Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Still Here...

I know it has been over a week since I posted last...

...blame this little peanut...

...for keeping my hands full and my brain fried from sleep deprivation (she has lots of help in that department from her big sister Lucy!)

Will get a post on here soon...PROMISE :) Happy New Year and hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas :)

Monday, December 21, 2009

How to Make a New Mom Feel Depressed...at Christmas no less!

Ruby and I headed to Wal-Mart yesterday to get some grocery shopping done. She stayed in her carseat in the cart and slept the whole time...ahhhhhhh peace :)

Anyway, as we were walking out of the store a lady stopped and saw Ruby and this is the brief (and depressing) conversation we had...

Lady: "What a beautiful baby. How old is she?"

Me: "Thank you. She's a week old today."

Lady: "Are you grandma?"

***SPLAT*** (that was my self-esteem hitting the floor)

Me: "Excuse me?"

Lady: "Oh, is she yours?" (She sounded somwhat surprised at the possibility)

Me: (Having a tough time keeping myself from ramming my cart into her kneecaps) "Yes, she's mine."

Lady: "Oh, well she is a cute one" (Lady walks off)

THAT ladies and gentlemen is how to make a mom of a week old baby feel mighty depressed about how she looks! Forget losing the baby weight...apparently I need to look into a facelift or something first.

I have to admit that when I came home and told John about it I cried (blamed it on the hormones). I'm pretty sure my mom cried when I told her about it...I mean when you laugh really hard at something don't you usually shed some tears?

I told Ruby on the way out to the car that I guess Mommy has a lot more work to do on herself than she thought!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

She's Here!!!!!

John and I, along with big brother Max and big sisters Abby and Lucy would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family...

Ruby Anderson Bailey
born December 13, 2009
2:53pm
7lbs 14 ozs
20 in

not exactly sure why there is a white dot on her chin in this picture...
When I get a chance to sit down and post her birth story I will but right now I am typing with one hand and my other hand is holding our precious baby girl.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Baby Girl Update and some pics...

Alright, apparantly my eviction notice has been ignored! I had a checkup this morning and there has been NO CHANGE since last Wednesday. Are you kidding me???? I told my doctor I was expecting her to say I was at 7cm and needed to go home and get my bag then go to the hospital...she laughed at me ;P

Baby Girl is "looking" good though. She had a couple of days this past week where she didn't move a whole lot but she has certainly picked back up. Her heartrate was in the 140's and my BP was 122/78.

My dr. is on call this weekend so I am hoping we can get things going :)

--------------------------------------
The other night we got the kids dressed in their Christmas pj's (my mom buys all the grandkids matching pj's every year...what a sweet Nana) and got some pics taken for our Christmas card. I had thought about whether or not I should wait until the baby gets here but no telling how long THAT will take. I'll just send out her birth announcement later. Anyway, here are some of the rejected pictures...you know...for your enjoyment!

Lucy looks like the back of her head is glued to the chair.


This would have been good if Lucy had been looking at the camera!


Abby complained that I couldn't see her sitting behind Lucy...

Max was trying to help :)


Max had begged during the entire "shoot" to do a silly picture.
This is how I felt at the end :) It pretty much sums them up too :)










Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Playing Mama...

I just had to post this.
Abby and Lucy walked into the room a few minutes ago with a surprise for me...

Apparantly John and I will be grandparents soon! They have never done this before...Oh my word :)

I'm guessing they will take after my sister Shea and me. With the exception of this time, we have been pregnant at the same time each time. Max and Jack are only 5 1/2 weeks apart, Abby and her Molly are almost 5 months apart, and Lucy and her twins Sophie and Macy are 6 months apart.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

A One Night Streak Only...

Apparantly Sunday night was not the beginning of a "Sleep Through the Night Streak" for Lucy.

Last night she fussed once just before midnight. I checked on her and her eyes were still closed so I gave her the pacifier and fixed her blankets and she rolled over and went back to sleep...whew...right? HA!

About 1:30 I thought I heard Abby fussing so John went to check on her and it was Lucy and she was wide awake! I went in to hold her for a couple of minutes then I followed the dr.'s instructions and put her back in the bed even though I knew she would scream...she did...do I know this kid or what? I tried to talk to her and let her know she was fine and to go to sleep before she woke up Abby. I told her I loved her and fixed her blankets...all the while she was screaming and stiffening her back. I walked out and closed the door and waited to see how long it would take for the screaming/crying to stop. About 6 minutes into the 15 minute allowance I gave her, Abby calls for me to tell me that Lucy wants me...no kidding!

Since she woke Abby up I picked her up for a minute and told Abby to go lay in my bed so she could go back to sleep without Lucy bothering her. I held Lucy for another minute then we started the process over again. She finally cried herself to sleep at about 2:00. By that time Abby was asleep and I was too tired to get her back in her bed so she stayed.

Lucy was up for the day at 5:30am. What will tonight bring????????? I'm pretty sure screaming will be involved...

Monday, December 7, 2009

To Sleep or Not to Sleep...

First let me say that something wonderful happened last night...nope, didn't have the baby but something almost as wonderful :)


Lucy went to bed in her big girl bed last night because I had been sorting through bab y clothes in the nursery and told her I had to work in there. She went down at 7:30 and after lots of fussing, talking, cajoling, etc. she was finally out like a light at about 9:15! The biggest part of this momentous event is that she slept ALL...NIGHT...LONG! (well, until 5:30am anyway). I was sure she would wake at some point but she didn't and although I did a lot of tossing and turning I wasn't up and down and in and out of the bed! Don't get me wrong, I do not hold the same expectations for tonight...I'm taking it one small accomplishment at a time.

