Caden is 2 months old!

I love his little face :-)

Wow. I can hardly believe Caden is already 2 months old (10 weeks to be exact--so what i'm a little late :-P) These first two months have been such a whirlwind I don't know how we all made it through awake and alive :-P well we may not have been fully 100% awake--more like a half awake walking zombie-like existence for at least the first month--but hey we made it right?

I feel like we practically lived at the dr.'s office these past couple of months.  I mean I swear we had to be there at least every week for one kid or the other.  Of course Caden had to go back at 2 days after he was born then 2 weeks, then 2 months for well visits.  But in those first 2 weeks we learned that he had breast milk jaundice and we had to go back weekly for the first month.  I didn't know anything about this until he had it but apparently he was feeding well and eating enough, gaining weight well and otehr wise healthy but with breastmilk jaundice something doesn't quite click on in the liver and his body wasn't eliminating bilirubins like it was supposed to.  He was really yellow and even the whites of his eyes were yellow and cause for concern. Although many sites I checked said that it would eventually go away on its own, our pediatrician recommended for me to stop breastfeeding for 2 days and give him formula while I pumped so that I wouldn't jeopardize my milk supply.  The formula did what it was supposed to and after those 2 days his bilirubin levels went down and he stopped looking so yellow and was my happy healthy little boy.

*Warning--if you don't have a son or a penis (or any interest at all in hearing about circumcision) you may want to skip this paragraph :-P*  Then we had an incident with his circumcision.  At his 2 week check-up the pediatrician mentioned that his foreskin looked like it was really tight and covering a good part of the head of his penis (which it shouldn't have) and she expressed concern that it may need to be fixed. She did say that there was a good chance it could correct itself with no interaction on our part but if it looked the same in a couple of months we may want to think about seeing a urologist to find out if there would need to be any steps taken to correct it i.e. another circumcision or steroid ointment. A week or 2 later Chris was changing Caden's diaper and thought it looked like the foreskin was getting tighter and growing back up over the head of his penis. He also said it looked purple like it was cutting off circulation or something.  I made an appointment to go BACK to the pediatrician to have it looked at and see if indeed it was worse and what we could do about it.  She agreed it looked tighter and recommended we go ahead and see the urologist, since (and I quote) "They see alot more penises than I do." She (the pediatrician) told us to mention it looked like it was cutting off circulation so they would see us sooner since it typically takes a few weeks to get an appointment unless its an emergency type thing.  We got an appointment for the very next week and of course once we go and see the actual urologist, who specializes in penises (not exactly but you know what I mean) she is able to pull the foreskin back almost all the way (which we were NOT able to do the previous week--i guess the ped knew what she was talking about when she said it may correct itself) but did say there were some adhesions around the base of the head of the penis.  She offered to numb it and correct it that day or we could just keep retracting the foreskin ourselves and use A&D ointment and in a few months it should sort itself out.  She said if she did it he would be sore and red for the next couple of days but if I did it over time there wouldn't be any discomfort...so I went with the least disomfort for him.  She also said we would have to continue retracting the foreskin for at least the first year of his life to make sure it didn't re-adhese (if that's a word?) but everything was perfectly fine and we would more than likely not have to do a circumcision revision--thank goodness!
UPDATE: @ his 2 month check-up the adhesions were still there, so his pediatrician retracted the foreskin all the way and got rid of them--he didn't even whimper. Now no more adhesions, but we are still having to retract and coat with A&D ointment.

So anyways, other than all of that Caden seemed to be doing really well. He was gaining weight well and eating well.  The only issue I had was the baby acne that he had ALL OVER his face--but it was normal (just looked awful) and has actually almost completely disappeared.

At Caden's 2 month check up he was 24 in long and weighed 11 lbs 9 oz.  I was a little surprised he wasn't yet 12 lbs, but his weight gain was normal and healthy according to the chart they use. He was 45th percentile in weight and 90th percentile in height--Dr. said he's gonna be tall :-) He got all the vaccinations they give a 2 month old and lucky for us did NOT get a fever afterwards (which would have been completely normal...just not fun to deal with) The Dr. listened to his lungs and checked his ears since we had just been dealing with Sydney having RSV and bronchiolitis and ear infections and she wanted to make sure Caden was ok. He was :-) So everything was great with him :-)

Unfortunately the following week was not so great.  On Valentine's Day (2/14/2012), we had an awful scare and trip to the children's ER.  We had given Caden a bottle of formula (because I have trouble getting ANYTHING when I pump and the Dr. recommended getting him used to a bottle regularly so I'm not tied down to him 24/7, and I wanted a glass of wine with my hubby for Valentine's Day) and he was fine until 2 1/2 hours later when he woke up projectile vomiting.  He threw up SO MUCH that at one point all he was throwing up was this yellow substance (i assumed was bile but had no idea) and I was scared to death.  We cleaned him up after the first vomiting episode and before we put him in the tub he had the BIGGEST BM i've ever seen come out of a baby that small--it just didn't stop. He looked so pale and his eyes were purple tinged and i was terrified! After the bath he started looking better and started acting like he was hungry (and I don't blame him--I'd prob be starving too if I voided as much as he just had).  I tried breastfeeding and he fed just fine for about 15 minutes, then almost immediately threw it all back up again.  Again I was so frightened and had no idea what I should do. So, I called the ER nurse line at Dell Children's and they said since he was under 6 months to bring him in, but don't try feeding him again til i got the ok from the Dr.  Now by the time I get to Dell it's 1am.  They check his vitals and take us through triage, then it was just a waiting game till the Dr saw us.  Long story short(er) the doc thought it was pyloric stenosis which is supposedly not serious and very common at his age, did an ultrasound to check, but found that it was NOT.  After the ultrasound I could finally feed him(poor baby was starving) and since he ate well and didn't throw up again the doc chalked it up to Caden not liking the formula we gave him and that he should be fine and sent us home.  Got home at around 6:30/7am with NO sleep all night and Caden was sleeping and perfectly fine :-/ I had to get Syd up and ready for school, then came home and maybe got to take an hour and a half nap while Caden slept and before I had take him to his ped for a follow up and then get Syd from school. The pediatrician said he looked fine (but was concerned he may have reflux--although she didn't share this with me till later since he seemed completely 100% normal at the time)

The following day I was having problems feeding Caden. He would feed for 5-10 minutes then pull off and act like he was still hungry but refused to re-latch. I would switch sides and he would again feed for 5-10 minutes then pull off still hungry and super fussy but would NOT latch back again.  I called the dr. because I didn't know if this was something serious I needed to worry about or not.  She pretty much said it could be a hanful of things--either he had reflux (which was her main concern and what she thought it was and would also help explain the crazy vomiting episode), he had developed an ear infection or some other infection and the fussiness was the only indication, OR I was having a problem with my milk supply. She told me to try a bottle (of breastmilk or formula--i was afraid of formula but we switched from simulac back to enfamil and he did ok) and if he did the same on the bottle it was almost definitely reflux.  He did GREAT with the bottle and actually slept for 6 hours straight at night! We determined it was a supply issue because of all the stress of worrying about him and not getting enough rest (HA! what mom of 2 EVER gets enough rest!) and that I would need to supplement while I tried to increase my supply again by pumping ALL DAY LONG!  Awesome! :-/ So after a couple of days of that I have decided that I am just going to supplement and breastfeed for as long as I can.  I don't get more than a half an ounce everytime I pump which is practically nothing and I just feel defeated the more I try and the less I succeed.  I have come to the conclusion that although it is disappointing that I can't solely breastfeed, we are both alot happier when he has a full belly and I'm not tied to a breast pump for most of my day.  I mean I had to supplement with Syd and she turned out just fine, so it's totally fine that I'm having to supplement with Caden. Any breast milk is good breast milk right?!

Ok so wow....that's a long one.  I need to stop waiting so long between blogs to write.  Still have to update on Sydney's bout with RSV and on how well she is doing in school...but that will have to wait. Till then... :-)

Sydney's growing up--and still as boogery as ever

I love her so much! I mean how can you not love that face! But there are some days that I just want to shake her! (don't call CPS--I haven't actually done it...yet...)  Time is flying and she is just growing up faster and faster everyday.  My beautiful, loving, crazy, smart, caring, independent, bratty, obnoxious, loud, opinionated, AMAZING little girl.

I'm going to backtrack a little here, since I haven't been keeping up with blogging.  Sydney is now almost fully potty trained. She still wears diapers or pull ups at night (I guess I should start night training soon but I'm willing to put up with it for a while). She still has an accident every now and again, but mostly because she gets too caught up in what she is doing and can't stop to take a break.  She also has "accidents" on purpose whenever she gets mad at either Chris or myself for putting her in time out in her room or fussing at her.  She will throw a tantrum and pee on herself either on her floor or on her bed the second we close the door to her room then when asked why she did it she says "I dunno" but with further probing she comes out with "You make me mad" or "You make me sad." Yelling and fussing don't help...just pushes her to do it more because she knows it gets a rise out of us. So in order to nip that in the bud, we had to change our time out routines and locations. Now she has time-out in a little plastic chair in a corner of the living room.  It actually has turned out to be alot more productive because she HATES having to sit there and be still and look at the wall.  If she doesn't sit i nthe chair quietly and face the wall we threaten (and actually follow through) to add more minutes to her time-out.  Usually after 2 minutes (or less) she is ready to apologize. (Although I will honestly say it doesn't always work, it does work better than sending her to her room :-/)  This way she can't go in her room and have an "accident" or go in her room and play.  It also helps to keep her room a happy place, rather than a place she dreads to go. Anyways...

