Bi weekly dr appts

Normally these check ups are the routine mundane (we like routine and mundane though!) "How ya doing? Yup, measuring great. Blood pressure is good...we'll see you in a few days" type of deal. However, today was a little different.

I was informed that my labs came back from when they tested me for gestational diabetes. I am good to go and do NOT have gestational diabetes. However, my iron is apparently on the extremely low side to which the doctor said "I am doing to write you a prescription ANNNDD give you some samples so that you can get started on those right away". I didn't even think to ask how low it was, but it's not like I won't see them in a week.

Lots of things set up for next week. They are doing an in depth ultrasound on Monday at 3 to measure Derrick (weight, etc) and to check my anterior placenta to see how it has affected the c section scars so we know what to expect at the c section. Luckily, I have an amazing friend (Anneke!) who is watching the girls so that Adam can go with me to that appointment. I think for Adam and I, it is even that more special to get to share in our excitement of seeing how big he is (anything that is bigger than Bree was is SUPER exciting to us!). I will get a steroid shot on Thursday, and then another one 24 hours later on Friday. The steroid shots will help to develop Derrick's lungs so that when he is born at 36 to 37 weeks we should be able to bring him home when I come home.

I can't believe that we only have 6 weeks left!

Speaking

Little Miss Bree has been making some amazing strides with her speech lately. Just this morning, for the first time, I heard her playing in her bed (over the monitor) and heard her call out for "Mama! Dada!". She has never done this before. I was so proud!

She has been identifying things lately. She'll see shoes on the ground and inform you if they are "Dada" or "Mama" shoes. Or she'll go get some shoes and carry them around yelling "Shoe! shoe!" and showing it to you. She'll tell you "phone" if she sees you with your phone, and she tries to take it from you to play games on it. She is progressing so well...
Just to satisfy my curiosity, I made a list of how many words she can speak and then a list of how many signs she does:

Speaking:

1. Baby
2. Shoe
3. Yay
4. Whoa
5. Night night (Nigh-nigh)
6. Mama
7. Dada
8. Grandma (Ma-maw)
9. Off
10. On
11. Help (Elf)
12. Please (Peas)
13. Bye bye
14. Read
15. Yeah (Yes)
16. No
17. Ball
18. Tape ("Ttttt" with sign)
19. This
20. Mine
21. Wow
22. Blanket (Ki-ki)
23. Phone (Bone)
24. Diaper (By-buh)
25. Spongebob (Buh-Bob)
26. Riley (Yai-ye)

Signed
1. Help
2. All Done
3. Please
4. Thank you
5. Hat
6. Play
7. More
8. Milk
9. Eat
10. Nods yes
11. Shakes no
12. Bye Bye
13. Tape
14. Wipe

That's 40 things!!

You rock Bree...keep it up! Bree would not be doing as well as she is if she didn't have the help of her amazing speech therapist Brian. He works so well with her, and is constantly challenging her to do better and work harder. It was one of our best decisions we've made to switch our speech therapist. I am proud to be an advocate for Bree. Heck, at the rate she's going she'll be able to tell us what she wants herself here soon!

Weekend in review

Whew! We've had a crazy last few days. Christmas was great, and we really enjoyed many special moments with the girls. I need to download the videos I took onto youtube for all the grandparents/nana's/papa's/yaya's to enjoy. :) We spent the morning at home, had an early nap and then spent the afternoon at Anneke and Felix's house. Their kids got an amazing water table for Christmas (that I am looking into for our kids) and the kids had such a great time with it. Only in Arizona can you play with a water table in December. I was actually too warm sitting outside in the sun watching them. Dinner was spectacular, (isn't it always when you don't have to cook it?) and Felix's homemade cheesecake for dessert certainly made this pregnant lady very happy.

Riley had had a cough on Saturday, but only once every two hours and was a little tired, but we had figured maybe allergies? She consistently got worse on Sunday and started to spike a fever. Both Sunday and Monday were rough with her. Tired, cranky, not wanting to be snuggled, but looking miserable. The highest her fever has gotten has been 102.5. Last night before bed I gave her a breathing treatment, and we ran the warm mist humidifier all night in her room. So far this morning she seems to be doing much better. No coughing, no fever and it sounds like her nose is draining instead of sounding majorly congested. She still looks sick with her little bags under her eyes, but I hope this is the beginning of the end.

Miss Bree was completely good and great until right before nap time yesterday. I was changing her diaper before nap and noticed her lips looked oddly dry and peeling. So I tried to wipe it off, but with every swipe there seemed to be more and more. So I just gave up and figured I'd check it later. I had an ultrasound to go to that afternoon so I didn't see her too much after nap but when I got home Adam had dinner ready and everyone was at the table. I noticed Bree's cheeks looked flushed and I was worried she had caught Riley's fever bug. However, no fever was found. Upon closer looking though, her flushed look was really a rash all over her cheeks, chin and upper lip. Her peeling lips were still there and yucky looking. We decided to look in her mouth with a flashlight and found the same peeling skin all inside her mouth and back of her throat! I freaked out (which is not common for me) and had Adam rush her to urgent care. All sorts of horrible ailments ran through my mind. The rapid strep test came back negative, and the doctor said it is probably a yeast infection of the mouth. She was sent home with liquid nystatin we are supposed to put on and in her mouth 4 times a day, and an antibiotic she is supposed to take by mouth. This is going to be fun...the non eating child taking nasty tasting medicine by mouth. Good thing I am not against restraining my kiddo.  This morning her lips looks worse, her tonsils look more swollen and she has a red patch on her left tonsil. I am going to give it a good 24 hours of the new medicine before we rush off to the doctor again.

So today is hang at home and watch movies day. Hey, at least the kids have all sorts of new toys to play with (and I get to wear pajamas most of the day!)! Gotta look on the bright side.  :)

Update

So the ultrasound went great today! Mr. Derrick has unwound the cord from his arm and let go of it. It is still all bunched up by his arm and the tech showed me, but at least it is not wrapped around it. I got a new 3D picture of him:



My doctor said that I will be having these ultrasounds on Mondays and Thursdays and see him every thursday to be checked until delivery. We are also going to do the steroid shots in two weeks to help mature his lungs since we have to deliver around 36-37 weeks.