I had made Lucy an appointment with her pediatrician today. I told him about the sleep issues we have been having and about my recent concerns that she has been exhibiting some signs of acid reflux. After listening to what I told him he thought that it could be a possibility as well. He wants her to try some medication for 1 month and we'll see if the sleeping gets better. After 1 month we'll let it run out and see how she does once she stops taking the med. If the sleep issue comes back then we may have our answer. I really don't like the idea of her having to take the med. but if she is having reflux and heartburn/acid indigestion waking her up at night (mine has been horrible lately and wakes me up...I'm up for at least 2 hours with it) then I want to see if we can get her some relief.

Lucy is back in her big girl bed tonight. The dr. said just go ahead and make her sleep there since she will have to do it soon anyway. She went down at 7:30 and FINALLY fell asleep at 9:15 (after fussing/crying for me for about 10 minutes). Abby was awake for awhile too and that has been my biggest concern with them rooming together...Abby missing out on sleep as well. I'm hoping this will all calm down within a week or two and they can start going to sleep faster.

Any bets as to whether or not Lucy wakes up during the night????? I'll let you know the results tomorrow :)


Saturday, December 5, 2009

Eviction Notice...

Dear Baby Girl,
This is to inform you that you are being evicted from your current place of residence. You need to have your possessions removed no later than Dec. 11th. You're being served with this eviction notice because of your continued "wild parties" that keep your landlord up at night and for, at times, being a real pain in the behind (I don't know how you happened to find my sciatic nerve but it is not yours so you really should leave it alone).

As a loving landlord I promise that your new accommodations will be warm and cozy and you will get lots of love from your "neighbors".

Thank you and I am sorry if this causes an inconvenience but it can't be helped.

Love,
Your Landlord
Mommy


Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Progress...

It seems the contractions that I have been having since Friday night have been doing some good! Last week Wednesday I was not effaced yet and was at 1 cm. This morning I checked out at 50% effaced and almost 3cm! I have been having contractions off and on since 5am this morning so my dr. told me today that if they start getting more serious then to give her a call.

Baby Girl's heartrate was in the 130-140 range and my BP was up a little at 138/70. My legs are swollen like crazy though and the fact that Lucy still isn't sleeping very well could be contributing to the rise in BP.

My next appointment is next Friday...I have a feeling I'm not going to make it but who knows.


Monday, November 30, 2009

Our Thanksgiving...

WOW! I can't believe Thanksgiving is already over, the leftovers are pretty much gone, and December starts tomorrow!

We stayed home this year since my due date is so close and John's parents drove down on Thursday to join us. I did most of my grocery shopping Tuesday night then picked up some last minute items Wednesday night at another store. I got the kids Chick-fil-a for dinner Wed. because I was going to start preparing some turkey day food that night and didn't want to add to my work load :)

Wednesday night I was able to get the dressing put together as well as the sweet potato casserole. I had to make a Target run that night so my cooking didn't get any further.

Thursday morning I got up and was on my feet for pretty much the rest of the day. I made the cranberry fruit conserve (real cranberries people...not that jellied stuff from a can), cupcakes (to celebrate my mother in law's birthday (the kids got to decorate them), apple crisp, and the turkey went into the oven. When he was done I got the stuffing and sweet potatoes and green beans (with caramelized onions and sliced almonds) done and I think we ended up eating at about 5:30.

John's parents stayed at a local hotel and took Abby with them Thursday night so she could spend the night with them. John and I let Max stay up until 9 to watch the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and Mayflower specials that were on t.v. I also spent some time sitting with my feet up and the heating pad on my back (got a pulled muscle in my back from all the late night episodes with Lucy over the past couple of months).

Friday, John's parents and John took Max and Abby to the Fire Museum and Lucy and I stayed home. I had thought about doing some Christmas shopping on Friday but I didn't want to take Lucy with me since she hadn't slept too well the night before. I didn't think a toy store on Black Friday would be the place to test her staying power! She went down for a nap after lunch and everyone else came back but I was not feeling very comfortable by that point so I didn't make it out. Friday evening we had an early dinner and then we piled into the car with our warm clothes and jackets and a bag full of graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate and headed to the Festival of Lights at one of the county parks. It took us a while to get in the gate but once we did the kids were loving the Christmas Light displays! We finally got to a parking lot that wasn't full and were able to park and get out and walk around. They have these fire pits by the gift shops and you can roast marshmallows. So we made our s'mores then headed back to the car to drive through the rest of the park.

It was Max's turn to go to the hotel with Grandma and Grandpa so he went with them in their car and John, the girls, and I headed home. That night was a good sleeping night for Lucy (she didn't get in the bed until after 9) but unfortunately the same could not be said for me. I was awakened at midnight with a horrible case of heartburn. I usually head down to the couch when it hits so I can prop myself up. By the time it started going away at 2:30, the contractions started. They were coming at about 10-12, then 8-10 minutes apart. I tried walking, laying down, drinking water, and sitting up to see fi they would go away and they still kept coming.
Skip to 6am and John comes down the stairs with Lucy and I tell him what is going on...he only freaks out a little :) (and he wondered why I didn't wake him up to tell him what was going on). I went up to take a shower to see if that would help then laid back down on the couch. By this time John realizes that I have been up since midnight and sends me back up to bed to get some sleep. I slept until about 9:30 and the contractions had settled down. I still had them throughout the day but not as bad as they were during the night and not as close together either.