So we also started Syd in a preschool/MDO program. The school is called HISKids and is a baptist affiliated school located at the New Hope First Baptist Church about 5 minutes away from our house.  Sydney's best friend Jack goes to the school as well, and it is where I have gone and currently go to Bible Study once a week (that's another blog in and of itself for another day)
She goes to school 2 days a week, right now its Mon and Wed from 9am-2pm and she LOVES it.  They do all sorts of activities, arts/crafts, sing songs, learn colors, shapes and ABC's, and eery week focus on a different topic i.e. night and day, winter, the 5 senses etc. She even *gasp* takes a nap there, usually about an hour and a half (which is AMAZING because she will NOT take a nap at home).  Her teachers are sweethearts and Syd loves them too.  She usually won't give me too much info when I prompt her on what she did at school other than to tell me she played outside, played with friends or sang "Twinkle Twinkle" but her teachers provide a sort of progress report everyday when she comes home telling about how her day went and what they did. I also get a calendar every month that tells what topic they focus on each week and a bible verse that corresponds to that topic/lesson.  I am just so glad we finally decided to send her to school and that she loves going to school so much.  It gives me a much needed break and some alone time with Caden, plus gives her the opportunity to expand her horizons, make new friends, learn new skills, helps her to follow directions (at least directions given by anyone besides myself :-P) sing and learn new songs and basically just run around using up all that energy she never seems to lack :-) It's a good thing all around :-)

We also have enrolled Syd in a gymnastics class at The Little Gym.  Thanks to the info I got from another mommy friend, I decided the Little Gym class was the way to go. Also, much thanks to Aunt Linnea for suggesting we put Syd in a gymnastics (or dance) class and for helping us financially to take care of it :-) We already attended our free introductory "mommy and me" class but haven't started regularly because of her recent bout with RSV (again more info on that to come). Her first official class is this Saturday and I am eager to see how well she does.  Here are a couple of pictures from our intro class:

Circle time activity

Balancing Act :-)

She seemed to really dig the class but not so much the structure. She really just wanted to run around and do whatever she wanted to do (especially when she saw other kids leaving "circle time" to go play on the equipment) so here's hoping she will actually participate in the class and not just run around climbing on things at will.  We will be in the mommy and me class until June and then since she will be 3, I think I'm going to enroll her in the dance class they offer.  For the dance class she will be on her own (without me in the class with her like the gymnastics class is right now) but I have a feeling she will do just fine.  We shall see I guess.

I think that's about it for a sort of short and sweet version of life to date with Syd. Of course its a little more detailed, but at least not a minute by minute account (not that my brain could handle that anyway).  More blogs to come about our recent bout with RSV, Syd as a big sister, and about my return to Church :-) (that one should be fun) I predict many more blogs within the next few days just playing catch up :-) until then!

The Birth of Caden Michael Britton

I know its late in coming, but here is an update on the birth of my second child, Caden Michael Britton. I'll try to keep it short and sweet (and not including every detail--since I'm pretty sure my memory won't allow me to recall that long ago and also not everyone wants every detail anyway :-P)

Caden was born on December 8, 2012 at 6:22 pm. He weighed in nice and hefty at 8 lbs 10 oz and was 21 inches long. The labor and delivery wasn't too awful and started off pretty similar to my labor and delivery of Sydney, but like almost everything else in the pregnancy, soon became completely different!
When I first went into the hospital for induction I was already dilated 4 cm, but had been for over a week.  We (the Dr. and I) were really concerned that the labor would go pretty fast, so we both wanted the epidural first thing.  So around 9am, very shortly after the nurse started the pitocin, I got my epidural.  I felt it a tiny bit more on my right side, but they assured me it shouldn't be too big of a deal and they would lay me on the other side to counteract it. I didn't think anything of it.  I was doing really well most of the morning and into the afternoon but wasn't making much progress for dilation.  The nurse (Melissa-the last of the 3 that kept getting assigned to me then reassigned) said that it could be due to excessive scar tissue from the LEEP surgery I had in 2010. [sidenote: the LEEP surgery was a laser removal of cervical displasia or possibly cancerous cells on my cervix in April of 2010] She said that it was possible that the scar tissue was acting as a glue keeping my cervix closed but that once I did start to dilate it would be pretty quick.  
Sometime after noon (i have no recollection of most of the exact timing of things) I started to feel really uncomfortable on my left side.  When asked if I tried pressing the button I said I did and it didn't work.  So the nurse asked if I wanted the anesthesiologist to top me off. Why not I thought? So in he came and gave me what he said was a stronger dose to top it off. ( I realize now this is getting longer and more detailed than I originally planned. Oh well, I'll continue) It worked for a little while but I still felt a little bit of discomfort. Then a couple of hours later, I think before 4ish I started to feel a kind of cramping right above my pubic bone--not too horribly uncomfortable, but it definitely didn't feel good. The nurse asked again if I needed a top-off and I said no, that if I remembered correctly when I started feeling a discomfort that wouldn't go away with the pressing of the button it meant I was pretty darn close to delivery. But I was wrong. I was definitely closer, dilated to 8 cm and almost fully effaced but Caden was still pretty high.  We were entertaining the notion that maybe he would be born at the same time Syd was (4:45pm) but obviously that wasn't the case.  By around 4:30 i was fully dilated and effaced and the nurses thought I should maybe practice some pushing before they called the doctor. 

[Now another side note here: For some reason they sent this "new" nurse to kind of shadow my nurse, Melissa.  Supposedly she was not new to L&D, just new to St. David's but boy did she seem a little behind.  She wasn't very good with the computer system they had set up and at some point before I was fully dilated she did something to the computer and they could no longer read or pick up any of my contractions.  This caused her and Melissa to ask me NUMEROUS times once I was fully dilated and practice-pushing (and also while I was in active labor which was very frustrating) whether or not I could feel the contractions.  I could NOT tell when I was getting a contraction--mostly because of the top-off to my epidural I really couldn't feel much, but also I still had the CONSTANT discomfort on my left side and the cramp like pain right above my pubic bone and couldn't tell the difference.  At one point I was in tears and yelling at her that NO I COULD NOT TELL WHEN I WAS CONTRACTING and just GET THIS KID THE HELL OUT OF ME! (more on that to come)]

So there I was fully dilated. I did a couple of practice pushes and they decided to call the Dr. in (i guess it was around 5ish.) Caden was still pretty high and the epidural had made my legs (and lower half) so numb that I couldn't really feel enough to be able to push properly.  Also the discomfort on my side was steadily getting worse and the epidural wasn't doing anything to help.  I was getting so upset and so frustrated and the stupid new nurse was AGGRAVATING the CRAP out of me and I just wanted to be done. Also I had been in the hospital since around 5:30am and in the room itself since about 6:30am so I was pretty exhausted.  I had so hoped it would be an easy delivery--with Syd I pushed 3 times and she was out (I even remember them telling me specifically to try my hardest not to push because they had to wait for the Dr. to get there.) I pushed for about 30 minutes or so but Caden was still so high and my pushing was so ineffective that the Dr. told me to take a break from pushing and that they were going to sit me up and hope that gravity would help move things along.  Meanwhile, I'm still feeling this pain on my side, but not really feeling any pain in my nether regions and still getting frustrated with this stupid ass nurse who is STILL asking me "do you feel a contraction? is that a contraction? does that feel like a contraction?" I DON'T FREAKING KNOW! I JUST WANT TO HAVE THIS KID!"  Anyways, after about 30-45 minutes of sitting and waiting and praying gravity helped a little, the epidural has worn off enough that I have gotten a little more feeling in my legs (still not hurting down there, but enough to be able to push i think) and I relay this info to the nurse whose throat I don't want to rip out.  She has me try to push and low and behold it looks like a good push.  She calls my Dr. but Dr. Collins has left for the day (WTH?) and the Dr. on call is Dr. Mills.  Ok whatever I don't give a crap at this point, just send in the Dr and get this kid out of me! was pretty much all I was thinking. Harsh I know, but this was going on over an hour that I'd been fully dilated and having already tried (and failed) to push him out I was more than ready.  The Dr. comes in, I'm definitely pushing more effectively, and low and behold @ 6:22 pm my beautiful baby boy is born.  They put him right on my chest after pulling him out and Dr. Mills asked Chris if he wanted to cut the cord (which of course Chris didn't want to do at all) and I was crying my eyes out--tears of relief and joy that my baby was finally here.  That also was different from Sydney's delivery in that after she was born they moved her directly to the newborn table and I remember being worried because it took a few seconds for her to start crying.  Not so with Caden--he was a noisy little booger, with his adorable little conehead from being stuck in the birth canal too long :-P

I only needed one stitch this time around and amazingly felt pretty good after Caden was born.  I was also much more lucid as I can still remember pretty well when the nurse came to help me clean up and change gowns and wheel me to the postpartum room.  I don't remember at all what happened after Syd was born until we were already in the pp room.  I don't remember them telling me about her being bathed or when they brought her to feed--there are just very few things I recall at all from that hospital stay.  But, I remember most if not all of the stay with Caden (could just be because its so new and Syd was over 2 years ago though too :-P)  We got out of the hospital on Saturday (the 8th was a Thursday) and everything was going pretty well.

