Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Symptoms

I have symptoms! I am very glad about this.

* Sore boobs - I didn't have them with Jack. I will take that as a good sign.
* Serious bloat - I am walking around with my pants unbuttoned. Tre sexy!
* Morning sickness - It's all day sickness actually. Time to break out the B6/Unisom combo.
* Fatigue - That could be because I am not sleeping well because Jack is not sleeping well.

I have my first OB appointment on June 10th. I am hoping for a good heartbeat and a healthy bean!

My baby is the size of a lentil bean right now (6 weeks 1 day). I am referring to him as my little lentil.

::Sigh:: I am in love already!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Baby Number Two

I will be the first to admit that "adult" time in our house is rather, shall we say........limited. With Jason and I working different schedules, and a child that doesn't sleep, it makes it difficult to have much time together. The last time we did "the deed", it was on my cycle day 11. I don't chart, but I do keep track of my days on a calendar, just in case. I remember thinking "Oh, no problem, it's only day 11".

Fast forward to my time in New Hampshire. I was due to get my period the Monday I arrived. Nothing like Aunt Flo to ruin a vacation! When Monday and Tuesday both came and went with nada, I thought to myself "Eh, it's just stress from traveling and a death in the family. No worries!". Wednesday, nothing. Thursday, nothing. My mom and sisters and I happened to be out running errands, so I grabbed a test. Why not rule it out? Anyways, everyone knows that once you actually purchase a pregnancy test, your period will mysteriously arrive.

We got back to my Mom's house and I tested. As I was cleaning up the bathroom, I looked down and lo and behold. Positive. There was absolutely no doubt. Unlike other pregnancy tests I have taken, this one was very dark and very noticeable.

I walked around in shock for the rest of the day. I did make some time to call Jason and he was shocked, but very excited. His excitement made ME excited. I think my biggest worry was where we were going to put another baby in this tiny house. I was also worried how I would possibly love another child as much as I love Jack. I felt a little guilt about bringing another baby into the world and taking attention away from our son.

Please don't get me wrong. We knew we were going to have another baby someday. These thoughts were all ones that I had pondered, but at the moment I found out, they all came to the forefront.

When I woke up on Friday morning, the fears had all left me. I was now very excited. Was our baby going to be another boy? Or a girl? Would I have morning sickness this time? How would Jack react to a new baby?

This pregnancy is very very different from my pregnancy with Jack. That in itself worries me. I was terribly sick with Jack, had a ton of fatigue, and was ravenous all day. This time, I have nothing. Does that mean my baby is okay? I have to worry until June 10th when I have my first OB appointment.

In the meantime, today I am pregnant and I love my baby. Keep growing little one! And if you want to grace me with some symptoms, I will welcome them with open arms!

Friday, May 20, 2011

Life Changes

Jack and I are back from our 11 day trip to the East Coast. What a whirlwind. I will post a longer entry later, but for now, two major life changes have occurred.

I am pregnant.

I am getting a new job.

Yikes! That was scary putting both of those out there.

I am nervous about being pregnant. Not to have another baby of course, but nervous because I have absolutely NO symptoms. That scares me. We are going to have to either move very shortly, or do some major renovations on our house to make room for baby number two. More to come on that.

I found out both of these things will back East which was difficult because my husband wasn't with me! I use him as my sounding board, and he wasn't readily available with me being in Northern Maine with no cell phone reception.

About the job. Eeek! It's my dream job. At a company I have wanted to work with for a year (since I graduated from college). I am in the process of negotiations still, but it appears that I will get the salary that I was hoping for. Which means in a few months, Jason will be able to quit work and be a SAHD.

I am still in shock over both of these things. I want to do a full post about what led me to believe I was pregnant in the first place along with all the details.

Baby Number Two
Estimated Due Date January 18th, 2012

Jack won't even be 2 yet! 2 under 2 here we come!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Surgery Success!

After a month of anxious waiting, Jack had his surgery today. It went very well and we can stop worrying, at least about this. Here is a run-down of our day.

I woke up at 5:00 to get ready for the day. Jason stayed awake all night because of his schedule. Jack couldn't have any food or drink after midnight last night, so he was not a happy camper this morning.


With coffee cups in hand and the boy dressed in his jammies, we were out the door by 6:00. We arrived at the hospital at 6:15 and went through the whole check-in process. By 7:00 we were brought upstairs to Jack's room. The room is shared by four babies so it was a pretty tight fit. Jack was third in line for the same procedure, so we had some waiting to do. The doctor does surgeries based on age, so there were two babies younger than Jack who were first. After dressing in hospital scrubs (too cute!) and going through the weighing process (23.2 pounds) and having his vitals checked, we were off to the playroom!


Jack played for about an hour. It didn't matter that he was hungry or tired. He had a blast playing and running around with the other kiddos. It certainly didn't hurt that they had Disney Junior on the tv either.


Can I just say how awesome Legacy Emanuel is? It's a children's hospital with its own ER and staff of doctors and nurses who are wonderful with children. They treat you like family and every room and waiting area is really catered to children. It made the whole process a lot less scary for both Jack and me (and Jason too, although he won't admit that he was worried).