John's parents and Max came back to the house at about 10am. Then they took us to lunch for shrimp before they headed back home. I took a good nap after I put Lucy down and was able to avoid watching Clemson temporarily forget how to play football against the Gamecocks! Yesterday I was finally able to get to Target and pick up a couple of things but it was basically a hang out/chill out day. My parents made it home safely last night from Indiana :)

So now it is Monday and the kids went back to school and I have had sporadic contractions throughout the day. Nothing quite as intense as the ones Saturday morning but hopefully when I go for my checkup on Wednesday I'll find out that this weekend was productive in more ways than one :)

So now we are on the countdown to Christmas. I have just a couple of gifts left to get and then get them all wrapped before our biggest gift of all arrives...anyday now :)

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Safe Travels...

My mom and dad are heading to southern Indiana today to spend Thanksgiving in their hometowns. My mom is having her 40th High School reunion on Saturday so they will be able to enjoy that as well as visiting with their brothers and sisters and my Granny (my mom's mom). My dad will also be able to spend some time with his oldest sister who is currently battling lung cancer.

They will be traveling a new route this time due to the rock slide on I-40. I hope the drive goes smoothly for them on the way up and on the way back! Enjoy your trip and visit mom and dad...you will be missed around here :( I will pray for you to have a safe trip and that Baby Girl doesn't decide to show up early!

Also, safe travels to my in-laws as they travel down to our house tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving with us. Drive safe and we are looking forward to seeing you :)

Anyone else traveling during this week...Be Safe and Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!!!!!

Baby Update 36 1/2 weeks...

Baby Girl and I had another checkup this morning. John's working different hours this week so he was finally able to go to an appointment with us and meet my doctor.

Baby's heartrate is great and my BP was 120/78.

The doctor checked me again...I've been having some pretty good contractions since this past Friday...apparently they are doing something. I am 1cm dilated!

I have been telling Peanut that I don't want her to come before Dec. 5th. I'm going to root for Dec. 11th because my doctor is on call that weekend :)


Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Happy Birthday!

I want to wish a big Happy Birthday to my mother-in-law who turns 80 today!

Hope you have a wonderful day Charlotte and we are looking forward to seeing you and Jack on Thursday!


Sunday, November 22, 2009

Getting Some Stuff Done...

Thanks so much to my super duper awesome Mom and Dad for keeping the kids this weekend so John and I could have a much needed "Home Improvement" weekend! I have been wanting to get some painting and organizing done around the house for a while but it was never a good time with 3 little "helpers" running around the house. Now that I am in full blown "nesting" mode I was itching to get it done.

I sorted through 3 boxes of baby girl clothes, got Lucy's dresser painted, the living room carpet steam cleaned, and the playroom purged of some useless odds and ends and broken toys and rearranged! John got the grass cut and spent the rest of our quiet time painting our bedroom :) Although I did not sleep as soundly as I thought I would, it was wonderful not have to get up multiple times during the night to a screaming Lucy. I was definitely able to catch up on some MUCH NEEDED sleep! For that alone, my parents are my heroes (there are many other reasons as well :)

Next on the list is to get Lucy's dresser into her and Abby's room and move her clothes into it so I can finish sorting through the baby clothes and getting them into the changing table. I also need to clean out the closet in the baby's room and make sure I have supplies ready for her arrival. WHEW! Oh yeah, I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner this Thursday so I need to get out my recipes and write out my shopping list then figure out when I'm going to do the shopping. I got the turkey last night so at least I'm good there. I keep having nightmares that I won't be able to find any sweet potatoes or green beans!!!

I changed my next OB visit to 8:40 on Wednesday morning since John's hours changed for Tuesday and Wednesday he would actually be able to go with us (the kids are off so we'll be making it a family event). John hasn't met my doctor yet so I figured this would be a good chance to do that. I was having contractions off and on all day Friday and Saturday so we'll see if they accomplished anything! Just praying she hangs in there until Dec. 5th. After that I'll be ready :) Of course she'll probably come on that day during the Clemson vs. South Carolina game! That's okay...one more Tiger fan entering the world :)

Thanks again Mom and Dad...what you did for us this weekend is SO SO SO SO SO appreciated! Even if you did let Abby wear Lucy's dress as a shirt ;P

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Baby Update...

I had another checkup this morning. I was supposed to go last Friday but since both the girls were running fevers and coughing I had to reschedule.

Peanut is still doing great. Heartrate in the 140's and my BP was 100/60. The dr. checked me again and I am NOT dilated at all right now but she is pretty confident that Peanut is in the head down position! YAY!!!!!

My GBS test was positive so the dr. said that she would like me to try to call sooner rather than later when I think I am in labor so they can try to get the antibiotic into me before she is born. The dr. mentioned something about 4 hours worth and I laughed. I told her that with both the girls my contractions were extremely sporadic throughout the day and then only got more consistent when they were about 6-7 minutes apart. At that point the contractions would get more intense and things would start moving much quicker and birth would usually happen within the next hour.

We'll have to see what happens. I go back again next Wednesday!

