One Month Old (October 23)

BATHTIME

LEGOS WITH DADDY

 ITS TALLER THAN ME-ITS THIS TALL

 SLEEPY-HEADS

 SWINGING

Kaili is one month old. I am excited that he feels heavier and looks a little chubbier. He's still tiny though. The size of a newborn....7 lbs 7.4 oz as of our weight check today. Adrian was 7lbs 4 oz at birth. He doesn't sleep long without being held, rocked in his swing, vibrated in his bouncy seat, or moving in the car. He can tell he's not being held or near someone and even slept fine when placed next to his sleeping brother. But if I place him in his bassinet or crib, he's awake within 5-10 minutes. He uses his pacifier for short periods of time for self soothing. He is making bigger noises-coos, cries, screams, and I swear I heard him laughing in his sleep earlier. I think he has my ears, his eyes are still very dark. His hair seems a little lighter than Adrian's, maybe he has Barry's hair color. His baby acne is going away, but now cradle cap is showing up. He has periods of waking time where he stares at his surroundings in the mornings and evenings. I'm pumping still and stocking up for going back to work. I am still giving him one bottle a day at least for his vitamin drops since he doesn't like the taste alone.

I'm sad that 1/3 of my leave is over already though. I need to figure out what the childcare situation will be when I go back to work. I need to figure out what the benefits are if I stay to my 5 year mark since that's only a year and a half away. I need to get a new car. I need to consolidate credit card debt. I need to figure out buying this house. I need to see about getting my teacher licensure from the state for my certificate from CSU. I am feeling overwhelmed when I think about all of this.

Regarding childcare: I want Adrian and Kaili together most of the time. I want Adrian to be able to go somewhere where I can get assistance with transportation to and from preschool. I would love someone to come to my home since that is the kids' environment and I have more control over it but of course that could get really expensive.

MORE SLEEPY-HEADS

Funny Sayings or Mis-said Words

Ride the Alligator *Elevator
Beard *Beer *Soda is also Beard and usually just as off limits
Going to the Movie Gator or Movie Alligator *Theater

Adrian playing with his cars...'don't scratch my apple"..no idea

Week 2 to Week 4 Day to Day Stuff

10/1 142lbs from 157 :) Fitting in regular clothes again...at least some of them. 10/3 Newborn Screen, Dr. Appts for both boys. Daddy off work. Car dies while out at appts. Towed to dad's work. Figured out that the timing belt snapped. 10/5 PS work Day. Liza watches Kaili and Adrian loves having mom be parent teacher! Dad took off monday or else today would have been his assigned day. Then we head to mommy's work to visit, drop off time sheets, and add kaili to insurance policy. What a long day! 10/6 Liza's kiddo William comes over for a playdate with Adrian. They have lots of fun outside:) 10/7 Mom sells her car for $350. Goodbye dear car, a present from my parents for graduating high school and going to college...a surprise when I returned from NJ to work over the summer at the YMCA in Estes and live at home until I moved into the dorms at CSU. It was a good little car and I will miss it, and especially miss never having my own car payment :) 10/8 and 10/9 Weekend 10/10 Weight Check for Kaili: 6 lbz and 4.9 oz. He's gaining!!! Going to a mom's group at FUMC in the morning while the kiddos are in PS...915 to 1030am. 10/12 Wed. Kaili's Due Date! 10/13 Family Dinner :) Dad works late tonight though so we go on our own. Adrian misses his Grandma D and seeing his cousins and was asking for them this past week...so we decided to go to family dinner and for Adrian to go to see Grandma D on on of the days she has Cavyn and Nyco. Maybe we'll also do another sleepover at cousin Cavyn's. 10/14 Kaili is 3 Weeks Old 10/15 and 10/16 Weekend: Fitzler's Farm and BBQ at home 10/17. No mom's group today. Mom goes home during PS and takes a nice nap. 10/19 PS conferences today. Adrian is a good easy going kiddo. He does have a tendency to be negatively influenced by peer pressure...which is why it is good that he is in PS now and learning what is acceptable and what is not in a big peer setting. As we discussed, it's easier to mess up now and learn than in middle or high school when there are bigger stakes to negative peer influences and behaviors. He is slow to warm up in the mornings...takes after his mother. We head to Library Park afterwards, have lunch and play for 3 hours with Arie and Ollie, friends Adrian made last week on our Library trip. We planned to tentatively meet up again and they were there. Adrian was so excited. The mom is Amber and Oliver is 14 months and Arabelle is 4. Adrian had lots of fun, then we went to get new books and another Diego DVD for the week. Adrian has been watching way less TV lately...maybe his Diego DVD every other day or so. He has been asking less for the TV also. No matter though he always engages with his toys and enjoys playing with his friends Lexi, Julian, and Jacki when they are over here or when he goes to their house. He loves reading and it ranks as high as watching his dvd. He can be read to for hours. I'm thinking about taking him to storytime at the library. I also need to get a CD player so I can get books on CD....I lent mine to a friend and the CD part broke which is the main reason for buying it in the first place. 10/20 Family Dinner :) Daddy works late again tonight. 10/21: Is Kaili one month old today? Four weeks later? Or is he not one month old until the 23rd of the month? Today he showered with me in his new little bath seat. He did ok...I think he'd rather have a bath. Adrian Says: "I want to save my brother from the monsters. I'll hide with him in the tent, okay?" and "where I came from?"

