So, since we've last come together, a few small things have happened.
We found out the name of the cardiologist who will be seeing us on April 4th for another u/s, formal diagnosis, and plan of action. Turns out, this guy is like, THE BEST there is and really knows his stuff. Not to mention, he's also the cardiologist that Adam's uncle sees once a year for his annuals. That is GOOD news! He also has a team of surgeons that he uses from the U of M that I can only assume are top notch also. Adam and I are really excited to get to meet this guy, find out who he turns us to, and see what the plan is. There is so much up in the air, it would be REALLY nice to get something more solid or at least in writing.
Besides that, we have gotten a HUGE outpouring of support. I can't even begin to tell you what this means to me. We have people I have never met praying for our family. We have people in the family and even just friends stepping out of the woodwork and offering all sorts of things. Babysitting, sitting with us while we are in the Cities for surgery/delivery, a place to crash, you name it. OMG I'm SO touched with how many people are even just offering words of comfort. You really don't know how this effects me. I'm tearing up right now just thinking about all the kind souls out there. I knew I had a huge family of people we could lean on, but its been amazing what we have gotten.
I've even extended to my mom the desire for her to be out here for the birth/surgery if at all possible, since we know pretty much when the baby will be born. For anyone who missed it, I am not allowed to go into labor on my own this time, we have to schedule it and hopefully I will avoid a C section! We believe we are aiming for between 37 and 39 weeks. My mom has told me that my step dad REALLY wants to come up here sometime during the summer, but they hadn't talked about dates. Giving them an idea of when we would REALLY like them to be here and about how long, they now have something that they can look forward to and hopefully plan on. Pray that all goes well with this idea and that their travel (they want to drive) goes smoothly.
Adam and I have since stopped the spontaneous bursting into tears. I think we really stopped getting misty eyed about it daily after the 3rd day (the day we announced it formally, I believe). While its touching that people still worry and tend to burst into tears from time to time, we believe that the time for tears is past (or just ahead, who knows), and its time to start putting plans into place. After all, tears can only do so much and they rarely help the situation.
We have done more research and believe we know about what level the baby's heart defect is, what can be done, and what to expect post op. We just have to get this all straight with the drs before we get our hearts set one way or another. BUT! Our research has given us A LOT of hope. Most children with this defect (Downs or not) go on to live happy, healthy, long lives. Some do need surgery later on also for various problems, but its rarely something serious. Also, we have learned that the time line for needing surgery is anywhere from birth to about 18 months, depending on what needs to be done and the degree of surgery they do. All in all, our situation could be MUCH worse and we are thankful that it seems to be a lesser deal. No, I'm not down playing the seriousness, but I'm trying to be thankful that instead of the baby's heart having NO endocardial cushion, there is something there, its not as serious as it could be, and there is something to build off of, rather than having to start from scratch. Its still a big deal, but its getting to be more understandable.
Baby is moving around SO much lately, and you can kinda feel it on the outside. Adam gets a giddy look on his face when he feels it and is always telling the baby "We love you! Keep growing and show us just how strong you are." Its super touching. Anthony even gets in on the loving baby action by kissing my belly. We even have some photos on facebook of Anthony asleep, cuddling my belly. He's been such a good kid lately.
Last, but most certainly not least, there's my lil man, Anthony. What a spit fire that kid is! We have been super lucky to get some really nice weather up here (mid 50s today!) and he's been able to get out more, play outside the house, and go places. He's enjoying it SO much, he comes home just EXHAUSTED. Adam even has me bringing Anthony with me when I go into work rather than him coming home. Adam likes showing off his kid a bit and we both find it HILARIOUS when Anthony starts pushing one of the smaller grey carts around the store. He crashes into things all the time, of course, but its so funny to see this little 2 1/2 foot ball of energy pushing this big cart around the store. He loves it, and he likes it even more when no one tries to help him. He's also walking SO well in shoes with a more stiff sole. This is good because it should help with his balance and all. He just loves getting out and we love that it helps him sleep like a rock at night. 3 nights and counting of sleeping through the night. I don't know if I dare count tonight since the people upstairs are being loud and waking him, but I'll take it when I don't have to keep going in there to get him back down.
No progress on the potty training yet. I haven't really tried either, though. I have time and I still have to finish the book, but Anthony loves sitting on his potty and watching tv or reading a book. I think its a good thing that he's so comfortable with it, we shouldn't have much issue. Now, finding over night diapers in his size? That's a battle I can't seem to win. NO WHERE in town sells any size smaller than a 4. My kid has been in a size 3 diaper since about 7 or 8 months. A size 4 would be HUGE on him since he has no butt for it to hold on to! Oh well, that battle, we'll fight another day. Thanks Diapers.com!
He's also talking more and more. We think he's starting "Bye Bye" (Buh Buh) and he even waves. But when he waves, he's waving his fingers on his lips. But he does it when he's trying to wave byebye, so it works for us. He does say a few other things, but I haven't been able to catch him saying it enough or been able to decipher it. This kid is seriously always on the run, so its hard to sit him down and see what he wants to say. He's also caused some SERIOUS owies to himself lately. He ran into a wall corner (he usually carries his ball when he runs into this corner and goes FLYING back when he collides, but this time, no ball, all skull) and about split his head open. His forehead is a lovely shade of green and brown right now from the healing bruise. He's also given himself ANOTHER bloody nose, this time we think he was running in the entry way and tripped on a shoe (his favorite toy, I swear) and hit both his upper and lower lip and nostril all on the left side. His lower lip got it the worst though and this bloody mark has since peeled off. Then he went rolling off the couch more than a few times one day (I swear, he's going to be a stunt man) and caused a mark next to his eye. For a few days, he looked like he belonged to the "Baby Fight Club". I promise, we don't beat him up. He's just that wound up always that he's always tripping, falling, and doing something that results in a boo boo. Thank God he doesn't whine and cry over every little thing.
I've also started reading "Happiest Toddler on the Block" We LOVED "Happiest Baby on the Block", so we thought we would see what the toddler book would offer. I haven't gotten very far, but I can already identify what kind of kid we have. We have the overly sensitive but easily over stimulated kind that you have to treat with kitten gloves to avoid total meltdowns, even when you are giving him what he wants. Take tonight for example. Anthony decided he was done with dinner so he took a bunch of food in each hand and threw it up in the air. Most landed back on his tray, but a few pieces went flying onto the floor. Adam and I both said "Anthony, NO!" and Adam told him "Naughty!" and shook his finger at the lil man. O.M.G. Anthony pulled the MOST heartbreaking look out of his bag of tricks. He started breathing heavily, the lower lip quivered hard core, and his eyes started to tear up. Adam and I looked at each other and about started crying ourselves. We knew he was tired and ready for bed, so we decided to avoid the tantrum at all costs and consoled the lil dude. This kid knows just what kind of things he can do to get your heart strings, I swear. But, we did avoid the melt down and he went to bed somewhat easily. Just a good example of how some kids you can scold with no reaction while others just take that tone of voice or something like it and they lose it. But "Happiest Toddler" promises to be a good read. If you have a kid between the ages of 9 months and 4 years, this book is supposed to be for us. I'll keep you posted on how it helps us out with tantrums, naughty behavior, and keeping this lil man from getting too wild.
I can't really think of anything else right now, so I'll end here. I'll update when I hear more, more happens, or if I get really bored.
Oh, before I log off, I just want to address something. I won't be posting photos of the kids on here AT ALL. Until I can make absolute sure that no freakish perv gets a hold of them, I won't be putting up photos on blogger. Facebook, yes, but not here. If you want to see photos, either head over to facebook or let me know and I'll see if I can email a few. Just a step I'm taking to keep the kids safe. I've heard of too many other moms having their photos pirated for over seas ads or being used in some sick way. Please respect this choice.
Hope all is well in your home!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Dear God, we need a miracle
Ok, so a lot has happened since I last put anything on here. Anthony is growing like a weed. He's almost entirely out of anything under 12 months (including some 12 month stuff!) and is a walking, talking, almost running tyrant! This kid GOES all day from about 8 am to about 9pm with only a 45 minute nap in the morning. He'll nap once in a while in the afternoon, but its getting pretty rare. He loves learning and exploring so much. He's learned how to climb things so he's all over the couch, the barricade, our bed, chairs, ANYTHING he feels is in his way and keeping him from exploring something around him. He's gotten a fair amount of bumps, bruises, and close calls. He even got his first bloody nose yesterday (wed, March 9) because he was playing with Grandma Tammie's tv and wound up somehow smashing his face into the entertainment center around it. We thought it was just a simple bump on the mouth until he came over bawling his eyes out holding his mouth. The blood came out of his nose about 30 seconds later. He wasn't too keen on anyone wiping it away and he certainly didn't like me putting aquaphor in his nostril to keep it moist and keep his finger out of there. Poor kid had a rough day yesterday!
His last check up was about 2 weeks ago and he's grown again! He was about 20 lbs, 12 oz and about 30 inches tall. My little man has sprouted up! He didn't like the RN/resident dr that came in to shadow our usual pediatrician. He didn't like her poking and prodding, but I think she was also SUPER nervous about being on her own in the room. Maybe we were one of the first ones she had done solo. Afterward, our usual pedi came in and talked to us and told us outright she wasn't concerned about his super slow weight gain because we see so many heavier babies anymore that it throws everyone off on what a baby "should" look like. I was so happy to hear those words for myself this time. Lets me know that she's paying attention to it, but she feels he's right on track with where he should be for his size.
