Last night I made it Facebook Official that we're expecting again. It's our third pregnancy in three years which I think might qualify us as crazy! Lots of people have been asking me if this was planned or a surprise and I'm not really sure how to answer this question. First, I wonder if they're trying to glean some juicy bit of info to either confirm we are completely crazy or if we're just stupid about birth control. Second, I wonder if it's really any of their business and my answer to that is: 'No!' So, to any of you who might be wondering there's your answer ;)
Also, as many of you who are probably reading this know by now we are expecting twins this time. This came as quite a shock to us & we definitely had never planned to have a double blessing but we'll definitely take it! I will admit that I had a hunch something 'funny' was going on even before I had officially confirmed my pregnancy. I have been incredibly sick - not necessarily throwing up - and have wanted nothing but to sleep all.day.long. I've also felt really, really awful after everything I eat. With my other pregnancies there was usually something I could count on eating that wouldn't make me feel icky but this time I've yet to find that something. I also started sporting a baby bump really, REALLY fast. I knew it would happen early this time since it is my 3rd in as many years but even I was surprised at how soon I pulled out those maternity pants (6 weeks to be exact).
Petey & I and some of our family joked with us that it would be twins this time. None of us were very serious but it made for a funny moment when the ultrasound showed two little beating hearts. Speaking of ultrasounds...the one that completely changed everything for us this time happened on December 3. I had volunteered to be a model for a clinic here in town where they are training sonographers. I was 10 weeks and 3 days & figured it was a perfect opportunity for me to get an early peek at my little bean. As soon as they started and found the gestational sac I knew something was different. Soon enough I saw two different blobs (there's really not a better way to describe them at that age) moving and wiggling independent of each other. Baby A was measuring 9 weeks 6 days with a heartbeat of 187 and Baby B was measuring 9 weeks 4 days with a heartbeat of 180 which are pretty decent measurements for how far along I was. When the ultrasound was done they three people in the room prayed with me (while I was shaking). Petey had hoped to be in the room for the ultrasound but the kids were fidgeting so he took them out to the van to watch Mickey Mouse. Imagine his shock and surprise when I showed him the picture...... ;) I will be able to see the babies again next Monday at my actual doctor's office & that day can't come soon enough!
I'm hopeful as the 1st trimester comes to a close that I'll start to feel better and have a little more energy. I'm looking forward to feeling consistent movement from these two and to finding out whether they're boys, girls or a combination. Either way we know we have been blessed and while we may not understand why God has chosen us for this journey we know He has a plan which has been comforting in those moments when I feel completely overwhelmed at what's to come!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Thankful November
A lot of my friends on Facebook have been participating in Thankful November. Basically, every day they are posting what they are thankful for. It's been really neat to see what some of them have had to say and it has made me think of what I am most thankful for. So, I thought I would sort of participate by posting it here, on my blog. Since November isn't over this will be a work in progress but here goes (in no particular order)!
1- My husband. First of all I feel so blessed that God put him in my life & had led us to where we are. I am very lucky to have such a great, hard working person to go through life with!
2- Elliot. Although we weren't planning on having a baby when we did (this statement is true on so many levels) I can imagine life without him. He is quite a challenge some days but it's been such a blessing and so cool to see his personality unfold over the last two years and to watch him learn about this world. He is such a passionate, strong willed little guy with a big heart.
3- Hadley. My precious. My beautiful little girl that God decided to bless us with a mere 16 months after one of the most intense moments in our lives. Again, it's impossible to imagine life without her. She can be such a drama queen but that giggle and that smile will get you every.single.time.
4- My parents. November 4 is their anniversary so it seems an appropriate number to recognize them with. They have helped us and supported us more than we ever could have hoped over the last several years. It is so cool to see how much my kids adore them. I am also very grateful to have an example of a marriage that has lasted as long as it has and that they still very clearly love each other.
5- Sleep. These days it seems hard to come by!! Daylight Savings Time gave me an extra hour & for that I am so very thankful!
6- Scrapbooking. It really is one of the things I truly love to do. It's a creative outlet & a way for me to express myself. It's also a very fun way to relive memories I've made with my family and friends and a cool way to preserve those memories!
7- Weekend getaways. Nov. 5-7 my mom and I were at a scrapbook retreat. While I missed the kids it was awesome to get away and do something I love doing without distractions, without crying, without having to cook or clean.
8-TV. This may sound awful but every day it buys me a little bit of time to check the computer and have some "me" time. Both Elliot and Hadley love Mickey Mouse and Chuggington and we've got gobs of each saved on our DVR.
9- DVR - on a related note from above..... This is the first time we've ever had something like this and it makes me wonder how I ever survived without it. Ok, not really but it IS super convenient. Going to be gone during your favorite show? No problem....set it to record! It is also great for kids shows. We have a stockpile of their favorite shows saved so they're only a click away. Sooo nice.
10- My phone. I don't talk on it a lot. Frankly, I'm not a fan of talking on the phone but it does allow me to stay in contact with a lot of people a lot easier than I otherwise would be able to. Texting is a great thing :) I'm also very thankful that it is an easy way to communicate with Petey while he's at work.
11- Internet. Without I truly would be living a very, very lonely life. Don't get me wrong there are moments I still feel pretty lonely but having the internet gives me that connection to people I otherwise wouldn't get to talk to as often.
12- Along the same lines as above...my IV girls. I joined the iVillage message boards when I was pregnant with Elliot as something to keep my time occupied during incredibly boring lectures at school. We didn't have internet at home so I really didn't spend much time on it. When I was in the hospital I did a lot of 'lurking' - meaning I read but didn't respond much. Now, 3 years later there is still a large group of us that is growing closer day by day. We've seen each other through so much and they mean a lot to me.
13- Christmas trees!!! They're beautiful and seeing one always puts me in the festive spirit. We've already put ours up and you can say what you want but I'm so glad! The kids love it and for the most part have been really good about leaving it alone.
14- Guilty pleasure shows. Currently my favorite is Make it Or Break It. Love it.
15- Hulu - for allowing me to indulge in my guilty pleasure show :)
16- Naptime. I may not always use it the most wisely but I'm thankful for that small break during my day.
17- Friends. What would life be without them!?!
****It's now the middle of December but I still would like to finish my thankful November post. Hope you don't mind ;)****
18- Being pregnant. Being able to nurture and grow a human is a unique gift & one that I'm so glad I've been blessed with.
19- Crock pots. Thank the Lord we can put food in, set it and leave it alone for hours. And then enjoy yummy food :)
20- Kristy from DBQ DHS. Thank the heavens she's been here to help me sort out this insurance/coverage debacle for this pregnancy. Knowing I'm covered has been a huge weight off my shoulders.
21- Mickey Mouse. He helps me to stay sane a lot of days & both of the kids love him.
22- An understanding husband. I've felt pretty awful all through November with this pregnancy but he's stepped up and done a lot for me, the kids and the house.
23- Christmas trees. Yes, we put our tree up early this year and I love it!
24- Hope Church. We've found a new church home and while we're still 'homesick' for Cornerstone some days it feels good to have a place to call home. It's even better to get to know people and feel connected.
25- Moms Group. What would I do without the lovely ladies of the Purple table?? I'm so glad I've gotten to know them!!
26- Pumpkin Pie. Holy hallelujah I love Pumpkin Pie.
27- Safe travels. To attend most of our family events we have to drive across the state. So far we've had safe travels. I'm hoping it stays that way!
28- Family. There is something very special about family get togethers and something very comforting. I love being able to get together with a group of people that has known me for ages and being able to laugh and have fun together. It's definitely a blessing.
29-Giggles. Who can't love baby giggles?
30-Maternity clothes. Without them I'd be in BIG trouble!!!
So, there you have it. Thankful November. Not necessarily profound but it's what came to me off the top of my head. There are so many more things I could list that I'm thankful for. Perhaps another day or even next year!
****It's now the middle of December but I still would like to finish my thankful November post. Hope you don't mind ;)****
18- Being pregnant. Being able to nurture and grow a human is a unique gift & one that I'm so glad I've been blessed with.
19- Crock pots. Thank the Lord we can put food in, set it and leave it alone for hours. And then enjoy yummy food :)
20- Kristy from DBQ DHS. Thank the heavens she's been here to help me sort out this insurance/coverage debacle for this pregnancy. Knowing I'm covered has been a huge weight off my shoulders.
21- Mickey Mouse. He helps me to stay sane a lot of days & both of the kids love him.
22- An understanding husband. I've felt pretty awful all through November with this pregnancy but he's stepped up and done a lot for me, the kids and the house.
23- Christmas trees. Yes, we put our tree up early this year and I love it!
24- Hope Church. We've found a new church home and while we're still 'homesick' for Cornerstone some days it feels good to have a place to call home. It's even better to get to know people and feel connected.
25- Moms Group. What would I do without the lovely ladies of the Purple table?? I'm so glad I've gotten to know them!!
26- Pumpkin Pie. Holy hallelujah I love Pumpkin Pie.
27- Safe travels. To attend most of our family events we have to drive across the state. So far we've had safe travels. I'm hoping it stays that way!
28- Family. There is something very special about family get togethers and something very comforting. I love being able to get together with a group of people that has known me for ages and being able to laugh and have fun together. It's definitely a blessing.
29-Giggles. Who can't love baby giggles?
30-Maternity clothes. Without them I'd be in BIG trouble!!!
So, there you have it. Thankful November. Not necessarily profound but it's what came to me off the top of my head. There are so many more things I could list that I'm thankful for. Perhaps another day or even next year!
June 2010
A quick catch up post of things I can remember off the top of my head!
- Continue to settle into our new house and unpack ever more boxes. Who knew we had so much STUFF?!? (and where did it all come from?) I'm secretly convinced the boxes were spawning and reproducing on the drive from Ames to Peosta ;)
- On 6/5 my cousin, Stephanie, was married in Humboldt. Our ENTIRE family was there. It was the first time that had happened in ages so it was really cool to see everyone and catch up. We had a family picture taken as well - crazy how many of us there are now!
- The day after the wedding some of us had brunch with my grandparents and then checked out Oleson Park Zoo and the splashpad in Fort Dodge. Elliot wasn't so sure about the splashpad business.....
