Today marks one week in the hospital. Having never stayed in the hospital for anything other than my delivery with Juliet, I didn't know what to expect and can say that the long stay has been harder than I expected. I don't think it's being here that's hardest for me; more the undefined length of my stay. Yes, the doctor said our goal was 34 weeks - which would be next Wednesday - but one nurse put it well when she said that as long as the baby was thriving, staying pregnant was the best scenario ... that news hit the emotional planner in me like a ton of bricks. So, we have no idea. Maybe next Wednesday, maybe the following Friday ... your guess is as good as mine!
Had an ultrasound yesterday and the baby looks great. Lungs looked good, size measuring right on track, etc. My trip to radiology was my first time out of my room so that was pretty exciting - a fun gurney ride to spice up my day :) I did get permission to go on a daily wheelchair ride so hopefully I can get out for 20 minutes of fresh air sometime soon.
My sisters brought Juliet up here this evening. I love it when she comes. It's like a little piece of me is gone when she's not around so my heart just feels complete when she walks in the room saying "mama." Tonight when they were here, I thought to myself "I can't wait to get home so things can get back to normal." And then I realized that when I do get out of here things aren't going to be the way the used to. Old normal is gone. Everything will be totally different when I go home. I feel like I'm in this weird in between space - the twilight zone or something. I showed up here one week ago today unknowingly entering this transition time from old normal to new normal. I can't deny that I feel like my time in the old normal was cut a little short and I'm sad that I can't have just a few more days.
I'm reading what I've typed so far and realize that it may sound like I'm not excited for baby #2 to arrive. I'm excited for this next phase of our lives and the positive changes that I know the baby will mean for us as a family. Babies are such an amazing blessing and a true miracle. I can't wait to meet this little one. Maybe I'm just longing for something to be defined in my life right now ... and it seems that everything coming up is not!
The only thing that's defined and constant are the amazing people around me who have literally dropped everything to make sure that the 4 of us are loved and more than taken care of. My family has been a true testimony to what it looks like to be the hands and feet of Christ. I have good company usually more than once a day, Sonic when I need it, and I sit/lay here without a worry or concern about my little girl ... or my husband being fed. And I know they will keep it up until I deliver one day or 2 weeks from now and that makes me overwhelmed with gratitude to the point of tears.
God is so good - in the old normal, the now, and the new normal.
Showing posts with label baby#2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby#2. Show all posts
28 November 2009
25 November 2009
33 weeks
Today is a new day. I am here in the hospital, pregnant and thankful that God has blessed us with more than 72 hours of additional baking for the little sweet potato cooking inside of me. Whether we have 12 more hours of 7 more days I can't say, but I am resting in God's control and knowing that He has the perfect birthday picked out!
Hospital stays are not easy. I feel like I'm in prison or something and even though I don't DO anything all day long, I'm tired and out of it. I consider myself blessed to be this far along; the outlook would not be as good if I were only 20 something weeks and my prison sentence could be much worse -- the goal is to make it to 34 weeks so next Wednesday. For now the baby looks good and while I am contracting some, they aren't regular/frequent and apparently "normal" for this type of scenario. I've been getting decent sleep - thanks to ambien - so should be about as well rested as I could possibly have hoped to be when we become a family of 4 :)
As far as everything and everyone else, all I can say is that I'm truly amazed. I knew my husband was awesome, but his ability to be a working dad AND mom at the same time, all while trying to finish up major home renovations with an emotional pregnant wife stuck in the hospital has been phenomenal. He's more than busy round the clock now, but is taking care of every detail his bed ridden wife thinks of and everything that I don't know about! And big girl J has taken everything in stride and while I'm told she asks about me often, she's truly handling all this better than I am ... perhaps I should try to emulate her strength :) Having this happen Thanksgiving week helped immensely with child care - Aunt Di and Dan have gotten to help out along with a lot of Grandma time. Everyone has the rest of the week off, so that is good.
And our extended family and friends have been more than wonderful. Not a day has gone by that I haven't had at least 3 visitors, some planned and some surprises, all so incredibly appreciated more than words can describe. Dominic hasn't had to worry about cooking, my family is working overtime trying to get the house finished up, and we can just feel a great big hug surrounding us and holding us together.
So, that's about all I can come up with as an update for now. While I sort of wish I had something more exciting to report, I guess it's a good thing that I don't!
Hospital stays are not easy. I feel like I'm in prison or something and even though I don't DO anything all day long, I'm tired and out of it. I consider myself blessed to be this far along; the outlook would not be as good if I were only 20 something weeks and my prison sentence could be much worse -- the goal is to make it to 34 weeks so next Wednesday. For now the baby looks good and while I am contracting some, they aren't regular/frequent and apparently "normal" for this type of scenario. I've been getting decent sleep - thanks to ambien - so should be about as well rested as I could possibly have hoped to be when we become a family of 4 :)
As far as everything and everyone else, all I can say is that I'm truly amazed. I knew my husband was awesome, but his ability to be a working dad AND mom at the same time, all while trying to finish up major home renovations with an emotional pregnant wife stuck in the hospital has been phenomenal. He's more than busy round the clock now, but is taking care of every detail his bed ridden wife thinks of and everything that I don't know about! And big girl J has taken everything in stride and while I'm told she asks about me often, she's truly handling all this better than I am ... perhaps I should try to emulate her strength :) Having this happen Thanksgiving week helped immensely with child care - Aunt Di and Dan have gotten to help out along with a lot of Grandma time. Everyone has the rest of the week off, so that is good.
