I have been a bad blogger. But I had my reasons. My entire family was sick. Jack had yet another trip to the ER after vomitting 13 times in an hour. Jason came down with an awful cold, I got two colds (although pretty minor) and then there was the whole holiday thing, yada yada.
At any rate, I am back.
I have lots of updates so I thought I would break them into categories. Easier to keep track of my thoughts that way.
Jack
* After another trip to the ER on November 19th, Jack is feeling much better. Since people are temporarily lactose intolerant after stomach viruses (who knew?) we still are giving Jack soy milk. This is to give him a chance to recover and build up some of the good bacteria in his belly. He took the ER visit in stride. After vomitting literally 13 times in less than an hour, our pediatrician told us to hightail it to the ER. That amount of throwing up is NOT normal. Coincidentally we had been to the Children's Museum the day before so I am pretty sure that is where he picked up the latest bug. I am going to place my child in a plastic bubble for a few months.
* Jack was home with me exclusively for 10 days. Between being sick, having days off from work myself, and having a daycare provider with sick kids, we spent a lot of time together. I tried to keep us busy with trips to the Children's Museum (fail!), the grocery store, trips to visit my in-laws and other random things. Boy this child is active. Seriously.
* The other day Jack was home with me and clearly in need of a nap. He was being a holy terror and I said to him "Jack, you are driving Mommy nuts". He looked back at me and said "Nuts". Clear as day. Jason and I could NOT stop laughing. It was so funny.
Baby Cal
* Well, after settling on baby Cal's name, it appears we have changed our mind. We decided that even though we love the middle name Charles, Cal Charles just doesn't sound right. So Jason and I talked and decided we will probably go with Calvin Wyatt. This is not set in stone so we will see what Cal looks like when he is born and then decide for sure.
* I am 33 weeks along which means Cal is going to make his appearance in 6 weeks or less depending on if I happen to go itno labor early.
* We pretty much have everything we need for Cal with the exception of diapers. Jason's Mamo asked us what we needed and when we told her diapers, she said "I will write you a check and you can buy what you need since I can't shop". This makes us happy! We are hoping it's enough to get all our cloth stash and buy a couple of packages of newborn diapers so we don't have to cloth up in the early days.
* This little guy is running out of room. His kicks are becoming much stronger and the rolling is down to a minimum.
Me
* Work has been slightly crazy. That's another reason that I haven't blogged as much. I am working or tired after working that I don't feel like updating.
* I am getting to the point in my pregnancy where I am getting uncomfortable. My symptoms have not been nearly as bad as they were with Jack though. When I was pregnant with him at this point I had so many things to lament about: Heartburn, terribly painful hips, swollen hands and feet, pregnancy carpal tunnel and a hard time sleeping because all of the above. This time my main complaint is just a hard belly and having trouble breathing. Thankfully my hips are doing okay so far since I religiously sleep with my pregnancy pillow. I don't have a hard time sleeping (yet).
* I had my 32 week appointment yesterday even though I am 33 weeks. I am really trying not to freak out but there were some things that came up that were slightly alarming. My doctor didn't seem overly concerned, but I am. My blood pressure was up (138/85) which is high for me. When the nurse weighed me, she asked me to step back on the scale because she thought she had made a mistake. Apparently, the last two appointments my weight has held steady but yesterday, I was up a total of 10 pounds. That is a ton for me since I have only gained 14 pounds the entire pregnancy. After my BP check and my weight gain, the nurse said she would do my urine dip and come back if there was protein in my urine. If there wasn't, she wouldn't come back and not to worry. Well, when I was talking with my doctor, she did come back. I did have protein in my urine. I know enough about pre-eclampsia to know that all of these are symptoms. I was asked if I had any noticable swelling, which I don't think I do. My doctor said that if my BP was high at my next appointment we would chat. I have no idea what he means. But in the meantime, if I have any headaches, dizziness or noticable swelling I need to call immediately. Well that sure puts my mind at ease.
* I made a lot of fun things for Thanksgiving. I made two pies, one pecan and one pumpkin and two casseroles: Sweet potato and green bean. They were all a hit at our family gathering. I felt accomplished. I haven't baked/cooked that much in a long time!
* I have maternity pictures this weekend. I am nervous because I haven't had professional pictures of myself done since our wedding. I hope I don't look like a whale. I am on the lookout for some cute boots to complete my outfit. Thankfully my friend Jenn is doing the pictures so I know even though I might look terrible, the pictures will turn out beautiful!
* I got my hair cut on Saturday and it feels wonderful. It looks better, I feel better, my head is lighter and it's a nice boost to my self esteem.
Everything else
* Jason is putting in his notice very soon. As soon as he gets his vacation paycheck in hand, he is giving his two weeks. We are nervous and well, nervous. We can afford this but it's going to be such a huge transition for him. Not only for his schedule being turned upside down but to take care of two little boys.
That's about it for now. I am sure I forgot some stuff since it's been so long since I posted.
I hope everyone is well and gearing up for Christmas!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Randoms
Today is Friday and I have today off! I have extra vacation time that I need to use up before the end of the year and my mother-in-law is out of town today (she usually watches Jack on Fridays) so a day off today worked out great.
* I took Jack to the Children's Museum today. He had a blast playing in the water room, in the Lego exhibit and in the dig pit. He is very much an independent player and doesn't pay any attention to the other kiddos.
