You know, some days I just want to duct tape that kid to the wall. It would make life easier. Because if you hear the fridge open, you're likely to find an entire container of parmesan cheese on the floor. It might trail into the living room. Let me tell you, vacuuming up parmesan cheese makes a weird smell in the house. He gets it "because I was very hungry!" One day last week, Aaric got out the pickles and Xander dumped the jar. Sure that one was an accident. Still. Yesterday, Aaric made eggs for breakfast. Thing is, he forgot to put them back in the fridge. Xander... well, he gets some weird pleasure out of seeing eggs splat onto the floor. So, yeah.
But he can also be the sweetest kid ever.
Every time we're driving away from church, I ask the kids what they did and learned. Lately, Xander hates Sunday School and Awana but loves Music & Missions, because they sing a song that goes, "I'm a little love bug" which is super cute. So when we get to church, he just wants to go to "the Love Bug class." Wednesday night is Music & Missions, so dropoff actually went well. Hooray! So, left church, and I was asking the kids all about their night, when suddenly, Xander realizes something... "Mama!! What'd you do in church tonight!?" He suddenly realized that I always ask them, but they never ask me. I think that was the first time in 9.5 yrs of parenting that a kid has ever asked me what I did at church! I also think he just wondered what on earth I do while they're in class. Like, "how ever does she survive without us around!? Surely she's not capable of life with no kids around! Or maybe she napped?" Anyway, I told him I went to my "money class." (Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University) That wasn't enough for him. "What'd you do there?" I told him we watched a DVD and read in our books. "What's your book? Can I see?" So, I reached back onto the floorboard and grabbed my big, hardback book, and handed it to him. Copying my usual tone when looking at the papers he colored, he holds it carefully while opening it up and says, "Oh, where's the pages? Show me what you do!"
So. Cute. My sweet baby boy just wanted to hear all about what I do while he's off singing about being a little love bug. Oh, I also peeked back into his classroom and watched him play his instrument while they marched around in a circle singing the song. I just looked it up, and find that this instrument is the "crow sounder." Never knew that. Google it, you'll see. You know what it is, you just never knew what it was called.
Also, he's finally learned to recognize and draw the letter X. He drew it for me one afternoon, just because he was doodling and decided to do it all on his own. Then the next morning, he woke up, and the light comes in through the window and shines on the wall, and the crossbeams in the window make a shadow of an X, and he's sitting there beating on my face exclaiming, "look Mama, it's a X! It's a X! Wake up, look! "Mama, a X!" Over and over.
Well, I'd babble on for a while longer about how cute he is, but see, I've now been sitting here at the desk for a few minutes, which means there's probably some disaster that will require an hour of cleaning in the other room, caused by him. He's lucky he's cute.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The continuation
I keep thinking of things to blog about, and then I think, "but no! I need to finish the Reading Rainbow one, first!"
But now it's been two months and I haven't had time to create the thought-provoking post that was swirling around in my mind.
So, the nutshell instead:
I think it was a great idea to have a show that revolved around literature. It encouraged kids to read. Sure, kids can be encouraged to read in other ways, but they can also be taught the alphabet in other ways. I wish that the goals of Reading Rainbow were still a priority.
Now, Michael is gone for the next 10 days, so I'm sure that much hilarity (or calamity, or both) will ensue. So, do stay tuned.
But now it's been two months and I haven't had time to create the thought-provoking post that was swirling around in my mind.
So, the nutshell instead:
I think it was a great idea to have a show that revolved around literature. It encouraged kids to read. Sure, kids can be encouraged to read in other ways, but they can also be taught the alphabet in other ways. I wish that the goals of Reading Rainbow were still a priority.
Now, Michael is gone for the next 10 days, so I'm sure that much hilarity (or calamity, or both) will ensue. So, do stay tuned.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Well, I'll tell ya what they're NOT showing on PBS these days!
Have you heard? Reading Rainbow has come to an end. It will not be on the air any longer. Its ending specifically because it doesn't have the funding to continue. (I'm surprised they didn't run a special "Save Reading Rainbow!" telethon.) Instead, the focus, and funding, is being directed toward programming to teach kids HOW to read, rather than programming that is intended to foster a love of reading.
Okay. I have many thoughts, and the ADD is kicking in. And the distraction of 2 boys being super heroes and one boy nursing.
The vast majority of the kids WILL learn to read. And I seriously doubt that any of the kids learning to read are learning from the TV. They're learning from either parents, or teachers. For many of them, it will be hard, partly because it's a chore for them. Because the focus is on "you must learn how to read so that we can get higher literacy rates and therefore higher test scores and therefore more money." I do think of the kindergarten teachers who I know, and I have no doubt that they also do a good job of injecting joy into the experience.
But come on. This was ONE show that had the goal of encouraging kids to read, for the joy of reading. To go to the library, and find some good books to read. But there's no room for that in the PBS lineup. No, we need Word World to teach our kids to build a word (teaching phonics) and Super Why to teach our kids vocabulary, and Martha Speaks to teach the older kids vocabulary (and the younger kids that if you feed your dog alphabet soup, it will speak to you), and Word Girl to teach them even more vocabulary. And good grief, don't forget Caillou, who teaches our children to whine. There are a few good shows left. Not all of them air in my area, but looking at the website, there are still some good ones.
Sid the Science Kid - well, it doesn't teach a love of reading, but I think it DOES instill the joy of exploring and learning new things. And it's target audience is the preschool age group, rather than the older kids like RR is.
Sesame Street - Watch our for hidden agendas, but on the whole, still a pretty solid show that entertains and educates.
Between the Lions is the only one left standing that is pushing literature, and even that one splits its time between literature, vocabulary, and phonics.
There are several others that are decent (though maybe nerve-grating to adults) entertainment, often with good messages about being kind to your friends or recycling or something tossed in there.
But there's nothing out there just encouraging kids to go out and pick up a book and read it, for fun.
Okay, Xander is driving me insane, so consider this part one of a two part series on the topic!
source - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112312561
Okay. I have many thoughts, and the ADD is kicking in. And the distraction of 2 boys being super heroes and one boy nursing.
The vast majority of the kids WILL learn to read. And I seriously doubt that any of the kids learning to read are learning from the TV. They're learning from either parents, or teachers. For many of them, it will be hard, partly because it's a chore for them. Because the focus is on "you must learn how to read so that we can get higher literacy rates and therefore higher test scores and therefore more money." I do think of the kindergarten teachers who I know, and I have no doubt that they also do a good job of injecting joy into the experience.
But come on. This was ONE show that had the goal of encouraging kids to read, for the joy of reading. To go to the library, and find some good books to read. But there's no room for that in the PBS lineup. No, we need Word World to teach our kids to build a word (teaching phonics) and Super Why to teach our kids vocabulary, and Martha Speaks to teach the older kids vocabulary (and the younger kids that if you feed your dog alphabet soup, it will speak to you), and Word Girl to teach them even more vocabulary. And good grief, don't forget Caillou, who teaches our children to whine. There are a few good shows left. Not all of them air in my area, but looking at the website, there are still some good ones.
Sid the Science Kid - well, it doesn't teach a love of reading, but I think it DOES instill the joy of exploring and learning new things. And it's target audience is the preschool age group, rather than the older kids like RR is.
Sesame Street - Watch our for hidden agendas, but on the whole, still a pretty solid show that entertains and educates.
Between the Lions is the only one left standing that is pushing literature, and even that one splits its time between literature, vocabulary, and phonics.
There are several others that are decent (though maybe nerve-grating to adults) entertainment, often with good messages about being kind to your friends or recycling or something tossed in there.
But there's nothing out there just encouraging kids to go out and pick up a book and read it, for fun.
Okay, Xander is driving me insane, so consider this part one of a two part series on the topic!
source - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112312561
Monday, August 24, 2009
Grossness
So, I was changing Gabriel's diaper, and it was dirty. Aaric does strange unexplainable things, so no matter the situation, I'd always say, "Aaric! What are you DOING!?" if I saw him on all fours rubbing his head on the floor. This time, when I said it, there as a bit more urgency and disgust. He lifted his head and it was too late. Yep, he'd plopped his head right down in Gabriel's poopy diaper. Yuck. And also darn funny.
Friday, August 21, 2009
And so it begins...
You know that scene in Dazed and Confused where the girl is lying on the bed and has a friend use pliers to pull up the zipper on her jeans because they're so tight? (What's that? You lived in the Dazed and Confused era and therefore, didn't see this movie? Well, then, refer to your own memories of jeans where the ankle was wider than the waist band.) I was reminded of it today.
So, Mikayla has always has her own interesting ideas of fashion. I can't imagine where on earth she gets it from... I mean, I never wore a pair of black leggings with two different colored socks back in the 80s! Oh yeah, I did. Well, today she came downstairs asking for help zipping her jeans. I took a glance, noticing that these jeans pretty much fit like leggings, and suggested that she find a different pair that might be easier to zip. She insisted that she could get it, but thanks for the advice. She finally did get them zipped. Then she came back, "You know how I couldn't get these jeans zipped up?" I said, "Yeah." She says, "Well, that's why I'm wearing them!" I thought I had her figured out. "Oh, so you just wanted to wear them one last time before retiring them?" "No, they're tight! They look good!"
Oh dear.
So, Mikayla has always has her own interesting ideas of fashion. I can't imagine where on earth she gets it from... I mean, I never wore a pair of black leggings with two different colored socks back in the 80s! Oh yeah, I did. Well, today she came downstairs asking for help zipping her jeans. I took a glance, noticing that these jeans pretty much fit like leggings, and suggested that she find a different pair that might be easier to zip. She insisted that she could get it, but thanks for the advice. She finally did get them zipped. Then she came back, "You know how I couldn't get these jeans zipped up?" I said, "Yeah." She says, "Well, that's why I'm wearing them!" I thought I had her figured out. "Oh, so you just wanted to wear them one last time before retiring them?" "No, they're tight! They look good!"
Oh dear.
Monday, July 06, 2009
In which I wonder what they're showing on PBS Kids these days
First, a few disclaimers.
The TV downstairs (which is the only one they watch) is almost always on either PBS Kids or G - PG rated movies.
I apologize in advance for the usage of one small little word in this story. If I censored it, Michael would make fun of me, but if I leave it, my mother will have to cover her delicate eyes. Or Mrs. Dianne! Mrs. Dianne, if you're reading this, you should either hit the "back" button now, or choose to believe that a little girl took her pet donkey to the Fort Bragg July 4th festivities. Your choice. We aren't allowed to have farm animals living on Fort Bragg, but the advertisements for the big day only said, "no dogs" - no mention of farm animals.
At our celebration, there's a big to-do with an announcer calling out each state's name, the date they joined the union, and what the state is known for. The state's flag is walked out, and a cannon is shot (no actual cannon balls, we wouldn't want to hurt people). At the end, the American flag is presented, and the National Anthem sung. Then, the colors are retired, to a drum beat. And that is where/when the following conversation took place...