- Elliot turned two (6/9. We celebrated his actual birthday at home with a special supper of his favorite foods of the moment - mac & cheese, hot dogs, peas, and apples I think. He opened up a few presents from Mommy & Daddy.
- We had his big birthday bash on June 19 at our house complete with a CARS theme. It was the first time a lot of our family had seen our house. Two of Elliot's little friends came as well - twin sisters Maddy & Kenzie Zylstra & little sister Kyliee. Their mommy is a good friend of mine :) Fortunately it was a beautiful day so we were able to spend a lot of time playing outside.
- Petey's brother Dan stayed with us for a few days at the end of June before we all headed to Orange City for the 4th of July. He was on a month long vacation and drove all the way out from California. He put his skills to good use and built Elliot's new swing set which was a huge hit! We also introduced him to the Train Game which was another big hit!
- My aunt & uncle from California were also out here around the same time as Petey's brother. We spent a few days together at my Grandma & Grandpa Haywood's doing all sorts of cool stuff!
- Carl, Priya & kids were out here around the same time as Dan. Everyone came over to Peosta/Dubuque for a day to see our house & hang out. We checked out the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium which was a lot of fun especially for the kids! Unfortunately a lot of people suddenly got sick that night :/
Monday, October 18, 2010
May 2010
Playing catch up still & still no pictures. I want to get as much done as I can before the children pull me away.
- Packing, packing and MORE packing.
- Hadley starts using a sippy cup. Elliot is incredibly jealous of her little pink sippy.
- The kids decorated pots with their handprints for the grandmas and great grandma's for Mother's Day.
- We were able to see both of our moms for Mother's Day :)
- GRADUATION!!!! (5/8/10) The day Petey worked so hard for finally arrived. Mom, Hadley & I sat with Charlie and Linda. I'm so proud of my husband!
- We had a graduation celebration at a hotel following graduation. Mom's side of the family was there as well as Petey's parents. It was a fun time to sit back, relax, and catch up with everyone. Some of the kids went swimming.
- Packing, packing and MORE packing.
- Closed on our house (5/14/10)
- Painted some of the rooms in our house.
- Moved into our house! (5/18/10)
- Cleaned our apartment out in Ames while the kids stayed with Mum-Mum & Papa.
April 2010
Ok....back to blogging business. This will probably be pretty quick and have zero pictures - you'll just have to grin and bear it I guess.
Quick highlights:
- Hadley started eating some solid food. Well, we tried anyway & it was quite apparent she was NOT eating off a spoon for us. So, we kept life simple and just gave her bottles. Obviously she's survived.
- As the weather got nicer we got out more. The kids had fun at some parks in Ames.
- Easter. Cornerstone Church did a fantastic drama. My parents stayed at our place. The kids had a blast opening their Easter baskets & we had a yummy meal. Elliot hunted for eggs outside our apartment.
- Elliot spent a Valentine's weekend at Mum-Mum & Papa's. They made and decorated sugar cookies, he played with the animals and had a good time.
- Hadley had her 6 month pictures taken. They turned out fantastic!
- Elliot is obsessed with putting on hats.
- We head to Orange City/Sioux Center for Grandma Bidwell's birthday celebration. It was a great time spent hanging out with family.
- We start to box some of our stuff up. It goes super slowly, I get discouraged, and put it off ;)
- Petey is extremely busy with school work and trying to get it all done before the end.
- We discover we can check cameras (nice cameras) out from ISU. I spend a lot of time snapping pictures of the kids. Well, mostly Hadley since she couldn't get away as fast as Elliot.
- We took graduation picture of Petey & Jess around campus.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
March 2010
March came in like a lion....and stayed that way! Our schedule was pretty packed in March with everything from birthday parties to buying a house. Look out - this may be one loaded post!
The "quick" recap:
-The four of us plus my parents traveled to Sparta, WI to celebrate our Godson Matthew's 1st birthday.
-Hadley had her first experience in a pool. She was not impressed at first but quickly warmed up to it and LOVED it!
-The day after Matthew's party we traveled to Dubuque to look at houses & attend a few open houses. We found one house we absolutely LOVED & put an offer in even though it was way out of our price range. Thankfully that deal fell through leading us to our amazing realtor & the perfect house.
-Elliot got really sick for the first time. The poor little man just layed on the couch and stared :(
-Petey turned 25. Elliot was sick on his b-day but, as a surprise, Alex & Wanda plus Jim, Jen, Val & Kyle came to celebrate with us at Hickory Park a few days later.
-The kids & I made Daddy a dog from Build-A-Bear for his b-day.
-Elliot & Hadley stayed with Mum-Mum & Papa while Petey & I went house hunting over Spring Break.
-Petey & I had 3 days to find a house in the Dubuque area & on the second day we achieved success!! At the beginning of the day our options looked pretty slim - either a house out of our price range or a house that would land us in the middle of a nasty divorce. After a second viewing of each our realtor found "the one". It hasn't been listed yet but a former co-worker knew it would be soon & talked the owners into letting us see it. Ten minutes after we left we'd verbally agreed to a contract & less than two hours later we got our house! Petey & I went out to Red Robin to celebrate :)
-We spent a night at Adventureland Inn with friends Jennifer, Amy & their families. Elliot was excited to see his little girlfriends. It was a blast to hang out together again & Petey was finally able to meet them.
-Hadley had her first taste of baby cereal & a few other solids. She was not impressed & we quickly realized she wouldn't let us feed her off a spoon. We put food on hold for the next few months.
-Petey's workload at school really picked up and he was constantly busy.
-I got my new double stroller & put it together all on my own - I was THAT excited! We love it and I don't know what we would do without it!
-Elliot played in a McDonald's playplace for the first time - he wasn't too sure what to make of it.
In order to save time & have a larger number of pictures available for viewing I'm linking to my March 2010 album on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046596&id=110901854&l=2470af9111
The "quick" recap:
-The four of us plus my parents traveled to Sparta, WI to celebrate our Godson Matthew's 1st birthday.
-Hadley had her first experience in a pool. She was not impressed at first but quickly warmed up to it and LOVED it!
-The day after Matthew's party we traveled to Dubuque to look at houses & attend a few open houses. We found one house we absolutely LOVED & put an offer in even though it was way out of our price range. Thankfully that deal fell through leading us to our amazing realtor & the perfect house.
-Elliot got really sick for the first time. The poor little man just layed on the couch and stared :(
-Petey turned 25. Elliot was sick on his b-day but, as a surprise, Alex & Wanda plus Jim, Jen, Val & Kyle came to celebrate with us at Hickory Park a few days later.
-The kids & I made Daddy a dog from Build-A-Bear for his b-day.
-Elliot & Hadley stayed with Mum-Mum & Papa while Petey & I went house hunting over Spring Break.
-Petey & I had 3 days to find a house in the Dubuque area & on the second day we achieved success!! At the beginning of the day our options looked pretty slim - either a house out of our price range or a house that would land us in the middle of a nasty divorce. After a second viewing of each our realtor found "the one". It hasn't been listed yet but a former co-worker knew it would be soon & talked the owners into letting us see it. Ten minutes after we left we'd verbally agreed to a contract & less than two hours later we got our house! Petey & I went out to Red Robin to celebrate :)
-We spent a night at Adventureland Inn with friends Jennifer, Amy & their families. Elliot was excited to see his little girlfriends. It was a blast to hang out together again & Petey was finally able to meet them.
-Hadley had her first taste of baby cereal & a few other solids. She was not impressed & we quickly realized she wouldn't let us feed her off a spoon. We put food on hold for the next few months.
-Petey's workload at school really picked up and he was constantly busy.
-I got my new double stroller & put it together all on my own - I was THAT excited! We love it and I don't know what we would do without it!
-Elliot played in a McDonald's playplace for the first time - he wasn't too sure what to make of it.
In order to save time & have a larger number of pictures available for viewing I'm linking to my March 2010 album on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046596&id=110901854&l=2470af9111
February 2010
It seems I've been remiss in updating the blog. Really that isn't earth shattering but here I am to continue my re-cap of 2010.
Photos of February will have to wait due to an error on Blogger :/
From what I recall there weren't any HUGE happenings in February but here are a few snippets of what did go on:
-Hadley is 4 months old
-Hadley starts to hold her own bottle once in awhile (this was a short lived phase)
-Elliot insists on having "one for each hand" Meaning...if he has a sippy cup he must have two, if he has a cracker he must have two, etc.
-Elliot made and decorated V-day cookies with Mum-Mum & Papa
-We wait to find out whether Petey will have a full time job with LabStrong when school is over.
-I made my 1st batch of homemade play-dough. Elliot had a blast smearing it all over himself.
-Elliot starts his love affair with hats - putting them on, taking them off, putting them on & repeat.
-We enjoyed watching the Olympics. Elliot especially thought they were awesome!
-Hadley had her first finger painting experience.
Photos of February will have to wait due to an error on Blogger :/
From what I recall there weren't any HUGE happenings in February but here are a few snippets of what did go on:
-Hadley is 4 months old
-Hadley starts to hold her own bottle once in awhile (this was a short lived phase)
-Elliot insists on having "one for each hand" Meaning...if he has a sippy cup he must have two, if he has a cracker he must have two, etc.
-Elliot made and decorated V-day cookies with Mum-Mum & Papa
-We wait to find out whether Petey will have a full time job with LabStrong when school is over.
-I made my 1st batch of homemade play-dough. Elliot had a blast smearing it all over himself.
-Elliot starts his love affair with hats - putting them on, taking them off, putting them on & repeat.
-We enjoyed watching the Olympics. Elliot especially thought they were awesome!
-Hadley had her first finger painting experience.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
January 2010
Daddy with Elliot and Hadley - he's their favorite :)
Kisses for Sister
My Precious is 3 months old!
This was and is a pretty common scene - isn't his mad face adorable?
Elliot playing Wii Tennis with Daddy2010?!?!? Holy cow!
A few highlights:
-Celebrated New Years Eve in California with the family. Petey & I spent msot of the day in San Francisco checking out Alcatraz Island. We left on New Years day so it was a very tame celebration - I think most of us were actually asleep at midnight ;)
-Petey starts his final semester at ISU in the concurrent degree program - meaning he was both an undergrad and a grad student
-Petey begins working as a TA (teaching assistant). He also continues his part time work with LabStrong
-Elliot tried a sucker for the first time ;)
-We spent a weekend in Orange City and were able to celebrate Amber & Richard's wedding. (Amber is Petey's cousin)
-Several baby items were retrieved from our storage unit (jumperoo, bumbo, etc.) for Hadley. Elliot decided he still needed them. He can almost always put a smile on your face :)
-Elliot spends some time with Mum-Mum & Papa & Mommy & Daddy get a much needed break. Hadley isn't too demanding at 3 months of age. (3 months?!?!?)
