Our baby boy, L, has arrived!! He's such a little sweet pea. He was born at 9:11pm last night. He weighs in at 7lbs 4 oz and is 19 inches long. He looks EXACTLY like his big brother when he was born. He doesn't have quite the same tint of red in his hair. It's more of a dirty blonde color. This has been a completely different experience than when N was born because Mom and Baby are both healthy. D and I are grateful for L's health and are enjoying the fact that we get to hold him any time we want. We walked by the nursery N had to spend some time in when he was born. It brought back memories of his six day stay in the hospital and made us thankful that we aren't going through that this time around.Thanks for all your phone calls and messages. We want you to know we are recieving them but haven't had a chance to get back to everyone yet.
Well, I better get some rest while L sleeps. He is a big eater. I need to be sure to take care of myself so I can keep up with him!!
I can see the light!!! I had a doctor's appointment today. I am dilated to a five, cervix is really thin and the baby is really low. My doctor is concerned with all three of these factors that I may dilate and deliver so quickly that I may not make it to the hospital in time. So, induction it is. I'm scheduled for a 2pm appointment tomorrow, but will get more info as the day progresses. (They have to play it by ear since women come to the hospital in labor all the time. The women who are already in labor are the first ones assigned to open beds.)
Some of you may not know this, but D and I started dating in high school, thirteen years ago! We could say we are high school sweet hearts, but we broke up for a few years in college. I tell people that we took a three year sabbatical to attend college and have our own/separate life experiences before meeting up again. The story of our paths crossing after that three year break is an interesting one..sad, but interesting. I had returned home one weekend from college to visit my folks. My mom told me D's grandpa passed away. I knew D's Grandpa held (and still holds) a special place in his heart. I knew his passing would be difficult for D, so I decided to attend the visitation and pay my respects to the family (whom I hadn't seen or really talked to in well over two years).. I was really nervous to attend the visitation because we hadn't talked in so long and because, I must admit, I was the one who broke up our relationship. Shame on me. :) I had my mom attend the visitation with me for my own moral support.... Anyway, I went through the receiving line and his family was very gracious, but D was especially sweet. (D teases me that I caught him at a weak moment....)We talked outside the viewing room for quite some time, exchanged emails and phone numbers and went on our way. I was super excited to have seen him and have talked to him. I was hoping I would hear back from him in a few weeks, so I was surprised when I heard back from him just a couple days later! Yay!!! Our first date was to a minor league baseball game. We attended with one of D's friends and that poor guy. He may as well have stayed home because D and I were so caught up in each other's company that we hardly even talked to him. (I do recall meeting D at his apartment. Our plan was to meet there then ride over to the game together. I was so excited to go on our date that I tripped walking up the stairs to his apartment!!! I totally, flat out bit it walking up those steps. Several weeks later D told me he heard the entire incident happen but didn't want to say anything to me about it that day because he didn't want me to be embarrassed.)
Today D and I celebrate our seven year wedding anniversary. We got married at a really cute chapel on a college campus. My friends were instrumental in getting the church and reception decorated for us. Thanks again, girls! You were incredibly helpful! Various family members were helpful in several "to do's" that I needed help with (thank to you). We had gorgeous warm, sunny weather and everything went off w/o a hitch. The past seven years have flown by. D and I have many fond memories with all our friends and family. We've been fortunate to take a few trips, attend many concerts, live in two houses and have two babies...Well, we've had one baby and will have the second any day. Today would be nice. That'd be a nice anniversary gift. Anyway...
Holy cow, I can't believe it's September 25th!! Here are some "funnies" from this week.
D and N were changing into their jammies in the master bedroom the other night while I was resting on the couch. I purposely had the TV/radio/computer off so I could listen to their conversation. This is how it went:
D: Your little brother's going to born soon. N: Ya, I will play with him! D: What are you going to play with him? N: Baseball and he could dig in the dirt with me. D: It will be a while before he can do those things. You'll have to teach him how to crawl and walk before he can play with you. N: Well, maybe he will eat with me.. He could eat hot dogs, cookies, apples... D: Well, it's going to be a while before the baby can eat hot dogs. He won't have any teeth. N: "Is he gonna have a tongue??" (Said in a tone like "well, if he can't play and he can't eat then what the heck can he do??)
On Thursday N kept telling me that he is my grandson. He even used the word grandson. After about five minutes of trying to explain to him that he's my son I realized that I was trying to rationalize with a toddler and that just isn't possible sometimes. I changed the conversation to monster trucks and the grandson conversation was over.
This is gross, but funny. The other day N pooped on his little potty. He stood up, turned around, took a good look at it and said "It's a doughnut, Mom!!"
