeks in there.

This just sucks! It was a great weekend--my (other) brother got married and all that, and then this. UGH. My mom has the worst luck! It had to strike her house (and apparently one other in the city).

She's just lucky she didn't lose the whole house.

Now they are going to have to replace the drywall in the basement and the carpet upstairs. What a mess! Who knows about all the belongings. I hope they aren't all ruined. :(