Sunday, April 26, 2009

Diapers and Tape

Seriously, I'm done. I swear I will successfully potty train Izzy before Blake.

It's been ages since I blogged about potty training, and it's been going okay. He can make it dry for about 3 days in a row, and then he can't make it. But even on the days he's not dry all day, he's usually dry until after dinner, and then just seems to lose focus at the end of the day....when he's tired and cranky.

We've been at this for 4 months.... since his birthday at the end of December. I've seriously contemplated going back to diapers a few times, but never actually done it. I really think, with him, that it's a matter of a battle of wills. And, dammit, I will win this battle!!!

Each month, he's done a little better, and a little better. I think in March, he stayed dry about 12 days total... so almost 50%. At this rate, we'll be trained by the end of 2009...right???

Today, accident while I was out. He told Daddy he didn't need to go potty, and wouldn't go when Daddy told him to. Next thing ya know, pee on the rug.... and I came home to a "Nakey Blakey" what a nickname! Later, as I was feeding Izzy, Trevor commented that there was a puddle on the floor. I yelled for Steve to come down, and told Blake to go sit on the potty.

Well, Steve found the puddle on the floor (B was only allowed on the wood floor at this point), and also found.... (okay this is gross)....poop smeared on the carpeted stairs. UGH!!! I was SO mad. This is a new low for him! So he sat on the potty for a good long time (at least 30 minutes) while I finished feeding Izzy, and Steve cleaned up.

Finally, I went to get him out of the bathroom. And I went prepared....with a diaper and tape. And so I put the diaper on him, and taped around the top.... because I KNEW that he would hate the diaper and try to rip it off. He's been threatened with a diaper before, and he does not want to wear them.... he's adamant that he's a big boy, not a baby.

Well, for all of you contemplating this method, let me tell you the one thing I learned today. Blue painter's tape is VERY easy for kids to rip off. Take the time to find the duct tape!!! He ripped off the tape, and we re-taped him. And then he and I sat in the bathroom for about 30 minutes, while he had a HUGE fit. I've seen this kid have many major meltdowns in his 3 years of life, but this was one of the biggest. I was holding him down so he wouldn't hurt himself or me, and so he wouldn't rip off the tape.

Finally, he got tired of having a fit and getting no attention for it (I was busy reading all the catalogs I keep in the bathroom.... got some good window shopping done!). He calmed down and we talked about why the diaper and tape were on. We talked for a while, he wore the diaper for a while, and then I agreed to let him take it off... as long as it NEVER happened again. NO MORE accidents.... and he agreed.

Yeah... that worked until dinner time. Then, while sitting at dinner finishing eating, he peed on the chair, and pooped in his undies. So, straight to bed he went.

Now what do I do tomorrow??? Hubby has suggested diapers for a week, hiding all underwear, and then seeing how B feels about this whole potty training thing. I'm not sure I can keep him in diapers for a whole week, or even part of a day.... while attending to a newborn and a 4.5 year old! I definitely will need to find the duct tape, since we know the blue tape ain't gonna cut it.

Any other suggestions for ways to motivate him???? I gotta find this kid's achillies heel....he's gotta have a weakness I can exploit.... I just haven't found it yet!!!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Izzy Update

Not much to report here. We've gotten back into the swing of 'regular' life... taking the boys to school, going to the park (it was 83 yesterday!), going to the grocery store.... etc. Nothing too exciting, but regular everyday life, with 3 kids.

The boys are really adjusting quite well to having Izzy around. Trevor is still in love, and always wants to hold her. Blake is more and more into her, watching her, watching out for her, and making sure I know as soon as she is crying (as if I can't hear her!).

Possibly, my biggest area of 'concern' was what they would think of me breastfeeding her. Thankfully, they both seem to think nothing of it. They asked and watched a little the first few days, but they don't seem to question it, wonder about it, or be upset by it. They've both asked about it briefly, but are content to know that "babies drink mommy's milk" and that they both did, and that's about it. At one point, one of them asked when Daddy would feed Izzy, but that hasn't come up again. I guess I was worried for nothing!! They are still wanting to give her a bottle, and I've told them they'll get a chance to when she's a little older, and that seems to satisfy them.