* He strung together two words yesterday! He has done this before but it's usually like "Bye dog" or "Hi kitty". Yesterday? It was "More milk". Jack has also recently started saying Thank You. It comes out more like "Dang ooo" but hey, it works. It's never too early to teach good manners.
* We are finally sick free in our home. After roughly three weeks of stomach viruses, colds, and other maladies, we feel much better! Jack is now back on milk and very happy about it. Now what to do with a half gallon of chocolate soy milk?
* Jason and I celebrated our anniversary last weekend and while we had a good time, it sucked that Jason was sick. We had a nice dinner, breakfast and tons of conversation. The room wasn't our favorite (it would have been more enjoyable had the pillows been comfortable) but all in all, it was a nice break. I even enjoyed a glass of wine. I sipped it over two hours and it will be the only alcoholic beverage for this pregnancy.
* I am starting to feel a little better about Cal coming. I managed to put together a nine bin storage unit for the boy's bedroom and went through eight Rubbermaid bins of baby stuff. It is now all organized and labeled. The newborn to 3 month sizes are all washed and mostly put away. So if this little man comes now, at least he has clothes to wear!
* Christmas shopping is underway. I am a slacker this year and started late. Jason ordered Jack a Schwinn tricycle and I ordered a wooden play kitchen. Those will be Jack's "big" gifts. We will also be stuffing a stocking for him and possibly getting two more small gifts. I want to make a run to WalMart (normally I am not a fan) on Sunday for some stocking stuffers for the rest of my family.
* Jack has been sporadically sleeping through the night. His sleep overall has improved and I couldn't be happier. Murphy's Law says that he will start sleeping great right in time for Cal to make his appearance.
* We decided to keep the tiny kitten I rescued last week. After a clean bill of health from the vet and falling in love in about 10 minutes, little Lisa is now a part of our family. She is extremely energetic and has that "kitten" personality. You know, the kind where they climb curtains and run all over the place? She loves playing with Jack's toys.
* My c-section is officially scheduled. January 10th at 7:30am. We need to report to the hospital at 5:30am and by around 8:30, we should have a new baby! This is barring that he doesn't come any earlier. Don't get any ideas Cal.
* Jason has less than a month of work left before he quits to be a stay-at-home-Dad. We are both nervous. Him for having the responsibility for taking care of two kiddos. Me for the financial burden and being the sole bread-winner. We have discussed it and if it doesn't work out, it would be perfectly fine for him to go back to work. I won't hold it against him and he won't feel embarrassed that it didn't work out.
That's about it for us this week. I am 31.5 weeks pregnant. Just about 7.5 to go before we have our new addition!
* I took Jack to the Children's Museum today. He had a blast playing in the water room, in the Lego exhibit and in the dig pit. He is very much an independent player and doesn't pay any attention to the other kiddos.
* He strung together two words yesterday! He has done this before but it's usually like "Bye dog" or "Hi kitty". Yesterday? It was "More milk". Jack has also recently started saying Thank You. It comes out more like "Dang ooo" but hey, it works. It's never too early to teach good manners.
* We are finally sick free in our home. After roughly three weeks of stomach viruses, colds, and other maladies, we feel much better! Jack is now back on milk and very happy about it. Now what to do with a half gallon of chocolate soy milk?
* Jason and I celebrated our anniversary last weekend and while we had a good time, it sucked that Jason was sick. We had a nice dinner, breakfast and tons of conversation. The room wasn't our favorite (it would have been more enjoyable had the pillows been comfortable) but all in all, it was a nice break. I even enjoyed a glass of wine. I sipped it over two hours and it will be the only alcoholic beverage for this pregnancy.
* I am starting to feel a little better about Cal coming. I managed to put together a nine bin storage unit for the boy's bedroom and went through eight Rubbermaid bins of baby stuff. It is now all organized and labeled. The newborn to 3 month sizes are all washed and mostly put away. So if this little man comes now, at least he has clothes to wear!
* Christmas shopping is underway. I am a slacker this year and started late. Jason ordered Jack a Schwinn tricycle and I ordered a wooden play kitchen. Those will be Jack's "big" gifts. We will also be stuffing a stocking for him and possibly getting two more small gifts. I want to make a run to WalMart (normally I am not a fan) on Sunday for some stocking stuffers for the rest of my family.
* Jack has been sporadically sleeping through the night. His sleep overall has improved and I couldn't be happier. Murphy's Law says that he will start sleeping great right in time for Cal to make his appearance.
* We decided to keep the tiny kitten I rescued last week. After a clean bill of health from the vet and falling in love in about 10 minutes, little Lisa is now a part of our family. She is extremely energetic and has that "kitten" personality. You know, the kind where they climb curtains and run all over the place? She loves playing with Jack's toys.
* My c-section is officially scheduled. January 10th at 7:30am. We need to report to the hospital at 5:30am and by around 8:30, we should have a new baby! This is barring that he doesn't come any earlier. Don't get any ideas Cal.
* Jason has less than a month of work left before he quits to be a stay-at-home-Dad. We are both nervous. Him for having the responsibility for taking care of two kiddos. Me for the financial burden and being the sole bread-winner. We have discussed it and if it doesn't work out, it would be perfectly fine for him to go back to work. I won't hold it against him and he won't feel embarrassed that it didn't work out.
That's about it for us this week. I am 31.5 weeks pregnant. Just about 7.5 to go before we have our new addition!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Christmas Survey
I stole this from my friend Rachel over at B&R Plus 1....More.
