Five

We now have five teeth. The latest tooth (one of the top central incisors) cut through on Monday. This morning, Owen realized that he can push his lower jaw in and out and click his bottom teeth and top tooth. Really cute!

We have a cold. It's mostly his nose, which is really runny and can be quite nasty at times. I've ended up having to wrap him up in a blanket to tie his arms down and use the nasal aspirator. The good thing is that with his arms tied down (or wrapped up as it is), I only have to fight with his head, and he's learning that he should just let me do it because then it's over quickly AND he can breathe easier. He is still his normal happy self, which is good. It would be emotionally draining on me if he were crabby and lethargic, too. Plus Jeffy started a new job this week so it's just me from the time we get up until about 5:30 every day.

Yesterday, Owen spent a good part of the day chasing the cat. Max is getting the idea that when he sees Owen coming, it's time to go elsewhere. He really likes curling up in the rocking chair in the living room, but Owen can reach him when he's in the chair so I watched Owen chase Max around in circles, from the chair around the coffee table, onto the couch, and back into the chair where the whole thing would start again. I was almost getting dizzy! I think it will be easier and better when Owen learns to pet instead of grab and pull...Ugh.

Swimming with my mom. Once he got used to the temperature of the water, he was fine!

Waiting for the fireworks to start in Denver on July 3. We're sitting between the left field foul line and the warning track at Coors Field. Owen is sitting between Jeffy and my dad. The game was our father's day present to my dad.

With our new friend Ethan in Salt Lake

With our new friend Benjamin (on the right) in Denver.

130

posts, that is.

we are back from denver. after the first day, there was no real excitement on our trip. we did manage to stay busy, though. between a picnic in the park in miles city, mt with family, including one of my cousins who drove in that day from red lodge just to see us, the zoo, museum of nature and science, swimming, going to a rockies game (see the picture below), getting together with friends from high school and their little boy who is about 5 weeks older than owen, and the drive back to tacoma, we stayed pretty busy. pictures will be coming soon.

the day of the game, we drive to the park-and-ride and take the light rail into downtown to meet said friends for dinner. as soon as we get on the train, it starts pouring - for the first time in a long time there - and by the time we get downtown, it is really coming down. we still have several blocks to walk to get to the restaurant for dinner and by the time we get there, owen is soaked, my jeans are drenched nearly to my knees, and it's to the point where we can't get much wetter. we dried off by the time dinner was over, and the rain had stopped. after the seventh inning stretch, we left our seats to meet my friends so they could take us behind the scoreboard. after the game, we got to go onto the field to watch the fireworks. owen was ok for some of them, but not for others. he really didn't like the big barrages. he clung to me and whimpered while they were happening (too loud for him i think) but would look at the less-intensive explosions and seemed to enjoy that.

probably the coolest thing that happened during the trip was owen's development. he figured out how to really crawl, plus he can now pull up onto everything. yesterdray he actually climbed up onto the coffee table using my leg as a step. he was pretty proud of himself. (and i was proud of him too...) i quickly got him down before he took a header off of the table.

i can't believe that my little man will be 9 months old tomorrow. incredible. parents always say that their kids grow up too fast. now i know just how fast 'too fast' is. what happened to my little newborn? i look at pictures and those days seem so long ago, but they were only 9 months ago. it's really crazy. october 12 will be here before we know it. he'll be walking and talking (or maybe it's running and talking). my m-i-l won't even recognize him when she gets back next monday. she's been gone for a month in upstate ny helping my s-i-l recover from surgery.

we have errands to run today so i should get going. i need to eat before we go (and owen is asleep right now so it's the perfect time.)

at the rockies game on july 3. jeffy is holding owen out of one of the slots in the manual scoreboard (it's way cool!) and my dad is taking the picture.

Vacation

We are in Denver right now. We head home tomorrow (Wednesday). O is a real trooper. We learned quickly (like on the first day) that I need to be in back with him. Joy. This at least makes it easier to keep going and not have to stop every hour or so to either feed or change him (or both).

Road trip with us are always, um, interesting, shall I say? On day one, we were about 1/2 way across the top part of Idaho when we blew a tire. And I mean that sucker blew. Tire shreds were being strewn about on I-90. We made it to the side of the road where Jeffy changed the tire and we made it into Kellogg, got a hotel room and four new tires. Nothing else exciting has happened on the road since.