He's saying more and more words and they are starting to sound more and more like words you or I would use. I think tonight he was saying "bah" (ball?) while he was in his bath, holding an orange ball. He's getting really good about understanding when you tell him "No!" and "Don't touch". We have issues with anything like "Come here" though. He's such a bull headed kid! But the vocabulary is coming along, slowly, but surely. I think he's perfecting words before he adds more. He even goes running to the door when I ask him "Who is at the door? Is Papa home? Go get that Dada!" He LOVES running and greeting Adam at the door. I'm sure Adam loves it too! I'll even hold off on changing a diaper if I hear the car pull up. Anthony does NOT like being contained when his Dada comes home. He will do ANYTHING to get down that hall and to that door before Adam has his shoes off.
We have tried a little of potty learning. Yea, I said potty learning. I've decided to change how I say it because the thought of training him to use the potty makes me feel more like an animal handler rather than his momma and teacher. But Anthony will sit on his potty chair for up to 5 minutes while watching tv (during diaper changes). He got such a big thrill out of the first time I put him on the potty and cheered because he sat there for about 10 seconds. After that, he wanted to show off that he could sit on there even longer. He showed Adam too when he got home. Adam was so proud! He handed Anthony a ball and Anthony shoved it between his legs into the pan that is supposed to collect everything. Oh well, at least he knows SOMETHING goes in there, we'll work on it not being toys and being more pee and poo later. Other than that, he seems to like hearing us tell him that his butt is wet when we change him and that he's dry when we are done. Could turn out to be an amazing thing to get him trained early!
Sadly, not everything I can report on is happy. Wednesday (again, March 9), we went to a dr's appointment down in St Cloud for a level 2 ultrasound. If you read any past entries on the other blog, you'd have read about why we needed this done. But for the rest who may read this, I'll back track a little.
Feb 9, we had a routine OB check up for me (and the new baby) and were offered the chance to get a blood screening done that would screen for risk factors for Spina Bifida, Neural Tube Defects, Down's syndrome, and other chromosomal abnormalities. We couldn't remember if we had for Anthony so we decided what the hay, why not? Well, we came back abnormal with elevated risk of Down's Syndrome. With this comes genetic counseling and a level 2 ultrasound in which they measure baby head to toe and try to pin point anything that may be wrong. Now, Before we went in for the counseling and the u/s, I was kicking myself HARD CORE for having agreed to this test and told other ladies that getting that test done is the stupidest thing you can do unless you have a risk factor in your family. Well, I got to eat my words at the appointment and they did NOT taste good or go down smoothly. We went through the counseling and the lady found no reason to be alarmed, but she shared the numbers that caused the test to come back the way it did.
Now, with this screening, there is a VERY high false positive rate (anywhere from 5% to about 80% false positives), but there are times when its DEAD ON. With each of the problems it screens for, there are certain markers that tell us what we are at risk for. Your numbers should be as close to 1 as possible on all 4 of the hormones they test. Ours were under 1 for 2 of them (about .84 and .60 I believe which was fine), but the other two hormones were HIGH. Our Estridol (I believe it was) was about 1.7 and our HcG was 2.84. VERY high. But, that doesn't mean for sure either way, it just means that our risk is higher than other women my age.
We went into the u/s feeling somewhat confident that we were in the clear, but slightly hesitant because that HcG number was really high. We knew that the u/s was going to take about an hour, so we knew we would get to find out a LOT of information. As the tech was measuring, we kept noticing that body parts were measuring about a week ahead. Not a bad thing at all since Down's syndrome kids have certain body parts that measure small. She checked leg bones, arm bones, baby's pinkies, it's nasal cavity, you name it and they all measured perfectly on track or ahead. I had made sure to drink a LOT of oj before this appointment so we wouldn't get a lazy bones, so the tech had her work cut out for her to get the more detailed measurements she needed. She got some AWESOME profile shots and even a few of cute little feet (actually, BIG feet!), hands, and full body shots. When it came to checking baby's heart, this is where she was having the most problems. Baby wouldn't stop wiggling and turning on her! We tried getting me up and going to the bathroom to make more room and see if that calmed down the little wild child. That barely worked, but it was enough. She found the part of the heart she needed to and this is where it all went bad. She noticed that something didn't look right. It looked like something was missing and there was a hole where they obviously shouldn't be. She checked a few more times, sent the photos she got to the dr, and then went to go talk to him. We knew something was wrong, but we were hoping that it wasn't serious.
About 10 minutes later, a gentleman about my dad's age (maybe a little older) walked in and started double checking baby's heart. Sure enough, he saw the same thing she did and began to tell us what it meant. Basically, if you cut a heart in half top to bottom so that you have a front half and a back half, you would see a cross like formation in the middle with the two arms on the side slightly offset. With our baby, it looked more like a capital T with the arms on the sides at the same height. He mentioned that the part at the top was missing and this wasn't a good thing. Basically, it meant that the baby is going to need open heart surgery to fashion some sort of structure there to keep the blood on the left away from the blood on the right (Blood to the lungs on one side and blood to the body on the other). This is NOT something that will heal on its own. The hole is less of a concern because there are 3 possibilities with that. The hole could grow with the baby's heart, could stay the same size and not grow, or it could close up on its own. Both problems being something we would need to keep an eye on to make sure things don't get worse. The baby's heart right now is about the size of a dime to the size of a nickle. The hole is about the size of the president's nose on either one of those coins. Its much less of a concern for now, but the missing part in the heart, that's big.
Well, that's not all either. Both the tech and the dr found fluid around baby's lungs. Now, if we didn't have a heart defect also, it would have been passed off as normal and nothing to worry about. But since we do have a heart defect (and this defect is pretty much a clear sign of Down's Syndrome), it causes concern. Kids with Down's have this fluid around their lungs and it can cause various issues. This is the point in which I started to lose all my nerve and the tears started flowing. And this is also where I learned that this dr wasn't the typical run of the mill dr who comes in, tells you what's wrong and runs back out the door. He stopped, tried to console me by rubbing my arm, and asking if I was ok to continue. Of course I said yes because I wanted to get all the bad news as fast as I could so I could start to process it.
I have done a little research so far and have come up with some AWESOME sites that explain the problem so much better than I ever could. The condition that the baby has is called A V Canal Defect (or endocardial cushion defect). Some good sites to read up more are: http://www.uofmchildrenshospital.org/healthlibrary/Article/89102 and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004577/
I am open for questions if anyone has any and I'll do my best to answer what I can. In the mean time, all we ask for right now is TONS of prayer for a miracle. We know that this part of baby's heart won't grow and needs surgery, but prayer and faith never hurt. We ask that you keep us in your thoughts as we go down this journey and test our own personal strengths. I know my blogging posts get long. So if you don't like it, there is a little X in that upper right hand corner. I urge you to click it. Other wise, Thanks for hanging in there and reading this crazy mom's worries!
His last check up was about 2 weeks ago and he's grown again! He was about 20 lbs, 12 oz and about 30 inches tall. My little man has sprouted up! He didn't like the RN/resident dr that came in to shadow our usual pediatrician. He didn't like her poking and prodding, but I think she was also SUPER nervous about being on her own in the room. Maybe we were one of the first ones she had done solo. Afterward, our usual pedi came in and talked to us and told us outright she wasn't concerned about his super slow weight gain because we see so many heavier babies anymore that it throws everyone off on what a baby "should" look like. I was so happy to hear those words for myself this time. Lets me know that she's paying attention to it, but she feels he's right on track with where he should be for his size.
He's saying more and more words and they are starting to sound more and more like words you or I would use. I think tonight he was saying "bah" (ball?) while he was in his bath, holding an orange ball. He's getting really good about understanding when you tell him "No!" and "Don't touch". We have issues with anything like "Come here" though. He's such a bull headed kid! But the vocabulary is coming along, slowly, but surely. I think he's perfecting words before he adds more. He even goes running to the door when I ask him "Who is at the door? Is Papa home? Go get that Dada!" He LOVES running and greeting Adam at the door. I'm sure Adam loves it too! I'll even hold off on changing a diaper if I hear the car pull up. Anthony does NOT like being contained when his Dada comes home. He will do ANYTHING to get down that hall and to that door before Adam has his shoes off.
We have tried a little of potty learning. Yea, I said potty learning. I've decided to change how I say it because the thought of training him to use the potty makes me feel more like an animal handler rather than his momma and teacher. But Anthony will sit on his potty chair for up to 5 minutes while watching tv (during diaper changes). He got such a big thrill out of the first time I put him on the potty and cheered because he sat there for about 10 seconds. After that, he wanted to show off that he could sit on there even longer. He showed Adam too when he got home. Adam was so proud! He handed Anthony a ball and Anthony shoved it between his legs into the pan that is supposed to collect everything. Oh well, at least he knows SOMETHING goes in there, we'll work on it not being toys and being more pee and poo later. Other than that, he seems to like hearing us tell him that his butt is wet when we change him and that he's dry when we are done. Could turn out to be an amazing thing to get him trained early!
Sadly, not everything I can report on is happy. Wednesday (again, March 9), we went to a dr's appointment down in St Cloud for a level 2 ultrasound. If you read any past entries on the other blog, you'd have read about why we needed this done. But for the rest who may read this, I'll back track a little.