Ok so I'm cutting this now and putting all the other fun info in other posts.  I still want to post about his first few weeks and months, the breastfeeding jaundice, the problems with his circumcision right on up to today when he may or may not get or have RSV like Syd does.  Just wanted to give an update to those who are interested and I haven't already told on the ins and outs of his birth--and of course for my own memory months or years from now when I forget--silly mommy brain :-) Until next time!

I'm almost 100% positive Sydney is going to be a WONDERFUL Big Sister

Sydney is in love with babies! If she sees a picture of a baby or a baby out in public she says "Look a BABY!" in this delighted little voice that always makes me smile. She is practically obsessed with all of our friends' babies to the point where she gets right in the baby's face, says"Hey BABY!" and babbles some incoherent baby talk and either tries to tickle them or play with them in some way to make them smile/laugh.  I'm always a little concerned she may play rough, but my other mommy friends always assure me she's fine (babies can be much more durable than you think...and Sydney can be alot more gentle than i expect :-P) 

She is also in love with Baby Brother (no he still doesn't have a name) and it makes my heart melt.  For now I am almost 100% sure she is going to be a fantastic Big Sister.  I say almost 100% because although she is very loving to him now that he is in my stomach (and she loves babies) I can't be sure how she will react to a baby that stays forever and doesn't go to a different home after a few hours.  But for now I can't get enough of her little arms wrapping around my giant belly and hearing her voice "I lub you Baby Brudder!" then kissing my belly.  Or when she lays her head against my belly and asks if he is awake.  Or when she tries to feed him some of her dinner or feed him her pretend cake from her very own kitchen.  Or when we are in the bathtub--yes Syd and I take baths together (it is just too hard to bathe her with my huge 35 week belly in the way so to make it easier for everyone we jump in the tub together)--and she lays her head on my belly and asks if we can sing to baby brudder.  And yes we do sing to baby brother in the bathtub....at least three songs or we have a temper tantrum (and it's always the same 3 songs with Row, Row, Row Your Boat or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star thrown in for a little variety :-\)

Just a couple of days ago Baby Brother was rockin and rolling in my tummy, moving all over the place and I told Sydney to hurry up and come over so she could feel him kick.  She has felt him move a handful of times before but she usually gets pretty impatient when he goes dormant again and isn't moving as much as she would like.  It's usually the way it works--whenever he starts moving I call Syd or Chris over to feel and the second they touch me he STOPS (he's already proving to be a bit of a booger :-P)  This particular time he was pretty rambunctious and didn't stop moving when Syd came over.  She held her hand to my tummy and after she felt him, she got this HUGE grin on her face and practically screamed "He kicked my hand! Baby Brudder kicked my hand!" I'm pretty sure it was the cutest thing that I have ever experienced in my life :-)

So, Syd swears she is going to help change diapers, feed baby, read him stories and sing him songs.  I really want to believe she will do these things, and for right now I'm pretty sure she is going to be an amazing help.  However, I also KNOW she is a strong-willed and extremely independent little so and so, therefore I know there will be good and bad days to come.  However I am confident Syd will be an amzing big sister for the most part, and absolutely, positively can't wait to see how they interact with each other--once he's born and as they continue to grow together.  It really is an exciting time :-)

Preggo Update: 30 weeks 5 days

Wow! It's been a little while since I've posted so there is alot of catching up to do. This first post (there is very likely a chance to be multiple posts today) will try to keep strictly to updates about the pregnancy and Baby Boy (no still no name picked out :-P)

Today I am exactly 30 weeks and 5 days and I have been doing pretty well. In my previous post I mentioned my awful case of pregnancy carpal tunnel. It got pretty bad there for awhile, to the point where I was wearing wrist braces as often as possible. My hands and fingers would tingle and go numb at various points during the day. But there was also a dull shooting pain all the way up my arms to my shoulders.  It was hard, even painful, to type, write, hold any kind of utensil, put on make-up...you name it. It was hard to sleep at night because being pregnant I have to sleep on my side, but whatever side I would sleep on that hand and arm would fall asleep. I learned that if I propped enough pillows under my head and shoulders, I could sleep on my back with my arms out to my sides, and that seemed to help for a while. Lucky for me for the past 2 weeks or so the carpal tunnel has been practically indistinguishable and I've been sleeping much better and not having the pains. A friend of mine loaned/gave me a maternity pillow that has been a lifesaver for me and I am so much more comfortable sleeping on my side. It was great! But of course all good things must come to an end...and starting I would say a day or 2 ago, the carpal tunnel has come back--not as bad as it was before, but the joints in my hands and fingers have been swelling a bit, and the tingly numb sensations have returned, especially at night. Man I can't wait to have this kiddo so I can feel normal again! lol

Let's see...what else to catch up on? At 26 weeks I did the glucose test for gestational diabetes and everything came back normal and fine. Then at 28 weeks I had to get the RhoGam shot. Simply put (and this is to the best of my understanding--if you want more info about it Google it cuz I'm not a great source of info :-P) because I am Rh-(negative) and Chris is Rh+(positive) I have to have this shot to make sure that my white blood cells or antibodies or something don't attack the baby thinking it's some foreign virus/bacteria/nasty thing that is invading my body.  Its not a big deal at all....just a shot in the butt which I'm fine with. No weirdo side effects or anything to worry about.  That same day, my OB office asked if I would like to take the flu shot while I was there since they had it and it's a good idea to get it if you are pregnant (well i guess it's supposed to be a good idea to get it no matter what, but whatever).  So Syd held my hand while I got both shots and told me to be a big girl :-) and I was.  I've never had a problem with the flu shot before (or any other vaccination) so the nurse told me I should be fine, that I shouldn't have any side effects and besides it was not a live culture of the flu virus in the shot so no big deal. Well, that's what they SAID. The next day I felt AWFUL! Nauseated all day, tired and gross--just awful. At one point I threw up and heaved so hard I popped a blood vessel in my EYEBALL and had a huge red spot in the corner of my eye (i still have a small red dot in that eye...at least it doesn't look as bad as it did) Thankfully grandpa had taken Syd for the day so I was able to just lay around and be miserable and the next day was Saturday so Chris could play with Syd while I laid around being miserable.  I was still a little gross that Sunday too, so I missed church, but by the end of the day Sunday i was feeling much better.  I still am not sure if it was just some 24 hour bug or if it was due to the flu shot--but either way it sucked!

At my 26 week appt with my OB I mentioned that I wanted to be induced again this time around. I was induced with Sydney 3 days before my predicted due date and it was wonderful to be able to have a date pinpointed and take some of the stress of worrying about when I would go into labor off of my shoulders. Also with Syd my blood pressure started to get a little high towards the end, so the Dr. would have ended up inducing me anyways--whether I had scheduled it or not.  This time I knew I wanted to do the same thing because I wanted to know the exact date (i mean unless baby boy comes earlier) and I wanted to be able to know for sure who would be able to come and be able to let those that are coming know when they needed to be here.  My dr and the hospital won't induce before 39 weeks (which I am totally fine with and agree with 100%) the earliest I could be induced was the 6th of December. I mentioned that I would be happy with the 8th or 9th because that was a Thurs or Friday and it would give both Chris and my mom a couple of extra days off without having to take more time (though Chris gets plenty of paid time off and mom is taking her vacation...it just gives a couple more "free" days lol). Also it just sounded like a good time.  Well, anyways, when I went back for my 28 week appt (and shot) my OB told me they had already gone and scheduled my induction! yay! So, as long as Baby Boy doesn't come earlier, we are scheduled to be induced on December 8, 2011 @ 6:00AM.  How exciting! I'm so stoked! Mom is planning on being here and so is my BFF Adrienne (though I'm sure she won't want to be there for the actual delivery ;-P)  Since we will have a full house, Chris' mom Sandi, and Gran-David will come either the following week (which happens to be Chris' birthday anyways) or for Christmas--since there is NO WAY we are going to be able to travel to NOLA for the holidays with a 2 week old and a crazy toddler :-)  Larry (Chris' dad) has already offered to take Syd the day of the induction but we haven't ironed out all intricacies of what we'll do with Syd while I'm in the hospital. I'm sure it won't be a problem for someone to stay with her at the house at night, and once baby is born she can come to the hospital....but anyways...we can wait a little while before all that needs to be worked out (not very long but a little bit at least lol)

Baby Brother still doesn't have a name yet.  I gave Chris an ultimatum a little over 3 weeks ago. I told him he had a month to decide on a name and if by the end of that month he did not, we were going with my top choice--and then he can decide on the middle name.  I thought for a while we were set on one particular name that Chris seemed to like at first. But now, Mr. Indecisive has changed his mind. Anyways, he has a little less than a week to decide or else :-P

Baby Brother's nursery is pretty much all set up. The room is painted--we decided on a sagey kind of green to go with the bedding.  The crib is all set up and made with the cutest bedding--its different shades of green and cream and brown and covered with Teddy Bears :-)  We are pretty much all set on clothes and almost everything else we could possibly need thanks to trading and/or buying from good mommy friends. The only thing we really need to get is a swing...but we are hoping to either get it as a gift or wait till closer to the holidays to get a better deal.  I also REALLY REALLY REALLLY want to get the Sit and Stand Stroller by Baby Trend and the matching car seat/carrier, but Chris and I have come to the decision that it isn't something we really need, so we can either wait till after the baby is born, or keep fingers crossed some loving soul will gift it to us :-)  We are registered at both Target and Babies R Us, but it is mostly for small things like towels and swaddlers, butt paste and wipes and whatnot--and mostly because I'm pretty sure both places offer some sort of discount if you buy (whatever you don't get) off your registry yourself--i mean it's only like 15-20% but better than nothing right?

