Please Pray

This post isn't for myself or Brian, but a friend of mine. I went to high school with her and she just had a little girl a week ago. She posted earlier on Facebook that they had been admitted to the hospital because Ember was turning blue/purple around her nose and mouth and would stop breathing at times. She just updated her page and they have ran blood work, have an IV and antibiotics going, she has been cathed, chest x-rays, and a spinal tap. My friend is having a hard time with everything. You have to remember Ember is only a week old. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. I really hope they figure out what is wrong with her and get her better soon

Just a quickie (:

I just have a quick post. I have to keep it short because I really need to go to sleep and I have class tomorrow afternoon! YAY!!! So I got my angel wings today and I have to say I LOVE them! They are black and pink and the detail is done in white. They are more than I could have ever dreamed about!

Ok and I have to tell you about a really cool giveaway that will be going on over at Minnesota Mama's Must Haves. They are going to be giving away all sorts of things including an organic crib mattress, a bassinet, a Keekaroo high chair, and tons of other things! The giveaways start on September 1st and last all month long so join in on the fun and enter to win some amazing items!

16 Months

Well Brian is in a big boy bed now. He decided that he was going to start climbing out of his crib and I though now was the time to put him in a toddler bed. I let him pick out his own bedding (Cars) and he loves it! We went a few days ago and toured some day cares. One I know for sure he will not be attending. They were kinda rude and I don't feel they are sanitary enough for him to attend. They have all the kids cups mixed together so every one's cups are touching each other. We have had one to many bouts with Thrush and I am not willing to risk it. I think he may go to the head start day care I looked at. There are 11 kids in the class with 4 teachers. If he acts out then he will get personal one on one time with the teacher and they won't kick him out for his behavior. I was also looking at La Petite day care and while I liked them, I'm not as sure that they are the one's for us. Brian was shy when we first went in then wanted down to play. This little girl walked up and gave him a hug and he hugged her back. Then something snapped with him and he got mad and started pulling the girl's hair and biting her. I think he may have just been overwhelmed by the amount of kids as that was the most kids he's ever been around. The only thing I don't like about head start is I will have to take a Dr's note so that I can provide his dipes and wipes as well as his own cup. They provide Pamper's dipes and wipes, which Brian is allergic to the wipes and I refuse to use the Dry Max on him, so we will have to bring our own which is fine. Brian went to Rebel Rally with me at my old high school. It was great to see some faces I haven't seen in a while as well as the new school. I have to say though I kinda teared up standing as alumni and doing the Alma mater at the end. Man do I miss high school. Brian had a blast dancing, laughing, and clapping at everything. Like usual, when they did the pledge he kept talking. We've been having some trouble getting Brian to sleep. He gets 2nd and 3rd wind and wants to stay up until 3 in the morning. This past week he was better, but wanted momma to sit on his bed until he was asleep. I obliged, but I will very slowly start moving further away so eventually I can just put him in bed and he will go to sleep. He is doing remarkably well for being in a toddler bed so early. I have to admit I was scared he wouldn't sleep in it at all or he would be into everything. He's been really good though and when he wakes up he either plays until he wants something or he will climb in bed with me and snuggle for a little while, which I admit I love. Brian has recently learned some new words such as nugget, another, drink, fishy, mom (which has been his favorite word this past week), go, what, mouth, eye, and ear. I also taught him to do "piggy piggy piggy, oink pink" He laughs and walks around oinking lol! Next we'll be working on cow, then duck, horse, and chicken. He already knows cat and dog. I'm hoping to soon get some family pictures done. I don't have any with the 3 of us so it will be great to have those. Travis and I briefly talked about it, but nothing said was set in stone. Well I am off to bed. Today will be a test from God as it's the 2 year anniversary of when I lost Lilly. I'm praying today won't be to tough on me. I'm thinking about getting her angel wings done today in memory of her.

Brian and my friend's daughter. He was so gentle with her it amazed me!

