Five for Friday

 ONE

We have had some great success in the potty training department.  She is completely potty trained with no accidents.... as long as she can go in her duck potty.  She does not like going in public places. We are working on that.  She can hold it like a champ, which is both good and bad, so we haven't really had any accidents out and about yet either.  She also learned to pull her pants down soon after Logan's arrival.  This would be a tremendous help if she didn't pull them down even when she didn't really need to go. She pulls them down all day long, and she can't pull them back up that well.  I'm still trying to decide if potty training her two weeks before bringing home a newborn was brilliant or my dumbest idea yet.  I like the savings in the diaper department, but sometimes I wish she'd just pee in a diaper and be on her way.  I am super happy that she got it down so fast and isn't have problems, though.

TWO

I didn't forget about the drawing from my 1000th blog post!  I just haven't had a chance to take care of it.  So the winner is....

 

Laurie, I will get a little 31 goodie bag together for you!  Congratulations!

THREE

 I cannot count the number of times I have had people say, "She has an attention span of a five year old!" when referring to Olivia.  These are usually from people who have actually worked with children their entire lives, so they know what is age appropriate.  Apparently, attention spans go out the window when a new baby is brought home.  She suddenly cannot play by herself or sit and read books quietly.  Someone bring back that little girl that can entertain herself!!  At least for a few weeks, anyway....  Since Michael is contracted out he doesn't get vacation or paternity time the same as some.  He only took a week off.  He was back at work on Wednesday.  It's been a long few days.

FOUR

So it turns out that I wasn't crazy--this formula is not working.  The problem did not fix itself by dragging it out 3 more days.  I have been pumping every two to three hours (when he eats) around the clock.  I am hardly getting anything.  Honestly, I am over this whole entire thing.  It was rough when Olivia went through it, because she was screaming bloody murder constantly and it took us a month or so to figure things out.  He doesn't cry and is pretty easy going, but it is not any easier on me.  Thinking about having to go dairy free makes me want to cry.  We will see what the doctor's say today.  It might be ready to feed liquid gold for us.

FIVE

Happy Valentine's Day!

source

Doctor Visits

We had Logan's first doctor's visit on Monday.  The pediatrician in the hospital insisted that it be set up first thing so that his jaundice was watched closely.

I felt like we had so much to cover!  We were there so long.

I didn't take any pictures at the appointment, so I'm just going to throw random pictures in this post. :)

First, they took his measurements.

*His weight dropped a whole pound, down to 8 pounds 14 ounces.  

This exact thing happened to Olivia, so it didn't concern me too much.  This put him in the  83rd %.

*His height remained the same at 20 inches.  This put him in the 53rd %.

*His head circumference was 37.6cm , which put him in the 98th %.  Can we just take a moment and let that sink in?  Yep.  I'm pretty sure I now have rock star status for life!  The nurse asked me how I even walked in there for the appointment.  In reality though, this was probably a blessing in disguise.  His head is really wide, so once it was out there was no issues with the shoulders.  That could have potentially been a bad situation in an ambulance.  Once again, God had all of the details figured out.

They checked for a heart murmur and didn't hear anything, so we are skipping the extra visit to Children's.

They took blood to check his bilirubin levels, which ended up coming back fine.

We met with the nurse practitioner first, and then the pediatrician came in since it was our first visit.  She looked at him, rubbed a little chub on his arm, and said "He's a big baby!  He has some extra fat on him too.  Did you have gestational diabetes?"  (*sigh*)

The main talk of our appointment was the fact that Logan seems to be following his sister when it comes to the Milk Soy Protein Intolerance (MSPI).  This does not surprise me one bit.  Lots of people kept trying to encourage me during my pregnancy that it would be "different this time".  But truthfully, I had read the facts.  If your first has it, it is almost a guarantee that your second will.  I was expecting it.

Logan's has showed up a little different though.  We didn't have non stop screaming (yet. apparently that starts between 4 to 6 weeks if untreated at that point), but he went right from meconium poops into green mucousy poop.  There are only 2 reasons for green mucousy poop, and I had a good idea what ours was.

I had a very in depth conversation with both the pediatrician and the nurse practitioner.  Some tears may have been shed, but both Michael and I decided that going on the formula was probably best.  We absolutely cannot afford to do the ready to feed, so we wanted to start out on the powder.  Both our Texas pediatrician and our new Ohio pediatrician said that the ready to feed is better to start out on, because the powder has a lot of corn in it (another common allergen).  But when we did that with Olivia, she refused to switch over.  $330 a month in formula is not an option this time around, since I'm not working like I was last time.

