Baby Blog

Wesley's Birth Story

2011-08-16T12:45:00.007-07:00

Saturday morning August 13, 2011 around 2:30 am I was woken up by a strong contraction, but it didn't last long, so I tried to get comfortable and went back to sleep. 20-30 minutes later I had another one, so I got up to pee and went to try and sleep again. This had been happening the past several nights, braxton hicks around the 2:30-3:30 am hours. The next one came faster, less than 10 minutes apart and there was no way I could lay down for it, as it lasted a minute. I thought, "what can it hurt to get up, sit on my exercise ball, and time these for an hour?". So I did, and I was totally disappointed. There was zero consistency! At times the contractions would be 8 minutes apart and other times 30 minutes apart, but they were lasting at least a minute. And I couldn't go back to sleep because laying down during a contraction was unbearable.

I called the midwives around 7:00 am to ask what I should do, as this was my third baby and even though there was no consistency, I felt like something was happening. The midwife I spoke with said to keep timing, take a walk, shower, do your regular stuff today and once they are 5 minutes apart, give us a call. I woke Kevin up and asked him to go sleep with the boys, so they wouldn't bother me as they got up. I told him I thought we might have a baby today, but I wasn't convinced just yet. We should work out child care arrangements for the boys for today nonetheless, though.

So we all ate breakfast, I labored on the exercise ball off and on, took Micah for a walk, chatted it up with some neighbors, then we all went to the YMCA for Kyle's 10:30 swim lesson. I was walking slower, still having contractions here and there, but nothing that was consistently 5 minutes apart. We hung out for Kyle's swim lesson, then headed towards the car around 11:15. I told Kevin I was going to call the midwives and see if we could at least come in and get checked. I had not been checked at all this pregnancy because the boys were usually with me.

Around that time, I got a text from a friend asking how things were going. I gave her a call and said it was like the labor that wouldn't start or stop! I was truly frustrated, but said I would let her know when we went to the hospital, as she had offered to help with the boys.

We got home around 11:30 am, Kevin arranged for the boys to head over to a neighbor's house and started packing up a picnic lunch and the diaper bag for them. I called the midwife on call, told her what was going on, had a contraction while on the phone (all while Kyle felt the need to yell in to the receiver "I think she is almost done now"), and she asked if I wanted to come in, get checked and I said "Yes, PLEASE!". I'm really surprised she offered this, because I now know there were zero labor/delivery rooms available and zero postpartum rooms available at the time.

We arrived at Vanderbilt a little after 12 noon and I had zero contractions on the 20 minute ride in. I was starting to doubt my decision to come in now, just like I had with Micah after we'd arrived at the birth center the morning he was born. Kevin dropped me at the front entrance with my purse. We decided he would go park, but not bring anything up until they had decided whether or not to admit me. I made it up the elevators to the 4th floor and found my way to OB triage where I had to wait in the waiting room for a room to open up. Kevin showed up and I had a couple contractions in the waiting room. Kevin headed down to the deli to grab us a sandwich to share, since I was hungry, and a powerade, since we hadn't packed any snacks or drinks for ourselves.

A triage room opened up around 12:40, so I headed in and Kevin got back with food a few minutes later. They wanted to monitor me continuously for 20 minutes. I had one or two contractions during this time. The midwife arrived, chatted with us, and checked me. Loose 6, 80% effaced, posterior cervix. Mostly good news, but third baby labors can be funny, so she asked me to walk the halls until 2:30, coming back to have the baby monitored every 30 minutes, then she would check me again.

The first walk I had contractions about 8 minutes apart consistently. Then we went to get monitored and NOTHING, no contractions. I asked the triage nurse if I could get in the shower and she said yes, but that relaxing would probably stall labor, not keep it going. So, we headed back out to walk some more. We took the long loop through the OB triage and postpartum unit twice. I was walking slower, but we only had two contractions the entire 45+ minutes we walked that time! They were intense, but I was so frustrated that the contractions had slowed down once again.

Back in the triage room for monitoring and we told the nurse what had happened. I could tell she thought we had stalled out too, but she was encouraging, saying that sometimes contractions stall out, but become more intense as you approach transition. The midwife returned to check me and as she was chatting with us, talked about how she may send us home with some meds so I could rest through contractions for a couple hours, then come back. And then she checked me: "What did I say you were before? Well, you are at least an 8 now! Admit her. You are having a baby tonight!". Woohoo! Can you imagine my elation after all those non consistent contractions and the impression that we would be packing up to go home in a few minutes and contract some more?!? It's about 2:30 at this point.

The triage nurse gives me great news "A room has opened up, and it's the tub room!". Yahoo! I'll get to transition in the water, praise God! That was all I really wanted, to labor in water. The triage nurse asks if I would like a wheel chair to head over to labor and delivery or would I like to walk? I choose walking. A normal one minute walk takes me about 10 minutes as I have a couple contractions on the way over and am walking even slower.

We arrive and there were three nurses already in the room. One was asking me questions and having me sign a few things, while the other two were readying the infant area. I remember briefly thinking, at the tour they had told us the nurses to the side in the infant area only arrive when they think the baby will be there soon. Then that thought flew out of my head as Kevin asked if he should go get our stuff. Sure, why not. I'm not going to have this baby in the next 10 minutes!

So Kevin heads down to the car while I continue to answer questions between contractions. I can see the tub is almost ready and I am so ready to labor in the water when:

BAM! I'm on my knees on the floor pushing through a contraction. The nurses are saying, Mindy, can you get off the floor? You don't want to have your baby on the floor. I get one knee on the bed and BAM! another contraction that I have to push through. There is no way on this earth I could stop from pushing. Kevin has returned at some point during these contractions. I get my other leg up on the bed and bury my head in a pillow before another contraction blows through me. The midwife is here and asking me if I can turn over because I'm going to have a baby very soon. I get myself turned over and she says she is going to break my water. I don't want her to because that is when things got bad with Kyle's labor and delivery. But I nod my head yes and as she goes to break my water, my water breaks on it's own! It is 3:01 p.m..

And then a break between contractions, whew. The midwife is talking, saying his head is right there and I ask if I can feel it yet, but as I reach down to feel his head she lets me know I'll have to push through the next contraction before I'll be able to touch his head. A contraction comes and I push through it. Progress! Then a break. Another contraction comes and I push through that one too. More progress! The midwife tells me I'm having a baby with the next contraction. A brief break, and one last contraction! I push his head out, then one last push for his body. It's 3:09 p.m. and I am holding one perfect little baby boy on my chest.

The midwife is joking how she's glad I decided to come in and get checked and that I was her easiest delivery that day! Kevin cuts the cord after about two minutes, and Wesley immediately starts looking to nurse. He latches on and nurses for about 45 minutes while all the after birth duties are going on.

Talk about a fast labor and delivery! I'm so glad I listened to my body and that Kevin was supportive of me and how I was feeling the entire time. I never made it in to the tub! My first labor and delivery at a hospital and it was nothing like I expected, but everything I could have asked for!

Wesley Ryan Harkins, born August 13, 2011 at 3:09 pm, 8 lbs 1 1/2 oz, 21 1/4 inches long.

He is almost the exact same size as Kyle was when he was born (8 lbs 2 oz, 21 1/2 inches long). We are convinced that they would have had the exact same stats if Wesley had arrived just one day early, like Kyle did. As opposed to the three days early he decided to arrive!

Pop on over

2011-08-15T05:30:00.001-07:00

to Kevin's photo blog to meet our Wesley!

Sneak peak

2011-08-14T09:58:00.001-07:00

I can't wait to share Wesley's birth story with you! But it will have to wait until I am home.

A sneak peak: Kevin was heading to the car to get our bags after I was admitted and I joked with him that I wasn't going to have this baby in 10 minutes. What we didn't know was that if he had taken 20 minutes, he would have missed the birth of our third son!

Thanks for all the love, prayers and congratulations. The big brothers are on their way to see us. I have missed my boys so much!

Another update I guess

2011-08-12T21:20:00.002-07:00

Kevin graciously worked at home this morning so he could take Kyle to a make up swim lesson at 10:30. Turns out we were the only family that could make the make up lesson, so Kyle got a private lesson! Tomorrow he will swim again, then every Sat. up to his birthday party day! He is so much more confident in the water since we started lessons this summer. I am excited that Micah will be able to start lessons next summer since he will be 3 in June! My August babies always have to wait for the following summer. That's the earliest you can start without it being a parent/tot lesson.

I am starting to get a taste of what's to come in the next week or so (God willing)! The occasional painful practice contractions are a brief, yet familiar, reminder of why it's referred to as "labor". Every person I know who also had an August due date has now given birth, every one of them before their due date. Jealous? Maybe a little. Would I like to throw myself a pity party? Yea, basically. Would I like to be holding our newest son and posting pictures of him all over the place? Absolutely! I dreamed I was in labor all night long last night, which was not cool. Then I had more labor dreams during nap time today.

One person I haven't dreamed about is Wes; which is strange because I had dreams with both of the other boys. Very real, life like, turned out to be true dreams about their physical looks and personalities! I am incredibly curious about our little guy.

Micah and I were playing catch with his Curious George stuffed animal today and he started throwing George "to Wesley". LOL. Yea, straight at my stomach. It was hilarious. He also decided to stand up and surf in the bassinet of our playpen after throwing some toys in there. I can tell that being a big brother at 2 is going to be waaay different than being a big brother at 4 was.

That's about it. I'm bored to tears, exhausted, and ready to have this baby!

First day of school

2011-08-11T18:41:00.002-07:00

Well, it's official: I am the mom of a bona fide kindergartner! The first day was only 2 1/2 hours long, but everything went smoothly. I cried once in the shower while we were all getting ready to drop him off and teared up several times the rest of the morning, but we all survived. Kevin stayed home a bit this morning to accompany us to drop off and take a few pictures. I know Kyle will do great this year; his teacher has got it together and the school seems to have a really great staff atmosphere (although who really knows unless you work there)! Kyle was a little nervous when we arrived, but walked right in and warmed up to the classroom with no issues. There was one poor little girl crying and Kyle said another little boy ended up crying at some point during the morning too. The pick up line took over 20 minutes, so we will be walkers ASAP. And today that pick up line was only the kinder parents; not even the rest of the schoolkids parents waiting to pick them up too! I am so thankful that even though we aren't in the best district in the state, we are in one of the best neighborhoods/elementary schools. You could tell that the families for the children that are zoned for Kyle's school are all about being supportive and involved!

In other news, Micah and I spent a leisurely two hours watching sesame street, reading books, and coloring! Additionally, he played with any toys he wanted to his heart's content. I have a feeling, even with Wesley around, Micah is going to enjoy some of this extra time at home with mommy. Whereas Kyle always wants to be on the go, Micah is more than happy to hang out and play at home. After Kyle came home and we ate lunch, Kyle took the time to do a couple puzzles with Micah and was teaching him how to match up the pictures again! It was awesome. He has been so understanding with his little brother the past couple days and I so appreciate it.

The reason I appreciate it is because I'm pretty much out of commission. I can stand up and walk slowly to do something, but there is not a whole lot of mommy play time going on around here lately. We had another afternoon appt. today, right over quiet/nap time. I left an hour early so we could buy treats at Trader Joe's in case they were running late! Kyle picked 100 calorie milk chocolate bars, I picked salt water taffy, and we picked yogurt covered pretzels for Micah, since I was carrying him through the store fast asleep. Oh yea, no big deal, I'm due in 5 days and carrying my dead limp asleep 25 lb toddler around TJ's. So they actually got us in and out in 30 minutes this time, YEA! Wes is still really low, and I was told there is a LOT of baby in there. Awesome. Everything looked good, once again, so thankful for that! I will be even more thankful when he arrives :)

Goodnight! I've been woken up at 3 am every morning lately and unable to go back to sleep, so I'm exhausted.

39 weeks

2011-08-09T07:10:00.002-07:00

Yep, and last night I was up for 45 minutes thinking I was timing contractions, but it was just a false alarm *sigh*. I didn't even get to play with my fun new contraction timer app on my phone (the contractions were that erratic, although still keeping me awake)!

In other news, we got a call from Kyle's teacher last night and I get to attend the "parents only" meeting for kindergarten tonight, Kyle gets to meet his teacher and see his classroom on Wednesday night, and then he starts school Thursday morning! Things I should do before Thursday: wash his uniforms and have a good cry about my first born baby going off to school! Kevin awesomely manipulated our seating arrangement in the van so Kyle can get in and out as easily as possible (Micah and Wes sit in the middle row captain's chairs, while Kyle sits in the back row and walks through the aisle to get in and out). Have I told you I love our new van? I love our new van, LOVE it!

Kyle was so awesome with Micah this morning. I brought down the game "Memory" and sat myself in a chair with my feet up on the ottoman. Kyle started explaining to Micah how to find matches, JUST LIKE A TEACHER. It was crazy the way he was breaking down the game step by step for Micah (they were doing it picture side up) and Micah loved it, totally caught on. Kyle was so encouraging with him. I am sure one of the grandparents taught Kyle how to play "Memory" this way and he remembered (or maybe in preschool)? Kyle has been getting really frustrated with Micah lately, as in "We taught him how to share/take turns yesterday, why isn't he doing it today?" kind of things. I ask him what he does when he gets frustrated with other kids in school and he tells me that the big kids are better about it than Micah (which I'm sure is certainly true).

Anyways, time to go grab a big cup of water and put my feet up again. Kevin is posting pictures over at his new photo blog if you have a chance to check it out: http://canvasinmotion.wordpress.com/

I would love to blog right now

2011-08-08T07:28:00.003-07:00

but there are about four hundred things to do while the boys watch sesame street. So, in brief:

I attended a surprise baby shower brunch for Wesley this weekend! It was lovely and completely unexpected. We are so blessed!

I've been having lots and lots of random contractions, especially while walking. As soon as I sit or lay down, they go away. I know I am in true labor when I am unable to sit or lay down because I'm having contractions (at least that was true with Kyle and Micah).

We had a fun, whirlwind weekend with the boys: The Frist Center, church, community group, and Kevin got the entire to do list done of "things before Wes arrives"!

More later...

Hey ho

2011-08-04T20:22:00.002-07:00

high blood pressure and swelling here we go! As if, I thought I would get away with no high blood pressure this time. Kyle did the same thing to me; these August babies just push my body to the breaking point! I am not complaining. In fact, as anxious as I am to meet our little Wes, I am not anxious to push him out. Um yea, it was only two years ago that I pushed Micah out, AND I STILL REMEMBER THOSE LAST 45 MINUTES. Not that they were completely awful, horrible, unbearable or that I won't be able to do it again, and yes, I know, every labor and delivery is different. However, there were 4 long years between delivering Kyle and delivering Micah, so my memory was a little fuzzy that summer of 2009. My memory is not fuzzy. Kevin will attest to the fact that I am doing nothing to encourage Wesley to be born: no walking, jumping, bouncing, strange exercises, herbs, medicines, or various things the midwives would be willing to assist with. I am taking it as easy as possible, putting my feet up, and trying to relax while entertaining our other sons and keeping the house as clean as possible for the people who will be taking care of said other sons while we are in labor.

The reason I know about the high blood pressure and swelling today is because we had an appointment this afternoon, and by "we", I mean me and the boys right over nap/quiet time! Midwife seems to think I will come anytime, I keep telling them "after 39 weeks" because that is when our boys come. I was told today that they will let me go up to 2 weeks past my due date (huzzah, which means I could be pregnant until August 30th)! And, she seemed in agreement with me that Wes will be in the 8 1/2 lb range, just like his brothers. This is the first time I haven't been told "probably a 6, maybe 7 lb baby". I now pack the hospital bag in the car every time I go to an appointment, something I've never done before, but for some reason feel the need to do it this pregnancy (Maybe because I know I won't be released after 6 hours of monitoring?).

Here's to a good night's sleep!

Our new van

2011-08-02T07:53:00.002-07:00

Pardon the awful phone pic, but there she is!

38 weeks and

2011-08-02T07:22:00.003-07:00

still very much pregnant, with no even little inklings or indications that Wesley might join us soon. Our doctor appt. isn't until Thursday this week; I guess once you get to weekly appts. they just have to squeeze you in wherever they can because M, T, and W of this week were all filled up! I am everything a very pregnant woman can be: tired, uncomfortable, emotional, physically unable to do just about everything!

Kevin and I celebrated our 8th anniversary yesterday by, you know, buying a minivan (what else would you do on your anniversary?). It's new to us, a 2005 Honda Odyssey EX-L, fully loaded. It even has the plus one seat, which just makes me giddy because that means we can seat 8 people! Who knows when that will actually happen, but it's still really, really cool. And lastly, when we picked it up last night, I had not even realized it had a sun roof! The only thing I've ever wanted in a vehicle is a sun roof. We rode home from anniversary ice cream with the boys with that roof wide open and of course, both boys had to stick their hands up through it before we went in the house. This morning after breakfast Kyle asks "So when are we going for a ride in our new van?", LOL! I am so thankful and blessed, not just to have a new van, but oh my goodness, to be a two car family again. It has been a long 8 months of making it work with one car, many schedules, and a new pregnancy.

Yesterday, I made the short drive over to Kyle's elementary school with the boys in tow in order to register our little kindergartner. Talk about paperwork! Good gracious. However, we had everything in order and should hear from his teacher soon, then a parent meeting on Tuesday, a meet and greet Wed. morning, and first day of school on Thursday August 11th! Gah, I can't believe our first born is starting school next week!

That's about all the news I have for now. Taking the boys to the bounce house today; maybe I can encourage Wesley to come a little sooner too ;)!

So, the way church usually goes...

2011-07-25T09:15:00.002-07:00

...for me these days is I sit with Kevin during praise and worship, then Wesley wakes up and I get uncomfortable, so I head to the nursing mommy's room to sit in a rocker and rock (Wesley always falls asleep or calms down when I rock in a rocker). Yesterday, there was a mama in there with a 2 year old boy and a 5 week old boy, and she was a first time visitor! We chatted and talked, as the baby was actually her third child and I asked about transitioning, etc... Then, she had to step out with her 2 year old and handed me her little 5 week old baby boy! I about lost it, he was so tiny and I realized I hadn't held a baby in a really long time, as in probably since Micah was that itty bitty. We have babies come in to the church nursery where I work during the school year, but they are usually 6 months and up (the little ones stay with their mamas in Bible study). It made it all feel strangely real to hold a tiny baby again, as in, this will be us in about 8 weeks!

Kevin and I are starting to plan Kyle's 6th birthday party and I am torn on what to do for him, how much party do we give or allow. It's hard to have parties at our house, or that would definitely be the plan (just too small, even for 5 or 6 kids and their families). He's had a really hard time lately too, which I think is because of all the upcoming changes in the next couple weeks (starting school, new brother, turning 6, etc...). It's usually too hot for an outside party.

Micah is saying "no" and "mine" a lot. I guess that is to be expected around the age of 2! He's still talking a lot, doing everything he can do (our footstool is his ticket to freedom), and is very, very active. Kevin and I have realized that being parents of all boys is a little unique...especially when you get together with families that have boys and girls! Our boys were found to be jumping on beds and racing in to walls last night at community group...we are now focusing on what's allowed at home, as opposed to what is allowed at other people's homes (even if their kids are doing it)! Yes, our boys do jump on our furniture, race around the house, tackle, wrestle, and play ball games inside the house. That's just the way it is right now, and I hope I can remember that when my kids are older and we have active little ones visiting! They love their books, movies, and creative play with various super heroes and action figures, but everything becomes "active". Right now they are taking turns racing a remote controlled motorcycle off of various beds and tables to see if it will land right side up. The boy who isn't racing it, "catches it".

I'm exhausted and it looks like another over the top, unusually hot week here in middle TN. We are 37 weeks tomorrow and have an appointment around lunch time. I keep having braxton hicks every night, but nothing to call the midwives about. Kevin seems more anxious than me for Wes to arrive! I did finally pack a hospital bag, something I had been putting off, in denial that we will actually be driving to the hospital to have our baby and I will have to stay there for at least some length of time.

We are looking forward to taking the boys to a baseball game tonight, for as long as mommy can last! It's fun to do a few last things with them that we otherwise might not be up for here in the coming weeks.