-Elliot shows his skills on Wii Tennis :)
Thursday, June 10, 2010
December 2009
December, as you can imagine, was a crazy busy month. Here are some highlights and a few pictures:
-Elliot is 18 months old
-Hadley is 2 months old
-Elliot & Hadley go to Hilton for the first time - to watch the ISU women's VB team in the NCAA tournament
-Petey finishes up his last fall semester at ISU as an undergraduate
-I stopped pumping milk for Hadley
-Big preparations were made for our trip to California - this may have to be a post of it's own!
-Christmas celebrations with all of our families
Little Miss Hadley getting ready to go out & brave the cold! LOVE her little hat :)
We had some crazy snowstorms and blizzards. ISU actually shut down and gave Petey a day off from classes which was fantastic! This is just one picture - it doesn't show just how terrible it was. We lived in a protected alley too & we still were buried in.
Elliot & Hadley hanging out before bed. She isn't much smaller than her big brother!Been Awhile
Needless to say this blog has been neglected. Several times I've thought about posting an update and I know that I could do it pretty quickly and easily but the sheer amount of things I feel like I need to post about it overwhelms me and I just can't bring myself to sit down and do a half hearted job. Well...no longer. I'M BACK!! :) I feel like I've said that a couple times before so this time I make no promises to be a regular poster - just that I do plan on catching up on the last 6 months. SIX MONTHS?!?!? Holy wow....this may take awhile. Bear with me.
I'm planning on making each month it's own post & jotting down what I can think of off the op of my head. It may not (& probably won't be) everything but hopefully there will be some pictures scattered throughout. First up.......DECEMBER!
I'm planning on making each month it's own post & jotting down what I can think of off the op of my head. It may not (& probably won't be) everything but hopefully there will be some pictures scattered throughout. First up.......DECEMBER!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Kisses
"Elliot, may I have a kiss?"
This is one of my favorite questions to ask my mini-man. For a couple months now he's been giving 'kisses' away with no resistance. We're still working on hugs but he LOVES giving kisses & Mommy loves taking them :)
Of course his kisses aren't like yours or mine. When asked for a kiss he leans his forehead towards your mouth for YOU to kiss him - I'm pretty sure he has no idea how to give kisses in the traditional sense but I love it anyway!
He's so sweet with his little sister. Several times a day he puts his forehead on her head and gives her 'kisses'. We didn't teach him this at all - it's just something he started doing suddenly a couple weeks ago. It's just one of the many sweet things he does to & for her but it melts my heart everytime!
This is one of my favorite questions to ask my mini-man. For a couple months now he's been giving 'kisses' away with no resistance. We're still working on hugs but he LOVES giving kisses & Mommy loves taking them :)
Of course his kisses aren't like yours or mine. When asked for a kiss he leans his forehead towards your mouth for YOU to kiss him - I'm pretty sure he has no idea how to give kisses in the traditional sense but I love it anyway!
He's so sweet with his little sister. Several times a day he puts his forehead on her head and gives her 'kisses'. We didn't teach him this at all - it's just something he started doing suddenly a couple weeks ago. It's just one of the many sweet things he does to & for her but it melts my heart everytime!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Hadley's story (finally)
HA! I said I was going to be better about this blogging business. HA! I did have very good intentions and for the record I have been back here to write another entry, but didn't get it finished so it is sitting in my 'drafts'. One day I may resurrect it and post it but if I were you I wouldn't hold your breath!
Anyway....last time I mentioned Hadley's birth story. I have written out most of it on a message board I frequent but since she's nearly 2 months old (OMG!) I probably should get it down once more. I never really did this with Elliot and wish I would have although I do still recall a fair amount about my labor and delivery with him.
So, here it goes folks: (it could be quite lengthy!)
For the last few weeks before Hadley was born I had been feeling miserable. M.I.S.E.R.A.B.L.E. I didn't even know it was possible for a person to feel so crappy and to get so little sleep. Most people looked at me like I was a lunatic when I said I was looking forward to having a newborn & getting MORE sleep. They just didn't get that I could not move and was not sleeping at all.
So with that said I thought nothing of the discomfort I was feeling on October 19. Sure I'd have some more braxton hicks contractions but they had been going on for quite awhile and nothing had come of them. Dr. Shaw had given me hope at my 37 week appointment that I wouldn't make it to 38 weeks. What a cruel joke that was! I was nearly 39 weeks pregnant and literally begging my ever bulging belly to release my baby! Petey & I went to bed around 11 that night like usual but I could NOT get even the slightest bit comfortable. It was even worse than normal which I didn't think was possible but apparently it was. Petey was also snoring like a crazy man which was not helping as I find that to be one the most annoying sounds known to man so I got up & laid down in our office which also has a spare bed. I FINALLY was able to fall asleep some time after 1 o'clock but I noticed that I kept waking up ALL the time. I didn't realize until 4:25ish that I had been waking up about every 20 minutes & then I put together that I had probably been having contractions. (With Elliot all I felt was back labor for the longest time so this was new to me.)
I got up a little before 5 and called my mom to tell her she should probably head to Ames. I also took a shower which felt so incredibly fantastic but the contractions just kept coming and at that point I KNEW I was in labor. Surprisingly I wasn't as ecstatic as I though I would be considering the amount of complaining and begging I'd done leading up to that day! Don't get me wrong I was excited - just not jumping for joy! Petey heard the shower when he got up to use the bathroom & once I told him I was in labor he was definitely awake! I used an online contraction timer to keep track of how long and how far apart my contractions were. It was such a great idea & took the pressure off of us having to do it and keep track. Plus it was very easy to look back & see that things were definitely progressing. A couple of times I thought the contractions were easing up & that it wasn't actually going to happen but sure enough they would always pick up in intensity again.
My mom got here around 7 - just in time to see Elliot getting out of bed. I had a lot of mixed emotions at that point. It really hit me that this was his last day as an only child and my last day "alone" with my little boy. He wasn't going to be my only baby anymore even though he was still a baby. I don't know how to correctly verbalize what I was feeling at the moment. I remember almost breaking down in tears when I said good-bye to him before leaving for the hospital. He had absolutely no clue that the next time he saw Mommy she would have a new baby. He just couldn't comprehend how much his life was going to change & I didn't really feel that that was fair to him but there was nothing I could do to fix it. Talk about a moment of mommy guilt!
We got to the hospital a little after 8:30 & they put me in triage. I was only dilated to 3cm & about 90% effaced. I was utterly disappointed & couldn't believe that that was it. Petey & I walked around for 45 minutes - hour. I had to stop, breathe and rock my way through a lot of contractions. The pediatricians were in the nursery checking babies out so it was really cool to see a lot of new babies. It definitely made us excited to get this show moving along a little faster!
When I was checked again I was about a 4 but still only 90%. Again I was SO disappointed because I felt like those contractions HAD to be accomplishing something more than that. They decided that I was indeed in labor & that they could admit me which was good because there was NO way I was leaving! I didn't actually get to my room until closer to noon. I finally had 'my' nurses too since I'd been shuffling through whoever was free during the morning. Their names were Ann & Andrea & they were fantastic! They had a lot to live up to after my experience in Minnesota & all the wonderful people who take care of me. Before they admitted me Hadley wasn't staying on the fetal monitors long enough for them to get a good reading so I was in a completely uncomfortable position on a terribly uncomfortable bed. I was starting to have a hard time breathing through the contractions & Petey wasn't really able to rub my back like I needed him to.
In my room the excitement of the IV started. I'm terribly hard to poke and actually get a good vein. After a few tries in Minnesota the nurses quit trying & would just call the IV resource team. They even had problems a couple times. Really I need a 20 gauge but they say I HAVE to have an 18 in case I would need blood or whatever. Ugh...I can't even count how many times the stupid 18 blew my vein when it would get flushed during my last pregnancy. I told them all this & that their best bed was to hot pack my arms since there was no IV resource team. They did & still ended up poking me 3 or 4 times before finding a vein that would work. By this time I had been messed with long enough & not able to do what I needed to do to work through contractions so I was exhausted. They offered me IV drugs but I refused. I had them last time & was not interested in them again. Actually I had intended to do this birth as naturally as possible & I had hoped to not use any pain meds. *sigh* that was just one of many things that didn't go quite as I had envisioned ;) My nurses tried to tell me I was doing such a great job at breathing through contractions which I admit I was still at the time but I could tell I was almost done with it. So, I requested the epidural but very reluctantly. It didn't work last time & it SUCKED. I was stuck in a terrible position on my back but still feeling everything & I didn't want that to happen again.
Before all of this happened Dr. Gisi, whom I had never met, came in to break my water in hopes of getting things moving along. At that point I was ready for things to speed up so I didn't argue. What I didn't know was how painful that was! It hurt almost worse than actually giving birth which is saying something. He checked me & gave the go ahead for the epidural since that is what I wanted.
I was about a 5 and still 90% right before the epidural went in. When the anesthesiologist got to my room I told her all of my concerns & she assured me it would work & I would be happy this time. I chose to go with it and trust her. I got really nervous about this decision while it was going in - it hurt SOOOOOO bad. I hadn't had any pain last time but this time I was almost screaming. She gave me some more numbing stuff but I still felt a lot of it going in. However, this one worked! It was the most wonderful feeling in the world :) I got the best sleep I had gotten in months that afternoon as did Petey.
Around 3:30-4 (a few hours after the epidural) my nurses checked me again & I still hadn't made it to 6. At this point I remember being scared & afraid they would mention a c-section. Nothing against c-sections but that is NOT what I wanted. I've never had a surgery & the last thing I wanted was having my 'normal' delivery taken from me AGAIN. Fortunately they only suggested pitocin which didn't surprise me & I agreed it was a good idea especially since I already had my epidural. Last time I stalled at the same point in labor but hadn't gotten my epidural yet. I will NEVER go through a labor with pitocin without an epidural! The nurses also said my contractions weren't as close together or intense as they like to see them.