Update on Mr. Derrick

So for the past few weeks I have been having pressure "downstairs" and increased Braxton Hicks at the end of the day. I figured it was nothing to worry about since I had been up all day, and my BH were only at like 3 an hour. Once I would go lay down in bed for a while, the pressure would decrease a bit and the BH would ease up. Every morning when I would wake up I would feel fine with no pressure and all would be well until about 6 at night.




Well yesterday when I woke up the pressure was still there pretty bad. (I know many of you other preggo ladies have the same problems) It just feels like he is going to fall out constantly. So I called my doctor to see if he could fit me in, and I was told to go to the hospital immediately. Kinda freaked me out with how the lady's voice changed as soon as I told her what was going on.



I got there and they got me changed and on the monitors. When they did the exam and checked, they saw watery discharge and were worried that maybe my water was leaking. The amniotic fluid test came back negative (thank goodness!) and she said that I am only a fingertip dilated, but she can feel that Derrick is very very low. However, she did say that she can push on his head and he will move up, which means he's not engaged yet.



She monitored me for another hour and he was very active and his heart rate was going from 160 to 120 pretty quickly, but she said that could be normal for him since he was being so active. He then dropped his heart rate from 160 to 80. So they ordered an ultrasound to check fluid levels. During the ultrasound, they couldn't see my cervix length because Derrick's head is too low and blocking it. She said Derrick looks great except that he had the umbilical cord wrapped once around his arm, and the cord in his hand. He was squeezing the cord until his heart rate drops, and then he loosens his grip. Which then allows his heart rate to jump back up...and then he squeezes it again. We saw him do it on the ultrasound a few times.



There is nothing they could have done about it, and the nurse said it will not cause Derrick any harm since he's basically (for lack of better explanation) causing himself to pass out which then relaxes his grip and resume the blood flow.



So I have another ultrasound today at 1230 to see if he has let go of his cord. And then I start going twice a week for ultrasounds until delivery.

Derrick update

I went to have my gestational diabetes testing done today and a quick check up/chat with the doctor. When I was in there talking with the doctor I had my list of questions on my phone to ask. When I got to asking him about the pain/pressure I have been feeling he immediately said that he was going to squeeze me in for an ultrasound and "if I wanted we could do the 3D ultrasound too, just for fun". Psh..I wasn't gonna say no!




The ultrasound tech said that Derrick is really low, and head down with his face against my back. She said "Oh wow, he's low". Well now it makes sense that I am feeling the way I am. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to even get pictures of his face because of his position so she had me lay on my side, and she jiggled him with the ultrasound thing. Derrick did not enjoy it, and we got to see his angry face:
 

 
He was making that face and waving his arms all around and I could feel him stretching himself out. It was too funny. He did then settle down and we got a few good pictures of one side of his face.




Adam and I think that he looks very much like Riley did in her 3D pictures. The ultrasound tech also commented that it looks as though Derrick is completely bald. He does have a good bit of "cooking" left ot do so he has the opportunity to grow some hair, but we might end up with a bald little boy.

We also got a little bit more information about his delivery date. Dr. Folkestad wants to deliver around 36 to 37 weeks and does not want to let me go too far past 37 weeks due to the risk of uterine rupture. So, to put that into persepctive I would turn 36 weeks on February 6th, and on February 13th I would be 37 weeks. I think we are going to shoot for February 11th (the joy of having planned c sections...you can choose the date!). That would make his birthday on 2-11-11.

I feel so in love with my son, and I haven't even met him yet. It makes my heart melt to see what his little face looks like. I am such a blessed Mama.

No excuses

There are no excuses that will suffice to explain away my lack of blogging. Except for the fact of being pregnant, having two kids already and a busy schedule. Buuuuttttt...there are many other moms I know who are way busier than I who still find time to blog quite often and keep everyone caught up with thier family.

So without further delay here's a run down of us all...

Youngest goes first!

As of today I am 26 weeks and 2 days pregnant with Derrick. Woo hoo! Officially farther than I made it with Bree (she was born at 25 weeks 5 days). I am much bigger this time than I was with Bree (I am probably the same as I was with Riley), and I am so grateful that I am feeling huge and uncomfortable. Yes, my back/skin/body does hurt all the time, but it means that I have a healthy little (big) baby inside me that is causing it. It could not make me any happier. When I hit the 30 week mark I will start going into the doctor twice a week for stress tests and ultrasounds to chart his weight, growth and happiness. :)

Bree is doing great! I feel like I am always saying that, and then she seems to regress a bit but it's life. Her eating is it's usual non exsistent state. We have some meals where we get very excited to see her eating well, and then she'll refuse any food for the next 3-4 meals. It's like a roller coaster with sharp peaks and low, long valleys. Her physical "stuff" is good, and her therapist is very pleased with her progress. She's doing everything they expect a two year old to do, she just does it slower because of her low muscle tone. She is still very uncoordinated for her age, but she makes it all work. Her speech has made the most progress lately. She's more willing to repeat what you say, or at least say the beginning of a word in order to get it from you. She now says mama, dada, ball, tape, and bath spontaneously and uses them appropriately. She can say a lot of words, but does not use them regularly or appropriately enough for me to list them as "words". She babbles to herself when she wakes up in the morning, which is something new in the last two weeks. She's never made noise before when she wakes up. Speech and making noise isn't something that comes naturally to her (who the heck is this kids mom??! Ha ha.)

Riley is growing up so fast it is crazy. She acts like she is 15 with an attitude. We have been having many discipline issues with her as of lately but I have heard that it is normal for 3 year olds. Many many people have told me that 3 year olds are worse than 2 year olds. We are remaining true to what we tell her will happen, and making sure we are telling her she is making the choice. With that being said, we are also trying to make an effort to praise as much as we can. Riley is an attention kid. She loooves the attention, and I have found that praising her for sharing with Bree is just as (if not more) effective than scolding her for not.