Feb 9, we had a routine OB check up for me (and the new baby) and were offered the chance to get a blood screening done that would screen for risk factors for Spina Bifida, Neural Tube Defects, Down's syndrome, and other chromosomal abnormalities. We couldn't remember if we had for Anthony so we decided what the hay, why not? Well, we came back abnormal with elevated risk of Down's Syndrome. With this comes genetic counseling and a level 2 ultrasound in which they measure baby head to toe and try to pin point anything that may be wrong. Now, Before we went in for the counseling and the u/s, I was kicking myself HARD CORE for having agreed to this test and told other ladies that getting that test done is the stupidest thing you can do unless you have a risk factor in your family. Well, I got to eat my words at the appointment and they did NOT taste good or go down smoothly. We went through the counseling and the lady found no reason to be alarmed, but she shared the numbers that caused the test to come back the way it did.
Now, with this screening, there is a VERY high false positive rate (anywhere from 5% to about 80% false positives), but there are times when its DEAD ON. With each of the problems it screens for, there are certain markers that tell us what we are at risk for. Your numbers should be as close to 1 as possible on all 4 of the hormones they test. Ours were under 1 for 2 of them (about .84 and .60 I believe which was fine), but the other two hormones were HIGH. Our Estridol (I believe it was) was about 1.7 and our HcG was 2.84. VERY high. But, that doesn't mean for sure either way, it just means that our risk is higher than other women my age.
We went into the u/s feeling somewhat confident that we were in the clear, but slightly hesitant because that HcG number was really high. We knew that the u/s was going to take about an hour, so we knew we would get to find out a LOT of information. As the tech was measuring, we kept noticing that body parts were measuring about a week ahead. Not a bad thing at all since Down's syndrome kids have certain body parts that measure small. She checked leg bones, arm bones, baby's pinkies, it's nasal cavity, you name it and they all measured perfectly on track or ahead. I had made sure to drink a LOT of oj before this appointment so we wouldn't get a lazy bones, so the tech had her work cut out for her to get the more detailed measurements she needed. She got some AWESOME profile shots and even a few of cute little feet (actually, BIG feet!), hands, and full body shots. When it came to checking baby's heart, this is where she was having the most problems. Baby wouldn't stop wiggling and turning on her! We tried getting me up and going to the bathroom to make more room and see if that calmed down the little wild child. That barely worked, but it was enough. She found the part of the heart she needed to and this is where it all went bad. She noticed that something didn't look right. It looked like something was missing and there was a hole where they obviously shouldn't be. She checked a few more times, sent the photos she got to the dr, and then went to go talk to him. We knew something was wrong, but we were hoping that it wasn't serious.
About 10 minutes later, a gentleman about my dad's age (maybe a little older) walked in and started double checking baby's heart. Sure enough, he saw the same thing she did and began to tell us what it meant. Basically, if you cut a heart in half top to bottom so that you have a front half and a back half, you would see a cross like formation in the middle with the two arms on the side slightly offset. With our baby, it looked more like a capital T with the arms on the sides at the same height. He mentioned that the part at the top was missing and this wasn't a good thing. Basically, it meant that the baby is going to need open heart surgery to fashion some sort of structure there to keep the blood on the left away from the blood on the right (Blood to the lungs on one side and blood to the body on the other). This is NOT something that will heal on its own. The hole is less of a concern because there are 3 possibilities with that. The hole could grow with the baby's heart, could stay the same size and not grow, or it could close up on its own. Both problems being something we would need to keep an eye on to make sure things don't get worse. The baby's heart right now is about the size of a dime to the size of a nickle. The hole is about the size of the president's nose on either one of those coins. Its much less of a concern for now, but the missing part in the heart, that's big.
Well, that's not all either. Both the tech and the dr found fluid around baby's lungs. Now, if we didn't have a heart defect also, it would have been passed off as normal and nothing to worry about. But since we do have a heart defect (and this defect is pretty much a clear sign of Down's Syndrome), it causes concern. Kids with Down's have this fluid around their lungs and it can cause various issues. This is the point in which I started to lose all my nerve and the tears started flowing. And this is also where I learned that this dr wasn't the typical run of the mill dr who comes in, tells you what's wrong and runs back out the door. He stopped, tried to console me by rubbing my arm, and asking if I was ok to continue. Of course I said yes because I wanted to get all the bad news as fast as I could so I could start to process it.
I have done a little research so far and have come up with some AWESOME sites that explain the problem so much better than I ever could. The condition that the baby has is called A V Canal Defect (or endocardial cushion defect). Some good sites to read up more are: http://www.uofmchildrenshospital.org/healthlibrary/Article/89102 and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004577/
I am open for questions if anyone has any and I'll do my best to answer what I can. In the mean time, all we ask for right now is TONS of prayer for a miracle. We know that this part of baby's heart won't grow and needs surgery, but prayer and faith never hurt. We ask that you keep us in your thoughts as we go down this journey and test our own personal strengths. I know my blogging posts get long. So if you don't like it, there is a little X in that upper right hand corner. I urge you to click it. Other wise, Thanks for hanging in there and reading this crazy mom's worries!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
I suck at this the second time around!
Ok, so a LOT has happened since that last post. The Wednesday before Anthony's first birthday (Nov 17) we found out we were expecting another little love! SURPRISE! We were actually waiting for that cycle to end before we were going to start trying again, but obviously someone had other plans!
We had a house guest (Anthony's GodFather) over when I took the test so he was one of the first to find out. He was surprised and happy for us. Him and his wife had tried, but had no luck and had put it on hold for a little bit because of changes in life course.
Well, I had NO way of telling how far along I was this time around, but I figured I was about 4-6 weeks along. Of course, telling Mom was pretty easy this time. She had to know something was up because SHE called ME just after we got the BFP!
*Cough Cough*
Mom: Are you ok? sounds like you are sick again!
Me: Well, kinda yea
Mom: What does that mean? Wait a minute...are you pregnant again??
Me: Umm, yea. SURPRISE! We literally JUST found out!
Mom laughing: Well Congrats! I thought you weren't trying yet! Was this a surprise?
Me: Oh yea, we were waiting for my period before we were going to start trying again. I guess other plans were made!
So, that made it pretty easy to tell her plus I was about to burst at the seams I had to tell someone!
We had our first appointment the first week of December and found out we weren't as far along as we thought. We thought we could be about 8-9 weeks at that point and had told everyone in the family at Anthony's big party on Nov 28th. Come to find out, we were 6w6d. We had found out pretty much at 4 1/2 weeks. Got a faint heartbeat (heart starts beating around 6 weeks so it has little practice at that point) and a due date. July 22nd. Day after our anniversary! So, we could be in the hospital for our anniversary this time around! That's ok, though. We are SO excited!
We've since had 2 more appointments (Jan 12th and yesterday, Feb 9th) and heard a nice healthy heartbeat. A little bugger at staying in one place, much like big brother, but that's ok. It means that all is going well in my book.
One little snag in the mean time, we had an AFP blood screening done (couldn't remember if we did it for Anthony and figured why not?) and it came back positive. Next step is a level 2 ultra sound (more details, high tech, and PHENOM photos) and we have the option of genetic testing and doing an Amnio. We've decided that the u/s is the farthest we'll go. Anything else is too much. We love this baby, no matter if it came out with 3 heads and 10 legs (OUCHIE!). Plus ANY risk of losing the baby is too high of a risk. For more info on AFP screening here's a link that I found helpful: http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/afp/a/afptesting.htm. Read my main blog for more of my thoughts on this subject.
Beyond that, we've decided we don't want to know if we are having a boy or girl this time around. How many surprises like hearing "Its a boy/girl" do you really get in life? Plus, we have so much stuff that can go either way and girls wear blue too. There are quite a few people who aren't on board with us, but that's ok. We know what we want to do and we can always change our minds at the last minute!
I started out a little heavier than last time (ok a lot heavier) and have lost about 3-5 lbs before gaining back at least 3. I believe I may have already gained about 6 total, but I have been horrible at keeping track! The belly is already there and its getting hard to bend over and do all those lovely things. I've also felt movement since about 6 or 7 weeks. Strange as it is, I know what I felt and I know it wasn't just gas. Movement is a little less right now, but that's ok. I still hadn't felt Anthony at all at this point!
I quit nursing Anthony on January 2, 2011. 13 1/2 months of nursing my baby boy. Quite the feat in my book! I'm proud! Would have liked to go longer, but for the sake of Anthony gaining weight and me being as healthy and focused on the new baby, I stopped. I'll never regret that choice that I made. He still looks at my bra and acts like he still nurses from time to time, but that's ok. Just lets me know he appreciates what I did for him. Hopefully I can do the same this time around with the new baby!
I've been lazy about taking photos too, but I have a photo from Christmas with my belly! I've compared the size to last time and I look like I'm about 6-8 weeks farther along than I am (compared to my belly with Anthony). But, with each child, you get bigger faster. Yay.
I'm still working at Adam's store and plan on working until I either can't or I go into labor. Then the plan is me either doing some sort of work from home (VERY part time again) or just being a stay at home mom. If we get a house (which we plan to in the next 12 months!), I want to see if I could possibly babysit another family's kids for a little extra money. We are getting assistance this time around from the state (WIC and insurance since Adam's employers won't pay for it and won't up his insurance checks) so its a little easier now. Anyone want some extra crunchy peanut butter? I've got enough for the end of the Earth!
In the mean time, I'm trying to keep up with the new baby's pregnancy journal (same kind of journal as I kept for Anthony, one for each kid!) and keep up with Anthony and all his hi-jinx.