The pitocin was started & right away I could feel the contractions despite my epidural but they weren't overly painful. I used my 'magic button' to give me more of the numbing meds as often as it would let me! We turned it up once and an hour after the pitocin was started Dr. Gisi came to check me & surprised us all when he announced I was fully dilated and effaced. I was shocked at how fast it happened!! Petey & I had just started playing a game of cribbage but we were too excited to concentrate on it anymore. Dr. Gisi said Hadley was still up pretty high so we agreed that as long as I was comfortable we would just let her 'labor down' and when I felt ready to push then we would. Ann, the older of the two nurses, thought Hadley was sitting at a funny angle so she had me try a position she had seen a lot of midwives use called a Texas Roll. It looked completely ridiculous but it did the trick & in no time I felt the pressure and was ready to push! I had been told many times that my pushing would likely last a lot longer than it did with Elliot (10 minutes) and that it would be a lot harder this time around.
I started pusing a little before 6 o'clock. Fortunately I was able to move my legs really well and feel a lot. Just like last time my epidural had all but worn off but I really didn't mind because I was able to have a lot more control. The nurses were impressed with how well the pushing progressed and told me that we HAD to have this baby out before 7 when their shift ended. I ended up doing my most effective pushing on my side. I thought it was going to be completely awkward but it actually worked really well. Ann called Dr. Gisi once and told him he needed to be there soon as Hadley was nearly crowning. Well, she actually did crown with the next set of pushes which was surprising to all of us. I moved onto my back again which caused Hadley to slip back in but it wasn't hard to get her to crown again. At this point Ann was on the phone telling Dr. Gisi to "GET HERE NOW OR I'M DELIVERING THIS BABY!" hahaha....cracks me up to remember it. I was told not to push which was laughable at that point. My body was doing it all on his own & by the time the doctor got there he was only able to barely get one glove on and catch her. Hadley essentially delivered herself & Mommy was so relieved to not have to try and not push anymore! This also helped keep Mommy from tearing at all - I didn't even need a single stitch which was much different than last time!
This time I got to hold my baby immediately. I got to kiss her, check her out, hold her, love and most importantly bond. It was incredible. I had no idea it could be that wonderful to have a baby. I now knew that my fears about not bonding well with Elliot for a long time were true. I firmly believe it had a lot to do with him being taken away immediately and not being held much at all for his first two weeks. It was heartbreaking for me at the time and still is when I think of how much was 'robbed' from me and the most frustrating part is that no one knows why. NO ONE. Nobody can tell me it won't happen again because no one knows why it happened in the first place. It made those first moments with my precious daughter that much more special and oh so precious In fact my nickname for her is 'Precious'. I didn't want to let her go at all for the longest time. I didn't want to miss a single second of her first moments in this world. I only have pictures of Elliot's first moments & they look incredibly painful and stressful. Hadley's first moments were anything but.
We were able to work on breastfeeding right away which I was so excited about. I had every intention of making it work this time and had invested in things I wish I had had last time. I read so many books, articles, personal stories to get ready because of the difficulties last time but it was to no avail. We are not breastfeeding this time & while I'm a bit sad about that I'm ok with it. I refused to be stressed out about something that seemed so trivial in my mind. I was not going to project that stress on my newborn or put her through it too. I had a stressed newborn last time & I was a stressed mommy. It wasn't going to repeat itself and it hasn't and things have been SO much better!
There were so many things about Hadley's arrival that did not go according to 'plan'. Well, not according to my plan at least but in the end I wouldn't trade any of it. She's here, she's healthy, she's perfect and she captures my heart more and more everyday. How in the world could I ever be disappointed in that?!
Anyway...this has gotten too long. I must bring it to an end!
Anyway....last time I mentioned Hadley's birth story. I have written out most of it on a message board I frequent but since she's nearly 2 months old (OMG!) I probably should get it down once more. I never really did this with Elliot and wish I would have although I do still recall a fair amount about my labor and delivery with him.
So, here it goes folks: (it could be quite lengthy!)
For the last few weeks before Hadley was born I had been feeling miserable. M.I.S.E.R.A.B.L.E. I didn't even know it was possible for a person to feel so crappy and to get so little sleep. Most people looked at me like I was a lunatic when I said I was looking forward to having a newborn & getting MORE sleep. They just didn't get that I could not move and was not sleeping at all.
So with that said I thought nothing of the discomfort I was feeling on October 19. Sure I'd have some more braxton hicks contractions but they had been going on for quite awhile and nothing had come of them. Dr. Shaw had given me hope at my 37 week appointment that I wouldn't make it to 38 weeks. What a cruel joke that was! I was nearly 39 weeks pregnant and literally begging my ever bulging belly to release my baby! Petey & I went to bed around 11 that night like usual but I could NOT get even the slightest bit comfortable. It was even worse than normal which I didn't think was possible but apparently it was. Petey was also snoring like a crazy man which was not helping as I find that to be one the most annoying sounds known to man so I got up & laid down in our office which also has a spare bed. I FINALLY was able to fall asleep some time after 1 o'clock but I noticed that I kept waking up ALL the time. I didn't realize until 4:25ish that I had been waking up about every 20 minutes & then I put together that I had probably been having contractions. (With Elliot all I felt was back labor for the longest time so this was new to me.)
I got up a little before 5 and called my mom to tell her she should probably head to Ames. I also took a shower which felt so incredibly fantastic but the contractions just kept coming and at that point I KNEW I was in labor. Surprisingly I wasn't as ecstatic as I though I would be considering the amount of complaining and begging I'd done leading up to that day! Don't get me wrong I was excited - just not jumping for joy! Petey heard the shower when he got up to use the bathroom & once I told him I was in labor he was definitely awake! I used an online contraction timer to keep track of how long and how far apart my contractions were. It was such a great idea & took the pressure off of us having to do it and keep track. Plus it was very easy to look back & see that things were definitely progressing. A couple of times I thought the contractions were easing up & that it wasn't actually going to happen but sure enough they would always pick up in intensity again.
My mom got here around 7 - just in time to see Elliot getting out of bed. I had a lot of mixed emotions at that point. It really hit me that this was his last day as an only child and my last day "alone" with my little boy. He wasn't going to be my only baby anymore even though he was still a baby. I don't know how to correctly verbalize what I was feeling at the moment. I remember almost breaking down in tears when I said good-bye to him before leaving for the hospital. He had absolutely no clue that the next time he saw Mommy she would have a new baby. He just couldn't comprehend how much his life was going to change & I didn't really feel that that was fair to him but there was nothing I could do to fix it. Talk about a moment of mommy guilt!
We got to the hospital a little after 8:30 & they put me in triage. I was only dilated to 3cm & about 90% effaced. I was utterly disappointed & couldn't believe that that was it. Petey & I walked around for 45 minutes - hour. I had to stop, breathe and rock my way through a lot of contractions. The pediatricians were in the nursery checking babies out so it was really cool to see a lot of new babies. It definitely made us excited to get this show moving along a little faster!
When I was checked again I was about a 4 but still only 90%. Again I was SO disappointed because I felt like those contractions HAD to be accomplishing something more than that. They decided that I was indeed in labor & that they could admit me which was good because there was NO way I was leaving! I didn't actually get to my room until closer to noon. I finally had 'my' nurses too since I'd been shuffling through whoever was free during the morning. Their names were Ann & Andrea & they were fantastic! They had a lot to live up to after my experience in Minnesota & all the wonderful people who take care of me. Before they admitted me Hadley wasn't staying on the fetal monitors long enough for them to get a good reading so I was in a completely uncomfortable position on a terribly uncomfortable bed. I was starting to have a hard time breathing through the contractions & Petey wasn't really able to rub my back like I needed him to.
In my room the excitement of the IV started. I'm terribly hard to poke and actually get a good vein. After a few tries in Minnesota the nurses quit trying & would just call the IV resource team. They even had problems a couple times. Really I need a 20 gauge but they say I HAVE to have an 18 in case I would need blood or whatever. Ugh...I can't even count how many times the stupid 18 blew my vein when it would get flushed during my last pregnancy. I told them all this & that their best bed was to hot pack my arms since there was no IV resource team. They did & still ended up poking me 3 or 4 times before finding a vein that would work. By this time I had been messed with long enough & not able to do what I needed to do to work through contractions so I was exhausted. They offered me IV drugs but I refused. I had them last time & was not interested in them again. Actually I had intended to do this birth as naturally as possible & I had hoped to not use any pain meds. *sigh* that was just one of many things that didn't go quite as I had envisioned ;) My nurses tried to tell me I was doing such a great job at breathing through contractions which I admit I was still at the time but I could tell I was almost done with it. So, I requested the epidural but very reluctantly. It didn't work last time & it SUCKED. I was stuck in a terrible position on my back but still feeling everything & I didn't want that to happen again.
Before all of this happened Dr. Gisi, whom I had never met, came in to break my water in hopes of getting things moving along. At that point I was ready for things to speed up so I didn't argue. What I didn't know was how painful that was! It hurt almost worse than actually giving birth which is saying something. He checked me & gave the go ahead for the epidural since that is what I wanted.
I was about a 5 and still 90% right before the epidural went in. When the anesthesiologist got to my room I told her all of my concerns & she assured me it would work & I would be happy this time. I chose to go with it and trust her. I got really nervous about this decision while it was going in - it hurt SOOOOOO bad. I hadn't had any pain last time but this time I was almost screaming. She gave me some more numbing stuff but I still felt a lot of it going in. However, this one worked! It was the most wonderful feeling in the world :) I got the best sleep I had gotten in months that afternoon as did Petey.
Around 3:30-4 (a few hours after the epidural) my nurses checked me again & I still hadn't made it to 6. At this point I remember being scared & afraid they would mention a c-section. Nothing against c-sections but that is NOT what I wanted. I've never had a surgery & the last thing I wanted was having my 'normal' delivery taken from me AGAIN. Fortunately they only suggested pitocin which didn't surprise me & I agreed it was a good idea especially since I already had my epidural. Last time I stalled at the same point in labor but hadn't gotten my epidural yet. I will NEVER go through a labor with pitocin without an epidural! The nurses also said my contractions weren't as close together or intense as they like to see them.