36 weeks and change

2011-07-21T08:08:00.003-07:00

What can I say? It's hot, but that's to be expected this time of year. Kyle is at his last week of VBS for the summer this week. Micah is more than thrilled to play and read books in their bedroom without big brother interfering in the mornings. Kevin is working as much as possible to finish up a few things before Wes arrives. I am sitting on the exercise ball drinking lots of water, eating ice, and staring at the crib that needs to be emptied and the hospital bag that needs to be packed. Everything I do takes about 3x as long as usual because I have to sit down for about 10 minutes for every 5 minutes of activity. Taking a shower and getting dressed is almost an hour long activity now; it's crazy. I have to ask Micah to hop on to a bed or couch to get him dressed and change diapers because sitting on the floor is not an option; as I am unlikely to be able to get up again! Last week I went a little overboard at Costco, but we now have some convenience dinners in the fridge/freezer/pantry so we've been able to eat at home most nights with minimal prep. There are no more ants in my kitchen: they have now migrated to my upstairs bathtub. Kevin and I have been showering in the boys bathroom while we wait for the poison to take effect. Kevin wakes up at some awful early hour, shuttles Micah in to bed with me, showers, then eats breakfast with Kyle (if he wakes up before he leaves), and takes off for the bus around 6:30 a.m.. I am more and more anxious for a second vehicle, so our schedules don't have to be so flipped around all the time and we don't all have to go everywhere, every time there are pick up/drop off conflicts.

That's about it, everything that is kind of happening around here and/or on my mind lately.

Defeated

2011-07-13T12:52:00.002-07:00

Micah has struggled with going down for his afternoon naps the past couple days, even though he stills need one (he's out for 2 hours when he does go down easily). Also, going to bed at night has become this huge, dramatic ordeal. I let him cry for 44 minutes the other night, while Kevin was away scanning. He fell asleep on a pillow on the floor in his room. There is no place to put him; he crawls out of cribs and playpens. We don't have a play room, so if I gate him in his room for sleep time, he just plays or read books or cries. He was sleeping great in our room, but now just rolls around and talks or sings or asks to go potty. I finally told him to go play with Kyle this afternoon and he jumped up, shouted "OK!" and ran off to his bedroom.

We swam all morning long, then had lunch and played with friends. He fell asleep late last night and was up earlier than usual. I'm exhausted, physically and mentally. I'm sure it will work itself out. That's one thing about having kids, whatever is a trial one week, is a non challenge the next. Just pray for strength and rest for me if you think about this week/weekend. Kevin is going away on a work conference and I'm not sure what I'll do without afternoon quiet times.

35 weeks

2011-07-11T20:19:00.002-07:00

Good gracious, can that be right? I remember having Kevin bring me the pregnancy test he swore was negative and staring at it, and thinking, "August will never be here. I can't even imagine being so pregnant in the summer, AGAIN!". Yea. You know, the woman who swore she would never have another late summer baby. And here we are...dog days of summer practically upon us and here I am all "blessed with child". I chuckled with Kevin how everyone at church is waiting for us to walk in with the baby bucket every weekend; because seriously, I am that large with child! I get ALL the comments lately, from strangers and acquaintances alike; friends have been much more forgiving.

A co worker of Kevin's had her baby today, TODAY. She was due next week, so yea, that sounds right. I'm waiting for an old friend in Tucson to give birth because we were also pregnant together with Micah and her son J, and I had Micah two weeks after she gave birth to J. She's also having another boy this summer. So ready, but not really. I am anxious to hold Wes, but it's still too early and I know that and I want my babies to stay in as long as they need to. We have the best labors/deliveries/births that I wouldn't give any of that up to hold him a couple weeks earlier. So it goes, I continue to eat (and gain loads of copious weight), work out, and love on my family that needs me here and now because it won't be long that Wesley will be demanding as much of my attention as possible outside of the womb. This is actually the easy part, being pregnant. It gets much more complicated once your child arrives, in a good way of course, but still more complicated!

Kevin attempted some pictures of me and the boys this weekend; with little luck, but a couple should turn out. We are taking the boys for their check ups/shots tomorrow morning and I am loathing it. I know Kyle is nervous. It has been a long time since he had any pokes.

To bed, hopefully. I have had two very restless nights in a row.

Another day

2011-07-09T20:41:00.004-07:00

Father's Day

Playing at Dragon Park

Preschool graduation

We had a lot of fun in June, with my mom visiting for three weeks and old friends from Tucson swinging by on their way home from a road trip vacation! With about 5 weeks until Wesley arrives, our weekends are packed with to do lists. We have a lot of friends and neighbors who have offered to help us out, and Kevin is working on coordinating all of that! In addition, our church just started small groups this summer and of course, how could we not volunteer to lead one? We had our first get together this evening and it was awesome. There are four families with ten children between us under the age of 6, eleven children when Wes arrives! Also, and I couldn't be more excited about this, Kevin has recently been asked to play with the worship band at our church. It is so wonderful to hear him play again!

The boys are doing great; we try to get out of the house and do something fun every morning, although I am slowing waaaay down. Our daily outings might consist of the zoo, park, children's museum, storytime, swimming, bounce house, or even McDonalds if I am having a really rough morning. I look back on my past pregnancies and know that I wouldn't have even attempted leaving the house this much, especially with just five weeks to go. It's funny how things change, how you do what you need to do because it has to be done. I'm often nauseous in the mornings, since Micah weaned himself a couple weeks before his 2nd birthday in June, but I don't throw up! The boys have a doctor's appt. on Tuesday, Micah for his 2 year old check up and Kyle to get his shots for kindergarten. I am in such denial that he will be going to school in just a few short weeks (August 11th)!

This week I was so blessed to have Kevin and Kyle install a new CD radio in our car! Our car came bare bones, with a cassette player, that went kaput with the tape adapter stuck inside it several years ago. The boys are so enjoying having children's music in the car again, and it makes our drives that much better for me to hear them sing and see them dancing in their car seats! To top that off, our rocking chair arrived Friday afternoon, thanks to Nana! I know I have said this many times, but we've never had a rocking chair for any of the boys. This one is awesome, made by the same company that makes the industrial gliders for churches and daycares! I looove it, as do the boys. Micah couldn't help himself but to crawl up in to our laps during family movie night on Friday and be rocked while we watched Toy Story. And lastly, can you believe something else amazing and wonderful happened on Friday too? I won a professional photo shoot with the amazing Lillian Boeskool, who happens to be a friend too, but we haven't had any photos done since moving to TN. I am leaning towards a newborn shoot with Wesley because I so dearly enjoy our newborn photos of Micah.

What else, what else...Micah has been crawling in to bed with us sometime between 4 and 6 am and sacking out again. It doesn't bother me, he's a really quiet sleeper (unlike his big brother!). We had ants this week, ugh, which makes me so thankful we have quarterly pest control! The ants like to show up about once a year, when it gets really hot and they are searching for water. We spread some borax/sugar mixture down and that starts killing them, but the pest control guy does a great job of finding them outside and really taking care of the source of the problem!

And now I should go to bed, because I'm on my own in the morning as Kevin heads off to worship practice bright and early!

Just a quick update

2011-06-20T15:22:00.003-07:00

Micah turned 2 last week! My mom is here with us through the beginning of July! I've been slowing down a lot since my last appt., 3 weeks ago. This morning we had our 32 week appt. and I'm measuring two weeks ahead! This has never happened with the previous boys in our third trimester, they always measured right on schedule. Wes is head down and they already gave me birth plan documents...is he really going to be here that soon? Right! And we named him: Wesley Ryan Harkins. All I have time for now, I have pictures! On my computer! Look for a heavy picture post next :).

Randomness

2011-06-10T14:30:00.003-07:00

Well, scheduled a tour of Vanderbilt L&D; something we have never, ever had to do before, as in tour a hospital where we will be giving birth. Scheduled the boys doctor appts (Micah 2 year old check up and Kyle kindergarten shots). And there is something else I'm supposed to call on and schedule BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER. This is the story of my life lately, loss of memory. I haven't worked out in a week and boy am I feeling it; sluggish and tired, but can't sleep and oh the leg cramps at night. However, it is just my own procrastination since I know how to alleviate all of those symptoms: do my pregnancy workout.

Crazy day today:

Micah woke up at 5:30 am and never went back to sleep

I forgot to eat breakfast before VBS drop off

Storytime at the bookstore is awful, we will not be going back

Costco trip found me chasing Micah down the hall out of the women's bathroom. Have you seen a 30 week pregnant woman run? Neither have I, but I bet it was pretty funny.

Fed Kyle lunch, but forgot to eat again.

Fell asleep with Micah, told Kyle I was really tired from being up so early.

Kyle wakes me up less than 30 minutes after I lay down with Micah. Baby wakes up and I can't fall back to sleep.

Eat a late lunch, bite my tongue, start crying, Micah wakes up

Kyle flips out thinking his baby brother is coming too early since mommy is crying and asks if I'm having contractions

Exhausted, we skip the pool and I sit on my exercise ball while the boys play nearby

Thank goodness it's family movie night: Toy Story and a take n bake pizza!

30 weeks

2011-06-07T19:56:00.002-07:00

Praise God, we are 30 weeks in to this pregnancy! There is a lot to do, or a lot I want/wish would be done before the baby arrives, but I know it won't happen. I'm going to complain here for one second: I'm still totally bummed that I've never decorated a nursery for any of our boys, and probably never will. We may actually buy a rocking chair for this child, something we've never, ever owned with the other two (we had an old recliner I'd nurse Kyle in, but nothing for Micah, not even furniture for the first 4 months of his life: he slept on an air mattress from a kidco peapod bed, LOL).

In other news, we've narrowed the name down to our top 2 and one will be his first name and the other will be his middle name. This is such a relief for me! Kyle is starting kindergarten in less than 10 weeks. The first day of school is August 11th. No, we haven't registered him yet. He still needs a few shots and a physical. I had dreams of sending him to half day kinder at a private school or homeschooling him, and it's really, really hard to let those go. I know he'll do great and be fine and going to kindergarten in the public school system will not ruin him for life. I know I can supplement at home (while nursing a baby and entertaining a toddler...riiiiggghhht). It's all just kind of defeating, but also a great reminder that any and all of Kyle's educational future is in God's hands, not mine, so I can let go anytime and it will be okay.

Micah is really, really going to miss him. Today was day 2 of VBS for Kyle. Micah and I hung out for the worship songs and offering at the beginning, then we waited in the lobby for Kyle's class to file out. Kyle ended up being "line leader" today and got to hold the class sign up for everyone to follow. Poor Mikey, wanted to go with him sooo badly, and when I scooped him up and out to the parking lot there were big tears and he kept saying, "My Kyle, I need my Kyle!". This happened all morning long, on our way home from groceries, attempting to eat lunch, and finally it was time to go get Kyle. Micah crawled in to the back seat and all the way over to Kyle's side to unlock the car door for Kyle so he could climb right in when we arrived at pick up. Whenever we talk about Kyle going to school this year, Micah chimes in that he is going to school too, "with Kyle". I'm hopeful he can go to school one or two days a week, but it will be at Kyle's old preschool.

And then there is this car seat/vehicle conundrum that just makes me want to cry whenever I think about all the vehicle and car seat drama we've dealt with since we moved to TN.

And that's it, that's what 30 weeks pregnant looks like to me right now. A little weepy/emotional, but still so blessed by how the Lord continues to work in our family and show his faithfulness to us in everything that comes our way!

A lot going on around here

2011-06-03T20:21:00.003-07:00

And I'm not sure where to start, so let's just hit a few key highlights:

- I survived and passed my gestational diabetes test!

- Baby boy still does not have a name, but our list is getting shorter.

- I have appointments every 3 weeks now

- Kyle is so grown up. That's the only way I can put it.

- Micah is so growing up. Our "baby" will turn 2 on June 14th. It is good to have children of several different ages and stages in your home, because it reminds you of the awe and wonder of childhood.

- We have experienced our first month of minor changes due to Kevin's new funding at work. All the transitions went smoothly.

- We had company in the form of an old high school/college friend needing a couch to sleep on for a night this week, as he is in town for a wedding. It is always good to see familiar faces!

- Speaking of which, we are expecting a visit from nana and some friends who were pregnant with us with Kyle! Such an exciting month for visitors!

- The cicadas are almost gone.

- We are still debating a solution for our current vehicle/car seat dilemma.

- We belong to the Y, and have been swimming everyday since.

That's about it, time for bed, and thank goodness the boys fell asleep in their own room tonight. It's been all crazy around here at bedtime for some reason and I've just given up and let the boys fall asleep with me the last two nights.

Been feeling strange

2011-05-25T19:21:00.002-07:00

all day today. Maybe it's the cicadas or the weather or our late night/early morning today. I don't know, but I think I'll go to bed now and leave Kevin up as our official tornado watcher.

28 weeks

2011-05-23T19:43:00.003-07:00

And I have my glucose test this Friday morning; I always feel like I've passed the final hurdle in pregnancy when my glucose test is over: I have a fear of needles and getting blood drawn is 100 times worse than birthing a child for me. This will only be my second glucose test, since I opted out due to low risk with Kyle. It still seems like a big deal.

The baby is growing, as am I, and he is much more active. Everyone in the family has felt him kick/move. Kyle likes to feel the little punches and rolls if I tell him when the baby is awake, Micah has no idea he's felt his baby brother in my tummy, but the baby often kicks at him while he lays on or beside me and nurses. Lately, Micah loves to drape himself over my bulging belly and relax, using it as a pillow. Having the boys sit on my lap is becoming more and more uncomfortable; I have taken to reading books teacher/librarian style, by holding it up by my face and reading to them while they sit in front of me if at all possible. Kyle finds a reason to pop in to my bedroom every morning and snuggle before Micah wakes up (I do my best to be cheerful when woken up, but sometimes it's a stretch when I haven't slept much the night before). Micah is often crying out in the night lately and Kevin wakes up using two alarms very early every morning to catch his carpool. I've never had such an active pregnancy, or so desired to sleep in and take naps, LOL.

Thankfully, our summer has started and the regular weekly schedule is pretty much gone. We have gymnastics once a week, but that is it! I'm wondering if I might actually get some of this house cleared out and some nesting/organizing/getting ready for baby stuff done!

Other things on my mind lately include purchasing a second vehicle and new car seats. It is not only physically exhausting being pregnant, but also emotionally and psychologically exhausting! I am also jealous of all the mama's I know having their babies in the next couple months; you lucky women! Although, I must say, the third time around goes even faster than the first two. Off to bed, hopefully to sleep.

VBS Junkie

2011-05-18T13:35:00.003-07:00

That's right, here in middle TN, you can go to VBS every single week of the summer if you want. Alas, you do need to register, online, and early! So Kyle is signed up for 5 weeks of VBS this summer, the whole month of June, and one week in July. All different themes, and different churches. I guess this is what happens when your mama is in her third trimester all summer long. He's thrilled by the way; ecstatic even for games, music, and general fun while learning about God. In the rest of the summer hours I plan to be at the YMCA, feeling weightless in the pool.

And, you'll never guess, but my phone pictures are on this computer right now, so how about some pics, hopefully not ones I have posted on Facebook yet:

Field Day

Blowing bubbles

Playing sticks in the backyard

Micah sitting on Kyle's lap while Kyle sits on Kevin's lap for storytime

Making cookies on Mother's Day

Back to the daily grind

2011-05-15T19:40:00.002-07:00

Kind of. This is Kyle's last week of preschool before summer vacation; he "graduates" on Friday afternoon. Also, I have my last day of work before Bible studies take a vacation break. Then it's a summer of VBS, swimming, and the library reading program! Oh yea, and mommy's third trimester. That's right, come Tuesday we are officially in the third trimester and I am trying to remember where the time has gone from finding out we were pregnant in early December to now! This pregnancy is flying by!

Kevin returned home from his big yearly conference on Friday night and we are all oh so happy to have him back. This morning I had the privilege of teaching in Kyle's Sunday school class, all 24 of them with one assistant; it was crazy, but in a good way! I really love our new church.

The boys just amaze me at how wonderful and precious they are each and everyday. I love our little family and am blessed to be able to have children.

So many thoughts running through my head that I can't seem to organize them or get them down here, so maybe tomorrow night.

Whew

2011-05-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

What a week it's been! Micah ended up at the doctor's office with the beginnings of infection, due to allergies of all things, NOT ASTHMA. Guess we didn't need all those breathing treatments last week, his lungs were supposedly completely clear. My pediatrician rocks and gave me antibiotics from the sample closet because our insurance just changed and I don't have a prescription card yet. Also, he is now on Claritin, just like his older brother. If I remember correctly, Kyle developed allergies around the age of two also. Ah well, it will be over soon because boy is it getting hot and humid around here.

Speaking of two, how is our Micah turning two in a month? Has it really been two years already? He is so verbal, it makes him seem older than he is. I'm not sure how we will celebrate this year. He is still my baby, even though we've got another on the way. Speaking of, less than 100 days of pregnancy left (God willing he comes on or around his due date)!

I lost it this morning, my sanity I mean, but the day did move along smoother and we ended with AWANA awards (Kyle's voice was carrying quite well during the songs) and a late night trip to McDonalds, courtesy of grammy. Micah kept telling me how he saw daddy on the movie (video chat this morning) and kept asking if it was pizza and movie night on our ride home from work. Kyle got to spend the morning with grammy instead of at work with mommy, which he loved.

The cicadas are coming, I saw carcasses today and heard their whine in the trees. Not cool TN. Looking forward to a day off tomorrow (by that I mean we have absolutely nowhere we need to be and nothing we need to do).

Another year, another Mother's Day

2011-05-08T20:02:00.002-07:00

I was blessed with a very awake snuggle bug at 5 am this morning; a little nursing, a little tossing and turning, a little talking "Mama, you asleep?" from my Mikey. He graciously laid in bed with me until Kyle joined us at 6:45. Then a few more cuddles and I shooed them off to their room to play while I showered and got ready for church.

I opened Kyle's Mother's Day present that he had made in preschool: a canning jar filled with all the dry ingredients for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I had been teasing him all weekend guessing that it was a jar of dirt and worms! There was of course the cute little question and answer paper/card stapled to the bag and thankfully, Kyle did not answer any of the questions in a way that would make me cringe *whew*.

We ate breakfast and had a surprise video chat with Daddy before needing to leave for church. That's right, a video chat. For some reason, those conference planners for biomedical engineers who specialize in imaging like to schedule over Mother's Day EVERY SINGLE YEAR. And EVERY SINGLE YEAR something crazy has happened from sick children to a sick mommy to a miscarriage to natural disasters. This year I am expecting the hatch of the cicadas from the Tennessee soil. I'm sure it will be awesome.

Thankfully, I often have reinforcements in the form of grandparents. It was a lot easier to access these grandparents when we lived in AZ, but Grammy has made it out to be my support every year here in TN while Kevin is away. Today we headed out for lunch and ice cream after church, then spent a leisurely afternoon of naps and quiet time, after which the boys played with friends and we had a low key dinner. Just about a perfect Mother's Day, definitely one of my best so far. It's overly emotional to be pregnant on Mother's Day, and with every pregnancy I have spent a Mother's Day pregnant because we seem to be *ahem* most fertile over the holidays which results in summer babies.

Happy Mother's Day, to all of you who are moms, who are going to be moms, who are battling to be moms, who visited your children's graves today, and who mourned the loss of your own mom today. All my hopes, love, and prayers for you.

I am thankful

2011-05-03T20:26:00.002-07:00

*For another year of funding for Kevin which equals another year of job security and better benefits!

*For my very own house, on a cul de sac, with a fenced in backyard, big mature shade trees, and neighbors with children the same age as mine

*For a reliable, fuel efficient, sub compact car to tote my family around town in

*For a church where we finally feel at home and look forward to going every week

*For our new baby boy, and our easiest pregnancy yet

There are a lot of things that go with all of those blessings that I like to complain about, but in the end, God just keeps on taking care of all my complaints. So even though I may not like where we are right now, or feel like I'm being dragged through an emotional/spiritual desert most days, I know I'm not alone. For all of you who continue to read and pray for us, thank you.