They sent us home with samples of the alimentum powder and instructed us to feed him every 2 to 3 hours to get his weight back up and to help clear out the jaundice.  They told us to come back on Tuesday for a follow up.

 We started the formula on Monday afternoon.  We didn't have to worry about waking him for feedings.  He was ready every 2 hours.  He took to the bottle and the formula with no issues.  Unfortunately, his diapers weren't getting better.  In fact, they were looking worse to me.  So at our 6AM feeding, I sort of panicked thinking that I was ruining my milk supply and he wasn't taking to the formula.  So I went back to breastfeeding and decided to see what they said at his appointment.

We got to his appointment and his weight was back up to 9 pounds, 1 ounce.  He gained 3 ounces in a day!!  That is huge!  The doctor's were really pleased and said we were headed in the right direction.

Then we discussed the feeding situation.  It took a lot for me to decide to go to the formula in the first place.  I'll be honest, mommy guilt is not usually an issue for me.  I know I'm not perfect and I make plenty of mistakes, but for the most part I feel confident in my decisions and give my daughter (and now son) a LOT of me.  But quitting on the breastfeeding so soon this time has me feeling very guilty.  Although I know that the diet would be incredibly hard for me and in turn incredibly hard for my family.

So to have made the decision to go with formula, and then to have to flip back to breastfeeding was a little overwhelming.  The doctor said that she didn't think that the bad diapers would happen that fast from the formula.  They are more than willing to help me with whatever decision I choose.  They were great at walking me through the decision and the pediatrician has a son with 15 different food allergies, so she said she completely understands the struggle and had to eventually quit breastfeeding herself.  She said breastfeeding does not trump a baby with an upset stomach/GI.  Plus, Olivia started on formula around two months.  She is one of the healthiest and smartest two and a half year olds I know, so that gives me a little comfort.

So right now we are giving the alimentum powder and watching the diapers.  In the meantime, I am also pumping as to not lose my supply.  If this formula doesn't work, I will have no choice but to go to the strict  diet.  We are going to do this until Friday.  We go in for another follow up then.  They want to check his weight again, and then we will see how the diaper situation is going.

I'm just ready for a plan.... whatever it may be.  This limbo thing is not working for me so well.  Thankfully, we have a pretty chill baby.  He is just going with the flow.

The rest of the story

We ended up on a level 2 snow emergency on Wednesday, so our visitors were few.  That was alright though.  We didn't get moved to our postpartum room until 5 in the morning, so we were already starting out behind in the sleep department.

Logan spent part of the morning in the nursery having his breathing monitored.  Basically, since he went through the birth canal so fast, all of the fluids weren't squeezed out of his lungs properly--much like what sometimes happens to a c-section baby.  He was making constant noise and showing slight signs of distress.  It ended up being a very short term problem that worked itself out as he spit up throughout the day.

Laurie did venture out and bring Olivia to meet Logan.  She was SO excited.  I have to say, she knew exactly what was going on.  She walked in and said, "Logan is here.  He's not in your belly anymore!"  She immediately wanted to hold him.

She was instantly in love.

We got Olivia a gift from Logan.  I think the idea is to help the big sibling have "good" feelings towards the baby and not be jealous.  Plus, the baby gets a lot of attention, so it is to help even things out.  In all actuality, this was probably not necessary for us.  She isn't jealous at all, and actually didn't quite get that the gift was from Logan.

My friend Allyssa and I went to middle school and high school together.  We actually switched schools together in 10th grade.  She was definitely one of my best friends.  Her husband is in the military and she has lived all over the place.  Thankfully, she happens to be living in Dayton now.  So she made the hour and twenty minute trip to see me and meet Logan.

Laurie brought Olivia back later in the evening.

Their first visit was all about Olivia meeting Logan, so I made sure Laurie got her chance this time.

Logan got circumcised on Thursday.  Poor guy.

Michael's mom came by after work.  Olivia was with us. One of the kids at Laurie's work was sick, and we didn't want to risk Olivia getting sick.  She was happy to see grandma!  And grandma was happy to see both of her grandkids!

Soon after everyone left, Logan got put under the lights for being jaundice.

Despite having many dirty diapers and eating like a champ, his numbers were slightly elevated earlier in the day.  When they re-tested them, the numbers rose at a level higher than 2%.  That means lights.  He was on them for almost 24 hours and actually delayed our discharge some.

Friday was pretty uneventful.  We thought we would be leaving before noon, and didn't actually leave until 6:30.  We were so thankful to be able to head home.