A few months ago N started a routine where he asks whoever is laying him down for a nap or for bed time to lay down with him to talk or sing songs. The other day I was laying him down for a nap and he said, "Mommy, let's sing for the baby. You sing a song and I will rub your belly." N laid his head on my chest and started gently rubbing my belly. I said, "What should we sing to the baby?" He thought about it for a minute and said, ""Hey Good Looking Whatcha Got Cooking." Too funny! I started singing and pretty soon N stopped rubbing my belly and sat up. "No, Mom. You not sing. I sing." Okay, okay. So he laid his head back down, resumed rubbing my belly as he sang every word and the melody to "Hey Good Looking Whatcha Got Cooking" without missing a beat.
The other day N was playing with his toy cars in the dining room. I was walking past the dining room heading towards the kitchen to get a drink and this is what I hear from N, "Mommy come in here. We need to keep an eye on you." So sweet!! He has become really sensitive to how I'm feeling and is more and more concerned with my well being. Sure, he still has his toddler moments, but he is definitely in tune with others' emotions.
And finally... N and I decided to eat a gondola (or "different sandwich" as N calls it) at a favorite local restaurant for lunch one day after school. I parked the car at the restaurant, walked around the car, opened the door and started to unbuckle N from his car seat when he put out both arms and said "No, no. Wait, wait." I waited without saying anything and he continued with, "the baby's movin in my belly. I'll get out when it's done movin." I laughed and went along with his story. Then I asked him "Is the baby a boy or a girl?" He said, "It's not a boy or a girl, Mom. It's just a baby." After a few seconds of sitting in the car he said "Okay, we can go now. The baby is VERY hungry!!"
D let me copy most of this post from a message he put up on the power wheels message board he belongs to...Yes, yes. You heard it right. D has been bitten by the "Power Wheels bug"" and belongs to a power wheels chat board. And, of course, you can't belong to a PW message board without having one, or two, or FIVE power wheels! We now have a total of FIVE at our house:two four wheelers, one jeep, one tractor and one Grave Digger (N doesn't know about GD yet.). D has managed to find three of the five for free, my sister gave us one and D paid for one. I will say the one we paid for is the best shape, but it is used and he got it at a good price...a very good price. All the free power wheels were picked up from people who thought they were broken, but D managed to get them working....Here is what he posted, although I modified it a little.
This afternoon after D finished mowing the yard, he cut a "race track" in the tall grass in the vacant lot next to our house. N really enjoyed it this afternoon, but the best entertainment was when the neighbors came over tonight. N got out his Gaucho (large jeep) and Power Pull (tractor) and the neighbors brought over their Raptor (four wheeler) and Enforcer Junior (small jeep). We had six children using four PW at once, although "going" might be a strong term to use for the Enforcer (small jeep) in the grass. It was loads of fun for the kids , and the adults too. It helped that the kids shared surprisingly well. At the rate he's going, D will have one Power Wheel for every kid on the block pretty soon. :)
All the kids got "off the beaten path" from time to time, but "L" got stuck near the wood pile and needed help out. His face is so cute. His expression speaks for itself saying "Someone, please help."
We are really starting to look like red necks! Wood pile, five power wheels..what next? Washer and dryer on the front porch as my neighbor suggested?
Is it Friday already? Wow. That snuck up on me. Here is this week's quote from Mr. N.
When I pick N up from school I'm always excited to hear what he did with his class that morning. I often find myself asking him 'What did you do today? Did you play play-doh, did you color or paint? Did you play in the activity room?" I try to be sure that I leave a little space between my questions so he can answer, but sometimes I realize I am throwing lots of questions at him at once. His response is usually something like "I don't know" or "nothin" or "ya."
The other day I decided not to ask him so many questions to see what his reaction was. I stood outside the door of his classroom. I always stand there quietly and watch him play if I can. I'd love to be a bug on the wall to see how he behaves at school. I waited and waited until he saw me. We he realized I was standing there he jumped up, ran to me and said "Mommmmmmyy!!!" Then gave me the best hugs. I loved it. On this particular day I said " I missed you. You must have had a good day," and didn't ask any questions. We walked down the hall quietly...got into the car quietly and drove quietly. Half the way home he started talking and this is what he said:
N: "I missed you today." Me: " I missed you too, honey!" Pause N:"I had a good day at school, Mom." Me: "Good, honey! I'm glad you like your school."
We entered the house and got seated for lunch. I kept quiet and didn't turn on the TV. After eating a few bites our conversation continued.
