We've picked up some kind of yucky stomach bug around our house. :( Luke started it all on Saturday, when he threw up twice in the morning, but that seemed to be the end of it at that point. Then on Monday, I woke up feeling yucky. :( I was able to get through most of my day, but I just didn't feel right. By dinner time, I made it home from a walk with my friend Tami, and it was all downhill from there. Vomiting, extreme fatigue, faintness, a very sore stomach...NOT fun! I spent all day yesterday on the couch, snoozing and hoping to feel better. Luke was SUCH an angel all day. He played quietly here in the family room while I rested and just even let me nap here and there without getting himself into any trouble. What a big boy!! He started in with some diarrhea yesterday afternoon and then Ty came home with all the same symptoms I had. :( I was starting to rejoin the land of the living by evening last night, but Ty is now feeling the brunt of it, and even had to call into work today...the first time he's EVER done that since he's worked for Sonia. Poor guy...he was so worried last night about not being able to work today. "This'll be an expensive illness if I don't go in tomorrow. It cost each of us a day of work." Yup. But whatcha gonna do? Unfortunately, neither one of us have sick benefits or paid time off. I don't, simply because I'm only per diem, but Ty doesn't because he's self-employed. :( Guess that's what our emergency fund is for, right? A rainy day. Or in our case this morning, a SNOWY day!
Yup...you read that right....it's SNOWING here this morning. Gigantic, heavy flakes of that white stuff are falling from the sky as I type. It's beautiful! It rained too much over the last 24 hours for it to stick, I think, but it's beautiful to watch falling. We are all huddled here on the couch in our pj's trying to get some HoneyNut Cherrios and gatorade on board. Luke and I are making much better headway at that than poor Ty. It certainly is no fun to be sick! But the snow somehow makes it just a little more tolerable!
Well...Master Luke is asking for me to turn on the fireplace, so I shall go appease him. It IS a bit chilly in here. I'm sure I'll find him huddled into his Luke-sized recliner shortly, as he enjoys the warmth of the fireplace. It's his favorite spot when it's chilly! :) Quite cute. I'm off for now to attend to my sickies. Hopefully we'll all be on the mend soon!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007
I only have eyes for you...
So I've been enamored with Luke's eyes lately! I realized as I was cruising through some of the recent pictures of him that I have taken, that I have inexplicably focused lots of my efforts on his eyes! (Remember the picture from my last entry?) I am just enamored with them! Pictures really don't do them justice. Really. I wish you could see how incredible they are...especially just as he climbs out of bed and into my arms as we rock together with the morning sun streaming in through his window. Or how the color changes with the time of day or his surroundings. I'm just in awe of him lately. Truly in love with my son! I could literally just sit and stare at his precious face for hours...that is, if he'd let me! :) There is just something about his skin...the soft, glowing pink of his cheeks surrounding those blue eyes that are rimmed in dark, long lashes. Oh...what a beautiful boy I have! I love, love, love him!!!!! I wish these precious moments could last forever. I'm reminded constantly of how fast he is growing and how numbered these magical toddler days are. Makes me sad when I think of it that way. I wish he could just stay little forever! Here are some of those pictures I was telling you about...
I was so caught up in the whole eye-thing today that I even snapped this one...
My blue-eyed boy and my brown-eyed girl! :) Wonder what color eyes the Bambino will have. Oh.....speaking of Baby.....I have officially entered into my second trimester! For many pregnant women, this means we can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the risk of miscarriage is now much lower. That is a good feeling, although I am still feeling a little on alert from the spotting I had. It seems ironic to me that with my first pregnancy, I hardly worried about a thing. I never recall feeling worried about miscarriage or focusing much on all that could go wrong. I always say that I was blissfully ignorant! That is, until things started to happen. But this time around, I'm not. Its ironic to me because most first time moms-to-be are super cautious and vigilant about their pregnancies. They worry about their diets, their exercising, eating just the right things, or making sure not to eat things that might be harmful. Some go as far as to change the kind of deodorant they use, because of the aluminum content in most deodorants. It's not that I wasn't careful in my pregnancy with Luke. I was. I tried to exercise, eat alright and abstain from things that would hurt the baby (like alcohol or too much caffeine). I just remember feeling pretty easy-going. Maybe I'm just romanticizing it in my mind...maybe I was a little neurotic at times (I'm sure my mom or sister could tell ya!) but I don't remember being that way. Anyway...all that to say that I am admittedly feeling a teeny-tiny bit neurotic this time around. At-least when it comes to weird sensations, spotting, lifting, eating well, and exercise. That control-junkie inside me wants to make sure that IF something does go wrong again this time, that I can't look back look back and find something to blame myself for. I never really felt guilty for anything that happened with Luke. I was lucky that way. A lot of preemie moms do. But like I said, I was blissfully ignorant and somehow that ignorance removed any possibility that I somehow caused my pre-e. (Just so you know, I KNOW that there is a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y nothing I could have done to stop my pre-e! It just happened.) I guess the difference this time around is that I know that there are some things that can possibly help my chances of not having it again, and I just want to make sure I'm doing all those things. Make sense??
Okay...I'm rambling. Sorry. Wasn't intending to go there tonight, and seeing that it's getting late, I should just rest this weary head. Hope you all are enjoying your weekend! And quickly, I just wanted to say a great, big CONGRATULATIONS to my online-buddy Kristin (who also suffered from severe pre-eclampsia with her first son Easton, born at 33 weeks) but who just delivered a healthy, 8lb 15oz son...Dalton Cole via a SCHEDULED c-section on Friday! Welcome to the world, Dalton! You and your mommy give me hope for a normal pregnancy! :)
I was so caught up in the whole eye-thing today that I even snapped this one...