We spent time with Jeffy's grandmother in Missoula and my grandfather in Miles City (both places in MT) and both loved meeting their great-grandson. We've been with my dad the last week and we've been really busy. O's been to the zoo (he loved the fish!), made friends with Benjamin (the son of a couple of friends of mine from high school. Benjamin is about 5 weeks older than Owen.), been to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and to a Rockies game where he got to go behind the manual scoreboard (and out one of the holes for a picture after the game, too! Be looking for that a little later on...) and onto the field for fireworks. He kinda liked the fireworks, though he clung to me when they were going off a bunch at a time. He was ok when it was just one or two going off at a time but the big barrages were too much for him.

Today we took Owen swimming for the first time in the pool at my mom's apartment complex. Once he got used to the water temp and figured out that he was going to be ok, he had a blast. He splashed quite a bit, turning his head and stopping when the splashing got his face. It was really funny. He also started frog-kicking a bit and was having a blast.

Before we went to Mom's apartment, we went to the Body Worlds 2 exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. It was fascinating. Real human bodies that had been injected with plastic so they would not rot were the entire exhibit. There were some really cool things to look at and learn. One of the most interesting parts was the fetal growth area. I was able to see how small both Owen and Jacob were when we had our first ultrasounds with each of them, there was also a fetus in a uterus at 3 mos. gestation - right about when I lost Jacob. It was a very interesting exhibit. Probably the coolest part was the exploded body - hung from wires and everything was being shown. If it comes to a city near you and you haven't seen it - go. It's totally worth the money (I think our tickets were something like $10.) I wanted to see it in Chicago when we were there last summer, but we didn't get the chance.

O slept through most of the exhibit today, which was just fine by me. That's why I brought the sling into the museum. Easier to carry him in that than just on the hip.

He's really getting up and crawling now - more the regular stuff than commando crawling now. He's also starting to pull up and say, "Mama". He prefers to be up on his feet than down on the floor. He's even let go a couple of times without realizing that he can't balance himself yet.

Bedtime for Little Man.

Sum, sum, summertime!

at last! i've been out of school since Thursday at 12:30. the kids left at noon. i did bus duty, and sang as the bus pulled away (na na na na, na na na na. hey hey hey. good bye!) it was an odd year. it really didn't seem like the school year should have been over yet. probably because i was really only there since january. it was like i had a short (6 week) school year, then summer break, then another truncated school year. not that i'm complaining, mind you. i'm loving being a full-time mom to baby o. he is so much fun these days. he's giving kisses and hugs, chattering like crazy, and even has the start of a few words: mama, dada, baba (bottle). he can say these words, though he's not using them as lables as yet.

solids are coming well. we had real banana pieces yesterday after breakfast. the mess was pretty big, but he ate the pieces just fine. he's also getting pretty good at self-feeding. he likes veggi puffs, fruit puffs, and bananas so far. he's not too wild about cheerios. (michele - can we give him the yogurt burst cheerios?) he had one at church on sunday and pretty much spit it out.

we now have four teeth. two on top (lateral incisors) and two on bottom (central incisors). i wouldn't be surprized if he cuts a few more over the next few weeks. we go in for our 9 month check-up on the 17. i can't believe it's getting close to time for that already!

o is now able to crawl. he still will do the commando thing, but he can get himself pretty easily from point a to point b on his hands and knees. his favorite color currently seems to be red. he goes straight for anything red.

a better picture of the toofers!

zerber baby!

cutie pie with teeth!

Surprise!

We were at the annual Bryant (my school) Block Party last night. It was a blast. Owen and the daughter of another teacher (she's about 3 months older than Owen) were giving eachother hugs. It was so cute! I was talking with another mother, who asked if he was getting his top teeth (lots of drooling, chewing on fingers, etc.) and I said they were starting. I put my finger in to feel and guess what I felt! Not a central incisor but his right lateral incisor on top! It's definately through. That could have been part of the issues we've been having this last week or so. What a surprise! Needless to say, this most recent bit of teething has been nothing compared to the first. If this is how the rest of his teething goes, bring it on!

I've told Jeffy what I want for our anniversary at the end of next month: tickets to see Wicked when it comes to Seattle in September.

mobility!

he did it! he's crawling! and i watched him start! before long, he'll be all over the place and quickly. i'm just waiting for the day when little man crawls away, looks at us, grins and giggles as we chase him down. "chase the baby" will be our new favorite game! right now "peek-a-boo" is high on the favorites list.

i'm crying happy tears. he's so proud of himself. no more commando crawling (or minimal commando crawling)! i got it on video tape! max (the cat) had better watch out, because o thinks the cat is the coolest thing.