Logan also has a little heart murmur.  We were told that this is pretty common.  However, it generally fixes itself in the first 24 hours.  His did not.  They want us to go and get it checked out with a pediatric cardiologist.  We are going to see what his regular pediatrician says. I am more than willing to have it looked into if necessary.  It just seemed the hospital pediatrician was overly cautious about everything.  At this point, I'm not concerned.  Hopefully it will be no big deal.

He's Here!

Some of you saw the announcement on Facebook, but for those of you who haven't heard yet... 

LOGAN MICHAEL made his fast and furious arrival on Wednesday, February 5th.

I have been saying all along that we are apparently just a family of extremes and that he was for sure to be born in the middle of a snow storm.  I had Olivia in Texas in the hottest summer they had in twenty some years.  We lived in Texas for two winters and they were super mild back here in Ohio.  I told Michael, "You watch!  We are going to move back and it is going to be the worst winter in years and he will be born in a blizzard."  It wasn't blizzard conditions, but it was pretty close.  Here's the story:

Things were moving along as normal and I was waiting for my 39 week appointment, which was scheduled for the afternoon of Wednesday the 5th.  On the night of the 4th my friend Laurie brought us over dinner.  I kept saying that I just wish he would come on his own, because I didn't want to have to make the induction decision.  When she got ready to leave, we opened the door to a couple of inches of snow.  She joked that he was for sure coming that night and should she just spend the night. (She was going to be staying at our house for labor and delivery so Olivia's routine could remain the same.)  I said, "I haven't even had any contractions yet, so I think we are good."

Not a half hour later and I started getting period type cramping.  I knew this was sort of normal.  There was nothing to "time", so I just endured.  It went on for a few hours while we watched TV.  I told Michael that I hoped that meant when I went in that I would be dilated more or that Logan had moved into position--something!

Since I've been having trouble sleeping, we've been going to bed pretty late.  We went to bed a little before 1.  As we laid there talking, we could hear that the snow had turned to sleeting ice.  We were discussing the upcoming birth and what we should do in certain situations, etc.  At 1:30 I felt a "pop" and told Michael that my water had just broke.  I knew it was going to take Laurie at least 25 minutes to get to our house.  I instructed Michael to call Laurie and then the doctor and I hopped in the shower.

I just took a quick shower and was doing good, but as soon as I got out the contractions started, and they started with a vengeance!  Michael was scurrying around trying to find all of the items on my "pack at the last minute" list.  He got an app on his phone to time the contractions.  I told him that they were coming way too fast!

He had to stay under the heat lamp for a bit after his bath because his hair was taking so long to dry! :)

In the meantime, Laurie was stuck in her driveway from all of the snow.  Michael was trying to instruct her, help me, pack the bags, and run around to do what needed done.  

The pain got so bad that I ended up on all fours in our bedroom, puking and saying things like, "Michael!  I can't do this!"  He reassured me that I could.  He kept asking if he should call 9-1-1.  I didn't want to be that person that called claiming to be needing help and only be at 4cm or something.  Remember--with Olivia I didn't feel a single contraction, so this was all very new to me!

I told him that we didn't have time to wait for someone to show up.  We needed to get Olivia up, get in the car and get on our way.  Our hospital was 30 minutes away in good traffic!  So as he woke Olivia up and was getting her settled, I had a contraction that didn't stop.  I had left his phone on the other side of the room, so I'm not sure how long it was but it was definitely a sign to me that we were in trouble.  Once he got back in the room I told him to go ahead and call 9-1-1.  We were not going to make it to the hospital!

The dispatcher started walking us through things.  She said my breathing was good and was coaching me on how to relax through the contractions instead of tense up.  She told me to just let my body do what it was meant to do.  I kept saying that I did not want to have a 10 pound baby on my bedroom floor, and she said that it would be fine.  She was instructing Michael on gathering towels and what he should be doing.  At one point she told him that for every contraction he needed to firmly place the palm of his hand under me so that the head didn't come out too fast.  Um, yeah.  Things got real, and FAST!  Michael did great. He was staying calm, but I could tell that his hand was shaking just a bit.  I asked where the paramedics were, and she said they were on their way, but because of the storm they might be a little delayed.  Great!

They finally arrived.  4 EMT's and 3 firefighters walked in.  The first guy says, "Oh crap! Are you kidding me?!?"  Yeah... that was comforting.  Apparently when Michael called the dispatcher and told them my water had broke and my contractions were too close together, that did not translate to 'this baby is coming NOW!'.  They started calling for what they would need off the truck.  I guess at some point some of them were shoveling our driveway.  Then the head guy says they need to move us to the basement.  That made no sense to me, so I started arguing with him a bit.  Finally they put me on this tarp and carried (banged me from side to side) down the hall and down the stairs, where they put me on the stretcher.  Just at that time I hear Laurie say, "Where is O?".  She arrived literally just in the nick of time!