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I am not a fan of eggnog at all. It just seems......wrong. Egg? In an drink? Hot chocolate all the way. Even better if there is a bit of peppermint in it.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wrapped definitely. When I was a kid, my parents would disguise their handwriting so we wouldn't know that Santa presents weren't from them. We plan on getting a play kitchen for Jack for Christmas. Not sure how I am going to wrap that one.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I do white lights on our tree but growing up my parents always used those big fat colored ones.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? I did once but only because someone gave me some.
5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually the day or week after Turkey Day. I used to go all out but with a toddler, we have scaled down a bit.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish? I have to choose just one? Oh my. Too bad, I will list my top three. The Chex Mix I make (I make it a bit spicy. Jason and I could eat a whole pan in a day or two if left to our own devices), Christmas cookies - Peanut Butter Blossoms specifically, and the Christmas rolls my mother-in-law makes for Christmas morning. So yummy!
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? My parents would bundle all us kids up and pack chairs and a thermos of cocoa and we would trek over to the skating rink at White's Park. This is when I lived in New Hampshire and the outdoor pond would freeze over. Why the chair? Because when we were young and just learning to skate, pushing a chair in front of you was the easiest way to keep your balance.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I was about 11 and I cried when I found out. No joke people.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Nope. We like to prolong the excitement and tear into everything on Christmas morning.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? This year we will do mostly non-breakable ornaments and a smaller tree since Jack is of the age where he wants to touch everything. Last year he didn't pay much attention to the tree at all thank goodness. I have ornaments that I have collected all my life that go on my tree. I have ones that I made in grade school, some that I have purchased while on vacation, some that my family has purchased for me and other special ones. Some years I do an all blue tree with only blue ornaments and it turns out beautiful. One of my favorite ornaments by far is a Old World glass tomato that my mom bought for me. I have a lot of Old World ornaments and they always make it on my tree.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I love it! Portland doesn't get nearly enough.
12. Can you ice skate? I love to skate. Haven't done it in over 15 years at least.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I have so many. As a child, I remember getting a scooter from my mom's best friend. We didn't have a lot of money growing up and she would always make our holidays special. I also loved the year that my in-laws bought us all the baby bedding stuff we needed. That was very special. They bought us Jack's mattress, crib sheets, bumper, and his glowing Seahorse. They spoiled me that year. My favorite gift from Jason probably had to be the year he got me my KitchenAid mixer. I knew what it was when it was delivered to the house and to be honest, I was not excited. I was like "he got me a mixer?". But in the end, I loved it. There are so many times I use it and think of him.
14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? I love the holidays but the most important thing is to keep up tradition. I could not make it through the holidays if I couldn't do the "traditional" things that I do every year. A shopping day with just Jason and I wrapped up by dinner out. Stockings for the adults over at my aunt's house. Christmas rolls for breakfast after tearing into gifts at my in-laws. Starting last year, I made a new tradition and got Jack Christmas jammies and read him The Night Before Christmas. I will continue this tradition every year.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Christmas cookies! Of any sort really.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? See my answer above. Christmas jammies for Jack and reading him The Night Before Christmas.
17. What tops your tree? I have a beautiful blown glass topper. It looks like a genie's lamp. That is the best way to describe it.
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Would it sound selfish if I said receiving? I am really bad at gift buying.
19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? Yuck to eat. But I always buy a box to hang on our tree!
20. Favorite Christmas show? Movie? It's a toss up between Love Actually and It's a Wonderful Life. Every year on Christmas Eve I wrap last minute presents and watch It's a Wonderful Life.
21. What is your favorite Christmas song? A song from the 80's called "Do They Know It's Christmas?". It's a compilation of British bands/rockers singing. I crank that up every time I hear it.
To wrap up this post, I cannot wait for Christmas this year. Last year was fun because it was Jack's first Christmas but I think he "gets it" a little more this year. I want to do so many things with him: Cookies for Santa, watching him open all his loot, singing Christmas songs. Watching Christmas through a child's eyes is so special.
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I am not a fan of eggnog at all. It just seems......wrong. Egg? In an drink? Hot chocolate all the way. Even better if there is a bit of peppermint in it.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wrapped definitely. When I was a kid, my parents would disguise their handwriting so we wouldn't know that Santa presents weren't from them. We plan on getting a play kitchen for Jack for Christmas. Not sure how I am going to wrap that one.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I do white lights on our tree but growing up my parents always used those big fat colored ones.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? I did once but only because someone gave me some.
5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually the day or week after Turkey Day. I used to go all out but with a toddler, we have scaled down a bit.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish? I have to choose just one? Oh my. Too bad, I will list my top three. The Chex Mix I make (I make it a bit spicy. Jason and I could eat a whole pan in a day or two if left to our own devices), Christmas cookies - Peanut Butter Blossoms specifically, and the Christmas rolls my mother-in-law makes for Christmas morning. So yummy!