Anthony started showing signs of wanting to walk more a few days before his birthday and ended up taking the most steps right around the same time as his big party on the 28th. Ever since, he's been a walkin fool with all the miles he puts on in a day. He goes up and down the hall, runs around the living room, gets into everything, and loves being chased. This kid just can't get enough!
He also got 2 more teeth about mid January, so now he has all 8 front teeth. 4 on top and 4 on bottom. He's also gotten into flashing those pearly whites whenever he can. He seems to think its his get out of jail free card.
As for words, he seems to be saying a lot, but we have trouble figuring out what most of them are. He says Cah! (car? cat? cup?) Dada (and occasional Papa), Mama, Ah Gah! (all gone!), Tee (we think its kitty since it sometimes comes out tee-cah and the tee sounds like it could be more kee), bah (ball), ah da! (all done!) Neh (sippy/thirsty/hungry, its from his infant talk days), and more I'm sure I'm not thinking of. He mostly babbles, but a lot of it sounds like real words. No idea if he's just mimicking or he's actually trying to talk to us like we do to him. He does talk A LOT though. He loves talking on the phone but usually ends up either hanging up or muting the person. He's also made calls to random people on my phone and sent a few text messages. He's also figured out how to take photos with borders on my phone amongst other things. The kid is SUPER smart. And LOVES the remote. He's just as bad as Adam at walking off with the remote into another room and then coming back empty handed. More than once we've had to tear the house apart looking for it.
He's SO loving. You ask for a kiss and make a kissy face, he'll probably kiss you. It will also probably be either open mouth or slobbery or both. But he finds it fun. He's also really big with being thrown on the bed. We have an air mattress bed so it cushions him and lets him bounce a little without worry of hurting him. He squeals with such delight when we do this every night. He also likes to pick out the books we read every night. He'll turn the pages and "talks" to us to tell us what he thinks of what's going on. With GoodNight Moon, he'll wave goodnight to the pages that read "Goodnight stars, good night air". Its SO cute! He even knows that if you forget to count the number of monkeys (or lady bugs) in his counting books, he will NOT let you close that book. You have to take his hand and help him point to each one, counting out loud. He's pretty good at putting his own hand on the right spot. I tell ya, he's ALWAYS learning something new and amazing us!
I haven't weighed him lately but I'm not sure how long I'm really going to do that. He finally broke 20 lbs on his birthday. Dr was a little concerned since he was slowly falling off the chart, but with him breaking the 20# mark, he bounced back on to the scale and we don't have to be as concerned. Not that I really was. He eats at least 3 good meals a day, hates refined sugar, hasn't ever tried fatty foods, and LOVES his fruits and veggies, pasta and sauce. He's even got a little bit of a belly! He's still in size 3 diapers, but that's ok. More diapers per box and we aren't in any hurry to move him along. He'll grow at his own rate.
He isn't too crazy about strangers and certainly won't go to them, but if he knows you or we spend enough time around you, he'll warm up and might even let you hold him and give you a kiss! We are still working on Bye Bye (he waves his fingers in his own face over his lips instead of waving them toward the person leaving), but he'll typically do a kiss goodbye. Recently, we left him at Adam's aunt Christene and uncle Chad. What a little trooper! He behaved so well! He even fell asleep for them while playing patty cake (which makes him giggle like NO tomorrow!).
He's very well sleep trained and typically gets himself back to sleep in the 5 minutes we give him. He had a rough patch last weekend, but the neighbors upstairs were having a blow out party weekend which kept him up and messed him up, but he's back where he should be. I still rock and sing him to sleep, but I think I'll do that for a LONG time. He likes it and it gets him to sleep FAST usually. Plus its a good time to bond! When I put him in his crib, he'll flip over onto his belly, reach for his sippy (full of plain water, TYVM) and snuggle in for the night. He goes to bed around 10-10:30 and wakes up between 8:15 and 9 which is just in time for his breakfast. He loves the oatmeal his Papa makes more than mine, but he likes a lot of the dinners I make for him. He's still pretty good at his naps, but has days when he wants to be awake more and days where he's more apt to sleep longer. I'll never complain, it gives me more down time to either catch a nap myself or get something done around the house.
All in all, my boys drive me nuts and I often wonder what I've gotten myself into with another on the way. But then I'll have my boys snuggle on my lap, get a kiss from each one and remember that I love the whole crazy train I'm on.
I'm going to try and get better at blogging (sorry, new baby. Momma is a bit of a slacker at times!) but please be patient if its a bit between each post. Life isn't always the easiest for me to set time aside for things like this!
We had a house guest (Anthony's GodFather) over when I took the test so he was one of the first to find out. He was surprised and happy for us. Him and his wife had tried, but had no luck and had put it on hold for a little bit because of changes in life course.
Well, I had NO way of telling how far along I was this time around, but I figured I was about 4-6 weeks along. Of course, telling Mom was pretty easy this time. She had to know something was up because SHE called ME just after we got the BFP!
*Cough Cough*
Mom: Are you ok? sounds like you are sick again!
Me: Well, kinda yea
Mom: What does that mean? Wait a minute...are you pregnant again??
Me: Umm, yea. SURPRISE! We literally JUST found out!
Mom laughing: Well Congrats! I thought you weren't trying yet! Was this a surprise?
Me: Oh yea, we were waiting for my period before we were going to start trying again. I guess other plans were made!
So, that made it pretty easy to tell her plus I was about to burst at the seams I had to tell someone!
We had our first appointment the first week of December and found out we weren't as far along as we thought. We thought we could be about 8-9 weeks at that point and had told everyone in the family at Anthony's big party on Nov 28th. Come to find out, we were 6w6d. We had found out pretty much at 4 1/2 weeks. Got a faint heartbeat (heart starts beating around 6 weeks so it has little practice at that point) and a due date. July 22nd. Day after our anniversary! So, we could be in the hospital for our anniversary this time around! That's ok, though. We are SO excited!
We've since had 2 more appointments (Jan 12th and yesterday, Feb 9th) and heard a nice healthy heartbeat. A little bugger at staying in one place, much like big brother, but that's ok. It means that all is going well in my book.
One little snag in the mean time, we had an AFP blood screening done (couldn't remember if we did it for Anthony and figured why not?) and it came back positive. Next step is a level 2 ultra sound (more details, high tech, and PHENOM photos) and we have the option of genetic testing and doing an Amnio. We've decided that the u/s is the farthest we'll go. Anything else is too much. We love this baby, no matter if it came out with 3 heads and 10 legs (OUCHIE!). Plus ANY risk of losing the baby is too high of a risk. For more info on AFP screening here's a link that I found helpful: http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/afp/a/afptesting.htm. Read my main blog for more of my thoughts on this subject.
Beyond that, we've decided we don't want to know if we are having a boy or girl this time around. How many surprises like hearing "Its a boy/girl" do you really get in life? Plus, we have so much stuff that can go either way and girls wear blue too. There are quite a few people who aren't on board with us, but that's ok. We know what we want to do and we can always change our minds at the last minute!
I started out a little heavier than last time (ok a lot heavier) and have lost about 3-5 lbs before gaining back at least 3. I believe I may have already gained about 6 total, but I have been horrible at keeping track! The belly is already there and its getting hard to bend over and do all those lovely things. I've also felt movement since about 6 or 7 weeks. Strange as it is, I know what I felt and I know it wasn't just gas. Movement is a little less right now, but that's ok. I still hadn't felt Anthony at all at this point!
I quit nursing Anthony on January 2, 2011. 13 1/2 months of nursing my baby boy. Quite the feat in my book! I'm proud! Would have liked to go longer, but for the sake of Anthony gaining weight and me being as healthy and focused on the new baby, I stopped. I'll never regret that choice that I made. He still looks at my bra and acts like he still nurses from time to time, but that's ok. Just lets me know he appreciates what I did for him. Hopefully I can do the same this time around with the new baby!
I've been lazy about taking photos too, but I have a photo from Christmas with my belly! I've compared the size to last time and I look like I'm about 6-8 weeks farther along than I am (compared to my belly with Anthony). But, with each child, you get bigger faster. Yay.
I'm still working at Adam's store and plan on working until I either can't or I go into labor. Then the plan is me either doing some sort of work from home (VERY part time again) or just being a stay at home mom. If we get a house (which we plan to in the next 12 months!), I want to see if I could possibly babysit another family's kids for a little extra money. We are getting assistance this time around from the state (WIC and insurance since Adam's employers won't pay for it and won't up his insurance checks) so its a little easier now. Anyone want some extra crunchy peanut butter? I've got enough for the end of the Earth!
In the mean time, I'm trying to keep up with the new baby's pregnancy journal (same kind of journal as I kept for Anthony, one for each kid!) and keep up with Anthony and all his hi-jinx.
Anthony started showing signs of wanting to walk more a few days before his birthday and ended up taking the most steps right around the same time as his big party on the 28th. Ever since, he's been a walkin fool with all the miles he puts on in a day. He goes up and down the hall, runs around the living room, gets into everything, and loves being chased. This kid just can't get enough!
He also got 2 more teeth about mid January, so now he has all 8 front teeth. 4 on top and 4 on bottom. He's also gotten into flashing those pearly whites whenever he can. He seems to think its his get out of jail free card.