Gaining Weight! Losing Weight!! Halloween Fun!!

Kaili is 6 lbs and 13.2 oz per our weight check on Monday 10-17. That means he's gained over an oz a day since last Monday!! He's been eating well. Still a slow eater though. We're giving a bottle or two a day since he gets more faster and doesn't tire out. I never did give "at least 8 supplemental bottles after pumping each day" we maybe had up to 5 per day at one point. One a day with his vitamin supplement will be good for now unless of course he starts losing weight or is away from mom for over 2 hours. Not so worried anymore. He's gaining and I'm losing. I've actually lost all the weight I gained and am back at pre-pregnancy weight as of Sunday (16th) putting me at 136lbs. I was about 10 lbs over what I normally like to be at (125) so I hope I keep losing. I can at least fit into my clothes again, for the most part. Kaili still wears premie outfits and diapers but is fitting in lots of newborn size outfits and diapers also!!! He's feeling more 'baby' sized these days. He has started to stare at his hands more, suck on his hands more and is taking his binky for longer when upset....aka not being held or nursed. All he does is eat, eat while sleeping, while awake, and between poopy diapers. He reacts to our voices and stops crying when Adrian sings to him :)He cries. Adrian never did so it's a new sound to get used to but sometimes I just can't get to him as quickly and so he cries. He stops when held, fed, talked or sung to...except when put in his carseat. He hates his carseat. He usually falls asleep when the car is moving though but sometimes has to cry himself to sleep. Having a second child is so much different than the first. Not everything is as urgent or unknown or surprising. It is just as enjoyable only in a different more relaxed way. Of course with Kaili being so early, I had other worries. I worried about him being early, gaining weight, not being ready to be born, being born by induction affecting him, etc...in the end, it's better he was born early due to the complications of not growing but what are the alternate affects. Kaili also didn't have a 'smell' like Adrian did. I actually just started noticing one this week which is comforting for some reason. I just remember always sniffing Adrian and kissing him, like some instinct for bonding. Of course this made me worry that I wouldn't bond as well to Kaili..I think we're doing okay though. He definitely stops crying every single time I hold him, whether or not I feed him. I like the Ergo carrier!!! He rests against my heart and falls right to sleep hearing my heartbeat. This is good for bonding also. We take walks, go shopping, and get stuff done around the house with it. We are borrowing a carseat and snap&go stroller where the carseat snaps directly into the stroller base!! Very handy for this infant stage. I cannot carry that carseat if gains any weight as it is heavy on it's own. Thanks to Rachel and Mike and Leo!! Adrian is doing great...no real jealousy issues. Of course he needs and gets attention and acts out when he's not getting what he needs but that's to be expected and he does not seem to associate it with not getting attention because of his brother. He constantly says 'Our baby is so cute' and tonight he said 'I really love my brother'! He always says "I want to see his face' and " I want to kiss his face" and "I want to hold him". He shows off his baby to his friends at preschool and checks out their babies...I guess 3 year olds tend to have baby siblings. Adrian has been intersted in 'family structures' and we have been talking about how each family member is related to each other in other ways than how they are related to Adrian. He finds this very interesting. He has been very interested in tractors, trains, and of course Halloween lately. On Saturday 15th we went to Fitzler's Corn Maze and only had time to do a few things: slide, barrel train and jumping pillow. We have tickets that are good until Halloween so we'll go back next weekend probably to do the corn maze, the monster, and more slides, maybe some pumpkin or corn cannons, and campfires. On the 22nd is the Zombie Crawl, Zombie Ball and during the day some Zombie children events which we'll take the Zombie Children to. We want to do the Treatsylvania trick or treating at Lee Martinez Farm and also the Tiny Tots Trick or Treating downtown on the 31st. We may also go trick or treating in the neighborhood. Halloween is Barry's favorite...as we speak he is perfecting his facial prosthetics for his zombie makeup. I haven't decided if I'm going out on the 22nd as a Zombie or not...since it'd be a late night.