That's us in a nutshell for now. Hopefully it won't take me another month to get updates in here. :)

Roller skating queens

This morning we went (we meaning Riley, Bree and myself) to our friend's house. Heidi is a saint and lets everyone come over to her house on Wednesday mornings to play. It is so great seeing 8 kids running around a house together screeching with joy and happiness. Did I mention that I am JEALOUS of her driveway? It is long, and the perfect playing area. Park a car at the end of the driveway, and the kids run wild! Everyone brings some of their outside play toys, and we all share. Riley had found Zoie's (Heidi's daughter) roller skates and wanted to try them out. I was expecting her to get on her feet and immediately freak out.  She didn't. She rocked thos roller skates! I had to hold her hand, but she loved it. She went down the driveway, then back up and wanted to be done. As I took them off of Riley, Bree wanted to wear them.

I was expecting the same thing out of Bree (freaking out), especially since they didn't fit her well at all. She LOVED them. While I was holding both of her hands, she skated down the driveway and back as well. It is quite a workout, and I didn't want her to get too tired and risk a massive meltdown so I decided that was enough. She melted down when I took them off.

I think that Santa may just have a pair of roller skates in his bag for our family this year.

Letters from Santa

Wanted to share this with you. A NICU parent support group is helping Santa with his mail this year! They do ask for a donation per letter, but it is going to a good cause to help support critically ill infants, preemies, and their families. Here's the link to the Santa page: http://www.nicupsdonations.org/2010.asp

This is not from the NICU that Bree came from, but from one that her 'preemie friend' Robbie came from. I read the blog his mom writes (http://fertilehope.blogspot.com/), and I email with her occasionally to talk about their eating, PT, etc etc because they struggle with the same stuff.

Please share this with whoever you think may be able to use it, or want to use it. Thanks!

Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween!

Christmas

A few of the grandparents and family members have asked what the girls want for Christmas. I put together a small list to give everyone ideas...Hope this helps!

Either girl:

Yookidoo Flow and Fill Spout (bath toy)

Lace and Trace Pets

Tinkertoys

Lincoln Logs

Princess Fairy Jumbo Coloring Pad

Bree:

Baby Alive Sips and Cuddles

Mrs. Potato Head Silly Suitcase (great for speech and OT)

Deluxe Latches Boards (Great for OT)

Riley:

Magnetic dress up dolls

Hi Ho Cherry-O

Little Mommy Scrub a Dub Dub Doll

Chutes and Ladders

Blessed

I am blessed. I have a wonderful husband who appreciates me, and shows it. I have a 3 year old little girl who is more excited about my birthday than I was. I have a 2 year old sweet girl that amazes me daily that she is here with us and has such a sweet personality. And I also have a 21.5 week little man fetus who loves to show his appreciation by kicking me at all odd hours of the night and morning.

Yesterday was a day of realizing how lucky and blessed I truly am. Over 100 people wished me a happy birthday on facebook. (okay so 103 to be exact...it's just cooler to say 'over 100'). My best friend Ashley sent me a beautiful frame with a saying on it that is perfect and fits our family wonderfully. I can't wait to find the perfect pictures to put in it and hang it. My mom sent me a gift card for Olive Garden (yum!) along with a box of goodies for the girls. Riley picked out a candle for me. Riley: "I think it is a stinky candle mommy, but you like it." I do love it and think she is crazy for not liking a pumpkin candle. Bree isn't quite old enough to grasp the whole "birthday" thing, but seeing her stab her piece of cake to take a bite and the whole piece coming up when she picked up her fork cracked me up. She tried to put the whole piece in her mouth at once. It was too cute.

I am so blessed and loved that I feel like my heart is going to explode. It was the best birthday I have had in a good couple of years. What a great way to ring in my 25th birthday. I am blessed.

Pain

Most people would never think of the sensation of feeling pain to be a blessing, or a good thing. However, once again, Bree has enlightened me to a whole new world of things I never thought I would be dealing with, or I even thought about.

 We have known since Bree was little that she has a VERY high pain tolerance.

Here's some examples: She could have IV's put in, or blood draws done without flinching. She would simply just look at the person doing them. And once she learned to walk she could take a very hard tumble or a bump without crying or fussing. She would simply say "Oh."

Now the girls do go to preschool two days a week right now, and recently Bree has been bit three times in the past week. The first two happened on Tuesday and the teachers were able to see it happen. There were incident reports to fill out and sign. The teachers commented that Bree didn't seem to be bothered by the bites. They said that most children scream and cry when it happens and then they are really grumpy and whiny for the rest of the day. They said 5 minutes after Bree got bit she was perfectly fine. One of the bites wasn't too bad, but she had one on the back of her upper left arm that is still bruised even today (4 days after it happened). When we showed up on Thursday to pick her up from preschool Bree had a bright red bite mark on her left forearm. The teacher had no idea. She had not fussed or expressed discomfort at all.

Another incident was when we went to go get her out of her crib from nap. We have been told to be giving her choices and making her shake her head 'yes' or 'no' in order to have her start communicating more instead of us automatically doing things for her. So I asked her "do you want to get up from nap? Yes? or No?" She tilted her chin up, and brought it back down, but ended up bringing it back down right onto her crib. I could hear her teeth clack together and it sounded painful. I even drew in a breath and grimaced, expecting crying. She didn't even flinch or change facial expressions. Didn't phase her one bit.

These are just a few examples, and there are many many more. We are going to make an appointment with her pediatrician this next week because I am beginning to think that this is a problem. We used to think that she was just a tough kid, but it is to the point that it is almost hazardous to her health. She's going to be the kid who tells me her arm feels funny, and it is going to end up being broken.

I never thought I would have to tell my child that even though it doesn't hurt her it's not okay for someone to bite her, and that she needs to tell her teacher.

Are there any other preemies out there that seem to have unusually high pain tolerances that is a problem?

Anatomy ultrasound

So my ultrasound looked great! Derrick is still a "he", they were just double checking since they had to do an ultrasound anyways. Everything looks great, his heart, lungs, brain, bladder and stomach are all correctly formed. They could not get a good picture of his spine because of his position so they will not "clear" him yet as being medically sound. So I have another ultrasound in two weeks to check his spine.




