Category: Kids & Parenting

A Little Sunshine Goes A Long Way

Published by dee on March 4, 2008

**For some reason comment notifications are not coming through to my e-mail all of a sudden. Since that is where I normally reply, I just wanted to let you all know I’m not ignoring you! I just didn’t know I was getting comments. Hopefully I’ll get that fixed soon.**

This weekend we finally had a little reprieve from the cold temperatures and dreary days. The sun was shining and it was beautiful out. My only complaint was the wind that just would not seem to die down. Knowing it was supposed to be warm, I told Hubby Friday night that I wanted to get outside Saturday and at least take Zach to the park to enjoy the sunshine a bit. I was also dying to get my new camera out and play with it a bit since I hadn’t had the chance to do any outdoor shots yet.

I thought it would be fun to have a picnic at the park, then give Zach some time to play and head home just in time for a nap. Since we didn’t really have any easy picnic-type food at home, we decided to stop at Sonic and just pick something up on the way. While we were waiting for our food, I was noticing just how windy it really was. We went ahead with our picnic idea though, and headed to the park. That proved to be an unfortunate decision as a big gust of wind ended up blowing Zach’s corn dog and fries all over the ground. It was quite a tragic experience, but as soon as we got him calmed down he insisted that we pick his food up off the ground so he could eat it anyway. Daddy’s replacement fries simply would not do. He wanted his! At least they had landed mostly on the concrete slab under the picnic table instead of in the mud and grass a few short feet away.

Once we were done eating, it was time for the fun stuff. Zach ran to the playground as I pulled my camera out to get a few shots. The wind was a little chilly, but the warm sun shining down helped a lot. Zach had a blast climbing and sliding while Hubby and I discussed the fact that this may be the last chance we have to do something like this with just one child.

Soon, other people started showing up to enjoy the sunshine. There was the quiet couple with the 2-year-old boy who seemed to prefer walking around in the grass to the slide. Then there was the couple with three kids and another on the way. The wife and I started chatting immediately as tends to happen when you get two pregnant women together. It turns out that she is due just a few days before me and we ended up talking for quite a while. It wasn’t long before the husbands started talking as well. Hubby and I were really enjoying their company and were very disappointed to find out that they were visiting from Minnesota. It is so rare that we meet other couples that we click so easily with. We were really hoping they lived nearby. We chatted a bit longer, switched cameras to shoot some family photos for each other, then said our good-byes and headed our separate ways.

When we got home from our little outing, Zach and I were both rather exhausted. He curled up on the couch for a nap while I flipped through the pictures I had taken at the park. I managed to get some great shots, but apparently had the camera settings all wrong because all of the pictures are rather fuzzy when you look at them larger. As long as I keep them small they look ok, but I’m afraid they won’t print well at all. I was pretty disappointed by that, but I guess there’s nothing I can do about it now but learn to do it better next time.

After looking through the photos, I realized that this may very well be the last photo of our little family as it exists now. Soon we will be a foursome, and while that is a wonderful, exciting thing, it also makes me just a little sad to say good-bye to this phase of our family’s life.

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36 Weeks

Published by dee on March 1, 2008

I’m to the point in this pregnancy where I really don’t want to post pictures of myself any more. The double chin, the enormous belly, and the widening hips just aren’t very flattering. I am so ready to be done and to finally have my body back to myself again. I know it will take a lot of work to get it back to normal after BabyG is here, but being able to walk without holding my back in the “pregnant lady stance” will be nice.

All was fine at my checkup this week. My belly is measuring 36 1/2 cm. BabyG’s heart beat is good and all that. I’m definitely feeling some pressure from her as she works her way down though. I’m pretty convinced that we aren’t going to make it to 40 weeks, but I could be wrong. Next week we have a sonogram to check BabyG’s size. Since Zach was a big baby, my doctor is a little bit worried about how big this one might be. I’m hoping she’ll decide to induce me a little early if I don’t go early on my own. We shall see.

The most unpleasant thing this week is that my ankles have started swelling. In a way it is good because it forces me to sit down and relax with my feet up. But, it also keeps me from doing all the things that I want to be getting done. I still can’t believe how much there is to get done before BabyG arrives, but I’m getting much closer. If she decided to come tomorrow I would still feel unprepared, but enough is ready that I wouldn’t be totally out of sorts either. All of the necessities are purchased. The crib is ready. The car seat just needs the cover put back on it. Yep, we’re ready enough.

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Consider the Other Ball Dropped

Published by dee on February 22, 2008

So the title of my Wednesday night post became eerily appropriate just a few hours later. I awoke Thursday morning to my phone ringing. On the other end was my dad’s wife saying that they were at the hospital and that my dad had a mild heart attack that morning. By that time he was stable and doing fine, but there were lots of tests yet to be run on him.

As the day went on and more reports came in, it was determined that he did not actually have a heart attack, but that he did have some inflammation and infection around his heart that was causing part of it not to work properly. I’m not really sure what all of that means, but it most definitely sounds better than a heart attack at his age.

