Four Months

I took Baby M to her four month appointment this week. Unfortunately, it did not go well. The doctor started saying words I DID NOT want to hear: Early intervention, low tone and not meeting developmental milestones. Not good! He said she is still in the normal range just at the bottom of the normal range.

I knew I was taking a chance every time I had another baby after John. Your chances of having another autistic child after the first is 1 in 10. The doctor said her delays are not autism related but he did use those words I didn't want to hear with John at 6 months. Baby M is a much better baby then John ever was so I'm not TOO worried yet but it will weigh heavily on my mind until she is 3 or until the doctor says it's time for intervention.

I know the Lord will never give you more than you can handle. I just don't want another special needs child to be something I have to handle. The first is plenty!!

How could you not know?

It was time for John to go to bed. He was running to his bedroom to get his pajamas on and I thought I caught a whiff of something. I asked John if he was pooey.

His response: "I don't know, let me check."

The dad and I looked at each other in amazement. Seriously, how could you not know?



FYI - he pulled down his pants and he was not pooey.

School Assignment

Scott had an assignment at school to write a story called "My friends and I." It was 4 pages and illustrated.

"Sometimes a friend and I like to play at a park.

Sometimes a friend and I like to play pretend outside.

Sometimes a friend and I like to play with toy cars.

Sometimes a friend and I like to play WII."

The illustrations were great. The first was a picture of a park in our neighborhood. The second was our backyard. The third was a race track we have. The fourth was the best! A picture of him and his friend sitting on our couch holding the WII remotes, pointing them to the TV. Clearly it is our basement and TV because he had approximately 22 cords going from the TV to the wall! :)

A boy and his dog

*This is a post about what not to do.

I took our dog to my brother the other day because we were going out of town. After I had been home for about 3 hours I asked Scott where Charlie was. Scott said he didn't know, he hadn't seen him for a long time and he started looking for him. I'm terrible because sometimes I like to tease my kids - not good. He yelled for him upstairs then opened the back and front doors and yelled for him again. Of course, no Charlie. I asked Scott if it would be so bad if Charlie was gone - forever. He said yes. I didn't think he really cared about the dog, he doesn't really do anything with him. Scott asked me if Charlie had come back in the house after he went out 3 hours earlier. I told him no, because he hadn't. Scott kept looking. He went downstairs and looked everywhere he could think to look. After a few minutes he came back upstairs and started to get his shoes on. He was going to go outside and search. I also noticed he was crying! At that point the teasing was over. I apologized and told him where Charlie was and he started sobbing. WHAT A TERRIBLE MOTHER!!! I should have known how traumatic it is for a child to think their dog was lost, my childhood dog got lost and was never found. It was very traumatic for my younger brother. So, no more teasing - at least not about the important stuff!

Haircut adventure

I took the kids to get haircuts. I had been dreading it because it usually isn't too much fun for me - John is all over the place and everyone wants to go first. Kate had been acting funny all day, asking me to hold her all the time. I figured she was tired. When we got to the place Kate asked me to hold her again. I was holding her and standing next to John when all of the sudden, she started throwing up!! She heaved six or seven times. I was trying to catch it in my hand but my hand is a lot smaller than all the stuff that was coming up. Every time she would heave I would tell the hairstylist I was sorry. I didn't know what to do. Throw up was everywhere - all over Kate, all over me, in my sandals, all over the floor and some even got on John. I took Kate to the bathroom, took her clothes off and wrapped her in a blanket. I tried, unsuccessfully, to wipe the throw up off my clothes but it just smeared, I stunk so bad. I didn't even try to clean my shoes. The baby was getting fussy but I didn't want to expose her to the throw up so a nice customer took care of her while I was helping Kate. I felt bad for the receptionist because she had to clean up the floor. She was holding her nose and trying not to gag as she was cleaning it. I felt so bad!! Let's just say the hair stylists received a big tip from me and I tried to tip the receptionist but she wouldn't let me. I called the Dad and he was able to come help me get everyone home. What a nightmare!!

Kate continued to throw up after we got home so she was taking bath after bath to clean her up. She was so tired and apparently the bath was very comfortable because this is what happened one of the times when she was in the bathtub:

Blessing and Baptism

The first weekend in September we had Scott's baptism. We decided to have the bless the baby on that day because several people were coming from out of town. Things went really well and we really appreciate all those who came and supported Scott.

Updates

It's amazing how fast time flies when you have a new baby. 6 weeks already and it's going quite well. This baby is my best yet! Moving on . . .

A few weeks ago a lady in my neighborhood came over and as she was leaving she said goodbye to John. She was mixed up and called him Scott. I didn't correct her because I figured he didn't notice and probably didn't care. I was wrong. After she walked out he said, "I'm not a Scott, I'm a John." I was pleasantly surprised and I laughed a bit. He is changing and growing up. It's nice to see.

