more pics and updates

Due to a child who has his days and nights mixed up, I figured I'd take this opportunity to catch up on blogging while Jason is watching TV with Daddy.

First off, I hate to belittle my relationship with Tyler, because that's not my intention and I love him to death, but I now finally get how enjoyable this newborn phase can be. Sure, you don't get sleep, and sure I'm in pain, but I'm utterly in love. Tyler was, umm, difficult...to say the least. And I had had a horrible delivery experience which made everything more difficult to manage. With Tyler it was something that took a little longer to appreciate, if that makes any sense. This time is completely different. I won't go on and on about it, but it's amazing. It truly is.

I forgot to mention that during our hospital stay we had some issues with breastfeeding on top of him being slightly jaundice. They were even more concerned by discharge, however not concerned enough to keep us but they wanted him seen today by the pediatrician to see if another course of action would be necessary. I was worried, because I really feel so much more positive about breastfeeding and I didn't want to feel compelled to supplement (even though I could obviously refuse), but today put my fears aside (at least for the most part). He's 7lbs2oz, which apparently is very normal for only 4 days old. His color is better and he's peeing/pooping as he should. So, apparently he's doing great! Oh, and he's 19.5 inches long. After a nice mini nursing session in the doctor's room, resulting in a "milk coma" he got his PKU test (heel prick) which he slept right through and snoozed the whole way home. He proceeded to sleep a good portion of the day and now is perfectly ready for his nocturnal session. He, he.

picture updates

I am pretty much without anything witty and useful to say, but I will just say that despite the lack of sleep, I am greatly enjoying being a mommy again!

Here are some pics from the hospital and discharge day (Saturday). Enjoy!

He's here!

Jason Michael arrived today, via scheduled c-section, at 7:59 am. He weighed in at 7lbs 6oz and is 18.75 inches (not completely positive about that part).

I am elated to report that this delivery was a complete opposite of my delivery with Tyler and I recall each and every amazing part of it. Will update more later as I believe a percoset is kicking in, but I just wanted to share some pictures of my cutie.

I am also pleased to report that big brother Tyler is doing well!

Last day as a family of three!

Today was relatively uneventful. Pre-op at the hospital went smoothly, despite the fact that they had to attempt THREE times to get my blood work (makes me excited for the IV insertion tomorrow). Then my pre-surgery appointment at the OB's office was quick and I was home in time to pick up Tyler from preschool (Al had taken him there as he started his "leave" today).

We had a light lunch and hung around the house and then he "rested" nicely while I napped. He, he.

We asked Tyler if he wanted to go out for dinner, figuring he'd say yes. Instead he wanted to stay home and eat pasta. Go figure. So we did that and then it was off to miniature golfing. I must say, the weather was GORGEOUS and if there were more days like this in Florida I might not despise it so much. There was a beautiful breeze and the humidity was very low. Tyler had a ball playing miniature golf, even if his form isn't quite up to par (and I assume that putting the ball into the hole with your hands is against the rules).
We had some ice cream before heading home and getting ready for bed.
At bedtime we normally have a routine of 2 books, 2 "people helping people" (long story) and 2 songs. I offered to do 3 books, because really I wasn't ready to say goodnight, and of course he coerced 3 songs out of me too. My silly little boy will often pick songs like small world, twinkle twinkle traffic light, and frosty the snowman (no matter what the season). Tonight he asked for "End of the Rainbow" (which is really "Daddy's Little Girl", which I sing as "Mommy's Little Boy"), "Jesus Loves Me", and "You are my Sunshine". I couldn't help but cry, but I did hold it together.

He totally (in theory) understands what is happening tomorrow and that "my baby Jason" will be here. The reality of it though is nothing he can understand, so I feel anxious for him more than anything.

I'm a bunch of emotions right now, which I will spare you the details of. For now I'm off to the airport in a bit and then I will ATTEMPT to get some sleep before heading to the hospital VERY early (I have to be there at 5:30am)!

37 hours to go!

But, hey, who's counting? LOL.