Also, Abby had her follow-up visit with the dentist this morning and he said everything was looking good! I'll make all 3 of them an appointment for their regular teeth cleaning in January.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Dear Santa,

This year for Christmas I would like some good sleep. Not only for me but for my 2 year old daughter who keeps waking up at least 1-4 times a night hollering, "Mommy I need you!". She will NOT let her Daddy hold her and comfort her at night even though he tries (bless his heart). At least one or two of the middle of the night wakings involve sitting with her in the recliner for an hour to an hour an a half before she decides she's ready to "take a nap". If you have a book that will help us figure out why she is doing this and ways to help her overcome it that would be great too.

I know that if she were to sleep through the night restfully and peacefully then the rest of us would be able to follow suit. Please Santa, I don't need expensive electronics or jewelry or clothes...JUST SOME COTTON PICKIN' SLEEP AT NIGHT!!!!!!!!!

I'll take care of getting her some toys to put under the tree if you will take care of the sleep issue. Bring along your friend, Mr. Sandman if you have to...I'm getting desperate here. New baby coming in less than 5 weeks so my sleep time is going to be cut drastically short anyway.

Okay, Thanks Santa. Have safe travels on Christmas Eve...I'll probably see you when you stop by...I'll be up with someone I'm sure!

Sincerely,
One Tired (and slowly losing it) Mama

Monday, November 16, 2009

Happy Birthday to my Mama!

Today is my beautiful, wonderful, fun, "young" (she's only 20 years older than me)
Mama's birthday!

I know this post is a little late but I had my hands full today.

Love you so much Mom!

Hope you have had a great day so far and the rest of the day.
You are very loved by your children and your (almost) 8 grandchildren!
Thanks so much for everything you have done, and continue to do for all of us :)


Sunday, November 15, 2009

A Little Late...Lucy's 2nd Birthday Post

Okay, so it's more than a "little" late. Better late than never though...right?

Waaaaaaaay back in September (the 16th to be exact), our little Lucy turned the ripe old age of 2! We had a small "Monkey-themed" party with a monky cake, banana bread, monkey bread, banana puffs, and frozen chocolate dipped bananas on a stick! I'm pretty sure Lucy had a great time. We had a couple of family friends over and her cousins Jack, Molly, Sophie, and Macy joined the fun as well. Nana, Papa, Mimi, and Shea-Shea were here too :)

The monkey cake I made...

Our little monkey getting ready to blow out her "2" candle

Hangin' out with Nana in the back yard...

So, even though it is now 2 months past her birthday, this is what our little Lucy has been up to...
~ Vocabulary is amazing and I can't even begin to list the words she uses (in correct context no less) and says. She will carry on a meaningful conversation with us and understands and responds to questions. She LOVES to sing and since Abby sings the songs she learns at school around the house (non-stop), Lucy has picked up on them and will sing "Jesus Loves Me", "America the Beautiful", "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "Life is a Highway" (from the Disney movie Cars), "Onward Christian Soldiers", "the ABC song", and a couple of others from her music cd in her room. She will repeat anything she hears someone else saying (gotta be careful!). When she sees or hears something that she really likes she will say "Holy Sacasoly" or "Oh.My.Gosh." She also loves to say prayers with her daddy at night and asks for the specific prayers by name and can recite them along with John or finish the sentences.
~ Sleeping is...hit or miss would be the nice way of putting it. She is still fighting sleeping in the big girl bed at night but does well in it for daytime naps. She does still (most of the time) take a
morning and afternoon nap, just because she gets up at the crack of dawn and has been waking up 2-3 times a night, sometimes staying up for about 1-2 hours. We have tried the one nap thing and she just doesn't get enough sleep to make up for what she is losing at night. Since she has been sick this week, sleep at night has been even worse. I am praying that she will outgrow this before the baby gets here in a few weeks.
~ Potty Training? Ha! Let's not go there right now okay? She has ZERO interest in it and may be the first child in history to go to college in a pull-up! Seriously though, I am just trying to make it through the Holidays (and child birth for that matter) and we will begin to get down to "business" (pun intended) in the Spring.
~Pappies (aka pacifiers)? Yep, still has them. Yeah, I'm a bad mom for not taking them away sooner but for now the whole sleep situation that I mentioned above would be a MILLION TIMES WORSE without them! I keep thinking that I am looking at another 3+ months of sleep deprivation once the baby gets here (if she follows in her brother and sister's footsteps) with nursing so I'm not going to take away from the little sleep I will be getting by fighting Lucy back to sleep without her pacifier! That can wait for the Spring as well.
~ Eating? She would eat all day if I let her! Unfortunately, unless chips, pretzels, fruit snacks, crackers, or cookies become official food groups, she doesn't have the best eating habits. We do limit what she gets but if she were given HER choice ALL the time, she certainly would not be choosing salad :) She is getting a little better. She loves green pepper strips and apple slices and grapes. She also likes yogurt but will only eat it when she is in the mood. She will ask for other things like carrots but then takes bite and spits it out saying "I don't like that". She is definitely a "snacker" like her sister. I told John last night maybe that is why God chose not to give us another boy. The way Max eats now (pretty much head to head with his dad), if we had another boy with his appetite we'd both be working 3 jobs just to buy groceries! Lucy will eat what I serve her but it is usually in very small amounts.
~ Playing? She is into her baby dolls BIG TIME! She loves to play with Max and Abby and is crushed when they try to exclude her from doing something with them. She will play on her own for short periods of time but when she gets too quiet I have to inspect because she is usually making a colossal mess (pulls all the the hairties out of the bathroom drawer, pulls all of her pull-ups onto the floor, gets a hold of a box of baby wipes and pulls them all out of the box!) She likes pushing her babies in the stroller and putting her "best friend" bobby (her lovey) in the high chair and "feeding" him.