As for Izzy, she's sleeping, eating, and going thru diapers! Just like a newborn should. She's a tiny beautiful peanut, and I swear I can't remember either of the boys being this tiny, but they were!! She is pretty good about days vs. nights, and actually slept from 10 pm last night, til 5 am this morning! Holy cow.... I know that won't be the case every night, but I'll take it once in a while.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Five (5)

There are five people in this family. There are five bedrooms in my house. Simple math right.... 5 divided by 5 equals 1. One person per room. Okay, so hubby and I share a room (now that I'm not preggo!) so that's 1 empty room. The boys share a room, so that's 2 empty rooms. And for the moment, Izzy shares a room with us, but eventually she'll move to the nursery. So that's 3 empty rooms... right???

Do you know how many people went to sleep in my room? 3...three that belonged there. And do you know how many woke up there? 5. Because between midnight and 3 am, something happened (was there a full moon?). First Blake woke up upset....who knows why. He eventually decided he wanted to sleep downstairs (after watching a short movie!), so he did.

As I went back to bed, Izzy woke up to eat. I finished feeding her, and went back to bed.... for 15 minutes. Then Blake was awake again, not happy at being the only person downstairs (I warned ya buddy!), so he decided to sleep on the floor by our bed in the master. Fine with me.... (it's been ages since we've let either of them sleep in the bed with us, as we got into a REAL power struggle with Trevor over it for a while). If they are desperate enough to be willing to sleep on the floor, well come on in then.... but my bed is for me....your bed is for you! Sorry, I need and LIKE my sleep (and I don't sleep well with kids in the bed!).

About an hour later, I hear T making noise in his room. So I send Steve in to deal with it.... I'm too tired! I hear the tell-tale signs of a bloody nose, so I join them in the bathroom and help calm T down and wait out the nose bleed. He gets them all the time during the night, knows what to do and how to handle them, but depending on what phase of sleep he's in when it hits, it sometimes leads to a very sad Trevor. This was one of those nights.... he was inconsolable! Eventually, it stopped, and he calmed down. And he too joined the slumber party in our bedroom on the floor.

So, five people + five bedrooms = five people in one bedroom! On the plus side, Izzy slept from then until 6 am. Didn't fuss loud enough to wake the boys, and they slept until 8:30 or so! (Much better than the usual 6:30 or 7 am at the latest!!!)

What an Entrance

So I published my last post, walked out the door, and went to the hopsital! No time for good blogging, there was barely time to get any details up, and of course stop at the grocery store for 2 gallons of milk!!

We got to the hospital and eventually got checked in Tuesday night. They checked my vitals, told me the induction would start at 4 am, and said good night. So I went to sleep and Hubby came home to get some decent sleep in a real bed. Don't worry, he was back at 4 am!!

By about 5 am, they had my IV started and the pitocin going. Having needed pitocin for Trevor's delivery, and remembering that, I wasn't thrilled about it, but there weren't a lot of choices! Not much happened for quite a while, and the Dr and nurses kept upping the amount of pitocin I was getting. Slowly, I started feeling contractions, but nothing intense enough or regular enough to make much progress. So, they kept upping the pitocin!

By about 9 am, I was starting to get to some decent contractions, but still not regular enough. I spent some time sitting in the rocking chair, and on the birthing ball to try and move things along. They broke my water, put me on an internal contraction monitor (to get a real feel for how intense they were) and upped the pitocin (do you sense a theme?). That really helped things, and by about 10:30 things were getting good. They checked me and I was dialated to 3 cm and fully effaced. The Dr kept coming in, upping the pitocin, and joking with me, "I thought you had fast labors!". I tried to point out that I'd had one of each (Trevor 17 hours, Blake 5) but he just wanted to joke with me that I was delaying his trip out of town!! I got to the point, that when he came in the room, I would try to hide the pitocin machine so he couldnt' up the dose anymore!!!