RIDING THE BARREL TRAIN

3 Weeks Old

Kaili is 3 Weeks old Today! He feels a little chunkier too! He's sleeping 3-3.5 hours at a time once in awhile. He's eating between 1-3 oz at a time in a bottle. He nurses every 1 to 2 hours usually. His due date was 2 days ago on Wednesday the 12th. I will probably take him to another weight check on Monday after Mom's group at the church that Adrian attends preschool at. Some of the mom's get together for an hour or so on Monday mornings to chat and share ideas about parenting, life, etc. It's some nice adult time. Adrian is still doing great with him. He talks about all the things his little brother will do when he gets bigger. We've kept busy with playdates, friends over, preschool, library and park trips, and visits to daddy's work! We've made special outings to see construction sites also! Occasionally Adrian will be naughty and lick the baby, put his feet near the baby, try to take his blanket, but really just trying to get my attention. Considering the amount of time that I hold Kaili and feed him I'm surprised that he's not more jealous. I do spend one on one time with Adrian and include him in big boy activities, etc as usual. Not much is different for him. We are working on writing our name, getting dressed on our own, picking out clothes that match on days we don't have preschool, listening to mom on the first try, not interrupting, and continuing work on manners, letters, being kind to the animals, social skills with friends, not whining, accepting that no means no and mom always means what she says, and cleaning up our toys, home and self on an ongoing basis. All is going well. It is harder with 2 because it's busier. I can't imagine going back to work and it streses me to think about it. I have until December 20th. I love being off and being able to keep the house neat and clean, and being around to hear Adrian playing and learning and being able to take him to things that I otherwise would not be able to except on the weekends. I also like knowing what he eats, when he sleeps, what he does every minute of the day!

Oh and working on not drawing on our face...only happened once...but he also drew on his cousin Maddox's face...

New Baby Pictures

Week 1 Hectic Week

Wee Steps Appointment: Kaili lost more weight. Need to pump and feed him 1-2 oz at least 8x a day on top of regular feeds every 2 hrs. HaHa...who has this much time in a day. 9/27. Adrian sick with allergies or cold, asthma is flairing up. Had to go in to Dr. today. On liquid steroids, serious cough meds, and inhaler. Still making it to preschool though. Had to take to Dr. appt first day on own with kids. 9/27. Kaili will only take the Born Free Bottle. I have one glass bottle 9oz. Seems funny feeding him 1 oz out of htat big bottle. took first bottle 1.5 o at 7:30pm. 9/27. Took 6oz total 9/28 in 5 bottles. Getting better at taking the bottle. Also started the pacifier with him in the hospital. Didn't start early enough with Adrian and he never took it. 9/28 My rings fit me again. 9/29 I'm sick...allergies or sinus infection :( Down to 147lbs from 157. 9/30 Kaili has boogery eyes and nose :( Playdate for Adrian at Springfied park with Liza nd the boys. Weight check of Kaili gained 3 oz 5lbs 12 oz!!! Mom gets Massage today!!!

Labor and Delivery

Went to hospital around 3pm on 9/22. Checked in and Audra showed up. We ordered dinner from Obee's! Yummy Turkey and Swiss on Rye. Iced tea. Induced at 6pm with Cook Cervical Ripening Balloon. Slept from 11p to 1am. Balloons fell out on their own at around 1am. Was 4.5 cm dilated and 80%. At 4am was 6.5 cm and 80%. At around 4am nurses and doctors rushed in...the baby had moved and they had lost his heart beat on the monitor. I could feel him moving. They gave me a shot of Terbutaline to stop labor temoporarily and hooked up the IV and turned on all the lights. They found his heartbeat on the ultrasound. Labor started back up again in 20 minutes. They had picked up my heartbeat around 60-85bpm instead of his around 120-160bpm. Got in hot bath around 6am. I was eating the entire time to keep up energy. Jello, chicken broth, energy bar, apple juice, water, ice chips, more jello and crackers. I was starving the entire time. Contractions were 2-4 minutes apart entire labor. Did get harder because I was so tired. Horrible back pain because he was 'sunnyside up' where his head scraped my tailbone the whole time. I slept between contractions and they would come on suddenly and wake me up. No pain meds. Stuck at 9cm and 90% for four hours from 9-11:59am. Was pushing anyway. Finally got past it and he was born...a little blue but started crying right away. He scored 8 at 1min and 9 at 5min on Apgar Score. Born on 9/23 after 18 hours of labor at 11:59am. He was tiny: 5lbs 15oz. 19.5 in long. I got to hold him for awhile. I tore 1 degree and got a few stitches. Got pitocin to help contract uterus because I was so tired, and so were my muscles that I kept bleeding and getting blood clots. A local for the stiches and some IBU for the rest of the hospital stay. After stitches, got to hold and feed him right away. He figured out nursing right away. We ordered lunch, got dressed in new gown, and packed up and got wheeled to our Women's care room. Adrian had Grnadma and Grandpa sleep over at his house the night before. Julie brought Adrian by to meet his little brother around 3pm. He was so excited and just asked 'where's my baby?'. He held him and kissed him and showed him off to his cousins. He was very excited!!! So loving!!! Then he got to go to spend the night (his first sleepover) at Cavyn's house. You never get real sleep in the hospital...although I did try to sleep more than I did with Adrian. I was so excited with Adrian that I didn't want to sleep. I figured I better get some sleep though. We were awake for over 24 hours before we got any sleep so it was much needed. Barry stayed on the window cot and snored through a couple of nurses visits. I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 prepared meals each day. We ordered our steak and lobster dinner for lunch on 9/24 as Barry was planning on going home with Adrian if Kaili and I didn't get to leave that day. We ended up going home around 8:30 on 9/24. Barry went with Adrian around 3pm to go celebrate with icecream and then they went home to clean up and organize for baby. We weren't quite expecting him home this soon although thankfully I kept worrying he would come early and had gotten his room pretty much set up...at last all the baby items unpacked, and the clothes washed and bought some diapers. Then they came to pick up mom and Kaili from the hospital. We made a quick stop at sunflower market and then went home.