And our extended family and friends have been more than wonderful. Not a day has gone by that I haven't had at least 3 visitors, some planned and some surprises, all so incredibly appreciated more than words can describe. Dominic hasn't had to worry about cooking, my family is working overtime trying to get the house finished up, and we can just feel a great big hug surrounding us and holding us together.
So, that's about all I can come up with as an update for now. While I sort of wish I had something more exciting to report, I guess it's a good thing that I don't!
21 November 2009
32 weeker
32 weeker - that's hospital speak for me and the baby. I'm working on my hospital lingo and preemie knowledge because as the last 18 hours have unfolded, it looks like I'm going to need a good understanding of both.
Last night - and yesterday for that matter - were pretty typical days. Nothing out of the ordinary baby wise. I got up to go to the bathroom at 1:30 am - as usual - and thought to myself that one of these times I'd wake up to my water breaking like it did with J. I reassured myself that I'd be much more calm this time around and went back to bed ... only to wake up to that very thing less than 2 hours later! Water broke at 3:15 am. I was calm. Mostly just upset because I know how early this is and liked giving birth to a healthy full term baby last time around. Woke Dominic up, called the doctor on call just to make sure I really HAD to go to the hospital. Ummmm yes you do ... ok fine ... packed a bag, waited for mom to come stay with J and loaded up in the car. Got here around 4:15. Definite rupture, having contractions. I was under the assumption we'd be having a baby, but was informed that since I am only 32 wks 3 days they don't want me to have the baby yet. Got a shot of steriods for the baby's lung's and a shot of something to stop the contractions. Had no idea they even had such a thing! Shot worked and contractions subsided. Having some small ones now, but they've been non existent since about 7am.
The nurse told me that I'd be spending the holidays here. I wasn't very happy to hear that. My 48 hour stay in the hospital was plenty long enough with J thank you very much!!!! But we'll stay as long as it takes ... I'm crying off and on about what that means for us as a family and the day in day out ... but God is in control and we'll just hang in there.
Talked to the doctor on call and he said that I will stay here until one of 3 things happen:
I think I'm going to try to get some sleep now. Hopefully with some success!
Last night - and yesterday for that matter - were pretty typical days. Nothing out of the ordinary baby wise. I got up to go to the bathroom at 1:30 am - as usual - and thought to myself that one of these times I'd wake up to my water breaking like it did with J. I reassured myself that I'd be much more calm this time around and went back to bed ... only to wake up to that very thing less than 2 hours later! Water broke at 3:15 am. I was calm. Mostly just upset because I know how early this is and liked giving birth to a healthy full term baby last time around. Woke Dominic up, called the doctor on call just to make sure I really HAD to go to the hospital. Ummmm yes you do ... ok fine ... packed a bag, waited for mom to come stay with J and loaded up in the car. Got here around 4:15. Definite rupture, having contractions. I was under the assumption we'd be having a baby, but was informed that since I am only 32 wks 3 days they don't want me to have the baby yet. Got a shot of steriods for the baby's lung's and a shot of something to stop the contractions. Had no idea they even had such a thing! Shot worked and contractions subsided. Having some small ones now, but they've been non existent since about 7am.
The nurse told me that I'd be spending the holidays here. I wasn't very happy to hear that. My 48 hour stay in the hospital was plenty long enough with J thank you very much!!!! But we'll stay as long as it takes ... I'm crying off and on about what that means for us as a family and the day in day out ... but God is in control and we'll just hang in there.
Talked to the doctor on call and he said that I will stay here until one of 3 things happen:
- There is sign of infection. Now that I am ruptured, there is no barrier of protection from infection for the baby so the risk of infection is high.
- The baby shows signs of distress or I go into labor. He said they will not stop my labor again. They figure that if my body is trying to get the baby out that there is probably a reason.
- The baby reaches a certain gestational age. He said this varies from doctor to doctor (what they think is best), but that he would say that I would likely be induced between 34 and 35 weeks assuming neither of the first 2 things happen first.
I think I'm going to try to get some sleep now. Hopefully with some success!
18 November 2009
thankful
We're back home (since last Friday). Most of the dust has settled. We had a small army of painters in our house over the weekend priming what felt like every wall and ceiling in sight. I have at least 8 empty gallons paint in my garage. It would have taken us months to accomplish what our wonderful family and friends helped us accomplish in a weekend.
I am thankful. We have a healthy one year old who's learning to eat with silverware, climb up on nearly every chair in our house (and the toilet), and makes her daddy and I smile every day with her smile, dancing, and funny one word remarks :) We have a happy healthy baby who at 32/33 weeks has a striking resemblance to my handsome husband of nearly 8 years.