My Birth Story

I went to the hospital about 9am on April 18, 2009. I had been contracting regularly since the 15th, but L&D sent me home saying that I wasn't contracting. I followed up with my midwife, Brenda, the next morning and allowed for her to check me. In 11 hours I went from 0cm dilated and 65% effaced to 1cm dilated and 70% effaced. I cried tears of joy! I knew I was in labor and I would soon be holding my little bundle of joy. Because I was over due they did an ultrasound to check my placenta and check the baby to make sure there was no reason to induce. The first time the baby wouldn't move. The tech sent me back out into the waiting room with some juice and crackers to see if we could wake him up. I went back in 20 minutes later and nothing. He moved a few times, one of which was the middle finger to us (he is my child lol), and she said he was not scoring what she needed. I was scared. I called Travis and my family to let them know what was going on. I talked to Brenda and was sent next door to the high risk office. There they did an intake and prepared me for an ultrasound. Of course me walking woke him up so he was moving around. They checked everything and hooked me up for a NST. By then Brian had relaxed and went back to sleep, preparing for his big arrival. They checked the strip and his HR looked good, but no movement. I asked them to place the monitor in a certain spot. They did and it then started showing my contractions! I was contracting every 3-4 minutes lasting 30-45 seconds! They were still mild, but I knew they were the real deal. They released us and sent us back over to talk to Brenda. I didn't want to be induced, but my placenta had calcifacations on it and I was told if we didn't have a baby by Monday I would be rechecked and she was about 98% sure we would induce, but she told me that she was 99.9% sure we would be having a baby this weekend. I asked what I could do to help things along besides sex. Sex and being overdue just does not work, plus it made me very sick (weird I know). I was told to walk as much as I could and was given the ok for Evening Primerose Oil (EPO). We went home and I took a small nap then Travis and I went up to the park and walked. I swear, that mile was the longest, hardest mile I have ever walked in my life! Things were coming regularly now. Travis was supposed to work, but decided that calling off was best. I felt like things were progressing fast and I was scared. I needed my hubby by my side to hold my hand and tell me everything would be ok. We walked back to the house and laid down. I went to Wal-Mart and walked the whole store then went home and went to sleep. I was up and down all night as my body would adjust to the contractions and then they would intencify. I went to Wal-Mart and Sam's with Travis's mom the next day. We again walked the whole store, every isle, and by the time we left I was contraction so bad that I would have to lean on the shelves and breath through them. We decided to go out to dinner that night as it would more than likely be my last meal for a while. We went to Red Lobster and I PIGGED out! No joke! I had 21 pieces of jumbo butterfly shrimp, 2 full house salads, 4 biscuits, half of a foundue thing, then had another biscuit and rice krispie treats when we got home. I tried to lay down, but my contractions were getting more intense and they were hurting. At one point I was in the living room with the family, Travis and his brother were fighting. I got up and went to the bathroom. I lost my mucous plug and my water had partially broke, but the baby plugged it. My contractions were now 200 times worse. I went back into the living room and tried to talk, but couldn't get a word in. Finally I yelled "excuse me please!" They stopped and looked at me and very calmly I said, "Im in labor." I believe Travis said yeah we know. I explained that I lost my plug and I thought my water had broke and that my contractions were now worse. We decided to go lay down and go to bed. That was 3Am. Fast forward to 9Am. I woke up and had to be pushed out of bed to go to the bathroom. My contractions were worse and they were about a minute apart lasting about 1 to 2 minutes. I knew it was time. I went to the bathroom and discovered that I was having my bloody show. I went back to the bedroom and woke Travis up. I told him it was time. I called the midwife while he woke up his mom and we got ready to go. The whole way there I thought that we would never make it. Before the ride didn't seem so long, now it seemed to take forever. We finally got there and I was admitted. I was 3cm dilated and 80% effaced. I walked the halls and tried the birthing ball, but my contractions were so intense that I couldn't breathe through them. I ended up getting an epidural, but the way I see it is that I went about 75 hours natural and for me thats good enough. As soon as I got the epidural the baby turned back like he was supposed to be. I was able to relax though and get some sleep. They broke my water and the baby had pooped while still inside so it was explained that NICU would be on hand so as soon as the baby was delivered they could take over and do what they needed. Things were progressing along rather slow. About 8Pm I was checked and I was about 7cm dilated 95% effaced. We were told it would be early the next morning when we would have a baby. Well they were wrong. My epidural had wore off and I knew I was ready. My L&D nurse came in and checked me and I was ready. She wanted me to do a few practice pushes to make sure my body was ready. After the first I was told not to push because she could see his head. They called for Brenda and I waited for what seemed like forever. I tried and tried not to push, but finally I told everyone they better get someone in my room to catch because I was fixing to start pushing and I would deliver the baby myself if I had to. It seemed like everyone started running in and we were ready to go. My sister Brandy coached me through and after about 10 minutes of pushing he was out! I remember my first though and I think my first words out of my mouth were, "My stomach is flat again!" They took the baby to look over him and make sure he was fine and weigh him. I delivered the placenta and was stitched up. I had a second degree tare, but it wasn't anything big. The baby was fine and weighed in at a whopping 7lbs 15oz and was 20.5 inches long. He had a head full of blonde hair and the beautiful blue eyes. I cried. I couldn't believe I was a mommy. My life was changed forever now. He nursed perfect the first time and I allowed them to take him to the nursery to get cleaned up while I was moved up into my room. Overall my delivery went good. There were somethings I wish I could have changed or tried, but Im happy and no regrets. 

Im A Big Kid Now!!