My blue-eyed boy and my brown-eyed girl! :) Wonder what color eyes the Bambino will have. Oh.....speaking of Baby.....I have officially entered into my second trimester! For many pregnant women, this means we can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the risk of miscarriage is now much lower. That is a good feeling, although I am still feeling a little on alert from the spotting I had. It seems ironic to me that with my first pregnancy, I hardly worried about a thing. I never recall feeling worried about miscarriage or focusing much on all that could go wrong. I always say that I was blissfully ignorant! That is, until things started to happen. But this time around, I'm not. Its ironic to me because most first time moms-to-be are super cautious and vigilant about their pregnancies. They worry about their diets, their exercising, eating just the right things, or making sure not to eat things that might be harmful. Some go as far as to change the kind of deodorant they use, because of the aluminum content in most deodorants. It's not that I wasn't careful in my pregnancy with Luke. I was. I tried to exercise, eat alright and abstain from things that would hurt the baby (like alcohol or too much caffeine). I just remember feeling pretty easy-going. Maybe I'm just romanticizing it in my mind...maybe I was a little neurotic at times (I'm sure my mom or sister could tell ya!) but I don't remember being that way. Anyway...all that to say that I am admittedly feeling a teeny-tiny bit neurotic this time around. At-least when it comes to weird sensations, spotting, lifting, eating well, and exercise. That control-junkie inside me wants to make sure that IF something does go wrong again this time, that I can't look back look back and find something to blame myself for. I never really felt guilty for anything that happened with Luke. I was lucky that way. A lot of preemie moms do. But like I said, I was blissfully ignorant and somehow that ignorance removed any possibility that I somehow caused my pre-e. (Just so you know, I KNOW that there is a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y nothing I could have done to stop my pre-e! It just happened.) I guess the difference this time around is that I know that there are some things that can possibly help my chances of not having it again, and I just want to make sure I'm doing all those things. Make sense??
Okay...I'm rambling. Sorry. Wasn't intending to go there tonight, and seeing that it's getting late, I should just rest this weary head. Hope you all are enjoying your weekend! And quickly, I just wanted to say a great, big CONGRATULATIONS to my online-buddy Kristin (who also suffered from severe pre-eclampsia with her first son Easton, born at 33 weeks) but who just delivered a healthy, 8lb 15oz son...Dalton Cole via a SCHEDULED c-section on Friday! Welcome to the world, Dalton! You and your mommy give me hope for a normal pregnancy! :)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
A day with my 'other' man...
Luke and I flew solo to my OB appointment today. We weren't able to schedule it on a day when Ty was off, this time around. :( He'll be there for all the rest of the though, so no big deal! The appointment itself went great! I prepped Luke all morning for what to expect, making sure that he understood that we were going to Mommy's doctor and not Lukey's (they are in the same building, so I wanted to be sure he didn't worry that he was the one being seen.) We talked a lot about the baby beforehand and how we would hear the 'whoosh-whoosh-whoosh" of the baby's heartbeat. He was excited for that and kept saying "Baby...whoosh!" Cute! We went over how he would sit in the chair next to Mommy while I laid on the table and the doctor touched my belly....and how IF he behaved well during the appointment, he could have a 'sutter' (aka sucker) afterwards. I think the sucker bribery alone would have done the trick :P but either way, he was an absolute angel!
My BP this time around was a teeny-tiny bit better than last appointment (112/68....still normal by the doctor's standards, but still what I consider high for me) and we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat, although mine was masking it for a good part of the time. It was around 150, which is nice and healthy! Dr. Hage did a quick ultrasound to peek at my little bambino and we saw the heartbeat there too! No pictures this time around though, since the printer wasn't working properly. :( Bummer! But I saw him/her as clear as day, with its nice, round head and a body that no longer looks like an alien! :) Just a teeny version of a newborn! Everything else checked out well and I am just 2 days shy of beginning my 2nd trimester! I was able to schedule my 20 week fetal anatomy ultrasound for 6 weeks from now (I'll actually only be 19 weeks, but that's okay!) Yay! That ultrasound would normally be the one when we would learn of the baby's gender, but Ty and I are planning to share the experience of finding out with our parents and a few close friends a week earlier at a fetal imaging place in Redlands. We'll be able to have everyone in one big room, equipped with a big-screen tv to watch the 3D ultrasound together! I know my parents and Ty's mom have never been afforded the opportunity to see something like that, since ultrasounds really weren't done when we were all born, so this will be extra special! We're calling in our Gender Party....maybe G-day for short?! I can hardly wait! March 30th! Yay!
After the OB, Luke and I headed back to Target to exchange some of the towels and things I bought the other day for the downstairs bathroom, and then headed home for naptime. While he slept, I did the next installment of my every 4 week belly pictures (check out the very bottom of the blog page for the progression to date) and then photoshopped a bit. When he woke, the first words out of his mouth were "Cheese?" (His way of saying he wants his picture taken) so I snapped a new of him! Check out these big, blue eyes!
Then he asked for his hat, and I obliged. I bought this for him last weekend at the Gap...I just couldn't resist it! My Prince Charming...
And last, he asked for Tess...
A boy's favorite things....his hat, his dog and his Snuggie! :) Not the greatest quality of pictures, but not to shabby either, when you consider that neither the dog nor Luke wanted to hold still long enough for me to focus! :)
After our impromptu photo session, we headed outside for some sunshine, a juice box and to wait for the garage door repairman who decided NOT to show up! Grrrr! I really hate unreliable people! Oh well! Luke and I enjoyed the fresh air, a little tee-ball and a few good rides down his slide. :) Who can complain about that!
Guess that's it for today! Happy sleeping!