Baby Comes Home Early

On Wed Sept 21, I went to my 37 week appt at Women's Clinic. I was still measuring 33 weeks. We decided to do an ultrasound to rule out restricted growth, low amniotic fluid, etc. after measuring 32 at 33 weeks, 33 at 34 weeks, 33 at 36 weeks, and still 33 at 37 weeks, we neeeded more information to make a decision. Barry had to leave the appt and take Adrian to preschool. It was also his first day as a parent teacher. I went to the ultrasound at 1130am and we found less than 3 cm of fluid, normal range is 10-25 but they don't worry until it's below 5cm. It was below and he was measuring at 34 weeks size. His vitals all looked good, and the blood flow through the ubilical cord looked good. We decided not to induce that day because he seemed ok but we decided that he should be induced Wed or Thursday since he was still doing well and could tolerate labor probably. THe worry with waiting was that he wouldrun out of reserves and not go through labor well if we waited which could end in a c-section. They ran a non-stress test where the moitor the heart beat and contractions for 20 minutes to make sure that the baby is acting normally. He was so they let me leave with the plan to go to PVH at 730am 9/22 Thursday. I still had to wrap up 3 weeks worth of work in (really no time since I was given a note to be done wiht work immedietely) 2 hours. I went to work, handed out my files to everyone who was appointed to cover my cases, said goodbye and left work at 430pm, earliest ever. I still have to modify my timesheets and figure out when I"m supposed to go back to work. It was going to be Jan 10 if i went on my due date but probably will be before Christmas now. After getting home and grieving a little overthis being the last night with my boy boy Adrian. We celebrated/mourned by getting a video from the video store adn watching it together: Heffalump Halloween-Winnie the Pooh, which he LOVES!

Week 37

So tomorrow marks 'Full Term' even though we have three more weeks of cooking! Hopefuly he's measuring 37 weeks because I don't want to have to argue with the midwives about my rights, about my intentions, and about what is good for my baby. That just adds stress to my already stressful nature/life. Work is such a neverending race. I have a goal of 'catching up' but the nature of this work is such that that will never happen. I have been doing really well about not bringing work home, ha...maybe not having enough motivation to work at home. I have saved every moment of my weekends for Adrian, the baby and Barry and myself. Barry on the other hand has worked the last two weekends. That is nice since we are hoping to have 3 months of rent saved for while I'm on leave. I'll only gt 48 hr paychecks instead of 80 hrs due to the time I have saved up of sick, vacation, and holiday time. I will get approimately half of my paycheck since I will still have to cover insurance. I'm gtting more and more excited about our baby coming home! Adrian and I were disussing the job of brothers: to take care of each other, be kind to one another, teach and love each other...and he says very seriousy after quietly thinking for a little while "That's a big job." The other day we were discussing the baby and my taking off work for some time and being able to stay home but then having to go back to work after that. He says 'mommy and daddy go to work and Adrian stays home with the baby' and I asked him who would take care of him and the baby at home, he replied 'no, mommy and daddy go to work and adrian takes care of the baby'.I think he's ready for a brother!

Went to 36 week appointment. Uterus measuring 2-3 cm under...33-34 cm therefore. They want to do an ultrasound right away...but schedule me 6 days out. I canceled that appointment because if it was an emergency they would have got me in right away. I also talked to the midwife about waiting another week to see. She was pretty insistent that if it's under still they will want to do the ultrasound 1. because they can't do non-stress tests unless an ultrasound warrants for insurance purposes...of which neither would make a baby grow but would let them watch the baby. 2. They can tell fluid levels, blood flow levels and actual size of baby through an ultrasound. 3. They may want to get baby out sooner if not growing...and talked a lot about babies dying if they stop growing. Seriously...I hate medical intervention. I told her babies die even if they try to intervene... and I told her the only reason I'm going to the doctor is because I don't need a call to social services when I go the hospital to give birth but I'm perfectly fine and can have a healthy pregnancy without intervention...I told her that I'm not going to do tests on the baby unless it's an emergency....which I do not feel it is...since when she said 2cm under and ultrasound first until I questioned her about professionals not usually recommending ultrasound until 3cm under...then she changed her story and said I was 3 cm under. Don't lie to me.

Anyways...if he's still under I'll probably end up doing an ultrasound but he probably will be fine. I feel bigger and he's moving a lot and had a good heart beat 129bpm at the last appointment.

My friend Jeff/Weez came to visit with his girlfriend Sky. They are traveling through in their house van. Adrian immedietely attached to them and begged them to stay longer and asked if he could go with them. They plan to come back in January or sometime in winter. Weez will finish Barry's tattoo!!!! Adrian would like to get a dinosaur tattoo on his forearm...we'll see. We stayed up till the wee hours of the morning eating thai food-chicken curry and Tom Ka Gai with (fresh picked) mushrooms from college ave in town and Jasmine rice. Yum.