I am thankful. We have a healthy one year old who's learning to eat with silverware, climb up on nearly every chair in our house (and the toilet), and makes her daddy and I smile every day with her smile, dancing, and funny one word remarks :) We have a happy healthy baby who at 32/33 weeks has a striking resemblance to my handsome husband of nearly 8 years.
The doctor asked me how it felt to have my husband in my uterus ... ummm awkward when you put it that way !! :)
I will post more pictures of the house soon. We are attempting to make the transition from insane asylum white, aka primer, to actual colors. The laminate floor delivery has been delayed a week and I'm having some trouble getting a carpet installer over here to measure the bedrooms - which both puzzles and frustrates me - but we are moving forward with what we can in the mean time!
49 days to go ...
I will post more pictures of the house soon. We are attempting to make the transition from insane asylum white, aka primer, to actual colors. The laminate floor delivery has been delayed a week and I'm having some trouble getting a carpet installer over here to measure the bedrooms - which both puzzles and frustrates me - but we are moving forward with what we can in the mean time!
49 days to go ...
06 November 2009
belly shot
So, here we are on Wednesday night at 30/31 weeks. Maybe we'll get another belly shot in before this babe decides to join us ...
Had to crop my face out of this one ... I told you I wasn't wearing makeup this month :)
Had to crop my face out of this one ... I told you I wasn't wearing makeup this month :)
30 October 2009
28/29 weeks
Poor neglected baby #2. I was religious about posting about J's ultrasounds and womb happenings, but just haven't been able to keep up this time around. I've been trying to take a belly shot for weeks now, but it never seems to happen. It's on my to do list though!
Here's the latest on the big 'ol belly:
I asked the doctor when the baby was going to come - early? late? on time? He laughed at me. I told him that he had predicted J would come early. He said that he had no idea and that he was "just being nice" to me last time since I was a first time mom and that I should know better than to think he could actually tell me that information. Ha! So true. While he was right last time about J being early, he had never indicated that she'd be that early (3 weeks). I saw him 12 hours before my water broke and he said he'd see me in a week. So, I don't know why I want some type of prediction this time around ...
Just in case our home remodeling sends me into labor early, I thought I'd go ahead and start an online baby pool like we did for J. Here's the link:
Happy Guessing!
Here's the latest on the big 'ol belly:
- I don't remember J being this squirmy. I remember movement for sure, but it feels like this kiddo is doing flips all the time! A simple punch or kick just won't suffice :)
- I'm feeling pretty good overall, though have had the hip aches during the night this week. Any good solutions for this? Doesn't help that the baby prefers that I lay on my left side exclusively and goes crazy when I try to lay on my right side (J did this too).
- I guess a belly shot would confirm this, but I don't think I'm as big as I was with J. Weight gain is pretty much the same though!
- No we don't want to know what we're having! I know this is really hard for people to accept, but we just don't. Besides we have a pretty good idea what it is ... but we aren't going to tell you! It's funny, with J, I had a good idea we were having a girl, and asked Dominic (before telling him what I thought) and he thought the same thing. And we were right. Now, maybe we are a little over confident with our 100% prediction success rate, BUT lets just say that I asked him what he thought this time (before telling him what I thought) and our predictions were the same again. So, I guess we'll see. I'm still brainstorming boy and girl names and going to take a boy and girl outfit to the hospital!
I asked the doctor when the baby was going to come - early? late? on time? He laughed at me. I told him that he had predicted J would come early. He said that he had no idea and that he was "just being nice" to me last time since I was a first time mom and that I should know better than to think he could actually tell me that information. Ha! So true. While he was right last time about J being early, he had never indicated that she'd be that early (3 weeks). I saw him 12 hours before my water broke and he said he'd see me in a week. So, I don't know why I want some type of prediction this time around ...
Just in case our home remodeling sends me into labor early, I thought I'd go ahead and start an online baby pool like we did for J. Here's the link:
Happy Guessing!
24 September 2009
check ups
We had a full schedule this week with my baby 24/25 week check up on Tuesday morning and Juliet's 15 month well check Wednesday.
Note: The reason I say 24/25 weeks is because the doctor has my due date a week later (based on the baby's measurements) than I do based on my last period. I also know that it really doesn't matter all that much :) So, here's the updates.
BABY - Everything continues to progress great. Baby looks good, mom's abdominal region has exploded over the last week! I'm not going to give a number, but lets just say that my body has an AMAZING ability to put on weight during pregnancy. I mean, it's really something to brag about! :) Daddy and Juliet got to come to the appointment. J did not like it when the doctor came in, but thankfully dad was there - otherwise, we might have not had an ultrasounds at all! During the ultrasound, Dr. N said "looks like his/her daddy ... actually looks exactly like someone else in this room" (looking toward J). I personally can't tell a darn thing from the ultrasounds - looks like an alien baby to me (ha)! We got some pictures, so you can see for yourself.