My BP this time around was a teeny-tiny bit better than last appointment (112/68....still normal by the doctor's standards, but still what I consider high for me) and we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat, although mine was masking it for a good part of the time. It was around 150, which is nice and healthy! Dr. Hage did a quick ultrasound to peek at my little bambino and we saw the heartbeat there too! No pictures this time around though, since the printer wasn't working properly. :( Bummer! But I saw him/her as clear as day, with its nice, round head and a body that no longer looks like an alien! :) Just a teeny version of a newborn! Everything else checked out well and I am just 2 days shy of beginning my 2nd trimester! I was able to schedule my 20 week fetal anatomy ultrasound for 6 weeks from now (I'll actually only be 19 weeks, but that's okay!) Yay! That ultrasound would normally be the one when we would learn of the baby's gender, but Ty and I are planning to share the experience of finding out with our parents and a few close friends a week earlier at a fetal imaging place in Redlands. We'll be able to have everyone in one big room, equipped with a big-screen tv to watch the 3D ultrasound together! I know my parents and Ty's mom have never been afforded the opportunity to see something like that, since ultrasounds really weren't done when we were all born, so this will be extra special! We're calling in our Gender Party....maybe G-day for short?! I can hardly wait! March 30th! Yay!
After the OB, Luke and I headed back to Target to exchange some of the towels and things I bought the other day for the downstairs bathroom, and then headed home for naptime. While he slept, I did the next installment of my every 4 week belly pictures (check out the very bottom of the blog page for the progression to date) and then photoshopped a bit. When he woke, the first words out of his mouth were "Cheese?" (His way of saying he wants his picture taken) so I snapped a new of him! Check out these big, blue eyes!
Then he asked for his hat, and I obliged. I bought this for him last weekend at the Gap...I just couldn't resist it! My Prince Charming...
And last, he asked for Tess...
A boy's favorite things....his hat, his dog and his Snuggie! :) Not the greatest quality of pictures, but not to shabby either, when you consider that neither the dog nor Luke wanted to hold still long enough for me to focus! :)
After our impromptu photo session, we headed outside for some sunshine, a juice box and to wait for the garage door repairman who decided NOT to show up! Grrrr! I really hate unreliable people! Oh well! Luke and I enjoyed the fresh air, a little tee-ball and a few good rides down his slide. :) Who can complain about that!
Guess that's it for today! Happy sleeping!
Monday, February 19, 2007
A close call for Ty!
God was looking out for Ty today, that's for sure! He was driving home from work on the freeway when the car in front of him kicked up some tire tread that was in the lane. The tread crashed into Ty's windshield, completely destroying it! Thank goodness he was alright AND wearing his sunglasses, since LOTS of glass came showering all over him! The windshield itself stayed mostly intacted, but lots of it also came in on him! Wanna see?
Crazy! I'm just so thankful that he is okay! It could've been MUCH, much worse. Phew! He is a lucky man today! The sad part is that not one person even stopped to see if he was alright. :( Guess that is how California drivers are though. Ty said that the lady who actually kicked up the tread just looked in her rearview mirror, watched the tread smash into him and kept on driving. Nice. We called the insurance company and they are sending out a company to replace the windshield here at our house tomorrow morning. The tire dented the roof too and made a few large scratches, so we'll have to take it in to a repair shop soon to fix all that. It'll be covered though, after our deductible.
Well...I have a little boy sitting here begging me "Mama, play! Mama, play!" so I should really get going. Just wanted to share our excitment for the day, even though its some we could have lived without!
More soon...
Crazy! I'm just so thankful that he is okay! It could've been MUCH, much worse. Phew! He is a lucky man today! The sad part is that not one person even stopped to see if he was alright. :( Guess that is how California drivers are though. Ty said that the lady who actually kicked up the tread just looked in her rearview mirror, watched the tread smash into him and kept on driving. Nice. We called the insurance company and they are sending out a company to replace the windshield here at our house tomorrow morning. The tire dented the roof too and made a few large scratches, so we'll have to take it in to a repair shop soon to fix all that. It'll be covered though, after our deductible.
Well...I have a little boy sitting here begging me "Mama, play! Mama, play!" so I should really get going. Just wanted to share our excitment for the day, even though its some we could have lived without!
More soon...
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream!
As I sit here, slightly blurry-eyed, the clock reads 1:50am. :( Insomnia! Blegh! Gotta love THIS side of pregnancy too, I guess. This morning's insomnia is a bit early for me, actually. Seems like the last few nights, it has hit a little later. Must've been that all that Sweet Tea (mmmm...my special dinner out treat!) I had at dinner tonight that rustled me out of bed at for my nightly potty run. I think I jinxed myself on this one. It must have just been last week that I thought to myself "Hmmmmm.....I've been sleeping pretty well this pregnancy!" So much for that! With Luke's pregnancy I had HORRIBLE insomnia from the very beginning. Even at 6 weeks! I would wake in the middle of the night, only to remain that way for several hours afterwards. I remember the first night I went into the hospital before I delivered him as the first FULL night of sleep I had received in all my 31 (and a half!) weeks of pregnancy....and that was only aided my the sleeping pill they gave me. (And then of-course, it was quite some time again that I slept well!) But aahhhh...this time around, it has been blissfully different.....I've slept famously until a couple of nights ago, when the midnight rendezvous' with my thoughts and the utterly silent house began! :) There is a lot of random things to think about at 2am, that's for sure! Tonight was the first night I just opted to hop on the Internet from the get-go, rather than to lay there tossing and turning in bed, listening to my sweet husband snooze on! Let's just hope its a short-lived phase! We'll see!
Alrighty...enough 'bout that! Friday's trip to the park with Brayden and Jamie was a lot of fun! It was SO warm (nearly 80!) that I actually had to put sunscreen on my little Lukey before heading out! Good thing too....we spent well over an hour romping through the grass to feed the ducks and running 'round the playground after our two little former preemies! It was great! :) Luke had a blast, and I think Brayden did too! As the kids played, I was just in awe over our little guys and their miraculous growth! Especially Brayden, who for those of you who don't recall, was a 25 week preemie, born at home! A true miracle! Here are a few pics...
Playing together...
Ready...set...go!
The only picture I could get of them together, before one of them took off running! It's certainly not the best picture I've ever taken, but oh well!
Luke feeding the ducks...