I can't believe my little man is going to be here Thursday morning. Seems surreal.

I think everything is mostly ready, or as ready as it's going to be...unless I get hit with the nesting bug again tonight or tomorrow night. Last night (or should I say this morning) I was replacing shower curtain liners at 1:00am. There is something wrong with me for sure! But you'll be happy to know that all baseboards and other seemingly often overlooked items are very clean.

Of course I've yet to pack for the hospital. Must be some sort of denial I suppose. I do have a few more things I want to do too, like write a letter to Tyler for while I'm gone, get him to the library, and of course mop the floors and some general cleaning.

Unfortunately, tomorrow, on my last day of 1-child freedom, I get to spend it in the doctors. I have my pre-op appointment at the hospital at 9:00, followed by an appointment at my OB office. Special, huh? I suppose Al and I might try to do something nice with Tyler tomorrow night, but I guess we'll see what the day has in store for us. I really just want to savor my last day with my Tyler, my first (and always) "baby". Why does that sentence bring me to tears right now?

And then tomorrow night I'll be off to pick up my parents at the airport late at night (my mom had her stitches removed and is cleared for the trip, yipee!). They of course offered to get transportation here, and of course Al will fight me and say he's going to pick them up, but I fully intend to do it. Do they actually think I will be SLEEPING at 10:00pm the night before I have my baby? I think not! So for now I'm signing off until I reappear with baby Jason news, and hopefully pictures. Hmmm, unless of course I decide to take a break to blog in the wee morning hours, sometime between scrubbing the sink with a toothbrush and organizing the garage. LOL!

feeling crafty!

So instead of completing useful tasks (such as completing the cleaning that needs to be done or packing the hospital bag my husband has been urging me to pack) I've taken on craft projects.

I had this memo board hung in Tyler's nursery until the transition to the "big boy" room a few months ago. I had it sitting in the garage with the nursery bedding that is waiting to be eBayed, but obviously no one is really going to buy this so I'd probably end up donating it or whatever. Well, I was tempted to buy a similar one for Jason in different colors, but Kohl's wanted about $29.99 for it. So I decided I could recover it. It took WAY longer than I anticipated, and I ran out of ribbon mid-way through and totally improvised, but I sorta like it.

Then there was this letter project. I had bought the letters a couple of weeks ago and planned on just painting them a solid color (just as I had painted Tyler's a little over 4 years ago). I had the fabric swatches my friend Hillary had sent a few weeks ago so I could see the fabric for the quilt, so I decided to make some use of them. I found a few clearance fabric remnants at Walmart (which all together cost me about $2.50, which is also what I used to cover the memo board) to complete the look. It's totally not what I intended it to look like, but about 4 hours later (yes, literally) I'm relatively happy with the results.

butterfly update

On Thursday/Friday those little caterpillars, as predicted, climbed up into the top of their little mini habitat (aka: cup with lid) and wrapped themselves in their cocoons. They are now considered chrysalides and I was instructed to remove the lid from the container and pin it into the wall in their butterfly habitat. I must say, this was totally nasty. They will remain in this state for, I believe, approximately 7 days before emerging as butterflies. Seems as if I may miss this transformation being that I'll be responsible for a human child emerging, but I suppose someone will take photos for me. LOL. Tyler is very excited and loves to stare at them, despite the fact that they do NOTHING!

family outing!

On Friday night Al's work was hosting a family gathering at the local bowling alley. We all went and had a blast. Tyler really enjoys bowling, as does Al. Normally I can enjoy it too, but I was NOT about to bowl. LOL.

Between the food, the bowling, and the music, Tyler was in his glory. We were there for about 3.5 hours and the time just flew by. Home by 8:00pm and Tyler was asleep almost immediately. Gotta love that!

As you can see, they had a ramp for the kids to bowl with. Tyler normally just "bowls" (that term is used loosely) with bumpers, but he thought this was loads of fun!
Oh, and on Saturday morning there was an open house at a local indoor play area (it just recently opened and I guess they were trying to promote it). Tyler had a ton of fun, although I can't say we'd necessarily be back being that I think he was just a tad too old for the place being the prices they charged. But a fun time was had by all and we got some free pizza, drinks, and water ice. Did I mention that the bowling night was free too? I love free!