So here's my weirdo things I kept track of. :) I am technically 19 weeks and 4 days.



His head circumference was measuring 19 weeks and 0 days. (both Riley and Bree have head circumferences that are labeled as "small" or on the lower end of the percentages)



His belly circumference was 20 weeks and 0 days.



His femur bone measured at 19 week and 5 days.



So all in all he seems well. I am excited to get to see him again in two weeks, but am still a little worried that they weren't able to get the correct measurements today.

Family update

I feel like I am always doing small little updates here and there but never sneak in a good quality post. So here goes!

Riley is doing great things and has grown up a lot in the past few weeks. Yesterday she helped me pick up the living room and I didn't have to prompt her to specifically pick up anything. She picked up things and put them away without being told. I don't know if any other parents out there find that amazing, but I was blown away. Normally my children have to be told "pick up this block...now pick up this one. Now pick up the doll...etc..."

She also spent last Thursday in the three year old room as a test run. For those of you who are unaware (which is probably most of you), the preschool she attends does not allow any pull ups or diapers in the three year old room. You must go on the potty. Riley lasted through naptime (gasp!) without a pull up on, and didn't have an accident at all! Now our only problem to overcome is Riley's insistence that she only goes potty at school. We're working on it.

Bree is becoming more vocal everyday. A very large part of it is still just noises and grunts and whining, but the fact that she is being vocal and not staying  silent. She has learned to bring us the television remote which saying "Gab-buh? Gab-buh?" for Yo Gabba Gabba. It is one of the first things she has ever requested vocally. I find it hard not to give in most of the time. She will say "Day-doo" (thank you) on her own if you hand her something, but it you specifically request for her to say it she will only use the sign language sign. She says "Buuuu" for book and will sign it as well. She is a tricky kid to figure out. She will say words verbally for only about a week or so, and then she seems to 'forget' the word. She seems to stick to 3 -5 words that she says regularly.

Her eating is going backwards for some reason. Adam and I can't seem to figure it out, but we are continuing to offer her food to eat, then tubing her so that she continues to get her calories. I guess I need to just look at the positive and realize that it has been the longest she has eaten well, and we need to follow her cues. It can be frustrating.

She is seeking out different things to walk on. We have been told by her physical therapist that it is not common for low tone, unstable kids to want to walk on new surfaces, but we know that Bree is not always the 'norm'. She wants to walk on the rocks where ever we are (which there are rocks everywhere here!), She tries to step up on the curbs and wants to do everything that Riley does and can do. It makes me immensely proud to see her wanting to follow Riley so much, but sometimes it breaks my heart that she can't do it because of muscle strength and stability sometimes.

Derrick is growing fast! I cannot believe that in about 4 months I will be holding a cute, snuggle little boy in my arms.I am now feeling him move every day, usually multiple times a day. He moves a little bit when I first wake up, then again around 1 pm, and then again in the evening. Today he was kicking hard enough to where I could physically see it if I watched my belly. I don't remember the girls kicking this hard this early so I am guessing we have a rough and tumble little boy on the way! On Thursday I have an anatomy scan for Derrick, where they will double check to make sure he is still a he, and to make sure his heart, brain, kidneys and all other organs check out okay. I am very nervous that all will be okay. I have learned to never take anything for granted, even a healthy child.

I am doing okay. I still struggle with morning sickness, and have days where I can do a whole bunch of things, and then days where I get winded just cleaning off a counter. However, my brain now feels like it is capable of having complex thoughts. I have come out of the fog!! I feel more like talking with others, and getting out of the house to see friends.  I am trying to think out and figure out how we are going to do the bedroom situation with all three kids. I could go on and on about it, but I will spare you the details. I think I am wayyyy overthinking it. Oh well. It will all work out.

Adam is super husband and has really been helping me out. He rocks with the girls, and isn't afraid of hesitant to step up and make dinner, dump garbage, do dishes, or pick up the living room. One of these days I am going to insist that he go out with his friends and let go! Have some fun.

Whew! My fingers are a bit sore, and I am hungry. Now to go stare at the refrigerator and think that there is nothing to eat. Ha!

Feeling productive

I love the feeling of accomplishment when things are completed and done. So far today I have done dishes (not usually my job), had therapy for Bree, taken Bree to get her g tube changed (thanks Anneke!), taken out dinner to defrost, called about our Fisher Price Rainforest Pack and Play recall,  and called and applied for Long Term Care for Bree.

Today is the first day in a while that I have not had a migraine and I am so thankful to feeling up to do doing stuff. I think I am going to try and tackle Bree's clothes this afternoon after they wake up from nap. Woo hoo!

Things I need to do...soon.

Call about consolidating my student loans.

Call about our recalled Fisher Price Rainforest Pack and Play.

Clean our Bree's three drawer bin that is in her closet so that I can put the clothes we have for Derrick in them. (thanks Gavin!)

Go through Bree and Riley's drawers. Bree has grown out of 18 month clothes and into 24 month (hand me downs coming your way Grace!), and Riley has grown out of 3T shirts and into 4T shirts. She has also grown out of 2T pants and into 3T pants. For some reason Riley has always been different on her pant and shirt sizes, while Bree is the same for both.

For some weird reason (we'll blame it on nesting) I really want to clean and scrub my kitchen cabinets. It doesn't really NEED to be done, I just feel the need to do it.

Now I am hoping that writing this down will hold me accountable for doing these things. If it works you guys will be seeing more of what I need to do. Whatever works, right?

Things I never thought I would be saying as a Mom.

I have very many of these sayings, but I always forget to post them when they happen because there are only one or two in a day that I come across. Yesterday we had two.

"We don't pet people"

and

"Get that fork out of your ear"

Riley wouldn't stop petting a friends kid on the head. (sorry Jenn!) It was freaking Mady out, and Riley just wouldn't understand that she didn't like it. However, once they left Riley told me "We don't pet people Mommy, not Baby Mady. She's a people."

At dinner Bree was given a fork to eat her grilled cheese sandwich and tater tots (it's a sensory thing...sometimes she's rather not touch it). However, when I looked up two of the four tines were halfway in her ear prompting me to inform her that's not what we do with forks.