I hope I've taken up enough space that the part about the donkey won't be visible unless you scroll down.
Michael was standing beside me, with Aaric directly in front of us. Michael leans over and says, "Is that little girl up there shaking her ass to the retiring of the colors??!"
I laughed, indeed, there was a girl who looked around 9 who was thoroughly enjoying the rhythm. Aaric looked back at me and said, "Did Dad just cuss?" Michael didn't hear him, and continued on, "I wonder what she'll be when she grows up?"
Without missing a beat, Aaric replied, "a stripper."
He says he heard it on TV. Seriously, what is Big Bird teaching these kids about these days?
The TV downstairs (which is the only one they watch) is almost always on either PBS Kids or G - PG rated movies.
I apologize in advance for the usage of one small little word in this story. If I censored it, Michael would make fun of me, but if I leave it, my mother will have to cover her delicate eyes. Or Mrs. Dianne! Mrs. Dianne, if you're reading this, you should either hit the "back" button now, or choose to believe that a little girl took her pet donkey to the Fort Bragg July 4th festivities. Your choice. We aren't allowed to have farm animals living on Fort Bragg, but the advertisements for the big day only said, "no dogs" - no mention of farm animals.
At our celebration, there's a big to-do with an announcer calling out each state's name, the date they joined the union, and what the state is known for. The state's flag is walked out, and a cannon is shot (no actual cannon balls, we wouldn't want to hurt people). At the end, the American flag is presented, and the National Anthem sung. Then, the colors are retired, to a drum beat. And that is where/when the following conversation took place...
I hope I've taken up enough space that the part about the donkey won't be visible unless you scroll down.
Michael was standing beside me, with Aaric directly in front of us. Michael leans over and says, "Is that little girl up there shaking her ass to the retiring of the colors??!"
I laughed, indeed, there was a girl who looked around 9 who was thoroughly enjoying the rhythm. Aaric looked back at me and said, "Did Dad just cuss?" Michael didn't hear him, and continued on, "I wonder what she'll be when she grows up?"
Without missing a beat, Aaric replied, "a stripper."
He says he heard it on TV. Seriously, what is Big Bird teaching these kids about these days?
Friday, July 03, 2009
One Year
One year ago today, I'd only gotten a couple hours of sleep on a fold-out hospital chair, and I learned that Aaric did not just have a concussion, but a pretty serious skull fracture. A year ago today, we were told that he might need surgery to seal the hole that was allowing spinal fluid to leak out.
Last week, I spent a few hours with my head spinning a bit - Xander fell a whopping two feet and hit the side of his head, just above his ear, on a bookshelf. He had a little knot and a bruise, and quickly went back to playing as usual. My mind kept going back to Aaric's accident, and pondering whether Xander's injury might be worse than it appeared. I went back and forth between reassuring myself that he was fine and worrying that he wasn't. Facts reassured me - a fracture like Aaric's requires a lot of force - more than the force from a 30 pounder falling over. And he was acting perfectly normal. Though I knew he was fine, I was shaken. Because a year ago, I had a kid with a broken head, hearing loss, and almost no equilibrium.
I've learned a lot this year. It was stressful, and the accident in particular was horrible. And it was life-changing. Michael had left for school again, the kids finished the school year, we traveled home, and then there we were - back home, just me and the kids, decompressing. Still trying to wrap my mind around surviving the summer alone. Oh, and let's not forget - pregnant. I was in a funk. The house was bad. Suitcases were only partially unpacked and we'd been home for 9 days. The playroom hadn't even been unpacked since we'd moved in a few weeks earlier. There were boxes in every room. And where there weren't boxes, there was clutter. It was bad. The accident snapped me out of it. After we got back home, I knew I had to suck it up and keep it together, and I did.
I discovered that my friends were more than friends. They're family. I hesitate to list examples, because I know that I'll probably leave some out. But some stick out. Kenna joined me at the ER for moral support. It was gross, and she got little sleep, but she did it. The next night, she and Tom welcomed Mikayla and Xander into their home, even though Tom had just come home from Iraq 3 days before. Kenna gathered up more friends, and they cleaned my house while I was at the hospital. Top to bottom, every room got cleaned up. The playroom got unpacked, along with some other boxes. I was too overwhelmed with dealing with Aaric to even think to protest, or to bother with feeling embarrassed. I mean, sure, I was embarrassed, but I was too full of fear for Aaric and gratitude for my friends and family to allow much room for embarrassment. It was definitely a humbling experience.
My Mom, Aunt Becky, and Michael's parents came up to help out, too. I was thankful that I didn't have to impose on my friends for the next couple nights.
And then, during the recovery, my friends continued to reach out. To call and make sure I was doing okay. To come over and hang out. Mikayla was feeling a bit neglected, and Jennifer and (another) Tom, who lived a couple doors down, welcomed her in almost every day, for several hours. Jennifer and I took all the kids blueberry picking. For several months, I made muffins with frozen berries. Every time, it reminded me of those early post-fracture weeks, and the friendships that had grown out of it.
So, a year later, I feel a lot of things. Relieved that though Aaric suffered a fracture that is often fatal, concerned that his hearing still isn't 100%, guilty that I didn't make sure that furniture was anchored, and grateful that I have friends and family who will drop everything to help other people.
Now, we're in a new neighborhood. Tom and Jennifer just left Ft Bragg yesterday. We've got great neighbors here, who we sit around and talk with most evenings. I'm just as thankful for these friends - they'll help keep me sane next time Michael is gone. I just pray that I won't ever have to ask them, or Kenna and the many others who helped out, to give as much as I was given last year.
Now, enough with the deep thoughts. It's time to do some laundry and then head outside. We're grilling with the neighbors today!
Last week, I spent a few hours with my head spinning a bit - Xander fell a whopping two feet and hit the side of his head, just above his ear, on a bookshelf. He had a little knot and a bruise, and quickly went back to playing as usual. My mind kept going back to Aaric's accident, and pondering whether Xander's injury might be worse than it appeared. I went back and forth between reassuring myself that he was fine and worrying that he wasn't. Facts reassured me - a fracture like Aaric's requires a lot of force - more than the force from a 30 pounder falling over. And he was acting perfectly normal. Though I knew he was fine, I was shaken. Because a year ago, I had a kid with a broken head, hearing loss, and almost no equilibrium.
I've learned a lot this year. It was stressful, and the accident in particular was horrible. And it was life-changing. Michael had left for school again, the kids finished the school year, we traveled home, and then there we were - back home, just me and the kids, decompressing. Still trying to wrap my mind around surviving the summer alone. Oh, and let's not forget - pregnant. I was in a funk. The house was bad. Suitcases were only partially unpacked and we'd been home for 9 days. The playroom hadn't even been unpacked since we'd moved in a few weeks earlier. There were boxes in every room. And where there weren't boxes, there was clutter. It was bad. The accident snapped me out of it. After we got back home, I knew I had to suck it up and keep it together, and I did.
I discovered that my friends were more than friends. They're family. I hesitate to list examples, because I know that I'll probably leave some out. But some stick out. Kenna joined me at the ER for moral support. It was gross, and she got little sleep, but she did it. The next night, she and Tom welcomed Mikayla and Xander into their home, even though Tom had just come home from Iraq 3 days before. Kenna gathered up more friends, and they cleaned my house while I was at the hospital. Top to bottom, every room got cleaned up. The playroom got unpacked, along with some other boxes. I was too overwhelmed with dealing with Aaric to even think to protest, or to bother with feeling embarrassed. I mean, sure, I was embarrassed, but I was too full of fear for Aaric and gratitude for my friends and family to allow much room for embarrassment. It was definitely a humbling experience.
My Mom, Aunt Becky, and Michael's parents came up to help out, too. I was thankful that I didn't have to impose on my friends for the next couple nights.
And then, during the recovery, my friends continued to reach out. To call and make sure I was doing okay. To come over and hang out. Mikayla was feeling a bit neglected, and Jennifer and (another) Tom, who lived a couple doors down, welcomed her in almost every day, for several hours. Jennifer and I took all the kids blueberry picking. For several months, I made muffins with frozen berries. Every time, it reminded me of those early post-fracture weeks, and the friendships that had grown out of it.
So, a year later, I feel a lot of things. Relieved that though Aaric suffered a fracture that is often fatal, concerned that his hearing still isn't 100%, guilty that I didn't make sure that furniture was anchored, and grateful that I have friends and family who will drop everything to help other people.
Now, we're in a new neighborhood. Tom and Jennifer just left Ft Bragg yesterday. We've got great neighbors here, who we sit around and talk with most evenings. I'm just as thankful for these friends - they'll help keep me sane next time Michael is gone. I just pray that I won't ever have to ask them, or Kenna and the many others who helped out, to give as much as I was given last year.
Now, enough with the deep thoughts. It's time to do some laundry and then head outside. We're grilling with the neighbors today!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Enjoying it While I Can
After Michael spent most of last year away, we've spent most of this year in catch-up mode. After Aaric's big accident last year, I just pretty much held my breath until Michael got home. Holding on for dear life, hoping nothing else bad would happen. Once he was back, we could finally move on. Things moved on quickly - shortly after his return, we went home for a visit and then there were the various holiday parties to attend, and then the impending birth, then a new baby to get everyone adjusted to. Since then, instead of "holding on for dear life" it's been more like "flying by the seat of our pants!"
I have still not finished up our school year. I think we'll just cover stuff when we can, and not stress about it. They can't play outside all day when the heat index is so high in the middle of the summer anyway.
Today, Gabriel is 5 months old. In just 3 hours, I can go get my big kids. I got a letter in the mail from Mikayla yesterday. I'll be surprised if one shows up from Aaric.
Michael has been acting commander (and XO) for a bit, and today was a change of command ceremony, so he was standing in as the commander for his company. I'd never been to a change of command, and he asked if I could come. He wanted Xander to see it, too. Xander liked the drums - it was a big to-do, complete with an Army band. We got to see Michael, leading his company, marching by the new commander. It was nice. I wasn't able to get pictures, I was too busy dealing with the boys, and trying to get Xander to see where I was pointing. Telling a toddler where to look is frustrating. It would have been nicer if it hadn't been so hot. But I wore a dress, and very carefully squatted down beside Xander in the stroller, and some nice gentlemen offered their chairs. I'm making a note of that - wear a dress to events, and you're more likely to be offered a seat. Especially if you're also holding a baby. Don't wear high heels though, because I did that once and was not offered a seat, and my feet hurt.
But at big military events like this, the word "deployment" always comes up. Whether referring to past ones or future ones, it comes up. Even when it's not being discussed, it's on everyone's minds. Michael will be going sometime early next year. I'm not ready. I feel like we just got him back (even though he wasn't deployed - and the 82nd DID just come home a year ago and is about to leave again) and we're just now starting to feel normal again, and we're getting ready for him to leave again. I'm dreading it. I'm very, very thankful that I know I have many friends here, who will help keep me sane.