7 days to go!!!

So I'm 38 weeks today, with 7 days remaining until my c-section. Hard to believe, huh?

And now I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to be giving birth to a small elephant. I didn't recall being this stretched and uncomfortable with Tyler, but I thought maybe I had blocked it from my memory. However today I realized I was wearing a shirt that I KNEW I had taken a picture of on my due date with Tyler. So I decided to do a comparison.

Me exactly 40 weeks pregnant with Tyler. He was 8lbs 3oz.

Me exactly 38 weeks pregnant with Jason. Ummm, crazy difference. Whatcha think, 10lber?

Jumping up and down!

So my friend Hillary (a college friend) offered to make Jason a quilt. I had originally intended on reusing Tyler's old bedding set, but when she offered it seemed like a great idea and a wonderful opportunity to get a new nursery for this little guy! I got to pick colors and styles I liked and she put together an absolutely gorgeous quilt, as well as curtains. She told me she mailed them out and they "should" be here by Friday. Lo and behold, USPS came through for me and delivered my package today. I literally jumped out the door when I saw her writing on the box! Wahooo!!!!!

So, without further ado...
Isn't she the most talented and creative person? The pictures don't even do it justice! I absolutely LOVE everything, especially the texture to the quilt. She also found some very plush and fun crib sheets, which I would die to sleep on myself.

So thank you, thank you, Hill. You are the best!

Also thank you to many of the lovely ladies in my playgroup, who had given me a generous Babies R' Us gift card that was used to purchase the bed skirt and awesome bumper (as well as more stuff with money to spare).

Note: I am aware that bumpers are controversial. I did do my research and am comfortable with my decision to use one.

Whoa baby!

The caterpillars are growing at an alarming rate!

I've gotta say it...

BIG BABY!

Al went to urgent care right from work (they couldn't get him in for a regular appointment on base until "possibly" tomorrow). Yep, otitis externa, or in other words "swimmer's ear".

Yes, I KNOW it can be painful. Yes, I KNOW i should have some more sympathy, but if I hear one more moan I might be tempted to injure his other ear. I'll blame my lack of patience on the child who is actually wedged under my ribs and on top of my cervix at the same time. So I will vent here instead. LOL.

Is it me, or are men big babies about some stuff? Don't get me wrong, he could be bleeding severely and probably choose not to go get stitches, but when it comes to the minor stuff it's enough to send them to bed for weeks.

On the other hand, my mom is putting on her happy face and complaining as little as possible!

History repeats itself???

So just over 4 years ago I was patiently waiting to have my Tyler. Meanwhile, EVERYONE else was heading to the hospital. In fact, I was as well, but only to visit others. LOL. My mom was hospitalized. In fact she was still there on my due date and I remember visiting her and people thinking I was nuts (it was about an hour or more away) but, come on, I was going to a HOSPITAL. What's the worst that can happen? Anyway, I recall her telling the doctors that she would sign herself out if they didn't discharge her because she WAS going to be there for the birth of her grandson. Luckily she was discharged in time, only because Tyler was a stubborn late baby, but all ended up working out okay. I'm sure she was in severe pain still, but she hid it.

Then there was Al. He managed to scratch his cornea late one night, AFTER my due date had come and gone. I recall driving him to the hospital at like 1:00AM or later and people trying to bring ME a wheelchair, obviously just assuming I was in labor. Nope. I'm sure you can imagine my sarcasm was in full force that night. No, not in labor, just here cause my husband has a boo-boo on his eye. Okay, I know a cornea scratch is likely painful, but my sympathy was no longer where it should have been.

So, here I am 4 years later. Due in 10 days with Jason (it still feels funny to call him that). My mom is currently highly medicated and nowhere near ready to come to Florida. Al is on his way to urgent care this afternoon as he thinks he may have burst his eardrum or something. Ah, yes, history repeats itself!