I wonder what pearls of wisdom I will get to pass onto my kids today.

What a weekend!

We are home-bodies. We like to stay home, to play in the backyard, watch movies and just be lazy. That's what we have done today. However, yesterday is another story.

We had planned on going to the park on Saturday and taking the girls 2 and 3 year old pictures. (coming soon!) When you live in Arizona that means you better get to the park early to beat the heat. So we went to the park about 830, took pictures, walked around and played on the playground. Then we ran some errands that needed to be done like paying rent, and going shopping to Target and Walmart. We even shared a pretzel and soda at Target (my favorite!).

On the way home we got a call from Anneke offering for us to go with them to a Hope Kids carnival with them. We jumped on the chance to go do something fun with friends! We ran home, dropped off our groceries, and met up with the Marchese family. We had a good time at the carnival and even met up with Andrea and her family. Riley seems to have developed her first crush on Owen, telling me that he was cute and wanting to go say hi to him. Of course she acted shy once we went over to him, but when we split up from them she had wanted to know where the "cute boy went".  We'll have to get together with them soon!

It was dreadfully hot, but worth the fun. Both girls got a "face" painting (Riley wanted hers on her leg), and they got to go down an inflatable slide with their Daddy. We learned that Riley likes cotton candy, and Bree does not at all. It was a great event and I need to look into our family joining Hope Kids. I'm pretty sure Bree meets the criteria for joining, but had never considered it a possibility prior to this.

We took the long way home in hopes that both girls would nap, but oddly enough only Riley napped. Bree was content yelling and hollering the whole way home. We stopped to get Adam's hair cut on the way home, and that was another 45 minutes. We finally made it home at 430 and we were spent! Both girls were kinda naughty for the rest of the night from being so tired so we decided to stay home today.

Home sweet home.

Baby kicks

Adam was able to feel Derrick kick twice tonight for the first time. Amazing. Made my night. :)

Three year old check up

So last year at her two year old check up she was 3rd percentile in weight and 95th in height. (I don't remember her actual height or weight) They were concerned about her weight and suggested us giving her instant breakfast with her milk, possibly mixing in oil in her diet (all stuff we do with Bree).




This year she was 30 pounds and 37 inches tall. Which places her at 45 percentile for her weight (yay!) and 50 percentile for her height. The doctor was pleased and said she is evening out with her growth, which is what she was hoping for.



I was surprised that a bit of the visit was the doctor asking Riley questions. (What's your name? Are you a boy or a girl? Is Daddy a boy or a girl? Favorite color?) I am so used to being asked the questions it was a change. I will say I was proud when Riley was asked if I was a boy or a girl she said Mommy is a good girl!

3 and 24

These are two numbers that are very important to our family this weekend.

Yesterday our first baby girl turned three years old. She went from this:

to this big beautiful (little) girl:

She is a sweet, opinionated, determined little girl who has a kind heart. She loves her sister, and will tell me she already loves Baby Derrick. She is a wonderful big sister and I can't wait to see her grow in the coming years.

Speaking of our family, we happen to have a pretty awesome guy in our family that we love very much. In fact, it is his birthday today and he is satisfied with hanging out at home and watching football. Adam is the best husband I could ask for. He is very loving, and is not afraid to express his affection for me or for his kids (do you know how weird it is to say "kids" and not "girls"??). He tells me everyday that I am beautiful, he compliments the girls and is far more patient with them than I am. He truly balances me out. He is more of a relaxed laid back guy, and it has rubbed off on me in the past few years, which I think it just what I needed. Happy 24th Babe!

Potty success!

Riley has had two successful times that she has peed in the potty today! Most kids want a piece of candy, a cookie, or some sort of sweet as a treat for a reward. My child wants her Grandma to push her on the swing. Honestly, I will do whatever it takes to get her potty trained.

Heck I think I am having wishful thinking but maybe...MAYBE we can get Bree potty trained too by the time Derrick comes. :)

Boy oh boy!

I tried to post an ultrasound picture on here from my phone, but it didn't work. I can just tell you what was on it....little boy parts! Woo hooooooooo!!! We couldn't be happier! My heart just about burst with happiness when those little parts came up on the screen.

His name will be Derrick Jason. Adam and I just really like the name Derrick. It is a very strong name. The middle name of Jason is after Adam's brother who's name is Jason. His brother is a wonderful man who would do anything for his family and friends. I hope that Derrick grows up to be like his namesake...it would make me so proud.

He will born at 36-37 weeks so he'll be born anywhere from February 6th to the 20th. We can't wait to hold our baby boy in our arms. Now onto looking for the perfect coming home outfit...

Oh no! My teeth are all gone!

We have a picture up on the refrigerator of when Riley had turned one year old. (Our friend Carrie Fay took it!) Riley has a big cheesy grin on her face and she was so happy and giggling the time the picture was taken. However, Riley only had her two bottom teeth when she turned one an din the picture you can see that quite clearly.

Tonight when I was putting away dinner Riley was laying on her stomach looking at the pictures that were on the fridge. (Don't ask why she was laying on her stomach...I have no idea).  She saw the picture of herself when she was little and she exclaimed "MAMA!!! Oh no! My teeth are all gone!!!" I just busted up laughing and told her "I don't know, where'd they go?" She Said "I don't know Mama...I just don't know!" I just chuckled at her. She cracks me up.

She proceeded to carry around the picture for the next ten minutes looking at it and muttering to herself about her teeth.

Tasting

Bree has been into 'tasting' new things. This is FANTABULOUS! It is one step closer to her wanting to eat. So far in the past few days we've successfully tried peanut butter toast, peaches, a bean burrito from Taco Bell, a hard taco from Taco Bell, peach yogurt, mac and cheese, ritz cracker, hamburger patty, chocolate teddy grahams, and few other things I can't remember. So far the most successful has been the peach yogurt, and the bean burrito.

I am so stoked for her new willingness and I really hope it continues. Fingers are crossed and hopes are up!

In which I talk to (about) my sister.