Ok so that about sums it up I think for an update on the pregnancy. I'm going to have to do this more often so that my posts aren't like novellas once I do get around to it. Its just hard to set aside the time with a busy toddler and an exhausted pregnant mommy running around after her :-P Till next time! :-)

24 weeks, 3 days! IT'S A........................BABY!!!!!!!

So, I know its been a while since I've updated, and I know I've promised to be more diligent with my posts, but really, being pregnant and the mother of a 2 year old monster (j/k she's not a monster all the time) is time consuming and exhausting. I know, I know who would have thought? lol

I am right about 24 weeks pregnant which means that there is roughly 16 weeks left (fingers crossed) Since I haven't written in a few weeks, I will update you on what's been going on, both with life and the pregnancy, as well as I can without writing a novel. :-)

On August 1st we had our 20 week "anatomy" ultrasound which is pretty much to check that the baby is growing properly; 2 hands, 2 feet, 10 fingers and toes, the heart is functioning, etc. But another component of having the 20 week anatomy ultrasound is to find out what the sex of the baby is. Although there are some who would rather be surprised, we HAD to know...or at least I did. I remember with Sydney that I had the anatomy ultrasound at around 18 or 19 weeks and the little booger was being stubborn and wouldn't open her legs so we weren't able to tell more positively until about 28 weeks. Little booger number 2 was also being stubborn and not in a very good position to help the ultrasound tech better view his heart and lungs and what not but eventually we were able to see pretty clearly that baby was...duh da da daaaaa..a BOY! The tech was actually trying to get a good view of his hands and fingers, having to poke and prod to get him to cooperate. Low and behold there were his little hands, right between his legs...along with another prominent part of his anatomy. the nurse even commented something like "naughty little boy...starting early huh?" I laughed and looked at Chris, who was grinning. That's our boy, i guess LOL.

Needless to say we were ecstatic that we were having a boy. I know alot of people asked me what we wanted and I would always answer the same: it didn't matter as long as the baby was healthy. And I wasn't lying. I would have been happy to have a boy or a girl (not that you can change that kind of thing once it is said and done lol) but its nice to have one of each now. And I know we both really, maybe secretly hoped for a boy. Chris was just grinning ear to ear. I will admit I am pretty nervous about raising and taking care of a boy. It just seems like it will be so different but maybe I'm just being a little crazy. I am crazy preggo lady after all.

Well anyways, I had my routine OB visit after the ultrasound (on August 11th to be exact--we were out of town for vacation from the 4th through the 10th--but that will have to be another blog entirely) and everything is pretty much right on target. Unfortunately I am gaining a little too much weight. I had gained 8 lbs in about 5 weeks--not good since I am only supposed to be gaining a lb a week--but my excuse was (and i stand by it firmly) I had just come back from vacation, where I ate seafood (fried or with butter) everyday and drank too many sodas, and pretty much didn't try to keep track of eating healthy or anything. So far I have gained about 23 lbs total which isn't great but isn't awful and looks to be pretty similar to what I gained with Sydney. At least I can say I weighed less and was in much better shape prior to getting preggo this time around, so getting rid of the weight after baby boy is born won't be so bad. I'm trying to stick to working out, but that's easier said than done since I'm so TIRED ALL THE TIME and have little motivation to get my butt to the gym. I am also currently a bit sick (some cold or sinus thing) so that is making it even less likely to get to the gym. But I'm making a promise to myself right here and now (not that promises I make in this blog mean anything--i remember promising I would actually keep up with this thing and we all know how that's been working out for me lol) but I'm saying it publicly anyway. Once I can breathe (meaning when I'm not hacking up a lung and both of my nostrils aren't stuffed shut) I will be much more diligent at the gym--cardio 4-5 days a week and strength training at least 3 days. It's tiresome, but honestly I feel so much better--emotionally and physically--after working out.

So at 24 weeks pregnant, I am doing relatively well all in all (besides being currently under the weather) Baby is moving really well, kicking and punching and whatever other baby acrobatics he's doing in there. I've developed an awful case of pregnant carpal tunnel which is no fun at all, but not surprising since I had it with Sydney too...i just don't remember it being this intense! Heartburn comes and goes--there have been days I've had it so bad I can't sleep, even after chewing TUMS like candy. But again, par for the course right? I have trouble sleeping on my sides because my hands fall asleep alternately, so I'm constantly waking up to rotate (which is getting harder and harder with this belly in the way lol) I've realized though, that if I prop myself up on pillows and sleep on my back, my carpal tunnel isn't so bad and my hands don't fall asleep, but I'm practically sitting straight up and its not always the most comfortable position. You gotta give somewhere.

Well...i guess that's about it for now. I will post some stuff about vacation and grandparents' visiting later. peace out!

I think I felt Little One move....unless that's just gas

I apologize in advance if this is a little crude and disgusting. You don't have to read it :-) but it made me giggle writing it :-) oh and I know I already wrote 2 other posts today...can you tell i'm bored and there is nothing on tv? why am i not in bed? who freaking knows!

So, from what I've read and what my dr. has said, you can start feeling baby move right around 18 weeks. Some say its like a flutter, like butterflies, or like gas bubbles. Hmm...interesting. Because, aren't pregnant women unnaturally gassy? I mean right? When you are pregnant, you fart, ALOT. And are gassy...alot. Ok well, maybe I shouldn't generalize and say "you" as in all pregnant women because maybe its not ALL of us. So let me ammend... I am ridiculously gassy and flatulent (sp?) And I know there is a real reason for this...i read about it i swear....but don't ask me to tell you why. But anyways....how the HELL am I supposed to know if what I'm feeling is the baby twirling and spinning and punching and kicking, or that burger I had for lunch...or just a little bit of bubble gut? hmmm????

I guess some mommies will say you just know, and I'm sure that's true. But at 18 weeks I couldn't tell you the difference between a fart and baby acrobats...so sue me. Now, however, I am a couple of days past 20 weeks and am almost 100% positive (maybe about 98%) that I can feel baby move. It is like a flutter, and kind of like gas bubbles but not quite....because now I can pretty much tell if its baby doing somersaults (or whatever it is the baby is doing) or a rumblin in my tummy :-P

I can't really remember when I started to feel Sydney move, but I remember it was sometime after 28 weeks when I could push in on my belly and she would punch or kick back. It was the most amazing thing in the world. Totally beyond cool! She never really moved alot when Chris was around, so I think he only felt her a handful of times. But I absolutely can't wait until I can put my hand on my belly and really feel this baby bust a move :-) Then and only then do I think I'd be able to tell you that I'm 100% sure baby is moving around in there and its not just gassiness.

Ok so that's it for my posts tonight, i promise. I hope its not another month before I post again. I apologize again if i grossed anyone out. For any man reading this...its all a lie! women don't fart...EVER! For everyone else, you know what I'm talking about :-)

SHOCKING NEWS--Sydney is a runner *gasp* REALLY?

Sydney will not EVER stay still. EVER. AND she will never come to me when I ask her to, whether to get her dressed, brush her teeth, give her a bath, feed her, give her a drink, ask her to play with me, get her to put her shoes on....nothing. She just RUNS. "Sydney lets get dressed so we can go to the park! Don't you want to go to the park?" Syd-"Yes MAMA!" as she runs as fast as she can in whatever direction I am not. I even use her best friend Jack or Seth as a bribe...don't you want to go play Jack(Seth)? Syd--"Yay Jack!(Seth!)" still running as fast as her little legs can carry her anywhere that's away from me. Sometimes its a little funny, but most of the time it INFURIATES me and I have to take a deep breath and calm down. Now why does this make me so mad? Because she does it ALL OF THE TIME! and I have no idea what to do about it, except just let her run, or threaten to stay home all day (which I can't hold to, because I would lose my marbles and doesn't work anyways because all she says is ok mama) or threaten a whoopin, or threaten to take away a toy or tv show (which doesn't work, EVER) or put her in time out(which also doesn't really work, because guess what? you still have to chase her and catch her first.) I'm pretty sure she just thinks its a big game, ALL THE TIME!

God, I love her, but she drives me BONKERS! Sometimes she'll listen and be good (once in a blue moon) and sometimes Daddy can get her to do whatever it is that I can't convince her to do. But mostly (i'll reiterate) she just RUNS. **i'm really praying this is a phase, or part of the terrible two's because I'm sure I can't keep up with her if this lasts much longer** Good part about it I guess (if you want to see a silver lining) is that at least I'm staying active, even on days I don't go to the gym. And at least she's getting some of her massive amounts of energy out, i guess....