The pitocin was started & right away I could feel the contractions despite my epidural but they weren't overly painful. I used my 'magic button' to give me more of the numbing meds as often as it would let me! We turned it up once and an hour after the pitocin was started Dr. Gisi came to check me & surprised us all when he announced I was fully dilated and effaced. I was shocked at how fast it happened!! Petey & I had just started playing a game of cribbage but we were too excited to concentrate on it anymore. Dr. Gisi said Hadley was still up pretty high so we agreed that as long as I was comfortable we would just let her 'labor down' and when I felt ready to push then we would. Ann, the older of the two nurses, thought Hadley was sitting at a funny angle so she had me try a position she had seen a lot of midwives use called a Texas Roll. It looked completely ridiculous but it did the trick & in no time I felt the pressure and was ready to push! I had been told many times that my pushing would likely last a lot longer than it did with Elliot (10 minutes) and that it would be a lot harder this time around.
I started pusing a little before 6 o'clock. Fortunately I was able to move my legs really well and feel a lot. Just like last time my epidural had all but worn off but I really didn't mind because I was able to have a lot more control. The nurses were impressed with how well the pushing progressed and told me that we HAD to have this baby out before 7 when their shift ended. I ended up doing my most effective pushing on my side. I thought it was going to be completely awkward but it actually worked really well. Ann called Dr. Gisi once and told him he needed to be there soon as Hadley was nearly crowning. Well, she actually did crown with the next set of pushes which was surprising to all of us. I moved onto my back again which caused Hadley to slip back in but it wasn't hard to get her to crown again. At this point Ann was on the phone telling Dr. Gisi to "GET HERE NOW OR I'M DELIVERING THIS BABY!" hahaha....cracks me up to remember it. I was told not to push which was laughable at that point. My body was doing it all on his own & by the time the doctor got there he was only able to barely get one glove on and catch her. Hadley essentially delivered herself & Mommy was so relieved to not have to try and not push anymore! This also helped keep Mommy from tearing at all - I didn't even need a single stitch which was much different than last time!
This time I got to hold my baby immediately. I got to kiss her, check her out, hold her, love and most importantly bond. It was incredible. I had no idea it could be that wonderful to have a baby. I now knew that my fears about not bonding well with Elliot for a long time were true. I firmly believe it had a lot to do with him being taken away immediately and not being held much at all for his first two weeks. It was heartbreaking for me at the time and still is when I think of how much was 'robbed' from me and the most frustrating part is that no one knows why. NO ONE. Nobody can tell me it won't happen again because no one knows why it happened in the first place. It made those first moments with my precious daughter that much more special and oh so precious In fact my nickname for her is 'Precious'. I didn't want to let her go at all for the longest time. I didn't want to miss a single second of her first moments in this world. I only have pictures of Elliot's first moments & they look incredibly painful and stressful. Hadley's first moments were anything but.
We were able to work on breastfeeding right away which I was so excited about. I had every intention of making it work this time and had invested in things I wish I had had last time. I read so many books, articles, personal stories to get ready because of the difficulties last time but it was to no avail. We are not breastfeeding this time & while I'm a bit sad about that I'm ok with it. I refused to be stressed out about something that seemed so trivial in my mind. I was not going to project that stress on my newborn or put her through it too. I had a stressed newborn last time & I was a stressed mommy. It wasn't going to repeat itself and it hasn't and things have been SO much better!
There were so many things about Hadley's arrival that did not go according to 'plan'. Well, not according to my plan at least but in the end I wouldn't trade any of it. She's here, she's healthy, she's perfect and she captures my heart more and more everyday. How in the world could I ever be disappointed in that?!
Anyway...this has gotten too long. I must bring it to an end!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Time to get serious....
I must preface this by saying this may be a short one as Elliot should be waking up any minute. Should.
I need to get serious on this blog thing. I remember creating it thinking it would be a great way to keep up on all that's happening in our life and all that Elliot was doing and discovering. Then I thought it would be a great way to keep track of my pregnancy and how all that was going. Yeah...not so much. Big.Fat.Fail on all of the above.
BUT I'm ready to turn over a new leaf. Get back into jumping on here and updating this blog. I don't really care if anyone else reads it. I want it for reference for those days down the road when I look back and can't remember everything. To be honest I can't even remember everything about yesterday.....which just proves how much I REALLY need to do this!
Someday very soon I need to fully record Hadley's birth story. Not necessarily the gruesome details although it really wasn't gruesome. I just want to have a record of it. I never really wrote Elliot's down & now I know there are things that I can't necessarily remember the best. Luckily I did start Hadley's soon after she was born so it just needs to be finished. That may be a lengthy post...sorry folks ;)
I need to get serious on this blog thing. I remember creating it thinking it would be a great way to keep up on all that's happening in our life and all that Elliot was doing and discovering. Then I thought it would be a great way to keep track of my pregnancy and how all that was going. Yeah...not so much. Big.Fat.Fail on all of the above.
BUT I'm ready to turn over a new leaf. Get back into jumping on here and updating this blog. I don't really care if anyone else reads it. I want it for reference for those days down the road when I look back and can't remember everything. To be honest I can't even remember everything about yesterday.....which just proves how much I REALLY need to do this!
Someday very soon I need to fully record Hadley's birth story. Not necessarily the gruesome details although it really wasn't gruesome. I just want to have a record of it. I never really wrote Elliot's down & now I know there are things that I can't necessarily remember the best. Luckily I did start Hadley's soon after she was born so it just needs to be finished. That may be a lengthy post...sorry folks ;)
Friday, September 4, 2009
The "whines"
Elliot has officially hit that frustrating phase of tantrums and whines, whines, whiiiiiiiines. There have been countless moments this week where I feel like I'm going to pull my hair out and I've shamelessly begged my husband to hurry home from school so I can have a few moments of peace (aka a nap). He has been fantastic with Elliot which I'm so thankful for and he's been so patient with me this week as I've been exhausted - absolutely exhausted. I'm not really sure why I've been so tired (oh wait, I'm pregnant!) but if I don't get a nap I'm ready for bed before Mr. Elliot which is not a good combination.
I also never realized just how hard it is to just leave Elliot alone when he's in the midst of a tantrum. It is so tempting to do whatever we can to make it stop and make him realize that it won't get him anything. BUT the best way, that we know of, to get him to realize it won't get him anything is the hardest thing for us to do. *sigh* We're getting better at it though and fortunately his tantrums are mostly short lived. Actually the mere mention of 'Teddy Grahams' can clear up almost any tantrum but we try not to resort to that ;) He does get them as a snack and if he's particularly well behaved he even gets to hold the bowl to eat them out of.
Despite all the whines Elliot has been such a sweet little guy. He is becoming more and more cuddly and I LOVE it. I love when he's getting sleepy & he comes to me & asks to be picked up and then promply lays his head on my shoulder. It is the sweetest thing and I cherish those moments. I also cherish those moments where we get to read his favorite books together and seeing his face light up or watching him bounce around in excitement. It's adorable.
Elliot and Miss Cupcake are booked on their first flight! Yesterday my mom bought our tickets for our family's Great California Adventure. I'm so excited although a bit nervous about flying with two little kids especially with all the hype about this Swine Flu business. I don't even know what to think or believe anymore...argh. Anyway 17 of us are flying out of Kansas City on the morning of Christmas Eve. We hadn't all planned to go together but it should be a fun time as long as the plane doesn't go down of course. It may be an irrational fear but it is one that I have! I've already been doing a lot of reading and plotting as to how we're going to get ourselves and all of the stuff we need out there without costing a bazillion dollars. It's something that I'll probably research to death & stress over but in the end it won't end up being nearly the big deal I think it is which is a good thing I guess. At least I'll be prepared!!
I also never realized just how hard it is to just leave Elliot alone when he's in the midst of a tantrum. It is so tempting to do whatever we can to make it stop and make him realize that it won't get him anything. BUT the best way, that we know of, to get him to realize it won't get him anything is the hardest thing for us to do. *sigh* We're getting better at it though and fortunately his tantrums are mostly short lived. Actually the mere mention of 'Teddy Grahams' can clear up almost any tantrum but we try not to resort to that ;) He does get them as a snack and if he's particularly well behaved he even gets to hold the bowl to eat them out of.
Despite all the whines Elliot has been such a sweet little guy. He is becoming more and more cuddly and I LOVE it. I love when he's getting sleepy & he comes to me & asks to be picked up and then promply lays his head on my shoulder. It is the sweetest thing and I cherish those moments. I also cherish those moments where we get to read his favorite books together and seeing his face light up or watching him bounce around in excitement. It's adorable.
Elliot and Miss Cupcake are booked on their first flight! Yesterday my mom bought our tickets for our family's Great California Adventure. I'm so excited although a bit nervous about flying with two little kids especially with all the hype about this Swine Flu business. I don't even know what to think or believe anymore...argh. Anyway 17 of us are flying out of Kansas City on the morning of Christmas Eve. We hadn't all planned to go together but it should be a fun time as long as the plane doesn't go down of course. It may be an irrational fear but it is one that I have! I've already been doing a lot of reading and plotting as to how we're going to get ourselves and all of the stuff we need out there without costing a bazillion dollars. It's something that I'll probably research to death & stress over but in the end it won't end up being nearly the big deal I think it is which is a good thing I guess. At least I'll be prepared!!
Monday, August 31, 2009
SURPRISE!!!!!!!
Have I mentioned before that I married an absolutely amazing man? Possibly the most amazing man there is - too bad for the rest of you ladies out there!
Yes, I may be biased a bit but I'm allowed and it's fun to brag about how great my hubby is sometimes. This weekend he pulled off a feat I didn't know he could do - he surprised the heck out of me. I mean seriously this surprise came completely out of the blue but it was AWESOME!
With the help of a few other sneaky people in my life he pulled off a surprise baby shower for me :) Saturday my mom watched Elliot for us so we could have a nice lunch and do some shopping. I didn't think anything of that & really enjoyed some adult conversation & not having to wrangle Elliot in a restaurant. The only strange thing was that our sliding door was locked when we came home but I didn't give it too much thought & Petey seriously gave NOTHING up. How he kept such a straight face is beyond me.....