Dear Baby,

2011-04-08T10:58:00.002-07:00

Just wanted to let you know how incredibly loved you are already. Your brother Kyle could hardly contain himself in December when he figured out we "might" be pregnant with you. He was all questions about how will we know? How can we know? How do you find out? As soon as we got the positive pregnancy test he was ecstatic, jumping up and down, and running around. Ever since, not only do Daddy, me, and Micah get goodnight/goodbye hugs and kisses, but so do you! My stomach has never been so loved! Also, Kyle insisted on being at your 20 week ultrasound, just like he was at Micah's. Your brother Micah hasn't quite figured out what is going on around here, but follows in suit lately by lifting up my shirt, finding my belly button, and kissing it while saying "baby". I've started to explain to him that you two may have to "share" nursies when you arrive, since he's really not showing any sign of weaning yet.

You have already been "given" lots of great little toys, blankets, and other baby doodads that you will no doubt never remember, but they will make mommy's job a little easier around here. Additionally, it's like Christmas because your brothers are having a great time re discovering all these baby toys! I picked up your first pair of little leather shoes today, but am still searching for just the right "take home" outfit. I talked to daddy about using a cradle for you instead of the crib, because our room is just so full of furniture right now! Also, we might be close to picking out your name, which is very exciting for me! I love calling my babies by name when you are still growing in my tummy.

Just know that I think about you all the time and we are all excited for your arrival.

Not much to report

2011-04-02T20:30:00.004-07:00

It's the weekend again and I am so incredibly thankful to be feeling as normal as I usually do pregnant! The weather has been sunshiny for a change and we are excited for overnight guests to arrive tomorrow! Not only that, we are excited to go to church...which pretty much hasn't happened since we moved from AZ to TN.

I remember the wife of Kevin's old college roommate telling me it took her 5 years not to hate this place; 5 years you guys and I thought, "It only took about a year and a half for us to settle in to Tucson". But I think she was right as we approach our two year anniversary of living in TN. I get it now.

The boys are, well, the boys. I get sympathetic looks when people find out we are having another boy; I want to tell them I don't need their sympathy, or want it for that matter. Boys are fun, playful, affectionate, daring, adventurous, thoughtful, and (at least as youngsters), seem to love their mama more than anyone else in the world. It is a blessing to be surrounded by sons, and I bet that moms of all girls feel the same way!

I found some of Micah's teeny tiny newborn socks this morning while cleaning out the boys' under things drawer and I thought, "I'm going to get to pull these on some more itty bitty feet in a couple months" as I threw them in to the crib with all the other infant baby items I've found lurking in the boys' closet! You know what else is really fun? I have all of my favorite outfits that I saved from when Kyle was 0-12 months old! These were in storage when Micah would have been able to wear them, but they will be perfect for baby boy since he'll be an August baby just like Kyle! I can't wait to pull them out again and remember our baby days with Kyle while making more memories with his baby brother.

Did I tell you we're half way there? Yep, 20 weeks, all downhill now to the big due date, and if I'm lucky he'll come a few days early just like his brothers did! My next big milestone I'm counting down to is 100 days to go. Off to bed, morning comes early with all these children in the house, even the one in my tummy is starting to wake me up with kicks and rolls!

Anything but boring

2011-03-29T19:09:00.002-07:00

This week has continued last week's theme of crazy with Micah becoming an incredibly clingy mama's boy. I have even been wearing him again, with the wrap and soft structured carrier, doing my best to work around my 20 week belly. He won't even be comforted by Kevin, which is a truly rare thing! Kyle went back to preschool today, Kevin has been able to work two normal days so far this week, but I'm still a pregnant, emotional wreck.

Kyle had his first baseball game tonight and it was awesome; like I couldn't stop smiling awesome which is a great thing because last year all I did was wince during his practices and games because of the awfulness of the league and coach. The kids had an amazing time and the parents were fantastic! I am so thankful we found the extra money to switch leagues because it was worth it; every pinched penny! Kyle couldn't stop talking about the game and playing baseball on the way home, which has never happened before. He has practice tomorrow and another game on Sunday. I am so thankful for this positive sports experience for him; it is exactly what I had in mind when thinking about my little guys learning to play team sports.

I'm feeling baby boy a lot more lately, but nothing uncomfortable. I didn't gain any weight last week, but that could just be due to the food poisoning episode. Either way, I don't mind since the weight went on fast the first half of this pregnancy! Nursing is becoming more uncomfortable and I'm at a loss on how to wean Micah. Kyle weaned himself and it was so easy! Guess I need to do a little research.

Today has really taken it out of me, so I'm off to bed.

A long week led up to an even longer weekend

2011-03-27T20:17:00.001-07:00

Kevin has been busy this weekend, playing the role of Mr. Mom even more than usual while I recovered from food poisoning. Additionally, he cleaned up the vomit in our back seat from a Micah episode on Friday :

I took the boys to walmart on Friday morning and just as we pull in, Micah throws up not once, but three times, all over himself, his car seat, and our back seat. It was an unseasonably cold day, but I had to strip him down outside the car then pop him in the front seat to put on the spare set of clothes I keep in the diaper bag. Of course, with it having been in the 80s all week, I had switched the clothes out to warm weather gear. Now, what to do about that car seat? Well, I got it uninstalled and threw it in the trunk, then cleaned the back seat best I could. We headed in to walmart for a cheap booster seat for Kyle to ride home in, so Micah could use the five point harness seat (they both have the exact same car seat, just adjusted differently for their heights). We got to the car, got everyone situated, and it took all my will power to overcome my queasiness and make it home. I cleaned up the car seat if you ever need tips or tricks on that sort of thing, while Kevin tackled the car.

Back to everything Kevin has been doing: my laundry closet looks amazing with its new cupboard and shelves installed and he is currently steam cleaning our carpets downstairs! He knows just how to keep a nesting mama happy!

I picked up a new bedding set today and black out curtains for our room! We have had black out curtains in the boys room for several months now and with baby brother arriving, I wanted some for our room too since that is where he will be sleeping for awhile.

That's about it; crossing my fingers for a more normal week across the board, from physical health to sleep to work and school.

And after all that

2011-03-26T10:32:00.001-07:00

I am recovering from a night of food poisoning.

Date Night

2011-03-25T19:53:00.002-07:00

Finally, a couple hours alone with Kevin. It's been months because, well, we have no "village" here. I was going to make reservations for the kids at a "parent's night out" program run by a local play place we have frequented so we could celebrate Kevin's birthday tonight, just the two of us. However, once our retired neighbor heard about that she offered to watch the boys for free! She's a mom and grandma many times over and has watched our dog before, but I'd never thought she would watch the boys. I made sure there was a $5 carry out pizza on the counter and "Cars" in the blu ray player. Then we went out, waited for a table, and there were even cloth napkins! I felt like an adult for a couple hours, the food and company were fantastic.

Crossing my fingers we won't have to do a middle of the night breathing treatment, but not counting on it. Off to bed we all go; here's to the weekend!

Not allergies

2011-03-24T15:23:00.003-07:00

At least not for Micah; let's just say his "allergies" escalated quite a bit last night and at the doctor this morning they told us that after visiting them with severe wheezing 3 or 4 times by the age of 2, well, they prefer to just go ahead and call that what it is: asthma. We did a breathing treatment at the office and were told to do them every 4 to 6 hours through the weekend. Well, due to our insurance, the breathing machine needed to be delivered to us at home, not given to us at the office and then billed to our insurance company. Micah woke up from his nap ready for another treatment and there was NO respirator at our house. I called the company and they had it scheduled for delivery at 7:15 tonight. They had neglected to put in the notes that it was a pediatric patient who needed it for immediate use. So we made due with the rescue inhaler and it was delivered within an hour of me calling.

Allergies

2011-03-24T05:45:00.002-07:00

I think we've been hit by the allergy gods, and not in a good way. Poor Micah, this is his first "real" allergy season and he is suffering the most. Last night was long, with a lot of coughing, dry heaving, and some throwing up of mucus (he has a super sensitive gag reflex). Kevin and I are exhausted and a little foggy ourselves from sinus back up. Kyle seems to be doing the best of all of us thus far. There's little Micah or I can do/take to help due to our age/condition, but probably time to buy some claritin for Kevin and Kyle. Ready for this loooong week to be over.

Totally off topic

2011-03-22T21:09:00.002-07:00

So, it seems to me that even though we patiently went through the membership process for a church we really do love and enjoy on Sundays, we just keep getting these little issues, pokes, and red flags that make me feel like it may be time to move on and keep looking for a church here in the Nashville area. This also makes me feel sick to my stomach.

Pity party time, just close the window now if you'd prefer not to hear me complain. I am so tired, frustrated, and beaten down trying to plug in, make friends, find a church, etc... We will be "celebrating" (and I use that term loosely) two years in TN this July. Two long, lonely, socially depressing years. I just don't know if I can drag the kids around to different churches every weekend, again, for months and months at a time. I can count on my one hand how many times people have accepted a playdate invitation to our house and actually shown up. It's frustrating because I put in the time, I connect, invite, plan, attend everything we can to invest in relationships with other people here, but there must be something I'm doing wrong or missing about the culture here because it's not working.

The question I get asked everyday now,

2011-03-21T20:32:00.002-07:00

by friends and strangers alike is: Do you have a name yet? Well, no, actually we don't. Kyle has Kevin's initials, Micah has mine, and I really thought our next children would be adopted and might already have been given names, so I hadn't considered what we might name additional children our family was blessed with in the future.

Neither of us seem set on using initials again, but it's not completely out of the question. At this point, we joke that at least one boy could be named Kevin Jr. (something we had briefly considered when pregnant with Kyle)! Of course, naming this child isn't on Kevin's immediate radar, but he indulges me by listening to a litany of potential boy names every night before we go to bed. I am so used to being able to call my womb by name after finding out the sex, that it's a little unnerving calling him "baby boy".

Kyle has already latched on to a name Kevin was throwing around (in jest, in regards to a sports figure) and asks us every night at bedtime if we've decided on his baby's name yet. I think it helps make the whole process of a new sibling arriving more tangible for him when the child has a name.

I stuffed all our cloth diapers, folded them up, and popped them in the diaper basket along with our cloth wipes, all ready for baby boy. Micah's skin is just so sensitive we've never been able to use but one cloth diaper a day before he breaks out in a rash, and that's after just one hour! It doesn't matter what brand, material, liners, or inserts I use.

That's what's on my mind tonight. I'm so glad we're doing this blogging thing again because it really helps clear my pregnancy brain before bed. Goodnight!

Rub a dub dub, three boys in a tub!

2011-03-20T20:13:00.002-07:00

Well, not quite yet, but soon enough! I'm sorry for slacking on the posting this week, but good news: Kevin bought us a new "family" desktop computer; I guess he was tired of hearing me complain about how I could no longer do a single thing on my 8 year old Windows XP machine! It's nothing fancy, but did take a few days to set up and we ordered a few extras: wireless card and webcam (so if you see me available to video chat on gmail, ring us up, we will answer if we are around or call you right back if we miss you). It sits upstairs in our room, on our dresser and I will buy a pilates ball to sit on this week as my "desk" chair and soon to be birthing ball.

Things are changing around here! Kevin put together the crib again so we could start piling baby stuff in to it. We've received a few toys from my work, I pulled several 12 month outfits out of the box I was planning on sending to Goodwill and threw them in there, and I keep finding little blankets, crib sheets, shoes, socks, swaddling blankets, and slings in the big boys closet, so all those have been tossed in too. We're making room for a rocker/glider and a small computer desk, but our poor bedroom is going to be full of furniture! I figure the baby's clothes and diapers will live under his crib in some cute wicker laundry baskets I got at Micahel's a few months back because those will need to be repurposed since Kevin is installing a cabinet and additional shelving in our laundry closet! I'm soooo excited for this, because it means some extra pantry space!

Kevin has really gotten in the mood to start doing some upgrades around the house since this pregnancy started and I love it! It totally feeds my need to nest to see him come home from the hardware store with bags and boxes or research how to diy for sealing a porch or putting down hard floors. My one contribution to all these upgrades will be new linens and towels for us; we bought the current sets right after we got married, so almost 8 years ago. Yikes!

We had a great weekend, spending a lot of time outside, an afternoon at a kids concert about an hour away, and tonight at a sports bar with fellow U of A alumni cheering on the wildcats to victory in the NCAA basketball tournament. Kyle is on spring break this week, so I hope to take the kids on nature walks at two nearby parks and hit up the discovery center where we have a family membership (it's about 30 minutes away, so we don't make it there but about once a month).

I am going to work on uploading some pictures from our new camera this week, so keep an eye out for those. I'm off to bed!

Gasp

2011-03-16T19:04:00.002-07:00

It's a boy! You probably already know that from Facebook or a text you received from Kevin or myself, but I am still in shock; is that okay to admit? A house full of boys, three of them! Don't get me wrong, I love my boys something fierce, and always will; in fact, even though Kevin and I still get sent reeling in the parenting realm, I like to think we're starting to finally get the hang of this "raising boys" thing. Truth be told, we haven't been doing it that long, but it kind of becomes a way of life: Everything, from clothes to linens to toys comes in the primary colors. We have seen, read, and reenacted every Thomas the Train story known to man. What does Daddy play when he gets home from work? WRESTLE! We have a basketball hoop in our family room, a closet full of ride on toys (bikes, scooters, cars), and several "collections" from our daily romps outside. These include sticks, rocks, and other treasures. A couple of weeks ago I was sitting on the back porch, nauseous, watching Kyle and Micah play in the backyard and I could see it in my mind: three little boys building, playing, and exploring together.

And so we are "blessed with boys"!

Our day in short

2011-03-11T20:40:00.004-07:00

So what did we do today?

Well, Kyle went to preschool and learned about the letter "U", played indoor hockey, and his special job today was the door holder. Micah and I went to the zoo immediately after dropping Kyle off; his favorite place was the farm. He would call the animals by what they say, for example: he would say "moo, moo" for a cow, "baa, baa" for a sheep, and "cluck, cluck" for a chicken. We went home for lunch and an early nap. Micah woke up just 15 minutes before we had to go pick up Kyle, so we cleaned out the car and went back to preschool.

After school it was a balmy 53ish, so we stayed and played at the playground. After school, we all headed home for a few minutes before strapping on the bike helmets for a little bike riding until it was time to make dinner. I started "Toy Story 3" for the boys because Friday is movie night around here and prepped dinner before Kevin arrived home (usually we pick him up on Fridays, but today his meeting was canceled and he made the carpool, so no rush hour drive down to Vandy with the boys in tow = a very happy mommy).

After the movie we put the boys to bed, Kevin did a pregnancy food run for me since dinner didn't sit right, then he headed out to catch the Arizona game at a sports bar, while I relaxed here at home. It is well past my bedtime, but I will try to post here often for all of you giving up Facebook for Lent :).

And time rolls on....

2011-03-10T21:28:00.003-07:00

Wow, it's been a long time since that last post and well, a lot has happened since then. Our boys have been growing up in leaps and bounds:

I swear Kyle wakes up inches taller every morning! He is reading a lot in the past two months, very curious about everything, and excited to start "real school" next year. He continues to be an amazing brother to Micah, even when annoyed by how "babies ruin everything!" (his final exasperated comment when he just can't figure out how to play with his little brother anymore). He and Micah often sleep in the same twin bed all night long and wake each other up in the morning to read and play. Kyle wants to teach Micah everything, but doesn't always appreciate it when Micah mimics him in everything! Kyle is eating more foods lately, with a happy attitude towards "trying new things". He loves being/playing outside but, this crazy TN weather has not cooperated much this winter. He keeps asking when we'll be wearing shorts again and why can't we play outside today (because it's 35 degrees, sorry sweetie). He is growing more patient and thoughtful, growing up in more ways than I can describe to you.

Micah is quite the charmer, as was evident at dinner out tonight with every server and chef stopping by to ruffle his hair and say "Hello amigo!", only to be rewarded with a giggle or grin from the unexpected attention. He is a talker, repeats EVERYTHING we say in earnest. He is also the most empathetic of all of us, completely stops what he is doing if someone says "Ow!", sneezes, or gasps in order to ask "You okay?" as he peers into their face intently. He eats with abandon, trying everything on my plate, although not necessarily on his own (even if it is the same food). He is most definitely tall for his age, but still my baby, crawling up in to my lap at every opportunity or asking "I hold you?" if he senses I may be standing up or going somewhere he usually can't go. He just recently discovered Thomas the Tank Engine and has shown the maturity to leave the track put together so everyone can play on the train table. For several days he would pick a train or two to carry around with us as we went about our tasks. He is all about technology, wanting the speaker phone on for all calls, or to add his own "comments" to chats and facebook updates if he can reach the computer. He also LOVES to be outside, just like his brother, so when the weather is good we drop everything we are doing and head outside. The boys make up games with sticks, leaves, rocks, ride bikes, scooters, and coaster cars, draw with chalk, blow bubbles, and just explore. Micah adores his big brother and I know it will be hard for him when Kyle begins school in the fall.

And lastly, I have been feeling downright crummy lately due to the fact that we are expecting baby #3: SOMETHING I NEVER THOUGHT I'D BE WRITING HERE. Maybe that's another reason why I haven't updated since December. Shortly after Kyle accepted Jesus in to his heart, I started feeling crummy. Chalking it up to the flu, I found it odd that every time I nursed Micah, my crumminess seemed to disappear for awhile. I joked with Kevin that we must be pregnant again and he retorted with "I'm surprised you haven't bought a test yet". Well, I was near the dollar store that day, so why not buy a couple of tests. I waited until Kevin got home that night from work and took one of the tests, then laid down on the couch feeling crummy again. Kevin gushed from the bathroom that it was negative and I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that there was no way on this earth I could be pregnant in TN: FAR FAR AWAY from any support system at all; no friends and no family. A few minutes later he told me he was going to throw it away, but I asked him if I could see it just to make sure he had read the test right. KEVIN, IT'S POSITIVE! There was the faintest line on the test and he says "It's been more than 10 minutes, it says not to read it after 10 minutes". Ah hu, I was having flashbacks to our pregnancy tests with Kyle where Kevin responded with "How often do they give false positives?" in all seriousness. Kyle ran around with glee finding out that we were pregnant again and let us know in all that it's a girl; that he has been praying for a sister and God must not listen to us, but listens to him, LOL! (No, we don't know what we are having yet, but Kyle will always tell you it's a girl if you ask him). We had just given away all of our baby gear, and were about to sell the crib when we found out we were pregnant again. We are also a one car family again after many strange circumstances: one very, very tiny car that I continue to thank God for, but often miss the roominess of the vans I had over the past several months. We have no idea if we will get another vehicle to accomodate this child, or do some creative car seat buying/rearranging when the time comes.

I have to say that I am floored by this pregnancy, but excited nonetheless. Micah has continued to nurse and I have had the easiest pregnancy as far as morning sickness goes of all three thus far! Not to say I completely escaped the puking or queasiness, but it was totally tolerable this time and I even kept working part time! All of our tests have come back good and my appointments have been routine. We are delivering with the Vanderbilt midwives, at the hospital, which I'm nervous about. My stomach popped waaay early this time and I already feel huge. Our anatomy ultrasound and next appointment are on Wed. March 16th and I'm definitely curious to know what we are having this time around. I have my hunch, seeing as I dreamed about this child, just as I did with Kyle and Micah before our ultrasounds with them. Only God knew we could handle a pregnancy being so far removed and not quite settled in TN if it were an "easy" one and I thank him everyday for that grace.

We are traveling to AZ April 12-19. We will be in Tucson while Kevin works during the week and in Phoenix for the weekend. I can't tell you how excited we all are to see everyone and reconnect. I must go to bed, the unisom has kicked in.

A big decision

2010-12-01T16:52:00.003-07:00

Dear Kyle,

You've been asking a lot of questions about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the birth of Jesus, the resurrection, what it means to be a sinner, etc... the last couple months. Daddy and I suspected that you might make a decision to follow Jesus sometime this year, especially seeing as we had both made that decision around the time we were 5 years old.

We arrived at AWANA a little early tonight, so we sat in the van with the heater on and music going for a few minutes. We had been talking about the Bible verse this week and you said "Well, I am just going to ask Him right now". I asked you what it meant to ask Jesus in to your heart and you told me about the birth of Jesus, why he came to earth, how he had to die for us and be raised again. You knew, you got it! And then you prayed the sweetest, most sincere prayer and asked Jesus in to your heart. I was so excited and happy for you that I had tears in my eyes and gave you a hug.