Kate is getting ready to potty train, I think. Sometimes she will take off her diaper if it is wet or pooey and bring it to me. Yea, probably a good sign. A few weeks ago she woke up and came to me while I was feeding the baby. Her diaper was leaking so I told her to take off her pants and diaper and I figured it would just be a few minutes before I could get another diaper on her. She was walking around bare bummed and she started hiding. I was worried because you know what that means. She needed to poo!! I asked her if she was going poo on the floor and she said no. The my worst fear came true - she left the room for several minutes. When she came back there was poo in her crack! I asked her if she went poo on the floor and she said, "No, I went poo-poo in the potty." I was shocked! We went into the bathroom and sure enough she had gone poo in her potty chair. I was so excited! Unfortunately, the dog followed us into the bathroom and starting going for the poo. He grabbed a chunk and pulled it out of the chair. Kate freaked! I grabbed the poo with some toilet paper and put it in the toilet. Kate didn't see me do this so she thought Charlie ate it. Now she doesn't want to go potty because Charlie will eat it. If you ask her about going poo in the potty she will still tell you that Charlie ate her poo even though I have told her he didn't. Someone told me to tell her that I talked to Charlie and he isn't going to eat her poo anymore he's just going to eat carrots. But, she's not buying it!!

Baby Girl Pictures

We've made it one week! Baby girl has had a rough one. She has jaundice so she is very sleepy. She is under lights so hopefully her bilirubin will be down today and she will start to wake up.

She's here!!

Baby girl was born at 11:59 today. She is 7 pounds 14 ounces and has dark hair. More pictures to come.

We're having a baby . . . tomorrow

It's no secret that we are having a baby, however, I've decided to be induced tomorrow. I am dilated to a 4 and I'm having contractions every 5 to 10 minutes. I have 2 or 3 very painful contractions every day so I have to imagine that they are making me dilate even more. My doctor thought I would have the baby this week but so far nothing! I'm a little bit nervous but my doctor made it clear that I don't have a choice, I have to have this baby.

Wish me luck!!

34 1/2 weeks and counting

I had a doctor appointment today. I mentioned to him that I have been having a lot of contractions. (When I was pregnant with Kate I had lots of contractions as well, and being the paranoid person I am I ran to the hospital several times thinking surely I was in labor. I was never dilating. This time I have held off and made myself think logically, knowing the contractions are just Braxton Hicks.) My doctor did the strep b test and wanted to check me just to see if the contractions were doing anything. Sure enough, I am dilated to a 1 almost a 2! After my doctor told me that he said he needed to think seriously about this. He then told me he didn't want me having this baby this week. Yea, I don't want to have the baby this week either! He told me if I start having more than 5 contractions an hour to go to the hospital and get a shot to stop them. Once I hit July 26th he will just let me have the baby. Um, I'm not really ready. (Of course, are you ever ready?) I have so much to do, but now I have to take it easy and try not to freak out!!

Random Stuff

Scott's birthday is on Monday and once again, he opted to skip the friend birthday party and get more presents. Good news for me! His school had a carnival on Friday and somehow he decided that was his "friend" birthday party. Whatever works. John's school had a carnival scheduled for the 5th but it was cancelled because of the weather so Scott was very nervous that his was going to get cancelled too. It has rained every day this month except for 2 days. Luckily, Friday was a good day. The carnival ended at 8:00 and it started raining at 9:15.

All the kids loved the carnival and this year John was able to climb up the slides without help. There was one slide that he particularly loved and went on it over and over and over. I'm glad he stuck with one attraction so I could just stand there instead of having to run around. At about 7:30 I noticed that he was holding himself and dancing a bit so I knew he needed to go to the bathroom but when he is having fun it's hard to get him to go. While he was in line, I asked him if he needed to go potty. Of course, his answer was no but the attendant for the slide said, "I think he has needed to go for a long time." That just made me laugh and I laughed for a long time. We made it home without an accident but he was sure dancing once he made it to the bathroom.


I have been really bad lately in buying things for Kate. I think it's hard to have a birthday so close to Christmas because kids change so much in a year and I think Kate "needs" things in the middle of the year. I know I need to get over that. This week I bought her several items that she "needed." (Ok, so 3 of the things were clothes so maybe that doesn't count.) She can be such a girly girl and I found 2 dresses that she liked so I bought those and then I found a really cute long nightgown with a pretty robe so I bought that. She loves that nightgown and calls it her jammie dress. I have to say she really needs to wear a slip with it because it is SO see through even with the robe, but she just wears it to bed so it works.


Last of all, I get my picc line pulled this next week and it's not by choice. My insurance pays for 100 days per year and I hit that mark next week. My home healthcare told me I could just pay cash up front for the rest of my pregnancy but I certainly can't afford $6,000 per month! Part of me is glad to get rid of the line because it is a pain, however, it keeps me feeling good. I've been cutting back on my iv meds and I can tell. It's more effective to put medication in my iv than to take the medication orally. I have 10 weeks left, hopefully just 8 if this baby is early like the others were so hopefully I won't be sick. But if I am, my insurance WILL pay for ER visits. Seems kind of ridiculous but whatever!