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? My parents would bundle all us kids up and pack chairs and a thermos of cocoa and we would trek over to the skating rink at White's Park. This is when I lived in New Hampshire and the outdoor pond would freeze over. Why the chair? Because when we were young and just learning to skate, pushing a chair in front of you was the easiest way to keep your balance.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I was about 11 and I cried when I found out. No joke people.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Nope. We like to prolong the excitement and tear into everything on Christmas morning.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? This year we will do mostly non-breakable ornaments and a smaller tree since Jack is of the age where he wants to touch everything. Last year he didn't pay much attention to the tree at all thank goodness. I have ornaments that I have collected all my life that go on my tree. I have ones that I made in grade school, some that I have purchased while on vacation, some that my family has purchased for me and other special ones. Some years I do an all blue tree with only blue ornaments and it turns out beautiful. One of my favorite ornaments by far is a Old World glass tomato that my mom bought for me. I have a lot of Old World ornaments and they always make it on my tree.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I love it! Portland doesn't get nearly enough.
12. Can you ice skate? I love to skate. Haven't done it in over 15 years at least.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I have so many. As a child, I remember getting a scooter from my mom's best friend. We didn't have a lot of money growing up and she would always make our holidays special. I also loved the year that my in-laws bought us all the baby bedding stuff we needed. That was very special. They bought us Jack's mattress, crib sheets, bumper, and his glowing Seahorse. They spoiled me that year. My favorite gift from Jason probably had to be the year he got me my KitchenAid mixer. I knew what it was when it was delivered to the house and to be honest, I was not excited. I was like "he got me a mixer?". But in the end, I loved it. There are so many times I use it and think of him.
14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? I love the holidays but the most important thing is to keep up tradition. I could not make it through the holidays if I couldn't do the "traditional" things that I do every year. A shopping day with just Jason and I wrapped up by dinner out. Stockings for the adults over at my aunt's house. Christmas rolls for breakfast after tearing into gifts at my in-laws. Starting last year, I made a new tradition and got Jack Christmas jammies and read him The Night Before Christmas. I will continue this tradition every year.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Christmas cookies! Of any sort really.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? See my answer above. Christmas jammies for Jack and reading him The Night Before Christmas.
17. What tops your tree? I have a beautiful blown glass topper. It looks like a genie's lamp. That is the best way to describe it.
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Would it sound selfish if I said receiving? I am really bad at gift buying.
19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? Yuck to eat. But I always buy a box to hang on our tree!
20. Favorite Christmas show? Movie? It's a toss up between Love Actually and It's a Wonderful Life. Every year on Christmas Eve I wrap last minute presents and watch It's a Wonderful Life.
21. What is your favorite Christmas song? A song from the 80's called "Do They Know It's Christmas?". It's a compilation of British bands/rockers singing. I crank that up every time I hear it.
To wrap up this post, I cannot wait for Christmas this year. Last year was fun because it was Jack's first Christmas but I think he "gets it" a little more this year. I want to do so many things with him: Cookies for Santa, watching him open all his loot, singing Christmas songs. Watching Christmas through a child's eyes is so special.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Unexpected Kitten
This morning as I was driving Jack to daycare, I was crossing a very busy intersection and noticed something running across the road. I slowed down, expecting it to be a rat, but instead, it was a kitten! It was a small little guy in the middle of a very busy street. I swung into the center turn lane, threw on my hazards and got out hoping to grab the kitty.
Little kitty ran away and under a fence before I could grab it. I felt awful. I jumped back in my car and drove about half a block and saw another kitten! This one was in the gutter and I was able to safely pull over, grab it and then get back in the car. Don't fret moms out there. Jack was safe the whole time. I didn't go far enough away from the car that he was in danger.
I held the kitty on my lap and dropped Jack off at daycare. Poor little thing was shivering and purring at the same time. And I will be honest, she smelled.
I can only assume that some asshole dumped a litter of kittens. The area is all businesses and no houses nearby so I don't think they would have escaped from a house. I didn't see a momma cat nearby. They might be feral but regardless, that situation is not safe for a tiny kitten. They would have gotten run over.
Kitty came home with me and I woke Jason up to help me bathe her. Like I said, she was stinky. Of course being the softie that he is, he instantly fell in love with her. I keep referring to her as a her because she's a calico and most calicos are girls. I believe the percentage is 95% girls. She was such a good girl while we were bathing her. She just sat in the sink and mewed a little bit.
Once we got her cleaned off, I put a towel in our kitty carrier and put here in there away from the other cats. I let her rest for a while and got some cat food and wet it down with some canned food. She scarfed it down immediately. I will run to the store later and pick up some actual kitten food.
Now here's the issue. We don't need another cat. I know Jason wants to keep her but we really can't take another cat. I have put my feelers out and asked my in-laws if they want her. My mother in law is coming over this afternoon to see her and I have a feeling she is going to fall in love. Good! They can have her. If they don't want her, I am going to negotiate with Jason. One of our other cats needs to be put to sleep. She has health issues that aren't getting any better and she isn't living a productive life. She has needed to be put down for quite a while but Jason just can't bear to part with her.
I feel guilty. I feel guilty that I couldn't grab anymore kittens. I even drove back the same way on the way home to see if I could spot anymore kittens. I am so scared that they are going to get run over. I wish I had done more to find the others. I feel guilty about thinking of putting our older cat down. Why is guilt such a nasty rude emotion? I know deep down I did what I could to at least save this one.
What makes me the most mad is how anyone could dump a litter of kittens? It was an incredibly busy road and they were going to get run over. How hard is it to take the kittens to the Humane Society if you don't want them? Or post an ad on Craig's List? There are always people that want to adopt kittens. Especially ones with a sweet face like this girl.