I generally try not to think about it. So for now, I'll just enjoy having all 6 of us together for a few months, and hope that next year won't be as dramatic as last year!
I have still not finished up our school year. I think we'll just cover stuff when we can, and not stress about it. They can't play outside all day when the heat index is so high in the middle of the summer anyway.
Today, Gabriel is 5 months old. In just 3 hours, I can go get my big kids. I got a letter in the mail from Mikayla yesterday. I'll be surprised if one shows up from Aaric.
Michael has been acting commander (and XO) for a bit, and today was a change of command ceremony, so he was standing in as the commander for his company. I'd never been to a change of command, and he asked if I could come. He wanted Xander to see it, too. Xander liked the drums - it was a big to-do, complete with an Army band. We got to see Michael, leading his company, marching by the new commander. It was nice. I wasn't able to get pictures, I was too busy dealing with the boys, and trying to get Xander to see where I was pointing. Telling a toddler where to look is frustrating. It would have been nicer if it hadn't been so hot. But I wore a dress, and very carefully squatted down beside Xander in the stroller, and some nice gentlemen offered their chairs. I'm making a note of that - wear a dress to events, and you're more likely to be offered a seat. Especially if you're also holding a baby. Don't wear high heels though, because I did that once and was not offered a seat, and my feet hurt.
But at big military events like this, the word "deployment" always comes up. Whether referring to past ones or future ones, it comes up. Even when it's not being discussed, it's on everyone's minds. Michael will be going sometime early next year. I'm not ready. I feel like we just got him back (even though he wasn't deployed - and the 82nd DID just come home a year ago and is about to leave again) and we're just now starting to feel normal again, and we're getting ready for him to leave again. I'm dreading it. I'm very, very thankful that I know I have many friends here, who will help keep me sane.
I generally try not to think about it. So for now, I'll just enjoy having all 6 of us together for a few months, and hope that next year won't be as dramatic as last year!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Do you hear what I hear?
I hear the pitter patter of just one set of little feet. Gabriel is sleeping, and Xander is wandering around the house. The big kids are away at camp.
Aaric was very much looking forward to camp, with few concerns (he did worry about how to handle the bedwetting without other kids finding out). Mikayla acted pretty confident, but then last Wednesday asked if she could stay home. Turns out she didn't want to miss a birthday party. Saturday night as we were packing, she told me she was scared to be away for 5 days. I assured her we'd come get her if she needed to come home. Sunday morning, I told Xander to come inside (he's good at sneaking out) so that we could finish getting the big kids ready to go to camp. He replied, "I go wif big kids?" I had to tell him he'd be staying with me. "No, I go with kids!!"
When we got to the church Sunday afternoon, Aaric found his friends and played. Mikayla stayed close by my side for the whole two hours until she boarded the bus. Xander ran laps around the gym and jumped down the bleachers.
I walked Mikayla all the way up to the bus. Aaric didn't even look at us as he walked up to it, he was too busy, so of course, like any good mother, I went up to give him a big kiss. Which he promptly wiped off. Xander said goodbye to him, but was upset that he didn't say anything to Mikayla. I hadn't even thought about making sure he got to say goodbye. I took him up onto the bus to talk to her for a few seconds. He was again very unhappy that they were going away and he was not. That boy loves his siblings!
So, here we are. Just me and two little ones. And as I typed "birthday party" I remembered that it's today, and had to run get us all dressed, so now Gabriel is screaming and it's time to go! Off to Monkey Joe's!
Aaric was very much looking forward to camp, with few concerns (he did worry about how to handle the bedwetting without other kids finding out). Mikayla acted pretty confident, but then last Wednesday asked if she could stay home. Turns out she didn't want to miss a birthday party. Saturday night as we were packing, she told me she was scared to be away for 5 days. I assured her we'd come get her if she needed to come home. Sunday morning, I told Xander to come inside (he's good at sneaking out) so that we could finish getting the big kids ready to go to camp. He replied, "I go wif big kids?" I had to tell him he'd be staying with me. "No, I go with kids!!"
When we got to the church Sunday afternoon, Aaric found his friends and played. Mikayla stayed close by my side for the whole two hours until she boarded the bus. Xander ran laps around the gym and jumped down the bleachers.
I walked Mikayla all the way up to the bus. Aaric didn't even look at us as he walked up to it, he was too busy, so of course, like any good mother, I went up to give him a big kiss. Which he promptly wiped off. Xander said goodbye to him, but was upset that he didn't say anything to Mikayla. I hadn't even thought about making sure he got to say goodbye. I took him up onto the bus to talk to her for a few seconds. He was again very unhappy that they were going away and he was not. That boy loves his siblings!
So, here we are. Just me and two little ones. And as I typed "birthday party" I remembered that it's today, and had to run get us all dressed, so now Gabriel is screaming and it's time to go! Off to Monkey Joe's!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
4 kids = Less time to write!
I forgot to write about Mikayla's birthday. We had a party, it was fun. It was our basic, simple "gather friends and let the kids run and play and then sugar them up and let them run and play some more" party. This time, it was near 90 degrees, so I bought water guns at Party City. She's 7. You know me, pictures will show up eventually. I've gotten a lot of comments recently on how pretty she is. I'm hoping to talk her into brushing her hair on a regular basis soon.
Xander is nearly potty trained, but he'll be having surgery on the 15th, so I go back and forth on whether I'm encouraging him to finish training or not. The good news was that the ureter does not have an obstruction, the urologist believes it is just a kink. However, because the reflux is pretty bad on one side, and that kidney is not in the greatest shape, and he does not expect Xander to outgrow the reflux, we're now going the surgical route. We'll be going in pretty early on the 15th, don't know the time of surgery yet, and then he'll be admitted and spend the night, and go home on the 16th if all goes well. I've got to find a hotel nearby so that Gabriel and I don't have to come all the way home that night. I'm assuming that all 3 of us can't spend the night in there with him, probably just Michael.
Lately, he's just a wild and crazy hilarious 2 year old.
Gabriel is cooing, and has just starting putting things in his mouth to gnaw on them. He's generally happy as long as he has a face to laugh at.
Aaric has completed his year as a Wolf Cub and is now a Bear!
We're loving the new house. It's not my favorite floor plan ever, but we like it okay. We also have great neighbors. We've got chaplains, and a lot of other great families surrounding us.
Xander is nearly potty trained, but he'll be having surgery on the 15th, so I go back and forth on whether I'm encouraging him to finish training or not. The good news was that the ureter does not have an obstruction, the urologist believes it is just a kink. However, because the reflux is pretty bad on one side, and that kidney is not in the greatest shape, and he does not expect Xander to outgrow the reflux, we're now going the surgical route. We'll be going in pretty early on the 15th, don't know the time of surgery yet, and then he'll be admitted and spend the night, and go home on the 16th if all goes well. I've got to find a hotel nearby so that Gabriel and I don't have to come all the way home that night. I'm assuming that all 3 of us can't spend the night in there with him, probably just Michael.
Lately, he's just a wild and crazy hilarious 2 year old.
Gabriel is cooing, and has just starting putting things in his mouth to gnaw on them. He's generally happy as long as he has a face to laugh at.
Aaric has completed his year as a Wolf Cub and is now a Bear!
We're loving the new house. It's not my favorite floor plan ever, but we like it okay. We also have great neighbors. We've got chaplains, and a lot of other great families surrounding us.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Overheard
Aaric:... But he doesn't like girls, he says "blech" to girls. How can you sweep a girl off her feet if you say "blech" about them? But me and Jaden, the coolest cats around, we know how it's done. Except Jaden always chokes and then makes me play patty cake with him, which is embarrassing. I had to play patty cake in front of the hottest girl in school!
Since Mikayla didn't respond to this, I jumped in.
Me: Aaric, who's the hottest girl in school?
Aaric: (Insert name which I've already forgotten) well, I don't know if she's the hottest, but she's the one Jaden wants.
Me: hmm.
A few minutes later:
Aaric: But that's not my type! I mean, I don't like a girl with an English accent and red hair!
Hey Mom! I need to go back to school after next year!
Me: Why?
Aaric: So I can get a date!
Me: You're not dating until you're 16 anyway.
Aaric: Well, I at least have to get a girlfriend before Jaden does!
He hasn't even seen this Jaden kid in almost a year. He was in his class in school last year.
Since Mikayla didn't respond to this, I jumped in.
Me: Aaric, who's the hottest girl in school?
Aaric: (Insert name which I've already forgotten) well, I don't know if she's the hottest, but she's the one Jaden wants.
Me: hmm.
A few minutes later:
Aaric: But that's not my type! I mean, I don't like a girl with an English accent and red hair!
Hey Mom! I need to go back to school after next year!
Me: Why?
Aaric: So I can get a date!
Me: You're not dating until you're 16 anyway.
Aaric: Well, I at least have to get a girlfriend before Jaden does!
He hasn't even seen this Jaden kid in almost a year. He was in his class in school last year.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Check the pictures again
He got a haircut. It wasn't nearly as traumatic as last time, when they hacked it all off.
While I'm here, I'll tell you about our fun week:
Saturday - All was well until Xander threw up on our bed. We cleaned him up, shampooed parts of the carpet and mattress, remade the bed, and went to sleep with him on a pallet on the floor.
Sunday - He woke up, rolled over, and threw up again. Of course, he'd climbed back into our bed first. Then he had a few sips of water and did it again. Then all was well, and he played happily and ate food with no problem. He did start saying that his back hurt.
Monday - got into our bed sometime in the middle of the night. Or maybe he started there, I forget. Woke up, rolled over, did it again. Given the back pain, and the recent discovery of his kidneys and ureters not being in top condition, I took him in. Before going to his doctor, Mikayla got her eye exam, and needs glasses. Then Xander threw up in the van on the way to the doctor. I was not thrilled that the doctor was in a hurry and only took a couple minutes with us. He prescribed some anti-nausea meds (zofran) and said to pick up the Rx he'd already written for prophylactic antibiotics, due to the reflux.
Tuesday - my phone was dead, as usual. And it was past resurrection, fully dead. So I couldn't call, so I dropped in the doctor's office to request that they do a urinalysis to confirm whether there was indeed a UTI or not. I was told yes, but the doctor wanted to see me again. Since I was a walk-in, that meant that we waited for nearly 3 hours. I was not at all impressed. And all he said was that he agreed that we need to test the urine, and he also agreed that if there is an infection then we need stronger antibiotics. Seriously. He made me wait 3 hours, just to tell me that I was right. We'd gotten the pee sample 2 hours earlier! Then we went to the lab to drop off the pee in a cup, and went on our way. It was a vomit-free day.
Wednesday - Take a wild guess what he did around 11:30 at night, and where he was? Earlier that day, we got the news that his urine appeared fine, but the cultures weren't back yet.
Meanwhile, the antibiotics taste gross.
I don't know when it's safe to feed him, because I'm not convinced he's done. So far, so good today, but my bed seems to trigger it, so we'll see. He still says his back hurts. He's a weird kid.