Much like when I was in labor with Blake, things suddenly moved right along. All of a sudden the contractions were fierce, regular and definetly having an effect. There was no more joking around or sitting up. It was also about this time, I could hear another patient down the hall having her baby and SCREAMING though it... not a good thing to hear!! Around noon, the nurse came in, I begged her to check me, and what do you know, I was dialeted about 9 cm.... just like that! She called the midwife to have her come over (the office is next door, whew!), and they started prepping.

I think there were about 2 contractions where I wanted to push but they said no since the midwife wasn't there. By the 3rd one, she was there and they let me push (THANK GOD!). 2 pushes and there she was!!! They put her straight on my tummy, cleaned her off, and let me hold her.... for the next 2 hours! It was so awesome!! They cleaned her, checked her out, declared her fine, and left the 3 of us alone for a while. Then they came back and cleaned up the room, etc etc. I LOVE the effect of a midwife, where we were allowed to just be a family and enjoy our new baby, and not get caught up in the "medical" part of it all.... very different than my memories of T & B arriving.

Eventually, they took her and cleaned her (fully) weighed and measured her and did all the 'necessary' things (foot prints, eye cream, etc.). After all that, hubby came home to tell the boys and give me some time to rest, and for me to get moved to Recovery. Well, I never got moved. Turns out there were 12 births the day before (Tuesday) and recovery was full. In fact, if I hadn't come in Tuesday night, I wouldn't have gotten a delivery room Wednesday and would have been turned away (as I heard others were). So I stayed in my room on the labor side which was perfectly fine (once they brought a real comfortable bed, that wasn't a labor bed!). I ended up staying in that room more than 24 hours, and only spent about 3 hours in "Recovery" before coming home.

Later Wednesday night, hubby brought T & B to meet their sister. Apparently, when hubby got home Trevor had asked about her name and was VERY upset (for about 15 minutes) about her middle name. We were debating 2 choices right up until we saw her, and Trevor was voting for the other option (Daisy). However, he was thrilled to meet her, regardless of the middle name issue. He was excited, and climbing up on the bed to see her better and dying to hold her. She was still naked (just a diaper) and lying right on my chest (skin to skin) to help her stay warm and to bond.... so he didn't get to hold her. Blake on the other hand, was very shy. He clung to Daddy for a while, stayed backed against the wall, kind of hid himself in the corner, and really wouldn't talk to me. I don't think I even got a kiss or hug from him the whole visit. They stayed for a little while and then went home for bed.

Thursday, after school, they all came to visit again, and this time Blake was much more excited and social. He climbed up on the bed looked at Izzy, and gave me lots of hugs and kisses. I think it helped that I was out of bed, dressed in real clothes, and that Izzy was dressed and seperate from me. Trevor finally got to hold her, and he was IN HEAVEN!!! He just adores her, and can't get enough of her.... he might kill her with love and hugs and kisses!!! It's too cute to watch. Blake is getting more and more interested and at least doesn't hate her!!!

Thursday after dinner, I came home. I had the option to stay til Friday morning or come home, but it got to be TOO quiet in my private room. As nice as a break is, I'm very used to our crazy busy house with two preschoolers, and having that much time to myself (and given the emotions of a post-partum female) I coudln't handle it. So they came and got me.... Trevor leading the way, trying to carry the infant seat, and super excited to have his sister home!

So here, we are.... just the 5 of us.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

5.9 and dropping

So today was my weekly Dr visit. Based on last weeks visit, when I got there today, they hooked me up to the fetal monitor. At first, baby girl was sleeping so we weren't getting many readings on the monitor. Then the midwife woke her up (using a strange device that buzzes and vibrates on my tummy!) and boy was she active after that. So they decided that everything looked fine on the monitor, and she was moving and shaking just fine.

Next, we needed an ultrasound to see how my amniotic fluid was doing. Well, not so good is the answer. It's down to 5.9 and dropping. So we thought about it for a while, and decided rather than wait, we'll induce. So I'm headed to the hospital now to induce labor and get her out of there. More updates later...

Monday, April 13, 2009

Random Photos

Some random photos I found as I looked for one in particular...

Trevor enjoying a rare treat in Mommy's bubble tub...