Learning Limits (I made him cry!)

Last night, I was sitting at the computer playing a great game (Lemmings Revolution) and had Owen in my lap. He decided that it would be fun to grab onto and yank my hair. I told him "No" with a pretty forceful tone in my voice. He scrunched up his little face and started to cry. (I'm such a mean mommy!) He got over it pretty quickly, though. He also hasn't yanked on my hair since.

Last Saturday, we learned a new trick. Owen can now sit up from being on his tummy. He did it once in the middle of the floor and again under the coffee table. I thought the latter was pretty funny.

No school tomorrow or Monday for the Memorial Day weekend. We'll have our niece for a part of the day (her day care center got closed down so we've been day care for the last two weeks. We love having her!) It's supposed to rain, otherwise I'd take the kids to the zoo. Maybe we can go to the history museum...dunno we'll have to wait and see. I'm gonna want to get out of the house, at least. As of today, we have 12.5 more days of school. Only one more full week, plus two partial weeks. Our last day is June 15. Yay!!!!!

I ordered a great DVD set today, though I won't get it until early August, since it's not going to be available until July 25. (Animaniacs!!!!!) Can't wait to get that and watch it! I used to come home from high school and watch that show every day.

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

Commando!

i'm typing with one hand and holding a sleepy 7-month-old boy who doesn't want to go to sleep in the other.

little man is so close to crawling. his current preferred method of locomotion is commando crawling, on his belly pushing with his legs and pulling with his arms. it's pretty effective. he's also an expert roller. he is frequently up on all fours, rocking, practically sitting up, and can move one or two limbs (usually arms) off of the floor with ease. one other thing he is getting good at is 'walking' while holding to my hands.

we've outgrown the carrier (too long!) and have moved into a convertible car seat (that can go backward facing, forward facing, and will also serve as a booster when he gets older.

***And now a word from owen!***
hk.v iv,ufk uv g fd y

A Sign?

I'm thinking Owen is starting to communicate with us now. Last night as he was having his bedtime bottle, he let go of the bottle and waved his arm around. He's never done that before. We've been signing to him, and "all done" is signed by shaking both hands...he was pretty close to that. I took the bottle away from him and he didn't protest at all. We'll see when he does it again. I was told in the Signing with Baby class I took that they will often do approximations before they do the real thing, especially if the motor skill required are a little more than they have. I'd say this is a pretty good approximation.

We got his convertable car seat yesterday, too. The nice thing is that it will go all the way up through a booster (until he's 80 lbs.) since it has the shoulder belt positioning things on the sides. One less thing to buy. I think I'm going to a seminar at the children's hospital here in town on Thursday to get a second one. For $35, you go to the 90 minute session and they give you the next size car seat that you need. Not a bad deal! This way we'll have one in my car and one in Jeffy's truck and we won't need to switch them back and forth.

Changing Every Day!

Wow. I'm amazed at how quickly Owen is growing and changing these days. It seems that he has a new trick every day, sometimes two new tricks. Take yesterday for example. He not only got up on all fours and rocked for a few seconds, but he also earned himself a hose-down in the kitchen sink. Jeffy tried the bathtub first, but then I mentioned the sprayer in the sink, which worked beautifully!

Owen is getting so mobile and he's not even crawling yet! He can roll anywhere. He will also "flop" (go from tummy to back or vice versa but moving his legs to face a different direction. Basically doing rotations and revolutions), do the inchworm thing on his back, and do an army crawl on his tummy. Time to get anything we don't want him to get off of the floor!

Owen's other big news is that he now has two teeth. He cut his second tooth on April 22. He has chomped down after nursing a few times. That's fun...

Growing so fast!

Two quick things:

1 - Owen nearly got up on all fours last night!

2 - Owen cut his first tooth last night! No wonder he's been so fussy lately!

Easter

Owen's first Easter is going quite well. Right now he is asleep near his mat. He did very well at church this morning.

As you can see below, there are new pictures. The first is of the quilt my mom made for Owen. The top left hand is my mom's, the top right is Jeffy's mom's, we are the next row - me, Owen, Jeffy - then the two on the bottom are our dads' hands - mine on the left, Jeffy's on the right. Above Owen's hands is his full name, below is his birthday. I designed the quilt last year and my mom made it. We looked through books and books of quilts but couldn't find anything I really liked so we designed our own. I really like the way it turned out. Mom has been bugging me for about two months now to get a picture of it up. (Sorry it took so long, Mom!)