In Disney news - since we're able to do it so cheap, we're now taking along an extra set of eyes and arms to assist us with corralling our little angels. My cousin Hannah is going along for the fun!
While I'm here, I'll tell you about our fun week:
Saturday - All was well until Xander threw up on our bed. We cleaned him up, shampooed parts of the carpet and mattress, remade the bed, and went to sleep with him on a pallet on the floor.
Sunday - He woke up, rolled over, and threw up again. Of course, he'd climbed back into our bed first. Then he had a few sips of water and did it again. Then all was well, and he played happily and ate food with no problem. He did start saying that his back hurt.
Monday - got into our bed sometime in the middle of the night. Or maybe he started there, I forget. Woke up, rolled over, did it again. Given the back pain, and the recent discovery of his kidneys and ureters not being in top condition, I took him in. Before going to his doctor, Mikayla got her eye exam, and needs glasses. Then Xander threw up in the van on the way to the doctor. I was not thrilled that the doctor was in a hurry and only took a couple minutes with us. He prescribed some anti-nausea meds (zofran) and said to pick up the Rx he'd already written for prophylactic antibiotics, due to the reflux.
Tuesday - my phone was dead, as usual. And it was past resurrection, fully dead. So I couldn't call, so I dropped in the doctor's office to request that they do a urinalysis to confirm whether there was indeed a UTI or not. I was told yes, but the doctor wanted to see me again. Since I was a walk-in, that meant that we waited for nearly 3 hours. I was not at all impressed. And all he said was that he agreed that we need to test the urine, and he also agreed that if there is an infection then we need stronger antibiotics. Seriously. He made me wait 3 hours, just to tell me that I was right. We'd gotten the pee sample 2 hours earlier! Then we went to the lab to drop off the pee in a cup, and went on our way. It was a vomit-free day.
Wednesday - Take a wild guess what he did around 11:30 at night, and where he was? Earlier that day, we got the news that his urine appeared fine, but the cultures weren't back yet.
Meanwhile, the antibiotics taste gross.
I don't know when it's safe to feed him, because I'm not convinced he's done. So far, so good today, but my bed seems to trigger it, so we'll see. He still says his back hurts. He's a weird kid.
In Disney news - since we're able to do it so cheap, we're now taking along an extra set of eyes and arms to assist us with corralling our little angels. My cousin Hannah is going along for the fun!
Monday, March 02, 2009
Five Weeks! And did I mention that we've moved?
The pictures are taking forever to load, so I'll tell ya what. Just click over there on the left and go to the Flickr album to see the most recent ones. The ones I'm uploading are from soon after he was born all the way up to one taken today. Other kids are mixed in there, too.
One month old babies are so sweet and cuddly. He's starting to grab onto things more intentionally now. In fact, getting a hair cut for myself has recently moved up higher on the priority list, since he's started grabbing it. Also, instead of just randomly looking around and gazing at things, you can tell that he's actually looking FOR things now. Like, when we were moving (2.5 weeks ago) I was carrying him around with him facing forward, and I looked down and saw that he was craning his neck in order to see my face. He definitely looks around for me now.
At his one month check up last week, he weighed in at 11 lbs 8 oz. He definitely fits in well with the rest of the bunch! On Friday when I checked again, he was 12 pounds. The 0-3 month clothes are all getting too small, and we're moving into the 3-6 month stuff. I think he'll be another big one!
So, we've moved into our newest house. It's big and pretty and fairly new. We like the neighbors we've met so far, which isn't a lot because it's COLD outside! Across and a couple doors down are our former next door neighbors, and right across from us is a family whose kids go to our church for AWANA so Mikayla already knew the kids. Next door is a family who goes to our church and their kids go to school there, too. The daughter is a little older than Mikayla, and they've been playing together a lot.
Across the street, behind the houses, there's a wooded area. There's all sorts of neighborhood kid drama over there. There's apparently a foxhole that's been dug, and there are 2 teams which are enemies. Of course, because these are Army kids, they have to have a neighborhood war complete with foxholes. One of the kids who has caused me the most concern is, thankfully, moving out soon. She has introduced my oldest to lovely words. Like the one he's been dying to know, ever since he heard Ralphie say "fuuuudddgge." Every Christmas, he asks us what that "mother of all cuss words, the f--- word" is, and every year, Michael tells him that if he doesn't know by the time he's 18, he'll tell him. Now he doesn't have to. Thank you so much, 11 year old girl next door! (not in the house that goes to our church)
No, we are not fully unpacked yet. Lots is unpacked, much of it thanks to my lovely mother and Favorite Aunt Becky who came up to help out last weekend. There are still large portions to go, though. Like my closet and the guest bedroom. One of these days...
In medical drama news, Xander had a follow up test done to confirm that he no longer has kidney reflux. At least, that's how I thought the appointment would go. Instead, it revealed that he does still very much have it. In addition, he now has an obstruction on one side. It wasn't there before, and I know for sure that the urologist looked for obstructions at his post-op follow up last spring and there were none. We just got the insurance authorization, so we'll be heading back up to see him very soon. I won't be surprised if surgery is in the future, since I assume that the obstruction needs to be corrected.
There's not really any more exciting news at the moment. Now that we're mostly settled in and adjusted to being a family of SIX, I plan to get back to writing more often!
One month old babies are so sweet and cuddly. He's starting to grab onto things more intentionally now. In fact, getting a hair cut for myself has recently moved up higher on the priority list, since he's started grabbing it. Also, instead of just randomly looking around and gazing at things, you can tell that he's actually looking FOR things now. Like, when we were moving (2.5 weeks ago) I was carrying him around with him facing forward, and I looked down and saw that he was craning his neck in order to see my face. He definitely looks around for me now.
At his one month check up last week, he weighed in at 11 lbs 8 oz. He definitely fits in well with the rest of the bunch! On Friday when I checked again, he was 12 pounds. The 0-3 month clothes are all getting too small, and we're moving into the 3-6 month stuff. I think he'll be another big one!
So, we've moved into our newest house. It's big and pretty and fairly new. We like the neighbors we've met so far, which isn't a lot because it's COLD outside! Across and a couple doors down are our former next door neighbors, and right across from us is a family whose kids go to our church for AWANA so Mikayla already knew the kids. Next door is a family who goes to our church and their kids go to school there, too. The daughter is a little older than Mikayla, and they've been playing together a lot.
Across the street, behind the houses, there's a wooded area. There's all sorts of neighborhood kid drama over there. There's apparently a foxhole that's been dug, and there are 2 teams which are enemies. Of course, because these are Army kids, they have to have a neighborhood war complete with foxholes. One of the kids who has caused me the most concern is, thankfully, moving out soon. She has introduced my oldest to lovely words. Like the one he's been dying to know, ever since he heard Ralphie say "fuuuudddgge." Every Christmas, he asks us what that "mother of all cuss words, the f--- word" is, and every year, Michael tells him that if he doesn't know by the time he's 18, he'll tell him. Now he doesn't have to. Thank you so much, 11 year old girl next door! (not in the house that goes to our church)
No, we are not fully unpacked yet. Lots is unpacked, much of it thanks to my lovely mother and Favorite Aunt Becky who came up to help out last weekend. There are still large portions to go, though. Like my closet and the guest bedroom. One of these days...
In medical drama news, Xander had a follow up test done to confirm that he no longer has kidney reflux. At least, that's how I thought the appointment would go. Instead, it revealed that he does still very much have it. In addition, he now has an obstruction on one side. It wasn't there before, and I know for sure that the urologist looked for obstructions at his post-op follow up last spring and there were none. We just got the insurance authorization, so we'll be heading back up to see him very soon. I won't be surprised if surgery is in the future, since I assume that the obstruction needs to be corrected.
There's not really any more exciting news at the moment. Now that we're mostly settled in and adjusted to being a family of SIX, I plan to get back to writing more often!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Disney on a Dime (if you're a miltary family) Part 1
I'm going to start posting my tips here, as I come across them. We're planning a trip to Disney in Orlando in September. It might just be the cheapest Disney vacation ever.
Tickets: www.disneyworld.com/military The nutshell is that the service member gets a free 5 day pass good at the 4 WDW parks - Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. You can add on a Park Hopper and/or a Water Park option if you want (I can't remember if there is a charge for that, since we're not planning to add those on). The service member can purchase up to 5 additional passes for $99 per person. That's $99 for a 5 day pass, which is just $19.80 per day! The Hopper/Water upgrades are available for $25 each. Children 2 and under are free. We are going before Xander's birthday, in order to save ourselves a tiny bit of cash. This means that for our family, our 5 days in Disney parks will cost us $297.
Parks owned by Anheuser-Busch - www.herosalute.com Print out the form, and you get into Sea World for free. This is for the service member and up to 3 dependents. Kids 2 and under are free here, too, which means we don't have to pay anything for the whole family.
Lodging: If you insist on staying on the property, the disney military link above has info about 40% off your room. You can also stay at Shades of Green which is well priced for the caliber resort that it is. If you're as cheap as I am, though, that isn't good enough. Go to www.afvclub.com . Space-A resorts are $329/week, regardless of location and size. The other benefit is that if you cancel for military - related reasons, you'll get a full refund. resorts I've looked at are 2-10 miles from Disney World. and have 1-3 bedrooms.
This brings my total so far up to $626, for 7 nights/8 days with 6 of those days spent in parks, and the other two are travel. Even if you ignore Xander and Gabriel since they're free, that's $156.50/person, or $89.40/day.
There seems to be little you can do to save on food, other than packing lunches and cooking dinner. We plan to cook dinner a night or two, pack lunches most days, and splurge a little and have at least one nice meal in the parks and a few other counter service meals in the parks. Breakfast will be eggs and cereal and other such things we can do in our room. There are lots of tips on saving money at www.mousesavers.com though. Like, order a double cheeseburger and an extra bun, and you've got 2 burgers and can feed 2 kids. Order the parts of a kids meal without ordering the official kids meal and you'll save a couple bucks on the toy or box or whatever.
Parking: No savings here, but I searched all over the disney website for parking lot rates, and couldn't find them. Finally found them at www.wdwinfo.com (also has lots of message boards for planning). Parking is $12 a day at the WDW parks and Sea World.
I do plan to drive even if there is a shuttle. That way, we can pack our lunch in a cooler in the van (The parks do allow small coolers, but it's hard to pack a lunch for 5, plus drinks, in a "small cooler." Plus, we'll be carrying a baby and a diaper bag as it is!), and I don't have to freak out about riding a shuttle with no carseats.
This brings my total to $698 (plus tax on the lodging), plus food, gas, and the inevitable but limited souvenirs. For a family of 6 (granted, 2 are free, but do require us to get larger living quarters, and 1 will only be a few days away from his birthday and fully able to enjoy the experience).
So, go get your free/greatly discounted tickets, and book your cheap lodging. If I come across any other good discounts, I'll post them.