N: "A boy put a cracker in his nose at school today." Me: "Oh gosh, he did? Did it get stuck?" N laughed: "No,silly.... but it was yucky so he didn't eat it.." Then without pause, " We painted at school today. I used yellow and blue and red.. I painted on a plate and it was fun.. It's still drying. We get to bring it home later...." He went on and on about school while we ate lunch. It was so sweet.... So I learned that sometimes adults just need to give children a little time to process their thoughts and put them into words before we start asking questions.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
I had another doctor's appointment today... The appointment was originally scheduled for Thursday, but I was having some concerns so I got in one day early.After looking things over my doctor decided to let me off bed rest. She said the baby and I both look good so I can resume my normal acitivity. If I go into labor she will deliver the baby. I was totally shocked! I thought for sure she was going to put me in the hospital on bed rest there until Monday (when I hit 37 weeks gestation), but she didin't!! I'm excited at the thought of being able to have the baby, but I'd personally prefer to wait until at least 37 weeks or a little longer to give him some more time to gain weight (he's approx 5lbs now) and fully develop.
After being out and about today (for my dr's appointment and lunch) I realize that my tolerance for noise and commotion is much lower. I haven't been out of the house as much this past month, so the world just seems to be moving really fast and I not moving that fast. Ha. As I was telling D, I still feel the same. Just because bed rest has been lifted doesn't mean my symptoms have magically gone away. My plan is to gradually get back into my normal activity...as "normal" as I can be this pregnant. If I find that I can't do something I just won't do it. Like I told D, I'm not going to go out and jump on a trampoline to get things to progress!!
N has come down with the cold bug that is going around. Now that all the kids are back in school they are sharing germs. I'm sure this was bound to happen, but right now? Seriously? I don't want to get sick!! I've got enough goin on!
I had D take N to prompt care this morning to get some meds for him. N's not super sick, but he does have a runny nose, a cough and is starting to touch his ears. This seems to be the same old cold he gets a few times every year. I've learned in that past that if I let this type of cold go too long it turns into an ear infection and an upper respiratory infection. I was really hoping the doctor would prescribe some meds so we could prevent N from getting worse and prevent me from getting infected, but the doctor wouldn't do it. D said that from the moment he saw the doctor he could tell the guy was either going to say "Sorry, no can do" or he was going to hand D a script so he'd just get the heck out of the office.. The guy is working on Labor Day after all. Unfortunalely the guy did not empathize with N's history of ear infections or the fact that I am on bed rest and do not want to get sick. He also must not have put it together that, because I am on bed rest I cannot take my child to the doctor...Or that I need N to get well and stay in school so I can rest while he's there. (That sounds selfish, I know, but it's the truth.) The doctor clearly did not put it together that if we have to return to the doctor in as little as 24 hours when our son's cold does turn into an infection that my husband will likely have to take time off of work to return to our son's pediatrician for the script this guy should have written us in the first place! Erghh! But, then again, I suppose doctor's at prompt care centers (who are not your regular family doctor/pediatrician) are taught not to over prescribe meds...They may even have lingering fears of law suits in the back of their mind for handing out a med a child didn't necasarily need (which I strongly believe N needs these meds for the reasons mentioned above)....How 'bout a law suit for a woman going into labor because she had to take her son to the doctor because you didn't give us meds we needed in the first place?? Ehem. That's what the really sinical little devil on my shoulder is saying, please excuse her.
Anyway... How am I doing, you ask? First of all, I'm really not so worked up over the lack of meds from the Prompt Care doctor (as mentioned above) that I'm having contractions. So please don't fret. I know we'll work something out, Nick will get meds and we will all get better. However, for some reason my body is getting more sensitive to physical activity especially at night. Walking and sitting are causing contractions and a couple other side effects that aren't happening as much when I lay down. Therefore, I am spending more time laying down these days. But, laying down has it's side effects too. It causes my back, neck and hips to ache. I also find that, the more I lay down, the more tired/fatigued I am. Weird. Laying down is proving to reduce the number of contractions I'm having so I guess that is what I must do to make it as far along in the pregnancy as I can. I find that if I lay down for, say 30-60 minutes, then I'm okay to sit up for 10-20 minutes as long as I lay down again after that.. Alternating between the two seems to alleviate some of my back pain while keeping my contractions controlled. I'll continue with this "method" as long as I can.
My next doctor's appointment is Thursday. My doctor is closed today due to Labor Day and her office is closed on Tuesdays for hosptial visits and surgeries. I'm making it a goal to lay down as much as I can until my next appointment or at least until Wednesday when the office is open again. We can always head to the hospital if my symptoms progress, of course. I would never wait too long to see a doctor. I would never jeopordize my health or the health of the baby just to meet a self imposed goal. If I need to go in, I need to go in. I just find that setting goals for myself helps me stay in bed and stay rested so I can make it as far along in the pregnancy as possible. A friend who was on bed rest said she and her doctor set daily and weekly goals to get her through the mental task of bed rest. She found it helpful and rewarding to achieve her goals and I am too.