Face with arm and fist up in foreground:
Face again with little hand up (wouldn't get that hand out of the way!):
What do you think? Another daddy's girl/boy? I guess we'll find out for sure soon enough :)
JULIET - Our big girl is 15 months old! Her checkup went great. She's healthy can be and we are soooo thankful for that! Her stats were: 32in long (89%) (that's almost 2 in longer than at her 12 month) and 21lbs10oz (29%). She's a wee bit on the skinny side, but she eats very well so the doctor wasn't worried a bit. She's figured out that the doctor's office isn't her favorite place to be so was constantly going over to the door trying to tell me that we needed to leave :( She got 3 shots, but also got to enjoy her first sucker (a special treat from Dr. W) so that made it much better. Poor Dr. W felt said that "We have to give her something good to remember about coming here!" We ran a low grade temp the next day which is always a bummer, but I guess that's the fun of shots!
Happy Weekend everyone. Go TU!
Note: The reason I say 24/25 weeks is because the doctor has my due date a week later (based on the baby's measurements) than I do based on my last period. I also know that it really doesn't matter all that much :) So, here's the updates.
BABY - Everything continues to progress great. Baby looks good, mom's abdominal region has exploded over the last week! I'm not going to give a number, but lets just say that my body has an AMAZING ability to put on weight during pregnancy. I mean, it's really something to brag about! :) Daddy and Juliet got to come to the appointment. J did not like it when the doctor came in, but thankfully dad was there - otherwise, we might have not had an ultrasounds at all! During the ultrasound, Dr. N said "looks like his/her daddy ... actually looks exactly like someone else in this room" (looking toward J). I personally can't tell a darn thing from the ultrasounds - looks like an alien baby to me (ha)! We got some pictures, so you can see for yourself.
Face with arm and fist up in foreground:
Face again with little hand up (wouldn't get that hand out of the way!):
What do you think? Another daddy's girl/boy? I guess we'll find out for sure soon enough :)
JULIET - Our big girl is 15 months old! Her checkup went great. She's healthy can be and we are soooo thankful for that! Her stats were: 32in long (89%) (that's almost 2 in longer than at her 12 month) and 21lbs10oz (29%). She's a wee bit on the skinny side, but she eats very well so the doctor wasn't worried a bit. She's figured out that the doctor's office isn't her favorite place to be so was constantly going over to the door trying to tell me that we needed to leave :( She got 3 shots, but also got to enjoy her first sucker (a special treat from Dr. W) so that made it much better. Poor Dr. W felt said that "We have to give her something good to remember about coming here!" We ran a low grade temp the next day which is always a bummer, but I guess that's the fun of shots!
Happy Weekend everyone. Go TU!
13 August 2009
how pregnant am i?
20 weeks pregnant today and feeling good! The heat KILLS me and I need a nap on occasion, but overall I'd say it's been a very smooth pregnancy so far. I'm feeling movement which is fun. Definitely in materno-pants which is fun ... errrrr ... something :) One weird thing - I drink pop (i.e. soda or coke for all you people in other parts of the country). I gave up pop my freshman year of college during Lent and hadn't drank it since ... until this pregnancy. So crazy! And I'm not sleeping very well at night already which is a bummer because I have not forgotten how bad it gets that last trimester! Oh well. I guess it's getting me prepped and ready for the baby. Now Juliet sleeps through the night and I'm up trying to get comfortable and going to the bathroom :)
I would definitely say that my second pregnancy has been way different than the first. Not necessarily symptom wise, but I've been way different. I don't have time to think about the pregnancy, worry and obsess about OB appointments and blood work, read my What to Expect book, etc, etc. I did peek at the book a few weeks ago (because Juliet was playing on the bookshelves) and read that the baby was about the size of an orange ... I totally remember reading that book WEEKLY when I was pregnant with Juliet. People frequently ask me how far along I am and a more than once I haven't been able to answer them! Ummmm ... how pregnant am I? If I haven't gone to the doctor in the last week, I can't remember or do the math!
Overall, I think it's a good thing. Being more laid back and less stressed has to be a positive change, right? And I do think about the baby. We're throwing around names - boy and girl since we're not going to find out, and I try to think back to what it was like with such a little one ... but it's so hard to remember ... and it's only been 14 months ago. Scary!
And last but certainly not least, I treasure every day that I still have a lap for my little "big girl" to sit on!
I would definitely say that my second pregnancy has been way different than the first. Not necessarily symptom wise, but I've been way different. I don't have time to think about the pregnancy, worry and obsess about OB appointments and blood work, read my What to Expect book, etc, etc. I did peek at the book a few weeks ago (because Juliet was playing on the bookshelves) and read that the baby was about the size of an orange ... I totally remember reading that book WEEKLY when I was pregnant with Juliet. People frequently ask me how far along I am and a more than once I haven't been able to answer them! Ummmm ... how pregnant am I? If I haven't gone to the doctor in the last week, I can't remember or do the math!
Overall, I think it's a good thing. Being more laid back and less stressed has to be a positive change, right? And I do think about the baby. We're throwing around names - boy and girl since we're not going to find out, and I try to think back to what it was like with such a little one ... but it's so hard to remember ... and it's only been 14 months ago. Scary!
And last but certainly not least, I treasure every day that I still have a lap for my little "big girl" to sit on!