~ Is she ready to be a big sister? Some days I think so but others I am not so sure. I have been babysitting for the past couple of months for a 1 year old little boy. She loves having him come over but I also see spurts of jealousy there when he needs my attention and she wants it. She talks about her baby sister but we'll have to see how she does once the baby is actually here and taking up a lot of my time. Lucy is DEFINITELY a Mama's girls right now!
And there you have it! Lucy has embraced being 2 years old with gusto! She is displaying her temper with frequency when she doesn't get what she wants or just when she feels like it. Time outs are becoming more and more frequent for her as she is learning (I hope) to get herself under control. She likes to lash out at Abby when she's mad and will pull her hair or smack at her for now reason. We are trying VERY hard to nip this behavior in the bud quickly and make her see that she needs to use words when she's mad and not hurt someone. Max and Abby did not do these behaviors so it's new territory right now. They were kind enough to just scream at the top of their lungs and throw themselves onto the floor in a fit when they were mad. Lucy is most definitely her own person and we love her (and her siblings of course) just as they are.
Peace and quiet is highly overrated...don't you think? :)


Thursday, November 12, 2009

Fevers + Coughing = NO SLEEP!

We're still fighting the great Swine War in our house. Last night has probably been the worst (sleepwise) since I came down with it Saturday night. Lucy has had a little bit of a cough all week but other than that was fine. Last night, after I was finally able to doze off on the couch (I've slept there the past two nights since John has been sick I wanted him to be able to have the whole bed...I know...I'm too nice), I heard Lucy starting to fuss. The past few nights she has been only waking up once then goes back to sleep until about 7:15am. Last night however, as soon as I sat up to go up to her I heard it...the croup cough (insert my fussing here).

I got her up and held her in the recliner for about an hour and a half. I cracked the living room window beside the chair because it was SO cold outside I didn't feel like dragging us both out into it. I was extremely uncomfortable during this time because Baby Girl has been trying out new positions lately and the one she was in last night was NOT conducive to a reclining position on my back!

I got Lucy back up to bed but after that I was up for a few hours doing my own coughing. I decided it would be a good idea to take a couple of puffs on the inhaler when I started coughing so much and couldn't catch my breath all the way. After that I was coughing (much more productive) a lot more and I couldn't get comfortable. That's about the time Lucy woke up again. John took a turn with her this time and I was able to catch a nap for about an hour and a half. By then it was time for John to get up for work and I had to get Max up. Lucy was awake by this time...grrrrrr.

I'm not exactly sure how we made it to Abby's school this morning and then back home again but I plunked Lucy down for a nap as soon as we got home and then crawled into my bed. I set the alarm for 2 hours hoping Lucy would be accommodating...well, I got about another hour and a half...it's something.

I'm expecting tonight to be bad again then hopefully tomorrow night we can be doing better.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

When it Rains it Pours...

For today that is certainly a true enough statement! Ida has decided to dump some rain on the Southeast coast this morning...WOW! I just saw my neighbor walking his small dog down the sidewalk in a downpour and I wondered why he didn't just pick the poor dog (who now looks like a drowned rat) up and run :)

It is also now "pouring" sick in our house (not sure if that analogy made sense or not but who cares?). Abby is on her 3rd day at home from school with a fever and a cough and guess who else is home sick today and on Tamiflu...yep...you guessed it...John! He came home early from work yesterday because he was starting to go downhill fast. He's taking the day off today and hopefully the Tamiflu will kick in enough to make him feel better by tomorrow. We were praying he wouldn't have to use his last sick day for an actual sickness because it was the ONLY day he was going to have to take off when the baby comes. I guess I'll be jumping right in with both feet and 4 kids when I get home from the hospital. At least he'll have 2 long weekends in a row with Christmas and New Years.

I was really hoping Abby was doing better yesterday since she played all morning but about 2pm her fever came back and even with Motrin wouldn't go completely away. I gave her more Motrin at bedtime last night and tried to give her some cough medicine to help her be able to rest and she promptly threw it up all over her bed! Once she fell asleep she was okay for most of the night but there was a chorus of coughing going on for a good part of the night between John and Abby and even Max (who has a cough but that is it...I hope that's ALL he gets)!

I just keep telling myself to look forward to next week because I'm sure (well, praying anyway) that everyone will be healthy again by next week!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Update...

I am feeling about 50-60% better today. I am still coughing which has torn up my throat and made my voice very husky. My head is also having a hard time deciding if it is going to be stuffy or not...don't know what's going on there. I have off and on headaches but haven't taken any Tylenol since 9am this morning :) Which means I haven't had a fever since this morning either. Up until then my temp would start to rise again about an hour before it was time to take more so I'm thinking this is good.

After my post on Saturday night I went to bed but was really only able to sleep for about 30 minutes. I woke up feeling worse and a little nauseous. I had bought somne Ginger Ale since my dr. had said the Tamiflu might upset my stomach. After about another hour I realized that I was having a hard time catching my breath while I was laying down. I sat up for a while and then started having pain in the center of my chest which travelled to my back and spread around me completely like I was being wrapped in bandages. I called my dr. back at about 12:30am and she felt like I should go in to the ER to have them check me just to make sure I didn't have pneumonia.