So, I come in our front door & VOILA - baby shower! It wasn't a large gathering but it was awesome to have everyone there to surprise me. It was also great to get some new things for Cupcake. Most of her stuff is super nice but from garage sales or consignment shops. This has given us the chance to get her a LOT of stuff but I was starting to feel a bit bummed out that she wasn't going to get new stuff that was all her own. I know it may sound silly but that's how I was feeling so it was great to know that she had some things that are solely HERS & not hand-me-downs from her brother or other items from someone else. I had a fantastic time and felt really special especially because I wasn't in the hospital this time and this shower actually got to happen. Petey apparently had tried to plan a small shower last time when I was pregnant with Elliot but I ended up in the hospital two days before it - OOPS!
(I'll post some pictures on Facebook for your viewing pleasure.)
Yes, I may be biased a bit but I'm allowed and it's fun to brag about how great my hubby is sometimes. This weekend he pulled off a feat I didn't know he could do - he surprised the heck out of me. I mean seriously this surprise came completely out of the blue but it was AWESOME!
With the help of a few other sneaky people in my life he pulled off a surprise baby shower for me :) Saturday my mom watched Elliot for us so we could have a nice lunch and do some shopping. I didn't think anything of that & really enjoyed some adult conversation & not having to wrangle Elliot in a restaurant. The only strange thing was that our sliding door was locked when we came home but I didn't give it too much thought & Petey seriously gave NOTHING up. How he kept such a straight face is beyond me.....
So, I come in our front door & VOILA - baby shower! It wasn't a large gathering but it was awesome to have everyone there to surprise me. It was also great to get some new things for Cupcake. Most of her stuff is super nice but from garage sales or consignment shops. This has given us the chance to get her a LOT of stuff but I was starting to feel a bit bummed out that she wasn't going to get new stuff that was all her own. I know it may sound silly but that's how I was feeling so it was great to know that she had some things that are solely HERS & not hand-me-downs from her brother or other items from someone else. I had a fantastic time and felt really special especially because I wasn't in the hospital this time and this shower actually got to happen. Petey apparently had tried to plan a small shower last time when I was pregnant with Elliot but I ended up in the hospital two days before it - OOPS!
(I'll post some pictures on Facebook for your viewing pleasure.)
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Woohooooooooo
Woohoo for two posts in ONE week! I would love to say that this is the beginning of a great new trend, but I must admit that would be a bit for me to promise at the moment!
I also must admit, sheepishly, that today was "one of those days". One of those days where I seriously question myself and my ability to be a mom. One of those days where I ask myself what the heck I think I'm doing raising a child. One of those days where I find myself wishing to be anywhere but here. I know that sounds absolutely horrible & trust me it horrifies me to actually type that out and realize that is what I was thinking and feeling but it's the cold, hard truth.
Now, before you make any snap judgements and think horrible thoughts about me let me say that I love Elliot and Miss Cupcake more than anything else in this world and would give up anything and everything for them but toddlers can be so trying on one's patience! Plus, Miss Cupcake has decided to practice her acrobatics once again so when you add in Elliot's extra clinginess & screaming Mommy was literally "touched" out. I've never been so happy to see Petey come home before! He was awesome though and took over Elliot duty, made & fed him lunch which was his first PB&J sandwish!!!
Just getting that break for a little bit was fantastic, BUT it doesn't end there. I was having incredible pain in my back so I sat down with some ice water to see if it would stop. Petey not only entertained Elliot (for the most part) but he cleaned up a bunch of the kitchen AND all the toys in the living room. He even put Elliot down for his nap & I took one of my own :) Fortunately my backache DID go away which is good otherwise I probably would have ended up in Labor & Delivery getting checked out. My labor with Elliot started in my back like that so it sort of freaked me out.
I also must admit, sheepishly, that today was "one of those days". One of those days where I seriously question myself and my ability to be a mom. One of those days where I ask myself what the heck I think I'm doing raising a child. One of those days where I find myself wishing to be anywhere but here. I know that sounds absolutely horrible & trust me it horrifies me to actually type that out and realize that is what I was thinking and feeling but it's the cold, hard truth.
Now, before you make any snap judgements and think horrible thoughts about me let me say that I love Elliot and Miss Cupcake more than anything else in this world and would give up anything and everything for them but toddlers can be so trying on one's patience! Plus, Miss Cupcake has decided to practice her acrobatics once again so when you add in Elliot's extra clinginess & screaming Mommy was literally "touched" out. I've never been so happy to see Petey come home before! He was awesome though and took over Elliot duty, made & fed him lunch which was his first PB&J sandwish!!!
Just getting that break for a little bit was fantastic, BUT it doesn't end there. I was having incredible pain in my back so I sat down with some ice water to see if it would stop. Petey not only entertained Elliot (for the most part) but he cleaned up a bunch of the kitchen AND all the toys in the living room. He even put Elliot down for his nap & I took one of my own :) Fortunately my backache DID go away which is good otherwise I probably would have ended up in Labor & Delivery getting checked out. My labor with Elliot started in my back like that so it sort of freaked me out.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
August
It's been awhile. There has been so much I intended to chronicle on here but I keep getting distracted or pulled away from the computer before I can get a post written!
So, in one post I'll hopefully be able to summarize most of the past month. Haha...this should be fun!
Well, the month started off with us moving to a new place across town. We were SO ready to get out of our old place. There was just no room for Elliot and we couldn't stand one of our neighbors. Where we are now seems to suit us MUCH better. We are with a lot of college kids so they keep different hours than us but it really has been pretty quiet around here. There's an apartment of guys above us who seem to enjoy wrestling or something. Usually I just chuckle and wait for it stop. One morning I did have to go upstairs & get one of them to come down and get their cat who jumped off the balcony & after coming in my apartment hid so that I couldn't find it.
This pregnancy has continued to progress without much excitement which is actually quite exciting to me. At my last appointment Dr. Mintzer declared me "boring" which is a very good thing. Dr. Drake also has me coming monthly now for ultrasounds instead of every two weeks. Cupcake has looked awesome on the ultrasound everytime so that is another huge relief. However, I'm getting to the point of being ready for her to be here. She is sitting so low & I am in pain a good deal of the time. It doesn't help that I'm working on unpacking a new home and hauling a toddler around for a good part of the day. I try to take it as easy as I can but some days I probably do way too much.
My Petey & I celebrated our second anniversary this month. It's hard to believe that we've been married for TWO years already. It can't possibly have gone this fast could it?!?!?! I'm still working on finishing my scrapbook although it is getting closer to being done. It's crazy to think of all that we've gone through and accomplished in this short amount of time. We took advantage of Elliot's obsession of being with his grandparents and at the farm to get away for a few days. We headed to Minneapolis where we had scored an amazing deal at the Marquette Hotel in downtown. We went to a Twins game, spent some time back in our stomping grounds, played at Dave & Buster's & got to see one of our good friends we went to NWC with. Before we came home we hit Ikea & scored a great deal on a new desk for Petey. On a whim we checked out the as-is section & found the desk we wanted for half price!! It was a shade darker than the one we were going to get but it was a sacrifice we were willing to make! Unfortunately it didn't fit in the car so we had to strap it to the top. LOL - that was an adventure but it worked and it's set up & works great for Petey now.
Elliot has been growing up too fast! He looks and acts like a little boy now instead of a baby & it makes me so sad. I miss my little chubby man with the huge cheeks!! :) He is so much fun now and I love seeing him discover things and learning how the world works. He LOVES to play peek-a-boo & each time he picks up his Lego lid we spend several minutes playing this game. It's awesome! He also really loves my hairbrush so we "brush" his hair several times a day. I'm pretty sure he just likes to have his head massaged (like his momma!) because it usually calms him down when he gets really worked up. He's also a much more cuddly little guy than he used to be. Just this month he's really started to cuddle & actually initiate the cuddle. I don't feel like I need to pin him down for a hug or some kisses since most of the time he really wants to sit on my lap. Today he was pretty worn out & sleepy so I took advantage and snuggled with him on the couch for a looooooong time. It was fantastic even though there were several other things I had hoped to accomplish but there's always tomorrow for all of that.
Petey and I made a very hard decision in regards to Elliot's sleep habits. Since he is going to have a little sister in about 2 months or less (YIKES!) we are both in agreement that he needs to learn how to sleep. Specifically he needs to learn how to put himself BACK to sleep. We have a good routine for bedtime & he is usually very ready to go to sleep so that isn't a problem & naptimes usually aren't either. Sometimes he protests naps but he knows it's time to sleep &, again, he's almost always in great need of a nap. We know he can make it all night without having to eat but that he relies on that bottle to fall back to sleep. We have tried SO many different ideas and methods and none of it has worked so I've had to bite my tongue and do something I swore we'd never resort to - crying it out. I hate it and so does Petey but it's for the best and I have to think of it as giving him a skill he needs instead of being a mean parent. Last night was the first night & it took him an hour to fall back to sleep the first time. It was an excruciatingly LONG hour & I cried just as much as he did I think. It was AWFUL to listen to him & to think that he was waiting for me to come just broke my heart. We ended up getting out of bed & tried to keep ourselves busy until about 1a.m. when he went back to sleep. The second time he woke up only took about 20-25 minutes which was nothing in comparison to the first time. We're giving him 3-5 days & hoping that it is clear to us whether or not we should keep going or stop and attempt to find another alternative.....we definitely need some prayers for this. Fortunately this morning he was quite happy to see us so he must not be holding it against us & he seemed much happier so hopefully getting him some more sleep at night will do some good stuff!
Another change around here is our switch to cloth diapers. We haven't gone to them 100% of the time & odds are we'll be sticking to disposables at night for awhile since Elliot is a HUGE wetter at night. We're using one size diapers with pockets so that we can control how absorbent they are. The first day or so we had some leaks but that was due to user error I'm pretty sure! We're still learning and experimenting but so far things have gone well and I'm quickly becoming a cloth diaper addict! I haven't tried my luck at prefolds yet but I ordered a cover Sunday so we'll see how it goes! Those would be the cheapest option but even if we spend more money on the pocket diapers we'll still be money ahead in the long run which is an awesome feeling. Both kids should be able to wear these diapers plus any other kids we have in the future. There are so many adorable patterns that I could easily go broke stocking up.....I have to be careful when I'm online shopping ;)
So, in one post I'll hopefully be able to summarize most of the past month. Haha...this should be fun!