By 8:00, Jack was very tired so we made our way back to his room for some quiet. At that time, the nurse came in and dosed him with some Tylenol and some Verced (like Valium). It was explained to us that the Verced would make him relax and not be scared as much when it was time to carry him off to surgery. My little Jack didn't even throw up when he got his medicine. He happily opened his mouth (probably because he was starving by that time) and drank it right up! Then we were wheeled downstairs for the procedure. I held Jack since he was starting to get loopy from the medication.


Being the freak that I am, I took some pictures. Below is one of him all doped up and happy. Isn't he funny? Apparently he thought Daddy was pretty entertaining.


Here I am holding him. He looks a little "tired" in this picture. Well wouldn't you if you had a dose of Valium?
I look like Hell, but you can just ignore. I have been stress eating for the past few weeks, but that is for another post.

The anesthesiologist came and introduced himself and asked the regular questions. I explained that I get seriously nauseous with any form of anesthetic, so they wanted to watch Jack carefully. Then the ENT came and answered any questions that we had. After that, Jack was carried off for the procedure. Considering that he was well medicated, he was happy and smiling when they brought him back.

Jason and I sat in the waiting room, which was awful by the way. The waiting itself, not the actual waiting room. 15 minutes was all it took for the procedure. Dr. Hertler came to us and said the surgery went great although he had to suction Jack's ears because there was quite a bit of pus and mucus behind the drums. Isn't it amazing? He is on antibiotics for an ear infection as we speak and he still had the pus. That just goes to show you just how important this surgery was for him to have.

We needed to wait until Jack came out of the anesthesia - which is just a laughing gas mixed with something else - and was lucid enough to recognize us before we could be excused to Recovery. That was about another 15 minutes of waiting. Both Jason and I knew he was coming due to the wailing we could hear down the hall. I guess the anesthesia makes them a little disoriented when they first come to. Plus, it probably didn't help that he was being carried by a stranger.

Holding my little man for the first time after was such a relief! I was so glad that he did well and we could finally go upstairs to Recovery and Snuggle (that is my made up name for the department).

Jack felt a little yucky when he woke up, but mostly from being so hungry. He sucked down a small bottle of glucose water and then some apple juice when we got back upstairs. The nurse okayed him for other foods, so out came the bag of snacks! In between crying jags (this is totally normal for a child coming out of anesthesia) he would eat a few Cheerios and drink some milk.

After two rounds of vital signs and 45 minutes of snuggling and waiting, we were free to go home! Armed with our ear drops, instructions for after surgery and a tired baby, we went to the car.

And of course, because he was exhausted, Jack fell asleep on the way home. Meanwhile, the starving husband and I got breakfast and then came home and crashed on the couch.

Jack feels great! He ate a good lunch and now he's down for a nap. I can already tell he's hearing better because he is "talking" using totally different sounds than I am used to - if that makes any sense.

It really is answered prayers. After all the anxiety and worry, I am hoping that finally Jack will start to feel like a normal kiddo.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Jack is 15 Months Old

How time flies! Jack, you are 15 months old today.

Boy you crack me up. Here are some of the things that you are up to this month:

* Words: You say "mama" and "dada" still as well as some other words. You say "Dat?" for What's that? And "gee" for doggie. And "ela" for hello. And "ah don" for all done. Okay really? I was starting to worry that you weren't saying a lot until I listened and realized that you were saying A LOT! The words may not come out perfectly, but we know what you mean.

* You can sign more and milk. We are working on water and all done for you. It's cute to see you eat your favorite food and when you want more, you sign.

* Tomorrow is your surgery for your ear tubes. I am nervous for you buddy, but I am also looking forward to seeing you feel a lot better.

* You actively wave bye-bye and hello. It's so cute to watch your chubby little hand waggle up and down.

* One of your favorite things to do is climb. I try and take you to the playground at least once a week during the weekends. As the weather gets better, I plan to take you more and more. You still haven't mastered the slide. You want to run down it rather than sit on your butt and slide down.

* You are doing so awesome with your eating! You are eating more and more every day. You aren't a huge meat lover, but there are some foods that are definitely your favorite: Peanut butter, turkey, blueberries and pretty much any carb.

* You are learning how to drink from a big boy cup. You can tip the cup back all by yourself. Sometimes this results in a shower and Mommy having to change your shirt, but hey! You are learning.

* We are going on an airplane trip in a few days. Be a good boy during the flight okay?

* Sleeping is still difficult for you. With six ear infections since February, it's hard for you to find your groove. But, on the nights you feel good, you go down to bed around 7 and then stay down in your crib anywhere until 9 to 10. One of these days you will start sleeping better. Until then, you are still in bed with Mommy.

* It's time for a new haircut! This will make two already. You have Daddy's hair because it grows so fast.

* You are now learning how to put the shapes in your shape sorter. You will sit and try and get them in the holes for quite a while. And you are discovering that some toys fit in other toys. I will often find you stacking toys inside one another. It's always fun shoving things where they don't belong! Like in the trash can or recycling bin.

* Um can you stop growing please? I swear to God you grew over night. I put a size 12 month pair of pants on you that fit and now, out of nowhere you are wearing high waters! You have super duper long legs.

Jack Jack, we love you. Grammie and Auntie Rebecca and cousin Greyson can't wait to see you again! Your Great Memere would have loved to see you again, but she's in Heaven now. How proud she would be of you.

Little man, you steal my heart every day. Some days are more trying than others, but at the end of the day, I love you more. You are showing your personality so much more these days and I love it! How independent you have become. Love you buddy!