I got there and got checked out (my bp was 95/62...imagine that!) and they said my lungs were clear (YAY!) but that I was having bronchospasms more than likely caused by the virus. I was given a breathing treatment, which made me throw up about halfway through. Once the nausea was gone I finished the treatment and could tell a difference in my breathing and the pain in my chest was not nearly as bad. The dr. sent me home with a prescription for an albuterol inhaler. So I stopped at the 24 hour CVS pharmacy for the second time that night got my inhaler and headed home to bed.

Baby Girl has been moving around quite a bit to let me know she is doing fine;) She has been my biggest worry during this...well, her and the rest of my family of course...but she's the only one who can't get away from my germs.

I called our primary care dr (mine and John's) this morning to see if John should take Tamiflu as a precaution since he hasn't been able to get either of his flu shots yet. They are calling in a prescription for him. I am praying he doesn't get it because as hard as it is for him when I am sick...it's much much worse when he is sick ;P I love him dearly but he is one pitiful boy (read..."bad patient") when he isn't feeling well...

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Prayer Request...

I have the flu. Don't know if H1N1 or Seasonal but I started coughing last night and the fever aches and chills came this evening. I called my doctor as soon as I felt the fever come on and she called in a prescription for Tamiflu for me. I took my first dose tonight and I am heading up to bed as soon as I post this.

I would like to ask for your prayers that it doesn't get worse than it is right now and that the fever, flu, or even the meds do not cause any problems for Baby Girl. Also, please pray no one else in my family gets it.

Thanks,

Finally!...Our October Activities

Alright already! I am going to share some of the stuff we did in the month of October. I know... you are excited :)

Every year during Fire Prevention Week, a local fire station (at the beach) hosts a Fire Safety Display. Fire trucks and even a couple of ambulances from all over the area come and park. In the past they have also had a rescue bus, a helicopter, rescue boats and jet skis. Once or twice they have even had the "Smoke House" that the fire dep't uses for training and demonstrations. We have been a few times in the past and Max loves it. The fire dep't has pizza and lemonade and cookies to eat (for free) and they also pass out the plastic fire hats (which is good because by every October our hats from the previous years are pretty beat up) and other fun stuff for the kids.

This year we went since we missed last year due to yucky weather and although it was fun, it didn't seem as big as it has in the past. They climbed on and in the fire trucks,

walked around on the rescue boats,

"drove" the jet ski,

and then took a turn on the giant inflatable slide (I don't have a picture of that because by the time Lucy and I walked to the other side of the slide to meet them at the exit they were already down).
John hiked up the hill where we thought they had parked the helicopter but it wasn't there this year. I didn't feed the kids before we left because we always have pizza when we are there. They were cleaned out of pizza within 30 minutes of the event starting! LOTS of hungry people I guess :) So, since John had to leave early to go back to work I walked around for a couple more minutes with the kids then we headed back to the car so we could go scrounge up some food somewhere.

I guess we left at the right time because as we were leaving, several of the fire trucks started heading out as well. The kids had a blast walking down the sidewalk and stopping and waving to the loud, siren blaring, horn honking, lights flashing fire trucks as they drove by. I'm pretty sure they had a good time, but Max even commented that it wasn't as big as it used to be and maybe not as much fun. We'll see how it goes next year :)

Coming Soon in another post...the Pumpkin Patch and pumpkin painting...

Friday, November 6, 2009

Peanut Update...

My appointment went well this morning. Peanut's heartrate was in the 130's, my BP was 110/62. I had the Group B Strep test done today and will get the results next week. The dr. also checked my cervix and although it is softening it is still high and closed...no dilation :)

I told her that I was concerned after taking the hospital tour that the nurse had said we have to stop and check in at the ER desk first before we go up to L&D. I said that as fast as Abby came, there would have been no time to check in! The dr. told me that if I feel like I am having the baby right then to let them know and they will get me out of the ER and upstairs so fast my head will spin :) They don't wanna be birthin' no babies in the ER!

She did tell me that if I thought I would feel more comfortable about it then she would be more than willing to schedule an induction at 39 weeks. Although I would have jumped at the chance with Abby or even Lucy, I told her I'd rather go on my own. I labor very well at home and I think staying busy and doing my normal stuff actually helps my labor go faster. I took Abby shoe shopping the day I was in labor with Lucy :) I was making beds and doing laundry while I was laboring with Abby.

My dr. was fine with it and told that if I do turn out GBS positive then she would want me to come in a little sooner than later during labor just to try to get the meds in me before the baby was born. Yeah, I told her that I would NOT be waiting until the contractions were 5 min. apart for an hour before I bothered to call. 6-7 minutes apart for 15-20 minutes is about how far I can go before I need to waddle my butt out the door and get in the car and go :) Waiting any longer than that could put John into panic mode (he still gets chills when he thinks about how close he came to almost delivering Abby in the car)!

So, now I go back every week. I'll be 34 weeks this Sunday. The dr. said if I feel like I need to take a Terbutaline any time in the next 2 weeks that is fine...but she said after 36 weeks not to worry about it because they wouldn't go to drastic measures to stop labor at that point! I have repeatedly asked Peanut to PLEASE let me make it through Thanksgiving. We'll see if this little girl listens to her mommy :)

Yes, I know...I'm Such a Slacker!