Well, the month started off with us moving to a new place across town. We were SO ready to get out of our old place. There was just no room for Elliot and we couldn't stand one of our neighbors. Where we are now seems to suit us MUCH better. We are with a lot of college kids so they keep different hours than us but it really has been pretty quiet around here. There's an apartment of guys above us who seem to enjoy wrestling or something. Usually I just chuckle and wait for it stop. One morning I did have to go upstairs & get one of them to come down and get their cat who jumped off the balcony & after coming in my apartment hid so that I couldn't find it.
This pregnancy has continued to progress without much excitement which is actually quite exciting to me. At my last appointment Dr. Mintzer declared me "boring" which is a very good thing. Dr. Drake also has me coming monthly now for ultrasounds instead of every two weeks. Cupcake has looked awesome on the ultrasound everytime so that is another huge relief. However, I'm getting to the point of being ready for her to be here. She is sitting so low & I am in pain a good deal of the time. It doesn't help that I'm working on unpacking a new home and hauling a toddler around for a good part of the day. I try to take it as easy as I can but some days I probably do way too much.
My Petey & I celebrated our second anniversary this month. It's hard to believe that we've been married for TWO years already. It can't possibly have gone this fast could it?!?!?! I'm still working on finishing my scrapbook although it is getting closer to being done. It's crazy to think of all that we've gone through and accomplished in this short amount of time. We took advantage of Elliot's obsession of being with his grandparents and at the farm to get away for a few days. We headed to Minneapolis where we had scored an amazing deal at the Marquette Hotel in downtown. We went to a Twins game, spent some time back in our stomping grounds, played at Dave & Buster's & got to see one of our good friends we went to NWC with. Before we came home we hit Ikea & scored a great deal on a new desk for Petey. On a whim we checked out the as-is section & found the desk we wanted for half price!! It was a shade darker than the one we were going to get but it was a sacrifice we were willing to make! Unfortunately it didn't fit in the car so we had to strap it to the top. LOL - that was an adventure but it worked and it's set up & works great for Petey now.
Elliot has been growing up too fast! He looks and acts like a little boy now instead of a baby & it makes me so sad. I miss my little chubby man with the huge cheeks!! :) He is so much fun now and I love seeing him discover things and learning how the world works. He LOVES to play peek-a-boo & each time he picks up his Lego lid we spend several minutes playing this game. It's awesome! He also really loves my hairbrush so we "brush" his hair several times a day. I'm pretty sure he just likes to have his head massaged (like his momma!) because it usually calms him down when he gets really worked up. He's also a much more cuddly little guy than he used to be. Just this month he's really started to cuddle & actually initiate the cuddle. I don't feel like I need to pin him down for a hug or some kisses since most of the time he really wants to sit on my lap. Today he was pretty worn out & sleepy so I took advantage and snuggled with him on the couch for a looooooong time. It was fantastic even though there were several other things I had hoped to accomplish but there's always tomorrow for all of that.
Petey and I made a very hard decision in regards to Elliot's sleep habits. Since he is going to have a little sister in about 2 months or less (YIKES!) we are both in agreement that he needs to learn how to sleep. Specifically he needs to learn how to put himself BACK to sleep. We have a good routine for bedtime & he is usually very ready to go to sleep so that isn't a problem & naptimes usually aren't either. Sometimes he protests naps but he knows it's time to sleep &, again, he's almost always in great need of a nap. We know he can make it all night without having to eat but that he relies on that bottle to fall back to sleep. We have tried SO many different ideas and methods and none of it has worked so I've had to bite my tongue and do something I swore we'd never resort to - crying it out. I hate it and so does Petey but it's for the best and I have to think of it as giving him a skill he needs instead of being a mean parent. Last night was the first night & it took him an hour to fall back to sleep the first time. It was an excruciatingly LONG hour & I cried just as much as he did I think. It was AWFUL to listen to him & to think that he was waiting for me to come just broke my heart. We ended up getting out of bed & tried to keep ourselves busy until about 1a.m. when he went back to sleep. The second time he woke up only took about 20-25 minutes which was nothing in comparison to the first time. We're giving him 3-5 days & hoping that it is clear to us whether or not we should keep going or stop and attempt to find another alternative.....we definitely need some prayers for this. Fortunately this morning he was quite happy to see us so he must not be holding it against us & he seemed much happier so hopefully getting him some more sleep at night will do some good stuff!
Another change around here is our switch to cloth diapers. We haven't gone to them 100% of the time & odds are we'll be sticking to disposables at night for awhile since Elliot is a HUGE wetter at night. We're using one size diapers with pockets so that we can control how absorbent they are. The first day or so we had some leaks but that was due to user error I'm pretty sure! We're still learning and experimenting but so far things have gone well and I'm quickly becoming a cloth diaper addict! I haven't tried my luck at prefolds yet but I ordered a cover Sunday so we'll see how it goes! Those would be the cheapest option but even if we spend more money on the pocket diapers we'll still be money ahead in the long run which is an awesome feeling. Both kids should be able to wear these diapers plus any other kids we have in the future. There are so many adorable patterns that I could easily go broke stocking up.....I have to be careful when I'm online shopping ;)
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Today is THE day
MOVING DAY!!!
My mom is off to her radiation treatments at the moment & Elliot is sleeping so I'm taking the chance to rest a bit even though there is still much to be done around here. My back is already hurting pretty bad & this sciatic nerve thing is really putting a hitch in my giddy-up.
I really thought I was going to be sad when today came but the opposite seems to be true. I am so excited to get out of here - or maybe that is just excitement that my husband is coming home!! He's leaving Dubuque in about an hour - wahoo!!
We have several moving fairies coming today too which is awesome!! My cousin Dawn will be here as will Charlie & Linda & Paul & Emily. Hopefully we can get the bulk of the stuff moved today & only have to worry about our beds & the last few odds & ends tomorrow.
This is also 27 weeks for Cupcake and myself!! I'm so happy to have made it this far & be at home and actually get to "help" in this move. At least this time I'll have a clue as to what is packed in which box or tote. I've also been trying to label most boxes with their content so when that tired preggo brain kicks in I won't have to work too hard to remember. It should also help things get in the right room at the new place especially since a lot of stuff isn't coming out of the right room here!
My mom is off to her radiation treatments at the moment & Elliot is sleeping so I'm taking the chance to rest a bit even though there is still much to be done around here. My back is already hurting pretty bad & this sciatic nerve thing is really putting a hitch in my giddy-up.
I really thought I was going to be sad when today came but the opposite seems to be true. I am so excited to get out of here - or maybe that is just excitement that my husband is coming home!! He's leaving Dubuque in about an hour - wahoo!!
We have several moving fairies coming today too which is awesome!! My cousin Dawn will be here as will Charlie & Linda & Paul & Emily. Hopefully we can get the bulk of the stuff moved today & only have to worry about our beds & the last few odds & ends tomorrow.
This is also 27 weeks for Cupcake and myself!! I'm so happy to have made it this far & be at home and actually get to "help" in this move. At least this time I'll have a clue as to what is packed in which box or tote. I've also been trying to label most boxes with their content so when that tired preggo brain kicks in I won't have to work too hard to remember. It should also help things get in the right room at the new place especially since a lot of stuff isn't coming out of the right room here!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Ahhhh.....
I love having the internet back. Granted, it's not MY internet but it's a connection and I'm online and right now that is all that matters! It was getting really old constantly straining to read things on my phone or waiting for the pages to upload. It's awesome that I was able to check things if I needed to on there but not nearly as nice as having an actual BIG screen to look at. (not that my computer screen is overly large.....)
Last week I was REALLY stressed out. I made it to 25 weeks and then spent most of the week anxiously awaiting the "crisis" day of my last pregnancy. Fortunately it was a very uneventful day & here I sit at nearly 27 weeks with no bleeding and AT HOME! I have felt a few contractions but nothing consistent or too bothersome. I just make sure I drink lots of water and take it easy when I need to. This has really hindered my packing progress but that's a small price to pay. When I hit 26 weeks it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders & I felt much less tense and apprehensive. Of course 26 weeks is not an ideal time for Cupcake to make her appearance so I plan to keep baking her for a bit longer but it's still nice to know I was able to make it to this point without any problems. I have a feeling I'll have a bit of anxiety when 33 weeks rolls around as well but I'll deal with that then.
Packing. Is what I *should* be doing BUT as I said before having the internet back is SO glorious that I'm spending the entirety of Elliot's nap using the computer - doh! We are picking our keys up on Thursday before Haverkamp closes & I am SO excited. I was a bit sad at first about leaving this place as it is Elliot's first home but I really think our new place will be great for us. It is smaller which once in awhile makes me panic a bit but we are planning on having a storage unit for those things we don't need to keep our closets all clogged up with. The most interesting room to set up is going to be our bedroom as it's MUCH smaller than it is here AND we have to fit Cupcake in there somehow.....
My mom has been the garage sale queen this summer & has scored some great deals. We found a great bassinet that we'll use for Cupcake when she's still little & that will help save on some space. This little girl already has quite the wardrobe though! We thought Elliot had a lot of clothes but her selection may put his to shame which is really saying something! Fortunately we've been able to get a lot of this stuff in excellent condition at garage sales & consignment stores. She may have more stuff than Elliot but her wardrobe will probably come cheaper. I have a feeling we won't be able to say that for long though! It's awesome to know we're getting some great stuff while still saving money. I'm pretty sure that is the only reason Petey puts up with it, too!!
We've decided on another way to save ourselves some money in the long run. We are going to cloth diaper Elliot and Cupcake. We've done our research & have decided to use mostly one size pocket diapers. These are diapers that should fit BOTH of our kiddos at the same time as they are rated to fit kids from 7-35lbs. There are so many choices out there that it has been mind boggling to decide which ones to try. I really love all the cute patterns you are able to get but those tend to be more expensive so we probably won't have too many in our stash..... I finally did some ordering last week & the three I ordered got her fast & since then I've been even more addicted to reading stuff online & finding new ones to try. As of next weeks sometime we should have a stash of about 11 cloth diapers and we plan to grow that substantially over the next few months. We figured that for the amount of money we had spent on Elliot's diapers in his first year we could buy a sizable stash of cloth diapers that would last both of our kids through potty training & many of those diapers should be good to go for any other future children we may be blessed with. Needless to say those savings add up to somewhere in the 1000's of dollars even after factoring in laundry detergent, energy & water use and consumption. Plus, it's better for their little bottoms & ultimately better for the earth. I'm not one to get very "crunchy" & environmental but I have to admit it feels decent to know that my kid's diaper won't be sitting in a landfill forever.