Edited to add: I should mention that neither of these people are normally attention seeking. My mom is NOT bothered by pain. As she'd happily point out, she grew up with 3 brothers. She was/is tough! Okay, Al can be a BIG BABY sometimes, but he's not one to go to the hospital or even see a doctor. He has not been to an ER/urgent care for himself since the cornea incident. And he NEVER goes to the doctor except for routine stuff (which they are required to keep up with in the military).

Almost ready!

We've got paint! Saturday I finally convinced Al to help me paint. And it's done!
Of course the room isn't done. Despite the fact that I'm not thrilled with the layout I am doing my best to make it work (the futon needs to be in there for guest space and/or nursing and I already have the dresser in the closet...too much furniture and not enough room)! I still have to figure out where I want to hang things and I have to set up the crib and paint a few little projects, etc. All of that is likely on hold though until my package arrives from my friend Hill, who just finished up Jason's quilt for his crib, as well as some curtains I believe. Since I don't really know the final look of it, I'm waiting on setting up a lot of the stuff. So keep your fingers crossed that USPS does a decent job of getting this package here this week!

Please keep my mom in your thoughts. She had surgery on her knee on Friday, and although she normally avoids all medications and doesn't let pain get in her way, she's currently back at the hospital with severe pain....so something is obviously going on.

Fun mail day!

So my first mail delivery was this:

12 Bum Genius 3.0 one-size cloth diapers. Aren't they so cute? I know, you think I'm crazy. I don't care. I think they're so purty. As my friend Andrea says, it's my "first fluffy mail"! Apparently once you get started on cloth diapering you can get quite sucked in and end up buying custom items and such. In fact, "fluffy mail" must be some sort of term in the cloth diapering world. LOL. Anyway, Andrea is the one who has been giving me all my guidance in this subject, and I'm very thankful.

Then there was this:
Yep, in case you can't tell, they are butterfly larvae. I had the brilliant idea to get Tyler a butterfly kit for his birthday and you have to mail away for the larvae (aka: caterpillars), which they then send to you via mail. You keep them in the container until they turn into chrysalides (like those cocoon things) then we put them in their habitat. Apparently we should be having new butterfly birth right around the time of new baby birth. How completely inconvenient. LOL.

Then there was this:

I'm sure it's obvious what it is. The cutest monkey costume ever. I took a chance on this through eBay and since it's a 3-6 month I'm not 100% sure it will fit Jason, but I'm sure I can re-eBay it.

Speaking of eBay, we've had lots of auctions ending and it feels so good to be getting all this CRAP out of the house. 6 more auctions ended tonight, only 4 of them selling, but they were pretty good money makers, not to mention pretty big items (as in physical size). I'll be happy to have them gone. So tomorrow it will be off to the post office for, I believe, the 5th time this week.

Vision check

For one, Tyler was soooo good. He was tired (he even ASKED if it was naptime yet) and I had to drag him to the eye doctor. He did great, even though I KNEW he was very nervous. He only cried at the time of those darn eye drops (which I can understand why). Everything checked out great, which is a huge relief. BTW, he got to pick a prize out of a treasure chest on his way out of the appointment. He picked out star-shaped sunglasses which he now proudly wears as his "rock and roll glasses". Hmm, I have NO idea where he got that from. LOL.

From there we had a special "date". Dinner at 3:00. We're pretty cool. Tyler picked Olive Garden, which I was pretty darn happy about considering I LOVE Olive Garden and Al isn't incredibly fond of it. I've been trying to fit in some nice "mommy and Tyler time", especially being so close to my due date. It all worked out great because Al had to work late so he grabbed something to eat there and Tyler was in bed by 7:45. Then I was able to spend some quality time searching MORE cloth diapering stuff before Al got home close to 9:00PM.

Me, what am I doing at 12:15Am? Well, obviously NOT sleeping. Why are my nesting abilities in full force in the late night hours?

asking for some happy thoughts....