Ok that was all. I just needed a little vent I think....lol i'll try to post again soon! (though not tonight, cuz i'm pooped) :-P

Potty Training Little Miss Independent

So its been a while since my last blog and there is a LOT of catching up to do. I'm just so darn TIRED all the time, by the time I get a chance to get online (on the actual computer and not just my phone) I have little desire to type anything but google searches and status updates. lol

There is plenty to update on--my pregnancy, potty training a toddler, terrible two's, life in general--but for this blog I am going to try to stick with one topic and focus on our lovely attempts at potty training for the past month
*DISCLAIMER* IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THE INNER WORKINGS OF POTTY TRAINING A TODDLER, PLEASE DISCONTINUE READING NOW. :-) (although it can be a little entertaining...if you aren't the one wiping up the pee drops and poopie bottoms)

On July 6 (a Wednesday--and no I don't have amazing memory...i posted it on Facebook so it will be forever immortalized on the internet :-P) Syd woke up and decided it was the day for NO MORE DIAPERS! "panties please!" she said to me as I was changing her diaper after she woke up for the day. Okey dokey then! No more diapers it was. This started the first day of what myself and other mommy friends may refer to as potty training boot camp. For those unfamiliar with the term, its basically supposed to be a 3 day "program" where you let the kiddo go bottomless all day long in hopes that they will make it to the potty when they feel the need rather than messing on themselves. It can be a hard and messy job but supposedly works wonders. Sydney took to it marvelously. We have a potty seat (Dora of course!) but she insists most of the time that she wants to sit on the big potty. The first day there was I think only one or 2 accidents and she pooped on the potty all by herself. As long as she was bare bottomed she made it to the potty when she needed to, would even go by herself, without being prompted and without me having to take her (she of course still needed me to help her wipe, although she would much rather do it on her own) After about 3-4 days she was pottying pretty much on her own, pretty regularly with little to no accidents. We could even go out in public, as long as it was somewhere with a potty and as long as I was with her (we had to stay away from the gym for a week or so since they are not required to assist with potty training or taking kiddos to the potty)

All in all I was really impressed with how well she was doing with the whole potty training bit. We used mini m&m's as treats if she went to the potty (1 for pee pee and 2 for poo poo) but she never really needed them and I usually only gave them to her if she asked for it. "I poo poo! Treat MAMA?!" Again I'll say as long as she was bare bottomed she had almost no accidents. If I put her in panties or in a pull-up she would almost ALWAYS potty in them...I guess they were just too similar to diapers. I realized that her panties were just a little too tight and it was hard for her to get them on and off, so once we got some bigger panties, she could wear them with no accidents. Most of the time though, she is just in shorts or pants (unless she specifically requests panties or she's in a dress). If we go out in public like to a park or the store, I make sure she uses the potty before we leave and once we get there and she does great. If we go to the gym I have to put a pull-up on her because I know she can't go there by herself yet and I don't want an accident. Usually when I get her we go potty and the pull-up is dry, but we have had one or 2 instances that she pooped in her pull-up while I was working out. Not fun at all, I promise you :-P

So, anyways, potty training was going wonderfully...until last Friday. I'm not sure what changed, or what happened. Maybe the novelty of using the potty like a big girl wore off, or maybe she is just TOO BUSY to remember to go potty, but since Friday we've been having potty issues. She had an accident at a playdate at a mommy friend's house that Friday morning (thank GOD it was on the hardwood and not the carpet :-/ I chalked it up to just having too much fun and not thinking about the potty. Then that afternoon she had 2 pee pee accidents and one time she pooped on the floor. After her accidents she would always go and sit on the potty to "finish" but I couldn't figure out what was different and why she was having the accidents to begin with.
I tried really hard not to get upset with her because I know that can cause setbacks, but I'm a hormonal and emotional wreck these days so it has been hard. I think at one point it crossed my mind that she was doing it deliberately just to spite me (OF COURSE that's NOT TRUE, but again I say i'm crazy pregnant hormone woman these days...)

Needless to say its been a tough few days. Potty training has been a battle! If we are at home, I've taken to asking her to go potty every 30 mins to an hour (which I think drives her nuts because she HATES it and always yells NO POTTY MAMA! whenever I tell her to go to the potty) If I ask her if she needs to go the answer is always no. Then a few minutes later she has an accident in her pants (or on the floor if she has already had an accident and she hasn't allowed me to put more panties/pants on her) then goes to finish on the potty. I still try to take her out in public without a pull-up (unless at the gym) and she tends to do really well outside of the house. I've even tried going back to using the treats but it only works a handful of times. I can't force her to go to the potty because it just turns into a fight, but I'm at a total loss for what to do. I mean I don't want to just give up on it, but its just become Crazy Town over here when it comes to going potty. I will say it is NOT 100% of the time a battle...there are a few times when she will go when I ask and THANK THE GOOD LORD she still does wonderfully for poo-poo (no poops on the floor since that friday :-P) Sometimes I just wish I could snap my fingers or wave a magic wand and she will be fully potty trained. I'm guessing this setback is just par for the course. Chris says she's just 2 years old. Accidents will happen. But its hard to keep that in mind when she was doing so well before. Does everyone have these issues with potty training kiddos?!?!?! It can't just be me and Syd right? lol

Well, that's about it for now. I will keep you posted about our potty adventures in the future. Hopefully everything will work out in the end :-)

I think I'm almost in the clear *fingers crossed* PLEASE GOD LET ME BE ALMOST DONE WITH THIS

I'm gonna start by apologizing for not being more diligent in keeping up with my blog posts. But guess what? I'm growing a little person on the inside AND running after a little person on the outside, so I'm cutting myself a little slack :-P

As of today I am 13 weeks and 3 days pregnant. That means I'm just a handful of days away from the magic 14 week mark. Why is it magic? Because almost everyone I know or everything I've read has said something about not experiencing morning (all day) sickness once you hit the 14 week mark. Now I have also heard 16 weeks, and also *gasp* and GOD FORBID some people have morning sickness throughout the ENTIRE pregnancy! Now I am not one to pray, but PLEASE GOD LET 14 WEEKS BE THE MAGIC STOPPING POINT! *please*

I will say though I have been starting to feel better. A few things that let me know I must be feeling better:

a) I cooked dinner tonight! lol i know it doesn't sound like much, and if you heard what I cooked (it was delicious) and how long it took me to throw together (literally) you may not think it was that big a deal, but trust me when I say Chris was excited. Especially since I haven't cooked since about week 5 :-P

b) although I still feel a little queasy in the evenings it is absolutely nothing compared to the all day misery of past weeks and my food aversions haven't been as bad. I have been able to eat eggs (which i haven't wanted to even look at for the past 6 weeks or so), veggies, and a bit more meat...and i haven't just wanted pizza and/or mcdonald's all day long :-P

c) just opening the fridge doesn't make me gag anymore

d) well...i'm sure there are other signs i'm feeling better but pregnancy brain has gotten the better of me and well....i can't think of anything else.

On other notes, my nurse gave me a call today with results from all the blood tests I took on May 31st. Since I haven't blogged since a good deal before then, let me catch you up. Chris and I decided (after talking to the Dr. and nurse and ultrasound office) that since all the prenatal screening tests were covered by our insurance it would be a good idea to go ahead and do them. Getting blood drawn is no big deal for me and if it helps to detect anything crazy that we should be prepared for than what's the big deal. Now I will also say this: the prenatal screenings are to detect the possibility of having a child with down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy and fragile x syndrome. I don't know everything about this, but most of these are genetic and as far as I know neither Chris nor I have any family history of any of this. AND these blood tests can only give you a probability AND I have read that the down syndrome test can have a very high false positive rate. AND there really isn't anything you can do about it if it tests positive except to take more invasive tests to find out a little more definitely. A positive test would not change anything about this pregnancy except to make us more aware if there is a problem. ANYWAYS, the first screen (to test for down syndrome) is a 2 part test in which they take blood and also perform an ultrasound. So I scheduled the ultrasound for May 31, and afterwards went to get all the blood work done for ALL of the prenatal screenings. BTW, the ultrasound was amazing and the Dr. said everything looked normal. I was at 12 weeks and everything was measuring right on the dot. Little Baby was even fist pumping in there, like he or she was glad of the attention :-) lol

Fast forward to today when I got the call from the nurse about the results and...duh duh duh...everything came back NEGATIVE! so YAY good news! no problems there!

I go back to see the OB tomorrow. So we'll be able to discuss the results, I will probably get to hear the heartbeat *sigh* and weigh in so my dr. can tell me how gross I am for gaining like 7 lbs in my first trimester :-P I don't think I have any other questions or concerns for her. Aside from this damn morning (all day) sickness its been pretty normal.

I now have a little baby bump :-) so I don't just look like a fat cow...you can actually tell I'm pregnant. I've been wearing maternity clothes for a week or 2 now (because its more comfortable and I think shows off my bump so people don't just assume I'm fat) I've been trying to stick to the working out thing and so far, so good. I mean there were a couple of weeks that I didn't go as diligently as I wanted, but I felt like shit so that's my excuse :-P Even though everything I read says "oh yeah, working out is awesome. you should workout everyday while pregnant because it keeps the morning sickness away and gives you so much more energy and makes you feel great!" BULLSHIT! lol i mean i feel better when I work out because I'm proud of myself for doing it (since I didn't at all with Syd :-P) but I still feel like tossing my cookies and sleeping for the next 20 something weeks straight whether or not I work out. Prime example was today. Although I have been feeling better, today's Zumba class was almost the death of me. There were about 500 bajillion people in this one room and everybody is working their tail off and sweating and breathing hard (can you imagine what that smelled like?!?!?!) and after about 35-40 mins I just couldn't handle it anymore and had to bolt. Well at least I got a good 30 min workout out of it right? lol

Anyways, I guess that's about it for my preggers update. I'm doing fairly well, Baby is doing very well, Sydney is a crazy mess as usual but doing well (I'll write an update on her soon...but not tonight) Everything's great! (as long as I'm not feeling like puking anymore)

I'll let you know once I hit the magic 14 whether or not its true. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Eventhough I'm feeling a little better, I can't take this queasiness anymore :-P

P.S. I thought of more to brag about

Just wanted to add to the previous bragfest/update on Sydney that I think is pretty amazing and a nod in my direction that maybe I am doing an ok job--for the most part.