Okay, Okay! I didn't do a post after Abby's Field Trip on Tuesday. My excuse? Walking a little ove a mile, pushing a fussy Lucy in the stroller, having to take her out of the stroller to see the animals in the "forest" then fighting to put her back in the stroller so I wouldn't have to carry her the whole way and then ending up with her peeing down the front of me as I was holding her just exhausted me. All I REALLY wanted to do when we got home was change clothes...yuck...and take a nap. In reality I had to do a load of laundry (obviously) and clean up the train wreck that is my house :)

John is taking Max and Abby camping this weekend and I plan to drop Lucy off at my parents' house and do some Christmas shopping...kidless :)...maybe I can talk my mom into going with me and let Lucy and Papa spend some quality time together :)

I have a Dr. app't this morning at 9:30 so I'll at least post an update on that later today. I will more than likely be spending a big chunk of my day gathering camping "necessities" for John and Max and Abby. Ha! It's not like they are going far away or anything. They will be right across the highway from our house at a campground that is in "hiking" distance (on a paved road) or a 2 minute drive to WalMart :) Yeah, they'll be roughing it :)


Tuesday, November 3, 2009

October Activities...Post and Pics coming soon...

Ummmm, where did October go? It's already November 3rd? Just 3 weeks and 2 days until Thanksgiving? Crud. Apparantly my energy level is not keeping up with my growing list of things to do (or my growing belly for that matter) before this baby gets here.

I do have pics from our October activities that I will try to post later today. Abby has a field trip this morning to Charlestowne Landing and I am going to try to remember to take some pictures there as well. However, since I have to take her and it will take a while to get there I'm just going to have to wait until I get home to do an official post.

I really should use my time better and get more organized with stuff. Maybe I should spend my time that I am up with pregnancy induced insomnia/heartburn/backache in the middle of the night to do some posts! There ya go...sleep is highly overrated anyway right? That's what Lucy seems to think these days (actually nights) anyway.

Okay, off to pack a picnic lunch! Catch ya later ;P


Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Lucy vs. Croup...Smackdown!

I am happy to report that Lucy had a great night last night :) It was the first time she slept COMPLETELY through the night in over a week! I gave her a dose of Motrin before bed and ran the humidifier again and it seemed to work. I think she won the battle with the croup!!!!!

Unfortunately, a side effect from feeling yucky has been that she has reverted back to sleeping in the crib at night instead of in her big girl bed. She was more comfortable in the crib and if it was going to help her sleep then GO FOR IT!!!!! Also, I have had a pillow tucked under the crib mattress to elevate one end for a long time so I think the slight elevation she has is helping her breathe a little better at night.

She has napped in the big girl bed all along but something about night time and the room and the bed just aren't meshing for her. Just another battle to be fought but I am so tired of fighting these battles right now...I'll give it some time. Baby Girl won't be sleeping in the crib for awhile anyway so I'm not stressing right now. Besides, Lucy's current behavior issues and throwing temper tantrums is giving me enough to stress about right now! More about that later... Good Night!


Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Our Nemesis is Back...

...making it's Fall 2009 debut in the Bailey household...our old nemesis...the CROUP!!!!!

After Max's wild night ending in an ambulance ride to the ER and 4 breathing treatments back in November 2008 and then another late night trip to the ER in early February, I was REALLY hoping we would not have to slay this dragon again.

Well, Croup came slinking back into town and through our door as we slept unsuspecting. He didn't bother Max this time however...he found a new victim...a sweet precious 2 year old yet to be touched by his breath stealing, seal barking cough self. Yep, Croup woke Lucy up at 12:50am this morning. She woke up crying (which she has been doing for about a week now anyway) so John went to check on her and hold her. As soon as he picked her up to calm her down I heard the horrible sound...the cough...you know the one...barking.

I got to her room and grabbed her and the blanket and we went and sat outside on the front porch to try the cold night air trick...didn't help. We then went to the bathroom and turned on the shower to hot and sat in the steam...didn't help. John held her in the rocking chair next to an open window while I headed upstairs to get dressed in case I needed to take her to the ER.

By the time I got downstairs she had calmed down and her breathing wasn't as labored. I wasn't ready to lay her back down in the bed yet so I stayed up with her in the rocking chair and we went back and forth from the chair to the couch numerous times before she finally told me she was ready to go back to bed at 3am. She was feeling much better and was talking to me and walking around so I felt okay about putting her down. The fact that she wanted to go also made me feel better because I figured she wouldn't get upset and start the whole coughing gasping for breath thing all over again.

She went to sleep fine and slept until 6:45 this morning. She woke up crying again and had a croupy cough but the breathing wasn't as bad. I told John I thought it was kind of ironic that she would get the croup on the one night that I had decided to move Max's humidifier into her room to help with the congestion she had been having.

I have made her an appointment with her pediatrician for this afternoon just in case. I was praying last night as I was getting dressed that I wouldn't have to take her to the ER. Normally I would not have thought twice about it if I thought she needed to go but what worried me the most was that I kept wondering how many cases of the Swine Flu might be sitting in the waiting room at the ER.

Okay, Lucy is down for a nap and I think I'm going to skip some chores this morning and grab a few winks myself before we have to pick up Abby from school. I have to conserve my energy to fight the croup war (and any other germy villain who dares to cross our threshold)!!!!!

WANTED: Preferably DEAD!