As for words, he seems to be saying a lot, but we have trouble figuring out what most of them are. He says Cah! (car? cat? cup?) Dada (and occasional Papa), Mama, Ah Gah! (all gone!), Tee (we think its kitty since it sometimes comes out tee-cah and the tee sounds like it could be more kee), bah (ball), ah da! (all done!) Neh (sippy/thirsty/hungry, its from his infant talk days), and more I'm sure I'm not thinking of. He mostly babbles, but a lot of it sounds like real words. No idea if he's just mimicking or he's actually trying to talk to us like we do to him. He does talk A LOT though. He loves talking on the phone but usually ends up either hanging up or muting the person. He's also made calls to random people on my phone and sent a few text messages. He's also figured out how to take photos with borders on my phone amongst other things. The kid is SUPER smart. And LOVES the remote. He's just as bad as Adam at walking off with the remote into another room and then coming back empty handed. More than once we've had to tear the house apart looking for it.
He's SO loving. You ask for a kiss and make a kissy face, he'll probably kiss you. It will also probably be either open mouth or slobbery or both. But he finds it fun. He's also really big with being thrown on the bed. We have an air mattress bed so it cushions him and lets him bounce a little without worry of hurting him. He squeals with such delight when we do this every night. He also likes to pick out the books we read every night. He'll turn the pages and "talks" to us to tell us what he thinks of what's going on. With GoodNight Moon, he'll wave goodnight to the pages that read "Goodnight stars, good night air". Its SO cute! He even knows that if you forget to count the number of monkeys (or lady bugs) in his counting books, he will NOT let you close that book. You have to take his hand and help him point to each one, counting out loud. He's pretty good at putting his own hand on the right spot. I tell ya, he's ALWAYS learning something new and amazing us!
I haven't weighed him lately but I'm not sure how long I'm really going to do that. He finally broke 20 lbs on his birthday. Dr was a little concerned since he was slowly falling off the chart, but with him breaking the 20# mark, he bounced back on to the scale and we don't have to be as concerned. Not that I really was. He eats at least 3 good meals a day, hates refined sugar, hasn't ever tried fatty foods, and LOVES his fruits and veggies, pasta and sauce. He's even got a little bit of a belly! He's still in size 3 diapers, but that's ok. More diapers per box and we aren't in any hurry to move him along. He'll grow at his own rate.
He isn't too crazy about strangers and certainly won't go to them, but if he knows you or we spend enough time around you, he'll warm up and might even let you hold him and give you a kiss! We are still working on Bye Bye (he waves his fingers in his own face over his lips instead of waving them toward the person leaving), but he'll typically do a kiss goodbye. Recently, we left him at Adam's aunt Christene and uncle Chad. What a little trooper! He behaved so well! He even fell asleep for them while playing patty cake (which makes him giggle like NO tomorrow!).
He's very well sleep trained and typically gets himself back to sleep in the 5 minutes we give him. He had a rough patch last weekend, but the neighbors upstairs were having a blow out party weekend which kept him up and messed him up, but he's back where he should be. I still rock and sing him to sleep, but I think I'll do that for a LONG time. He likes it and it gets him to sleep FAST usually. Plus its a good time to bond! When I put him in his crib, he'll flip over onto his belly, reach for his sippy (full of plain water, TYVM) and snuggle in for the night. He goes to bed around 10-10:30 and wakes up between 8:15 and 9 which is just in time for his breakfast. He loves the oatmeal his Papa makes more than mine, but he likes a lot of the dinners I make for him. He's still pretty good at his naps, but has days when he wants to be awake more and days where he's more apt to sleep longer. I'll never complain, it gives me more down time to either catch a nap myself or get something done around the house.
All in all, my boys drive me nuts and I often wonder what I've gotten myself into with another on the way. But then I'll have my boys snuggle on my lap, get a kiss from each one and remember that I love the whole crazy train I'm on.
I'm going to try and get better at blogging (sorry, new baby. Momma is a bit of a slacker at times!) but please be patient if its a bit between each post. Life isn't always the easiest for me to set time aside for things like this!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Lordy-Me, we are starting to...WALK?!?
So, this past week was AMAZING for the milestones Anthony hit. But first, lets rewind a little bit more. On Sept 19th, the In Laws came and helped baby proof. They helped anchor things to the walls and build the cube storage, and lower the mattress in the crib. Up until then, we still had our Little Man sleeping in the Pack N Play (PNP) in our room. We were also still doing a lot of co-sleeping (he wakes up in the night, I grab him out and nurse him back to sleep, which I typically fell asleep before I remembered to put him back in the PNP. Well, after we had the mattress lowered, we decided that we would start putting him in his crib and get that phase of his life going. That way I can reclaim my side of the bed and he might be able to sleep better. Also, he woke a lot during the night. We waited until the next night before starting this, starting out slowly with putting him in there asleep, and when I finally went to bed, if he woke up, I'd scoop him out of the crib and bring him into our bed. Worked for a night or two, then the devil possessed my child. We thought it was just that he wasn't used to all the changes we were making. It wasn't until about the 23rd or so we decided to check out his gums and see if that was the issue. Sure enough, his gums were swollen and had that "tooth" feeling to them. We got excited and made sure to keep the oragel and tylenol nearby for the total melt downs. Well, it was about 10 days later when we were still dealing with the teething thing. Took another look and sure enough, there was another "toothy" feeling on the other side. I was secretly scared, but kind of happy because it meant that he was going to get both at once again! Totally explained why he kept shoving his fingers up his nostrils! He was trying to trigger the nerve to make the pain go away! (I can relate from when I had to have my front teeth worked on and my face hurt for a full 2 days after!) So he now has both bottom front teeth and 2 top front teeth...here's the funny thing, he has the bottom two in the middle of the front, but not on top. The teeth on top are actually the next one over on each side. His smile looks something like this
FX**XF
F*XX*F
F being his fangs, X being the teeth he has, and * being where there aren't any teeth yet. Its pretty funny to see him smile and see the while bumps not line up. But his teeth seem to be feeling better.
BUT, on to the main topic I'm sure is burning on everyone's mind. Yes, my little man has taken his first steps. On the 7th, Anthony showed us that the barricade we have up to keep him just in the living room and out of the pantry and garbage can wasn't enough to hold him anymore. That's right, he climbed over a basket I had put at the end of a line of rubbermaid totes. Then, the 8th, he climbed over the totes. The totes being about 3 inches higher than the basket. Of course he didn't know what to do when he was on top of the totes and fell off more than once (We did catch him when we saw he was about to fall), but he knew just how to do it every time. Lovely. No sleeping EVER now! Going back to the 7th, he also took full advantage of me laying down my head on the couch. He went up to the entertainment center (which we have blocked off best we can so he doesn't play with things he shouldn't) and pulled down the one side of that barricade and pulled down a tub of something we were using for his bum when the diaper rash came around. That's right, VASELINE. (you mix equal parts of vaseline, lanolin based diaper cream, zinc diaper cream, and cortizone cream and it works like MAGIC!) My kid then proceeded to smear it all over himself (all over in his hair and ears down to the tips of his toes and in around his diaper line). When I woke up, I noticed he was where he wasn't supposed to be. I called him back over to me and he came crawling over quickly. That's when I noticed the weird glowing sheen on his face. I thought he had chewed through the tube of A&D (without zinc) and was thinking "Oh boy, I'm in for it now!". I started cleaning him up with baby wipes (because they have that little bit of cleaning agent whereas a towel doesn't really get all the greasy feeling off) when I noticed that his toys were covered. I got him cleaned up and then noticed the tub of vaseline.
Now, we had used about 1/4 of the tub for putting on his circ so it wouldn't stick to the diaper, along with using it for diaper rash. Well, I picked it up and set it on a wipe on the couch so I could keep it out of his reach and clean it after I cleaned the toys. I knew I didn't really want to see how much he had used, but I had to know at the same time. I took off the top and looked in to find (to my horror) that about 1/3 of what was left was GONE. I didn't freak at first about him swallowing any because its petroleum jelly. Same stuff as in chapstick, just means his poops are going to be interesting for a while. Well, I saw on the back of the vaseline tub that you need to call poison control RIGHT AWAY. I make the call (gotta see why its so urgent to call) and he tells me that Anthony is going to be fine, they just worry that the vaseline will get in their air ways in which they will cough A LOT and that's when its a problem. So, Anthony is fine, the toys are clean, and it took scrubbing down my little terror twice to get all the slimy feeling off, but we learned a lesson. NOTHING in his reach. Put it 5ft up or back so he can't get to it.
But, getting back to the time line. Adam comes home early on the 8th and starts playing with Anthony. I had the laundry basket (the tall kind) in the living room looking for something while the boys played. Then Adam got this wild idea and told me to hold out my hands and call Lil Man over. So I do. And he TOOK THREE STEPS my way! HE WALKED to me! Of course as soon as he could reach, he took my hands, but point is he walked to me! He hates standing alone, let alone moving also! We tried like crazy to get him to do it again, but he pretty much refused. Kid has no fear. He just leans toward the person he wants and makes them catch him if anyone tries to make him stand alone. Just today (the 11th) I made him take 2 more steps toward me. I can't get him to walk to Adam yet, but we are pretty sure that he's going to be walking a lot more by 11 months. Pretty scary! He's also vocalizing like a MAD MAN! He was jabbering for about 30 mins solid without anyone there to provoke him to keep talking. I swear many of the sounds sound JUST like words we say a lot. Time to cut back on swearing!