1) Sydney says thank you WITHOUT being prompted almost anytime you give her anything whether she requests it or not.

2) If I cough around her or make a face like something hurts she will immediately pat me on the arm or leg and say "s'ok mama. s'ok"

3) She says "I love you" "See soon" and "Good day" mostly without being told when she sees daddy leave for work. Now this is rare since we are usually out of the house first...but still lol

4) If you have a boo-boo she will kiss it better. If she has a boo-boo she wants you to kiss it better, but she will kiss it herself if you are too slow. Whenever you ask for kisses you have to have hugs too. And she will remind you! "kisses" followed by "hugs" everytime.

5) Another of her favorite phrases is "GO AWAY" which I hate but which daddy thinks is hilarious. She likes to tell me to go away when she is playing catch with daddy in the man cave.

6) She can get a little bossy--"Sit Down! Sit back! Geet up!" i think I might use these phrases too much too.

7) She has just started saying "be right back" and holding her arm out as if to hold you in place. its adorable and hilarious when she does it, but also reminds me how often i say the same thing.

ok that's it for now....seriously. There is probably tons of other things I'm missing but my brain is not functioning on high right now lol

Sydney Amazes me even while she drives me nuts :-)

So its been a little while since I've written and since this is pretty much an update on Sydney its going to be a long one. Sorry in advance....

My daughter (firstborn--in case this little one growing inside me also turns out to be a girl) is beautiful, energetic, super intelligent, insane, boisterous (what 2 yr old isn't), loving, loveable and downright amazing. (what mom doesn't say the same thing about their kids?) In other words she does everything she possibly can to keep me on my toes EVERYDAY! It's exhausting I tell you...but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Sydney is about to turn 2 years old. In approximately 1 week. TWO! IN ONE WEEK! WHERE THE HELL did 2 years go?!??!?!?!?! Its hard to believe my little booger is almost 2. Its incredible. AND she is so darn smart! I mean really smart. (here is where I'm going to brag a little...or alot...skip ahead if you think i'm being obnoxious. apologies. i'm really not trying to be...i'm just amazed) Syd can count to 10--most of the time. Sometimes she gets to 8 then goes right back to 7 and 8 again....but if you coax her a little she gets to 10 more often than not. She can also count to 5 in spanish. YES I said it! She can count to 5 in espanol! Unfortunately, I can take no credit for this. I give it all to Dora the Explorer. (who says TV is bad for kids :-P) Also unfortunately I can't really prove this because whenever I ask her to count to 5 in spanish in front of anyone...or for the camera she says no. I think I got one video of it once but I'm pretty sure she was whispering and it was in the middle of a whole bunch of other stuff so it may have gone unnoticed. She did count to 5 in spanish today at the doctor's office...but of course i did not have the time (or inclination) to whip out the video camera. Oh well.

She is also becoming really good at identifying shapes. And not just the typical shapes but also the not your everyday variety shapes like trapezoid and octagon. Most of these she has known for a while and I really attribute it to her shape sorter (ya know the hollow ball that has all the different shaped holes and all the different blocks in all the different shapes...i think i just confused myself) but also some of it I attribute to Moose and Zee from NickJr (i think I've mentioned before somewhere that I think I let Syd watch too much TV). Just yesterday she was playing with her puzzle train which has a bunch of different circular and rectangular blocks that you can arrange and rearrange on the train any way you like. She had taken all the blocks off of the train and was arranging them on the floor. I was watching her do this...kindof...when she turned to me and pointed at the floor. "Ott-gon, mama" she told me. "Ott-gon!" and I replied: "no my darling (or something to this affect) those are circles and rectangles and squares, not octagons." "NO! OTT-GON!" she repeated still pointing. and then it clicked. She had used the other blocks to make the shape of an octagon on the floor. Now I know this may sound a little crazy and I might be stretching it a little but damned if she didn't arrange the blocks into a shape with 8 sides. Its not perfect by far...but she's only friggin 2! (here's a picture so you can see for yourself):

Sydney has also been on her way to becoming alot more verbal. Now, she has been talking for a while now. I can't tell you when she started exactly because I'm a horrible mom and didn't really keep track of it. I can tell you that her first word was "duck" (well besides mama and dada...but i truly think duck came first) but I can't really pinpoint at what age or stage she became so much more conversational. I'm also not going to list all the words she knows because a) i don't think I could if i tried and b) i don't think you really care to know every word she can speak. She will now answer questions you ask...for the most part and not just with yes or no. She also likes to make sure she points things out to you, just in case you happened to miss the huge line of school buses on the other side of the street or that the traffic light in front is green or red. She can tell you what most animals say, what colors are what and that she "got you" or "tickle you." Her new favorite expression is "What zat sownd?" (what's that sound in case you don't speak toddler) everytime she hears ANY LITTLE NOISE. This has become especially fun at night since it tends to extend bedtime just a little longer if she "hears" something outside of the window and you have to explain to her what sound it is and why it is perfectly ok and that she needs to get in the FRIGGIN BED already! Her favorite things to hear at night outside of her window are 1 of 2: "crittits" and "Bob and dawggie." The "crittits" (crickets) because she has heard them on a few occasions RIGHT OUTSIDE the window (aggravating damn bugs) are particularly fun because then once she doesn't hear them anymore her second favorite phrase can be used: "what hattened? Crittits?" and I of course answer her with the same answer I use for any question about anything when it is bedtime. They went night night. Just like the sun went night night and mommy and daddy are going to go night night and Sydney needs to go night night. Eventually after asking her question 500 bajillion times she will get in the bed and *fingers crossed* drift away to sleep. Now the "Bob and dawggie" thing I blame entirely on Chris. One night Syd asked "what zat sownd" and then said she was scared and asked for daddy. She was so forlorn that I went to get him and then let him try to calm her down. When I came back she was standing at the window pointing and saying "I see I see! Bob and DAWGGIE!!" because apparently when she asked chris what the sound was he told her it was Mr. Bob (our neighbor) taking the doggie (whose name is Auggie) outside which is a GREAT THING to tell a toddler (who happens to be in love with dogs) when she is supposed to be going to bed. I guess it wasn't horrible because at least she wasn't scared anymore....but she also was in NO WAY ready to go to bed. Here I revert again back to my stock answer. Yes it was Bob and Auggie, but they are going night night, just like the crickets, just like the sun, just like EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD and just like SYDNEY! *clenching jaw together* GO TO BED PLEASE! But I can't complain too much because I am still so very amazed everyday at all the new things she has picked up and learned to say.

Ok so I'm coming up short on more things to brag about. I'm sure there is more...but this blog is already pretty long and I haven't had a nap today so my pregnant brain is a little bit foggy. I will update soon with more preggo related stuff. I just thought it would be a good idea to talk a little about how absolutely wonderful my Sydney is (and give a little update since I never blogged for her, either while preggo or for her 2 years) since in most of my other posts I really just touch on how much she drives me crazy.

Now I'm not saying she doesn't drive me crazy, because she does, but I AM saying that she also makes my heart grow a little more each day, and almost brings tears to my eyes by how much she loves me and her daddy and how much she learns everyday. She really is amazing. and I don't care how cliche that sounds or how many other parents say the same thing about their kiddos :-P

Morning Sickness is a crock

(sorry again this is so long. I never realize how much I have to write until I write it. And once I start I guess I just can't stop. maybe i need to start outlining these blogs before I write so I stay on topic lol. hope its not too boring :-P)

So I guess I'm just about starting in my 7th week of pregnancy. I still haven't gone to the OB yet (i go on the 26th) but according to my babybump App and my profile on WTE (what to expect.com) and other websites that predict your due date from your last menstrual period I range anywhere from the middle of my 6th week to the beginning of my 7th week. *shrugs* so who freaking knows?! WELL, all the articles I've read and/or people I've talked to say that morning sickness usually hits right around the 7th week...along with most of the more unpleasant pregnancy symptoms. To be honest I really wasn't too worried about morning sickness because I never really experienced it with Sydney aside from a handful of days I just felt yucky. I never threw up...never really felt too bad at all.

Well even just this morning I was talking to some other mommy friends about how I didn't have morning sickness with Syd and how I hadn't really felt anything yet. I also mentioned I thought I was still in my 5th or 6th week (which was when a mommy friend let me know she didn't really experience any sickness until her 7th week and it lasted til 14 weeks! yikes!) I felt pretty good pretty much all morning--we had an Easter Egg Hunt at a friend's house and had such a good time, both myself and Syd--and even on the drive home. Chris was home when I got home so I assumed he had the day off--no he was just working at home. Sydney was in a bad mood from the second we got out of the car. I guess we were just cutting it a little too close to naptime for her liking. She perked up when she saw daddy and showed him all the eggs she had gotten and even opened and tasted some of the snacks (at least the ones she hadn't gobbled all up at the actual playdate lol) When I tried to get her to eat lunch she didn't want to have anything to do with it. I even asked and offered her tons of choices but to no avail. It was obviously time for a nap for little miss crabby britches.