Welcome to the family of God Kyle, I am so glad you are here!

Love, Mommy

Blessed

2010-11-26T20:22:00.003-07:00

Brrrr...it's cold here! We've had a lovely holiday weekend, dinner with friends, the tree is up, the house is clean and I am loving on all my boys. We finally got our fireplace working correctly and it has been so much fun to enjoy together. Micah does like to try to to touch it, and the tree, and just about everything else; he is sooo curious. However, he does know what he's not supposed to be doing and will say "No" as he goes for the fireplace, ornaments, dog, etc...

We are starting our elementary school saga, as we determine where and how Kyle will be going to school next year. I did put in for the magnet school lottery for our district, not that we aren't zoned for a good school in our district, but I like to have options. The one school is "montessori" and the other has a "language arts" emphasis. We'll see if Kyle gets in either one sometime in January, after the school lottery. Other options include a half day kinder program at a private school, but it's quite a commute and they use the ABEKA curriculum, which I'm not sold on. Also, we could homeschool and Kyle could attend tutorial classes on Tuesday and Thursday. So many options, so little time! Oh! and we could try to open enroll him at another school in our district if we aren't happy with our choices and there are openings. It all just makes my head spin.

And lastly, we have decided on a church. Fellowship Bible Church is our church home here in Nashville and we will be doing the membership class after the new year. It is such a relief to know where we are going to church every weekend, and to see familiar faces!

This weekend I am so thankful, looking back on this year and all the changes we have come through, I know God is good, even when our circumstances seem not to be!

Did we really...

2010-10-07T10:17:00.003-07:00

...go the whole month of September without a blog post? Good gracious! Well, here's what's been going on:

Kyle started preschool around Labor Day and loves it this year! I have no regrets about waiting to start kindergarten for another year. Also, Kyle has been attending a lot of birthday parties (averaging 2 per month) and started playing soccer, with Kevin as his coach! This has been so much fun for him to have daddy as his coach, and Kevin is just amazing with the kids; we've always joked how he should stay home with the boys and I should work! I'm good at keeping everyone's needs met, but he's good at playing with the boys...I guess that just makes us a good parenting pair in the end!

Micah has been active as ever, teething, eating lots of different foods when he's not teething, climbing things and falling off of them, trying to be just like his big brother, and is saying new words everyday now! He's still nursing a little, but not at night, and takes a pacifier. He can climb up stairs and slide down them on his bottom, but prefers to try and go down by himself holding on to the rail. He wants to see everything I'm doing, while I'm doing it, and then he wants to try it too! It takes me a little longer to get things done, but that's not a big deal. Today I had to look up how to tie him on my hip while I did our morning chores, because he didn't want down for anything! Micah has started throwing tantrums when we don't understand what he wants or doesn't get his way. He is a biter and a hair puller, which was not a problem we faced with Kyle, so new parenting territory with those behaviors!

Kevin is doing well at work, busy with research. I am enjoying this Fall weather here in TN. This month marks one year that we have been in our house, and can I tell you how fast it has gone? I feel like we are settled now, and am so thankful for our location and our neighbors. We have yet to decide on a permanent church home, but I am working three days a week at one of our favorite churches that we have attended here in Nashville, The Village Chapel.

Lastly, did you know we were in a car accident in August? Yep, in a van we were hoping to buy. All four of us were in the van and the airbags came out, etc..., but we were all ok physically, just down to one car for awhile, waiting for the insurance companies to work everything out. Thankfully, it was a fairly painless process and is over now. We bought a "new to us" van about 2 weeks ago and I LOVE IT, way more than the van we were considering buying. For as unattractive as minivans can be, they are so convenient. We are driving a 1998 Oldsmobile Silhouette, loaded, and I have to say, I'm pretty sure they designed this minivan for the grandparents to drive the grandkids around in. It is sooo comfortable and has a lot of fancy options I've never had in a vehicle before, so I feel blessed. It's got a few quirks, but we know from experience that any $2K vehicle is going to be quirky!

We will not be traveling to AZ for the holidays this year, and actually, I'm not sure when we will be there next. We have loved and appreciated all the visitors we've had this first year in TN! That's about it in a nutshell; if you want pictures, check on Facebook!

Loving life...

2010-08-12T07:05:00.003-07:00

...with two little boys. Kevin and I have been looking through pictures of the boys the past couple days and it's crazy how much Kyle and Micah actually look alike as infants, just different coloring (blond hair/blue eyes, brown hair/brown eyes). Even the expressions in the pictures are very similar! They are definitely brothers through and through. Kyle turns 5 in just two weeks and we have a party planned at a local bowling alley. He wanted to invite his entire preschool class from last year and our house just won't accommodate all those parents and kids!

Kyle is really starting to try to figure things out; I can see his thinking maturing, especially when he talks out loud as he works something out in his head. He's been asking a lot of really great questions about everything under the sun. He really wants to know how the world works, and why it works that way. A new development has been that he gets scared to be alone, if he needs to grab something from his room or if I'm putting Micah down for a nap. Just recently we have started having people over to the house. This is Kyle's favorite thing in the entire world, to have friends over to play. Amazingly, a new family moved in to one of the 3 bedrooms at the top of our cul de sac and they have a boy and girl right around Kyle's age. Additionally, they have been homeschooling with the same curriculum that I used for Kyle to do preschool when we were in AZ! I'm very excited about them moving in. We all played soccer in the front yard last night.

Brief post break, to go to the dentist. Kyle's 2nd time and Micah's 1st time! They both did great, no cavities, and just a little fussing from Micah when they scraped a little on his one front tooth. I love our children's dentist; we arrived early, like 9:45 for a 10:30 appt and they had us out the door by 10:30! Awesome.

On to Micah, he wants to do everything the way we do it. Sippy cup? No way, give me a glass. High chair tray? No thanks, I want a plate. And I'm going to feed myself too, with utensils, otherwise I refuse to eat. He understands EVERYTHING. We'll say, time to go upstairs (for bed, a diaper change, etc...) and to the gate he toddles, waiting for it to open so he can crawl up to his room. Or if I say it's time to go, he'll walk over to the gate, wait for it to open and head straight for the door. I love it, love this age. And now, when he wakes up at night, does he cry? Oh yes, but he cries "Mommmmyyyyy, mommmyyyyy"! Actually, last night he never made a peep, 8 pm to 6 am we didn't hear from him. That is the first time I haven't nursed him once in the middle of the night. We've been weaning, but he always woke up around 1 am for a snack. Micah's favorite toys are anything with buttons: phones, remote controls, the dishwasher, the car, doorbells, water fountains, etc...We have to press a lot of buttons. Also, he has a new found love of reading! Kyle was an avid "reader" from a very young age, but Micah just got interested in the last couple weeks and boy does he like what he likes. Kevin is always trying to have him add something new to his list of books he will ask you to read, but so far we have "Brown Bear, Brown Bear", "Goodnight, Moon", "The Very Busy Spider", and "Are you my mother?". As you can see, quite the Eric Carle fan.

Alright, time for a nap! I will update again soon!

More daily life

2010-07-25T20:34:00.003-07:00

What a week! The boys are putting themselves to bed every night, at the same time, in their room. It's amazing, phenomenal, I feel like a new person and I really didn't think it would happen this soon! You have to understand, that having your sleep interrupted for an entire year, longer if you count the pregnancy, can be hugely detrimental; it's hard to explain if you haven't experienced it recently.

I know some women have their babies sleeping through the night by 12 weeks old, or their babies are just sleepers, and that's great. I just wasn't comfortable forcing our boys to sleep through the night until they were ready (Kyle started doing this at 10 months old, Micah is 13 months old). When we moved to Nashville, Kyle regressed some and required one of us to lay down with him while he fell asleep; only since Micah has started going to bed with him in their room, has this request completely vanished! Don't get me wrong, I love snuggling with my boys while they fall asleep, but some nights it would last a LOOONNNGGG time and by the time I stumbled downstairs, it would be 10 o'clock already, so I'd head straight back up and go to bed until Micah's midnight feeding or just stay up and do stuff around the house until Micah's midnight feeding. Anyways, it's all very exhausting the first year of an infant's life and having the boys' sleep life falling in to place is an ENORMOUS piece of the puzzle to me feeling like a human being.

Kyle is really starting to get excited about his 5th birthday coming up next month! Kevin and I have been exploring birthday party options. It's all quite amazing what you can do for a kid's birthday party these days; My 5th birthday is the first party I have clear memories of, including the purple, frilly party dress I wore. It was at McDonalds on Arizona Ave. in Chandler (no longer there). I don't think McDonalds even does birthday parties anymore. Do you remember your 5th birthday party? Let me know in the comments.

Well, we went back to the church we tried last week. Sunday school was good all around; Micah hung out with us because he has a runny nose, but no one gave us a hard time about it and the sermon was fine. This church has great community outreach and activities for the kids. We'll see, there are a few red flags, but these are known to us and are more personal issues, then true make or break issues with the church itself (it has to with the denomination). And that is all I have to say about that! Here's to starting year #2 of church searching.

The boys both continue to grow up. Kyle has just recently been able to really verbalize what he wants/needs/is feeling. It's been quite the developmental leap that I've noticed in him from concrete to more abstract. Micah is starting to develop a love for reading, something he had not been interested in up till now. Both boys still love to play with sticks, throw rocks, and wrestle; it's non stop action around here! Micah has gone back to two naps a day since we arrived home from vacation. This means Kyle and I play games/read during nap #1 and Kyle does his own quiet time during nap #2.

Hey! We got new furniture, new to us, but our current furniture isn't yet sold, so the family room is full of couches and chairs. It's a cushy wonderland for the boys. Micah can now climb up and down all of our furniture himself, and then often rolls off.

Oh man, and did I tell you about the ants. Ever since we got home, there have been ants in the kitchen. We have regular pest control, but they forgot to schedule us for July, so they hadn't come while we were on vacation, ugh. So I called and scheduled them as soon as we got home, they sprayed and we saw more ants, so I got ant traps and wow did they love those! It's been since Wed. and I only saw one ant today, thank goodness. I'm crossing my fingers that they are gone for good.

Well, Kevin has now beat me up to bed, which rarely happens, so goodnight! And I'll update again soon.

Home...

2010-07-18T20:01:00.002-07:00

...if you could call it that. We've been in Nashville for just shy of a year and it's still not exactly home for me. We even tried out a different church this morning, *sigh*.

Our summer vacation was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Lots of time with family, lots of time on the beach, and plenty of new experiences for everyone. We drove to Charleston, SC first, then to Washington, DC, and lastly to Bridgeville, DE. We have family in all of those places. Kyle is finally old enough to enjoy some touristy attractions, so it was a lot of fun to take him around to museums, aquariums, and other notable places. Also, he got to see my uncle's real, working farm and shot a BB gun for the first time (even hitting the can a few times!). It was great!

Micah has come in to his own even more since we initially left for vacation. He is talking and walking more than ever! Just tonight we started our "learn to put yourself to sleep" phase of Micah's world, and both our boys fell asleep in their room, in their own beds, of their own accord! Truly a milestone and one we have been looking forward to for many, many months.

I am starting the search for a part time job, evenings and weekends when Kevin is home to watch the boys. As much as I love and appreciate being able to stay home with them, I am excited to get out a little bit in the "working world". Also, I am beginning to plan Kyle's 5th Birthday Party, which is very exciting, as my 5th Birthday Party is the first one I have clear, concrete memories of!

Good night!

Whirlwind

2010-07-03T19:42:00.004-07:00

Well, about the time I stopped posting last week (or was it the week before?), Kevin drove off to a mini work retreat in Huntsville, Alabama and my mom arrived to spend a week with all of us in Nashville, before driving with me and the boys to South Carolina.

We are in Charleston right now, having a wonderful time with family and hanging out at the beach. Kyle was a little nervous the first night we went for a walk on the beach, but by the next morning that water was calling his name and he has been jumping waves and boogie boarding ever since. Micah loves to walk on the wet sand, chasing seagulls and dogs, while collecting seashells. If he does end up in water, he waves "bye bye" to it until I come get him and move him to higher ground, LOL! All of us have had a great time building sand castles and knocking them down too.

Micah has been teething pretty much since the day we arrived here, which has meant a lot less sleep for me, and a much more clingy baby in general during the day. Kyle has been amazing with Micah, and his little cousin B (10 months), whose house we are staying at right now.

We will be in SC for a couple more days, then start to make our way up to Washington, DC to see more family on Tuesday! This is so much fun and the boys have been fantastic in the car thus far. I don't miss Nashville, but I do miss my husband; he will be joining us in DC next week!

Micah is walking more and more, which means he is also falling more and more. Little guy busted up his chin on the sidewalk at the mall today. The thing about Micah is, you go to comfort him and he starts whining more because your picking him up and all he wants to do is try, try again! He is talking a lot and I can't believe how grown up he is. He is able to play more and more with Kyle everyday! They play chase, wrestle, tickle, peek a boo, hide n seek, etc...

All right, I'll update when I can/have uninterrupted access to a computer. Happy 4th of July!

Two days in one post

2010-06-20T12:41:00.004-07:00

Well, last night I was banned from the downstairs while Kevin steamed the carpets, so I apologize for the late post! We'll just get yesterday and today all settled right now.

The boys were quite whiny yesterday, so we determined that we should leave the house before all four of us got whiny, lol. We headed out to a car and arts festival that fell a little short of expectations (organizers blamed the early morning rain storm). After a quick stroller ride through the booths, it was lunch time!, so off to Chick fil a we went not even knowing that they were handing out free shakes to dad's yesterday; bonus. After some play time and a ride home where the van we've been driving, but that isn't really ours, almost ran out of gas, we put Micah down for his one nap per day and relaxed.

After Micah woke up, it was time to rearrange some furniture because we are expecting company tomorrow! Then an early dinner and off to the thrift store for their 5 year birthday celebration where I won $10 in gift cards!

Kevin spent the evening (or should I say night since he didn't come to bed until midnight), cleaning our carpets and we all desperately wanted to sleep in, but woke up to make it to early church service. Micah once again didn't stay in the nursery, which makes me want to LOOK FOR A NEW CHURCH AGAIN, because man that's annoying. However, Kyle does really well in his class and actually learns something about God, which doesn't happen everywhere, let me tell ya. After church we had a few options for Father's Day lunch, but ended up with more chicken.

The rest of today will be spent together, cleaning and packing, as Kevin takes off for a work retreat in Huntsville, Alabama and the boys and I pick up Nana at the airport tomorrow! Additionally, Kyle will be starting another week of VBS at a different church in the morning.

Fun filled Friday

2010-06-18T19:49:00.003-07:00

I wasn't real sure what we would do today, but the boys are always up for being outside, so off to Radnor Lake we went for the 2nd time this week to go on a nature walk. This time I put Micah in the pack and Kyle walked, with his binoculars around his neck. We saw lots of birds, cardinals and wood peckers to name a few, some incredible spiders that I had never seen before in my entire life, squirrels, and a deer eating THIS CLOSE to us on the side of the trail. Kyle made a funny face as we walked by the deer and I asked him what he was doing and he said he was making sure the deer couldn't see him, LOL.

Home again for lunch, playtime, and a much too short nap for Micah. After Micah woke up, we headed out to Centennial Park for the arts festival, even though it was close to 100 degrees outside. I piled the boys in to the stroller and away we went. Kyle was interested in several pieces of art, and if we hadn't been pouring down sweat, I think he would have enjoyed me going a little slower so we could look and talk about the pieces more. We tried a sample of Amish fudge, and the icing on the cake for the boys was balloons, fans and a stuffed animal dog named Sparkle, courtesy of Gilda's Club Nashville. Those items kept us entertained until Kevin arrived home this evening! We were only there an hour, but it was still fun and Kyle asked if we could come back again this weekend, so we'll see how the weather goes.

Micah climbed out of his high chair harness and on to the table this afternoon during our snack; can't keep that boy down! He tries to climb in to and out of his playpen, just the way he sees Kyle do it. He also wants to walk around and jump on our bed just like he sees Kyle do it. We gave him a little milk in his sippy cup tonight and he would take a big gulp, then dribble it out on his mouth and down his shirt while we laughed. I have no idea when he'll be weaned.

Yawn

2010-06-17T21:27:00.003-07:00

Kevin scanned from 8 to 8 today and didn't walk through our front door until 10 pm tonight! The boys and I ran some errands this morning, only to get caught in a rain storm on the way home. After lunch and some playtime, Micah took a two hour nap in our king size bed (I recently bought side rails for it), and Kyle had some quiet time of his own. We actually had to wake Micah up to head to Kyle's last swim class this afternoon. I took some video of the class so Kevin could get an idea of what Kyle had learned over the past two weeks. Micah loved watching the kids splash around. I'm hopeful we can continue swim lessons on a once a week, year round, basis once the school year starts up again. We'll see with everything else I'd love to sign Kyle up for this year (gymnastics, AWANA, soccer, basketball, music, theater, etc...).

Micah was a little more clingy than usual today, but I think maybe he is just interested in everything I'm doing. By the end of the day, I would ask him if he wanted to come with me to do laundry, make dinner, clean up, etc... and he would nod yes or no. During bathtime tonight, Micah would stand up in the tub, look at me until I asked him to sit down, then splash down with great laughter. He also loves to have the water running. He would stand up, touch the faucet knob, and make a high pitched lilting sound as if he was asking if we could turn it on again. It's so much fun to decipher his "language" right now. Another cool thing happened today; for the first time ever, Micah fell asleep next to me in bed for his nap! Usually, I walk him in our soft structured carrier. And talking about sleep, I am playing with the idea of selling the boys bunkbeds and putting a full or queen size bed in their room for them to share. They both love sleeping next to someone; they sleep better and longer when they sleep with someone else.

And on that note, I should get some sleep myself. Kevin will be headed in early for some more scanning!

In the family news today...

2010-06-16T20:42:00.004-07:00

Playdate with fomer neighbor Jonas (19 months old), went great. Lots of splashing, snack time, and trains. Kyle and I talked about how much TV mommy was allowed to watch when she was a little girl and defined the word: homework. Kevin and I realized tonight that we should get a discount at Kyle's current preschool for all the people we've referred recently! Kyle's swim lesson went well again and I'm sad that tomorrow afternoon is his last lesson :(. Micah received a racquetball from a retiree waiting to play in the hallway where we walk during Kyle's swim lessons. It was like a little piece of blue heaven that required a full on body meltdown when I slipped it in to my pocket so we could leave the recreation center. Tonight we all went to an adult birthday party and Kyle almost got eaten by Dash, a hybrid wolf dog. Note to self, the boys may not play outside with Dash alone. The boys both fell asleep in the "fancy van that we actually don't like very much thank goodness it's not ours" on our way home from the party.

I should go to bed; 7:30 a.m. dentist appts. just make me that much more tired. Even after an accidental afternoon nap with Micah!

Another day

2010-06-15T19:39:00.004-07:00

I'm renewing my efforts to start blogging on a regular basis again, even if it is just our daily stuff we're doing. Today we had Micah's 1 year old appt. and he is 22lbs and 31 1/2 inches tall! About average in the weight department and above average in height.

Our "new to us" van headed to our auto broker's mechanic today to have a check engine light taken care of that showed up after he bought the van for us, so we are cruising in a super nice Nissan Quest for a few days. I love all the room and happily drive a minivan around; I'm not ashamed of my mom mobile, because, well, that's what I am, a mom, and it seems to be one of the most efficient vehicles to do the job of toting kids, car seats, and any other additional baby, sports, or activity gear!

I'm preferring TN in the summer, as opposed to the winter. It still doesn't feel like home to me, but when asked where he'd like to move next or if he'd just like to stay in TN, Kyle replied that he wants to stay here! Crazy after this year to hear him say that.

Kyle is finishing up a session of swim lessons and wow! has he made some great progress! I know he's been a little nervous and/or scared at times, but he has done everything his swim coach has asked of him and she has been great, not giving an inch when he balks. He is so proud of himself every night after lessons!