Tonight is night 1 of the toddler bed. I really hope he likes it more than the crib because he isn't so confined. He's already tumbled out of it once, but it wasn't anything big and he wasn't hurt. He climbs in and out of it and seems to like it. I let him pick out his bedding. I was surprised he didn't go with SpongeBob too. He wanted Cars! I would MUCH rather look at Lighting McQueen than a bright yellow sponge, no offence SpongeBob. So far so good. He is even wearing his Cars pj's. I can't wait for him to have his own room so I can decorate it in Cars stuff. Well Im off to bed.

He's Growing Up

Well tonight I put Brian in his crib and was laying in bed online. Something told me to look up and boy am I glad I did! Brian was straddling his crib! One leg over the other leg in. For right now I am going to full time co sleep with him because I don't feel comfortable having him in a toddler bed just yet. He is just growing so quick though! The last few days have been crazy for us too. I had to take Brian in to the Dr on Tuesday because he only slept like 3 hours and was inconsolable. The Dr couldn't figure out what was wrong so she sent us on to the children's hospital. They did an X-ray of his abdomen and said he was extremely constipated. Nothing they tried worked so they sent us home with Miralax. We were back at the hospital by 10pm because he was walking around holding his tummy screaming. He had a poop, but it wasn't a lot. The next day he seemed fine. He went to Travis Wednesday evening and I thought everything was fine. Travis called me Thursday and said that Brian was now having acidic dirreah and he wanted me to call the pediatrician and see what they wanted us to do. They wanted us to go have another X-ray done so we could make sure that there wasn't something else going on and that he was just cleared out. Sure enough he was cleared out. They had him taking 17g everyday, which to me seemed like WAY to much. After talking to the pediatrician that saw us Thursday evening I know it was to much. She said that they should have only had him on a teaspoon of it everyday.

Sir Chats A Lot

Brian has amazed me at how quick he learns things. He learns words pretty quickly and catches on to other things quickly too. He recently learned how to open our bedroom door so it now has a baby proof handle on both sides. It actually looks very funny! He also has learned to climb into chairs. I think it's funny because any place I get up from he runs over and sits down. Here lately Brian has learned some new words and can speak phrases too! It amazes me that someone so little (even though he thinks he's 3) can know what he wants and can ask questions. Here is a list of everything he says:

Sissy

Momma

Mommy

Mom

Daddy

Dadda

Mimi

Iva

Apple

Abbi

Abbigail

Baby

Bubba

Noodle

Nothing

More 

Fish

Duck

Im done

Night night

Me

Mine

Vroom

Bye

Hi

Milk

Nanna

Nanny

Banana

Drink

Yeah

Yes

No

Uh-huh

Uh-oh

Oh no

Open

Thank You

Another

Dog

Please

Move

Now

Papa

Michele

Emma (Not sure who Emma is though)

See

Pretty

Look

Who is that

What is that

See that

and he is working on saying Brian James. 

15 Months

Happy Forth everyone! Brian and I celebrated the forth of July with my best friend Ashley and her daughter Abbi! We had fun and it was a truly amazing feeling having my son show me the fireworks. He would get interested in them then loose interest and regain interest again. We had his 15 month check-up on the 19th and he is growing like a weed. He was up to 23 pounds and 10 ounces and was 34 inches long! He got shots which made him fussy and it didn't help that I forgot the Tylenol at home so I wasn't able to give him any before his shots. I was going to start on potty training as we got the go ahead from his new pedi, who is awesome by the way, but I decided to hold off a little longer. I know that he is ready, but Im not. I don't feel like right now I can emotionally handle potty training him, so I think we will wait another month or so and try then. Brian is once again cutting teeth so right now Hyland's Teething Tablets are our best friend as he has 4 coming in at once. 

14 Months

This month has been uneventful, other than Brian getting Roseola. Basically it is Sixths Disease and it causes kids to run very high fevers and be in pain. It is spread through the saliva and mucous of other children who have it. Most all kids get Sixths Disease, most  just do not show very many symptoms. Brian ran a high fever, 103.7 at one point, and I just could not break it. We ended up switching pedi's because the one Brian was seeing didn't see anything wrong with him running that high of a fever. They didn't want me to do anything until he hit 105 degree fever and I am not comfortable at all with him running that high of a temp. He also had thrush and an ear infection on top of Roseola so my poor baby just didn't feel good. He made a quick recovery though and was back to his old self in no time! 

13 months

This month has been an eventful month. We celebrated my second mothers day and Brian got me an Elmo card and an angel snow globe. I got the best gift after mother's day though. It's a locket that has an angel on one side and it says watch over me on the other. I got it in memory of Lilly and I haven't taken it off since getting it. It helps me grieve her and know she is always right next to mommy. We also went to a jump house this month and Brian had a BLAST! It took him a little bit to get the hang of jumping, but once he did man he didn't want to stop! On May 28th Brian had his surgery. I was nervous and scared. I don't think I slept at all the night before. He came through it amazing. Poor baby was so hungry afterwards though he ate 3 Gerber graduates trays and yogurt. We also learned this month that he is allergic to spinach. Im guessing there is something different in the baby food jarred spinach because he could tolerate that just fine, but regular spinach breaks him out in horrible hives. Hopefully it's something he will out grow.