Food is such a big part of friendship. Eating and especially cooking with is such a bonding experience. In this friendship, food is of essence...home cooked, hand picked, scavenged food is a part of our connection. Sharing similar interests: music-making music, making instruments, playing together and teaching one another is integral and scattered throughout conversation, alternative ideals to mainstream societal conformism, and honest opinions makes up the rest of it.

After a surprise visit, I always feel renewed and wish that my friends lived a little closer or could stay a little longer.

Adrian Update:
Allergies have been bad. I should have pre-treated with OTC allergy meds when the sneezing fits started last week but I didn't think ahead. My first inclination is not to give drugs so I often miss my opportunity to ward off the oncoming illness. Adrian now has allergy induced asthma situation going on where he has been needing his albuteral daily for the last 3 days. He's feeling better today than yesterday, having had lots of sleep, naps, chicken soup, and extra loving! He says "my chest hurts" and that he still wants to go to preschool. He's on his daily allergy dose again as he was in the spring and hopefully will be back to breathing okay soon. My allergies have been pretty bad lately as well. Hopefully they pass soon as well.
Grandpa and grandma came over to the house so Adrian could stay home since he wasn't feeling good. He likes when they come over. His favorite part of today was "grandpa playing outside with me". He was also excited that grandma washed his blue blankie for him since only his green one was clean.
We missed our back to school picnic since Adrian hasn't felt well and tonight we didn't want to take him out to get worked up running around. Barry reported that he climbed up on his lap when he got home and laid on his shoulder, then got down, got his blankies and climbed back up. Barry had a migraine anyway today so they took a late afternoon nap instead of the picnic. Much better idea.
I am the classroom playdo maker and I forgot to make it last weekend. I will have to make it this weekend and try to remember my monthly job from now on. Hopefully they haven't missed it. Maybe I'll make scented or sparkly kind for the first batch :)
Adrian had snack day where he brought cheese sticks and pretzels for the entire class. The kids all take turns.
Adrian made first day of preschool handprints and filled out an about me card. I love these little mementos. He reports that he's "5" years old and has a "brother brother" and his favorite thing to do is "ride his bike really fast". He recognzies his name on his button that he wears, on his apple, and chooses his mood for each day when he gets to class. He has an apple coat hanger and a cubby with his name on it. It's so amazin to see him sitting in circle time, or doing things other 3 year olds have done when Iwas the teacher and not the parent. Adrian being in preschool also reminds me how much I would like to be teaching instead of what I'm doing.
One thing Adrian would really like to do is ride the bus to school. I have to keep explaining that the bus doesn't go to preschool, and that some kids go to schools that don't have buses. Sometimes parents take their kids to school all the time. Maybe we should ride the city bus or the downtown trolley for fun one of these days instead.
In Fort Collins, parents have to take their kids to school of choice schools and if we stay in this neighborhood or most in this town, I would take him to another school. I would like him to attend a highly academic, possibly Core Knowledge school so that school pushes him academically. I'm thinking of Liberty Charter school. In order to get into Kindergarten he takes an entrance exam to test his level of knowledge. The expectation is pretty high and i like that. Barry and I can expose him to art, music, creative thinking and other sports or activities on our own but if we are bothw orking then he needs the school to actually teach him academics. He already knows his ABC's, can name the letter sound of words, can recognize certain words like 'Daddy' and 'Adrian' and is getting better at counting, and knows his shapes and colors. His vocabulary continues to increase and he's been explaining and recalling events more lately.

Baby Update:
Moving way less this past week. Still has bouts of activiity but must be sleeping much more. Last check up I measured less by 2 cm and then by 1 cm when he was moved around...so hopefully we're back on track for growth tomorrow's 36 week appointment because I'd rather not pay for another ultrasound. If he's more than 2cm under/over then they would want to do the ultrasound to rule out concerns. I feel smaller than with Adrian with only 4weeks left. I feel that I won't be able to wear some of the maternity clothes that I wore last time because I'll never fit into them this time. So weird.
I get the Group Beta Strep test tomorrow as well. I hope it's negative because I don't want to have to do anibiotics when I go into labor and their would be a big concern if I didn't want to do them because it's such a high risk to the baby's health, if the baby were to contract it in delivery which is a small chance. We discussed this being controversial since they test so early, it can go away before the baby is born, they won't retest, they'd want to give antibiotics even if it was gone after being retested. Basically they would call social services on me for neglect if I were to refuse the antibiotics is my imperssion. I hate medical professionals and having to go to the doctor. I ask a few questions and everyone gets worked up and defensive. I was treated more respectfully when I had questions at Salud which is usually the opposite of what I hear.

I'm looking for an Ergo baby carrier still. Found them online at Craigslist.com for $75 from local sellers, which is better than over $100 for new. I hear they are durable and ok to buy used. We'll still need to get the infant insert though...cheaper on the Ergo website than at babysrus or other stores.
Right now I'm looking at a black one with tan inside. Barry didn't like the sienna with stripes so much.