Yesterday my mom fell at work when she slipped on some water at the base of the stairs as she was walking down them. Her one leg slipped forward and her other knee went smack onto the corner of the concrete steps. She broke her kneecap directly in half (which actually is a pretty impressive Xray). The lower half is in many small pieces. They sent her immediately to the hospital and eventually she was released after they stabilized it and put in her orders to see a orthopedic surgeon (through workman's comp). On her way out of the hospital she passed out. So they readmitted her. Turns out she is okay though (at least the passing out issue).

Anyway, so she went from there to workman's comp where luckily the orthopedic surgeon was unexpectedly in the office. He saw her immediately. She will need surgery, which she will likely have on Friday. This will be a LONG recovery period, in which time she'll have to undergo frequent physical therapy.

So please think happy thoughts for my mom, especially for her surgery on Friday.

Love you mom! XOXOXOXOXO

No more appointments please!

So last week we drove to Tyler's pediatrician for his scheduled 4-year-old "well check". Got there, waited a few minutes in the waiting room, only to discover that they couldn't allow him to be seen because it had not been a full year since his last well check-up. Go figure. Glad I woke him up early from his nap and dealt with afternoon traffic for that! If I didn't like the pediatrician's office so much, I would have been ticked. Okay, I was ticked, but not too badly. They did end up seeing him though to take a look at the rash he's had FOREVER. Finally gave me a cream, even though they still insist it will go away on it's own. Also discovered he has excema. Again. So back to the pharmacy. Oh, and due to his "poopy issues" (which I will spare you the details of) I got to do a 3 day stool sample. And back to the pediatrician to drop it off. Joy.

Yesterday brought me to the pediatrician again. And again I had to wake him from a nap for this. He was a good boy and cooperative...until he heard the word vaccine. He cried (okay, more like screamed) from the point the doctor left the room for at least a good 5 minutes until the nurse came in to give him his vaccines. Or, more precisely, his THREE vaccines. Apparently this was quite traumatic. For us both. I just live to hear him scream bloody murder while trying to break free from the grasp of myself and the nurse. Always fun.

At his appointment we got his lovely stats. 37lbs and 39.75 inches. Apparently that's average height and slightly above average weight. Well, I know how big he USED to be, so I'm not worried. Pee sample and finger prick (blood sample for iron level) were all great. Results from the stool sample were normal. Hmmm.

Vision test. Not so good. Failed in his left eye. So tomorrow (yes, tomorrow, since they have a cancellation) we're off to the eye doctor. I'm just so utterly overjoyed with this idea. If I didn't want to wait a few weeks I had to take the cancellation. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled they had a cancellation, being that I don't want to be dealing with taking him AND a newborn to the eye doctor. But could 1:00 be any more inconvenient, for a child who has napped every weekday since school started? That should be fun...for everyone involved. Please wish us luck though, because Al is seriously stressing the results of this appointment, being his vision history.

Oh, and did I mention that Thursday I have an OB appointment. Even though I have been approximately 617 times since I got pregnant, I really hope this isn't the last appointment. I'm not ready for baby to arrive yet! So, okay, I'll accept 1 more appointment. That's it, then I'm done. LOL!

"Baby Bean" has a name!

We've finally settled on a name.

Jason Michael

I know it's pretty common, but being that our last name is very UNcommon, we wanted to stick with something fairly traditional.

Months and months ago Tyler came up with Jason (we're only guessing he heard it on TV) and it's stuck with us ever since. So we figure, IF Jason ends up hating it, we can blame it on Tyler! LOL.

In the meantime however, Tyler still likes the name Diego. He says that Diego will be his "special name" for his baby brother.

as requested

Here is the link to the youtube version of Tyler's Small World video. It's just the same as you've seen on my blog, but I was asked to pass the link along.

people are annoying...