I don't remember which blog it was I was reading (actually I do now, it was Pioneer Woman), but she said that when blogging you should act like you are talking to your sister. Now, my sister lives in Oregon and growing up I only saw her every other weekend. We have the same Dad, but different Moms...but she is my sister and that is all that matters. She is younger than me (she's 18) and we are both in different seasons of life. She is just starting college (ohhh I remember those days!), and has very busy days between friends, college, and trying to find a job.

I wish that we both had more time to talk to one another. However, every time I seem to get on the phone my children have this unrelenting urge to run around screaming, climb on counters or beat each other with baby dolls. So when we do talk it is mostly me hollering at the kids to "not do such and such" or "what are you THINKING?".  If we ever do get to talk uninterrupted we do talk well with one another. We can talk about just about anything. Like how much we love our Grandma's marshmallow/kix/ricekrispie/whitechocolate cookies, or her updating me on how our little brother's love life is going, or me telling her about the crazy things the girls have been doing.

So, since we don't get to talk very often, I will heed Pioneer Woman's advice and act as though I am telling my sister about the latest news with our family. So forgive me if I seem to rattle on forever...or tell about little random tidbits of information that don't seem to matter.

Happy Birthday Bree!

My beautiful little daughter turned two today. I cannot believe it. She is developing into a caring, kind, loving, and playful little girl. She is quick to smile, and quick to give kisses.  She is not without a two year old attitude however. She has recently started throwing fits, and being very stubborn. Developmentally it is appropiate for her to be doing all this so it is wonderful for us to see her rolling on the floor flailing her arms and screeching.

Since Bree isn't a fan of cake, and she does like yogurt we decided to give her some chocolate pudding as a birthday treat. She loved it! She ate 3/4's of a container..which a good bit for her.

I hope the next year brings her much happiness, progress, and love. More love than her little self knows what to do with. :)

Slacker

*raises hand* That's me. I am a slacker.

I have kind of stunk at this blogging thing lately. I am going to try and start doing better at this. Blogging when I think of a cute story of the girls, or when I take a picture of something that I want to share.

Here's a run down of our past week.

This past Thursday Adam and I went to a Cardinals football game. It was a preseason game again the Washington Redskins. Adam's mom flew in to watch the girls for us. The game was nice to go to, and I know that Adam really enjoyed it. I don't know too much about football (nor do I care to), but it was fun to be a part of the crowd and the excitement. Heck, the tickets were free from Adam's work so I can't complain!

Saturday we had the girls' birthday party. Princess party mania! The girls looked so cute dressed up in their princess dresses. Riley was Cinderella, and Bree had her Belle dress on. Bree's dress was a little big on her (it fit length wise but not width wise...if that makes sense) so I had to doctor it up with some medical tape. What would we do without medical tape?

We had so many guests that came over and it made it a great time! We had some good food, great company, and even better cake! I was immensely proud of both girls because they both were able to blow out their own candles this year!! (HUGE thing for Bree!) Riley ate the frosting off of her cake, then pushed her plate forward saying she was done. Bree grabbed Riley's plate and pulled it towards her and started stabbing both pieces of cake with a fork in each hand. Pretty awesome for a kid who doesn't even like food. I was a nerd and forgot to charge the batteries on the big camera so I have to pull the pictures off of our little camera from the party. (Yes, we have a "big" camera and a "little" camera...and that's what I call them. Ha ha)

On Saturday my acid reflux was bugging me, which had affected my voice to where it sounded like I was sick. Many people at the party had asked if I was sick and I denied it many times. I didn't feel sick at all (besides normal pregnancy blah), but I think I jinxed myself. Sunday I woke up feeling pretty yucky and Monday morning I went to urgent care. I do not recommend going to urgent care on a holiday. I waited 2.5 hours before being seen. I was diagnosed with a sinus infection, double ear infection and aggravation of my asthma symptoms from acid reflux. I left with three prescriptions (zantac, augmentin, and an inhaler). 

That night I had a really rough night with my asthma and Adam even came rushing home because it was so bad. I returned back to urgent care and was diagnosed with early pnuemonia. I was given a steroid shot, and was given albuterol treatments to take home. I also got some prescription strength cough medicine. Woooo-eeeee. I hadn't been that sick in a really long time. Even this morning I was completely exhausted and the girls got to watch a lot of cartoons. However, I am feeling more like myself tonight. Hopefully tomorrow is an even better day.

That's us in a nutshell right now!

Noodles

Noodles can be so tricky to eat.

Caved.

So I caved and had Adam give Bree a tube feeding for dinner. The best feeding we had was the one I blogged about. All of the others she refused to feed herself, and it was a struggle to get her to open up for us to put a spoonful in her mouth. We would struggle to get her to eat a whole container of baby food for one meal. That alone would take take one hour and is only 80 to 110 calories. Multiply that by 3 meals and two to three snacks and you've got 300 to 400 calories. She needs 1,000 calories a day.

That doesn't even count the fluid intake she needs. That's more the reason why I caved. No wet diapers today. So, we decided to resume our normal g tube feeding schedule for her. I wish that we could find someone (who is a professional) that knows more about tube weaning. All the doctors we have either don't support it, or don't know much about the process and what is normal. I'm going to have to do more research.

Getting Bree off of this g tube seems like a daunting impossible task. How are we supposed to get her off of it with her maintaining her calories, her fluid intake, and some amount of our sanity?

Success, if only for a moment!

I don't know if this is pretty common with other preemies, or if it just how Bree is, but she is a one trick wonder. She will say something once, only to not say it again for months. Or she'll eat really good for one meal, then will refuse to even look at a spoon the next meal.

Every so often, (every couple of months) we try to wean Bree. This means that we do not offer any foods or liquids by tube during the day. At night we try to "pump" as much formula into her as we can to offset any calories that she missed during the day. We follow her cues with telling us if she is ready for this huge step of weaning off of the tube in some form.

In the past we've only gotten about three days into it before Bree cries uncontrollably from hunger, but refuses to eat anything at all. I can't stand to see her in such distress so I cave and take that as a sign that she is not ready. Usually it takes until the second day of not eating before Bree will respond to hunger.