We did our typical naptime routine (and mind you she has been taking pretty decent naps recently...anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hrs most days) and I stayed with her and held her hand and sang her some songs (again like I usually do) but I guess she was just too overtired and too psyched that daddy was home when we weren't really expecting him to be home. Well, anyways, she wouldn't go to sleep. So then Daddy tried to come in and "help" and that NEVER works so we were pretty much screwed on the nap front. Since I am so wonderfully pregnant, and moody and exhausted pretty much ALL of the time now I just threw up my hands in disgust and told daddy in no uncertain terms FINE you take her! I'm taking a nap! As I closed the door to the bedroom I heard Chris ask Sydney if she wanted to lay down on the sofa and rest with daddy. Fat chance I thought (i was right btw!) I tried to nap off and on for about an hour/hour and a half but didn't do too well since I could still hear Syd throwing a fit when she wasn't getting what she wanted or I should say didn't know what she wanted (poor darling was so tired).

I finally gave up and went out to see what was going on. Of course she hadn't napped for Chris either and was pretty much just going nuts all over the house. I started feeling a little bit shaky and weak and I was pretty sure it was because the last thing I had eaten was a bunch of grapes at like 11 (and it was now around 2:30) so I figured I should make myself something to eat. That didn't turn out very well since Syd decided she couldn't possibly LIVE without sitting on the counter while i made lunch(or pulling on my leg for me to put her on the counter), screaming at me "UP UP UP!" or "NANA!" or "ORANGE!" while I tried to get some food in my stomach before I either hurled or died or passed out or something equally horrible. Might I add the entire time Syd and I are going back and forth (syd: "up MAMA UP UP UP" me:"ok syd, just a second, mama doesn't feel well and needs to eat" syd: "no ORANGE MAMA! up UP UP UP ORANGE ORANGE!" etc) Chris is at the computer "working." FINALLY i give up trying to get any food for myself and get an orange and tell sydney ok I'm peeling the orange. please calm down while I peel the orange. And i burst into tears...because by this point we are both so tired and so upset and so crazy I can't help it. And of course that is when Chris FINALLY comes in and tries to console me and take syd...and of course I snap at him because it friggin took him long enough. Anyways, I was pretty much at the end of my rope and to top that all off Sydney took one stinking bite of the orange and threw up her hands "all done mama." Awesome!

So to make a LONG story a little shorter, I felt pretty much like crap the entire rest of the day. Sydney was a cranky britches off and on for the rest of the day too. Chris finally told me to go lay down at around 6pm which I did, floating in and out of consciousness for about an hour before I gave up again...because Syd was screaming again...

Lucky for me Chris had already fed her and given her a bath so at around 7:15 I decided it was probably time for Syd to go to bed. I picked her up (poor darling was exhausted) took her to her room, read her a story and sang her to sleep. She was out within 10 minutes.

I still feel a little gross. I'm glad I haven't had to throw up but I have felt pretty queasy and shaky all afternoon and evening. I ate some tomato soup and hardboiled eggs for dinner and had a caffeine free diet coke and now I feel a little better. thank goodness!

So after all that, i still say morning sickness is a crock....there is nothing morning about it. All day sickness would be a better term (and I know there are many who would agree) but people still say morning sickness. Bologna! THE END

Why am I SO FREAKIN TIRED....oh yeah THAT's why! :-P

So I'm only like 2 minutes pregnant and I'm already EXHAUSTED. I mean I was exhausted before I got pregnant because my daughter is CRAZY and doesn't understand that a good night's sleep really does make everyone happy--but this is ridonkulous! I don't remember being this tired when I was preggers with Syd...but that is probably due to the fact that I was still working full time and chalked up the exhaustion to that instead of growing a little person inside my body. I have also been moodier than all get out...which can also be attributed to the whole growing a person thing...and Chris can definitely attest to the moodiness. I feel awful because usually...maybe...well most of the time...ok i mean some of the time...i am relatively tolerant with the happenings in my household but for about the last oh shall we say week or so I have been on EDGE about EVERY LITTLE THING that is done wrong, misplaced, left out, messed up, dirty, etc etc. You get my point. I also find that my passive aggressive nature (which drives Chris NUTS) has come to the forefront once again because instead of starting with "Hey hun could you please fix/do/change/bathe etc" I mumble under my breath something along the lines of "you would think a grown man could figure out how to use a sponge" or "is it that hard to figure out where the trash can is" or just (my personal fave) "REALLY? are you trying to piss me off or is it just second nature" to which Chris replies "huh? what did you say?" Oh nothing...just plotting your death secretly in my head and If I find one more half empty soda can or slice of onion inadvertantly dropped on the floor I'm going to rip out all your hair...then mine! See! Moody Moody Moody! Lucky for me and my sanity...and Chris's I'm sure, I can usually wrangle myself into a better mood or take a couple deep breaths and try to put it out of my mind. I can't be this bad for 9 months right? right?!? Also lucky for me I haven't experienced any morning sickness yet, although like I said before I am only 2 minutes pregnant and that can sometimes take till week 7 to hit full on (ok i'm really like 5 or 6 weeks preggo so it could be coming any minute) I was never really sick with Syd either so *fingers crossed* i'll be ok for this one too. Sydney has been her typical rambunctious self. We have talked about mommy having a baby and when you ask her what is in mommy's belly she says VERY enthusiastically "BABY!" followed closely by "I TOUCH! I SEE!" and trying to take whatever pants I'm wearing off. its adorable but I really don't want to be naked from the bottom down so I hope she grows out of this soon. Also, she has been waking up a couple of times during the night (not helping with the whole exhaustion thing) but as long as we go in there right away she goes right back to sleep no problem. The biggest issue I have personally been having with Sydney is that I'm so moody and don't always (this is going to sound bad :-( so sorry) want her hanging all over me or want to play whatever it is she is dead set on playing. I feel awful and I try really hard to feign interest but it gets harder everyday. I love her soooooo sooooo sooooo much...and again this goes back to a previous post....i feel like such a bad mommy when I don't want her around, but its the truth about what I feel. I know I'm not a bad mommy and I know I spend alot of time with her and she is sooooooo super smart and learning, doing and saying more and more everyday but I just can't help feeling that way sometimes. Anyways, off my chest and out in the open makes me feel a little better. Maybe its just the hormones getting the best of me. Damn estrogen! :-P This post is getting way to long. Looks like I have a bad habit about once I get started I kindof can't stop. Gonna go to bed for now. Will try to write again soon :-)

Really? Another one? Have you met my daugter Sydney?

(BTW this is a pretty long one...so sorry...hope you don't get too bored and give up on me so soon)

How did this happen? That's a question now isn't it? How did this happen? Actually its very simple, if you taken any sort of sex ed or anatomy class basically how it goes is....ok so NO i'm really not going to go there. Hopefully everyone reading this understands all about the "birds and the bees" and if I have to explain it, maybe you don't need to be reading my blog :-P

Well, to continue, when I pose the question "how did this happen?" I'm not really asking like I'm surprised or anything. I know how it happened. And I know that this time we even planned it and were trying to do just this...adding another little one. What I mean by this question is how did this happen? lol (ok so that explained it all right :-P) No, how did we come by the decision that we wanted to try for another baby. What made us think we were ready at this point in our lives? What pushed us to decide HECK YEAH, we already have a crazy toddler! Why not go ahead and add another one so that we can be running around like psychos after 2 kids :-) Why not add to the sleepless nights, endless diapers, screaming, yelling, cooing, kissing, hugging, loving mess we are already in? Well, I'm going to answer this question for you all. I KNOW I KNOW you are all just dying to know right? RIGHT? lol

Well, it happened. Yes, it happened to me. Of all people, I thought I was safe. I thought I could make it a few more years with just the one kiddo. I thought that i KNEW I only wanted Sydney for awhile (cuz let's face it, she is a bit of a handful) and that I wanted to wait until she was in, like, kindergarten or something before I even THOUGHT about getting pregnant again. And then it happened. I caught it....(awful thing that it is...ok not really)....duh duh duuuuuuhhhhhh...BABY FEVER! AHHHHHH

Ok ok so that was a little overdramatic. But basically how it came about was that everyone....and i mean EVERYONE (well except for myself and one other mommy friend) were either preggers, trying to get preggers or had already given birth to their second child. And it hit me. I had preggo envy...or baby envy...or both. I missed being pregnant. I missed the days when Syd was this big and she would snuggle with me and let me hold her and she was so soft and so warm and didn't run away from me and didn't talk back or yell or throw tantrums. I know I was overromanticizing the whole thing in my head about how wonderful being pregnant was and how wonderful a newborn was (they are wonderful but they are also a BIG BIG change and a big big challenge physically, emotionally and psychologically) but nonetheless I wanted it again. Baby Fever had a hold on me :-P
Well, I thought I could handle it. I was pretty sure Chris wasn't ready yet. We had talked months back about how we both wanted to wait, be more financially stable, yadda yadda. I also considered myself the co-founder of the No More Babies Club (lol population 2--no this wasn't really a club, but we kind of made a pact that we were gonna stick to one kiddo for a while yet) Oh yeah, and I was on the Mirena IUD so contraception was covered (sorry if that was tmi) I had the Baby Fever under control.