He's also eating his food with bigger chunks. I don't have to send the bananas through the food processor anymore! And he'll even eat them off a bigger adult spoon! Time to make him slow this growing business! His appetite also seems to be growing, which is scary. He was polishing off about 10 oz at every meal and about 6 oz for his snack by the time he was 9 months. He's also starting to develop a little belly, so we know that he's packing on some weight. We shall see soon enough if he's back to where he was on the growth charts. I'd really like him to be back in the 50th percentile, but I'm not going to punish myself if he doesn't. We all know that he's healthy and growing. Heaven help us, though, when I stop nursing him. If he catches a glimpse of boob when I'm getting out of the shower, he instantly wants to nurse. He'll even grab my boob and stuff it in his face when I carry him to the bedroom so I can get dressed. He likes his Momma Milk! LOL shall be interesting to see how he takes weaning off that in about 6 months, but we'll cross that bridge later. I'm sure he'll be busy exploring all the other goodies around him!
Well, I'm exhausted and going to head to bed so I can get some shut eye around him waking up. We now try a little bit of sleep training, but more relaxed on some of the rules. Seems to be working well for us! He still wakes up, but he's sleeping longer stretches in his crib!
FX**XF
F*XX*F
F being his fangs, X being the teeth he has, and * being where there aren't any teeth yet. Its pretty funny to see him smile and see the while bumps not line up. But his teeth seem to be feeling better.
BUT, on to the main topic I'm sure is burning on everyone's mind. Yes, my little man has taken his first steps. On the 7th, Anthony showed us that the barricade we have up to keep him just in the living room and out of the pantry and garbage can wasn't enough to hold him anymore. That's right, he climbed over a basket I had put at the end of a line of rubbermaid totes. Then, the 8th, he climbed over the totes. The totes being about 3 inches higher than the basket. Of course he didn't know what to do when he was on top of the totes and fell off more than once (We did catch him when we saw he was about to fall), but he knew just how to do it every time. Lovely. No sleeping EVER now! Going back to the 7th, he also took full advantage of me laying down my head on the couch. He went up to the entertainment center (which we have blocked off best we can so he doesn't play with things he shouldn't) and pulled down the one side of that barricade and pulled down a tub of something we were using for his bum when the diaper rash came around. That's right, VASELINE. (you mix equal parts of vaseline, lanolin based diaper cream, zinc diaper cream, and cortizone cream and it works like MAGIC!) My kid then proceeded to smear it all over himself (all over in his hair and ears down to the tips of his toes and in around his diaper line). When I woke up, I noticed he was where he wasn't supposed to be. I called him back over to me and he came crawling over quickly. That's when I noticed the weird glowing sheen on his face. I thought he had chewed through the tube of A&D (without zinc) and was thinking "Oh boy, I'm in for it now!". I started cleaning him up with baby wipes (because they have that little bit of cleaning agent whereas a towel doesn't really get all the greasy feeling off) when I noticed that his toys were covered. I got him cleaned up and then noticed the tub of vaseline.
Now, we had used about 1/4 of the tub for putting on his circ so it wouldn't stick to the diaper, along with using it for diaper rash. Well, I picked it up and set it on a wipe on the couch so I could keep it out of his reach and clean it after I cleaned the toys. I knew I didn't really want to see how much he had used, but I had to know at the same time. I took off the top and looked in to find (to my horror) that about 1/3 of what was left was GONE. I didn't freak at first about him swallowing any because its petroleum jelly. Same stuff as in chapstick, just means his poops are going to be interesting for a while. Well, I saw on the back of the vaseline tub that you need to call poison control RIGHT AWAY. I make the call (gotta see why its so urgent to call) and he tells me that Anthony is going to be fine, they just worry that the vaseline will get in their air ways in which they will cough A LOT and that's when its a problem. So, Anthony is fine, the toys are clean, and it took scrubbing down my little terror twice to get all the slimy feeling off, but we learned a lesson. NOTHING in his reach. Put it 5ft up or back so he can't get to it.
But, getting back to the time line. Adam comes home early on the 8th and starts playing with Anthony. I had the laundry basket (the tall kind) in the living room looking for something while the boys played. Then Adam got this wild idea and told me to hold out my hands and call Lil Man over. So I do. And he TOOK THREE STEPS my way! HE WALKED to me! Of course as soon as he could reach, he took my hands, but point is he walked to me! He hates standing alone, let alone moving also! We tried like crazy to get him to do it again, but he pretty much refused. Kid has no fear. He just leans toward the person he wants and makes them catch him if anyone tries to make him stand alone. Just today (the 11th) I made him take 2 more steps toward me. I can't get him to walk to Adam yet, but we are pretty sure that he's going to be walking a lot more by 11 months. Pretty scary! He's also vocalizing like a MAD MAN! He was jabbering for about 30 mins solid without anyone there to provoke him to keep talking. I swear many of the sounds sound JUST like words we say a lot. Time to cut back on swearing!
He's also eating his food with bigger chunks. I don't have to send the bananas through the food processor anymore! And he'll even eat them off a bigger adult spoon! Time to make him slow this growing business! His appetite also seems to be growing, which is scary. He was polishing off about 10 oz at every meal and about 6 oz for his snack by the time he was 9 months. He's also starting to develop a little belly, so we know that he's packing on some weight. We shall see soon enough if he's back to where he was on the growth charts. I'd really like him to be back in the 50th percentile, but I'm not going to punish myself if he doesn't. We all know that he's healthy and growing. Heaven help us, though, when I stop nursing him. If he catches a glimpse of boob when I'm getting out of the shower, he instantly wants to nurse. He'll even grab my boob and stuff it in his face when I carry him to the bedroom so I can get dressed. He likes his Momma Milk! LOL shall be interesting to see how he takes weaning off that in about 6 months, but we'll cross that bridge later. I'm sure he'll be busy exploring all the other goodies around him!
Well, I'm exhausted and going to head to bed so I can get some shut eye around him waking up. We now try a little bit of sleep training, but more relaxed on some of the rules. Seems to be working well for us! He still wakes up, but he's sleeping longer stretches in his crib!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Ten Months!
Oh the things you did between 9 and 10 months. You started crawling with your belly off the ground more, you are starting to get your 3rd tooth (can't tell exactly what one it is, but it started poking through on Wed the 22nd. Its one of the top left front ones. Its still pretty flat and hasn't poked through too much, but its giving you all the grief in the world. You seem to have been possessed this week though. You were crying over the smallest of things, you don't like your usual foods, you fight even more against me cleaning your teeth and gums, you have your pointer finger jammed up your left nostril almost all the time (must be to help with the nerve pain) and you want to snuggle and nap on me even more so, but your face must hurt because you keep tossing your head side to side to get comfy.
Speaking of sleeping, we lowered your mattress for your crib and cleaned out all the extra stuff so you can start sleeping in there. You started on monday the 20th and it was a rough go, but its getting better, even with you teething. Of course, when you wake up at your usual 4 or 5 am time for a midnight snack, I bring you into our bed for some snuggle time and you stay there with me until you wake up between 8 and 9. I can tell you like the family bed time as much as I do, and I think Papa likes it just as much because you like to snuggle up to him to fall asleep again. You are so funny, and you also seem to think its ok and pretty funny to pick on him too. He likes to make you think it annoys him, but I know he likes it to some extent. Next is getting you to nap in your crib. I like our napping together time, but there will come a time in our lives when you need to be in your crib and we need to start prepping for that soon. (I know anyone reading is going to be appalled that I still nap with my kid on my chest, but that's our one on one time and I love how snuggly he is when he's starting to drift off and when he's waking up, but doesn't want to sit up or start playing again) Just in the past day or so, you've been letting go and pushing away from things to test your standing. I can tell that walking isn't that far off. You don't like it when the person holding you starts trying to make you stand alone, but when you want, you'll let go and see what happens. You've learned pretty quickly that falling on your butt isn't going to hurt and you can get back up VERy quickly.
You are into everything worse than ever. I thought we would be ok with the height of our entertainment center and all (you still like to pull up on the glass part, but you've gotten smart and start pulling up on the wooden sides and do it quick so I don't see), but you have proven me wrong yesterday. You not only pulled yourself up on the entertainment center, you also cleared off a bunch of things up there and found the spare batteries we had taken out of the swing and put up there to be put in the charger. Thank God I happened to look over just as you pulled it down and it fell out of your hand. So now, we have to use your rocking chair, entertainer, and the top to your toy box to block off the tv and the rest of the entertainment center. For any other baby we would only really need to block the front and all would be well. Not you. I ran out of ideas of things to use to block the front, sides, and keep you at least 2 feet from even being able to reach the thing. You are so smart too, because you've started to even pull things out of the way to get what you want.
You've also started some talking. You say "AhMah" for Momma, "Dah" for Papa (or dada, depending on what he wants you to call him, we'll work on forming that better), and you also still use "Neh Neh" for when you want food or to nurse. If you want someone to pick you up or hold you, you go over to them or you make good eye contact and start opening and closing your hands quickly. Its like a "gimme!" kind of thing. Its really cute and really awesome that Papa and I can use your "gimme" hands to get you to come to us. Its amazing that now it feels like all your actions aren't random at all anymore (you have your VERY odd moments still) and that its all with purpose and its becoming something that we both understand perfectly.