I think "kitty" is still young to be away from mom even though she ate some cat food. I would guess she's around 5 to 6 weeks old. She is still too little to use the big cat litter box so I temporarily made her a litter box out of a box lid (I think I am already smitten, ugh!).
At any rate, that is the story of the unexpected kitten. Please pray that those other babies got rescued and not run over.
Little kitty ran away and under a fence before I could grab it. I felt awful. I jumped back in my car and drove about half a block and saw another kitten! This one was in the gutter and I was able to safely pull over, grab it and then get back in the car. Don't fret moms out there. Jack was safe the whole time. I didn't go far enough away from the car that he was in danger.
I held the kitty on my lap and dropped Jack off at daycare. Poor little thing was shivering and purring at the same time. And I will be honest, she smelled.
I can only assume that some asshole dumped a litter of kittens. The area is all businesses and no houses nearby so I don't think they would have escaped from a house. I didn't see a momma cat nearby. They might be feral but regardless, that situation is not safe for a tiny kitten. They would have gotten run over.
Kitty came home with me and I woke Jason up to help me bathe her. Like I said, she was stinky. Of course being the softie that he is, he instantly fell in love with her. I keep referring to her as a her because she's a calico and most calicos are girls. I believe the percentage is 95% girls. She was such a good girl while we were bathing her. She just sat in the sink and mewed a little bit.
Once we got her cleaned off, I put a towel in our kitty carrier and put here in there away from the other cats. I let her rest for a while and got some cat food and wet it down with some canned food. She scarfed it down immediately. I will run to the store later and pick up some actual kitten food.
Now here's the issue. We don't need another cat. I know Jason wants to keep her but we really can't take another cat. I have put my feelers out and asked my in-laws if they want her. My mother in law is coming over this afternoon to see her and I have a feeling she is going to fall in love. Good! They can have her. If they don't want her, I am going to negotiate with Jason. One of our other cats needs to be put to sleep. She has health issues that aren't getting any better and she isn't living a productive life. She has needed to be put down for quite a while but Jason just can't bear to part with her.
I feel guilty. I feel guilty that I couldn't grab anymore kittens. I even drove back the same way on the way home to see if I could spot anymore kittens. I am so scared that they are going to get run over. I wish I had done more to find the others. I feel guilty about thinking of putting our older cat down. Why is guilt such a nasty rude emotion? I know deep down I did what I could to at least save this one.
What makes me the most mad is how anyone could dump a litter of kittens? It was an incredibly busy road and they were going to get run over. How hard is it to take the kittens to the Humane Society if you don't want them? Or post an ad on Craig's List? There are always people that want to adopt kittens. Especially ones with a sweet face like this girl.
I think "kitty" is still young to be away from mom even though she ate some cat food. I would guess she's around 5 to 6 weeks old. She is still too little to use the big cat litter box so I temporarily made her a litter box out of a box lid (I think I am already smitten, ugh!).
At any rate, that is the story of the unexpected kitten. Please pray that those other babies got rescued and not run over.
Mish Mash
I have a lot of random stuff to post about. It's easier to do snippets rather than type everything out.
* Jack hasn't thrown up since last Wednesday! I credit the soy milk. The only side effect? The world's stinkiest diapers.
* HOWEVER, he now has another virus. After a very high fever Monday and a trip to the pediatrician, his poor little body is recovering. When will this poor child catch a break?
* I have a 4 day work week which is awesome considering how crazy last week was. I plan to spend my Friday off by finish up the painting in this house. I lead an exciting life huh?
* Our 5 year anniversary is Friday. I can't believe it's been 5 years.
* On another anniversary note, we are staying the night here on Saturday and enjoying a nice dinner at the Black Rabbit. It's one of our favorite places to go. I have already scouted the menu and I know that Jason is going to be ordering the rib eye. I will probably get the steak medallions unless there is another special that catches my eye.
* Have I mentioned that my older sister is expecting another baby? And it's going to be a BOY! She already has a 2 year old and this baby is due in March. I love that we are going to have newborns at the same time again.
* I am ridiculously excited for the holidays this year. I love Thanksgiving and Christmas and when you have little ones, it just seems so much more special. My due date is shortly after Christmas which makes me a little bit nervous that I am going to go early but I will remain positive! We have lists already for Jack. We plan to buy him one "big" gift and then a couple of smaller gifts. His "big" gift is going to be a play kitchen. It's wooden and nice quality and small enough to fit in our small living room.
* The Duggars announced that they are expecting baby #20. Why does everyone seem to have a negative opinion about this? Yes, she is of an advanced maternal age. Her last baby had complications but they don't have any correlation to her age. I am personally happy for the family and think they are so grounded and faithful. Haters need to zip it!
* I made an interesting soup this weekend out of Food Network magazine. It's a variation of a chicken noodle soup. It contained toasted spaghetti noodles, chick peas and a bunch of cilantro. It was very healthy and tasty! I would link the recipe but it's not on their website. Intead, here is a picture:
* This pregnancy is so much more different than Jack's. I have been lucky enough not to have hardly any of the same symptoms. I didn't have severe morning sickness. My hips don't hurt as much. My heartburn (when I have it) isn't horrible. I have gained weight at a slower rate. It just seems so different! I wonder if my body knows what to do this time or something?
* I have a kitten post that I am going to be doing later. I am pretty disgusted by humanity right now.