My first reaction when I got the news was to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. Then I looked outside and realized that wasn’t going to be possible. The roads were covered in ice and according to the news and radio reports no one was getting anywhere very quickly in the city. On top of that, Zachary was still sick so I decided to stay home and wait by my phone instead of jumping in the car.

As it turns out, I made the right choice because by evening I wasn’t feeling so well myself. Apparently Zach’s illness was finally passed on to me after a week of him coughing and sneezing in my face.

On top of feeling quite crappy myself, Zach got extremely clingy and whiny last night. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him other than knowing that he didn’t get a nap so I was quite frustrated with all the whining. Nothing seemed to make him happy. He wanted a drink, then he didn’t want a drink. He wanted his blanket, then he didn’t want his blanket. He wanted to be held, then he didn’t want to be held. Rinse, repeat, all night long. By about 3:00 a.m. he was whining and moaning so much that I finally just got up with him.

I finally ended up propping myself up on a pile of pillows and sitting up in the bed for the rest of the night with him lying on my shoulder. Shortly after that I figured out what the problem was. He had finally calmed down enough to talk to me and told me that there was water in his ear. Suddenly it all made sense. The boy now has an ear infection. I think he finally relaxed and fell back asleep around 5:00 and I followed shortly after. When my alarm went off at 6:20 I wanted to kill it. I let myself hit the snooze button for about another hour before getting out of bed. When I finally made it up and to the bathroom the first thing I noticed was a bunch of icky ear drainage on the shoulder of my shirt where Zach had been sleeping.

I was dialing the doctor’s office as soon as they opened at 8:30 and was able to get Zach an appointment to see the nurse practitioner. The consensus was that he most likely has the flu, although it is too late in the cycle now to medicate it so they didn’t bother with the flu test. I guess I should have pushed a bit harder for them to test him on Monday when they told me it was most likely just a virus that would pass in a few days. All of the congestion apparently pushed the crud into his ears and caused the nasty ear infection. Fortunately, it is only one ear (for now) and the other one was still completely clear. At least I know that the tubes are working because there is all kinds of stuff draining from the infected ear.

After the doctor’s office, I took Zach home, gave him some Motrin for the pain and the first dose of his antibiotic ear drops, and had to leave him with Granny and Papa so I could get to work. I’ve hardly worked at all this week and I’m feeling terrible about that. At least I was fairly caught up at the end of last week so I’m not really behind at all. I just didn’t get ahead of things like I had planned on doing this week.

At this point, I am just so done with this week. I want it to end so I can move on to better times. We have no big plans for the weekend other than to enjoy visiting with the in-laws. Personally, I plan to sleep in as long as possible for the next two days and try to make up for all of the sleep that I’ve missed out on all week.

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Waiting for the Next Ball to Drop

Published by dee on February 20, 2008

It’s nearly 10:00 on a Wednesday night and I’m sitting here contemplating whether I should blog or just go to bed. Obviously the blogging is winning out, although the burning in my eyes suggests I should be in bed instead. The last few days have been quite tiring and I’m not really sure when or if I’m ever going to feel truly rested again.

The weekend started out in a cleaning frenzy. With my in-laws arriving Tuesday and my lack of ability to do any physical activity for more than about 10 minutes at a time, I knew I had my work cut out for me. Fortunately Hubby was very helpful and my mom even ended up coming over and pitching in a bit.

Saturday afternoon, a good friend of mine had a baby shower for me over at my mom’s house. Hubby and Zach ended up coming along since there were going to be some other kids there. Shortly after we arrived at my mom’s house (and just before people started showing up) I realized Zach was running a fever. His nose had been running the night before but I didn’t think anything of it until the fever started up. Luckily my mom had some Tylenol at her house and that helped knock the fever down a bit.

The shower was nice. I ended up getting several things that I needed and wanted, as well as some other really cute things that I didn’t expect at all. Plus, I got to eat some yummy food and cake! All in all, it was a good time.

After the shower I was exhausted, but there was still cleaning to do. My mom came over to the house to help me out for a while. Zach fell asleep on the way home and was pretty much out for the rest of the night. His fever kept creeping higher in between doses of Tylenol and Motrin. The poor kid was just miserable.

Sunday morning we woke up to what they said was going to be our worst snow so far this year. My mom, who absolutely hates driving in snow, called saying she was on her way over. I had asked her to come over to keep Zach while Hubby and I went to church because we had a couples baby shower being thrown for us and another couple from our church that afternoon. Even though the snowfall wasn’t really that bad, the roads were terrible. Had it not been for the baby shower, we wouldn’t have ventured out at all and I certainly wouldn’t have asked my mom to drive in it.

By the time church and the baby shower were over, the snow had pretty much melted away. The roads were clear and it was nice and sunny outside. We got home to find Zach snuggled up with Grandma and his fever up to 103 degrees. Another dose of Motrin knocked it down for a while, but I went ahead and called my boss to let him know I wouldn’t be at work Monday.