In other news - I miss my husband. His internship has been awesome and he was so lucky to find this place or be found by this place. (depends how you look at it I guess) It's funny how things turn out! We thought for sure that he was going to be working some non-engineering job here in Ames or Des Moines & not making all that great of money but sure enough just when we had about given up any hope of internships being left he had an interview with Mark that went exceptionally well. Mark is a great guy - from what I can tell of my limited time with him - & Petey meshes really well with everyone there. He's also gotten some incredible experience & been able to work on stuff he probably wouldn't have been able to at many other internships. Plus, the pay is fantastic AND he will get to continue working for them over the school year! Obviously he won't work as many hours but there is no where in Ames that would pay him that much for his time & he most likely will get to bring a company computer back with him to run all of his engineering stuffs on. We're pretty excited about this if you couldn't tell. Two & a half more weeks until he's done living in Dubuque though & I get him back AND we get to go on our anniversary trip to the Twin Cities. Nothing too exciting - just a baseball game & Dave & Buster's & sleeping in! We're excited to relax & spend some downtime together without Elliot before the craziness of the school year begins & Cupcake makes her appearance.
Last week I was REALLY stressed out. I made it to 25 weeks and then spent most of the week anxiously awaiting the "crisis" day of my last pregnancy. Fortunately it was a very uneventful day & here I sit at nearly 27 weeks with no bleeding and AT HOME! I have felt a few contractions but nothing consistent or too bothersome. I just make sure I drink lots of water and take it easy when I need to. This has really hindered my packing progress but that's a small price to pay. When I hit 26 weeks it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders & I felt much less tense and apprehensive. Of course 26 weeks is not an ideal time for Cupcake to make her appearance so I plan to keep baking her for a bit longer but it's still nice to know I was able to make it to this point without any problems. I have a feeling I'll have a bit of anxiety when 33 weeks rolls around as well but I'll deal with that then.
Packing. Is what I *should* be doing BUT as I said before having the internet back is SO glorious that I'm spending the entirety of Elliot's nap using the computer - doh! We are picking our keys up on Thursday before Haverkamp closes & I am SO excited. I was a bit sad at first about leaving this place as it is Elliot's first home but I really think our new place will be great for us. It is smaller which once in awhile makes me panic a bit but we are planning on having a storage unit for those things we don't need to keep our closets all clogged up with. The most interesting room to set up is going to be our bedroom as it's MUCH smaller than it is here AND we have to fit Cupcake in there somehow.....
My mom has been the garage sale queen this summer & has scored some great deals. We found a great bassinet that we'll use for Cupcake when she's still little & that will help save on some space. This little girl already has quite the wardrobe though! We thought Elliot had a lot of clothes but her selection may put his to shame which is really saying something! Fortunately we've been able to get a lot of this stuff in excellent condition at garage sales & consignment stores. She may have more stuff than Elliot but her wardrobe will probably come cheaper. I have a feeling we won't be able to say that for long though! It's awesome to know we're getting some great stuff while still saving money. I'm pretty sure that is the only reason Petey puts up with it, too!!
We've decided on another way to save ourselves some money in the long run. We are going to cloth diaper Elliot and Cupcake. We've done our research & have decided to use mostly one size pocket diapers. These are diapers that should fit BOTH of our kiddos at the same time as they are rated to fit kids from 7-35lbs. There are so many choices out there that it has been mind boggling to decide which ones to try. I really love all the cute patterns you are able to get but those tend to be more expensive so we probably won't have too many in our stash..... I finally did some ordering last week & the three I ordered got her fast & since then I've been even more addicted to reading stuff online & finding new ones to try. As of next weeks sometime we should have a stash of about 11 cloth diapers and we plan to grow that substantially over the next few months. We figured that for the amount of money we had spent on Elliot's diapers in his first year we could buy a sizable stash of cloth diapers that would last both of our kids through potty training & many of those diapers should be good to go for any other future children we may be blessed with. Needless to say those savings add up to somewhere in the 1000's of dollars even after factoring in laundry detergent, energy & water use and consumption. Plus, it's better for their little bottoms & ultimately better for the earth. I'm not one to get very "crunchy" & environmental but I have to admit it feels decent to know that my kid's diaper won't be sitting in a landfill forever.
In other news - I miss my husband. His internship has been awesome and he was so lucky to find this place or be found by this place. (depends how you look at it I guess) It's funny how things turn out! We thought for sure that he was going to be working some non-engineering job here in Ames or Des Moines & not making all that great of money but sure enough just when we had about given up any hope of internships being left he had an interview with Mark that went exceptionally well. Mark is a great guy - from what I can tell of my limited time with him - & Petey meshes really well with everyone there. He's also gotten some incredible experience & been able to work on stuff he probably wouldn't have been able to at many other internships. Plus, the pay is fantastic AND he will get to continue working for them over the school year! Obviously he won't work as many hours but there is no where in Ames that would pay him that much for his time & he most likely will get to bring a company computer back with him to run all of his engineering stuffs on. We're pretty excited about this if you couldn't tell. Two & a half more weeks until he's done living in Dubuque though & I get him back AND we get to go on our anniversary trip to the Twin Cities. Nothing too exciting - just a baseball game & Dave & Buster's & sleeping in! We're excited to relax & spend some downtime together without Elliot before the craziness of the school year begins & Cupcake makes her appearance.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Boo-Boo
Elliot got his first real boo-boo tonight. I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky that it has taken him this long to really do something to himself especially considering how un-coordinated his parents have both proven themselves to be in the past..... His boo-boo isn't very bad but I still feel bad for the poor little guy. It happened while we were all playing on the playground equipment right outside of our place tonight. Elliot LOVES to go down the slide & he's learned how to climb up the steps which is what he was doing when he face-planted & cut open his lower lip. He was quite upset & had his head buried in one of our shoulders for awhile so we didn't even know he had been bleeding at first. When people say that kids are resilient they really aren't joking! We walked to get the mail and by the time we came back & he saw the the playground equipment he was soooo excited ;) No more playing for him tonight though as it was getting close to bedtime. We gave him a cold icy-pop thing to suck on which he wasn't so sure about at first. He really does NOT like cold stuff but once he figured out it was sweet he was all for it. It was so funny!
Yesterday we reached 25 weeks. Monday will be 25 weeks, 4 days - the day everything started falling apart. To say that I am nervous, anxious and plain scared out of mind is an understatement. I try not to think about it and push it as far from my mind as I can but it's still there, lingering in the background & ready to consume my mind if I let it. Elliot has been a good distraction & aside from today (when he was really whiny) he's been such a big boy & cracked me up quite a few times. It's like he knows Mommy needs a break but apparently today he thought that break should be over or he forgot..... Cupcake has looked perfect on all of my ultrasounds so far and as of last Friday was weighing 1lb. 12oz which is the 59%. I was pretty happy with that size - not too small & not too huge - perfect. She's usually very stubborn & puts herself into all sorts of positions that keep the techs from getting the right measurements but last week they finally got all of the stuff they had been looking for. As always she was moving and grooving all over the place & I kept having to roll from side to side to try to get her to move in the right direction. If you were there you probably would have found it funny! The lady who did my ultrasound commented on how much she was moving her lips as if she was trying to suck on something. I had to laugh because that is EXACTLY what Elliot did in every ultrasound I had with him. At my 20 weeks ultrasound with Cupcake she actually managed to get her thumb in that little mouth :)
We're supposed to be moving in about two weeks. Our stuff is not packed and ready. Well, some of it is but not nearly as much as I hoped we'd have done. I never imagined how difficult it was going to be to pack with a 13 month old following behind and unpacking everything I just packed. Tomorrow my goal is to attack my scrapbook stuff & get it packed FINALLY. I've been putting this off in the hopes of being able to work on some stuff but it hasn't really happened. I think sitting down & pouring some creativity into my scrapbooks would help me de-stress a little but there is no time for that right now.
Speaking of stress.....we have no idea HOW we're moving our stuff to our new place. As of right now we're supposed to be out of here on July 31st & we also get our keys to our new place that day between 3 & 6. There are ZERO rental trucks available for the amount of time we would need or want them. We're starting to really worry about what is going to happen & how we're going to get everything across town.
Yesterday we reached 25 weeks. Monday will be 25 weeks, 4 days - the day everything started falling apart. To say that I am nervous, anxious and plain scared out of mind is an understatement. I try not to think about it and push it as far from my mind as I can but it's still there, lingering in the background & ready to consume my mind if I let it. Elliot has been a good distraction & aside from today (when he was really whiny) he's been such a big boy & cracked me up quite a few times. It's like he knows Mommy needs a break but apparently today he thought that break should be over or he forgot..... Cupcake has looked perfect on all of my ultrasounds so far and as of last Friday was weighing 1lb. 12oz which is the 59%. I was pretty happy with that size - not too small & not too huge - perfect. She's usually very stubborn & puts herself into all sorts of positions that keep the techs from getting the right measurements but last week they finally got all of the stuff they had been looking for. As always she was moving and grooving all over the place & I kept having to roll from side to side to try to get her to move in the right direction. If you were there you probably would have found it funny! The lady who did my ultrasound commented on how much she was moving her lips as if she was trying to suck on something. I had to laugh because that is EXACTLY what Elliot did in every ultrasound I had with him. At my 20 weeks ultrasound with Cupcake she actually managed to get her thumb in that little mouth :)
We're supposed to be moving in about two weeks. Our stuff is not packed and ready. Well, some of it is but not nearly as much as I hoped we'd have done. I never imagined how difficult it was going to be to pack with a 13 month old following behind and unpacking everything I just packed. Tomorrow my goal is to attack my scrapbook stuff & get it packed FINALLY. I've been putting this off in the hopes of being able to work on some stuff but it hasn't really happened. I think sitting down & pouring some creativity into my scrapbooks would help me de-stress a little but there is no time for that right now.
Speaking of stress.....we have no idea HOW we're moving our stuff to our new place. As of right now we're supposed to be out of here on July 31st & we also get our keys to our new place that day between 3 & 6. There are ZERO rental trucks available for the amount of time we would need or want them. We're starting to really worry about what is going to happen & how we're going to get everything across town.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