27 July 2009
juliet at half a pork chop
Well, I think my days of coherent blog posts are over. I simply don't have the time or desire to think through what I'd like to say and type it up in a neat little post for you all to read. My list attempt to catch up didn't work and my brain is filled with little tidbits that I'd like to share before they float away ...
Perfect world. My doc's words at my 12 week appointment with baby #2. This thought has come back to my mind time and time again since he said it. I am truly thankful each and every day for His perfect timing and perfect plan for our family. From babies to home buying and selling (and so much more), we are certainly at a great place to watch Him work! We are so blessed with 2 happy healthy babies it makes me smile just to type it! Anyways, everything looks great and I actually go back tomorrow for my 16 week. Dominic is going to try to come tomorrow so that should be fun!
Going to the Chapel. My little sister is getting married this Saturday! I'm beyond excited for her! It's going to be a busy week finishing things up and preparing for the big day, but all worth it come Saturday :) You won't be surprised to know that I'm helping organize everything since planning and organization are second nature to me ... I really should be working on the itinerary, making phone calls, and nagging the bride about getting things done, but I'm blogging. I can't put off this blog post another week. I need to write a toast for the reception. This is consuming my thoughts, but I haven't come up with anything brilliant as of yet. Nothing worse than a rambling boring toast by the matron of honor so I'm trying to prevent that :) I think I'm going to write it down. I speak best when I have the words in front of me.
All that from a skirt? There are so many little tidbits I should have posted about the wedding, but I'd like to share one now. We'd been looking for some chocolate and cream zebra print fabric to make some little bloomers and bows for the 3 flower girls, but hadn't had any luck. Black and white zebra is easy to find, but not chocolate and cream. I had found some for sale on etsy for $28 each, but that seemed a little steep and didn't solve the bow problem. Anyways, my brilliant and thrifty mother found a couple womens skirts at a local department store and brought them home. "Couldn't we use these?"Ummmm, yes ... and that's exactly what we did! We've managed to get 3 pairs of bloomers and 3 matching bows out of the skirts and I'm working on using what's left to make another bow for a basket that's going to hold the programs. Pictures to come - eventually.
Goals. At the beginning of the year I set out to read through the New Testament, Psalm, and Proverb sections of my One Year Bible in 2009. I'm behind. Every year I've tried to do this I fall behind and can't catch up. I desperately want to accomplish my reading before the baby is born. I don't know why I feel like telling you all this, but I do. Maybe there's other people out there than need to be reminded of a goal they set back in January that's fallen to the wayside? ...
The pork chop. I made a pork chop and bean crock pot recipe on Saturday and Juliet deovured it. It was actually this fact that prompted my post ... not that fact that she's walking, talking like crazy, weaned, or sleeping through the night. Nope. The pork chop is what finally got me to sit down and type up and update! But since I'm typing, I'll go ahead and update you on all these other lesser things :)
These boots are made for walking. Juliet's been walking for about a month now. She started the day we got back from our vacation to Nebraska and South Dakota, July 6th. It was an amazing progression to watch. She still gets better every day and even tries to run sometimes ... mostly away from daddy when they are playing chase. It's hard to run and giggle though :) Her new mode of transportation has opened up a whole new world to her. Literally. Cabinets and drawers that she never knew existed can now be opened and emptied! We are having a blast with our often wobbly walker and can't believe how grown up she looks standing up on her own 2 feet!
Words and kisses. She saying so many new words that I can't keep track and won't even try list them all here. She hasn't put 2 words together yet (to form a short sentence), but her vocabulary is quite impressive. To me anyways (not that I'm biased or anything)! Some of my favorite words (mostly because of the cute little personality that accompainies them):
Weaning. We were down to nursing once and day (the morning). My plan was to tackle this when we got back from our trip up North, but the Monday we left, she didn't ask - or should I say demand - to eat. Before our morning oj regimn, she'd point to the chair in her room and pretty much demand to eat. If Dominic went in to get her she was not very happy with him. She likes her routine people! So, I was not anticipating that the whole weaning process would be very fun, so her not asking for it that morning was quite a surprise. So we went with it. I figured being out of our routine might just help the process and she did remarkably well. Cranky and needing oj in the morning, but other than that when really smoothly!
Did I forget to tell you? My baby sleeps through the night. Yeah, I know your baby did when she was 8 weeks old, but mine does too. Most of the time. Sigh. We tackled the through the night hurdle around 11 months. Sorry I didn't write about it until now. It's funny, I thought I'd have all this awesome advice to share. I don't. I was talking to a sweet mom just a month ago about similar problems she's having with her baby and I said what I hated hearing "I don't know what to tell you to do to help. I don't really know what even worked for us. But, it will work itself out." How could I say that?