Monday was spent snuggling with Zach, doing some last minute cleaning, and taking Zach to the doctor. They tested him for strep, checked his ears for infection, asked a million questions, and finally decided that he just has a virus that has to run its course. By that time his fever had broken and he was acting a million times better so I was feeling a little foolish for taking him to the doctor. I was ready to send him back to school on Tuesday, but his fever decided to spike back up that evening. I was supposed to be picking my in-laws up at noon on Tuesday, so I made another call to my boss and we agreed that I should just stay home with Zach until after the in-laws got here.

Tuesday morning I woke up around 5:00 with terrible cramping in my stomach. My first thought was that I was having contractions, but I quickly realized that was not the case. Not sure whether I was going to throw up or not, I forced myself out of bed and into the bathroom. I spent a very unpleasant hour in the bathroom before informing Hubby that there needed to be a change of plans for the day. There was no way I was driving to the airport to get his parents so he was going to have to leave work early to go get them.

Instead of getting back in bed, me and my germs went and crashed on the futon for a couple of hours. At some point Hubby left for work. Then I awoke to Zach crying when he realized no one was in bed with him anymore (he ended up sleeping in our bed and woke up to find mommy and daddy both gone). Once I got him calmed down a bit, we made a big bed out of the futon, watched movies, and spent the day laying around until Hubby got back to the house with his parents.

I felt like a pretty terrible hostess, but tried to perk up a bit once they were here. We visited for a while, then had dinner. While I was trying to force down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Zach climbed up on my lap and snuggled up. I could tell he wasn’t feeling well and a few seconds later I was covered in puke. It was a great ending to a lovely day.

Zach was still running a fever this morning so he stayed with Granny and Papa while I attempted to go to work. I was feeling much better, but very worn down. I must not have looked very good because my boss told me to go home early if I needed to. I ended up staying until around 3:00 and left at that point because I wasn’t really doing much good being there. I had no energy left and my head was killing me from looking at the computer screen.

Shortly after I got home, I got a text message from my friend (the other recipient of the joint baby shower) saying that she had her baby. She wasn’t due until March 7th, so it was quite a surprise. Mom, Dad, and baby are all doing fine. I’m dying to go visit but until we make sure we’re rid of the germs around here I’ll have to stay away.

The rest of my evening was actually rather relaxing and now that I’ve wrapped this up, I’m ready to get to bed and get some sleep. Everyone else has turned in for the night but I can still hear Zach coughing in the back of the house. I just wish there was something I could do to make him feel better.

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34 Weeks

Published by dee on February 15, 2008

I’m going to attempt to take a break from the computer this weekend basically because I’m going to have pretty much no free time at all. I have two baby showers this weekend, one thrown by a friend, and another by my Sunday School class at church. I’m looking forward to both of them. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited about getting wee little baby things in the form of presents! Who doesn’t like presents?

In between the two baby showers, I’ll be cleaning my house like a mad woman because my in-laws are coming up next week. Let’s just say house cleaning hasn’t exactly been on my priority list for the last couple of months so there’s a LOT of work to do. Fortunately, hubby is more than willing to help out and do the heavy work that I can’t do right now. I just have to figure out how to keep Zach from trashing it as we clean!

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Love Notes

Published by dee on February 14, 2008

(scrapbook layout from Girl Talk’s Love Struck Valentine’s Album)

Dear Hubby,

On this Valentine’s Day, I just want to thank you for putting up with me. I know I’m not always the best wife or the easiest person to get along with (especially when I’m pregnant). You have shown a lot of patience lately and for that I’m very grateful. I know I gripe and complain a lot, but regardless of what you think, I do actually appreciate you. I know you don’t think I show it enough but I really do love you and need you. I couldn’t make it through this world without you by my side.

Love,
Me

p.s. If you could have dinner ready when I get home, that would be great!

Dear Zachary,

You are without a doubt the light of my life. Before you came along, I had no idea that I could love anyone as much as I love you. There are days when you frustrate me to no end with your tantrums and stubbornness, but in the end all it takes is a hug to make me melt into a puddle and forgive you. You are growing up so very fast that I can barely keep up. You are quite the companion these days and I’m really going to miss all of the time we spend together after your baby sister arrives. I guess that will make it even more special when we have a few quiet moments together, just the two of us. I just hope you will always remember that you are my special boy and no one can take your place.

Love,
Mommy

p.s. Please go to bed on time tonight. Your daddy deserves a little snuggling too and I would really like to watch Lost uninterrupted. Thank you in advance.

Dear BabyG,

We have just about six weeks left on this little journey together. Soon you will join your daddy, big brother, and I in the outside world. Each day that goes by I feel a stronger and stronger bond with you. As you move around and push on my belly I feel a connection with you that I just cannot explain. When I place my hand on my belly, you often push back as if you are trying to reach out to me too. Each time it happens feelings of love just wash over me. You are the little girl that I have dreamed of my entire life and I can’t believe that my dream is finally becoming a reality. You are already so very loved by so many people. We absolutely cannot wait to meet you.

Love,
Mommy

p.s. Feel free to start knocking on that door a couple weeks early if you are ready. I would love to have you here by Easter if at all possible.

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