And taking a few bites for himself :)
Friday afternoon was our tumble class. As usual, Luke spent the first 10 minutes 'adjusting' and not wanting to participate in anything! But he warmed up soon there after and had a blast jumping off the big, soft blocks, bouncing on the mini-trampoline and practicing his back bends on a big rolling cylinder. He was excited to get his Valentine's sticker from Ms. Cheryl at the end and can't wait to go back next week!
And tonight (errr...last night, since it is the am!) was dinner with my family to celebrate my dad's upcoming birthday. Luke got to play with all his cousins, which he LOVED! He's really starting to interact more and more with other kids, and he just can't get enough of his cousins!
So...I guess that's all for now. Still not feeling very sleepy, but maybe I will fall back to sleep if I head back to bed! Ty offered to let me sleep in in the morning while he takes Luke and makes me breakfast, so that I won't be too tired during my shift tonight. Isn't he sweet! :) Working the ED is my favorite, but the late hours take their toll on me now that I'm pregnant! I'm just not accustom to staying up much past 10, much less 11:30 when my shift is supposed to end! Yikes! I might head in a little early.
Okay....I'm off to dreamland, I hope! Let's pray for better sleep!
Alrighty...enough 'bout that! Friday's trip to the park with Brayden and Jamie was a lot of fun! It was SO warm (nearly 80!) that I actually had to put sunscreen on my little Lukey before heading out! Good thing too....we spent well over an hour romping through the grass to feed the ducks and running 'round the playground after our two little former preemies! It was great! :) Luke had a blast, and I think Brayden did too! As the kids played, I was just in awe over our little guys and their miraculous growth! Especially Brayden, who for those of you who don't recall, was a 25 week preemie, born at home! A true miracle! Here are a few pics...
Playing together...
Ready...set...go!
The only picture I could get of them together, before one of them took off running! It's certainly not the best picture I've ever taken, but oh well!
Luke feeding the ducks...
And taking a few bites for himself :)
Friday afternoon was our tumble class. As usual, Luke spent the first 10 minutes 'adjusting' and not wanting to participate in anything! But he warmed up soon there after and had a blast jumping off the big, soft blocks, bouncing on the mini-trampoline and practicing his back bends on a big rolling cylinder. He was excited to get his Valentine's sticker from Ms. Cheryl at the end and can't wait to go back next week!
And tonight (errr...last night, since it is the am!) was dinner with my family to celebrate my dad's upcoming birthday. Luke got to play with all his cousins, which he LOVED! He's really starting to interact more and more with other kids, and he just can't get enough of his cousins!
So...I guess that's all for now. Still not feeling very sleepy, but maybe I will fall back to sleep if I head back to bed! Ty offered to let me sleep in in the morning while he takes Luke and makes me breakfast, so that I won't be too tired during my shift tonight. Isn't he sweet! :) Working the ED is my favorite, but the late hours take their toll on me now that I'm pregnant! I'm just not accustom to staying up much past 10, much less 11:30 when my shift is supposed to end! Yikes! I might head in a little early.
Okay....I'm off to dreamland, I hope! Let's pray for better sleep!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Goodnight, Baby...
I just put Luke down to bed. Ahhhh...the sweet bliss of a quiet house! :) Don't get me wrong, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the noises of our busy household full of squeals, giggles and that pitter-patter of tiny feet moving about, but I also love the serenity of the evenings; when the tv is off, the dog is quiet and things are back in order. Tonight is especially quiet, since Ty isn't home again until later. It's just me and Tess, chillin' here in the office...relishing the solitude.
Anyway, I titled my blog "Goodnight, Baby" not because of the solitude, but because last night at bedtime was the first time Luke truly acknowledged the baby! After bath, jammies and giving Tess her nightly goodnight snuggle, we always walk over to his rocking chair, position his Snuggie just so on my shoulder and he climbs up into my arms (no more lifting for me, right?!) and I sing him a few songs before putting him into his crib. Well, last night, as he was climbing up into the chair, I asked him "Do you want to say goodnight to the baby too?" and sure enough, he lifted my shirt, ever so gently placed the sweetest little kiss on my belly and said "Nigh-nigh, Baby!". Awwwww.....talk about melting my heart! Up until now, he's always been reluctant to pay ANY attention to my belly, and most of the time just seems oblivious. But the same 'moment' was repeated again tonight, so I'm thinking this whole baby-idea is starting to stick. We'll see. :) I love the idea of him already bonding with his little brother or sister!
Let's see...what else??? We had quite a busy day today. We started off our morning with Sarah and Hudson at the Tiny Tots Circle time at the library. It was all about dragons today! :) We hadn't been for quite some time, so I made sure to bring Luke in a few minutes early to get adjusted. I'm noticing that he really doesn't like the unfamiliar and needs several minutes and LOTS of preparation beforehand for new experiences. He is definitely my slow-to-warm child. That's okay by me, since after a bit of time, he always warms up to nearly every situation. Like today, for example...he sat ever so still, hands clasped in his lap, looking straight ahead as he sat on the library rug for nearly the entire 20 minutes of story time. It wasn't until the end, that he felt the freedom to stand up and move around a bit. Once the stories and songs were through, Sarah and I let the boys play in the park outside, while we sat in the sun and chatted a bit. Sooooooo nice! It was another beautiful, clear, warm day, so I had no objections to sitting outside and soaking in my 20 minutes of vitamin D producing sunlight! :) Mmmmmm!
After the library, we were supposed to hit up Costco for some much needed things, but it was already a few minutes after 11 and I just couldn't bear the thought of trudging through Costco for an hour, hungry, and tempting the tantrum-monsters, since it would be getting close to nap time. Instead, I opted to appease my craving for a smoothie at Jamba Juice and headed to Target instead for diapers. Ended up spending WAY too much time (and money I might add) while I roamed the isles. Found some things for Luke's Easter basket, a potty-training-companion stuffed animal to help Luke learn to use the potty (more on that later), a decent fitting maternity swimsuit for the upcoming trips to the pool (although WHO knows if I'll actually fit into it by then!) and some new towels for the guest bathroom. Guess I can scratch those things off my list! :) We left Target around one, and hustled home for Luke to nap (he actually did REALLY well during our little outing!) and for me to get some laundry done. He napped for over two hours today, which I'm now attributing to the new black-out shaded we just had installed in his bedroom, so I was able to not only get some laundry done, but the mail sorted,our Target things unpacked and put away, old bills and papers filed, the office desk organized, the house generally picked up AND check my email! Whoohooo! Yes...I was a busy beaver. After nap, we headed over to my friend Tami's for a nice, long walk and then she invited us to stay for dinner, since both our husbands were going to be gone late tonight. Nice. No cooking for us! :) And now, Luke is safely in bed and I'm here typing away feverishly, with hopes of getting some of my back-logged photoshopping done too!