Today we swung by Costco after Micah's appt., then came home for lunch, naps/quiet time, and headed out again for swim lessons. Tuesday nights we meet a couple other families for dinner at Chik fil a, so that was our next stop after swim.

Micah talked and walked the day away! I have been keeping him up until 1:00 p.m. to take just one long nap a day the past week or so. He can still do two naps, but they are sooo short and sometimes it takes forever to put him down when he does two naps a day. I'm sure those of you who have little ones remember the change over from one to two naps.

Well, the boys are asleep, Kevin has been playing his guitar this evening and I am about to dive in to some leftover birthday cake!

Happy 1st Birthday Micah!

2010-06-14T20:09:00.005-07:00

Dear Micah,

I can't believe you are 1 year old today; the time has gone so fast. A year ago I was cuddling, swaddling, and nursing an 8lb 10oz, 20 1/4 inch little baby boy and tomorrow we will find out how big and tall you are now! You are incredibly happy, all the time; smiling, squealing, talking, laughing.

You love to sleep with daddy at night, and in the morning you crawl in to "your" room that you share with Kyle, looking for me and your brother. You nod your head yes and no when we ask questions, walk, crawl, and climb to get whatever you need or want if it's not immediately in reach. You love animals and the zoo has become very interesting to you in the past month or so. You eat everything, you always have, and I don't know that there is anything we've offered you that you haven't tried. Water is another favorite thing of yours; you are truly offended if one of us doesn't pull you in to the shower in the mornings and lately you ask to wash your hands at the downstairs bathroom sink whenever you notice someone else is about to wash up. You've pretty much refused to use sign language, even though we started signing to you the week you were born! You insist on "talking" and "making your own signs" or gesturing/pointing to get your ideas across to us. You love to wrestle with your dad and brother in the evenings after dinner and "play" Super Mario Bros. on the WII with your "controller", aka the VCR remote control.

A few of your other favorite things include music (on the stereo or if daddy sings, but never mommy singing!), talking on the phone (and unlocking my phone to play with it), and driving our cars.

This house here in TN is effectively the only home you've ever known, even though you were born in Tucson, and we lived in an apartment in Nashville for three months. A lot happened when we moved in to this house; you stopped sleeping and started getting ear infection upon ear infection. It was awful. We were finally able to get tubes put in your ears at 6 months old, and wow! what a difference. Not only were you no longer sick all the time, but you were vocal, like we'd never heard you before (probably because you could hear now, whereas before they said it was like you were hearing everything underwater).

Your birthday party was amazing. We had it yesterday and I was so worried because it was the first big event we have had since moving to TN, and the first time your father and I had anyone over to our place since moving in (besides family). I was so blessed by the friends that attended the party and I enjoyed watching you, watch the big kids play and the way you ate your smash cake was picture perfect! You collapsed for a nap after everyone left and I could smell the frosting in your hair as I kissed the top of your head before laying you down in bed.

Today, I took you and your brother on a hike at Radnor Lake. You received lots of birthday calls today and birthday wishes via video chat tonight.

I'm sorry I haven't written about your first year the way I did your brother's, but I can assure you, that we have taken many, many pictures and your photo book is on it's way! You adore looking at pictures of all of us, so your father and I are giving you a photo book for your present this year.

I love you Mister!

Love, Mama

It's already come and gone...

2009-10-16T20:19:00.002-07:00

And I forgot...didn't even notice it because I was at Micah's 4 month appt., gleefully taking his photo as he safely rolled around the exam table, nursing him while they gave him his first shots, then I was out faint on the floor with my head in his pediatrician's lap (I fainted when Kyle received his shots at his 2 week appt.). And I didn't once think about the two babies we lost between Kyle and Micah. Yesterday was Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. I always remember around the time I lost them and on their birthdays. It still makes me cry on a good day. So to all of you who have lost your little ones, my heart goes out to you.

Kevin commented that Micah seemed to be growing up faster than Kyle did, after I told him I'd scheduled Micah's 4 month appointment. It's true. I didn't think we would survive Kyle's first year (you were one tough infant buddy)! Micah's first year seems like it is slipping away. I really wanted to savor his infancy and I have as much as possible, but I've really been in survival mode since before he was born and it's frustrating.

Thankfully, it looks like some stability may be coming our way, as we get to move in to our new house on Monday! We won't close until later in the week, but our lease is up on Tuesday and our storage bill comes due on Monday, so the owners graciously are allowing us to take occupancy on Monday. Can I tell you what a relief that is? There is no way to describe how hard these past 3 months have been. Kevin will sometimes comment that it seems to have gotten easier, but for me it's just that it feels normal now. It's still one of the hardest experiences I've ever gone through and I am still treading water.

Micah is 4 months old, 16 lbs, and 27 inches long. He is happy, still so happy! This week he started rolling and now he rolls all over the house; it's crazy that one day all he can do is lay on his back and the next he can move! Our pediatrician said he can start solids whenever we want, but I think I'll hold off till he's 6 months. However, with the new development of rolling has come a regression in sleeping. Ugh. Kevin has been so faithful to help me with the nights. Micah is up a lot and it's been a really tough almost 2 weeks now of sleeplessness. Thankfully, he is once again napping during the day (yes, he wasn't napping and we were both miserable for a couple days there). So, my assumption is that night time sleep should be coming around again soon. He loves to grab at things and is continually enamored with Kyle.

Kyle is doing better and better. We've been working on listening with him for the past several weeks and both of us have noticed a real change in him this week with listening and responding to us the first time we ask/inform him of something. It's wonderful! Also, it seems Kyle has been making friends at preschool, despite our initial misgivings (Taryn is my friend, I tell other kids I don't want to be their friends. What he forgets is that Taryn is moving back to Texas in May, lol.). Kyle has started sounding out words, like overnight. On our trip to AZ, we were in the Nashville airport and he looks up as we walk through security and says "Mom, why does that say "Exit"?". Instead of answering him, I ask "How do you know it says "Exit"?" and he sounds out the word to me Ehhh-x-ihhh-tt. I'll hear him in his car seat in the back saying and sounding out letters on signs as we are stopped at traffic lights. IT's fantastic; I remember doing those things as a kid when I was learning how to read! Lately, he'll hear Kevin and me talking about something "adult" and ask us what we're talking about. Then we'll explain it to him and he is truly interested about what's going on outside of him and his world. This is a totally new development for Kyle!

Our trip to AZ was fantastic. AZ still feels like home to me, but as we were getting ready to leave, I realized that wherever Kevin and the boys are, that is home for me right now in my life. It was so good to get back to Kevin; I still have my "I hate Nashville" days, but they aren't everyday, as they were in the beginning. I know we didn't get to see everyone we wanted to while we were in AZ, but we are coming back at Christmas for a longer period of time, and Kevin will be with us! We will be spending a couple days in Tucson, hopefully over a weekend so we can see some of you at church.

Lastly, we have found a church. It's a non denominational church, about the size of our church in Tucson. I don't know that we LOVE it the way we love Vineyard, but it's good. I think it's good for all of us to have a place we are going consistently and to be building community there. It is right down the street from our new place! And, I love Wed. night church service; it's like a breather during the week to reconnect and get some prayer and encouragement. Also, no dinner duty, yea!

As October winds down, Kyle will be finishing up his soccer season, we have a few Fall festivals to attend where the boys will be dressing up and collecting candy (Kyle is going as a soccer player, and Micah is going as a horse. If I had been really on top of things, I would have convinced Kyle to be a cowboy this year, that would have been cute!), and we are looking forward to a visit from Grammy!

If you don't have plans for Thanksgiving, won't you join us here in Nashville? Our house is open and we would love to see you :o)! That's all the news I have for tonight.

About once a week,

2009-09-10T18:35:00.002-07:00

both boys end up in bed early and about the same time! Kevin and I break out the ice cream and a netflix movie to watch on his laptop. Tonight is that night, although, Kevin is still laying down with Kyle. We actually had both boys in bed and started the movie when Kyle peeked his head around the wall and said: "What's that chocolate?!?" in reference to Kevin's ice cream, lol! We gave him a few bites and shuffled him off to bed, which is where Kev is right now.

The boys are doing well. Micah is always happy unless he is hungry or tired. I went to Bible study on Tuesday morning and Micah slept in the nursery the whole time! I couldn't believe it. It was wonderful! I had him all swaddled and laying in the crib with his binky when I left him. The baby sitter said all she did was rock him for a minute and he was out. Oh the joys of being a parent the second time around and having an easy baby!

Kyle started drawing today! He was tracing his name with a crayon, I had drawn it out for him in pen and he started coloring the page. I asked him to draw our family and he up and started drawing stick figures with faces! It was awesome, so cute. I still have no idea what handed he is. He was using his right hand earlier today with me, but was drawing with his left hand this evening after dinner when we showed Kevin what he had been doing. Kyle has never ever been interested in writing, coloring, etc... I've never pushed it, so that is why this was so cool to see!

We had our home inspection today! There are a few issues that we'll address with the owners, but no deal breakers it seems. We'll have the full report tomorrow.

Micah is:
Doing better in the car; he doesn't scream every time!
Sucking his thumb when he isn't swaddled.
Going for nightly walks with me in the stroller around our apt. complex.
ticklish! His giggles and laughs are like music to my ears!
Always happy, he wakes up happy and smiles at anyone who will talk with him/give him attention

Kyle is:
Getting smarter everyday as he tinkers with/takes apart various things around the house (like our digital camera)
A rhyming machine (I love you pove you, Micah picah, mommy pommy, daddy paddy, etc...)
Sleeping in his own room again, in the new twin bunkable beds we found for him (and eventually Micah) on craigslist
More imaginative than ever before, playing pretend not only with his cars, but with his stuffed animals and his hands (his fingers are a make believe spider that crawls around our house)
More loving and protective of Micah than I ever imagined he would be, in fact, he asked for us to have "lots more kids in our family"

That's all I have time for tonight! Movie is over and I'm off to bed.

Celebrate with me!

2009-09-05T17:41:00.003-07:00

God has provided at the last minute and we are buying a house! I say last minute, because our lease is up here at the apt. on October 20th. It seems you need a good 30-45 days to close on a house, so this was going to be our last weekend looking and then we were going to "break up" with our agent (poor guy has shown us upwards of 50 houses, with two small children in tow) and start looking at rentals.

We couldn't be more thrilled with the location and neighborhood. It's a listing I found, because our agent was only showing us 3 bed/2 bath homes, but these were not in desirable neighborhoods for our price range. I started looking at 2 bed/2 bath homes and asked him to show us this listing last week! We saw the house on Thursday, put in an offer on Friday, they counter offered this evening, and we accepted.

It's a 2 bed/2 1/2 bath townhome on a cul de sac. We can walk everywhere: groceries, mcdonalds, library, park, even the boys' pediatrician that I picked out not knowing where we would be living! The only two places I have to drive are preschool and gymnastics, which are both closer than where we live now. Poor Kev does get a longer commute though, at 11 miles away from work.

So where is this perfect place? Here.

And a bonus! I saw two little boys bikes outside the front door of the house next to us; the one we will share a wall with!

That's my good news tonight!

Birthday boy

2009-09-03T20:32:00.005-07:00

Birthday cookie cake in Nashville!

Kyle starts preschool tomorrow! He is so excited.

Kyle had his fourth birthday last week. We had a party in Tucson with his friends before we left and a small family party here on his actual birthday. We went to the ice cream plant that morning, McDonalds for lunch, and then he chose to watch movies all afternoon, lol! We had pizza for dinner and a cookie cake with candles for dessert. He has continued to receive little packages in the mail from family and friends back home and loves it! He wants to know what is in the mail for him everyday when we go check the box.

Now that he is four years old, he has started doing things that he told his he couldn't do when he was three because he wasn't a "big boy"! He started standing up to pee on his birthday eve, gets dressed and eats by himself, clicks himself in to his own car seat, and is "brave" when faced with potentially scary experiences.

I feel like I missed out on his whole 3 year old year with us moving right before his 3rd birthday, the adoption classes, and then Micah's pregnancy. Kyle was required to grow up more this year than any 3 year old should have to! Despite all that Kevin and I have been dealing with the past 12 months, poor Kyle has been stressed out too. The other day he asked me when we were going back to AZ and I told him sometime in October, and he goes "To stay?!?" and I had to tell him no, that we would come back to Nashville. Then he has days when he tells me he loves it here and doesn't want to live anywhere else, lol!

We are starting to have a couple of good days every week, but the bad days are still really, really bad. I continue to feel defeated in our housing search and if something doesn't work out this weekend, we will start looking for a rental.

The boys continue to grow grow grow! We met our new pediatrician and she's wonderful, although the office isn't great, so I'm not sure we'll stick with her. Kyle is hovering around the 50-75th percentile for height and weight while Micah is up in the 90-95th percentile for height and weight. We kept thinking he was quite a big boy! I'm excited Kyle's growth spurts have slowed down, as this means we can keep using his 5 pt harness in his car seat for a little longer. Kevin has graciously allowed me to purchase some new baby carriers, as Micah can get very heavy, very fast, and of course, he loves to be carried as opposed to sitting in the car seat or stroller!

Nashville, TN

2009-08-13T21:02:00.002-07:00

Well, I think I can finally update, but I need to apologize that it will probably be a little here and there. The last couple weeks have been rough, to say the least. I get lost daily, with the boys in the car. We have a large apartment, but just a couple air mattresses, lamps, and bed/bath linens in it. It has stairs, which is a big deal when you are lugging the infant car set, diaper bag, and groceries up from the parking lot. Today I locked the boys in the apartment, telling Kyle not to answer the door for anyone, while I unloaded our Costco run. I tested him by knocking on the door two separate times, and he didn't answer! I did open the door and tell him it had been mommy knocking to see if he would answer, then we did high fives that he was such a good listener. I figure if emergency personnel need to get in and he doesn't answer the door, they can break it down. Additionally, we only had washer/dryer hook ups, thinking we would use the laundromats here at the complex...well, that was a mistake. We are now renting a washer/dryer and that has been a huge blessing.

The highlights of my week are going out to eat because we get to sit in chairs and eat at a table and going to church because I get to nurse in a rocking chair (as opposed to the floor).

Kyle misses his friends and his toys/books/furniture. I broke down and enrolled him in preschool this week at a Baptist Church about 20 minutes away. All the church preschools near us have hefty price tags and meet every day of the week. The preschool where Kyle will be attending meets twice a week from 9-2 and is reasonably priced. I'm excited and sad about this. I know he'll enjoy it and I'll enjoy some one on one time with Micah. I'm so amazed he's old enough to go to preschool. Our big back to school purchase will be a lunchbox; hopefully something eco friendly/sustainable.

We have our first playdate tomorrow morning and I am so excited, lol. The mom we are meeting has two kids also, an almost 4 year old girl and a 2 year old boy. We met her and her husband at the church we visited this past weekend. They just moved here from Texas 7 weeks ago for her husband to start a job in radiology at Vanderbilt. It was nice to meet someone else going through some of the same things as us recently!

We found a fantastic storytime at the main library, but Kyle is nervous about the puppets they use, so we go to our little library storytime that's around the corner. It's not up to par with our Tucson storytimes, but the children's librarian is very friendly, helpful, and knows us by name when we visit.

The zoo here is wonderful and I immediately purchased a membership...it's also only 2 miles down the road from us. I'm excited to try out the science center next week!

We live in a very diverse area. This evening I met three women from Jordan and their kids at the playground in our complex. They have lived in nashville for almost 10 years! One of them was pregnant with baby #4 and very interested in the ringsling I was wearing Micah in. We live right on the fringe of Nashville's Hispanic area, which is funny to me to see all these businesses with billboards in Spanish as we drive here and there.

We overflowed our dishwasher, which had something to do with going to the laundromat. We own two cars now. We are trying to buy a house, which is tricky with two kids in tow. We were unable to access our money because the credit union we belong to is the only one in Arizona not in the nationwide credit union co op.

I really appreciate all the prayers, calls, texts, and emails. I'm sorry I haven't replied. It's been so overwhelming that I cry just thinking about connecting with all the people we love and miss. This week I have started to return phone calls, so don't give up on me yet! If you want little daily updates here and there, add me as a friend on Facebook. I try to upload at least one picture a day of the boys.

Time for bed. I forgot how noisy young babies are when they sleep. Micah sleeps quite well, but is incredibly noisy trying to burp and toot all night long, lol. I'm a light sleeper, so I often lay awake and watch him. He is getting big and I'm excited for the boys to both have checkups at the end of August.

Babywearing

2009-07-04T20:07:00.003-07:00

Well, Micah tried out all three of our baby slings/wraps today and fell asleep just moments after being placed in them! This morning I took him out to the park with Kyle in a front cross carry in our homemade wrap; he slept the whole time. This afternoon we stopped by our neighbors house with Micah in our well loved ring sling and he was out as soon as I sat down on the couch. And tonight, I popped him in the pouch sling to head outside with Kevin and Kyle for a few minutes as the sun went down; once again, he fell right to sleep!

In baby poop news (you wouldn't believe how much you talk about what's in your child's diaper when you have a little one), we are still struggling with a diaper rash. Last night, Kevin went out again to get Desitin (we've tried all the good for you, organic creams with no success), some baby washcloths to use as cloth wipes (which I love using so far), and a pack of newborn soothies (pacifiers). Micah did allow Kevin to give him a pacifier for a little comfort, but let it be known that he will not be falling asleep with a paci in his mouth. I don't know how much we'll actually end up using them.

Also, I got a gDiaper starter kit today, after reading lots of great things about the pants which seem to be more breathable and help with diaper rash. We have tried all sorts of cloth and disposable diaper combinations since Micah was born to get rid of this rash. I don't know if it's sensitive skin, the major humidity we've been having with the monsoons starting, or what. I'll keep you posted.

Lastly, our crib was recalled two days ago; the crib we used with Kyle, lol, and were now using with Micah. So, today we dismantled the crib and returned it to Target, where they gave us a gift card for the full purchase price plus tax. Micah will be sleeping in his play pen for now. I don't know if we'll get him a new crib when we move to Nashville or not. We put Kyle on a mattress on the floor a little after he turned 1 year old, so it seems silly to invest in a crib that will be used for such a short time. I'm guessing we could probably pick up a used crib pretty cheap, although all the experts advise against that. Ah well.

We are headed out for fireworks shortly! Happy 4th of July!

Kyle on walkie talkies

2009-07-02T14:30:00.006-07:00

"He takes his talkie talkie with him just like you take your phone with you so he can call people" in regards to the Lego fireman set he received this morning from a good friend. He also insists that the fireman's hat "looks funny" when it is on correctly and insists he saw a fireman with his hat on backwards "on the big screen".

We are all doing well, hanging in there. The boys and I leave the house about once a day, which means less is getting done that needs to. I should still hit the bank and grocery store today, but who knows if that will happen. Kyle is playing fireman and Micah is sleeping out here in the front room in his playpen.

Early on, Micah could care less whether or not he was swaddled, but Monday night he just couldn't settle himself, so we broke out the miracle blanket again and he slept! I've been using it for naps and most nighttime sleep, although sometimes he still sleeps w/o being swaddled at the beginning of the night. It makes nighttime feedings easier to keep him swaddled, but isn't so much fun for diaper changes. This little guy was dirtying every diaper we put on him at first! Thankfully, this week, he is no longer dirtying every diaper, more like every other diaper. I've been using cloth at home, disposables while we are out. One of Kevin's colleagues sent over their newborn cloth diaper stash for us to borrow until we leave, and it has been great using fitteds and AIOs. Kyle used to wait a week to dirty a diaper, but then it would be a poop explosion. Kevin and I marvel at the completely different bodily processes our two boys have. I'm curious to see how different they are in other ways!

At his two week appointment, Micah was 8lbs 11oz and 22 inches long. Tall and skinny, just like brother: top of the percentile for height, bottom of the percentile for weight. I think Kyle just hit 50th percentile for weight this past year, at his 3 year old check up, lol. Micah has been more awake this week, or had more wakeful periods I guess you could say, and is focusing a lot more. He's also startling more, hence, the swaddling. He still does pretty well in the car, usually only crying if he needs to burp, eat, or is sweaty. I am off dairy, because it seemed to be causing him intestinal issues. This has greatly decreased what I can eat, and I'm still trying to remember what I ate when I had to do this with Kyle. Everything seems to have dairy in it! Lastly, he is enjoying time in his slings/wraps more and even slept our entire trip to the library today in Kyle's old ring sling. It was great!