Pronouns

John doesn't quite get pronouns. He has a hard time figuring out it, she and he as well as changing pronouns. If I tell him to say, "tell Scott to be nice to you," that's what he will say, "Mommy said to tell Scott be nice to you." I find myself saying, "Say, Mommy says to be nice to me."

Kate, on the other hand is really starting to get the changing pronoun thing. It was evident today. I was changing her diaper and noticed she had diaper rash and some white residue on her bum. I wanted to make sure she didn't have a yeast infection so we called the Dad. She, of course, had to be the one to talk to him, so I said, "Say, Daddy, did you put medicine on my bum?" Instead, she said, "Daddy, did you put medicine on Mommy's bum?" The Dad and I had a good laugh about that one!

Out of the mouths of babes

Today I was getting out of the shower and Kate was patiently waiting for my help. She couldn't help but notice how wet I was. She said, "Your bum is wet, you need to clean it. Your belly is wet, you need to clean it." I then asked, "Is mommy's belly big?" To which she replied, "Yes, and your bum is BIG too."

Thank you Kate! I hadn't noticed. :)

It's a . . .

GIRL!!!

Happy Birthday John!!

Saturday was John's birthday and since one day is just like the next for him, I wasn't planning on doing too much. Plus, I really didn't feel very good. Earlier in the week I would tell him it was his birthday on Saturday and he would get really mad at me. I would tell him he was going to be 6 and he would get even madder. My mom wanted to do something special for him, so she came out and we took the kids to an indoor amusement park. They had bumper cars, a small roller coaster, a carousel and a few other rides. He loved it! I'm glad we went.

We had lunch and cake and presents. I have to say, he really liked all the attention. He did finally admit it was his birthday and he was 6 years old.

We took him to dinner and they sang Happy Birthday to him. Usually he loves it when another table is being sung to but he did NOT like them singing Happy Birthday to him. He got really shy and was trying to hide. The waitress was worried and asked if he was ok. I told her he was just shy.

All in all, I think John had a good time and maybe next year his birthday will be an even better experience for him.

Happy Birthday John!!!

Pregnancy Woes

I got my hair done yesterday because it had been almost 3 months since I got it cut. Good thing I got it cut REALLY short last time. I just kept thinking, "I will get it cut when I feel better." Unfortunately, I'm not better and my hair was getting very unattractive. I wasn't feeling good but it needed to be done. I sat down in the chair and the hairstylist put the cape on. Instantly I got dizzy and felt really sick. She took the cape off and opened the door so I could get some air. I started feeling better so she tried again. Once again, I felt horrible. She said we could reschedule but remember, it had been almost 3 months. After about ten minutes we were able to proceed, with the door open. I made it through and I feel so much better about my hair!

So, I am sick . . . very sick. I was very sick last time so this shouldn't be a surprise, but enough is enough. I am sporting a very attractive picc line (again) and will probably have it for the rest of this pregnancy (just like the last). Oh well, I knew what I was getting into before I got pregnant so I shouldn't complain. So . . . no more complaining. One good thing: It's a great weight loss plan!

We find out today what we are having. At first I thought it was a boy but when I got so sick I started thinking it was a girl so we'll see. 20 weeks down, 20 weeks to go!!

My little mischief maker

I spend a lot of time laying down lately. My options are, lay down or throw up so I choose to lay down. Unfortunately, bad things can happen while I am laying down:

I was laying down in my bed and I heard the door to the garage open and close. I thought that was really odd but I didn't worry about it. A few minutes later Kate came into my bedroom and said she couldn't find Daddy and she broke these. In her hands she held my glasses - in two pieces. I figured she wanted to find The Dad so he could fix them. I was very mad and told her she needed to tell me she was sorry and then go to her room. She did and was crying the whole time. I felt bad sending her to her room because I knew she felt bad before she even told me. I got up after 10 minutes just to made sure Kate was ok. She was no longer in her bedroom and had a very messy face. I asked her was she was eating but she didn't answer. I had a candy dish in the living room that we received about a week ago but no one had touched it. The mess on her face looked like chocolate so I figured that's what she got into. Sure enough, in the candy dish there were 3 empty Hershey Kisses wrappers and a half eaten sucker (at least she didn't throw the garbage on the floor). My theory is that she needed some consolation and and found it in candy. Looks like we've got another emotional eater in our house!! Oh No!!


* Kate broke one of the temples (arms) off and she bent it enough that it won't be an easy fix. I have to wear my glasses to see and until my new pair arrives I will be wearing the broken ones. So, if you see me and my glasses look a little lopsided or I keep adjusting them it's because they are missing an important component.

I forgot

It's amazing how you can forget something like this, but I did. I forgot how bad it is and this is just the beginning (see side bar).