Tickets: www.disneyworld.com/military The nutshell is that the service member gets a free 5 day pass good at the 4 WDW parks - Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. You can add on a Park Hopper and/or a Water Park option if you want (I can't remember if there is a charge for that, since we're not planning to add those on). The service member can purchase up to 5 additional passes for $99 per person. That's $99 for a 5 day pass, which is just $19.80 per day! The Hopper/Water upgrades are available for $25 each. Children 2 and under are free. We are going before Xander's birthday, in order to save ourselves a tiny bit of cash. This means that for our family, our 5 days in Disney parks will cost us $297.
Parks owned by Anheuser-Busch - www.herosalute.com Print out the form, and you get into Sea World for free. This is for the service member and up to 3 dependents. Kids 2 and under are free here, too, which means we don't have to pay anything for the whole family.
Lodging: If you insist on staying on the property, the disney military link above has info about 40% off your room. You can also stay at Shades of Green which is well priced for the caliber resort that it is. If you're as cheap as I am, though, that isn't good enough. Go to www.afvclub.com . Space-A resorts are $329/week, regardless of location and size. The other benefit is that if you cancel for military - related reasons, you'll get a full refund. resorts I've looked at are 2-10 miles from Disney World. and have 1-3 bedrooms.
This brings my total so far up to $626, for 7 nights/8 days with 6 of those days spent in parks, and the other two are travel. Even if you ignore Xander and Gabriel since they're free, that's $156.50/person, or $89.40/day.
There seems to be little you can do to save on food, other than packing lunches and cooking dinner. We plan to cook dinner a night or two, pack lunches most days, and splurge a little and have at least one nice meal in the parks and a few other counter service meals in the parks. Breakfast will be eggs and cereal and other such things we can do in our room. There are lots of tips on saving money at www.mousesavers.com though. Like, order a double cheeseburger and an extra bun, and you've got 2 burgers and can feed 2 kids. Order the parts of a kids meal without ordering the official kids meal and you'll save a couple bucks on the toy or box or whatever.
Parking: No savings here, but I searched all over the disney website for parking lot rates, and couldn't find them. Finally found them at www.wdwinfo.com (also has lots of message boards for planning). Parking is $12 a day at the WDW parks and Sea World.
I do plan to drive even if there is a shuttle. That way, we can pack our lunch in a cooler in the van (The parks do allow small coolers, but it's hard to pack a lunch for 5, plus drinks, in a "small cooler." Plus, we'll be carrying a baby and a diaper bag as it is!), and I don't have to freak out about riding a shuttle with no carseats.
This brings my total to $698 (plus tax on the lodging), plus food, gas, and the inevitable but limited souvenirs. For a family of 6 (granted, 2 are free, but do require us to get larger living quarters, and 1 will only be a few days away from his birthday and fully able to enjoy the experience).
So, go get your free/greatly discounted tickets, and book your cheap lodging. If I come across any other good discounts, I'll post them.
Friday, February 06, 2009
So, we have four kids.
Friday, January 23:
I got a prenatal/induction massage. It was very nice, though the part where he used acupressure to help trigger the start of labor wasn't quite as pleasant. It wasn't too bad, just not a pleasant feeling. It was cool that I could feel something different every time he did it, though. The points he massaged (other than the full prenatal massage) were the webbing between the thumb and finger, halfway between the ear and the shoulder, a spot just behind the hip bone, and a couple inches up from the inner ankle. Different points do different things. He said to keep going through that sequence every 2 hours or so all day, but I didn't manage to do it so often. A little while later, mom and I had the kids at Walmart and I was a little sore and noticed that I was getting short of breath quickly.
Just before bed, I had Michael go through all the acupressure points again, and went to sleep.
Saturday, January 24:
We stayed around the house all day. I remember noticing that my lower back felt bruised, and wondered if it was from the massage. But he didn't rub the spot that felt bruised. In retrospect, I'm certain it was the very early twinges of labor, or his head moving further down. It was all of the tissue around my sacrum, and it was just sore. We did a lot of cleaning. Over the past few days, I'd had a shooting pain going from my pelvis down the front of my right leg. This day, it was much more frequent, and stronger. As I vacuumed the playroom, it was doing with with almost every step. Mom offered to vacuum for me, but I wanted to do it myself. I knew that the more active I was, the more he'd move on downward and things could get started.
Some friends came over to look through some boxes of baby girl clothes that we need to get rid of, so I rested only to sit and chat with them. Every couple hours throughout the day, Michael and I did the acupressure stuff. At bed time, we did it one last time, and I listened to one of my CDs. I think the Birth Day Affirmations one, but it might have been the Fear Clearing session. One thing I was always a little worried about, was that these CDs had one little line that wasn't in my ideal birth plan: "I will have an easy and fast birthing..." Whenever I heard that, I consciously thought, "Not fast! Slow enough for Lulu to get here!"
Around 11, I checked my cervix (yes, I can do it myself), and while I wasn't dilated any further than I had been over the past couple days, I could tell things were changing. I called Lulu to let her know that I wasn't 100% sure, but that I was pretty certain she'd need to come up in the morning. She said to call her back at 7:30 am to confirm, so she'd have time to make the first flight out.
Sunday, January 25
Around 2, the contractions were getting strong enough to make me start worrying. The first flight up wouldn't get Lulu here until around 11 or 12, so every time I got up to pee (literally, probably every 15 minutes), I rubbed my belly and told him to please stay put for X more hours. But by 2, it was picking up, not slowing down, and I was around 4 cm dilated. I called Lulu back and asked what we could do to slow it down. She suggested taking some of my wild yam supplements every 30 minutes, taking a hot bath, and trying to sleep.
At 4:30, I was between 5 and 6 cm, and knew that this baby was coming faster than we'd planned for. I called Donna, the backup midwife who I'd met the week before. When we met, she said that she really felt that if I was confident that my body would do it slow enough for Lulu to get here, then I was probably right. So, when I called, she suggested that I wait an hour and call her back with an update. I woke Michael and told him it was time to get the pool ready. He was groggy, and really didn't realize that I was truly in labor. He figured we still had several hours to go, and was not at all happy that I was making him get to work so early.
So, he trudged down the stairs and got started, as I slowly made my way down the hall and down the stairs, waddling and stopping during contractions, and wondering if it was too late to change my mind about giving birth again. I knew though, that with my natural births, I've never taken longer than 3 hours to go from 5 cm to baby. While I waited for him to fill the pool, I got on all fours with my head resting on my big ball. I'd ask Michael questions, and I noticed that he still sounded a bit annoyed at me. It clicked in my head, that he really had no clue what was going on. I knew that if he knew just how fast I was progressing, he'd be different. But he also needed to hurry and get things set up. So I suggested that he wake Mom, so that I wouldn't just be laboring alone.
Around 5 am, I called Donna back. I explained that I knew it hadn't been an hour, but that I felt like it was quickly getting more intense, and she should go ahead and come over. By then, Michael had a twin mattress set up beside the pool for me, but the pool wasn't full yet. I laid down on the mattress to try to rest some. Plus, I could tell that being on all fours had just been speeding things along. Donna arrived around 5:30, with Jessica, her assistant. Michael was still running around getting the final touches ready. Specifically, he couldn't find the tripod. I tried telling to forget about the stupid tripod, but still, he just didn't get that I was seriously in labor! Finally, as Donna was about to check my cervix, he knelt down to tell me that he was going upstairs to do something. I don't even know what. I turned and looked at him and said, "No. You need to stay here." I think he started to protest. I said, "Do you understand that I'm, like, seriously in transition here?!" "Oh. No, I didn't know!" Poor guy. I woke him up early, and had a totally different labor pattern, and he just was too busy setting up to realize it! So, Donna checked, and declared that I was complete, other than a slight lip of cervix left on one side. Needless to say, Michael was surprised. Hey, even I was surprised to have gone from 5 to complete in just an hour!
By then, the pool was nearly full, but it was too hot, so they took out some hot and put in some cold, and I got in. She'd said that I had a huge bulging amniotic sac, and that if I wanted her to break it, his head would probably come right on down. Labor isn't as intense with an intact sac though, so I opted to wait it out. I figured surely it would break on it's own soon enough. In between contractions, I kept going over it again in my head - water breaks, faster baby, more intense... water doesn't break, slower baby, less intense. At some point, I began favoring the speedier of the two options, and probably around 6:30, I managed to gather my thoughts enough to tell her in between contractions. I'd been on all fours, so I rolled over onto my back so that she could get better access to do it, and she broke my water. I got back onto all fours, and started focusing on relaxing as much as possible during contractions.
Like with the others, I never did feel an "urge to push," but when I relaxed, I noticed that my muscles were gradually pushing him downward. We think I pushed through four contractions. With one, I could tell his head was part of the way out, and thought this was it. Then the contraction ended, and he slipped back in. I was pretty determined that I would get him out with the next one. Apparently, that was clear to Donna too, because as we waited for it, she gave me instructions on pushing slowly, blowing, and listening to her to slow down when I needed to. And with that next one, I focused on breathing and blowing, and walking the fine line between wanting to push the kid out and be done and pushing slowly to prevent tearing.
And with that long, hard, slow push, Gabriel was born into his Daddy's waiting arms. It was 6:52 am.
We hung out in the pool, nursing for a few minutes, waiting on the placenta. Michael cut the cord, I got the placenta out, and we rested for a couple minutes before getting out and moving to the bed. He and I cuddled up in bed for an hour, then it was time for both of us to get checked out by Donna. He weighed 8 lbs 1 oz, and was 20.5 inches long. Michael guessed his weight just before she put him in the scale, and he was dead on. After I'd eaten, Donna left, and we all snoozed for most of the day.
We're both doing great. I was recovering very very well, much better than last time, until I was stupid and carried a 51 pound box into the house this morning. That caused a bit of a setback, but I'm praying I'll bounce back some tomorrow. I'm okay, though. And he is wonderful. Nursing well, and gaining weight, fattening up those little cheeks.
And now, he's upstairs crying for more dinner, so, I'm off. More pictures to come soon, I promise.
I got a prenatal/induction massage. It was very nice, though the part where he used acupressure to help trigger the start of labor wasn't quite as pleasant. It wasn't too bad, just not a pleasant feeling. It was cool that I could feel something different every time he did it, though. The points he massaged (other than the full prenatal massage) were the webbing between the thumb and finger, halfway between the ear and the shoulder, a spot just behind the hip bone, and a couple inches up from the inner ankle. Different points do different things. He said to keep going through that sequence every 2 hours or so all day, but I didn't manage to do it so often. A little while later, mom and I had the kids at Walmart and I was a little sore and noticed that I was getting short of breath quickly.
Just before bed, I had Michael go through all the acupressure points again, and went to sleep.