Lofty had been abandoned briefly upon Micah's arrival, but is once again an integral part of our daily routine. He basically does everything that Micah does: nurse, burp, ride in the sling, get diaper and clothing changes, nap, etc...Although, Lofty has yet to leave the house w/us to go anywhere.

Speaking of going places, can I tell you that the pricey stroller we bought is worth every penny! It is so nice to have the ability to push both boys wherever we are at, and often, people don't even realize there is an infant in the lay flat seat. I can steer it with one hand and it has no problems going over "terrain" (read park grass, gravel, dirt). So, where have we been since Micah's arrival? Well, a few parks and rec classes, Costco, grocery store, hardware store, bank, playdates, library, gas station, restaurants, and the park. Occasionally, I'll only have one child with me when I go out and that is like a piece of cake now!

Well, Micah is stirring, so off I go!

Blessed w/boys

2009-06-17T04:00:00.003-07:00

Well, he's here, but I'm not sure how much time I'll have to write about the journey, as I expect him to want to nurse anytime now. The camera isn't close, so you'll have to wait for pictures (unless you are Kevin's or my mom's friend on Facebook)!

Micah Alexander Harkins joined us at 7:04 a.m. on Sunday June 14, 2009. He was 8lbs 10oz and 20 1/4 inches long. He reminds us a lot of Kyle as a newborn in looks, except that he has darker coloring, from his hair to his eyes to his olive skin.

After my Friday appointment, I started evening primrose oil three times a day. Saturday June 13th I lost my mucous plug over the course of the day and had random contractions similar to those I'd been experiencing for the last two weeks. Kevin ended up going in to work that evening to finish up his dissertation. I had my mom time my contractions from 10 - 11 p.m. that night, prior to going to bed, but there was nothing consistent about them. I took my unisom plus B6 and went to bed with no real expectation of having a baby in the next 24 hours.

At 12:30 a.m. on Sunday June 14th, I was woken up by a contraction. I got up and started timing. Kevin still wasn't home from school at this time (he had been working late for the past two weeks to get his paper finished up before Micah arrived). At 1:00 a.m., I called Kevin and told him I was having consistent contractions, about 5-7 minutes apart; that he should finish up what he was doing and come home. He told me he was just printing out a last draft to give to his boss and would be home soon. I asked him to stop by CircleK and get a soda, so I could eat the ice after he finished drinking the soda. After we hung up, I had the horrible thought that he would get car jacked or something stopping at the CircleK near campus and I prayed hard until he came walking through the door, lol.

I had been laboring in our bedroom this whole time. After Kevin got home, I asked him for the exercise ball, and we timed contractions until 1:30 a.m.. At this time, Kevin called the birth center because my contractions had been about 5 minutes apart for an hour and lasting about a minute each. The midwife on call, Nichole, told us to go ahead and come on in. Kevin packed up the car and we drove over. I remember having one contraction in the car. This was similar to Kyle's labor, where my contractions seemed to stall on the car ride over to the birth center. We arrived at the same time as the midwife.

Nichole opened up the center and we were set up in the same room that we had Kyle in! She checked me and I was 5 cm, 90% effaced, -1 station. She assured me that with second babies, they often didn't drop until late in labor and joked we might have this baby by 7 a.m.! She knew I wanted to have a water birth and asked if I'd like her to get the tub ready; I declined and said I wanted to be 7 centimeters before I got in the tub. I started laboring on the birthing ball (similar to my exercise ball at home), but things seemed to be kind of stalled (to me) and contractions erratic, as opposed to consistent. We decided to go walk around the birth center, but I didn't have more than a couple contractions while we did that either. After returning to the room, I layed down and had a very painful contraction. This was similar to when I was in labor with Kyle: laying down was the most painful position ever. I decided to get in the shower and labor in there for a bit. I wasn't in there long and had a good three contractions that I can remember. After getting out, I wanted to be checked again and was close to 7 cm, but not quite there, so I labored on the ball again.

After a few contractions on the ball, I asked Nichole to fill the tub. Kevin fell asleep as I was getting in the tub; poor guy had been up forever. Nichole, and our nurse Beth, kept me company and rotated cold washcloths on my forehead and chest to keep me comfortable. I think it was about 4 a.m. when I got in to the tub. I told the midwife and nurse that I would need to wake Kevin around 7 a.m. to wake my mom up because my morning alarm wouldn't be on to let Kyle know it was time to wake up. Around 6 a.m. the contractions became more intense and I could actually feel Micah descending, which I don't remember experiencing with Kyle's birth. We woke Kevin up and Nichole asked the nurse to get the birth kit ready. I remember asking her if she thought I'd be having my baby soon, but don't remember her reply. She did ask me if I was pushing after the next contraction. I told her I didn't know, that I didn't remember what pushing felt like because I'd had to push Kyle out so fast. She never did check me again.

The contractions were coming faster and I was having a hard time getting comfortable in the tub. I remember holding on to Kevin's hand and pulling hard during these last contractions. All of a suddent I felt a pop! and knew my water had broke. This was such a relief not to have them artifically rupture my membranes like they did with Kyle. Regretfully, I had to get out of the tub because there was meconium in my water; this meant no tub birth for me. The midwife and nurse would need to suction Micah right away when he was born so he didn't aspirate meconium.

I was helped out of the tub and squatted down for a couple contractions, until my feet fell asleep, lol. The nurse brought over a birthing stool and that was a lot more comfortable. I remember gasping and Nichole telling me not to be afraid of the pain and pressure, that it was normal. The next couple contractions I tried to work with the pressure and was hugely relieved when I delivered his head, then had to wait for another contraction to deliver the rest of him! The morning alarm on my phone went off, it was now 7:05.

Micah was immediately placed in my lap; he was covered in meconium, which we all wiped off. He didn't cry right away, but eventually let out some good wails. The midwife waited for the cord to stop pulsing (one of my requests) before having Kevin cut it. I delivered the placenta and everything looked great! I was so relieved to be holding our baby boy in my arms and I couldn't believe it was only 7 a.m.!

I was in active labor from 12:30 a.m. to 7:04 a.m. on the morning of Sunday June 14th, 2009. I couldn't have asked for a better labor and delivery. I thought Kyle's birth had been ideal, and it was. However, Micah's birth healed any parts of my heart that felt like Kyle's birth could have been better. We are so blessed to be able to have uncomplicated births, even if the pregnancies throw us for a loop.

My mom arrived with Kyle a little after 8 a.m. and we had a sweet time introducing the boys and watching Kyle check out his little brother. Kyle is very affectionate with Micah, but has still struggled with all the changes a new sibling brings. It's been a different week, adjusting to being a family of four, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Micah is one week old today. He is a completely different baby from our Kyle. We are blessed by his mellow personality, and he's quite the sleeper. We've had no problems with nursing. Here's to being on my own with the boys tomorrow!

Kyle has been really, really...

2009-06-12T21:45:00.002-07:00

...into taking digital pictures lately. He can fill up our camera in a matter of minutes!

Micah, as taken by Kyle this afternoon. Let the baby weight guessing games begin!

Kyle, taken by me last week, with his short summer hair.

39 and almost 1/2 weeks

2009-06-12T20:44:00.003-07:00

Well, had another appt. today. I am officially 39 wks 2 days. Micah is still head down and has a strong heartbeat. I was offered the option of an internal exam w/membrane sweeping, but declined. I was then told that I would be having an internal exam come next Friday if I was still pregnant, ugh.

Kevin has been way busy since finding out he will be defending on June 26th. He's shooting for around 10 a.m. in the morning for those of you who will be attending. The public portion lasts about an hour, then he will be in with his advisors for about 3 more hours, give or take an hour. After he's done, we'll either meet at the house or a restaurant to celebrate with him! This is the equivalent of his graduation and graduation party.

Now, for those of you who are planning on trekking down to Tucson after Micah is born, I have a request: Please stay home if you are sick, have been sick in the last week, have been exposed to sickness in the past week at work/school/etc..., or even feel a tickle in your throat. Please be symptom free for 24 hours before you come if you are getting over being sick. I will ask you to leave if you show up to see us sniffling and hacking.

I know this sounds crazy, and it's not actually Micah I'm worried about. We have so much going on in the next 30 days, that if any of the rest of us gets sick, it's going to make it that much more stressful and overwhelming. We are having a baby, flying Kevin to Nashville to find us a place to live, Kevin's defending, then we pack, and drive to Nashville to stay for good. So please, use your best judgement when coming to visit after Micah is born. He will still be very teeny tiny and newbornish for a good 10-14 days after he's born, so don't worry, you will not miss that itty bitty baby stage.

In other news, we will be in Phoenix very soon after Micah is born, so if you are unable to come see him here, it's possible you could meet him there. The boys and I will be staying with my mom while Kevin is in Nashville securing a place for us to live.

We will not in any way, shape, or form be offended if you decide not to immediately drive to Tucson the moment you find out Micah has arrived. In fact, you'll probably get to spend more time with the boys and us if the visits are spread out a bit. Which brings me to another point, please remember Kyle. I don't mean bring him a present, I mean, remember that he is here too and this is going to be a big deal for him. Expect to read books with him, play trucks, a board game, trains, pillow fight, etc...and generally spend some time giving him some extra attention also, in addition to meeting his new brother.

We will probably be updating twitter and/or facebook with "in labor" updates. I will advise you not to come shooting down to Tucson once you find out we are heading to the birth center. I was in labor for a total of 16 hours with Kyle, 7 of those were spent at the birth center. You may be sitting in the waiting room a really, really long time. Plus, I have to get cleaned up, nurse the little guy, and introduce him to Kyle before you'll be invited in.

Ok, I'm done now. Thank you for listening and respecting my boundaries with all of this.

38 weeks

2009-06-03T21:02:00.002-07:00

Well, what can I say? Feeling very pregnant. I am so thankful my mom arrived today, as my daily patience in parenting is waning. Kyle's parks and rec classes started up this week, which has made us busier and boy do I feel it! Our next appointment is Friday morning. About the only comfortable seat in the house is on my exercise ball. Kyle likes to hop up on it while I'm sitting and bounce or jump off of it on to a nearby couch. This is not one of my current favorite activities. We haven't been to the pool in a week or so because by the time the pool opens for public swim, I am pretty much done for the day, lol. All of the free kid activities are a lot busier now that school is out, but traffic is much lighter now that the U of A students have vacated the city.

We have changed our move date to mid-July; probably around the 15th. Kevin is still working on getting all his advisor schedules to work for a June 26th or July 7th defense date. We've been talking to a buyer's agent in Nashville about possibly buying a house and scoping out rentals best we can online. It looks like Kevin will most likely take a short trip back to Nashville to confirm housing for us, after Micah arrives.

That's all the news I can remember with this hormone laden brain of mine. I'll keep you posted on any new developments!

Kyle sleeping with "Lofty"

2009-05-30T11:59:00.001-07:00

Kyle is usually the one who tucks Lofty in next to him on the pillow and under the covers. Lofty usually has to get dressed for the day and dressed for bed every night, just like Kyle.

Ohhh the silence...

2009-05-24T10:19:00.002-07:00

...of my blog this week. Well, Kevin took off to Nashville, TN last weekend to check everything out at Vanderbilt and officially accepted their post doc! We will be moving mid-August. Kyle and I were on our own for the most part, but survived. A full dose of Zofran every morning and a visit from Nana kept us afloat until Kevin returned late Tuesday night. I have yet to drop down to my half dose of Zofran again...I'm hoping I can keep taking the full dose until Micah arrives now. I am way more functional.

In baby news, we had an appointment on Friday and Micah was head down! He still goes diagonal on a daily basis, but also stays head down for hours at a time. The midwives seem to think that as soon as I go in to labor, he'll drop down in to my pelvis, so no talk of inversions or c-sections so far! I was completely relived. I've been craving junk food, which has done nothing for my weight gain. As of Wednesday, I will be 37 weeks and cleared to deliver at the birth center no matter when I go in to labor! It's hard to believe we are this close. I feel like there are still things to do: pack bags, pick up cloth diapers/wipes, CLEAN THE HOUSE, raise the crib mattress, set up bassinet, find swaddling blankets, install car seat, sew up a pouch sling. There's more and I often think about it while lying in bed. However, I think I am still sleeping better than most pregnant women approaching their 37th week, for which I am truly grateful. I know the sleep deprivation is coming and there is no way to describe what a zombie you are in the first several weeks.

I told Kevin that if we need to stay the night again, he is going home to sleep with Kyle and I will stay with Micah. When Kyle was born, Kevin passed out and I couldn't rouse him the whole first night to help me! Additionally, he took up the whole bed (they don't have king size at the birth center like we do at home). So I sat in a rocking chair all night long. I was so close to changing the spelling of Kyle's name on the paperwork out of spite the next morning, lol (I wanted to spell it Kile). Of course, we worked it out once we came home, but if you're nursing, those first several weeks of night wakings will inevitably fall to you (I dislike pumping).

Kevin graciously gave me the morning off today, waking up with Kyle, getting him ready for church, and leaving me to enjoy my solitude at home! I know this will not be happening for a long, long time after Micah arrives (at least one boy will probably be with each of us all the time, even weekends).

As much as I want to meet Micah, as excited as I am to not be pregnant anymore, I am so happy for every extra day he gets to grow inside of me. Don't get me wrong, I'm so done with pregnancy, but there's something about knowing how much good even one extra day in the womb can do for a new baby that helps you stick it out! Have I been having contractions? Yep, just last night in fact, (and I'm not talking braxton hicks), but a little rest and lots of water seems to continue to keep them at bay.

My next appointment is June 5th.

35 weeks

2009-05-13T21:14:00.002-07:00

Well, we are both still here. My body decided I overdid it on Mother's Day and threw in a few short, intense contractions for good measure Sunday night and Monday morning. Micah continues to flip around and do somersaults to his heart's content, despite my weekly pregnancy email stating "...your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now...". If he really is 18 inches long and closing in on 6lbs, his close quarters are not fazing him at all. I've been feeling nauseous and lightheaded on a regular basis, in addition to puking this morning. I will be the most surprised of all if he decides to extend his stay to 41 or 42 weeks, with all the fun intensity of the last two weeks.

No appointments for us this week, but I do get to be a single parent again, for the third time since we found out we were pregnant last fall. Kevin is flying to Nashville, TN on Saturday afternoon to confirm that he really does want to accept a post doc position at Vanderbilt University. It has been our first choice for awhile and we were both thrilled when he received an official offer last Friday! We expect to move there sometime later this summer.

In other news, it looks like Kevin and his advisor want to schedule his defense for after Micah is born. So, keep your calendars open during the last week of June.

I'm more tired than I have been and my little Kyle is the one who suffers from my lethargy. I am anxious for his summer classes to start in two weeks, which will help give our days more of a routine and allow him some additional creative and energy outlets.

The last few days I've started feeling the urge to pack our "hospital" bags and start getting everything in order. I think the only thing I truly need to do is swing by our local cloth diaper service and pick up a dozen or two of their retired infant prefolds. We were given some covers that should get us through to six months old, but the funniest thing happened at our last appointment: I saw the mom who had given us the covers in the lobby of the birth center and she told us she was very surprisingly 8 weeks pregnant, lol! So, I'll be sending those covers back her way around Christmas.

That's about all I can think of...we told Kyle we were moving to TN and he had two requests: A house with a fireplace and stairs. Hrmmm...stairs definitely weren't on my housing requirement list!

I just want to cry

2009-05-07T21:41:00.003-07:00

Micah is transverse...not true transverse, but like diagonal. His little tush is pointing towards my right shoulder and his sweet little head is pointing towards my left thigh. Although, this does change on a regular basis. The issue is his head has not engaged in any way, shape, or form in my pelvis. The midwife wanted me to start coming in every week...I begged off for two more weeks. She was already talking about interventions: physical inversions, etc...

I'm done, so done. Pregnancy just beats me down physically and psychologically. It's not that I don't have good days, but overall, the experience is just draining. All I want is to push my baby out; no c-section. The fact that this is even in question at 34 weeks makes me want to scream.

I was so excited to make it to 34 weeks. Now, I have to keep it together until we're 37 weeks and pray Micah engages. I'm doing all the "postures", swimming, and investing in a exercise ball to sit on and open my pelvis up.

That's it. That's all I know. Other than his positioning, everything looks stellar for him and me which is always good news! No matter what happens, I know it will be okay, even if it's not the way I want things, or expect things, but it still makes me emotional.

Summer is here

2009-05-05T22:05:00.003-07:00

We're just going to celebrate a little early and say "Happy 34 weeks!", which we'll be in about 2 hours. That means, 3 more weeks until the birth center will let me deliver there if I go in to labor early and 6 more weeks to our due date! I'm getting anxious and excited that we are so close to meeting this little guy. Last night Kevin and I watched a movie together and Micah was really stretching out during the entire thing; it was amazing watching my stomach poke in and out as he moved around. I've been walking, or trying to walk, around the park every night, but now I start contracting after ONE loop. If you've seen our park, you know it's not that big. I'd love to have a little more endurance built up for labor, but it looks like that might not be an option. I've also started having the exact same kind of braxton hicks contractions that I remember from my pregnancy with Kyle. Looks like my body is starting to gear up for the big day!

Kyle is feeling better. He often sleeps with his Tonka Fire Rescue Hummer. I'm not sure how he does it, sleeping with a large truck, but it seems to work for him. Also, he often has his Bob the Builder tool belt on when he goes to bed too. Kevin took the belt off, put it and the truck on the floor the other night, and by morning both items were back in bed with Kyle! He has named one of my old Cabbage Patch preemie dolls "Lofty" and we are required to dress "Lofty" in a new outfit every morning and pajamas every night. So far, we've been using some of the preemie clothes that were given to us in bags of clothes for Micah. And lastly, the books on Kyle's shelf about a new baby joining the family, have been in heavy rotation this week (Kyle's choice, not ours). We have a neighbor named Micah, and the other night I said "There goes big Micah to worship practice". Kyle comes running from our back room "Baby Micah's here?!?!", LOL. Oh honey, if it only happened that quickly and easily!

It's hot and getting hotter. We've been using the cooler in the afternoon/evenings, but I have a feeling it will be on more and more now. I am truly blessed to have made it this far into our pregnancy with no triple digit temperatures yet. My swelling has been minimal this week and I'm still able to stay quite comfortable indoors. Kyle and I headed to the pool today and it felt great!

Kevin is looking at a June 6th date for defending his dissertation. I'll let you know once that's confirmed (He has like five advisors whose schedules he has to coordinate with to get this done). I love how they keep moving it closer and closer to my due date, haha. At least some family should be in town if something happens that week ;). We are slowly getting some news trickling in about potential post doc offers, but nothing official yet.

I have an appt. on Thursday and will update then if there is any new info!

Rants

2009-04-30T09:33:00.002-07:00

You'll never guess what lovely symptom from my first and part of my second trimester has started up again? Anyone? I'm dry heaving every morning...or, if I've had a drink or something to eat, puking again. Can't a girl get a break? I've been pregnant for almost a year for gosh sakes!

I'm also really missing taking an entire Zofran pill every morning (which I did while Kevin was in Hawaii), as opposed to the half pill I'm taking now. The pills are really expensive, so I only take enough to function. On an entire pill, I could actually do things; like a load of laundry or dishes or play with Kyle the way he likes to play. Ah well. Just 7ish more weeks, right?

Kevin stayed in bed this morning. I can't figure out if he's still jet lagged, misses Hawaii, has senioritis, is sick, or has really bad allergies. Kyle seems to be starting to feel better, although still prefers to play here at home, as opposed to outside with his friends (not typical Kyle behavior).

It's going to be hot today; I may turn on the cooler...

A long week

2009-04-27T22:04:00.003-07:00

Oh man, am I tired. We all are. I think we are all still recovering from last week, Kevin being in Hawaii and Kyle and I staying in Phoenix with my mom. Poor Kyle woke up with a runny nose this morning and isn't quite himself. I had a couple days of swelling in Phoenix and the day we arrived home. However, I am no longer swelling here in Tucson. I've been able to stay off my feet more, although have taken up short walks in the evening. It was really, really hot in Phoenix, but the weather is much more tolerable here in Tucson right now.