The boys 'sharing' Trevor's Blackhawk's jersey. They were convinced they could both fit....and they could. But getting out proved to be VERY difficult!
My boys.... Blake showing off his new sunglasses (while wearing jammies) and Trevor playing the Wii.
Trevor showing off his math skills. He did all the counting and writing himself and got it all right!
Christmas presents from my brother arrived a little late (like January, not April!(Amazon's fault, not his!). Trevor got a Star Wars Lego ship
Blake got Hi-Ho Cherry-O.
Here's what happens when the boys share their toys... Darth Vader and a Storm Trooper watching a game of Hi-Ho Cherry-O!!!


Just to add to the post from a few weeks ago.... The boys aren't the only ones who get t-shirts with "personality" from Aunt Kate. Mom & Baby get them too...


No, it's not a real ultrasound pic (at least not of my kid). But there are days when that certainly sums up how she's feeling. If I have time, I will put this shirt on before leaving for the hospital....and wear it as I walk into L&D!! Just cause I can!!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Oh, the Drama!

(well, as much drama as you get from me when I'm pregnant, which isn't a whole lot, but still....)

I had my 37 week midwife appointment this morning. My weight is good, I've gained 27 pounds for the whole pregnancy, and after losing last week, I am back up 2 pounds. The midwife came in and we went over my birth plan, which she had no issues with (yay!). However, it did lead us to a small disagreement. According to her chart, my due date is Tuesday, April 28. According to my calculations (and the number that's been in my head for the whole pregnancy) I'm due on Sunday, April 26. I'm sticking to my date, as it's based on charting my temps, and I know EXACTLY when things happened (if ya know what I mean!).

Next, we found our heartbeat (it took a minute, cause this kid is so low, she's hiding behind my pelvic bone), but we found her eventually... nice heartbeat of 140-150. Then she measured my belly, and what do you know, I'm measuring small... about 35 weeks. Of course, no visit at this point in a pregnancy is complete without an internal exam. I'm about 1.5 cm dialated (not much progress!) and "very soft". And the baby's head is WAY down there. That's good and bad, as it makes me quite uncomfortable, but at least she's heads down!

Since I was measuring small last week, she decided to do an ultrasound, just to make sure everything's okay, and baby's growing right. None of this is a surprise to me. I remember measuring small when I was pregnant with Trevor, and getting a late ultrasound to confirm the size of the baby then too. I have no recollection of any such happenings with Blake, so either it didn't happen (and I wasn't measuring small?) or my memories of that pregnancy have gotten lost in the shuffle and he's already suffering from being the "middle child".

So the tech did the ultrasound. She got some great pictures and looks at the baby, and took lots of measurements. I learned quite a bit from her too, and even got to see the umbilical cord, and found out it's not (currently) around her neck/head/body (which Trevor's was). So that was good to hear.

Turns out baby is measuring about 7 lbs 3 oz which puts her in the 75%. So there ya go, all you people who think I'm measuring small. I just carry my babies well, and ALL inside me apparently! She might be my biggest baby yet!!! On the downside, my amniotic fluid is measuring just inside the average range. My AFI is 8, and they worry if it's below 6, or above 20. So to be safe, she wants me to increase my fluids and do kick counts. So twice a day I have to count how many times she kicks in an hour, if it's less than 5, then we worry and call her. So far, no problem.... we got 5 kicks in the 15 minutes I've been sitting here typing!

Also, the ultrasound showed that my placenta is 'aging' faster than usual. Gee, this kid is making me age fast already, and she's not even born yet!!! At the moment, there's nothing to worry about, but it's just something to watch. From my googling just now, they age the placenta based on calcifications (calcium deposits). I wonder if the quantity of calcium I take in affects this... in particular I'm thinking of the 10-15 Tums that I've been taking daily to help with heartburn. For a while I was using some OTC stuff like Xantac, but the Tums work better. Hmmm...

If anything does change, they might induce me, but since I'm full-term there's no major issue with that. Other than the fact, that I'd prefer not to be induced since I've been down that road before, with Trevor. But if her health is in jeopardy, I'll do it!