I love days like this....I had tons of energy and feel so productive! Tomorrow we will meet up with our NICU buddy Brayden and his mom Jamie at the park in the morning, then it's Luke second tumbling class in the afternoon. (We missed last week's class since he was so sick and I was out of town). As for the rest of the weekend, we have our tax appointment Saturday morning and then dinner out with my family to celebrate my dad's birthday that night. I am working again in the ED on Sunday afternoon/evening, so that day's pretty much shot for me. Busy days for us, but I like it...most of the time. There have definitely been days lately, when I just miss the slower times. I'm not one to LOVE being so scheduled and busy, although do I like to have things planned with friends and all too. But I do tend to like the quiet days at home, with nothing planned mixed in with the busy ones. There just needs to be a good balance, ya know? The last few weeks just seem more busy than usual, I guess.
Well....I s'pose that's enough rambling for tonight. Just in case ya'll are worried.....and since so many of you have been asking (thanks for that, by the way...it's nice to know you are all thinking of me), I haven't had anymore spotting since Saturday. :) Had a little bit of cramping last night, but it too was short lived and is most likely from the baby and my uterus growing. So, no worries. I am still anxious of my appointment next week though. I'm curious to hear Dr. Hage's answers to my questions.
Okay....signing off for tonight! Sleep well, my friends! :)
Anyway, I titled my blog "Goodnight, Baby" not because of the solitude, but because last night at bedtime was the first time Luke truly acknowledged the baby! After bath, jammies and giving Tess her nightly goodnight snuggle, we always walk over to his rocking chair, position his Snuggie just so on my shoulder and he climbs up into my arms (no more lifting for me, right?!) and I sing him a few songs before putting him into his crib. Well, last night, as he was climbing up into the chair, I asked him "Do you want to say goodnight to the baby too?" and sure enough, he lifted my shirt, ever so gently placed the sweetest little kiss on my belly and said "Nigh-nigh, Baby!". Awwwww.....talk about melting my heart! Up until now, he's always been reluctant to pay ANY attention to my belly, and most of the time just seems oblivious. But the same 'moment' was repeated again tonight, so I'm thinking this whole baby-idea is starting to stick. We'll see. :) I love the idea of him already bonding with his little brother or sister!
Let's see...what else??? We had quite a busy day today. We started off our morning with Sarah and Hudson at the Tiny Tots Circle time at the library. It was all about dragons today! :) We hadn't been for quite some time, so I made sure to bring Luke in a few minutes early to get adjusted. I'm noticing that he really doesn't like the unfamiliar and needs several minutes and LOTS of preparation beforehand for new experiences. He is definitely my slow-to-warm child. That's okay by me, since after a bit of time, he always warms up to nearly every situation. Like today, for example...he sat ever so still, hands clasped in his lap, looking straight ahead as he sat on the library rug for nearly the entire 20 minutes of story time. It wasn't until the end, that he felt the freedom to stand up and move around a bit. Once the stories and songs were through, Sarah and I let the boys play in the park outside, while we sat in the sun and chatted a bit. Sooooooo nice! It was another beautiful, clear, warm day, so I had no objections to sitting outside and soaking in my 20 minutes of vitamin D producing sunlight! :) Mmmmmm!
After the library, we were supposed to hit up Costco for some much needed things, but it was already a few minutes after 11 and I just couldn't bear the thought of trudging through Costco for an hour, hungry, and tempting the tantrum-monsters, since it would be getting close to nap time. Instead, I opted to appease my craving for a smoothie at Jamba Juice and headed to Target instead for diapers. Ended up spending WAY too much time (and money I might add) while I roamed the isles. Found some things for Luke's Easter basket, a potty-training-companion stuffed animal to help Luke learn to use the potty (more on that later), a decent fitting maternity swimsuit for the upcoming trips to the pool (although WHO knows if I'll actually fit into it by then!) and some new towels for the guest bathroom. Guess I can scratch those things off my list! :) We left Target around one, and hustled home for Luke to nap (he actually did REALLY well during our little outing!) and for me to get some laundry done. He napped for over two hours today, which I'm now attributing to the new black-out shaded we just had installed in his bedroom, so I was able to not only get some laundry done, but the mail sorted,our Target things unpacked and put away, old bills and papers filed, the office desk organized, the house generally picked up AND check my email! Whoohooo! Yes...I was a busy beaver. After nap, we headed over to my friend Tami's for a nice, long walk and then she invited us to stay for dinner, since both our husbands were going to be gone late tonight. Nice. No cooking for us! :) And now, Luke is safely in bed and I'm here typing away feverishly, with hopes of getting some of my back-logged photoshopping done too!
I love days like this....I had tons of energy and feel so productive! Tomorrow we will meet up with our NICU buddy Brayden and his mom Jamie at the park in the morning, then it's Luke second tumbling class in the afternoon. (We missed last week's class since he was so sick and I was out of town). As for the rest of the weekend, we have our tax appointment Saturday morning and then dinner out with my family to celebrate my dad's birthday that night. I am working again in the ED on Sunday afternoon/evening, so that day's pretty much shot for me. Busy days for us, but I like it...most of the time. There have definitely been days lately, when I just miss the slower times. I'm not one to LOVE being so scheduled and busy, although do I like to have things planned with friends and all too. But I do tend to like the quiet days at home, with nothing planned mixed in with the busy ones. There just needs to be a good balance, ya know? The last few weeks just seem more busy than usual, I guess.