I'll be 33 weeks on Wednesday. Kevin or I get asked all the time "Are you due any day?". LOL...nope, I am actually going to get bigger, but thanks for asking. Micah is definitely getting bigger. My belly resembles more of a lopsided oval than a cute bump anymore. It's like he's always trying to get more comfortable. I've already decided we will bring two different sizes of outfits with us to the birth center: newborn and 0-3 months. Newborn is for 8lbs and less...0-3 months is rated to 12lbs. I'm not expecting a 12lb baby, but Kyle was 8 lb 2 oz, so I'm expecting something in the 8 - 9lb range.

I buzzed Kyle's hair last night, but didn't quite get it finished up before the hair got too itchy for him and he insisted on a shower. I'm hoping he'll let Kevin clean it up later this week. He wants Kevin to buzz his hair now too, lol.

A lot is going on, but not a lot is happening right now. Kevin has a good four weeks before he'll be defending his dissertation, so he's busy with that, in addition to communicating with potential post doc positions at various universities across the country. As soon as we know where we're moving, you'll know! In regards to his defense, this is the equivalent of his graduation and there is a public portion that family and friends may attend. As soon as I know the date/time, I'll share it with you in hopes that those of you nearby will come to see the culmination of Kevin's work over the past 5 years.

I'm off to bed.

Kyle's dream

2009-04-18T07:05:00.001-07:00

After waking up, heading downstairs for his juice and milk, Kyle showed up at my bedside (unusual since he will wait for the alarm to go off until he comes in to wake us). My back was to him and he whispers in my ear "Are you sick? Are you still pregnant?". I answered "Yes baby, I am still sick and pregnant". At this point I've tried to roll over so I can see him and he sits on the side of the bed. He goes on, "I saw Micah, after he came out of your tummy. He was all grown up and we were playing at the park together.". Of course, my first question is "Did he look like you?". Kyle says "He was wearing a white shirt. It's okay if I share my clothes and shoes with Micah. I can share them with him.". Then he heads out of the room to wait for the alarm to go off. This must have been a pretty vivid dream for him to think I might not be pregnant anymore! I love it when he shares things like this with us. It's totally awesome to get a glimpse in to what he's thinking. I have no regrets about him knowing we've been pregnant the entire pregnancy. I know a lot of "experts" tell you to wait until you are closer to your due date, but it has been so much fun to hear Kyle's thoughts and see how he reacts to my growing belly and Micah's kicks.

This is what I just heard...

2009-04-14T23:28:00.003-07:00

...coming from Kyle's room (note, his beds are no longer bunked, but side by side with space in between to play toys):

Crash as pieces of the marble tower fall to the ground
"Woah" from Kyle
Then silence

I go in to check on him and it seems that he has switched beds, is laying on top of the comforter in his other bed, without a pillow...in his sleep! I decide to talk to him anyway, even though he is asleep.

"Kyle, are you okay?"
"Yep."
"Did you want to sleep in your other bed?"
"I did want to."
"Okay, here's your pillow." I pull it off his other bed and lay it down and he scoots up and puts his head on it.

That's the end of our conversation. I pull the blanket off the bed he was sleeping in and put it over him, then move any additional obstacles out of the way that he might trip over if he switches beds again tonight, and call Kevin to tell him to lock the kitchen door so Kyle can't get out through our back room to the carport. I have visions of him sleepwalking out that way, as it's the only door in the house he knows how to lock/unlock.

Whew...glad I was still awake :).

Almost 31 weeks...

2009-04-13T23:17:00.003-07:00

As exciting as it is for me to be in my third trimester, it can also be utterly depressing. I think there are things that happen to you in the third trimester for a reason, so by the time your due date week arrives, you are begging God to go in to labor...as opposed to being slightly nervous and apprehensive about it in your 1st and 2nd trimesters. It gets uncomfortable, you gain weight and feel like a whale, you get asked when you're due constantly, and if you're due in the summer, it's very possible you will retain large amounts of water and puff up like a balloon. I'm just not feeling the pregnancy love this week.

Kyle has been a little angel, and I am so thankful for that gift the past couple days. Easter was a major blessing, went so smoothly I think Kevin and I were equally surprised when we collapsed on our couches yesterday evening. An egg hunt in the park Sat. morning and Sun. dinner with a family from church, totally planned off the cuff, and all the kids played so well together. Kyle actually responded with the "Jesus" answer when we asked him why we celebrate Easter, lol. We totally didn't do the Easter bunny or baskets this year. Although, he still came in to lots of candy, nonetheless. I have pictures that are still sitting on the camera...

Micah continues to throw parties in my abdomen. I have this suspicion that he may be bigger than Kyle at birth; maybe it's just because he has yet to engage in my pelvis, but this kid has body parts that rumble all over, all the time. Perhaps I've just forgotten what it was like with Kyle's pregnancy. Kyle throws parties all over our house, all the time. He's an energy bomb and it has taken all his practice and patience to understand that mommy needs him to be gentle (although, he is still rough with Micah, giving my belly numerous "squeeze" hugs and kisses..."Don't forget about Micah!" he says). He puts his ear to my belly and says "Micah's awake!"...and I tell him I think he's sleeping and he says, "I just heard him!". I think he's hearing mommy's rumbly tummy. I have been so hungry the past couple days, it's insane. I remember this happening with Kyle too. You feel like a bottomless pit.

Good night, it's late, and my husband is finally home, so I can sleep!

A few pictures...

2009-04-06T21:22:00.005-07:00

Did I tell you...I bought my first two pairs of XL capris for this pregnancy. They are still a little big, but oh so comfy! I know they will fit perfect in the coming weeks. I felt Micah's hiccups for the first time this weekend. Aunt Kristi was sitting next to me and pointed out that his little bottom was popping out at the top of my stomach every time he hiccuped! It was awesome, and happened again this afternoon; I just love feeling his little movements more and more as the weeks pass. It's like you get to know your baby a little bit before they arrive. Micah has active and quiet times that are pretty standard throughout the day, in addition to responding to voices he recognizes.

Good news and mediocre news and vacation

2009-04-06T13:00:00.002-07:00

Finally connected with the midwives and "hooray!" no gestational diabetes for me...however, I am borderline anemic, which has yet to happen during this pregnancy. I now have to pick up a little sheet about getting more iron in my diet, yippee.

California was fantastic, just wonderful, beautiful, made me feel better. I never want to leave when we are there and Kevin graciously let us hang around until dinnertime and then drove us home, so we arrived back around midnight last night. Kyle had an amazing time. He enjoyed the beaches and the Birch Aquarium. I'll get the pictures up later this week. I already want to plan next year's trip!

Happy 29 weeks :o)

2009-04-01T09:47:00.002-07:00

Well, I survived my glucose test and can get the results tomorrow. Micah is still head down, although not engaged in my pelvis yet. My belly sticks out a lot more with this pregnancy and the midwife was able to feel all sorts of body parts yesterday, lol! We asked if there was any problem with us traveling to CA this weekend and she said "Well, I'd prefer you didn't!", and then she briefly thought I was participating in the 5K we are going to watch, but Kevin let her know I was just going as support, lol. She made me take a copy of my file, just in case something happens.

I am ecstatic to be just two short months away from full term (37 weeks). Even though I've been doing pretty well since our hospital visit, I still get the "and you know the pre term labor symptoms" talk every visit to the birth center. Additionally, I still take it easy, a lot easier than I thought I would have to. I don't know if I read this somewhere or was told by someone that typically you can continue doing what you've been doing once you're pregnant. Not the case around here!

I let Kyle play in our back yard for the first time ever on Monday night, and he's had a cough ever since. It's not a back yard that is really groomed or kid friendly and I'm wondering if he has some allergies from raking/playing with all the weeds back there. We won't be doing that again anytime soon!

Kevin is super busy this month with a mini conference on Monday here in Tucson, and his big yearly conference in Hawaii around the week of the 19th I think it is. April is going to fly by for us, I just know it.

Well, I'm off to run errands as we pack up for our weekend away in CA. I will update when we return!

As promised...

2009-03-28T22:26:00.003-07:00

...there are "all three of us" as Kyle would correct me if I mistakenly referred to "just the two of us in that picture". Today we went to the safety fair on the campus of one of the local hospitals here in Tucson and it was great! We had the car seats checked to make sure we've been installing them correctly (Kevin got 5 stars for his "welded to the seat" installs from the car seat techs). Kyle is on the verge of reaching the weight limit for using the 5 pt. harness in his current car seat, which makes me sad. I want him in the 5 pt. harness longer, but I don't see any new car seat purchases in our future. They were also doing bike helmet fittings that included a free helmet, and passing out booster seats! Kyle was afraid of all the mascots wandering around, from the Chick fil a cow to the hospitals trademark turtle. He claims he wants to go to Disneyland, but I have a feeling it would be a little traumatic at this point still!

We had a lovely dinner out with some neighbors who have a little girl the same age as Kyle; it was so much fun and the kids did great! Kevin continues to be busy, which probably won't change for awhile and I'm feeling about the same as always. Micah continues to remind me he is still alive and kicking (yea!).

28 weeks

2009-03-26T22:48:00.002-07:00

Well, it's official: we are in the third trimester. I feel more and more like a house everyday, which, I guess in some ways I am a living house for this little guy. I had Kevin take the first belly shot of this pregnancy yesterday, because I knew I would never wear that shirt again, until after Micah arrived, lol. I was hoping to post it for you, but alas, it has yet to make it off the camera, so you will have to wait. Sleeping is becoming more of a chore, even with my nightly unisom and b6, but naps seem to come easier, so who knows. I feel like there is more and more I want to get done, but I need to take it slower and slower now, lol. There is something about the impending birth of your child that makes you want everything just right.

We did make our one and only big ticket purchase for Micah's arrival: that fancy stroller I've been alluding to! I found one on craigslist in Phoenix and just happened to be the first person to take a look at it. Of course, it is now sitting in our TV room. It is only 7 months old, but man, that mom must have let her kids live in it! I vacuumed, scrubbed, and polished for over an hour to get it to my level of acceptance, but it was all so worth it. We have made a big deal about referring to it as Kyle and Micah's stroller and Kyle now tells everyone who asks about his new stroller that it is his and Micah's new stroller. Kyle often feels an intense possessiveness of his strollers, which makes it hard to sell them when we move new ones in, and he was not about to let Micah touch his Maclaren Triumph, which we've been using for the past year. I'm still trying to figure out how to sell the Triumph and our Burley bike trailer from under his nose without it traumatizing him. Our new stroller is the Phil & Ted Sport Buggy V2 with doubles kit in blue camo, if you are curious.

Kyle has been increasingly interactive with Micah the last week or so. Micah always gets a kiss and hug good morning and good night, in addition to songs, and, on occasion, prayers. This morning he was hugging my belly and said "Micah's such a good brother", lol! Easy to say when he's still inside mommy! He had his ear up to my belly and said Micah was crying, so I asked if he wanted to sing him a song and he said yes. I started with the good morning song, then Kyle said he was still crying and we needed to sing rock a bye baby. It's totally cute and wonderful and eye opening to see this pregnancy through Kyle's eyes.

It's late and I'm exhausted...here's praying that sleep will come!

Happy Birthday Kevin

2009-03-23T19:30:00.005-07:00

Can you guess where we celebrated Kevin's birthday? It's the only place in Casa Grande where you can watch a game without sitting at the bar...The grandkids/cousins did not mind at all!

Kevin turned 27 yesterday. My birthdays don't jolt me as much as Kev's remind me how the years have passed; he was 21 when we got married: TWENTY-ONE. Maybe it's because I've already been the ages he's beginning. I'm just excited to have Micah shy of my 30th birthday, lol! I think we all had a really good day yesterday, seeing family, enjoying each others company, watching the Wildcats win! I'm really excited for Kevin this year, for all the things he's finishing up and starting new, for all the open doors he'll be walking through. He continues to excel above and beyond my expectations as a husband, father, and friend.

Happy Birthday honey, and may you continue to be blessed in all that you do!

Appointment update

2009-03-16T12:56:00.003-07:00

Guess who's head down?!?! Yep, I was told this morning that Micah is now head down and that is a huge relief. Heartbeat sounded strong and my last medical test of the pregnancy will happen in 2 weeks: the glucose test. We are just shy of our third trimester, which means appointments every 3 weeks and some paperwork to fill out (birth plan, hospital registration just in case we get transferred, birth certificate stuff, etc...). I'm allowed to ease back in to working out, but have to stop again if I start contracting. I think that's about it! Have a great week...I know I will with all this good news!

Friends

2009-03-15T16:55:00.002-07:00

Kyle has a lot of great friends here in Tucson and this will be one of our truly great losses when we move, so I've been snapping up pictures of him w/his friends when I remember:

His friend H is the perpetual princess...almost always in a Disney princess costume when we see her!

Of course, Rose and Kyle have practically grown up together these past couple years.

Kyle's friend G is always up for some rough and tumble play!

Your whole perspective changes...

2009-03-14T19:19:00.003-07:00

...when you have angel babies. Tomorrow is the due date of our second angel baby, the second baby we lost to miscarriage last year. It's hard not to think we should be a family of six this year, lol, after all that's been said and done. Kyle often asks us what his sister's name will be, thinking there is more than one baby in mommy's tummy, lol. Being pregnant is the hardest 9-10 months of my life; I don't know how to explain it, but it's this combination of physical, emotional, and psychological drain that just does me in. I never feel worse, than when I'm pregnant.

We thought we'd be fostering right now, on the community adoption list. We weren't planning on being pregnant this spring. After the two miscarriages last year, I didn't even want to risk getting pregnant again because I knew I couldn't take the physical and emotional turmoil of losing another baby. In October I was anxious to sign up for a bike race and a 5K I wanted to compete in later this year. Kevin told me to wait, just in case, we might be pregnant. I don't know if my personality changes or he just knows me that well now, but I was sure we weren't pregnant. I waited to register anyways. The whole 4th week of my cycle I did pregnancy test strips. I thought I saw a faint line on the first couple, but no one else could see it, lol. Then, on day 28, it was there, we were pregnant for sure, again. It was a Friday and I immediately called the birth center for blood work. On Monday, when I called back for the results, all were normal...but the progesterone was in the "low" normal. I insisted they prescribe me progesterone. I was going to do all I knew to do to keep this baby through the first trimester. And then we prayed a lot, I puked a lot, and flipped out a little around the time we had lost the other babies (at 40 days pregnant).

But WE ARE STILL PREGNANT! And I wouldn't have it any other way right now, not with all the nastiest that is pregnancy for me, all the meds, the hospital visit, and the potential c-section this breech baby might be. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Did you notice we have less than 100 days to Micah's due date? I can't believe it, that we are so far along...just a few more days and it will be "Hello third trimester!". I have an appointment on Monday.

Doctor's visit

2009-03-03T17:41:00.003-07:00

I know, I know...my appt. was yesterday and I failed to update! Well, the midwife said I could come off of complete bedrest, but to take it easy, "easier than you probably think you need to". If I have contractions again, then they will start me on medication and weekly visits to monitor everything.

In other news, Kyle has been kinda flipped out from his usual self since I was in the hospital. He's been very emotional. This morning I started doing preschool with him again and he loved it. We are going to have to keep that up and it's nice that I can do it from my bed. We went to a baby store here in Tucson today to check out a stroller and some car seats I've been desiring. Kyle cried when I took him out of the stroller; he wanted it sooo badly. It was even on clearance, with the doubles kit. Regretfully, last years doubles kit only holds kids to 32 lbs, this years doubles kit holds kids up to 40 lbs, I think. We have had a double side by side stroller before and I'm just not a fan. Especially since Kyle most likely won't be strolling very much now that he's almost 4. I just want the option for those really long outings of having both kids in the stroller.

That's all the typing I'm up for right now.

Welcome to the antepartum unit...

2009-02-27T19:09:00.002-07:00

So, this morning I was admitted to Tucson Medical Center with contractions coming every two minutes, although I only felt 4-5 of those contractions in an hour (probably about a 2 on a 1-10 pain scale). Anyways, I had to face all my fears about anything medical related (had my first IV, first internal exam for this pregnancy, shots, etc..). All of my tests, cultures, images came back negative for anything at all. Micah looks perfect, amniotic fluid is great, and despite the contractions, I am not dilating and my cervix looks great. I received 3 shots of turbuteline over the course of the day and my uterus finally stopped actively contracting, although they seemed to think it was still "irritated". I am home now, on bed rest, and will see the midwives on Monday. Thank you for all the prayers, phone calls, texts, and visits! I will continue to update as I'm able.

Ups and downs

2009-02-23T21:31:00.003-07:00

Kyle felt Micah kick this weekend! It was so cool. His eyes and mouth would get wide open and he'd gasp and say "There he is!". If I tell him Micah's sleeping when he tries to feel my belly now, he shakes my belly and says "Micah, wake up!".

As of Saturday afternoon, up through Sunday night, I was feeling a little apprehensive. Micah didn't seem to be moving as much as he did earlier in the week. Actually, he moves a lot less than Kyle ever did in the womb, but Micah is also in a different position (head up, last appointment). I also might be more wary this time around because of the miscarriages; I just don't know.

Anyways, last night I was ready for bed and Kevin came to tuck me in. I laid on my side and we felt Micah moving, until I was satisfied that he was okay. Not long after the lights went out, I was having some really intense pain in my back and lower abdomen (it totally flashed me back to being in labor with Kyle). I was able to deal with it, but it lasted several minutes, until I was about to tell Kevin to call the birth center and immediately had to puke. Thankfully, that was the only time I puked all night, and after, I felt better, Micah was a little more active and I was able to sleep. Totally strange and nothing like I ever experienced with Kyle's pregnancy. Micah has felt more like himself today and I've been fine too.

We continue to be blessed with clothes, baby gear, and cloth diapering items! I am completely overwhelmed by the generosity of our family and friends.

It's my bedtime! Here's to a night free from sickness :).

Growing up

2009-02-19T21:40:00.003-07:00

My Kyle,

You do the funniest things lately! You prefer to sleep in your IKEA tent, on our hard concrete floor, in your sleeping bag, every night. In the morning, you ask daddy "Why did you move me to my bunk bed?". Daddy and I have both caught you with your head in the toilet singing goodbye to your pee pee's as they flush down the drain (although, you no longer do this in front of me because I explained to you that the toilet throws up pee pee splash when you flush and it's yucky to have on your face). Some mornings, you walk in to our bedroom, while I'm still in bed taking my meds and eating, and you say "Good morning baby", just like your daddy says to me. I reply with "Good morning Kyle" and you say "Good morning mommy". We have conversations that sound almost grown up, "How are you this morning?" "Did you have any dreams last night?" "Where am I going today?"

The other day in the car you thought you had it all figured out: "Oh I get it! So you get our baby from the doctor!". We were talking about well check ups because your friend Gabriel went to get his 3 year old check up and I told you how we would go to a lot of appts. like that after Micah was born. But we talked more and I think you know now that Micah is going to be a part of our family forever (whatever forever is for a 3 year old) and hopefully born in the room where we had you, at the birth center. You kiss and hug my growing belly everyday. Now that you know Micah can hear you, you talk to him too.

We sometimes look for clothes for your brother when we are out and about during the week. You pull every outfit off the racks and tell me what you think of it! It's adorable. You also want to know if we can buy you a shirt too, if Micah gets something, lol. I can see the effects of having a sibling already subtly effecting you!

Daddy felt Micah move for the first time last night and I think you'll be able to feel/see him move soon too. I'm interested to hear what you say or see what you do the first time it happens! It's so much fun being pregnant with you around, understanding so much, and wanting to know about your baby brother. You like to go in "Micah's closet", the extra closet in your bedroom where we've been storing his clothes and gear. You enjoy pulling everything out and asking if you used this or that when you were a baby.

I love you so much Kyle and treasure everyday I have with you, just us, before Micah arrives. I know things have been different since we found out Micah was coming, and you've had to make a lot of changes, but I'm so proud of the little boy you are becoming and am confident you will be an amazing big brother.