Our Preschooler

"Big Boys Go to School"


Adrian is a preschooler at First United Methodist Co-Op! He started today with an orientation but is excited to be dropped off as he told me 'next time mommy you go to work". Dad and mom came today for orientation to do a scavenger hunt, meet his teacher and classmates and to see the school together. On Friday will be his first full 2.5 hour day. He will attend regularly on Mondays and Wednesdays following the Poudre School District school calender. We practiced all sorts of scenarios such as what to call our teacher "Mrs. Gessler", speaking up when needing something, only letting Mrs. Gessler help in the bathroom, staying in the classroom, meeting new friends, etc. Adrian is so ready. When we talk about school he sings his ABC song to me.

Since getting Adrian's big boy bed with his memory foam mattress, he's slept in his bed every night!!! He is so proud of his big boy bed and shows it to everyone who comes over. He talks about how he was a "little boy when I was two" and how "once I was a baby". We read books about babies and being a big brother, that a new baby is coming and he explained to me there has to be a hole for the baby to come out, so I showed him the non detailed pictures in 'what to expect when you're expecting' as well as the pictures of the mommy feeding the baby. He accepts this but wondered if the baby 'takes sips of milk' now in the belly.

Tonight we also had our last FCEA Childbirth class until all the babies are born. Then we'll all meet up again for our post partum groups :) It was a good reminder and I'm glad we took it again. I hope everything goes as well with this baby as it did with Adrian. I am nervous about doing it again, but I was definitely not as nervous about the pregnancy this time around. I am nervous about this baby coming early mostly due to stress at work, but also because two will be harder than one, and the room is not set up and a name is decided on, childcare situation is so undecided, etc. I guess everything will work itself out as it does usually.

Work is (other peoples') mess mess mess which is my stress stress stress...This week is better than last week which means I haven't cried at work...although I did cry sitting on the kitchen floor last night. Four day work week...only two more days left. Today was good...no crying, getting out on time, feeling good about productivity, etc.

Baby boy is 35 weeks cooked! He has 5 more weeks left. He is at least 5 lbs and is getting long. Just getting fat is his job now. He still does lots of moving for running out of space but has noticebly slowed and may be resting up more now :) Last week at the appt I measured 2 cm less than 34 weeks but that is still within normal standard deviation. I asked the midwife to check his position and he was head down. Then she re-measured and I was only 1 cm off. In group tonight two women were also measuring off by 3 and 4 cm so they have ultrasounds scheduled to check growth. They are closer though to their due dates. I also feel like I'm gaining weight at a much faster pace. While I have only gained 21 lbs so far, at least 6 of those lbs were in the last couple weeks. I gained 35 with Adrian and 25-35 is healthy since my weight was healthy starting off. Less gained is less to lose though.

Sciatic nerve is bothering me quite a lot. Still going to physical therapy and doing exercises for it. My leg length was uneven by a lot a couple weeks ago, but  last week was even so I skipped this week and will go again next week. Heartburn has increased, so now I have a bottle of tums near my bed and have been raiding the first aid station at work as needed. Eating lots of bananas (do banana splits count?) and trying to stay hydrated to keep the leg cramps to a minimum. Not drinking enough water though because still getting some major contractions in the afternoon/evenings daily. Water and relaxing usually helps those dissipate. Much worse at remembering to take my vitamins this time around...probably every other night I do though.

We cleared out the office last weekend and moved in the baby furniture. Barry will steam clean the carpet, and I will start cleaning, folding and organizing baby clothes and supplies maybe this weekend. That will be fun!

August: Full of Fun

August 3, 2011: 30 Weeks

August 20th: 32.5 Weeks

Feeding Mama Cow

City Park Pool August 20th, Dinner at Aunt Laurie's and Uncle Wally's and a Walk to the Poudre

Brave Boy: Sliding down the water slide 

Hold your breath...

  Tour de Fat: 2011 (September 3rd) 

Paddle Boating at City Park: August 7, 2011

 August 13, 2011: 30.5 Weeks

Patti and Andy's Wedding: August 13, 2011  Every time we pass St. Joseph's in Fort Collins, Adrian asks about the wedding. What a good memory and and sense of direction! 