GERMS

other known aliases...

croup, flu (seasonal and SWINE), colds, upper respiratory infections, bronchitis, etc.

WARNING! They should be considered armed and dangerous.

Please take any and all safety precautions as these villains can strike anywhere at any time.




Saturday, October 24, 2009

Baby Checkup...31 wks 5 days

I had another checkup yesterday and Baby Girl is doing great. Her heartrate was in the 130's yesterday. Normally it has been in the 150's - 160's but since I was on my feet all morning yesterday packing for us to go out of town I figured she was sleeping (at least someone in our family got some sleep!)

The doctor said she sounds great. My blood pressure was back down to a more normal range for me. 104/60...whew!...that was actually a shock as well considering the rushing around all morning and dealing with all 3 kids in the process (Max and Abby didn't have school). I am pretty sure I have a pulled muscle in my back (I described it to the dr. and she agreed that is what it sounded like). She told me I could use a heating pad or even a prenatal massage would help...hint hint John! With my other 3 pregnancies my sweet husband decided that in order to get out of giving me a backrub himself, he would get me an hour long massage from a local spa. I wonder if I can talk him into one this time :)

The doctor did ask me how the contractions were doing and I told her that although I was still having a few a day, they weren't nearly as bad as last Tuesday and that I haven't had to take another Terbutaline since then. Wouldn't you know though...I almost ended up taking one last night because I kept having contractions.

Next checkup is in 2 weeks. That will be my last 2 week checkup and I will have the Group B Strep test and the doctor said they would even check my cervix at that time. After that I go to weekly appointments! I can't believe I'll be 32 weeks tomorrow!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, October 17, 2009

It's That Time of Year...

Before I got married, I was usually on the ball with Christmas shopping and would have it done by Dec. 1st. Since I have been married (and especially since I had kids), I find myself running out for last minute items on Christmas Eve and staying up until 2 or 3 in the morning that night to wrap everything. What happened?

Last year I was on the ball and everything was bought (not wrapped but at least bought) by the 20th. I swore I was NOT going anywhere on Christmas Eve because John had to work that day and I had to get dinner ready since my mom and dad and sister were coming over. HA! Well, I DID have to go out but it wasn't to shop, it was because we thought Max may have gotten the flu. Trip to the pediatrician on Christmas Eve...something else I hope to avoid this year :)

Anyway...back to my point...THIS year! My due date is December 20th. I have made it MY mission (and I dare anyone to stand in my way on this) to get my shopping DONE by the weekend after Thanksgiving (preferably before but I figure I should give myself some wiggle room). I also plan to have things wrapped and tagged by December 10th. I may be cutting it short but we'll see.

One of the reasons why I have alway waited until Christmas Eve to wrap is because I enjoy sitting on the living room floor while everyone is asleep with all the presents and wrapping paper surrounding me. I turn on the 24 hours of A Christmas Story and drink hot chocolate while I wrap. It's my tradition and John thinks I'm a lunatic but hey...I've done (and still do) crazier things :) Since I will more than likely be nursing a newborn on Christmas Eve (and as talented as I am with multi-tasking) I don't think I'll be able to continue that tradition this year. My fall back tradition is to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and The Santa Clause as I wrap on any other night.

So, as I get my list(s) together and gear myself up for some shopping, wish me luck that I can meet my goal...because we don't want to see what happens if John has to do the rest of the shopping for me :) Hang tight Baby Girl...don't try to make an early appearance!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Not a Silver Spoon in her Mouth...Just Silver Teeth!

I think Abby is pretty happy about her "silver teeth".

Why do I think that?...

This afternoon I caught her in the bathroom, standing on the stool, looking in the mirror. Her mouth was wide open and her booty was shakin' back and forth and she was singing, "I got silver in my mouth, I got silver in my mouth", over and over.

Well, I'm glad she's not self-conscious about it at least.

Should I tell her that these are baby teeth and she will lose them in 4-5 years? Naaaaaa, I'll let her enjoy them, otherwise she might start plotting how to get more when she gets her permanent teeth!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Abby's Shiny Smile...

Abby got her teeth fixed today! Yeah! She had 2 root canals done (on back molars that could not be pulled due to crowding issues in her mouth) and silver crowns put on those. She also had 7...yes I said 7!...cavities filled but those fillings are all tooth colored so you don't actually have to wear sunglasses when you look at her smile.

John and I aren't happy about the fact that she HAD to have it done but we were warned that she was going to have trouble since her teeth are so crowded. We have already accepted the fact that we will be paying for braces down the road...the dentist AND the hygienist told us to expect it :(

Abby did really well today considering she was not knocked out but sleepy. She woke up a few times and would fuss and the dentist ended up having to give her more medicine but all in all she did great. She told me tonight that she liked the people and she liked going to the dentist because it is a fun place but she didn't like them fixing her teeth. I thought maybe it was the sound of the drill or the shots to numb her mouth. Nope, it was them pulling her cheeks to the side so they could get into her tiny mouth :) (It may be tiny in size but it is HUGE when it comes to volume!!!!!)

Hopefully the only thing she will have to have done at the dentist for a VERY LONG TIME is have those babies cleaned. We are on the brushing and flossing bandwagon around here and Abby is actually the one who reminds me when the bedtime routine is getting hectic and I forget to mention it! Good Girl!

I wonder...should I get silver polish for her crowns?????? Make them nice and shiny :) (Just kidding people!)