With love,
Mommy

Everything that's on my mind

2009-02-09T21:19:00.004-07:00

So, I felt pretty good for a week and then on Sunday I realized I was starting to feel the way you are only supposed to feel during your third trimester (status check, I am just shy of 22 weeks); no where near third trimester, thank you very much. I will spare you the details, but today I insisted on Finding Nemo as our afternoon movie, as opposed to 101 Dalmations...because Mommy was feeling yucky today! I was rewarded however, when Kyle joined me for a nap after the movie; he curled up at my back, played with my shirt a little bit and I heard his breathing even out before I fell asleep! I love it when he chooses to take a nap, as opposed to playing during quiet time. It happens about once every 2 weeks on average.

The reason we've been watching a lot of movies is Kyle was amazingly sick since Wed. afternoon. I'm talking a running fever through yesterday, cough, runny nose, his eyes even looked sick, poor little guy. He would sit on the couch, bundled in blankets and drink homemade smoothies all day. I never did take his temperture (digital thermometer needs a new battery) or take him to the doctor. A hot bath, some vicks, ibuprofen, and intense nose blowing seemed to get him through the nights. However, he has been tucking in to bed with us by morning. Amazingly, I haven't minded and have been able to sleep. I think he usually cuddles up to Kevin because I have my fortress of pillows surrounding me to help stay comfortable through the night.

My mom arrived and helped give us a break from sick duty this weekend! We even went out on a date; thankfully, I'm still able to sit through an entire movie without having to pee...but very soon, this will no longer be the case. I am starting to remember the joy of the last 10 weeks or so of pregnancy, ugh. There is something about how uncomfortable you get that makes you beg your body to go in to labor. Have you read about some of the things women do to induce labor?

Stop me if I've shared this before but, the night I went in to labor with Kyle followed a huge emotional, crying/journaling session along the lines of begging God to let me give birth in the next 24 hours. After that release, I started having contractions about 30 minutes later. Praise God. I remember I kept asking my doula if she thought we were really having the baby today and she assured me, that yes, I was having a baby today. I knew that if I arrived at the birth center and they sent me home, I would be a mess.

Anyways, Micah will now be clothed for at least the first couple days of life (until one of us does laundry). My mom bought a 5 pack of onesies for the little guy and Kevin commented that he really didn't need much else in June, in Tucson, because we'd have him swaddled up in blankets anyways. So true, but I'm still on the hunt for a take home oufit. Kyle has been quite the helper as we look through the baby clothes; he likes everything he takes off the rack for Micah and wants to buy it "Mom, don't you think this is cute?" "I think Micah would like wearing this". The funny thing is, that baby boy clothes always look the same. I get to tell Kyle that he wore something very similar as a child and then go find the picture of it. Which reminds me of a comment a mom of six friend of mine made at church the other week while I was snapping pictures of Kyle "You better stop taking pictures because Micah will never have as many as Kyle"! I'm sure it's true. I think we took pictures of Kyle almost everyday at first.

This evening Kyle helped with the dishes and went on a run with Kevin, lol. He came home and showed me the stretches they did before and after. It was awesomely cute. I can't believe how grown up he is. It makes having Micah now even sweeter!

Well, it's time for sleep. As a P.S.-If you have any baby boy clothes you'd like to pass on, Micah is in need. It's the one thing we don't have for this little guy.

Recent pictures

2009-02-02T20:55:00.002-07:00

Kyle enjoying a rainy day

Kyle playing at church

Micah 20 weeks

It's a boy!

2009-02-02T17:49:00.002-07:00

After some slight maneuvering, including laying me on my left side, we finally got confirmation that we are, indeed, expecting another son! Additionally, everything looks perfect, and I can't tell you what wonderful news that is; after the miscarriages and being on medication this entire pregnancy, to see the heart, brain, and perfectly formed little facial features, was an absolute answer to prayer. We are so blessed!

Baby Names

2009-01-31T20:47:00.005-07:00

Well, I just discovered the middle name we've been looking for if we have a boy and I'm so excited. I was having trouble really getting behind this boy's name the way I did with "Kyle", but now I love it. So what will our future child be called? Well, if it's a boy, it will be Micah Alexander and if it's a girl it will be Marin Ann. Either way, this child gets my initials (MAH), just as Kyle has Kevin's initials (KDH). Whew, now I can sleep tonight (and I'm not kidding)!

20 weeks...plus a few days

2009-01-31T09:33:00.005-07:00

Well, good grief, we hit 20 weeks on Wed. and I was totally excited, but neglected to post. Once again, this pregnancy is going really, really fast. I tried to get off my anti nausea meds over the weekend and early in to this week, only to find myself puking Tuesday morning...at the tour of a preschool where we would love to have Kyle go if we end up in Tucson next year for some reason. It was lovely. I called the midwives and wow!, heard back from them in less than two hours! They immediately called in a refill and I am almost feeling normal again.

The pregnancy dreams have been coming for awhile, but just last night did I have a dream like the kind I had with Kyle. I dreamed that I gave birth to a little boy with brown hair and blue eyes, and I was only in labor for 4 HOURS (crossing my fingers for that to come true)! Kyle could make this baby laugh like no other person in my dream; it was wonderful. Do we know what we're having yet? Nope. Our ultrasound is Monday afternoon and I am excited to find out!

Of course, I've already been wanting to buy things for this baby, even though we don't really and truly need anything. There is so much cool, new baby gear out since Kyle was born. Truly, I need to start sewing up diapers from one of our king size flannel sheets and (as soon as we know if it's a boy or a girl), looking for the "take home outfit". I look back at the onesie we put Kyle in to come home and think "That was a first time parent thing to do". We were hot, as it was August, but he was cold a good part of his early life I'm sorry to say. Kevin figured this out one night when Kyle would stop crying if he took him on our front porch. So, we finally started dressing Kyle a little warmer, even if it was 100 degrees out. Even now, Kyle will cry out in his sleep if he gets cold. One thing we have nothing of (I got rid of Kyle's stuff a long time ago), is clothes.

Also, I am so sad that our Fisher Price Safe Embrace Convertible Car Seat expires on March 9th of this year. Kyle still fits in it and likes riding in it, but I was so hoping to use it for our new little one. I think it has been my favorite car seat of the three we own for install and comfort of the child. Kyle never did well in the infant bucket car seat (screamed every car ride, probably due to reflux) and I'm loathe to try it again with this baby, but the bucket seat is in good condition and has not expired, so that's where we'll start with car seats for now.

Ah well, it always works out! I'll post again Monday with the big news! Have a great weekend and GO CARDINALS!

19 weeks

2009-01-20T20:24:00.005-07:00

Kyle taking a picture of me while I take pictures of him:

So, the last two nights I've definitely been feeling this little one kick and it's awesome! Not enough to keep me awake, just enough to let me know "Hey, I'm here!". I have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting to feel this baby on a regular basis. It makes me look forward to going to bed, lol. On the down side, my uterus has been so sore today, you could swear I must be doing some kind of internal aerobics the last couple days. It's not cramping, or sharp, shooting pains, just like if you had a good workout and you were sore. It's uncomfortable, but I'm assuming this just means our baby is getting bigger!

I finally broke down and registered us for WIC again today. After I started teaching, I didn't see any need for us to continue with WIC, but now that I'm pregnant again and Kyle and I drink a gallon of milk every 2 days, it will be so amazingly helpful. I almost fainted when they checked my iron and poor Kyle had no interest in getting his iron checked after that! It was fun to find out that I've gained 10 lbs and Kyle's height and weight is right on track. My goal has been to gain about 30 lbs w/this baby (as opposed to the 50 I gained with Kyle) and I seem to be on track with gaining about 1 lb a week. These are all silly things you think about when you are pregnant.

I have yet to start walking or doing water aerobics like I did with Kyle, however I'd like to do both soon on a regular basis. The water aerobics will be the toughest to work out because I will need someone to watch Kyle during that time. Kyle and I have been spending a couple hours outside every day because the weather here has been in the 70s and 80s; just beautiful for this time of year!

Well, despite the fact that the medication I'm on allows me to eat, I feel awful if I eat anything except for bland, bland, bland protein (think grilled chicken everyday) and drink milk. I tried branching out to a few foods I've missed: pizza, chili, root beer, chocolate...and well, I feel awful all evening after eating my usual non pregnant "comfort" foods. Ah well, just about 20 more weeks, right? I'm already looking for take out menus for places near the birth center! After Kyle was born, Kevin got me a BLT and I remember it was so delicious because I didn't feel sick at all...it's like magic after the baby is born, lol.

Well, it's almost 9 o'clock and I am exhausted. I think, at least for me, pregnancy forces me to take better care of myself (early bedtime, watch what you eat/drink, take it easy on your body), so that is a good thing. Good night!

We are still here...

2009-01-15T14:28:00.004-07:00

Oh dear, it's been way too long since I blogged and I apologize. At 12 weeks I was allowed to go off the progesterone (YEA!) and immediately started puking up everything (BOO). So, I tried unisom plus B6, just like with Kyle; and it didn't work! Boy, was I surprised. So, after two different anti nausea medications (the first one didn't work), I'm now happily eating, although still nauseous some of the time. Just a little update: At our 13 week appointment, I was measuring 3 weeks larger than usual so they scheduled an ultrasound to check for twins. Well, I am having twins, but not twin babies, just twin fibroids that are growing as the baby grows due to the pregnancy hormones. It sure was fun to get pictures of the little squirt, although this child is already suffering from second child syndrome since we have yet to scan and share those with all of you, ahem. However, looking at those pictures has sure helped me make it through some very sick nights and mornings, ugh. At our most recent appointment, I was measuring 4 weeks larger than how pregnant I actually am. There are two frustrating things about this: one, I'm huge already and two, the midwives are worried about preterm labor.

This pregnancy is going really, really fast. With Kevin finishing up his Ph.D. this semester and chasing Kyle around everyday, I'm not thinking about being pregnant every second of the day. Also, with those fibroids I have yet to feel the baby move on a regular basis; just a couple times a week, so I don't have a constant, moving reminder that there is something growing in there.

Kyle likes to give my stomach squeeze hugs and kisses. We just passed the due date for our first miscarriage (Jan 12th) and that was tough. Kyle and I spend Sunday mornings together and he crawled up in to my lap the weekend before the due date, puts his hands on my stomach and says "I don't want the baby to go to heaven". Of course, I believe he means he doesn't want me to miscarry, not that he doesn't truly want this child to go to heaven, haha. I teared up and it totally amazes me that he remembers.

I have to go now, quiet time is almost over and I've yet to rest! Enjoy the pictures, sorry I can't put captions up right now. Something seems to be wrong with the blogger picture post function. Ah well, that is everything Kyle has been up to this past Fall, and the hair cut he got today...he's been asking for short hair all week long, lol.

Happy 12 weeks to us!

2008-12-02T22:18:00.001-07:00

I'm about two hours early, but elated to be pulling in to the home stretch of our 1st trimester...I may have to celebrate tomorrow, stomach allowing.

I forgot to tell you...

2008-12-02T22:13:00.002-07:00

...that Kyle also wanted to buy everything else for the baby yesterday: crib, playpen, cradle, sling, diaper bag, stroller, etc...however, he claimed that we didn't need a car seat because we already had a baby car seat at home (I guess he doesn't remember that as "his" car seat). I informed him that the baby would be using his old crib, playpen, sling, diaper bag, stroller, etc... and at first he protested, but then asked if he could "share" the playpen with the baby. I told him sure, and will of course get a picture when that happens about 9 months from now: my almost 4 year old and newborn sharing a playpen. Anyone with more than one kid have stories of their toddler not wanting to share their baby gear with the new little one?!?

I couldn't have said it better...

2008-12-01T17:09:00.004-07:00

I was going to blog about how these first few months of pregnancy feel, but Dooce summed it up so well, that I'm just going to let you click over there and read, then know that I feel like that, exactly, everything she wrote about morning sickness. Actually, I will quote her with the caveat that many of my readers may not appreciate some of what she blogs about:

"That horrible feeling I had after the fifth serving of pasta, the one where the noodles feel like they're sitting at the top of my throat, where my pants are so tight that I can't maneuver into a comfortable position, where I feel like I might hurl if I move my head too quickly, that is what I feel like ALL THE TIME. It never goes away, even if I haven't had anything to eat in several hours. And my brain and gut are telling me that I'll feel better if I just eat something, which is a lie. It's after I eat that I feel the worst. Food tastes phenomenal, yes, but during the two hours after a meal I have to assume the fetal position and remain perfectly still. This is not convenient when life has to be lived, when dogs need to be fed and walked or certain daughters need baths and bedtime stories. Leta has grown used to the grimace on my face during her bedtime routine and more than once has voiced her opinion that "that baby isn't being very nice." Really? In that case your feelings won't be hurt when I tell you that this is nothing! When you were in my womb I used to daydream about how much less painful it would be to shove a fishing hook through my upper lip.

All of this is to say that no, I do not like being pregnant. I am thankful that I am pregnant, so grateful and hopeful about the baby, thrilled about what it means for our family, but I do not enjoy what this does to my body. I cannot relate to women who say that they love this, that they wish they could be pregnant for years, that they have never felt more like a woman. I don't know exactly why, but there are things about this that make me feel totally disenfranchised. I have no control over my body or appetite, and I cannot do anything to improve the way I feel."

So, there you go. Kyle and I are in Phoenix for the week while Kevin flies over to London to decide if we want to move there for two years. The holiday was rough, touch and go, but we made it to Phoenix and I've only puked a couple of times. My midwives graciously lowered my dosage of progesterone and that has seemed to help with some of the nastiness I was experiencing. Kyle is at his Grandad's tonight for a family dinner that I so desperately wanted to go to, however, I am toast after about 4 o'clock everyday.

Last night, our first night without Kevin, I put Kyle to bed and told him he could fall asleep on Kevin's side of the bed if he wanted. Well, not only did he do that, he procured a family of teddy bears from my closet and tucked them all in on my side of the bed. It was adorable.

Today, I have felt remarkably good, so Kyle and I left the house in search of a mall play area. As we cruised through a clothing store, Kyle insisted that his baby needed some slippers, just like him. I told him his slippers were too big, but we could check the baby section. Turns out he wanted a whole outfit for the new baby: shirt, pants, hat, and slippers. He picked out pink, so hopefully we're having a girl, lol. Otherwise, one of our pregnant friends will be getting a cute little ensemble for their baby girl later this year!

And now, I must eat. I'll write again soon.

A Good Day

2008-11-21T21:00:00.003-07:00

Good days are hard to come by for me when I'm pregnant. I am not the woman who feels better than ever when she's pregnant; I feel sick, out of sorts, unable to do things I normally do...long before the true physical manifestations of pregnancy make day to day activities a challenge.

However, today was a good day. The best day I've had since we found out we were pregnant (as far as feeling good, hearing the heartbeat was my true best day thus far)! I was able to eat, pretty much what I wanted; and drink! This is a true treat, to drink a glass of juice or milk or water, oh water how I miss you!, and not feel like it's going to come straight back up.

This was a hard week. I was unable to keep all but one dose of the progesterone down starting Sunday night through Tuesday night. I was spotting, just like with the miscarriages, and I was frustrated. I cried and prayed a good part of the night, knowing I needed to keep the progesterone down if I was going to keep carrying this pregnancy. In the morning I woke up to find goodies of lemons, ginger, tea, and honey sticks on the counter. Kevin told me our friends Jon and Kirsten had dropped them off after she did some research on morning sickness. Well, let me tell you, the lemons have done it for me! I smell them when I'm sick, lick them, suck on them, and I have been able to keep my meds down since Wednesday, every time! I am so thankful, as I had never heard of using lemons to combat morning sickness.

Kyle has had some interesting moments since we told him we are pregnant. I was on the phone the other day with my cousin talking about adoption and he told Kevin he thought I was talking to Jesus about our babies. Last night, Kyle crawled in to bed with me (Kevin was at work), and stated that "My baby brother or sister wants me to sleep with them tonight". I couldn't help but snicker and let him fall asleep on Kevin's side of the bed.

I feel bad; Kyle is having to grow up fast with me being so sick and Kevin taking care of everything around here. I often see Kyle finishing up breakfast or dinner alone while Kevin packs lunches, cleans up the kitchen, or throws another load of laundry in the washer. He has always played well by himself, but lately he's had to do it more often than usual. I know this is temporary and I look forward to feeling better on a more regular basis here in a few weeks; enjoying these last few months of play time with just Kyle. I think a part of me is going to mourn this one on one time with him, as excited as we are for the new baby. Kyle will be old enough that I think he will have some memories of being an only child.

Kyle thinks we should get two brothers and sisters, I just asked him. He wants us to go and get them...some of the details are still lost to him, lol.

Time for bed! I'll update on my next "good day".

Good news!

2008-11-12T21:33:00.002-07:00

Kevin got some great results at the lab today, just hours before his abstract is due for his big spring conference. I am so proud of him! He has been working so hard this year, his last year as a Ph.D. student; actually, if you took a glance at his CV, he's been working hard all four years,but this year we both knew would be a big push for him to be in the lab, getting results, and writing all the time in order to get published and finish up everything for his dissertation.

Our adoption classes have been going well and we are about halfway through. Amazingly, we had a positive pregnancy test the Friday after our first adoption class. I went in for some blood work that morning, and we got the results the Monday after: low progesterone. So, I started progesterone twice a day and have been taking it for the last 30 days. It's been really hard for me to believe that we are actually pregnant again, for the 3rd time, since May. Today we had our first pregnancy appointment, which is a hurdle in itself, one we haven't made it to since we were pregnant with Kyle. I was so nervous about everything (and probably will be until we deliver a healthy baby), but the midwife was optimistic. She was wrapping things up and I asked if we could try to hear the heartbeat (we heard Kyle at 8 weeks). She made sure we knew that it was unlikely we would hear the heartbeat this early on, that she would schedule us for two weeks out if we didn't hear it. She was searching and found my heartbeat (not hard to find) and then she said "I just heard it, let me get lower on your abdomen", and she found it and says "That's a strong heartbeat, feel it" and Kevin and I could feel it vibrating through the doppler speaker and I just started crying, I couldn't help it. Even now I'm crying, every time I think about it or talk about it, the tears well up, happy tears. The midwife made sure we knew that we weren't out of the woods yet, not with our two miscarriages this past year. I'm on progesterone for another 30 days and our next appointment is December 10th.

And so today I'm praising God, for my husband's success and the kind of heartbeat I wasn't sure I'd ever hear again. No matter what happens from here on out, I am asking for all of your prayers and support. We are 9 weeks pregnant and baby #2 is due June 17th.

Lots of company

2008-09-23T14:57:00.003-07:00

Birthday visit from Grandad.

Kyle using his water backpack for the first time (and he now likes to take it everywhere with us)!

Reading books with Grammy on our front porch.

Here are just a few pictures I took off the camera last night, however, I have some really cute ones from the zoo today that I want to share with you soon too! We have had lots of visits from Kevin's mom and dad this month, which Kyle has been loving, in addition to my mom's monthly weekend trips, Kyle has seen a lot of grandparents!

Kyle was sick this weekend, totally out of the blue he came down with a fever and was out of commission for a few days. This was a total bummer for Kevin and me, as we were planning on heading to Mexico for a family wedding!

It seems we may have found a non binky option for Kyle to chew on to help him settle in for his sleepy times. We bought a chewy tube yesterday from a local talk/speech therapy clinic in town. We had warned him that the night before last was his last night with binky, as it had a tear in the nipple and was no longer safe to use. Kyle used his chewy tube most of yesterday and then fell right to sleep chewing on it last night. He had no problem using it to get back to sleep when rousing throughout the night either. This is a huge relief for me. Kyle has never attached to any other sort of lovey or sleep comfort item, so to find something that doesn't seem to have the side effects or social stigma of a binky, but still allows him to chew and relax himself is awesome (and cry free!). I think this would only work if your child was a binky biter; Kyle liked to chew on his, more than suck on them, as he got older.

In other news, we were supposed to have our first home visit this morning to get foster/adoption stuff moving along, but our contact had an emergency at another family's home, so we rescheduled for Thursday at 10:30, if you think to pray for that, we'd so appreciate it.

Well, quiet time is almost over, which means I've gotta go!

Baby Blog

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