I got loaded onto the ambulance.  I guess Michael was originally going to drive.  He already had our bags in the car and it was running.  At the last second he got worried about getting stuck in the snow, so he asked if he could ride in the ambulance.  They said yes, but that he had to ride in the passenger seat.

We started off down the road and they were trying to get an IV in me.  That never happened.  Michael was talking to me from the front. I told them I needed to push and they kept telling me not to and that I was just needed to have a bowel movement.  Apparently they didn't know that my water had broken.  When they found out, they mildly started freaking out.  Finally, I told them again that I HAD to push.  On the next contraction I crowned. (insert more paramedic freak out).  Push two and his head was out.  Push three and he was out!

I had to remind them to look at the time of birth.  Logan arrived at 2:45AM--exactly 1 hour and 15 minutes from when my water broke.  We were literally about 10 minutes away from Michael delivering him in our bedroom!

We got to the hospital about 7 minutes after Logan's arrival.  At one point the grumpy paramedic called me Brittany a few times. I responded with, "It's Bethany.  If I have to go through all of this, you can at least get my name right!"  He wasn't my favorite of people, but he did later apologize to Michael for them being a little abrupt and intense.  Pretty much all of the nurses and doctors have said that paramedics do NOT like to deliver babies if they can help it.  That was clearly apparent.

The hospital had a team waiting for us.  As soon as I got into the hallway a nurse was there to take Logan.  She grabbed him and said, "Whoa!  He is a BIG baby.  Did you have gestational diabetes?"  (OH. MY. WORD.  Seriously already!!!!)

I was taken into one of the closest rooms where I delivered the placenta.  I'm glad I didn't deliver at home.  The paramedics said I had delivered the placenta in the squad, where I clearly did not.

Logan was doing great.  His temps were good.  He was 9 pounds, 14 ounces and 20 inches long.

Yes.  That's right.  I had one labor where I felt nothing, and then one where I basically delivered a 10 pound baby with no epidural.  Talk about extremes!

It turns out that had this happened any other way, we likely would have had him on the side of the road in the freezing cold.  There was a semi jack knifed on the freeway that we would have needed to take.  The road was closed, and we would have been stuck.  It all worked out just as it needed to.  We didn't end up at the hospital we were suppose to.  They ended up taking us to the closest one.  I think this was God's way of laughing at me.  It turns out, having a baby in an ambulance is probably going to be a lot cheaper than having him in that cushy hospital room that we had planned for. ;)

Logan's Room and Mobile

Logan's room isn't really finished, but it most likely won't be for a little while so I thought I'd just go ahead and share a little sneak peek.

You may remember that the plan for Logan's room took a few twists and turns.  Originally, we had planned to still be staying with Michael's mom.  Therefore, he wouldn't even have had a room.  Once we decided to move, the search for the right "nursery" was on.  After much discussion, we settled on a transportation theme.  I had a color scheme in my head that I wanted to go with.  Unfortunately, all of the transportation type of bedding that I liked was a color that I didn't like.

On a random walk through Hobby Lobby I spotted some vintage metal superhero tins.  If you know my husband, then you know that he loves all things superhero.  So I texted him a picture and asked if he'd rather go that route with a blue and red nursery.  Of course he was ALL on board for this, so the transportation theme got thrown out the window.

This is the view from the doorway.  It's not a big room, but it will do.

We reused Olivia's nursery furniture.  The red and blue toy bins were actually from my classroom, but they match the colors so well that they got thrown in there.  The plan for above the toy bin is a superhero birth announcement.  I found one on etsy that I like, but of course I have to wait until I have his stats before ordering it.

We also went with blue (navy) black out curtains.  I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not, but the carpet in our house is NOT good.  We tried negotiating for it to be changed before we moved in, but they weren't really having it.  Unfortunately Logan's room is one of the worst.  That rug is placed strategically. :) There is another superhero rug that I really want.  If I end up getting it, it's strategic placement will be near the door.

 We hung the tins above the changing table.  They were originally $16, but I got them on sale for 50% off.

I decided to skip a bedding set this time and just mix and match pieces to match what I wanted.  The bedskirt and sheets came from Target.  Two of the three masks came from Target.  They actually sell all 3, but we found the spiderman one for clearance at the Disney store.  The ironman one was also a clearance after Christmas score!

I've already shared that I made the name banner.  I also made the mobile.  I am pretty pleased with it.  I probably spent about $3 and the rest was all items I already had on hand.  Not too bad!

 I'm pretty pleased with how it all turned out.