 New West Fest: August 14th

adrian is a big boy with a big boy bed

Adrian is 33 lbs, is 38.5 inches tall. He is talking, singing about everything and is joking and teasing now. He is testing his limits and has attitude sometimes. He teases by licking, by kiss licking where he goes to kiss you then licks you, he takes awhile to listen, he comes up with excuses to avoid doing what you ask like 'I'm cold' and 'I'm tired'. He loves to do his preschool practice (fine motor letter tracing), sing his ABC's although he skips a lot, LOVES to read: favorite right now is "Wild About Books" and he likes the Eric Carle Caterpillar and other Caterpillar to butterfly books. He knows all of his letters and can tell you the initial letter for words when asked. He is very interested in numbers and counting and likes to count his bites of food on his fingers. He loves to play with his food---where his food talks to him about being eaten and begs not to be eaten.
Adrian is pretty well behaved. He listens with reminders that it's not an option to listen, that he's a kid and has to listen to adults. He fights about having to brush his teeth, having to let mom take a turn brushing his teeth (get used to it kid that will happen till 7 years old at least). Otherwise, he's just a slow poke getting dressed and listening sometimes so those are things he gets in trouble for. He's a kind sharing friendly boy and gives lots of hugs and kisses. He wishes mom didn't have to work and lets me know, he asks if I can pick him up sometimes and just breaks my heart that I have to leave him every day to work.
I notice a definite change in his attitude around Grandpa Tim, where he gets whiney and likes to be carried "uppy". Grandpa Tim spoils him and carries him so he knows who to get to do what he wants....hahaha. When I do pick him up, he is surprised and asked me 'mommy can uppy me?' Yes sometimes but I'm not supposed to.
Adrian starts Preschool on Friday Sept 9th. He will attend FUMC Co-op and our orientation is tomorrow evening and Adrian's is Wed Sept 7. Adrian will attend Mon and Wed mornings. I hope working out transportation, covering our co-op days (10 per semester) and working will go smoothly.
Adrian is getting so big! He has a big boy bed we bought on Sunday now!
We found a real wood frame on Craigslist for $75, a new memory foam mattress at American Furniture Warehouse on sale (hopefully will last till he's 18 at least), and some new sheets and a 'Cars' (he picked it) comforter at Walmart.
Would have totally picked something cute and boy-ish like pirates or dinosaurs but of course he's 3 and wants a say...it's more fun that way.
I hate 'brand name' items, clothing, and toys for the most part but....we live in a very materialistic society that I know it will affect him. I try to veer from any toys that are logo driven...we do have one little Bob the Builder, a Woody and Rex from Toy Story, Thomas Train sets, and some cars from 'Cars' otherwise his toys are general multi use, non comercialized things.
Barry reorganized his room after putting his bed together. I can't decide if I want to get him a new dresser to match his oak bed frame. (I do). I mean if it is economically effective to do this...and hten move the baby dresser, changing table, and crib to the office or just move the changing table and the crib and use the dresser in there for baby stuff.
Barry says he plans to move the office this weekend. The crib is in their. So is a ton of other stuff. We'll move our desk downstairs to the den, get a tv arm for the wall above the fireplace and then actually set up a baby room before hte baby comes instead of at 1+ year old, as we did wih Adrian. Will this encourage me to use it more, to have him used to sleeping in his room? Maybe not, we'll still have a playpen set up in our room so I don't have to get up 4 times a night, assuming this is a normal baby that wakes up at night. It would still be nice to have an organized space that's the baby's though.
Anyways...Adrian is excited about his baby brother! We got a gift-left onour doorstep from our ex-babysitter Amber and her family of a baby blankie wubby that matches Adrian's little wubby, and Adrian's been excited about that. He wants to get hte baby a 'brown' blankie like his dot satin soft blankie so we'll have to go to do that soon so he has a gift for the baby when he meets him :)

32 Weeks

So I called the Midwives today and told them that I think I am supposed to come in since I'm 32 weeks. They told me that I was supposed to come in 2 weeks ago. Sorry I was busy vacationing in Maui then!!! Teehee. I did go in a week early though so they counted that as acceptable. Adrian doesn't understand who's sick when we go for check ups...I have tried explaining our society to him but it's still confusing. One of these day's he'll be brainwashed...hopefully not enough to not question every choice he makes though.

We are measuring exactly 32 weeks aka 32cm. 150 lbs so I guess gained total of 14 lbs so far from 136lb. Supposed to gain about a lb a week from here on out. All looks good. Hyper baby with fast heart beat! Adrian helps with the tape measure and with the dopler! He wants to name his baby 'Brother Brother'! He talks about when the baby is coming out and what he will share with the baby. After asking him if he would share his stroller...he said "i still fit in it". I guess not then.

We had Childbirth class tonight! I remember everything as we go through the class but I think it's good to get back in the mode of thinking about it all. It makes it more real and it's a good reminder for Barry since he's the one that will be there supporting me and needing to remember all the good tricks to help me. I try not to impose any thoughts about how I think this time will go because it could be similar or it could be totally different. I'll just take it as it comes. I have been wondering though in  hindsight whether Adrian was posterior or if it was my sciatica that caused such painful back labor last time. I'll have to check back in with my physical therapist again as the time is closing in.

Still wanting to do before baby gets here:

Figure out time off of work!
Set up baby room! Or why not wait a couple years since we know how soon they sleep in their own beds in this house!
Get Adrian a twin bed and frame!
Get an Ergo Baby carrier!
Pack bags for hospital! Write birth plan! Figure out birth plan first!
Finish Childbirth classes!
Wash newborn and 0-3 month clothes!
Figure out the plan for Adrian while we are at the hospital! Figure out how we want to introduce him to baby brother!
Pick a name or a few to choose from once we meet the baby~!

Adrian is doing so well with his letters and with counting. We are working on fine motor skills and doing practice preschool worksheets...he can make T's and L's and t's and l's. He was making letter shapes using his cars today as a game and talks to us about what our letters are and what our numbers (ages or weight etc) are. He can tell you the first letter of words as well by the sound, and can tell you what letter makes a sound. He pretends, has conversations I can understand on the phone, and jokes around more.

The other day he explained that he did not want to go to the bathroom alone at Great Gma and Gpa's house because "I'm chicken mom". Hilarious!