12 Months *picture heavy*

Brian is One! Where did the time go? I remember it like it was yesterday having him. He was so tiny and just perfect. His little blue eyes gleaming up at me. Now he runs around and talks. He is so much more independent than he was then. He has even lost his baby face. We celebrated his birthday by having a party at the park. The weather wasn't the greatest, but we still had fun. He got lots of cool toys and had a blast smashing his cake. He is now up to 21 pounds and 32 inches tall! He is still sleeping all night as long as I co-sleep with him which I don't mind very much. I like having someone to cuddle with. He also now completely off the cup and infant formula with me. Granted we have to switch over to Goat's milk for a little bit to transfer him up to whole milk, Im still happy that we are making the switch. Brian can now play hide and seek and he likes dancing and watching movies. He has also started picking up his toys and putting them up, but we will see how long this stays up. I took Brian to Build A Bear Workshop for his birthday and he had fun! He made a puppy that he named Puppers. He runs around with Puppers all the time. We are slowly making the transition over to whole food. So far he's liked it a lot more than baby food. Brian also took his first visit to the dentist this month and we discovered that he will have to have surgery to correct a defect with his teeth. Other than that everything is great!

11 Months

11 months, wow. Only one month away from being the 1. Brian is now weighing in at 20lbs 11oz and is 31 inches tall. He is on solids now, but by solids Im talking pastas and soft veggies. We are working up to getting to eat what momma eats. Brian sort of had an eventful month this month as he took his first trip to the zoo and then went to the zoo again a few weeks later with Mommy and Daddy. He had a blast and loved the monkeys (of course) and the white tigers. Brian got a puppy this month also, only to have to give her up. We named her Nala and she was adorable, but was extremely sick and I just could not afford to get her back up to health. I will never take another animal from someone who I don't know because this lady had to know this poor puppy was sick. Also I was told by the lady that she was 8 weeks, turns out she was about 4 weeks old. How cruel! Brian has a lovey now. He will not sleep with out his puppy Scout. I got him Scout for Christmas and he didn't really seem interested in him up until here recently. Scout goes everywhere with us. Brian also has been climbing on things and is now running everywhere! He is a complete goof ball and I couldn't love him anymore than I do!

10 Months

This month was a BIG month for all of us. Brian met his Papa Joe, Grammy Chewy, Aunt Abby, Aunt Maddy, and Uncle Joshua for the first time. He loved them just as much as I do. Brian at first was weary, but that is to be expected as much as he has been through. He warmed right up though and was being his goofy old self in no time! He absolutely LOVES his Papa and Grammy! Brian also learned to drink from a straw this month. Im not really 100% sure how I taught him, it was more or less him just watching me and doing it himself. Brian is up to 21 pounds and is 31 inches tall now! Wowza he's growing so quick! Brian has learned how to clap and it is so cute! He is trying to run, but isn't very quick, and is starting to climb on everything. 

9 Months

I can't believe Brian is 9 months old already! He now weighs 19 pounds and 13oz and is 29.75 inches tall! Im trying to break from co-sleeping with him, but it's not working. He sometimes will sleep all night in his crib as long as he has his cuddle buddies with him, but for the most part the only sure fire way to get him to sleep through the night is to let him sleep with me. He is now eating 3 jars of baby food a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and is starting to walk long distances by himself. Some of Brian's favorite foods right now are turkey and rice, spinach, salmon, chicken noodle, and mixed veggies and chicken. Brian has learned how to punch buttons this month also. He has went to sleep several times with a pacifier, which is a step up from where we were a few months ago! 

8 Months

I never thought my child would sleep until 10Am, but on several occasions he has and it was SO nice! He now weighs 19 pounds 1oz and is 29 inches tall. We are up to 2 or 3 jars of baby food a day depending on how he feels and snacks in between feedings. He loves green beans, lasagna, and herbed chicken and pasta this month. We are now walking! Brian took his first steps on January 9, 2010! I am one happy momma! Another huge thing happened this month as well. Brian is no longer the youngest of the family! My sister Brandy and brother in law Brian had a beautiful baby girl on December 18th! Her and Brian are exactly 8 months and 5 hours apart! I think that is just awesome! Brian celebrated his very 1st Christmas this month also! He got a ton of cool toys and clothes! Santa Clause brought him a ride along rocking Mickey Mouse, a HUGE stuffed puppy and a few other things. Overall it was a good Christmas. Brian was livid that he was woke up at 4Am to open gifts and didn't even want to touch them, but I can't blame him.