* Jack hasn't thrown up since last Wednesday! I credit the soy milk. The only side effect? The world's stinkiest diapers.
* HOWEVER, he now has another virus. After a very high fever Monday and a trip to the pediatrician, his poor little body is recovering. When will this poor child catch a break?
* I have a 4 day work week which is awesome considering how crazy last week was. I plan to spend my Friday off by finish up the painting in this house. I lead an exciting life huh?
* Our 5 year anniversary is Friday. I can't believe it's been 5 years.
* On another anniversary note, we are staying the night here on Saturday and enjoying a nice dinner at the Black Rabbit. It's one of our favorite places to go. I have already scouted the menu and I know that Jason is going to be ordering the rib eye. I will probably get the steak medallions unless there is another special that catches my eye.
* Have I mentioned that my older sister is expecting another baby? And it's going to be a BOY! She already has a 2 year old and this baby is due in March. I love that we are going to have newborns at the same time again.
* I am ridiculously excited for the holidays this year. I love Thanksgiving and Christmas and when you have little ones, it just seems so much more special. My due date is shortly after Christmas which makes me a little bit nervous that I am going to go early but I will remain positive! We have lists already for Jack. We plan to buy him one "big" gift and then a couple of smaller gifts. His "big" gift is going to be a play kitchen. It's wooden and nice quality and small enough to fit in our small living room.
* The Duggars announced that they are expecting baby #20. Why does everyone seem to have a negative opinion about this? Yes, she is of an advanced maternal age. Her last baby had complications but they don't have any correlation to her age. I am personally happy for the family and think they are so grounded and faithful. Haters need to zip it!
* I made an interesting soup this weekend out of Food Network magazine. It's a variation of a chicken noodle soup. It contained toasted spaghetti noodles, chick peas and a bunch of cilantro. It was very healthy and tasty! I would link the recipe but it's not on their website. Intead, here is a picture:
* This pregnancy is so much more different than Jack's. I have been lucky enough not to have hardly any of the same symptoms. I didn't have severe morning sickness. My hips don't hurt as much. My heartburn (when I have it) isn't horrible. I have gained weight at a slower rate. It just seems so different! I wonder if my body knows what to do this time or something?
* I have a kitten post that I am going to be doing later. I am pretty disgusted by humanity right now.
Friday, November 4, 2011
The "Yuck"
I have gotten to the point where I have time to actually post about Jack's stomach issues.
Last Saturday, upon waking up and eating breakfast, Jack threw up. Threw up his entire breakfast right where he was sitting in his highchair. Poor little guy. He seemed fine after that though and wasn't running a fever. In the next hour, he threw up two more times, mostly bile/water. At that point, I got a little concerned and so I called my mother-in-law. She hadn't fed him any new foods at her house the day before and he hadn't gotten into anything weird.
Since my son has had a stomach virus before and the hospital explained how to go through a re-hydration routine, I decided to try that. I gave Jack half a Zofran tablet, waited minutes and then started him on small doses of Pedialyte mixed with grape juice. Note: We didn't have any in the house so my mother-in-law stopped by with some liquids and some saltine crackers. How nice of her! Jack seemed fine after that but we still took it easy for the rest of the day. I gave him very bland foods (crackers, non-acidic fruit like bananas, etc.) and his regular milk and he seemed fine. No more throwing up.
Saturday night he went to bed as usual. Jason went out on Saturday night. I woke up around 12:30 and decided to go check on the little guy. He had completely flipped himself around in his crib because he had thrown up and didn't want to lay in it. First, cue the bad mommy feelings. I didn't even KNOW he had thrown up. He didn't fuss or cry or anything.
I then had to get him undressed, cleaned up and re-dressed. He must have been so tired because I picked him up from his crib and laid him down on his changing table and he didn't even fuss. Normally he hates being changed in the middle of the night be he seriously just laid there and didn't move. I decided rather than stripping down his crib and changing the sheets in my blurry state, I would just bring him to bed with me.
I texted Jason and he came home immediately. He really didn't need to since Jack was sleeping but he did and I am grateful. He brought a towel in to lay under us and no sooner did he do that, Jack threw up again. I don't think I got much sleep the rest of the night since I was so worried about my boy.
Sunday was fine. I didn't give Jack milk. At the ER they said that milk is hard to digest and can irritate their little stomachs. I had remembered that and followed through. Jack didn't throw up all day on Sunday and seemed fine.
Monday he went to daycare and had milk - I thought it was fine since he was fine all day on Sunday - and threw up at breakfast and pooped through three pairs of pants. I had to go pick him early because he ran out of pants. Sigh. I called the pediatrician and talked to a nurse that I didn't really love. She made me feel pretty stupid but explained I should keep him off milk for 24 hours. When I explained I had been doing that and he threw up as soon as it was reintroduced, she disagreed with me. Apparently I am a liar. He had no milk for afternoon snack, dinner or before bed in the hopes to give his little tummy a break.
Tuesday: No milk, no puking but still had the diarrhea.
Wednesday: I told daycare that if he was able to keep his breakfast and morning snack, he could have milk for lunch and afternoon snack. At lunch, it would be over 36 hours with no milk. He did fine. Except at dinner. He threw up his entire dinner in his highchair. Sigh sigh sigh.