So there you have it. We have both everything and nothing going on at our house at the same time. :)
Bed Rest: Day 21 D took the day off today. We've had SUCH gorgeous weather lately that I think he's getting spring...err...fall fever. It occured to me the other day that this could be one of our last weekends to go on a date before "Baby" is born, so I proposed a date day. Grammy was coming to help out around the house today anyway, so we asked her if she could pick N up from school while D and I ran a couple errands and went to lunch. She said she'd be glad to. (Thanks, Grammy!) The errand at the top of our list was to head to Best Buy to look at cameras. My camera pooped out and D's is on the fritz...perfect timing, right? D and I found the manual wheel chair at Best Buy and he pushed me through the store. What a sweetie! Oh, and he dropped me off and picked me up at the door, too. He's a keeper. :) We looked at cameras for a bit and learned which one(s) we like knowing that we are going to buy one online using our credit card rewards points. Now we just need to get it ordered so it will be here in time to snapshots of "Baby."
D also pushed me in wheelchairs through Target and Kohls to make some quick returns. (I think that is a new record for me spending the least amount of time in Kohls! That place is usually a black hole for me.) We found that the manual wheel chairs are MUCH faster than the electric wheel chairs!! We ran into my sister and brother in law's neighbors at Target. Never fails..I don't leave the house that often, but when I do I always run into someone I know. They must wonder how I can possibly be on bed rest if I'm out of the house... but after 21 days of being at home a girl could lose her mind! I was thinking about it this morning and counted that I've been to five stores in the last 21 days. I could do five stores in one day...okay, maybe two days when I'm in good health (and not toting a toddler with me!). All of these trips involved a motorized or manual wheel chair, so I'd say I am doing pretty good at abiding by my bed rest rules. I know my body's limits by now and I know when enough is enough. (I did opt to sit in the car while D ran into Toys R Us to look for something.)
We were hungry after running our errands, so we went to Olive Garden for lunch. We chose that restaurant because we like it but don't get to eat there too often and because I have a gift card to use up.....However, I completely forget to get the gift card out when it was time to pay. oops!! i guess we'll have to go back sometime before it expires.
Today was sooo nice but I was tired when we got home. I laid down for three solid hours to get recharged and rested. I sat around quite a bit tonight. I've been propping myself up with pillows on our front porch wicker furniture so I can watch D and N play and so I can enjoy the weather comfortably.
Children say the funniest things! I started jotting down the funny things N said throughout the week and posted them to the blog for the first time last Friday. I'm calling it "Funny Things Friday." Here are N's "Funnies" for this week.
The other day N woke up from his nap and was VERY chatty! I laid down in bed with him and we had an extensive conversation about "when Santa comes." Don't let me confuse you, this is September. We have many, many weeks before Santa's arrival, but apparently my child is already excited for Christmas!! What happened to Halloween and Thanksgiving I do not know..Anyway... Our conversation went like this.
N: "Mommy, Santa comes when there's snow outside and it's very cold and he brings us somethin." (Somethin is a new word he uses a lot, but he leaves off the "g" at the end) Me: "Yes, Santa brings us presents doesn't he? Do you think we should leave him somethin to eat when he visits? N: "Ya. We should leave him cookies" Me: "Do you think the reindeer will be hungry? What should we leave them?" N: "Popcorn... But I need to eat some first and they can have the rest." Me: "Should we leave them something to drink? N:" Ya. I'll leave Diet Coke for Santa and very, very, very (this is a new fav word too) cold water with snow in it." Then he said without taking a breathe as toddlers seem to do.. "Maybe Santa would play in the snow with us and make sand balls.' Me: Sandballs or snowballs? N: "Oh Man!!! (Said like Swiper on Dora if you are familiar) Snowballs!! Teeny tiny snowballs." Me: "Maybe Aunt Jenny could come to our house this winter and play in the snow with us!" N's face lit up and he exclaimed, "Holy Smokes, Ya!!!"
Another discussion happened a few nights later and it went like this... Me: What do you want to be for Halloween? N: Dora Me: Well, Dora's a girl. Diego's a boy. Do you want to be Diego? N: Nope Me: Hmm..What should Daddy be for Halloween? N: Dora Me: How about the baby? What should he be for Halloween? N: Pause....a Teeeeenny tinnnny dora. Me: Laugh..What should Mommy be? N: Without hesitation. Boots! (Dora's pet male monkey who wears over sized rain boots)