I'm taking it easy at work this week! Getting off on time, only working 8 hours a day, feeling good about what I get done and doing the rest tomorrow! Last week was a little ridiculous with just getting back from vacation and with the full moon~always throws everyone into a whirlwind.

Life is good! Lawn is dead but slowly trying to revive it. Didn't get to plant a garden this year...maybe next. Getting to do fun things like Vacation in Maui! Patti and Andy's Wedding! Appreciating my job for the insurance! Enjoying that insurance pays for massages and physical therapy! Going paddle boating-even though our boat leaked! Playing at the park! Introducing Adrian to fun movies like 'Finding Nemo' even though it scared him :) Raising an innocent empathetic child that fears 'Finding Nemo'. Eating good home cooked meals. Being pregnant again! Watching baby doing gymnastics! Listening to Adrian talk about being a big brother!

30 WEEKS-31 WEEKS

So I haven't called to make my next prenatal appointment yet. I bet they'll call me one of these days to let me know when I'm supposed to be in. I should also make another physical therapy appointment for my back too.
My sciatic nerve continues to bother me and my back was hurting the other day.
I do not feel tired as I remember last time I was pregnant. I am tired this week because I've been going to bed super late the past week. I actually can't believe it's friday already. What a crazy week at work!
Also we started our prenatal childbirth refresher course through FCEA!! It's pretty fun to think about doing it all over again and will be good to put our mindset back in baby mode.
I feel so good most of the time. Sometimes I forget that I've got a whole other human directly attached.
So baby is 16" and weighs more than 3 lbs on average at this time. Baby has been moving SOOO much lately. I can feel legs and feet and backs and sometimes I question whether there's more than one baby in there even. One cant have that much fun alone, can he? Adrian better watch out.
Braxton Hicks continue daily. Definitely get dehydration contractions. The other day at work, my back had a sharp pain and I got a little worried about my water breaking because with Adrian I felt the pop in my lower back when it broke. I was puffy today at court...my fingers were quite sausage-y.
Breaking out more thise week....probably too much candy eating while sitting in work meetings.

Maui Day 5

Maui is good for us:
adrian's allergies and stuffy nose cleared up by the 2nd day. he may have a cold now though and was coughing a lot today. maybe he'll sleep it off though since he fell asleep around 4 and looks like he'll sleep all night. he even slept through our banana/cane spider scare...moving the mattress around....walking on the mattress...and moving him...and just a little bit of screaming.

i've only had 2 out 4 nights wiht work dreams scattered in my night's sleep.
my sciatic nerve hasn't acted up every day or night, 1 out of 4 nights, and i'm sleeping on an air mattress or the couch and sitting in low beach chairs or on the sand.
i've had time to work with adrian on abc's and numbers. i like ABCya.com for games. we've borrowed an ABC book from the library as well.
Barry's been relaxed...fishing, snorkeling, taking it easy.
29 Weeks: That means 11 weeks left to finishcooking this baby. He's still very active despite reports that he will be less so.
Adrian fluctuates between kissing the baby brother belly and kicking the baby brother belly. He talks about sharing and taking care of the baby and sometimes doesn't want to talk about it and wants all the attention to himself. I think it will be hard for him to share the attention but I also think he'll be just fine and get the hang of being a good big brother.

Today is Thursday already 7/28/11. We ended up at Black Sand Beach in Makena. It was a little iffy at first...the black sand was hot and looked dirty when we first got there. That little quiet beach grew on us though. Despite no bathrooms and a bumpy ride down the hill...we enjoyed the peace and quiet together. There were tons of sea turtles riding the waves all day! Adrian was timid with the waves and never touched a toe to the water. He's such a nervous/anxious little kid and I remember and still am the same way. I worry that boy number 2 will be so adventurous it may give me a heart attack.
Barry snorkeled again and learned more from the locals about which fish to eat and catch. Enjoyed a sandwich on the beach and some leftover pizza and then for dinner pork ribs in teriayaki with mac salad and brown rice.

Checking out the scene upon arrival

Mommy and Grandma enjoying the cooling waves

Grandpa Adrian and Grandma

Sand Crabs surprisingly don't pinch and you can pick them up with bare hands. If you throw little pebbles, they chase them across the beach. One chased Adrian around for awhile...he thought that was pretty funny. I think it was confused because we blocked it's hole after throwing a pebble and then Adrian went to catch it, so it chased him!

Daddy, Mommy, Belly Baby, Adrian

Adrian and Daddy searching for crabs

Turtle Popping up to breath

Cliffs over ocean 

Enjoying the sand



Maui Day 4

7-27-11 Day 4: today we took a break from the beach. coffee, pineapple, eggs, rice and bacon for breakfast. grandpa went surfing at ho'okipa. grandma and mommy went to get manicure/pedicures and to walk around and have lunch at whole foods at the maui mall then visited grandma's art gallery and the library. daddy and adrian took a walk to the playground in pukalani. at home again, we watched monsters, inc. and then played a family game of soccer. adrian had a bath. barry cut up fresh sashimi and seasoned it for snack. pizza for dinner. over the hedge movie. bedtime.