Well....I s'pose that's enough rambling for tonight. Just in case ya'll are worried.....and since so many of you have been asking (thanks for that, by the way...it's nice to know you are all thinking of me), I haven't had anymore spotting since Saturday. :) Had a little bit of cramping last night, but it too was short lived and is most likely from the baby and my uterus growing. So, no worries. I am still anxious of my appointment next week though. I'm curious to hear Dr. Hage's answers to my questions.
Okay....signing off for tonight! Sleep well, my friends! :)
Monday, February 12, 2007
Third times a charm....
So I am back from my weekend away (more on that in a bit), but not without a bit of drama before I left. On Friday, Luke woke up with a temp. of 104! It was his 4th day of the new antibiotics, but something was still making his fever climb. 104 is actually the highest fever he's ever had, so I knew we were pediatrician-bound again that morning. We popped him immediately into a 'luke-warm" bath as soon as I realized his temp was so high and made sure to get some Motrin on board. The bath brought it down about a half of a degree, and the Motrin helped bring it down a bit more (to 102), but even by the 3rd hour, it was climbing again to 102.5. Grrr! We alternated Motrin and Tylenol and that helped to get it down before we left for the doctor's office. I was able to get the very last appointment available for the day at 11:30 am (thank goodness) but it proved to be a hectic morning, as I had to get all my things packed up for the weekend and I had to be ready to leave for the airport when I left for the pediatrician's office. I scrambled around the house, getting my bags packed, keeping Luke occupied and making sure things were tidy before I left. We had to run to my mom's house too, so I quickly made it over there and down to Redlands just in time for our appointment. PHEW! Too bad that we sat in the waiting room for another 25 minutes BEFORE we sat for another 20 inside our room! Grrrrr! Did I mention that I had to meet up with Ty and be on the road for the airport by 1:30pm??? We were pushing it! The doctor wasn't really sure what was happening with him, but it was one of two options: either he had a bacterial infection that just wasn't being touched by the new antibiotics or it was viral and there was really nothing to be done but let it take it's course. :( He guessed that it was the former, rather than the later and gave him an injection of antibiotics and asked to see Luke again the following day for a recheck. Poor guy now had a double ear infection, some serious sinus congestion and a crazy-high fever. :( NOT fun! We made it out of the dr.'s office at 1:20 (yes....almost TWO hours after our scheduled appt!) and we hustled to the airport. I was in NO mood to hop on an airplane and leave him for the weekend, but Ty was adamant that there was nothing more that I could do by staying at home that he couldn't do just as well. He was right. So I went ahead and left. :( Luke's fever seemed to break over night and he's been better since....thank goodness! Ty did an awesome job of taking care of him all weekend....even when he had to get up twice in the night to check for fever and give meds. :) What a good husband I have! :) LOVE that man!
MY weekend was nice and so was the baby shower. It was wonderful to see my girlfriends and get some belly pictures of all of us together. These are my girlfriends from jr. high and Heidi is my life-long friend...we met in preschool when we were 2 1/2! We are all pregnant together right now, with 10 weeks separating Heidi and Amy and then 10 weeks between Amy and I! Quite ironic! It was fun to compare and share our stories! A very special time for all of us!
Here is a picture from our jr. high days....we are in 7th grade here, as you can probably tell by the bangs! :)
Here is us together for our senior pictures in high school:
And here is a little belly-shot of the three of us from over the weekend (yes..I have quite a belly for my short 11 weeks! It sure does grow a lot faster and bigger the second time around!)
Fun!
The only damper on my weekend was a short episode of spotting that I had on Saturday afternoon. :( It was my second experience with it....I had some brief spotting the Saturday before, but both times, it resolved pretty quickly. When I noticed it over the weekend though, I made a call to by OB and spoke with him directly (soooo nice!). Since I'm only 11 1/2 weeks, there really isn't a whole lot that can be done for me, so he recommended that I rest and take it easy as much as possible,stay off my feet, drink LOTS of fluids and I was to come in today (Monday) to receive my Rogam (sp?) injection, since my blood type is A negative. Usually the Rogam shot is given around 28 weeks, but since I'm having 1st trimester bleeding, it's imperative that I receive it now to ensure the safety of the baby. I had the injection about an hour ago! I see Dr. Hage a week from Wednesday, so we'll talk more about it all then and go from there. He said that as long as I wasn't having any more symptoms (cramping, urinary/UTI symptoms, or more bleeding) that it was fine to wait until my next appointment. So far, so good. I'm just being persistent in prayer and doing what I can to take is easy. It's a bit rough with Luke though....I'm so used to picking him up and all. I have to constantly remind myself to not over-do it. He's being a bit of a stinker too, and is rather clingy and whiny today, which doesn't make it much easier. I think he's just re-adjusting to having me back....and punishing me a bit more leaving him. :( That's a whole other story in itself though , and I'm short on time. For now though, I just asked for your prayers that this spotting will NOT return and that the baby continues to grow healthy and strong. I'm really trying not to worry, but with all that happened with Luke's pregnancy, it's hard not to feel anxious about it. Please just pray for us!
I think that's all from me for now! Thanks for checking in!
MY weekend was nice and so was the baby shower. It was wonderful to see my girlfriends and get some belly pictures of all of us together. These are my girlfriends from jr. high and Heidi is my life-long friend...we met in preschool when we were 2 1/2! We are all pregnant together right now, with 10 weeks separating Heidi and Amy and then 10 weeks between Amy and I! Quite ironic! It was fun to compare and share our stories! A very special time for all of us!
Here is a picture from our jr. high days....we are in 7th grade here, as you can probably tell by the bangs! :)
Here is us together for our senior pictures in high school:
And here is a little belly-shot of the three of us from over the weekend (yes..I have quite a belly for my short 11 weeks! It sure does grow a lot faster and bigger the second time around!)