Thursday: I called the pediatrician because at this point it seems it's been a long time for this virus to clear up. The better nurse was much more helpful. She explained that stomach bugs can last weeks. And it's not unusual for kids to be fine on cheese and other dairy but have a reaction to milk. She suggested switching Jack to soy milk for a period of time to give his tummy a break and to give him yogurt to replenish the good bacteria in his belly. After a week on the soy he can start having milk again but slowly reintroduce it. If he starts vomitting again, back off the milk. If this all continues for about three weeks, he needs to be seen for a GI consult.
All this time I have thought maybe it was a lactose issue or milk allergy. It still could be but I want to rule out the stomach virus first.
This whole long drawn-out story leads to this: Jack now is on soy milk indefinitely. At least now he gets his "milk". He was upset at not being able to have it. He gets a cup before bed which helps him sleep. He hasn't been sleeping well which means this momma hasn't been sleeping well.
And to add insult to injury? He now appears to have a cold. Seriously, this child never can catch a break. I am tired of this stomach "yuck" and I am sure Jack must be as well.
Last Saturday, upon waking up and eating breakfast, Jack threw up. Threw up his entire breakfast right where he was sitting in his highchair. Poor little guy. He seemed fine after that though and wasn't running a fever. In the next hour, he threw up two more times, mostly bile/water. At that point, I got a little concerned and so I called my mother-in-law. She hadn't fed him any new foods at her house the day before and he hadn't gotten into anything weird.
Since my son has had a stomach virus before and the hospital explained how to go through a re-hydration routine, I decided to try that. I gave Jack half a Zofran tablet, waited minutes and then started him on small doses of Pedialyte mixed with grape juice. Note: We didn't have any in the house so my mother-in-law stopped by with some liquids and some saltine crackers. How nice of her! Jack seemed fine after that but we still took it easy for the rest of the day. I gave him very bland foods (crackers, non-acidic fruit like bananas, etc.) and his regular milk and he seemed fine. No more throwing up.
Saturday night he went to bed as usual. Jason went out on Saturday night. I woke up around 12:30 and decided to go check on the little guy. He had completely flipped himself around in his crib because he had thrown up and didn't want to lay in it. First, cue the bad mommy feelings. I didn't even KNOW he had thrown up. He didn't fuss or cry or anything.
I then had to get him undressed, cleaned up and re-dressed. He must have been so tired because I picked him up from his crib and laid him down on his changing table and he didn't even fuss. Normally he hates being changed in the middle of the night be he seriously just laid there and didn't move. I decided rather than stripping down his crib and changing the sheets in my blurry state, I would just bring him to bed with me.
I texted Jason and he came home immediately. He really didn't need to since Jack was sleeping but he did and I am grateful. He brought a towel in to lay under us and no sooner did he do that, Jack threw up again. I don't think I got much sleep the rest of the night since I was so worried about my boy.
Sunday was fine. I didn't give Jack milk. At the ER they said that milk is hard to digest and can irritate their little stomachs. I had remembered that and followed through. Jack didn't throw up all day on Sunday and seemed fine.
Monday he went to daycare and had milk - I thought it was fine since he was fine all day on Sunday - and threw up at breakfast and pooped through three pairs of pants. I had to go pick him early because he ran out of pants. Sigh. I called the pediatrician and talked to a nurse that I didn't really love. She made me feel pretty stupid but explained I should keep him off milk for 24 hours. When I explained I had been doing that and he threw up as soon as it was reintroduced, she disagreed with me. Apparently I am a liar. He had no milk for afternoon snack, dinner or before bed in the hopes to give his little tummy a break.
Tuesday: No milk, no puking but still had the diarrhea.
Wednesday: I told daycare that if he was able to keep his breakfast and morning snack, he could have milk for lunch and afternoon snack. At lunch, it would be over 36 hours with no milk. He did fine. Except at dinner. He threw up his entire dinner in his highchair. Sigh sigh sigh.
Thursday: I called the pediatrician because at this point it seems it's been a long time for this virus to clear up. The better nurse was much more helpful. She explained that stomach bugs can last weeks. And it's not unusual for kids to be fine on cheese and other dairy but have a reaction to milk. She suggested switching Jack to soy milk for a period of time to give his tummy a break and to give him yogurt to replenish the good bacteria in his belly. After a week on the soy he can start having milk again but slowly reintroduce it. If he starts vomitting again, back off the milk. If this all continues for about three weeks, he needs to be seen for a GI consult.
All this time I have thought maybe it was a lactose issue or milk allergy. It still could be but I want to rule out the stomach virus first.
This whole long drawn-out story leads to this: Jack now is on soy milk indefinitely. At least now he gets his "milk". He was upset at not being able to have it. He gets a cup before bed which helps him sleep. He hasn't been sleeping well which means this momma hasn't been sleeping well.
And to add insult to injury? He now appears to have a cold. Seriously, this child never can catch a break. I am tired of this stomach "yuck" and I am sure Jack must be as well.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
28 Week Appointment
On Friday I had my 28 week appointment. I double-teamed my appointments that day. I did my 1-hour glucose tolerance test in the morning before work and then had the appointment with my OB in the afternoon.
When I was pregnant with Jack I failed the 1-hour test miserably. It could be that I fasted beforehand which I didn't realize was not very smart. This time, I ate some scrambled eggs for breakfast before I drank the orange glucose solution. The results were available yesterday and if there was a problem my doctor was supposed to call me. Considering I haven't received a phone call, I will assume that I passed. Thank goodness because that 3-hour test is brutal. I got really sick when I had to take it the last time and I was not looking forward to doing it again this time.