You still LOVE to nurse. You won't take a bottle from me unless we are in a car or in a store and I can't nurse you. I bring you into the bathroom (along with your entertainer) for when I have to get ready for work and you will play in that, but once I'm out of the shower, you barely let me dry off and put in my contacts before you want me to pick you up and carry you (even while brushing my teeth!) and you often move the towel out of the way so that you can help yourself. I noticed this one day as I was getting dressed and you fought with me for a while about me putting on a bra because you wanted to nurse. Papa finds it so funny that I can coax you to my side of the bed by getting your attention and showing you the nip. You also like to pull on my shirt and bra to let me know that you want boob and you want it NOW. You've made me flash people in Walmart because you were thirsty. Its pretty funny that you know just what and where the momma milk comes from. You even inspect Papa's nips. You've come pretty close to latching on, but you stop at the last second like you get tickled by a chest hair or you notice that it doesn't look like the ones you nurse from. Its pretty funny and you do it all the time!
You really like your puffs and yogurt melts even more now. You like the container even more though. You use your bottom teeth to pop off the top and scatter them all over the living room so that you can choose just what exact puff you want. Of course you also hate it when I start cleaning them up so you come over and sit on the pile. What a nut you are.
You are finally in size 3 diapers, but we've run out of the Huggies (which I have grown to LOVE) but we have to suffer through a HUGE box of Pampers Cruisers before we can get more Huggies. Something about the Huggies, the lining doesn't all fall and get bunched up between your legs, they fit better, the tabs hold better, they last longer (one pee and you have a Cruiser SOAKED!), and they don't ride up your belly as much which causes them to fold over funny and irritate your belly and just below. You are also pretty hard to keep still and diaper, so the Huggies being quicker and easier to put on you is a HUGE plus. I just wish I knew someone I could sell the Pampers to, I'd go out and buy a TON of Huggies.
You love your toys, but you love the non toys more. Paper, boxes, tags on clothes, bottles, and anything else you shouldn't have. Stupid thing is, I have NO clue where you find this stuff. I vacuum twice a week and you still manage to find the strangest stuff. Just the other day, you sucked the cotton ends off a q tip. I don't know where it came from, but I stepped on it and noticed that it was all messed up and had NO TRACE of cotton on it. You had literally sucked all the cotton off. I didn't notice until about 5 mins after you crawled away so I had NO chance of pulling it out of your mouth. Just hope you poop it out ok...
You've been chewing on EVERYTHING. Even your crib is starting to get the brunt of it now. The other day I went to put you in your crib so I could go to the bathroom and noticed markings on your crib that weren't there a few days before. I looked closely and saw it very well could be teeth. Then I notice that you have flecks of the finish on your face. I hope we can find some sort of teething guard so that you don't destroy the thing before we get to put your siblings in there!
Well, my love, its about that time that I start getting ready to go to bed. I like to stay up late so that I get my alone time and all while you are sleeping. Then when you wake up and want to come to bed with us, I'm not waking from a dead sleep, I'm just laying down. You actually JUST woke up, my love. More to come and keep growing strong. You are amazing.
Speaking of sleeping, we lowered your mattress for your crib and cleaned out all the extra stuff so you can start sleeping in there. You started on monday the 20th and it was a rough go, but its getting better, even with you teething. Of course, when you wake up at your usual 4 or 5 am time for a midnight snack, I bring you into our bed for some snuggle time and you stay there with me until you wake up between 8 and 9. I can tell you like the family bed time as much as I do, and I think Papa likes it just as much because you like to snuggle up to him to fall asleep again. You are so funny, and you also seem to think its ok and pretty funny to pick on him too. He likes to make you think it annoys him, but I know he likes it to some extent. Next is getting you to nap in your crib. I like our napping together time, but there will come a time in our lives when you need to be in your crib and we need to start prepping for that soon. (I know anyone reading is going to be appalled that I still nap with my kid on my chest, but that's our one on one time and I love how snuggly he is when he's starting to drift off and when he's waking up, but doesn't want to sit up or start playing again) Just in the past day or so, you've been letting go and pushing away from things to test your standing. I can tell that walking isn't that far off. You don't like it when the person holding you starts trying to make you stand alone, but when you want, you'll let go and see what happens. You've learned pretty quickly that falling on your butt isn't going to hurt and you can get back up VERy quickly.
You are into everything worse than ever. I thought we would be ok with the height of our entertainment center and all (you still like to pull up on the glass part, but you've gotten smart and start pulling up on the wooden sides and do it quick so I don't see), but you have proven me wrong yesterday. You not only pulled yourself up on the entertainment center, you also cleared off a bunch of things up there and found the spare batteries we had taken out of the swing and put up there to be put in the charger. Thank God I happened to look over just as you pulled it down and it fell out of your hand. So now, we have to use your rocking chair, entertainer, and the top to your toy box to block off the tv and the rest of the entertainment center. For any other baby we would only really need to block the front and all would be well. Not you. I ran out of ideas of things to use to block the front, sides, and keep you at least 2 feet from even being able to reach the thing. You are so smart too, because you've started to even pull things out of the way to get what you want.
You've also started some talking. You say "AhMah" for Momma, "Dah" for Papa (or dada, depending on what he wants you to call him, we'll work on forming that better), and you also still use "Neh Neh" for when you want food or to nurse. If you want someone to pick you up or hold you, you go over to them or you make good eye contact and start opening and closing your hands quickly. Its like a "gimme!" kind of thing. Its really cute and really awesome that Papa and I can use your "gimme" hands to get you to come to us. Its amazing that now it feels like all your actions aren't random at all anymore (you have your VERY odd moments still) and that its all with purpose and its becoming something that we both understand perfectly.
You still LOVE to nurse. You won't take a bottle from me unless we are in a car or in a store and I can't nurse you. I bring you into the bathroom (along with your entertainer) for when I have to get ready for work and you will play in that, but once I'm out of the shower, you barely let me dry off and put in my contacts before you want me to pick you up and carry you (even while brushing my teeth!) and you often move the towel out of the way so that you can help yourself. I noticed this one day as I was getting dressed and you fought with me for a while about me putting on a bra because you wanted to nurse. Papa finds it so funny that I can coax you to my side of the bed by getting your attention and showing you the nip. You also like to pull on my shirt and bra to let me know that you want boob and you want it NOW. You've made me flash people in Walmart because you were thirsty. Its pretty funny that you know just what and where the momma milk comes from. You even inspect Papa's nips. You've come pretty close to latching on, but you stop at the last second like you get tickled by a chest hair or you notice that it doesn't look like the ones you nurse from. Its pretty funny and you do it all the time!
You really like your puffs and yogurt melts even more now. You like the container even more though. You use your bottom teeth to pop off the top and scatter them all over the living room so that you can choose just what exact puff you want. Of course you also hate it when I start cleaning them up so you come over and sit on the pile. What a nut you are.
You are finally in size 3 diapers, but we've run out of the Huggies (which I have grown to LOVE) but we have to suffer through a HUGE box of Pampers Cruisers before we can get more Huggies. Something about the Huggies, the lining doesn't all fall and get bunched up between your legs, they fit better, the tabs hold better, they last longer (one pee and you have a Cruiser SOAKED!), and they don't ride up your belly as much which causes them to fold over funny and irritate your belly and just below. You are also pretty hard to keep still and diaper, so the Huggies being quicker and easier to put on you is a HUGE plus. I just wish I knew someone I could sell the Pampers to, I'd go out and buy a TON of Huggies.
You love your toys, but you love the non toys more. Paper, boxes, tags on clothes, bottles, and anything else you shouldn't have. Stupid thing is, I have NO clue where you find this stuff. I vacuum twice a week and you still manage to find the strangest stuff. Just the other day, you sucked the cotton ends off a q tip. I don't know where it came from, but I stepped on it and noticed that it was all messed up and had NO TRACE of cotton on it. You had literally sucked all the cotton off. I didn't notice until about 5 mins after you crawled away so I had NO chance of pulling it out of your mouth. Just hope you poop it out ok...
You've been chewing on EVERYTHING. Even your crib is starting to get the brunt of it now. The other day I went to put you in your crib so I could go to the bathroom and noticed markings on your crib that weren't there a few days before. I looked closely and saw it very well could be teeth. Then I notice that you have flecks of the finish on your face. I hope we can find some sort of teething guard so that you don't destroy the thing before we get to put your siblings in there!
Well, my love, its about that time that I start getting ready to go to bed. I like to stay up late so that I get my alone time and all while you are sleeping. Then when you wake up and want to come to bed with us, I'm not waking from a dead sleep, I'm just laying down. You actually JUST woke up, my love. More to come and keep growing strong. You are amazing.
Nine Months!
Oh sweetie, the trouble you are starting to cause. You've started pulling up on EVERYTHING and you seem to think that everything is going to hold you tight and not let you fall. You seem to have learned from being in the entertainer that you don't have to hold on always and that you can jump without anyone being there to hold your hands. You've pulled yourself up on the side of the entertainer, reached for something, and then the thing spins around on you and you end up rolling on the ground. Most of the time, you get yourself righted and don't even bat an eye before you are at it again. But sometimes you also just lose it and need me to come over and tell you that "you are ok" and give your owie a kiss. That typically calms you and you'll want to go back to playing. Its so cool that you are usually really good at dealing with pain and getting hurt. You don't go and make a huge production about it unless its yet another time you go and crawl your lil buns off the bed before I can even catch your foot and you bonk your head. That's ok, you typically roll off Papa's side and he always has a pile of clothes on his side that you land on so I know you can't really get hurt. You are just such a toughie that you will go and smash your forehead into my lips for a kiss and won't flinch, but I'll get a fat lip and cry out because of it. Brute!