• Why is it that people must use a lane that is ending (clearly marked) to pass other cars waiting in traffic? RUDE!
• I was almost backed into yesterday in the Walmart parking lot...by a lady driving a huge pick-up truck with the bumper stickers "Cowboy Butts Drive me Nuts" and "Deer Hunters Love Big Racks". Classy.
• Don't pay for an item on eBay and then e-mail AFTER I've dropped off the package to say that you forgot your address had changed. I know in theory this is not my fault (even though he did email minutes after the payment went through), but somehow I predict that I end up with bad feedback which because of this.
• If you borrow library books on a friend's library card, perhaps you might want to return them on time. Or at least answer phone calls as to whether I can pick them up and return them for you. I know, stupid on my part, but still ANNOYING and RUDE!
  

Making way for baby!

So, today is a mere 3 weeks until baby bean's arrival date. Yep, 21 days. I'm feeling fairly good, just ridiculously tired. I now have put on at least 5 lbs. I told you I'd pack on all the weight at the end! I might manage to completely catch up in the last 3 weeks. Now wouldn't that be talented? LOL.

You'll be happy to know, that despite the fact that this child is still nameless, we are making progress in getting ready for him!

The garage is getting cleaned out. Okay, that's not a necessity for a baby, but decluttering WAS a necessity, and this is the end product. I know it doesn't look impressive, but if you saw what it was like before, you'd realize this is a huge deal. It also means that we can pull our minivan in the garage in the case of any hurricane landfalls.
Part of the reason that we now have a functional garage is thanks to my husband. I'm giving him HUGE props for parting with as much as he has. Anyone who knows him knows how much he hates getting rid of stuff. Can I just say that he even got rid of electronics! Now that is love!

Of course now our master bedroom looks like we're in the process of moving, as we have BOXES and boxes of stuff ready to go out for eBay/donations/etc. I've been as busy as a beaver getting things listed, because it's always nice to make some sort of financial profit from your decluttering. Who knew you could get $40 for a BROKEN digital camera?

The baby's room has also been cleared out of all the previous contents. Being that it was our office/guest/junk room, that was no small feat.

We've started bringing in the baby gear from storage. Thank goodness it seems as if most of that has fared far better than the baby clothes had! The carseat has been washed and sanitized and is now properly installed in the minivan. As you can see, Tyler thinks it's quite fun to test out the baby stuff.
Swing and bouncy seat are washed, sanitized, and set up.
Oh, and I've ordered cloth diapers, despite others many attempts to convince me that I might be crazy. So I suppose it is possible that I have lost my mind somewhere in the master bedroom with all the eBay boxes. So if you receive my mind in the mail, along with the broken digital camera, feel free to send it back to me. I assure you it would be no use to anyone else.

So, now all I've gotta do is clean my whole house and get the baby's room ready. Sounds like fun, huh?

Too cute not to share!

Surprise!

Yesterday my playgroup surprised me with a baby shower. I knew we were going out to brunch, but I didn't expect a baby shower! Believe me, the gifts were very nice, but it was even more special to know that I have so many great women in my life who will be a great support to me in the upcoming months!
Thank you Andrea, for pulling it all together. And thank you to all the ladies who made time in their busy schedules to come out and celebrate the new baby's upcoming arrival! You are the best!

Holiday? What holiday?

Today was supposed to be a nice relaxing day as we "celebrated" labor day. Instead it involved more labor than relaxing. LOL.

It started with a phone call around 5:00AM and Al was being "recalled", which essentially meant he had to go into work immediately. I don't know all the details (nor am I sure what I can share) but they were trying to work on some equipment that they had to ready in case of an emergency trip to any Hurricane Gustav devastation areas. Luckily the storm didn't hit as a category 3 as expected, and for whatever reason they didn't need to actually go towards New Orleans, but Al was at work until past 5:00 tonight. Keep your fingers crossed though, because the potential still exists for them to send him there, or to any area that may be affected by Hurricane Hanna heading towards the US.

Meanwhile I was working here. Yet more eBay and more cleaning. Throw in some car and Lego time, and that about sums up our day here.

We did get to do some barbecuing when Al got home and we fit in some playtime outside.

We really know how to enjoy ourselves, as Al head back outside after Tyler went to bed so that he could spray weedkiller. Meanwhile I worked on sealing the grout on our newly laid bathroom tile (installed by my father).

Yep, we are just that fun!