Then came February 14th, 2011. My wonderful hubby cooked me a beautiful dinner--lobster and steak and veggies and wine and chocolate cake YUMMY--and we were sitting around the table chatting. I just happened to start talking about some of my other mommy friends that had just had babies or were about to have babies and how I couldn't fathom how they were dealing with 2 kiddos and how I understood that Chris wanted to wait and I knew we weren't going to be adding on to the family for a while...etc. etc. when my wonderful hubby looks at me with those "what the hell are you talking about" eyes and pretty much says he has no idea what I'm talking about. HE never said he wanted to wait. HE thought I was the one who wanted to wait. HE would love to start trying for kiddo #2 if I was ready. After I picked my jaw up off the table (because I seriously believe--and remember having the convo--that HE wanted to wait) I told him ok. Ok? yeah ok! let's do it. You sure? Yeah are you SURE? Sure I'm sure! Let's do it! ok so that wasn't the exact dialogue, but pretty much summed it up. We were ready to start trying....and by trying I really mean not really trying but not trying to not get pregnant....did you get that? i think i said it right.

A week later I made an appointment with my OB/GYN to have my IUD removed. She basically told me I was fertile as soon as I walked out of the room. I wasn't going to do the ovulation calculator thing, or even really try to schedule our "sessions." We both agreed that if it happened it happened and if not oh well. Although I have heard stories that a few people I know got pregnant within a month of having an IUD removed I wasn't too terribly worried about it. But I was excited and really hopeful that we would get pregnant soon.

And now here we are. I took an at home pregnancy test on 4/8/2011 and it was positive. I already knew in my heart i was pregnant for a couple of reasons (and they may sound silly but bear with me) Reason #1: my face usually doesn't break out, and when i was preggo with syd I had a slight case of rosacea and rough skin on my cheeks--i was experiencing AWFUL skin problems. Reason #2: my tastebuds were off...not for everything...but a few days earlier I had made pork tenderloin marinated in balsamic, garlic powder, worcestershire (sp) some other spices--stuff I usually/always use to cook with--and when I smelled it and then ate it, I SWEAR it tasted sour....rancid almost. and it wasn't every bite but most of it. Chris said there was nothing wrong with it so it was just me. ding ding ding--put 2 and 2 together...plus with the test that friday and TA-DA!

So now I have my first appointment with my OB on Tuesday, April 26th at 8:15 am (crazy early i know) My whattoexpect.com profile says I'm 6 weeks. My babybump phone app says i'm 5 weeks...*shrugs* who knows. I will find out a better substantiated guesstimate at the OB i assume. My LMP is 3/8/2011 and that makes my predicted due date around 12/13/2011. We shall see.

So I know this has been a pretty long post. And I hope that anyone who chose the read this made it through to the end...and not bored to tears or sleep :-) I'm promising myself to actually keep up with this blog and I am going to try my best to update at least once a week but hopefully more than that.
Goodnight everyone!

It's been a while...

So....I know I know. I "promised" in my first post that I was going to keep up with my posts at least weekly if not more regularly. Well...yeah right. That hasn't happened. Obviously. I just haven't been taking the time to keep track I guess.

Well, tonight I've been up a little later than I should, and have been drinking...a little more than I should...sooooo....I decided I'm going to take up blogging again. Mostly because I am awful at keeping up with all the baby books and I need some way to remind myself of all the amazing things my daughter is doing and learning. But also as a way to rant and rave, vent and basically communicate all that I am going through at this particular time.
I have a couple of mommy friends who have blogs. And, I must say that I am jealous of their blogs. Because they make me laugh and feel and think--and stay up too too late catching up when I haven't read them in a while :-) I want to have that for myself. I'd really like for someone, friends or strangers, to read my blog and feel like they can't stop reading it...like its the most interesting thing in the world. lol its not very likely but I can hope right?

Anyways, I'm going to keep this short because a) I'm a little buzzed from the beer/wine mix lol b) i have no idea what I'm going to right about on a daily/weekly/monthly basis.
Syd is talking. She has ALOT of new words...and though I'm not going to list them right now...i probably couldn't if I tried...I am AMAZED by everything she is learning. We probably watch too much TV right now, but I truly believe she is learning things everyday...both from me and from the shows she positively INSISTS on watching everyday [mama! beats! beats! (fresh beat band for those of you who don't know :-P) "Dough Dough! (dora)!]
My daughter is a brilliant, beautiful, sweet, enigmatic, rambunctious and slightly crazy toddler these days. Every day is a new experience and a new trial and tribulation. Welcome to my world. Hope you enjoy it....if I can remember to keep up with this blog :-P

Bad Mommy

I feel like a bad mom. The past two days have been hell on my nerves and I can't even adequately describe why. Everything Sydney has done has irked me....and I don't want to say this but I must...I've almost felt like I don't even want her around me. *gasp* What is wrong with me?!?!? Its not even like she has been super fussy--she has been pretty fussy though. I'm pretty sure she has just been her normal rambunctious self (although it could also be separation anxiety when I leave the room...or she's finally getting more teeth--which is a very good reason to be fussy) But I've just been getting SOOOOO irritated with her! Maybe its PMS...oh how I hope that's it. I can't stand feeling like this. She is my whole world.

It started yesterday. It was like everything she got into or did was something she wasn't supposed to do. Like she's supposed to really understand NO! and STOP! at 10 months old right? I should be ashamed of myself...but I actually found myself almost yelling at her. (wow--seeing this written down makes me feel even worse!) Then we went to a playgroup at a friends house. There were a bunch of other mom's and babies there that we hang out with all the time. All the other mommies were following their kids, or playing with their kids...like any good mommy would...but what did I do? Watch as Sydney frolicked around the backyard, called her name when she got too far, or tried to walk down the step without help, took pictures from afar...and just relaxed...sortof. I mean I pushed her in the swing for a bit (she actually liked it which is alot better than before when she would scream bloody murder the second her bottom touched the seat of a swing) and played with her a little bit. Mostly I remarked to other moms about how she was being psycho and I was getting so irritated with her and how I felt like a bad mom. Most of the moms that I feel like I could call friend sympathized and even remarked themselves about how it happens...i'm not a bad mom...yadda yadda. But (and this may sound crazy) I felt like whenever I said I was a bad mom, and how Sydney was crazy the other moms that didn't say anything were secretly judging me. Like "how can she say these things?" "how can she be so uncaring" How can she think these things about such a darling little girl?"

I know I know that sounds crazy...and its probably just my own guilt talking. Because I DO feel guilty. VERY GUILTY for feeling this way. I mean I know in my heart that I'm not a bad mommy. And I'm sure all moms feel this way at some point or another. But I just feel like I haven't been giving her my all, my everything because I'm just so ANNOYED with her and it hurts my heart.

To top it all off I feel like I'm also being a bad "wife." Now I KNOW that's ridiculous. And I know he loves me and understands and is totally and completely there for me. But it doesn't change the fact that I still feel bad.

Well...right now I actually feel better. I guess part of it is ranting and raving and getting this all out. And part of it was being out today at another playgroup and talking with other moms who I know have felt this way before (because we have talked about it before) And part of it is because Sydney is doing SO well now with sleeping at night, and she's been in bed since 8:30. And part of it is because I am enjoying a VERY LARGE glass of wine after a very delicious supper that I cooked (and did a damn fine job of it too if I do say so myself) And because I know in my heart of hearts that Sydney's acting up is probably due to teething or she just wants to have me around, holding her or being near her all the time. And I'm just getting irritated with her because I've had a long week, and I do alot and its just building up and stressing me out.

I love her so much. She is the smartest, most beautiful, most animated and rambunctious child and she's all mine--and Chris's I guess ;-)

I'm not a bad mommy...most of the time. But its a hard job to do and it can sometimes make me crazy. But I wouldn't trade a minute of it! And I wouldn't change a thing...well except maybe if she could be a little less crazy all over place all the time! lol j/k

This is my life now. My life as mommy. And its very different than my life before. But so wonderful and rewarding (most of the time :-P) So what if it makes me a little insane. What's life without a little insanity now and then?!

My first Blog

Okay so here we go. I think I'm a little late in starting this blog since my daughter is almost 10 months old--but better late than never right? Its funny to me that I never thought to do this until now. What took me so long? Maybe I was just lazy or thought I never really had the time. I mean its pretty much a full time job just running around after my little munchkin, but its also so important to have some way of documenting my life as a mom. I guess I've just never been good at keeping a diary or journal--I'm just not consistent enough--but I feel like now is as good a time as any.

I remember a time before when I wanted to write. Like professionally write. But I could never keep myself motivated enough, or inspired enough to start (or finish) anything. I love the written word. I consider myself to be a good speaker, but I definitely think I am much better at portraying my thoughts and emotions through the written word. I can think about what I want to say and know exacly how I want to say it, but once the words leave my lips they sometimes get all jumbled and I don't get it out exactly right. When I write its almost like magic--exactly what I mean or what I think, exactly how I want to say it.

Anyhow, here goes. I am making myself a promise. Right now, today, I am promising myself I will stick to this blog. I will document my thoughts, my feelings, my everyday doings, whether extraordinary or mediocre, things I learn, things I teach, and how much and how fast my daughter and my life is growing. I can't promise how often I will post although I am going to try to post once a week. This is it. This I WILL stick with. And I hope for any of you out there who actually decide to read this I won't get too boring.

I think that's it for today. The little booger has arisen and must be tended to. Its too pretty out to stay inside and we have a date at the park to uphold. Until next time!