There's not a lot going on over here either.  I have some ideas for some do-it-yourself art that I want to do for the wall.  I am sort of at a loss for the top of the dresser.  The lamp is necessary, because there is no overhead light.  In fact, I may get a second one.  The frog is the stuffed animal I bought the day I found out I was pregnant (I did the same thing for Olivia).  The bucket was just something we had and it happened to match, so there it sits for the moment.  The closet is to the left.

That's it so far.  He will be staying in our room for a bit.  Hopefully I will be able to finish things in the next few months.  More so, because I don't like things hanging over my head.  But also so he can have his little space.

39 Weeks, Baby #2

How far along: 39 weeks

Size of baby: for weeks 37 to delivery (month 9) the baby is the size of a watermelon

Average size is 18.9 to 20.9 inches and 6.2 to 9.2 pounds.

Total weight gain/loss: +18.2
Yep, that's right. 3 pounds gained in a week!  Yikes.  I'm not really surprised.  I have begun to have some major swelling this week.  What worries me is that I have gained 5 1/2 pounds in 2 weeks!  It's not the number that is the problem.  I just worry that means that something else is going on... or he's getting huge.  Ugh.  Just come already, buddy!

 Gender: It's a boy! 

Movement: He is back to his normal shenanigans of hardly moving.

Sleep: Bleh.  I am so uncomfortable, but like usual--once I fall asleep I am alright.

What I miss: being comfortable

Cravings: anything that doesn't require ME to cook ;)

Symptoms: I am sore, achy, and sometimes just in flat out pain.  I'm pretty much ready to be done.

Fun Purchases: Nothing this week.  We are all set for now.  We are just waiting.

Surprises: Honestly, I am a little surprised that I am still pregnant.  I know.  That sounds crazy because a typical pregnancy delivers between weeks 39 and 41.  It's just since I knew at around 31 weeks with Olivia that I would have an early induction, I just expected that this time around would follow suit in a way.  I didn't necessarily think that I would deliver as early this time, but I wouldn't have been surprised to have had a January baby.  Oh well.  I guess I might get to experience things both ways--planned and spontaneous.

We are pretty much ready.  The laundry is done, the house is clean, and everything on my list is pretty much checked off.  I never experienced the "just ready to be done" deal with Olivia, but I can now sympathize with the women who say this.  It's manageable, but I'm ready to just have him here.

O's First Official Haircut

Depending on when baby brother decides to arrive, this may be our last weekend as a family of 3.  We decided to try to make it a little fun for Olivia.  She has Little Gym every Saturday morning.  It is close to one of our malls, so while we were in the area, we stopped in for some fun.

After a lunch in the food court, we headed to Sweet & Sassy.  Olivia needed a haircut badly.  I have cut her hair twice.  Both times it was to even out the baby growth.  I have to cut her bangs every 4 to 6 weeks and I hate it!  Her hair needed to be evened out.  The dead ends needed to be cut to make it healthy.

We won't likely be taking her to a fancy schmancy girly place every time, but we thought it would be fun for her first cut.

She did great!  She was actually pretty excited about it.  Which is kind of funny, because she keeps talking about how she likes that her hair is "long like Rapunzel's". :)

The girl took about 3/4 to 1 inch off of the bottom.  She said it actually wasn't in too bad of shape.

She also stacked it a little around her face.

She had me hold her head still for the bangs.

Then we decided to add a few layers in.  Olivia has Michael's color of hair, but the rest is all mine.  The girl cutting it said exactly what I have been told by multiple hairdressers.  "It's very silky and fine, but she has a LOT of it!"  She said the layers would help it out.

This cracks me up, because it totally sums Olivia up.  She's not mad.  She's not annoyed.  She is literally just taking it all in.  I can relate, because I use to get asked all the time what was wrong.  I guess our "thinking" faces just look a little ticked off. :)

I told her she could smile.  She looked at me.  Then looked back at the mirror.  Then this series of faces happened.  It is so her.... from thinker to goofball in a matter of seconds! 

She got a little braid.  Then the girl sprayed sparkles in her hair and she thought that was just great.  She also got to pick out a sucker.  When asked about her haircut, she says "I got sparkles in my hair and got an orange sucker!"  I think she was pleased with the whole experience.  A bonus is that we were only charged for a trim instead of a cut.  It was totally worth it!

 We walked next door to Barnes and Noble.  She had lots of fun reading the books...

 and playing with the trains.

Unfortunately, she had to go potty. Despite our efforts to take her to the bathroom (multiple times), she just would not go in public.  So we headed home.

She's ready for pictures with her brother now.  She can actually see again too!