My appointment was pretty routine. I had my blood pressure checked which was higher than usual. I typically run right around 110/65. Friday I was at 135/70. The nurse mentioned that she wanted to have my proteins checked to see if I had any in my urine. If I did, obviously, this is an issue. If not, then my blood pressure will be watched closely to make sure I don't have any underlying issues. The biggest concern they have is pre-eclampsia but at this point, since I haven't heard anything, I will consider no news as good news.
Up until Friday I had never asked about my weight gain or even looked at the scale to see how much weight I have gained. I told myself with this pregnancy I would go easy on myself and not track every single calorie like I did with Jack. I had high expectations of myself the last time and in the end, I was disappointed. This time, I want to have a healthy relationship with my weight and not worry unless the doctor says something to me specifically.
I asked. And I was very shocked at the answer. 14 pounds. I honestly thought it would be much much higher. By 24 weeks with Jack I had gained 16 pounds. So at 28 weeks I have gained 14. I am very happy with this. Of course, I know this could change dramatically and the scale could jump a huge number but for now, I am happy.
My OB and I talked about when I would deliver. He generally schedules routine c-sections for 39 weeks. I asked him if I would be allowed to schedule for a day earlier at 38 weeks 6 days. That is the 9th of January and a Monday. I don't have any valid reason other than it's a Monday and it would be easier on my mother-in-law's schedule (she is planning to take a week off when the baby comes) as well as Jack's daycare schedule. I realize that both of these are very stupid reasons and I should want to keep this baby put for as long as possible. That is why I was not disappointed when my OB explained that in the last couple of months the hospital changed its policy and they don't allow women to schedule a repeat c-section before 39 weeks.
This means Cal's official eviction date, if he hasn't made an appearance already, will be Tuesday January 10th. I like this date. First, it's a nice even number. Second, it's a Tuesday which is the same day Jack was born.
Mark my words: I have a sneaking suspicion that Cal is going to come earlier. Jack was 9 days early. I think Cal is going to be 10 days early. Not sure why I think that but that is my marked prediction. Now that I officially stated that, he will be right on time!
My last update is regarding my labs. At my lab appointment I was told all the blood work would be back Monday. My nurse said that if there were any results that were off (low iron, protein, I failed the glucose test, etc.) that they would call on Monday. Here it is Tuesday and I haven't heard anything. Like I said before, no news is good news!
I am officially 29 weeks pregnant today. 10 weeks to go! Holy shit.
When I was pregnant with Jack I failed the 1-hour test miserably. It could be that I fasted beforehand which I didn't realize was not very smart. This time, I ate some scrambled eggs for breakfast before I drank the orange glucose solution. The results were available yesterday and if there was a problem my doctor was supposed to call me. Considering I haven't received a phone call, I will assume that I passed. Thank goodness because that 3-hour test is brutal. I got really sick when I had to take it the last time and I was not looking forward to doing it again this time.
My appointment was pretty routine. I had my blood pressure checked which was higher than usual. I typically run right around 110/65. Friday I was at 135/70. The nurse mentioned that she wanted to have my proteins checked to see if I had any in my urine. If I did, obviously, this is an issue. If not, then my blood pressure will be watched closely to make sure I don't have any underlying issues. The biggest concern they have is pre-eclampsia but at this point, since I haven't heard anything, I will consider no news as good news.
Up until Friday I had never asked about my weight gain or even looked at the scale to see how much weight I have gained. I told myself with this pregnancy I would go easy on myself and not track every single calorie like I did with Jack. I had high expectations of myself the last time and in the end, I was disappointed. This time, I want to have a healthy relationship with my weight and not worry unless the doctor says something to me specifically.
I asked. And I was very shocked at the answer. 14 pounds. I honestly thought it would be much much higher. By 24 weeks with Jack I had gained 16 pounds. So at 28 weeks I have gained 14. I am very happy with this. Of course, I know this could change dramatically and the scale could jump a huge number but for now, I am happy.
My OB and I talked about when I would deliver. He generally schedules routine c-sections for 39 weeks. I asked him if I would be allowed to schedule for a day earlier at 38 weeks 6 days. That is the 9th of January and a Monday. I don't have any valid reason other than it's a Monday and it would be easier on my mother-in-law's schedule (she is planning to take a week off when the baby comes) as well as Jack's daycare schedule. I realize that both of these are very stupid reasons and I should want to keep this baby put for as long as possible. That is why I was not disappointed when my OB explained that in the last couple of months the hospital changed its policy and they don't allow women to schedule a repeat c-section before 39 weeks.
This means Cal's official eviction date, if he hasn't made an appearance already, will be Tuesday January 10th. I like this date. First, it's a nice even number. Second, it's a Tuesday which is the same day Jack was born.
Mark my words: I have a sneaking suspicion that Cal is going to come earlier. Jack was 9 days early. I think Cal is going to be 10 days early. Not sure why I think that but that is my marked prediction. Now that I officially stated that, he will be right on time!
My last update is regarding my labs. At my lab appointment I was told all the blood work would be back Monday. My nurse said that if there were any results that were off (low iron, protein, I failed the glucose test, etc.) that they would call on Monday. Here it is Tuesday and I haven't heard anything. Like I said before, no news is good news!
I am officially 29 weeks pregnant today. 10 weeks to go! Holy shit.
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