Saturday, January 24:
We stayed around the house all day. I remember noticing that my lower back felt bruised, and wondered if it was from the massage. But he didn't rub the spot that felt bruised. In retrospect, I'm certain it was the very early twinges of labor, or his head moving further down. It was all of the tissue around my sacrum, and it was just sore. We did a lot of cleaning. Over the past few days, I'd had a shooting pain going from my pelvis down the front of my right leg. This day, it was much more frequent, and stronger. As I vacuumed the playroom, it was doing with with almost every step. Mom offered to vacuum for me, but I wanted to do it myself. I knew that the more active I was, the more he'd move on downward and things could get started.
Some friends came over to look through some boxes of baby girl clothes that we need to get rid of, so I rested only to sit and chat with them. Every couple hours throughout the day, Michael and I did the acupressure stuff. At bed time, we did it one last time, and I listened to one of my CDs. I think the Birth Day Affirmations one, but it might have been the Fear Clearing session. One thing I was always a little worried about, was that these CDs had one little line that wasn't in my ideal birth plan: "I will have an easy and fast birthing..." Whenever I heard that, I consciously thought, "Not fast! Slow enough for Lulu to get here!"
Around 11, I checked my cervix (yes, I can do it myself), and while I wasn't dilated any further than I had been over the past couple days, I could tell things were changing. I called Lulu to let her know that I wasn't 100% sure, but that I was pretty certain she'd need to come up in the morning. She said to call her back at 7:30 am to confirm, so she'd have time to make the first flight out.
Sunday, January 25
Around 2, the contractions were getting strong enough to make me start worrying. The first flight up wouldn't get Lulu here until around 11 or 12, so every time I got up to pee (literally, probably every 15 minutes), I rubbed my belly and told him to please stay put for X more hours. But by 2, it was picking up, not slowing down, and I was around 4 cm dilated. I called Lulu back and asked what we could do to slow it down. She suggested taking some of my wild yam supplements every 30 minutes, taking a hot bath, and trying to sleep.
At 4:30, I was between 5 and 6 cm, and knew that this baby was coming faster than we'd planned for. I called Donna, the backup midwife who I'd met the week before. When we met, she said that she really felt that if I was confident that my body would do it slow enough for Lulu to get here, then I was probably right. So, when I called, she suggested that I wait an hour and call her back with an update. I woke Michael and told him it was time to get the pool ready. He was groggy, and really didn't realize that I was truly in labor. He figured we still had several hours to go, and was not at all happy that I was making him get to work so early.
So, he trudged down the stairs and got started, as I slowly made my way down the hall and down the stairs, waddling and stopping during contractions, and wondering if it was too late to change my mind about giving birth again. I knew though, that with my natural births, I've never taken longer than 3 hours to go from 5 cm to baby. While I waited for him to fill the pool, I got on all fours with my head resting on my big ball. I'd ask Michael questions, and I noticed that he still sounded a bit annoyed at me. It clicked in my head, that he really had no clue what was going on. I knew that if he knew just how fast I was progressing, he'd be different. But he also needed to hurry and get things set up. So I suggested that he wake Mom, so that I wouldn't just be laboring alone.
Around 5 am, I called Donna back. I explained that I knew it hadn't been an hour, but that I felt like it was quickly getting more intense, and she should go ahead and come over. By then, Michael had a twin mattress set up beside the pool for me, but the pool wasn't full yet. I laid down on the mattress to try to rest some. Plus, I could tell that being on all fours had just been speeding things along. Donna arrived around 5:30, with Jessica, her assistant. Michael was still running around getting the final touches ready. Specifically, he couldn't find the tripod. I tried telling to forget about the stupid tripod, but still, he just didn't get that I was seriously in labor! Finally, as Donna was about to check my cervix, he knelt down to tell me that he was going upstairs to do something. I don't even know what. I turned and looked at him and said, "No. You need to stay here." I think he started to protest. I said, "Do you understand that I'm, like, seriously in transition here?!" "Oh. No, I didn't know!" Poor guy. I woke him up early, and had a totally different labor pattern, and he just was too busy setting up to realize it! So, Donna checked, and declared that I was complete, other than a slight lip of cervix left on one side. Needless to say, Michael was surprised. Hey, even I was surprised to have gone from 5 to complete in just an hour!
By then, the pool was nearly full, but it was too hot, so they took out some hot and put in some cold, and I got in. She'd said that I had a huge bulging amniotic sac, and that if I wanted her to break it, his head would probably come right on down. Labor isn't as intense with an intact sac though, so I opted to wait it out. I figured surely it would break on it's own soon enough. In between contractions, I kept going over it again in my head - water breaks, faster baby, more intense... water doesn't break, slower baby, less intense. At some point, I began favoring the speedier of the two options, and probably around 6:30, I managed to gather my thoughts enough to tell her in between contractions. I'd been on all fours, so I rolled over onto my back so that she could get better access to do it, and she broke my water. I got back onto all fours, and started focusing on relaxing as much as possible during contractions.
Like with the others, I never did feel an "urge to push," but when I relaxed, I noticed that my muscles were gradually pushing him downward. We think I pushed through four contractions. With one, I could tell his head was part of the way out, and thought this was it. Then the contraction ended, and he slipped back in. I was pretty determined that I would get him out with the next one. Apparently, that was clear to Donna too, because as we waited for it, she gave me instructions on pushing slowly, blowing, and listening to her to slow down when I needed to. And with that next one, I focused on breathing and blowing, and walking the fine line between wanting to push the kid out and be done and pushing slowly to prevent tearing.
And with that long, hard, slow push, Gabriel was born into his Daddy's waiting arms. It was 6:52 am.
We hung out in the pool, nursing for a few minutes, waiting on the placenta. Michael cut the cord, I got the placenta out, and we rested for a couple minutes before getting out and moving to the bed. He and I cuddled up in bed for an hour, then it was time for both of us to get checked out by Donna. He weighed 8 lbs 1 oz, and was 20.5 inches long. Michael guessed his weight just before she put him in the scale, and he was dead on. After I'd eaten, Donna left, and we all snoozed for most of the day.
We're both doing great. I was recovering very very well, much better than last time, until I was stupid and carried a 51 pound box into the house this morning. That caused a bit of a setback, but I'm praying I'll bounce back some tomorrow. I'm okay, though. And he is wonderful. Nursing well, and gaining weight, fattening up those little cheeks.
And now, he's upstairs crying for more dinner, so, I'm off. More pictures to come soon, I promise.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Will we ever be there yet?
Probably not. Lots to report!
Remember how two weeks ago, I said that we'd be moving soon? Yeah, we didn't expect it to be quite this soon. We got the phone call today, and we're moving Feb 11. It's in the neighborhood we wanted, and the house looks great. The road is a loop, and we're on the inner side of the loop, so there's plenty of room for the kids to run and play. There are a few big, old oak trees in the middle, which is nice. Our next door neighbors just moved over there a couple weeks ago, and we'll be across the street and 2 houses down from them. Aaric is very excited about that, because he loved playing with their oldest. We're told that there are lots of girls in the area, which will be great for Mikayla, who has been surrounded by testosterone the last several months - between siblings and neighbors, it's almost all boys.
We talked to a lady outside another house who said that they were just moving in, and offered to let us take a look around. They didn't even have their furniture in the house yet. It's so big and nice and pretty. I'll be happy to have much newer appliances again, as the ones here are a bit older and tearing up (especially the dishwasher.) Oh, and the laundry room is upstairs! No more hauling laundry up and down! We're very excited - yet a little nervous about moving so soon after the baby comes.
The baby is obviously not here yet. I go tomorrow at noon for a prenatal massage, and he'll be adding in the acupressure massage points to try to get labor started. He says it doesn't always work, but often does, and I might even start early labor before he's done!
So, the other night, Xander sees my big, bare belly. He'd just told the other two kids good night, so he came to pat my belly and tell the baby good night, too. I told him to tell the baby he loved him, and he did. So I said, "Tell the baby to get out!" And he says, "Get out, Baby! Go see Grandma!"
Remember how two weeks ago, I said that we'd be moving soon? Yeah, we didn't expect it to be quite this soon. We got the phone call today, and we're moving Feb 11. It's in the neighborhood we wanted, and the house looks great. The road is a loop, and we're on the inner side of the loop, so there's plenty of room for the kids to run and play. There are a few big, old oak trees in the middle, which is nice. Our next door neighbors just moved over there a couple weeks ago, and we'll be across the street and 2 houses down from them. Aaric is very excited about that, because he loved playing with their oldest. We're told that there are lots of girls in the area, which will be great for Mikayla, who has been surrounded by testosterone the last several months - between siblings and neighbors, it's almost all boys.
We talked to a lady outside another house who said that they were just moving in, and offered to let us take a look around. They didn't even have their furniture in the house yet. It's so big and nice and pretty. I'll be happy to have much newer appliances again, as the ones here are a bit older and tearing up (especially the dishwasher.) Oh, and the laundry room is upstairs! No more hauling laundry up and down! We're very excited - yet a little nervous about moving so soon after the baby comes.
The baby is obviously not here yet. I go tomorrow at noon for a prenatal massage, and he'll be adding in the acupressure massage points to try to get labor started. He says it doesn't always work, but often does, and I might even start early labor before he's done!
So, the other night, Xander sees my big, bare belly. He'd just told the other two kids good night, so he came to pat my belly and tell the baby good night, too. I told him to tell the baby he loved him, and he did. So I said, "Tell the baby to get out!" And he says, "Get out, Baby! Go see Grandma!"
Friday, January 16, 2009
It's cold!
I was determined to go for a walk today, but then saw that the high temp for the day was to be 32! No thanks. So, we went to the mall. And I have nothing new to report. I did not pop pills today, other than my usual prenatals and alfalfa.
But I know some of you people are on Baby Watch '09 out there, so I'm trying to keep you posted!
Unless this one starts out a lot more hard-core than the last 3 labors, I suspect I'll be online updating while in labor, so if you don't hear from me, don't assume I have been too busy with a baby to get online. We do have a laptop, and I can always update from the bed if I need to!
Oh, speaking of things I may or may not do while in labor... Mom and I saw a commercial the other day, advertising that The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants will be on Lifetime tomorrow night at 9 PM. We made plans to watch it while cuddling a new baby. That's looking much less likely now. When we saw the ad again tonight, and I yelled down to the baby to hurry on up and get out so that we could keep our plans, Aaric suggested that I just watch it while in labor. Can you just see me, pushing through commercial breaks? That kid is crazy.
But I know some of you people are on Baby Watch '09 out there, so I'm trying to keep you posted!
Unless this one starts out a lot more hard-core than the last 3 labors, I suspect I'll be online updating while in labor, so if you don't hear from me, don't assume I have been too busy with a baby to get online. We do have a laptop, and I can always update from the bed if I need to!
Oh, speaking of things I may or may not do while in labor... Mom and I saw a commercial the other day, advertising that The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants will be on Lifetime tomorrow night at 9 PM. We made plans to watch it while cuddling a new baby. That's looking much less likely now. When we saw the ad again tonight, and I yelled down to the baby to hurry on up and get out so that we could keep our plans, Aaric suggested that I just watch it while in labor. Can you just see me, pushing through commercial breaks? That kid is crazy.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Sorry for the delay!