Fun!
The only damper on my weekend was a short episode of spotting that I had on Saturday afternoon. :( It was my second experience with it....I had some brief spotting the Saturday before, but both times, it resolved pretty quickly. When I noticed it over the weekend though, I made a call to by OB and spoke with him directly (soooo nice!). Since I'm only 11 1/2 weeks, there really isn't a whole lot that can be done for me, so he recommended that I rest and take it easy as much as possible,stay off my feet, drink LOTS of fluids and I was to come in today (Monday) to receive my Rogam (sp?) injection, since my blood type is A negative. Usually the Rogam shot is given around 28 weeks, but since I'm having 1st trimester bleeding, it's imperative that I receive it now to ensure the safety of the baby. I had the injection about an hour ago! I see Dr. Hage a week from Wednesday, so we'll talk more about it all then and go from there. He said that as long as I wasn't having any more symptoms (cramping, urinary/UTI symptoms, or more bleeding) that it was fine to wait until my next appointment. So far, so good. I'm just being persistent in prayer and doing what I can to take is easy. It's a bit rough with Luke though....I'm so used to picking him up and all. I have to constantly remind myself to not over-do it. He's being a bit of a stinker too, and is rather clingy and whiny today, which doesn't make it much easier. I think he's just re-adjusting to having me back....and punishing me a bit more leaving him. :( That's a whole other story in itself though , and I'm short on time. For now though, I just asked for your prayers that this spotting will NOT return and that the baby continues to grow healthy and strong. I'm really trying not to worry, but with all that happened with Luke's pregnancy, it's hard not to feel anxious about it. Please just pray for us!
I think that's all from me for now! Thanks for checking in!
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Two years ago today...
It was two years ago tonight that Luke finally came home from the hospital! The date had almost gone by unnoticed until my online friend Kristin posted about bringing her own preemie son home two years today as well! I'm reminded tonight how time heals. There would have been NO way that this date would have gone unnoticed last year! It was still so fresh and the whole NICU/preemie experience felt so raw. Those 31 days among the nurses, alarming monitors, and isolettes were treacherous to say the least. Oh how we counted every single gram gained or lost...every cc of nourishment taken in and savored every moment that we got to be near our precious boy! It was blessings and miracles mixed with tears and hurt. But time truly does heal! And healing is a wonderful thing.
Here is our little monkey on his way to meet the big, wide world! It was about this time...7:30pm or so by the time we were discharged, and in contrast to today, it was a cold, dreary, drizzly kind of day. But what a glorious day it was!
He was all of 4 lbs 12 oz on that day. Just a little peanut! But you wouldn't know it by looking at him now! TWENTY-THREE pounds and 16 inches later....
Thanks be to God for His many, many blessings!
Speaking of healing....I'm thinking that Luke could use a bit more of that today! He still is really fighting this stinkin' ear infection! He woke up today pretty content. Happy to play and eat breakfast. This morning was my co-op morning with my friend Tami, so it was my morning to hit the gym! She and I have worked out this nifty little cooperative schedule thingy where every Wednesday morning one of us gets two hours to herself and the other watches the kids. One week is my week, the next is hers. It works out nicely for us both, and allows us just a bit of time to ourselves. But this morning, Luke was unusually clingy and tearful as I left, and apparently wasn't much interested in playing with Owen or anything for that matter while I was gone. Once I returned home, I was met with a pink cheeked, red-eyed toddler, who clung to my leg like plastic wrap. From that moment until nap time, it only got worse. Much, much worse. Tami headed home and I attempted to give Luke some lunch, of which he had NO interest. Halfway through the uneaten meal, he began weeping, then crying, then sobbing! I scooped him up out of his chair and hurried him upstairs for a much needed diaper change, hoping that a change of scenery and a little distraction would lessen the tears. Unfortunately, it only made them worse. As I laid him down, he began WAILING and screaming like never before and tugging at his ear in hysterics! His wailing stirred a bit of panic in the gut, but I scooped him up again, made a b-line for the Motrin and the pain-numbing ear drops and headed downstairs for the couch. It took no less than 10 minutes to get the hysterical, gulping sobs under control once the ear drops were in place. My poor, poor child! I felt horrible for him! I'm not sure if it was the combination of being tired, having a fever (it was 101.7) and the ear pain was what caused the hysterics or if it was simply just an excruciating pain in his ear, but either way it was miserable! He soon fell asleep on my lap and I carried up to bed for the duration of his 2 1/2 hour nap. He awoke seeming much better, but the fever lingered on and at dinnertime tonight, the saga sorta began again. This time though, the idea of a shower with Mama and his snuggy was enough to thwart the tears. Phew! The fever has worsened though to 102.2. :( We are on the 4th dose of the new antibiotics, so I'm not sure what is going on, but if the fever and pain continue through the night and into the morning, you can bet I'll be back at the pediatrician's office again tomorrow....or at-least I will be calling to talk to her. Have I ever told you how much I HATE when he's sick!!!!!!
In the last news of the day, I have FINISHED painting the hallway!!!! WHOOHOO! Aren't you just so excited for me??! I know it may not be quite as thrilling to you as it is for me, but having that task completed means I get to take a short hiatus from painting. The stinkin' hallway took me SEVEN hours of sheer painting time. 5 straight hours yesterday afternoon and 2 today! How the heck that hallway took me that long bewilders me, but it did. And after all the painting I've done over the years, I'd like to think I'm pretty efficient too. Phew! 7 hours and 2 gallons of paint later, it is done. Hooray for me! As my mom would say, I get two gold stars for the day! :) I'm secretly hoping that Ty will surprise me with a nicely painted family room when I return from my weekend up north! Wouldn't that be nice??!! One can hope!
Well.....seeing that I've been at this post for quite some time, I think I'll head over to the couch for a little American Idol. :) One of my guilty pleasures! :) Night all!