I should know all a sleep deprived mom wants is a straight answer ... but I know now that there just isn't one to give. You can't make a baby sleep through the night. Period. I won't deny and certainly don't disagree with some of the strategies out there to help your baby get there, they just don't always work. So, my problem isn't with the strategies, but more with the way they are presented - as quick, guaranteed fixes. I was told by 2 different doctors at our pediatricians office at Juliet's 6 and 9 month checkups to "just send your husband in for a couple nights" and that would fix J's night waking. Um, no. I actually never tried this because I was 100% sure that it wouldn't work. She'd been crying it out for over 3 weeks and was still waking up ... that's just not progress and no one has a magic formula. The "just send your husband in" people are no consolation. Oh the tears we both shed those late nights and early mornings. She wasn't ready until she did it even though I was months before! The only advice I will give is to get to a place where you are comfortable with what you are doing (regardless of your success being measured by the number of hours your baby sleeps in a row). Find a plan that makes sense for you and your baby and stick to it. Chances are that if it's at all logical, it will work eventually :)
So, where are we now? I would describe Juliet's sleep schedule as more stable than it was, but still fairly variable. She typically sleeps 9-10.5 hours at night, though sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night. My approach for the wake ups is to go lay down with her in our spare bed until she falls back asleep. When she's awake in the night, it's as if she simply can't go to sleep. She's content to be held, but her little eyes are open and simply won't shut for a period of time (from 15 min to 1 hr). Yes, I could let her cry in bed, but we've tried that and it didn't solve the problem. She'd just cry for however long she was awake and then go to sleep (i.e. the cry time didn't decrease in the way it's supposed to). The problem isn't that she can't put herself to sleep (she does this 95% of the time), it seems to be (all mom theory here) that she's just awake. So, we deal. We snuggle. And most importantly, I don't worry and beat myself up about it!
She flip flops between 1 and 2 naps during the day. Usually depending on how long she slept during the night and what time she woke up. She goes down for naps like a champ and loves her blanket, and stuffed dog and duck in bed with her. She's an angel and I love her to pieces :)
I'm downsizing. In every area of my life except my wardrobe :) Can I just say that when you're pregnant, it's much more complicated than having summer clothes and winter clothes? I have non-maternity summer clothes, maternity summer clothes, non-maternity winter clothes, and maternity winter clothes. And then there's the clothes that aren't technically maternity, but they work for certain stages of pregnancy ... where do I put those? As I slowly take all my non-maternity stuff out of my drawers and closet, I ask myself "Is this even going to be in style if and when I can wear it again?" Thankfully I'm not too trendy of a dresser so the bigger question is "Will I ever be able to wear this again?" Anyways, back to the downsizing ... lately I'm convicted about all the excess in my life. From clutter in my house, clothes I don't even wear hanging in my closet (and not because they don't fit), house features I think we need as we search for a new place. Anyways, I guess I'm spending some time rethinking what we actually do need and how to live simply in a gimme more kind of world. I feel liberated already and I'll I've done so far is take a car full of crap to Goodwill :)
Well, I think that's quite enough for today. Next update will likely be post wedding recap! Have a good week!
Perfect world. My doc's words at my 12 week appointment with baby #2. This thought has come back to my mind time and time again since he said it. I am truly thankful each and every day for His perfect timing and perfect plan for our family. From babies to home buying and selling (and so much more), we are certainly at a great place to watch Him work! We are so blessed with 2 happy healthy babies it makes me smile just to type it! Anyways, everything looks great and I actually go back tomorrow for my 16 week. Dominic is going to try to come tomorrow so that should be fun!
Going to the Chapel. My little sister is getting married this Saturday! I'm beyond excited for her! It's going to be a busy week finishing things up and preparing for the big day, but all worth it come Saturday :) You won't be surprised to know that I'm helping organize everything since planning and organization are second nature to me ... I really should be working on the itinerary, making phone calls, and nagging the bride about getting things done, but I'm blogging. I can't put off this blog post another week. I need to write a toast for the reception. This is consuming my thoughts, but I haven't come up with anything brilliant as of yet. Nothing worse than a rambling boring toast by the matron of honor so I'm trying to prevent that :) I think I'm going to write it down. I speak best when I have the words in front of me.
All that from a skirt? There are so many little tidbits I should have posted about the wedding, but I'd like to share one now. We'd been looking for some chocolate and cream zebra print fabric to make some little bloomers and bows for the 3 flower girls, but hadn't had any luck. Black and white zebra is easy to find, but not chocolate and cream. I had found some for sale on etsy for $28 each, but that seemed a little steep and didn't solve the bow problem. Anyways, my brilliant and thrifty mother found a couple womens skirts at a local department store and brought them home. "Couldn't we use these?"Ummmm, yes ... and that's exactly what we did! We've managed to get 3 pairs of bloomers and 3 matching bows out of the skirts and I'm working on using what's left to make another bow for a basket that's going to hold the programs. Pictures to come - eventually.
Goals. At the beginning of the year I set out to read through the New Testament, Psalm, and Proverb sections of my One Year Bible in 2009. I'm behind. Every year I've tried to do this I fall behind and can't catch up. I desperately want to accomplish my reading before the baby is born. I don't know why I feel like telling you all this, but I do. Maybe there's other people out there than need to be reminded of a goal they set back in January that's fallen to the wayside? ...