First off, everyone say hello to Mrs. Dianne! Mrs. Dianne is an old (ha!) family friend, who was about like a 2nd mama to me when I was a kid. We grew up fondly teasing her about her Chia Pet hair, and her insistence that root beer be called "root root." As I got older, in my teens, I moved on to more fun stuff like stealing the Sweet Baby Jesus from her outdoor nativity. I actually didn't steal him - I rescued him from the cold winter nights! Michael and I even took pictures and made up a scrapbook so that Baby Jesus could show her all the fun things he did while in our care. And now I'm told that her son, Brandon's dog peed on the poor kid this year. Poor Sweet Baby Jesus. Anyway, she emailed me last week to see how I was doing and when this baby would be arriving, and I directed her to my blog. And today, she emailed again to remind me that I have not been updating!
Sorry. See, it's just that I've been so busy popping pills!! On Monday, I was taking 2 blue cohosh and 1 black cohosh every hour. That was a bit annoying, but doable. On Tuesday, I was taking 2 blues and 1 black every half hour. Now, that, my friends, was a royal pain in the rear. Have you ever tried to take 3 pills every 30 minutes? I swear, every time I blinked my eyes, it was time to take more! My belly was so full of cohosh and water, I thought I'd go insane. By early afternoon, I was tired and rested for a while, getting up every 30 minutes to take more pills. I also had a headache.
In the evening, even after Tylenol, the headache continued. Michael and I went to the commissary to get some groceries so that I could do some walking. I came home exhausted and went to bed at 8. I woke up at 9, with my head hurting worse. At 10, I took more Tylenol, which again didn't help, and finally drank coffee at 11 and fell right to sleep. I woke up at 8, feeling nice and refreshed.
So, today, I cleaned a good bit (at least, a good bit for a woman who is exhausted and 38 weeks pregnant!) and again, popped a ton of pills. This time, it was 4 blues and 2 blacks, every hour. While this was the same total amount of pills as yesterday, taking them every hour is just so much easier. I also quit drinking water, and used sprite and juice instead, which made it much easier to handle.
The bad news is... all my pill popping hasn't done anything. We're hoping I'll miraculously go into labor tomorrow, or very very soon. For now, we wait and see. My blood pressure came back down a little (I've read the blue cohosh can do that), so at least at the moment my risk level is a bit lower, and I don't have to head straight to the doctor. But we'll keep watching it.
So, that's where we are now. Waiting. Mom is up here helping out with the house and the kids, which is very nice and very much appreciated.
I'll update again if anything noteworthy happens, or you know, if I get bored and decide to come ramble.
Funny quote of the day, by Mikayla: Grandma, do you still nurse Mom?
Sorry. See, it's just that I've been so busy popping pills!! On Monday, I was taking 2 blue cohosh and 1 black cohosh every hour. That was a bit annoying, but doable. On Tuesday, I was taking 2 blues and 1 black every half hour. Now, that, my friends, was a royal pain in the rear. Have you ever tried to take 3 pills every 30 minutes? I swear, every time I blinked my eyes, it was time to take more! My belly was so full of cohosh and water, I thought I'd go insane. By early afternoon, I was tired and rested for a while, getting up every 30 minutes to take more pills. I also had a headache.
In the evening, even after Tylenol, the headache continued. Michael and I went to the commissary to get some groceries so that I could do some walking. I came home exhausted and went to bed at 8. I woke up at 9, with my head hurting worse. At 10, I took more Tylenol, which again didn't help, and finally drank coffee at 11 and fell right to sleep. I woke up at 8, feeling nice and refreshed.
So, today, I cleaned a good bit (at least, a good bit for a woman who is exhausted and 38 weeks pregnant!) and again, popped a ton of pills. This time, it was 4 blues and 2 blacks, every hour. While this was the same total amount of pills as yesterday, taking them every hour is just so much easier. I also quit drinking water, and used sprite and juice instead, which made it much easier to handle.
The bad news is... all my pill popping hasn't done anything. We're hoping I'll miraculously go into labor tomorrow, or very very soon. For now, we wait and see. My blood pressure came back down a little (I've read the blue cohosh can do that), so at least at the moment my risk level is a bit lower, and I don't have to head straight to the doctor. But we'll keep watching it.
So, that's where we are now. Waiting. Mom is up here helping out with the house and the kids, which is very nice and very much appreciated.
I'll update again if anything noteworthy happens, or you know, if I get bored and decide to come ramble.
Funny quote of the day, by Mikayla: Grandma, do you still nurse Mom?
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Like Father, Like Son... and Daughter
So, I'm using Hypnobabies this time, as I'd sorta tried to do with Mikayla. To give a tiny summary, the home study course includes a big book with 5 weeks of lessons in healthy pregnancy and birth and information about hypnosis. It's not all freaky like the stuff you see on TV - in true hypnosis, you will not do anything that you don't want to do, and are actually more in control, because you're working to tap into your subconscious. The course also comes with a set of CDs that I listen to, where Kerry, the founder (and she totally rocks, she actually called me on the day I was in labor with Mikayla to make sure I'd gotten some extra stuff she'd sent) is reading "scripts" which basically train me to relax more deeply. While not all women get it, some do experience pain-free childbirth. While listening to these CDs you enter hypnosis, and fully relax the entire body, without moving at all. On one CD, though, there are Joyful Pregnancy and Birthing Affirmations. Just a CD full of nice, positive thoughts about pregnancy and birth. You do not enter hypnosis for those, you just listen while going about chores or "playing quietly with your children" (where do people get these quiet-playing children I keep hearing about?) There are no cues on that CD to fully relax or be still or anything.
Okay, so that background info out of the way...
A few nights ago, I'd put the Joyful Pregnancy CD in while I was folding clothes on the bed, and then got up to go get the kids in bed. I saw Michael walk by while I was in Mikayla's room, and later heard a thud. It was like 10 minutes later when I went in our bedroom, to find Michael lying on the floor. He informed me that he couldn't move, as he'd been hypnotized and was now fully relaxed and unable to move. I think it was later that night, with the same CD, that he informed me that he could feel his birthing canal opening. He likes to support and mock all at once.
So, one CD that you're not to listen to until full term is the Birth Day Guide, which you should listen to while in labor. Once you're full term, you should listen to it once just to make sure that it's all there and not defective. Today, I decided to stick it in while I clean the kitchen, and the kids are working on school stuff. The music comes on, and immediately, both of them cross there legs with their hands up in the air in the classic "oohmmm" position. They are definitely their father's children.
Had to update to add more in:
We were listening to the Joyful Pregnancy one in the car today. Mikayla was back in the "ohm" position the whole time. The program talks a lot about creating a "Bubble of Peace" around you. So, at one point when she's talking about the bubble, Aaric says, "Better hope there are no pins nearby!"
And then later, not relating to Hypnobabies, but another example of how alike they are: I was telling the kids that we're now on the waiting list for another house (long story) and that there are 2 people ahead of us on the list, so we have to wait for 2 people to move out, then the next one available is ours. Michael mentioned earlier today that maybe we could get some of the people in that neighborhood kicked out of housing (he was joking, we wouldn't do that!) So, when I told the kids about moving sometime, Aaric said, "can we go bribe some of them to move out sooner?" When I told him that Daddy joked about getting them kicked out, he said, "Oooh, yeah, I could go yell at them and get them to hit me, and then we'd call the MPs!!"
(The short version is that ALL of our friends in this neighborhood are leaving, the new neighbors are not neighborly at all. We're not moving up to the houses way on the north side, but we will get a fairly new house (couple years old) here on post. It'll either be a couple blocks down from our last house, or up on the north side of base, but ON base, not 15 minutes north of the gate. They're nice and pretty and big. I just wish that they were in a location like we're in now - lots of trees, lots of yard, plenty of room to run. These are closer together and with less "green space." )
Meanwhile, my BP and swelling are not getting any better no matter how much protein and fluids I get, so Lulu has recommended some herbs to urge this baby on out. We'll be doing Evening Primrose Oil Monday night, then start black and blue cohosh on Tuesday. Now, I took some black cohosh while in late pregnancy with Aaric, but had researched just enough to know it was considered to be a safe induction herb, but not enough to really know how much to take. I was taking like, 1 or 2 a day. But what I recall is that they gave me awful tasting burps. My instructions now are to take these herbs hourly. Yum. Should be fun. I'm hoping he'll decide to come on out before I have to start those!
So, hopefully just another week, maybe less. More if he's just not ready yet.
Okay, so that background info out of the way...
A few nights ago, I'd put the Joyful Pregnancy CD in while I was folding clothes on the bed, and then got up to go get the kids in bed. I saw Michael walk by while I was in Mikayla's room, and later heard a thud. It was like 10 minutes later when I went in our bedroom, to find Michael lying on the floor. He informed me that he couldn't move, as he'd been hypnotized and was now fully relaxed and unable to move. I think it was later that night, with the same CD, that he informed me that he could feel his birthing canal opening. He likes to support and mock all at once.
So, one CD that you're not to listen to until full term is the Birth Day Guide, which you should listen to while in labor. Once you're full term, you should listen to it once just to make sure that it's all there and not defective. Today, I decided to stick it in while I clean the kitchen, and the kids are working on school stuff. The music comes on, and immediately, both of them cross there legs with their hands up in the air in the classic "oohmmm" position. They are definitely their father's children.
Had to update to add more in:
We were listening to the Joyful Pregnancy one in the car today. Mikayla was back in the "ohm" position the whole time. The program talks a lot about creating a "Bubble of Peace" around you. So, at one point when she's talking about the bubble, Aaric says, "Better hope there are no pins nearby!"
And then later, not relating to Hypnobabies, but another example of how alike they are: I was telling the kids that we're now on the waiting list for another house (long story) and that there are 2 people ahead of us on the list, so we have to wait for 2 people to move out, then the next one available is ours. Michael mentioned earlier today that maybe we could get some of the people in that neighborhood kicked out of housing (he was joking, we wouldn't do that!) So, when I told the kids about moving sometime, Aaric said, "can we go bribe some of them to move out sooner?" When I told him that Daddy joked about getting them kicked out, he said, "Oooh, yeah, I could go yell at them and get them to hit me, and then we'd call the MPs!!"
(The short version is that ALL of our friends in this neighborhood are leaving, the new neighbors are not neighborly at all. We're not moving up to the houses way on the north side, but we will get a fairly new house (couple years old) here on post. It'll either be a couple blocks down from our last house, or up on the north side of base, but ON base, not 15 minutes north of the gate. They're nice and pretty and big. I just wish that they were in a location like we're in now - lots of trees, lots of yard, plenty of room to run. These are closer together and with less "green space." )
Meanwhile, my BP and swelling are not getting any better no matter how much protein and fluids I get, so Lulu has recommended some herbs to urge this baby on out. We'll be doing Evening Primrose Oil Monday night, then start black and blue cohosh on Tuesday. Now, I took some black cohosh while in late pregnancy with Aaric, but had researched just enough to know it was considered to be a safe induction herb, but not enough to really know how much to take. I was taking like, 1 or 2 a day. But what I recall is that they gave me awful tasting burps. My instructions now are to take these herbs hourly. Yum. Should be fun. I'm hoping he'll decide to come on out before I have to start those!