So that's the update from here. Oh, and since they were doing an ultrasound and looking around anyway, I requested a reconfirmation..... and yes, it's still a girl! Whew!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

72% Complete

About a month ago, some of my closest 'mom' friends gathered to throw me a baby shower. I've met this group of women online since both the boys were born, and I've met some REALLY awesome ladies. The shower was fun, and of course came with lots of 'traditional' baby gifts... and things that a first-time-mom-of -a-girl must have: barrettes, headbands, pink crocs, dresses, BabyLegs, pink blankets, etc. Lots of wonderful things that will be well used when this little girl arrives (any day now is just fine kiddo.... the sooner the better!).




I also received an awesome gift that is something I would not typically indulge in. Something I wouldn't be able to justify to myself to spend the money on, after all think of all the things I could spend that amount of money on instead. But something that I've been lusting after for a while, after a few of the aforementioned mom friends showed me theirs. I got an awesome, beautiful, wonderful, Fleurville diaper bag.

But today, I got some truly NECESSARY baby gifts, courtesy of my sister-in-law, Kate. Three items that complete my little girls wardrobe. Three items that you should definitely put on any baby registry, or birthday list for a little girl. (Do you sense the sarcasm yet???)



I think the shirt is by far my favorite.... definitely the most original. Even Trevor recognized the symbolism, commenting "Isn't that like when my game is loading on the computer and it's not done yet??!" Oh how smart my big guy is!!

While I am being sarcastic that these are necessary for everyone, they are totally awesome gifts that are greatly appreciated. Over the years, Kate has added tons of personality to my boys wardrobes. From handmade tie-dyed onesies and sleepers, to custom-made quilts and blankets, to smart @$$ shirts like "It's my brother's fault" and "What happens in preschool stays in preschool" and "I still live with my parents". I LOVE the looks my kids get when they wear those shirts! Kate has made sure that my kids outfits have personality and that they definitely belong in our "personality filled" family! Thanks Kate!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Baby Girl Update

Dr visits galore today. I started at the midwife's office at 9:15 this morning. The office seemed quiet but that didn't mean I was in and out fast.... just that it was quiet!! But eventually they saw me, and everything is going quite well.

I'm measuring about 1 week behind at this point (35 weeks not 36). I lost a pound in the last week, but I could gain that back in a day depending on my schedule and appetite! Both of these are totally normal for me, I've done this with both previous pregnancies. I'm as 'big' as I'm gonna get, even tho the baby is still growing. My iron is borderline low (hemoglobin 10.6) so now I'm taking iron supplements, but since I'm usually borderline anemic when I'm not pregnant I'm not too worried. And, I'm dilated 1 cm. Okay, it's not much, but it's something!!! They took lots of blood and I'm sure all those results will be totally boring and normal, so they won't even call me!

Based on the exam, and my history, she's not expecting me to go early necessarily. But based on my mental attitude (which is totally ready to have this baby), she wouldn't be surprised if I went into labor about 2 weeks early, just cause I WANT to. So we'll see...

The best part of the visit...we talked about my plans/hopes for delivery. First piece of good news, the labor tub is back to being available at my hospital. For a while it was "not available" as they had had a recent malpractice case or issue with a patient who used it and they weren't letting anyone use it for a while. At least that was the info I was given when I was pregnant with Trevor. (With Blake there was no time to use it if I'd wanted to, but I'm not sure if it was available or not). I'm not sure I want to use it, but I like having the option, especially if I end up in back labor like I was with Trevor. Second piece of good news, the midwife is more than happy to let me labor without having an IV as long as everything is going fine (and based on my history, that's highly possible). I'm so glad not to have to have an IV just because.... it really bothers me that they do it automatically! I mean with Blake I was in the hospital in labor for under 45 minutes, but STILL they managed to put that damn IV in my arm and I really never needed it!! So WOO HOO for the new midwife!! (Of course, if any of this was an April Fool's joke, I will NEVER forgive her!).

Following all that great news, I got to see the massage therapist. She is easily my VERY favorite person in the world right now. My back feels SO good. And then I saw the chiropractor, just to loosen me up even more and put everything back where it belongs. So I'm feeling REALLY good.... now if only I could sleep comfortably, that feeling might last beyond today!!