This is the fourth (??third??) time we've tried this. Lately when we go to feed Bree by tube she lifts up her shirt and plays with her tube. I'm not a fan of that behavior because I want her to associate hunger and eating with her mouth. So I decided to try weaning her again this "weekend". So for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday we are buckling down and remaining positive.

This morning I gave Bree some toast and bananas on her tray. I made her some chocolate milk to drink, and got some yogurt to spoon feed her. She ate about half the container of yogurt with much encouragement, silly noises, and funny faces on my part. She tried two drinks of chocolate milk and then did not want more. At that point she pulled up her shirt and started playing with her tube, while refusing to eat anymore by mouth. I told her that we were not using our tube today, and only our mouths. She adamantanly signed "All done" so I honored her request.

About three hours later she was getting to be really whiny. She came up to me and lifted her shirt up, pointed to her tube, and stared at me. I told her we're not using your tube today, we're eating with our mouths to fill our bellies. She just stared at me with a blank expression. I told her if you're hungry, sit in your chair. She sat.

I went and got the yogurt she didn't finish for breakfast, but she was refusing to allow me to feed her. On a whim, I gave her the spoon and I held the yogurt container. She loved dipping the spoon into the container then smearing the yogurt on her mouth and nose. I allowed her to do that for five minutes, then I held her hand over her spoon and showed her how to put it in her mouth. I then encouraged her to take bites herself. Every bite I would remind her, and soon she started to comply every time.

Soon she had finished the half a yogurt container so I went and got a new one. It was slow going, but an hour later it was gone!!!! Yes, she made a mess but she ATE!! I was bursting with pride (and still am!). When that container was gone, she threw her spoon on the floor and signed "All done". 5.25 ounces of mixed berry yogrut!! Impressive!!!

Now after naptime, we are trying out spaghetti o's. I can't wait to see that mess! (Really...I can't...seeing Bree with a messy face is so rewarding!)

Surprise!

At the beginning of July, approximately 6 weeks ago, Adam and I got a big surprise. A big fat positive pregnancy test. We weren't even trying...in fact we were actively not trying. So to say we were surprised was an understatement. The day that I told Adam, all he could say was "All righty then".

Our family at that time was preparing for Adam to leave in September for Korea to be gone for  a year. We had plans of Adam's parents watching the girls on his midtour so him and I could meet in Japan for a romantic vacation. As of right now, Adam has put in a humanitarian package to see if they will defer his orders until after the baby is born. With my problem pregnancy with Bree, we are both concerned that the same things will happen with this pregnancy.

Speaking of problems, this pregnancy has had a small issue so far. I have had a bleed with the placenta of this baby already. So I am taking it easy, not lifting heavy stuff (aside from the kids when necessary), and resting up. We had an ultrasound today and found out I still have a small bleed which is measuring one centimeter and it is on the edge of the placenta instead of behind it like it used to be. So it's smaller and is in a less dangerous place. (thank goodness) We would appreciate any prayers, good thoughts, and healing vibes about the safety and well being of the pregnancy.


During the ultrasound we had the baby looked great! The heartbeat was amazing to hear, and it was beating strong at 167. The baby even measured three days ahead of it's due date...made a Mama proud to know it's growing great! It was a little bugger and wouldn't move for the ultrasound tech no matter how much he jiggled and pushed on my belly. It took a half an hour to get the measurements that were needed because the baby wouldn't move. Right when the tech said that he just had to scan the rest of my uterus and ovaries the baby started moving. He was a great tech and let us just watch the baby move for a few minutes.


The official due date is March 6, 2011. The baby will however, be born at 36 - 37 weeks due to the "T cut" I have from previous c sections. Going any farther than that would be putting the baby's life, and my life in danger due to the risk of uterine rupture. My doctor will be keeping a close eye on me and it will be closer than most pregnant women get. I will get to go into the doctor twice a week for monitoring once I hit 25 weeks (when Bree was born). 

We are praying and hoping for a 37 week, 6 - 7 pound healthy little baby to hold in our arms in February. In the meantime, I will take care of myself in order to help this baby grow, Adam will support and help me as much as he can (which he's been great at!), and Riley will teach Bree all the tricks of the trade of being a great big sister. We welcome and appreciate any and all prayers, good thoughts, and well wishes!

Oh the things Riley says!

Not to toot my own kids horn, but Riley is pretty advanced in her speech. She always has been. I think she got it from me and all my incessant talking. Ha ha! Lately she has been really inquisitive about everything, asking questions and adding her own opinions. Lately here's some of the things she's been saying.

Right now I am wearing a ruby and diamond necklace that my Grandma gave me when I had Riley. It was a necklace that my Grandpa gave her for their tenth wedding anniversary. It is beautiful. Riley thinks so too. Everyday she comes up to me, gently takes the necklace part in her fingers and says "I like your jewel Mama. Who give it to you?" I tell her Nana gave it to me.Then she tells me "It is so pretty. I like it." She does this every day. Today she went and got one of her bracelets that I got her for Christmas this last year. She proceeded to put it on, put it up in my face, and say "Nana got me this. You like it?"

Riley likes to come into the bathroom when I am getting my makeup on, and do my hair in the morning. About two weeks ago I was putting my mascara on and Riley comes walking in. She asks me what I was doing and I told her I was putting on my mascara. She scrunches up her face, thinking for a moment. She then says "My eyes make scary??" I laughed so hard.

Just today while I was curling my hair Riley watched me for a few minutes. She suddenly blurts out "Why you cooking your hair Mama?"

Oh the mind of a two (almost three!) year old. So innocent and unique.

That familiar ache

The last time I had to leave Bree somewhere without either of her parents was when she was in the NICU. I always felt like I was leaving a piece of my heart behind, and I swear my heart would physically ache until I was by her side again.

Today that ache came back when I took her to daycare this morning. She is trying out her new daycare for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week. It allows her time to get used to the new environment, and for them to get used to her. I go in at lunch time to show them how to feed her. Today Bree had a puke saved up for them, so I feel a little bad about it. However, it is a part of who she is. It's not pleasant, but it is what it is.