So, hopefully just another week, maybe less. More if he's just not ready yet.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Okay, lets get this show on the road.
First, let me just say, I'm too lazy to whine in 2 different places now. My life revolves around my being pregnant, so, there's no sense in separating the two anymore. So, let the count down begin.
The birth kit just showed up at my door. A new water hose is all that is left to complete the list of supplies needed for the Big Day itself. Finding a dresser to store the kid's clothes in would be nice, too, but for now, they're okay. You know those hanging sweater organizer type things that you can buy for your closets? One that we have holds all of the 0-3 month clothes with no problem. A dresser would be better, though. So, supply wise, we're almost ready. And with Xander, we were at Lowe's looking for the right doohickey to connect the water hose to the kitchen sink while I was in labor, so I'm definitely not ruling out just heading to the store while I'm in labor this time. I'll want to find some yummy snacks, anyway.
Lulu says my BP is okay. We're not thrilled with it, but she's not stressed about it, so I won't, either.
So, what's left to do? Just cleaning. Right now, the big kids are over at a neighbor's house. So, I'm going to get myself a snack, and clean my little tail off for a while. We are seriously considering hiring a maid to come in and handle the house for the next several weeks. For the rest of my pregnancy and several weeks afterwards so that Michael doesn't have to do it all.
I might also duct tape Xander into the stroller to see if he'll nap for a while.
The birth kit just showed up at my door. A new water hose is all that is left to complete the list of supplies needed for the Big Day itself. Finding a dresser to store the kid's clothes in would be nice, too, but for now, they're okay. You know those hanging sweater organizer type things that you can buy for your closets? One that we have holds all of the 0-3 month clothes with no problem. A dresser would be better, though. So, supply wise, we're almost ready. And with Xander, we were at Lowe's looking for the right doohickey to connect the water hose to the kitchen sink while I was in labor, so I'm definitely not ruling out just heading to the store while I'm in labor this time. I'll want to find some yummy snacks, anyway.
Lulu says my BP is okay. We're not thrilled with it, but she's not stressed about it, so I won't, either.
So, what's left to do? Just cleaning. Right now, the big kids are over at a neighbor's house. So, I'm going to get myself a snack, and clean my little tail off for a while. We are seriously considering hiring a maid to come in and handle the house for the next several weeks. For the rest of my pregnancy and several weeks afterwards so that Michael doesn't have to do it all.
I might also duct tape Xander into the stroller to see if he'll nap for a while.
Monday, January 05, 2009
CRACK!
There's something both terrifying and totally cool to have your head gently cradled in the hand of a strange man, hear him tell you to relax, and then suddenly hear and feel cracking noises that you're fairly certain resulted in a spinal fracture. And then, just when you realize that you do indeed still feel all your appendages, it's time to do it on the other side.
I should back up. My fingers have been all tingly. To back up even further...
I started swelling just before Christmas. Not the "Oh, you're just pregnant" swelling, but the "push your finger in on the shin bone and the indention stays there, kinda like putty" kind. I'd also noticed some random light-headedness. Not every day, just sometimes. So, one day, after noticing the swelling and realizing it was probably bad, I got Michael to check my blood pressure. My BP is typically fairly low, so the "normal" sounding BP that I had on that day, was actually quite elevated for me. I called Lulu, and she said to eat tons of protein and check back in after a couple days. Oh, and to back up even further, and take you into potential TMI territory, I'd also already been spilling protein into my urine at my past 2 appointments with her. All of this adds up to, "uh oh, things could get ugly."
Okay, so, when I noticed the tingly fingers, I chalked it up to swelling. Extra fluid could do that, right? But it kept getting worse. And if I slept on my left side, my left arm fell asleep. If i slept on the right, the right arm went out. No matter what position the arm was in, so it's not like I was laying on it and cramping it. So, I called Lulu again, and she said to get my hiney to the chiropractor, because that sounded like a nerve issue.
So, I went to the chiropractor today. I went for most of the third trimester with Mikayla, because my hips were so sore and popped every time I moved. I'd forgotten just how loudly joints, particularly necks, can crack. I'm surprised it didn't freak the kids out. They were too busy playing with the 3 foot tall skeleton model. Who lost a kneecap near the end of the exam. (The doctor told me it was fine for them to play with it, and laughed when the kneecap fell off.) They also hid my shoes under the table. So, he cracked pretty much every joint between my skull and my hips. Neck, upper back, lower back, elbows, wrists, and fingers. He believes that the tingling is from nerves in my neck. He said I should have relief in 2-3 days, but they feel much better already. I don't have to go back unless something else is bothering me, or if I go overdue, I can go in and he'll hit the right pressure points for urging the kid to get out.
That was my big fun of the day. Then, tonight, Michael checked my blood pressure again. It had started creeping up again late last week, after just ONE day of running lots of errands and eating out all day. But I'd eaten tons and tons of protein every day since then, and expected some progress. No luck. It's still not pretty. And when I say lots of protein, I mean, my goal every day is 80-100 grams, and I'm usually hitting around 90. I can tell you how many grams are in eggs, most dairy products, my bread and cereal (I can actually get as much from a slice of bread as I can from an egg. The beauty of whole grains!), peanuts, almonds, peanut butter, and some meats. My protein shake has 18 g per scoop, which is to be mixed with 3 oz of water but I use 4 oz of milk instead, to sneak in 4 more grams. Luna women's protein bars have 9-10 g per bar. And I get some or all of the above every day. After stuffing myself with all of that, there's not much room for other foods.
So, hopefully, my blood pressure will start cooperating any minute now, or else I'll go into labor very soon. With Xander, when my BP went up, he was born 2 days later. This time, I have zero signs of impending labor. I'm not nearly as miserable as I was at the tail end with the others. I'm tired, sure, but not absolutely miserable. I just complain a lot. I usually hit the miserable point before the baby comes. Maybe I'm just a happier person this time? Or too distracted by the crazy children running laps around me to notice how awful I feel? In any case, I don't think it'll be this week, anyway.
This Wednesday makes 37 weeks. I plan to post pictures again. I mean, you know how I have the best of intentions and make great plans and all, but seriously, maybe I'll get them taken, and posted. I will of course keep you posted of any changes, unless they fall into that "way TMI for the general public" category. He needs to stay put for at least a couple more days. Birth kit arrives tomorrow, and we need to finish cleaning. So, let's say that Thursday morning is the earliest that I'd want labor to start. I also need to work out a couple of plan B's for in case Mom can't make it up here in time to take the kids.
Okay, my ice cream is done (I haven't checked the label, but I know it has protein!) so, I'm off to bed. Let's see if I wake up with sleeping arms or not!
I should back up. My fingers have been all tingly. To back up even further...
I started swelling just before Christmas. Not the "Oh, you're just pregnant" swelling, but the "push your finger in on the shin bone and the indention stays there, kinda like putty" kind. I'd also noticed some random light-headedness. Not every day, just sometimes. So, one day, after noticing the swelling and realizing it was probably bad, I got Michael to check my blood pressure. My BP is typically fairly low, so the "normal" sounding BP that I had on that day, was actually quite elevated for me. I called Lulu, and she said to eat tons of protein and check back in after a couple days. Oh, and to back up even further, and take you into potential TMI territory, I'd also already been spilling protein into my urine at my past 2 appointments with her. All of this adds up to, "uh oh, things could get ugly."
Okay, so, when I noticed the tingly fingers, I chalked it up to swelling. Extra fluid could do that, right? But it kept getting worse. And if I slept on my left side, my left arm fell asleep. If i slept on the right, the right arm went out. No matter what position the arm was in, so it's not like I was laying on it and cramping it. So, I called Lulu again, and she said to get my hiney to the chiropractor, because that sounded like a nerve issue.
So, I went to the chiropractor today. I went for most of the third trimester with Mikayla, because my hips were so sore and popped every time I moved. I'd forgotten just how loudly joints, particularly necks, can crack. I'm surprised it didn't freak the kids out. They were too busy playing with the 3 foot tall skeleton model. Who lost a kneecap near the end of the exam. (The doctor told me it was fine for them to play with it, and laughed when the kneecap fell off.) They also hid my shoes under the table. So, he cracked pretty much every joint between my skull and my hips. Neck, upper back, lower back, elbows, wrists, and fingers. He believes that the tingling is from nerves in my neck. He said I should have relief in 2-3 days, but they feel much better already. I don't have to go back unless something else is bothering me, or if I go overdue, I can go in and he'll hit the right pressure points for urging the kid to get out.
That was my big fun of the day. Then, tonight, Michael checked my blood pressure again. It had started creeping up again late last week, after just ONE day of running lots of errands and eating out all day. But I'd eaten tons and tons of protein every day since then, and expected some progress. No luck. It's still not pretty. And when I say lots of protein, I mean, my goal every day is 80-100 grams, and I'm usually hitting around 90. I can tell you how many grams are in eggs, most dairy products, my bread and cereal (I can actually get as much from a slice of bread as I can from an egg. The beauty of whole grains!), peanuts, almonds, peanut butter, and some meats. My protein shake has 18 g per scoop, which is to be mixed with 3 oz of water but I use 4 oz of milk instead, to sneak in 4 more grams. Luna women's protein bars have 9-10 g per bar. And I get some or all of the above every day. After stuffing myself with all of that, there's not much room for other foods.
So, hopefully, my blood pressure will start cooperating any minute now, or else I'll go into labor very soon. With Xander, when my BP went up, he was born 2 days later. This time, I have zero signs of impending labor. I'm not nearly as miserable as I was at the tail end with the others. I'm tired, sure, but not absolutely miserable. I just complain a lot. I usually hit the miserable point before the baby comes. Maybe I'm just a happier person this time? Or too distracted by the crazy children running laps around me to notice how awful I feel? In any case, I don't think it'll be this week, anyway.
This Wednesday makes 37 weeks. I plan to post pictures again. I mean, you know how I have the best of intentions and make great plans and all, but seriously, maybe I'll get them taken, and posted. I will of course keep you posted of any changes, unless they fall into that "way TMI for the general public" category. He needs to stay put for at least a couple more days. Birth kit arrives tomorrow, and we need to finish cleaning. So, let's say that Thursday morning is the earliest that I'd want labor to start. I also need to work out a couple of plan B's for in case Mom can't make it up here in time to take the kids.
Okay, my ice cream is done (I haven't checked the label, but I know it has protein!) so, I'm off to bed. Let's see if I wake up with sleeping arms or not!
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