The pork chop. I made a pork chop and bean crock pot recipe on Saturday and Juliet deovured it. It was actually this fact that prompted my post ... not that fact that she's walking, talking like crazy, weaned, or sleeping through the night. Nope. The pork chop is what finally got me to sit down and type up and update! But since I'm typing, I'll go ahead and update you on all these other lesser things :)
These boots are made for walking. Juliet's been walking for about a month now. She started the day we got back from our vacation to Nebraska and South Dakota, July 6th. It was an amazing progression to watch. She still gets better every day and even tries to run sometimes ... mostly away from daddy when they are playing chase. It's hard to run and giggle though :) Her new mode of transportation has opened up a whole new world to her. Literally. Cabinets and drawers that she never knew existed can now be opened and emptied! We are having a blast with our often wobbly walker and can't believe how grown up she looks standing up on her own 2 feet!
Words and kisses. She saying so many new words that I can't keep track and won't even try list them all here. She hasn't put 2 words together yet (to form a short sentence), but her vocabulary is quite impressive. To me anyways (not that I'm biased or anything)! Some of my favorite words (mostly because of the cute little personality that accompainies them):
- Juice. This is the first word out of Juliet's mouth in the morning. The girl wants her orange juice immediately! And not just a quick drink of juice. She sits on my lap and downs 12+ oz of orange juice before doing anything else! It's nice snuggle time for me. Not to mention the fact that I have a few minutes to wake up before the day officially starts.
- Cookie. Prounouced "Ca" and often said repeatedly ... yep. Sounds like "CaCa" :) Juliet loves her Teddy Graham cookies throughout the day, in the car, riding around in the shopping basket, stroller, etc.
- Dance. She loves to dance. This started on our vacation and has continued ever since. We were watching SYTYCD and were trying to keep her occupied so were dancing with her. Well it stuck. She will now point to you and tell you to dance. She wants you to hold her, hold her little hand, and twirl about! If you don't do it right, she'll point to someone else :) Her newest variation is to have Charlie dance too. Dominic has Charlie get up on his hind legs and jump. She loves this and would have him do it all day if she could! Side note: She's picked up on some of the hand motions that we use with Charlie. Last week, Aunt Debra was telling Charlie to come and using the hand motion and Juliet imitated her! So cute. She also tried to put her hand out like Dominic does when he tells him to dance :)
Weaning. We were down to nursing once and day (the morning). My plan was to tackle this when we got back from our trip up North, but the Monday we left, she didn't ask - or should I say demand - to eat. Before our morning oj regimn, she'd point to the chair in her room and pretty much demand to eat. If Dominic went in to get her she was not very happy with him. She likes her routine people! So, I was not anticipating that the whole weaning process would be very fun, so her not asking for it that morning was quite a surprise. So we went with it. I figured being out of our routine might just help the process and she did remarkably well. Cranky and needing oj in the morning, but other than that when really smoothly!
Did I forget to tell you? My baby sleeps through the night. Yeah, I know your baby did when she was 8 weeks old, but mine does too. Most of the time. Sigh. We tackled the through the night hurdle around 11 months. Sorry I didn't write about it until now. It's funny, I thought I'd have all this awesome advice to share. I don't. I was talking to a sweet mom just a month ago about similar problems she's having with her baby and I said what I hated hearing "I don't know what to tell you to do to help. I don't really know what even worked for us. But, it will work itself out." How could I say that?
I should know all a sleep deprived mom wants is a straight answer ... but I know now that there just isn't one to give. You can't make a baby sleep through the night. Period. I won't deny and certainly don't disagree with some of the strategies out there to help your baby get there, they just don't always work. So, my problem isn't with the strategies, but more with the way they are presented - as quick, guaranteed fixes. I was told by 2 different doctors at our pediatricians office at Juliet's 6 and 9 month checkups to "just send your husband in for a couple nights" and that would fix J's night waking. Um, no. I actually never tried this because I was 100% sure that it wouldn't work. She'd been crying it out for over 3 weeks and was still waking up ... that's just not progress and no one has a magic formula. The "just send your husband in" people are no consolation. Oh the tears we both shed those late nights and early mornings. She wasn't ready until she did it even though I was months before! The only advice I will give is to get to a place where you are comfortable with what you are doing (regardless of your success being measured by the number of hours your baby sleeps in a row). Find a plan that makes sense for you and your baby and stick to it. Chances are that if it's at all logical, it will work eventually :)
So, where are we now? I would describe Juliet's sleep schedule as more stable than it was, but still fairly variable. She typically sleeps 9-10.5 hours at night, though sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night. My approach for the wake ups is to go lay down with her in our spare bed until she falls back asleep. When she's awake in the night, it's as if she simply can't go to sleep. She's content to be held, but her little eyes are open and simply won't shut for a period of time (from 15 min to 1 hr). Yes, I could let her cry in bed, but we've tried that and it didn't solve the problem. She'd just cry for however long she was awake and then go to sleep (i.e. the cry time didn't decrease in the way it's supposed to). The problem isn't that she can't put herself to sleep (she does this 95% of the time), it seems to be (all mom theory here) that she's just awake. So, we deal. We snuggle. And most importantly, I don't worry and beat myself up about it!