You are crawling, but you do more of an army man crawl. I compare it to an army obstacle course where you have to crawl under the net. Your arms and elbows kind of pull your whole body along with your legs and feet just flopping around behind you. Its really funny to watch. You will crawl with your belly off the ground, but its rare if you do it for long. You are also into everything even more so. I can't keep you on my lap at my computer because Papa has taught you that if you hit space bar while he's playing his game, it does nothing but make the character jump. You do that to Momma and I lose my place on whatever I may be doing.
You took VERY well to adding in another meal and the dr wants us to add in 2 snacks also because you went from the 50% to the 25%. We've been adding in 3rd foods dinners. They ahve bigger chunks and you don't really care for it. You like to make like you are gagging, but you calm down and have learned to chew a little with those gums before you swallow. You have found certain ones you REALLY don't like, but you also have favorites. You also have loved the latest round of fresh fruit. I've done pineapples, pears, plums, peaches, mangos, cantalope, kiwi, strawberries, corn (yes I know its not a fruit, but its the only way you eat your mac n cheese), and a few others that Papa brings home from the store. You can't get enough of most of them and have gotten used to the food processor going. You know it means that your food is going to be VERY fresh.
On to the next month, my love. You are growing SO fast! I've already started thinking about your birthday party, since the months are flying by and it will creep up on me if I don't start planning it now!
Love you forever, little man. You are an amazing gift to us!
You are still in size 2 diapers although you are 19 lbs and all. I'm not complaining for now because we get more diapers in the box and I personally like the swaddlers more than the cruisers, but sooner or later you have to graduate to the size 3 my dear love. But the dr just loves the personality you have. You still don't like Ann very much (the nurse who comes in with the needles and all), but you are a little more ok with her since she didn't cause you pain this time. She just loves your big blue eyes and HUGE personality. You charm all the nurses when we take you into the weighing stations. They also can't believe how old you are. Seems like there might be a few ladies who have followed your cuteness and all. What a silly boy, always flirting with the girls.
You also LOVE to laugh. Your silly self laughs at the simplest things. And when you really laugh, its like the typical baby laugh, but when you do your amused laugh, you chuckle, then you inhale really deep and long like you are trying to catch your breath, then let out another good chuckle. I can't even stand up, I'll laugh so hard, when you are laughing that amused laugh. Its just so funny! That also seems to cause you to do it more too.
You are crawling, but you do more of an army man crawl. I compare it to an army obstacle course where you have to crawl under the net. Your arms and elbows kind of pull your whole body along with your legs and feet just flopping around behind you. Its really funny to watch. You will crawl with your belly off the ground, but its rare if you do it for long. You are also into everything even more so. I can't keep you on my lap at my computer because Papa has taught you that if you hit space bar while he's playing his game, it does nothing but make the character jump. You do that to Momma and I lose my place on whatever I may be doing.
You took VERY well to adding in another meal and the dr wants us to add in 2 snacks also because you went from the 50% to the 25%. We've been adding in 3rd foods dinners. They ahve bigger chunks and you don't really care for it. You like to make like you are gagging, but you calm down and have learned to chew a little with those gums before you swallow. You have found certain ones you REALLY don't like, but you also have favorites. You also have loved the latest round of fresh fruit. I've done pineapples, pears, plums, peaches, mangos, cantalope, kiwi, strawberries, corn (yes I know its not a fruit, but its the only way you eat your mac n cheese), and a few others that Papa brings home from the store. You can't get enough of most of them and have gotten used to the food processor going. You know it means that your food is going to be VERY fresh.
On to the next month, my love. You are growing SO fast! I've already started thinking about your birthday party, since the months are flying by and it will creep up on me if I don't start planning it now!
Love you forever, little man. You are an amazing gift to us!
You are still in size 2 diapers although you are 19 lbs and all. I'm not complaining for now because we get more diapers in the box and I personally like the swaddlers more than the cruisers, but sooner or later you have to graduate to the size 3 my dear love. But the dr just loves the personality you have. You still don't like Ann very much (the nurse who comes in with the needles and all), but you are a little more ok with her since she didn't cause you pain this time. She just loves your big blue eyes and HUGE personality. You charm all the nurses when we take you into the weighing stations. They also can't believe how old you are. Seems like there might be a few ladies who have followed your cuteness and all. What a silly boy, always flirting with the girls.
You also LOVE to laugh. Your silly self laughs at the simplest things. And when you really laugh, its like the typical baby laugh, but when you do your amused laugh, you chuckle, then you inhale really deep and long like you are trying to catch your breath, then let out another good chuckle. I can't even stand up, I'll laugh so hard, when you are laughing that amused laugh. Its just so funny! That also seems to cause you to do it more too.
Eight Months!
Sorry, baby boy, Momma's been out to lunch for a while and needs to catch up on everything for your blog. I know, bad Momma, but you'll still love me either way!
So, you've really been progressing VERY quickly with rolling all over. Its the main way you get around now. You also sit up all alone and don't need to concentrate to keep yourself upright. Its just amazing to think about! You got two teeth within a week of each other (Its all in your baby book, my love. I don't see a need to keep posting it everywhere when you have a baby book, a journal, a calendar, and 2 medical journals). You handled it pretty well, although you were a big pain in the bum for the first tooth, but I think you were having so much fun playing with the new addition in your mouth that you didn't notice the second one coming in nearly as much. It came on quickly too. One day I only feel the one tooth nub, and the next day while I'm washing your tooth with a wash cloth, I notice you have a second white nub starting to poke through. Luckily it broke through very quickly. So now you have both bottom teeth and its so cute to see. You don't like it when anyone tries to check them out and you HATE it when I wipe off your teeth after a meal.
You've really developed a love for my water bottle too. Its just a simple water bottle from work that cost 50 cents, but you LOVE playing with it, sticking the mouth piece in your mouth, and when I let you, you LOVE drinking out of it! What a goofy nut you are!
You've also been sleeping like a gem. You have yourself on a set schedule and you make sure that we pay the price if anything doesn't go the way you want it to. We are looking at adding another meal (lunch) so that you can pack on some calories and not be so skinny. We will be adding that in the coming month or so. You also haven't met many foods you don't like. You love fresh fruit and veggies the most though. Papa brought home 2 lbs of baby carrots and we made a project out of steaming them, putting them through the food processor and then the blender to get them into a smaller pieces that you won't gag on. You LOVED it! We ended up giving you so many, though, that your poor lil bum turned orange! Of course we backed off and started giving only half a jar (4 oz in a jar) so that you still get the veggies, but you don't turn colors.
We are thinking about starting the baby proofing process now too. You are VERY stubborn and don't give up easily at all. You KNOW that when we take something away, its gotta be around somewhere and you will turn the house over just to find it. I wonder where you get your bullheaded-ness from...?
You are also showing a desire to start pulling up and walking with help. I don't know if I like it, because it means you will be getting around all on your own. I like you depending on me to carry you around. I guess its all a part of you growing up. Just wish you didn't do that so fast.
Well, little boy, I need to work on getting the other months up also, but just remember that Momma loves you VERY much, and you can ALWAYS come to your parents for anything. We'll always love you no matter what. You are an amazing miracle.
So, you've really been progressing VERY quickly with rolling all over. Its the main way you get around now. You also sit up all alone and don't need to concentrate to keep yourself upright. Its just amazing to think about! You got two teeth within a week of each other (Its all in your baby book, my love. I don't see a need to keep posting it everywhere when you have a baby book, a journal, a calendar, and 2 medical journals). You handled it pretty well, although you were a big pain in the bum for the first tooth, but I think you were having so much fun playing with the new addition in your mouth that you didn't notice the second one coming in nearly as much. It came on quickly too. One day I only feel the one tooth nub, and the next day while I'm washing your tooth with a wash cloth, I notice you have a second white nub starting to poke through. Luckily it broke through very quickly. So now you have both bottom teeth and its so cute to see. You don't like it when anyone tries to check them out and you HATE it when I wipe off your teeth after a meal.
You've really developed a love for my water bottle too. Its just a simple water bottle from work that cost 50 cents, but you LOVE playing with it, sticking the mouth piece in your mouth, and when I let you, you LOVE drinking out of it! What a goofy nut you are!
You've also been sleeping like a gem. You have yourself on a set schedule and you make sure that we pay the price if anything doesn't go the way you want it to. We are looking at adding another meal (lunch) so that you can pack on some calories and not be so skinny. We will be adding that in the coming month or so. You also haven't met many foods you don't like. You love fresh fruit and veggies the most though. Papa brought home 2 lbs of baby carrots and we made a project out of steaming them, putting them through the food processor and then the blender to get them into a smaller pieces that you won't gag on. You LOVED it! We ended up giving you so many, though, that your poor lil bum turned orange! Of course we backed off and started giving only half a jar (4 oz in a jar) so that you still get the veggies, but you don't turn colors.
We are thinking about starting the baby proofing process now too. You are VERY stubborn and don't give up easily at all. You KNOW that when we take something away, its gotta be around somewhere and you will turn the house over just to find it. I wonder where you get your bullheaded-ness from...?
You are also showing a desire to start pulling up and walking with help. I don't know if I like it, because it means you will be getting around all on your own. I like you depending on me to carry you around. I guess its all a part of you growing up. Just wish you didn't do that so fast.
Well, little boy, I need to work on getting the other months up also, but just remember that Momma loves you VERY much, and you can ALWAYS come to your parents for anything. We'll always love you no matter what. You are an amazing miracle.
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