Here is our little monkey on his way to meet the big, wide world! It was about this time...7:30pm or so by the time we were discharged, and in contrast to today, it was a cold, dreary, drizzly kind of day. But what a glorious day it was!
He was all of 4 lbs 12 oz on that day. Just a little peanut! But you wouldn't know it by looking at him now! TWENTY-THREE pounds and 16 inches later....
Thanks be to God for His many, many blessings!
Speaking of healing....I'm thinking that Luke could use a bit more of that today! He still is really fighting this stinkin' ear infection! He woke up today pretty content. Happy to play and eat breakfast. This morning was my co-op morning with my friend Tami, so it was my morning to hit the gym! She and I have worked out this nifty little cooperative schedule thingy where every Wednesday morning one of us gets two hours to herself and the other watches the kids. One week is my week, the next is hers. It works out nicely for us both, and allows us just a bit of time to ourselves. But this morning, Luke was unusually clingy and tearful as I left, and apparently wasn't much interested in playing with Owen or anything for that matter while I was gone. Once I returned home, I was met with a pink cheeked, red-eyed toddler, who clung to my leg like plastic wrap. From that moment until nap time, it only got worse. Much, much worse. Tami headed home and I attempted to give Luke some lunch, of which he had NO interest. Halfway through the uneaten meal, he began weeping, then crying, then sobbing! I scooped him up out of his chair and hurried him upstairs for a much needed diaper change, hoping that a change of scenery and a little distraction would lessen the tears. Unfortunately, it only made them worse. As I laid him down, he began WAILING and screaming like never before and tugging at his ear in hysterics! His wailing stirred a bit of panic in the gut, but I scooped him up again, made a b-line for the Motrin and the pain-numbing ear drops and headed downstairs for the couch. It took no less than 10 minutes to get the hysterical, gulping sobs under control once the ear drops were in place. My poor, poor child! I felt horrible for him! I'm not sure if it was the combination of being tired, having a fever (it was 101.7) and the ear pain was what caused the hysterics or if it was simply just an excruciating pain in his ear, but either way it was miserable! He soon fell asleep on my lap and I carried up to bed for the duration of his 2 1/2 hour nap. He awoke seeming much better, but the fever lingered on and at dinnertime tonight, the saga sorta began again. This time though, the idea of a shower with Mama and his snuggy was enough to thwart the tears. Phew! The fever has worsened though to 102.2. :( We are on the 4th dose of the new antibiotics, so I'm not sure what is going on, but if the fever and pain continue through the night and into the morning, you can bet I'll be back at the pediatrician's office again tomorrow....or at-least I will be calling to talk to her. Have I ever told you how much I HATE when he's sick!!!!!!
In the last news of the day, I have FINISHED painting the hallway!!!! WHOOHOO! Aren't you just so excited for me??! I know it may not be quite as thrilling to you as it is for me, but having that task completed means I get to take a short hiatus from painting. The stinkin' hallway took me SEVEN hours of sheer painting time. 5 straight hours yesterday afternoon and 2 today! How the heck that hallway took me that long bewilders me, but it did. And after all the painting I've done over the years, I'd like to think I'm pretty efficient too. Phew! 7 hours and 2 gallons of paint later, it is done. Hooray for me! As my mom would say, I get two gold stars for the day! :) I'm secretly hoping that Ty will surprise me with a nicely painted family room when I return from my weekend up north! Wouldn't that be nice??!! One can hope!
Well.....seeing that I've been at this post for quite some time, I think I'll head over to the couch for a little American Idol. :) One of my guilty pleasures! :) Night all!
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Back to the pediatrician....
Yup...one week later and we're still fighting this ear infection! Blegh! Luke went to bed last night, seemingly fine, but woke up at 10pm crying. :( He only does that when he's sick! Ty went in to get him and said his right ear was really red and he (Luke) kept pulling at it. Luke was zonked out and wouldn't tell us much, so even though he didn't feel feverish, I offered him some Motrin and then it was back to bed. He fussed a bit longer in bed, but eventually fell asleep. But RIGHT at the 4-hour mark for the Motrin (2am), it had obviously worn off and Luke awoke crying again. Poor kiddo. I went in to see him and he was still sleeping, but fitfully...and rolling side to side in bed, wimpering and touching his ear! :( Must've been pretty painful. I offered the Motrin again and didn't hear from him until his normal 6:50.
I was able to get another same-day sick child appointment with the pediatrician for 9am, so we hustled to get our pajama-clad, bed-headed bodies dressed and out of the house in a hurry! (It was 8:10 when I called for the appt, and it takes a good 20 minutes to get there!) An empty gas tank, lots of traffic, a mandatory stop at the gas station (where the stupid card reader wouldn't accept my ATM card), and 15 minutes late, we finally arrived at the doctors office! Phew! His ear still looked bad..."red and bulging" as Dr. Mary said, so it's another round of antibiotics (10 days worth this time), some MUCH needed Nystatin suspension for the inevitable diaper rash that comes with Luke taking antibiotics AND some ear drops to relieve the pain! Wowzers! Hopefully, this'll take care of that pesky infection! We'll see!
Just wanted to update...have to run to get my little man ready for a much needed nap. More later....
I was able to get another same-day sick child appointment with the pediatrician for 9am, so we hustled to get our pajama-clad, bed-headed bodies dressed and out of the house in a hurry! (It was 8:10 when I called for the appt, and it takes a good 20 minutes to get there!) An empty gas tank, lots of traffic, a mandatory stop at the gas station (where the stupid card reader wouldn't accept my ATM card), and 15 minutes late, we finally arrived at the doctors office! Phew! His ear still looked bad..."red and bulging" as Dr. Mary said, so it's another round of antibiotics (10 days worth this time), some MUCH needed Nystatin suspension for the inevitable diaper rash that comes with Luke taking antibiotics AND some ear drops to relieve the pain! Wowzers! Hopefully, this'll take care of that pesky infection! We'll see!
Just wanted to update...have to run to get my little man ready for a much needed nap. More later....
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