There have been some good signs today though. When I took her in this morning she clung to me for a few minutes, but then wandered over to the table and tried to take someone elses cheerios. The teacher got her set up with her own cheerios (which she spilt all over the table and floor). However, she sat down and ate some cheerios. I left with her happy and content.

When I showed back up around lunch time to pick her up (so I could show them how to feed her), she was sitting at the table by herself drinking a sippy cup! She whined when she saw me, but after a few moments of cuddle she saw that the other kids were playing with bubbles and she wanted to go. I put her down and she went right over in the middle of all the kids and shrieked with happiness.

I think she is going to fit right in, and do just great. Now if only this ache in my heart would go away.

Livin' it up

Here in our household I'd like to say we've been living it up and taking every opportunity to get out and enjoy having our family here. However, I cannot say that. It has been too darn hot! Temps in the 110 to 115's make it near to impossible to do anything.

So, we have been at home everyday. Mom needs to work during the day, and Adam is at work from 7-4. So that leaves me, Dad and the kids. We have a little routine though, the big kids go to the park around 9 in the morning and they stay there for 30 to 45 minutes. They come back soaked either from the sprinklers, or from the water feature that is at our local park. Then they get out a board game and play that for while. Both of the big kids do really well with taking the time to play with my kids so it is great to see them interacting with one another.

I have been slacking on taking pictures, but need to start being the sneaky paparazzi in the house to get some good shots of them all playing together.

This weekend we plan on going to the Anthem Outlet malls (early in the morning!), and possibly hit up a Dave and Busters to get outta the house and have some fun!

Indoor Jump Rope Contest

Hey, you gotta have fun every once in a while and just break the rules. We did just that with our indoor jump rope contest. I did jump, but I was the photographer so no photos were taken of me....really...I did!

Even Grandma got in on the fun!

Specs

She is adjusting quite nicely to her specs. She does take them off about 5 to 10 times a day right now, but that's pretty normal. I think she looks beautiful in them!

Family

I love our family. I especially love it when they come to visit us. It makes our house a busier, more energetic, happier place. Today we will be having many visitors coming to the house. Adam's parents are driving down with our neice (Bailey, 9) and nephew (Hunter, 10). Also, our neice (Daphne, 9) will be flying in this afternoon to stay with us for a while.

I am excited for our house to be overrun with kids. Bree is going to be sleeping in our room in a pack and play because she was ever so nice to offer up her room to the big kids. Okay, so I really decided they would be using her room, but she is still sharing. We have broken down her crib (whew those get dirty quickly!) and are going to move it out tonight and move in the futon. The girls will be sharing the futon and we are going to get Hunter a twin blow up bed to sleep on.

We were going to put our girls together in the same room, but they have such different sleeping schedules we decided against it. However, the past two days Bree has spent in our room she has made a point to be waking up at 530. So, they may be sharing a room here soon if that continues.

We have a few adventures planned while they are here. Mama wants to visit a ghost town, a western town, some local splash pads, the zoo, and possibly a water park. I look forward to the time that will be spent with family. It is nice to share our time, our love, and our happiness with them!

Every time I turn around...

...Bree is walking.

She is now choosing (about 50% of the time) to walk instead of crawl. It is so odd and wonderful to see her in an upright walking position. She is such a big girl now. It is hard to imagine that she was the floppy little 5 pound 2 ounce baby we brought home 18 months ago. What a difference.

The rest of the week...and some of this week.

Last week was full of many surprises. Most of which  caught us off guard (that's the funny thing about surprises!). Thursday we found out I have to go to a gum specialist to have a surgical procedure done. Our insurance does not have good dental coverage at all.

We spent Saturday at my Aunt and Uncle's house out in Queen Creek and it was a welcome change from the stressful week that we had. Lounging in the pool helped to relax my cares away. Both girls LOVED the pool. Bree does not like being in a baby floater toy, she prefers someone holding her. Riley kicked herself all around the pool in her floater, splashing water on Daddy and laughing up a storm.

On Monday I took Bree to the eye doctor and found out she needs glasses. Our insurance doesn't cover them so we will be paying for them. Thankfully, Adam's parents are going to help us out with them in light of our money situation. We are looking at getting her these frames: click here to see her frames!. We are going to get them in the light rose color. The cool thing about these frames is that they are virtually indestructible. Bree does enjoy sporting her sunglasses every so often so I am hopeful that glasses will not be too hard of a transition.

Please be praying for our family this week. We have had a rough go of it lately and we are determined to keep our heads up. Thanks in advance.

The ugly

Usually I try and keep the blog upbeat and happy, but unfortunately life isn't always that way. The past two days have been horrible.

To start, Riley has ran a fever the last three days. She hovers around 101 in the evenings. Just the evenings. Weird. Bree started with a fever tonight too.

Yesterday we got a letter from Social Security saying the benefits that we have been getting for Bree are being changed. Instead of the $674 we were getting a month they are saying we only get $55.64. We rely upon that money to help pay for her expenses and to cover bills.

This morning I called to ask about why that change had occurred since our money situation had not changed. Come to find out we never should have qualified in the first place and they expect us to pay back all the money they had overpaid us. All $7, 420.32.

Talk about stressful. We are going to be appealing the repayment since it was their mistake that we received the money in the first place. I am sure this is a process that is going to take a long while.

To offset the money that we are no longer receiving we filed for food stamps today, and are going to re qualify for WIC tomorrow morning.

Here's hoping for a better tomorrow.

Bedtime bliss

I still rock Bree for a few minutes right before I lay her down in her crib. Those few minutes of snuggles mean the world to me. I feel as though I am bursting with love when I look into her eyes. I could hold her for a lifetime and still feel the same way. The way she sweetly looks into my eyes and smiles, her beautiful eyes gazing right back into mine, and how she fits into my arms so perfectly. Every night I wish I could stop time, even if just for a few more moments of bedtime bliss.

Wrapping it all up...

Sea World!

Riley loved her little orca whale toy. She called him "Chomp Chomp".

Rides

We went to Belmont Park on recommendation from a good friend and we had a blast! We learned that Riley is not ready for the tilt-a-whirl, but she loved everything else!