She flip flops between 1 and 2 naps during the day. Usually depending on how long she slept during the night and what time she woke up. She goes down for naps like a champ and loves her blanket, and stuffed dog and duck in bed with her. She's an angel and I love her to pieces :)
I'm downsizing. In every area of my life except my wardrobe :) Can I just say that when you're pregnant, it's much more complicated than having summer clothes and winter clothes? I have non-maternity summer clothes, maternity summer clothes, non-maternity winter clothes, and maternity winter clothes. And then there's the clothes that aren't technically maternity, but they work for certain stages of pregnancy ... where do I put those? As I slowly take all my non-maternity stuff out of my drawers and closet, I ask myself "Is this even going to be in style if and when I can wear it again?" Thankfully I'm not too trendy of a dresser so the bigger question is "Will I ever be able to wear this again?" Anyways, back to the downsizing ... lately I'm convicted about all the excess in my life. From clutter in my house, clothes I don't even wear hanging in my closet (and not because they don't fit), house features I think we need as we search for a new place. Anyways, I guess I'm spending some time rethinking what we actually do need and how to live simply in a gimme more kind of world. I feel liberated already and I'll I've done so far is take a car full of crap to Goodwill :)
Well, I think that's quite enough for today. Next update will likely be post wedding recap! Have a good week!
04 June 2009
perfect planning
Saturday morning May 9th. A pretty typical day at our house. Juliet and mom got up around 6:15 and went in to wake up daddy at 9ish. I had taken a pregnancy test (changed J's diaper and came back to see the much unexpected second line). My reaction was as follows. I went and laid face down on our bed ... smiling into the pillow I might add. "Sweetheart, I'm hyperventilating over here . Go in the bathroom." Dominic moseys into the bathroom - having no idea I'd even done a pregnancy test - and returns to our room, picks up Juliet in his arms and comes to give me a hug. I don't remember exactly what he said, but it was something like "Wow. That was easy :)"
Despite the fact that I said I was hyperventilating, we've been nothing but thrilled since we found out. I don't know why I even said that?!?! The whole thing still doesn't feel quite real, but I'm kind of enjoying the initial surprise and excitement and not in too big of a hurry to let reality set in. Not that I'll be less excited, but I'm sure I'll be more overwhelmed!
So, the big question from everyone ... "Was it planned?" Well, it was perfectly planned as a matter of fact, though not by me. You see, if we'd had babies according to my plan, Juliet would have been born back in 2006. That was my plan. But it wasn't at all what happened. God's plan for our first pregnancy involved a lot of waiting (nearly 2 years) and, after multiple doctors and diagnosis, fertility treatment (IUI). We were diagnosed as an infertili-combo and rode the difficult, stressful, and emotional roller coaster of infertility. God was faithful during the whole process. We clung desperately to Him even when nothing made sense and when our hearts were aching. And He provided a miracle on His time. We give God all the credit for the miracle of Juliet!
And there you have the never been blogged and much simplified version of our first getting pregnant experience. One paragraph can't really do it justice, but I feel it's important to acknowledge where we've been so that we can fully appreciate where we are today!
So, this time around, we didn't have a plan - we had a prayer. We prayed that God would allow us to conceive naturally and were open to His perfect timing. We had no idea we'd get our answer so quickly!!! Praise God for wonderful surprises :)
Here's the first picture of our second sweet baby! He or she is an angel ... can't you see the halo?!? My due date is January 6th, but considering Juliet arrived 3 weeks early, I'd say December is a good possibility.
Despite the fact that I said I was hyperventilating, we've been nothing but thrilled since we found out. I don't know why I even said that?!?! The whole thing still doesn't feel quite real, but I'm kind of enjoying the initial surprise and excitement and not in too big of a hurry to let reality set in. Not that I'll be less excited, but I'm sure I'll be more overwhelmed!
So, the big question from everyone ... "Was it planned?" Well, it was perfectly planned as a matter of fact, though not by me. You see, if we'd had babies according to my plan, Juliet would have been born back in 2006. That was my plan. But it wasn't at all what happened. God's plan for our first pregnancy involved a lot of waiting (nearly 2 years) and, after multiple doctors and diagnosis, fertility treatment (IUI). We were diagnosed as an infertili-combo and rode the difficult, stressful, and emotional roller coaster of infertility. God was faithful during the whole process. We clung desperately to Him even when nothing made sense and when our hearts were aching. And He provided a miracle on His time. We give God all the credit for the miracle of Juliet!
And there you have the never been blogged and much simplified version of our first getting pregnant experience. One paragraph can't really do it justice, but I feel it's important to acknowledge where we've been so that we can fully appreciate where we are today!
So, this time around, we didn't have a plan - we had a prayer. We prayed that God would allow us to conceive naturally and were open to His perfect timing. We had no idea we'd get our answer so quickly!!! Praise God for wonderful surprises :)
Here's the first picture of our second sweet baby! He or she is an angel ... can't you see the halo?!? My due date is January 6th, but considering Juliet arrived 3 weeks early, I'd say December is a good possibility.
03 June 2009
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