The second picture is of my new haircut. I had gotten sick and tired of my long hair and all I was doing was pulling it back into a ponytail to avoid Owen grabbing it and to keep it from getting supper staticky (which it had been doing lately). It was time to cut it. I told my stylist to give me something (1) short, (2) easy to take care of because I'm lazy and (3) that I can style but that I don't have to style. I think she did a great job. I was the talk of the school on Friday - people kept coming in to see my hair cut because other people had told them the needed to see it. I love it!

The last picture is of Owen today, just so you can see how much he's grown. We went in for our 6 month check-up on Friday. He is now in the 97th% for height (28.5"), and at about the 30th% for weight (16# 7 oz.) He's nearly doubled his birth weight, which is just where he should be at 6 months. He's just about 3 oz. shy according to the scale at the ped's office.

Wednesday was actually his half-birthday. I took the day off, not because of that but because I had an appointment with an orthopedic doctor. I've been having lots of pain in my left foot for a little over a month now. I went in to my regular doctor a couple of weeks ago and he sent me into the orthopedic guy. Turns out I have a stress fracture in my left middle metatarpel. I was walking around on it for four weeks without knowing what was going on. All I knew is that it started to hurt something fierce on March 9. March 8 was a waiver day. That means that the teachers had to be at school but the kids had the day off. I took advantage of the fact that there were no kids there and burned off a little bit of energy running down the halls and sliding in my socks. That's what broke my foot. I'm a little embarrassed to say the least. The good news is that it's healing nicely and should be all healed in another couple of weeks. I'm not to go walking for exercise for another 4 weeks. I'll test that out on May 11 when we go to the symphony (4th and 5th grade classes go and we walk the mile each way. Downhill going, uphill coming back, and a picnic at school when we return. It's one of my favorite days of the school year.

Ok, more about Owen. He's been on solids for just over two weeks now. He loves them! Friday night we introduced a new food - carrotts. He's pretty excited about them. I think he's just excited about any food. We've eliminated two formula servings during the day now, which means we are sitting at 2 feedings a day where he gets formula. That is going to decrease even more as we work toward three meals a day with solids, plus nursing.

We are headed over to Jeffy's brother and sister-in-law's for dinner in just over an hour. Have a wonderful Easter!

Owen playing. What a great smile and laugh!

My new haircut. I love it! I think I chopped off about 7 inches...maybe more!

Owen's Quilt - designed by me, made by my mom. The hands are (top to bottom, left then right) my mom, me, my dad, owen, jeffy's mom, jeffy, jeffy's dad

cereal and lessons for mom

Over the teeth and past the gums, look out stomach, here it comes! Owen had his first experience with rice cereal last night. Boy, did he like it! He started opening his mouth starting with bite two or three, plus he 'helped' me bring the spoon into his mouth. He also fussed when I took the spoon away to get more cereal on it. He was definately ready to start solids!

One of the things I learned last night is that I should nurse him completely (meaning on both sides) and *then* give him the cereal. I tried giving him the cereal between sides last night and he wanted very little to do with the second side. The good news is that he slept through the night last night, something he hadn't done all week - he had woken up hungry in the middle of the night the previous couple of nights. The other thing I learned is to make sure that the spoon is on top of his tongue instead of just inside of his gums. Anything on his tongue made it down his throat. Anything just inside of his gums and under his tongue came right back out.

funny boy!

owen made me laugh so hard yesterday. first, he dirtied his bath water (both ways he can do that!) then last night he managed to roll clear off of his play mat. i'm talking a couple of full revolutions, here, not just rolling one way. when i saw what he did, i said, "look what you did!" he looked up at me and flashed me this great big grin as if to say, "aren't you proud of me, mom!" we need to keep an eye on him and get stuff off of the floor now! watch out for little man!

we've decided that for several reasons we are going to make our own baby food. any suggestions on books to get or other things we may need or need to know. (kristen?) we'll be getting a food processer sometime early next month and we'll likely start owen on rice cereal some time during spring break (next week for me). owen turns 6 months old in two weeks so we're getting close! we have our next check-up on the 14th and we'll ask the pediatrician what order to introduce foods in. i figure at that point that we'll have been doing the rice cereal for about a week.

bilateral otitis media

or in laymen's terms, a double ear infection. we noticed last week that owen had lots of goop in his right ear. i cleaned it out thursday morning and saw that it was slightly runny and darker than i would have expected for just ear wax. when i came home on thursday, the area around that ear was crusty. same thing friday morning. i asked jeffy to call the pediatrician but he didn't see any more stuff during hte day so he didn't. auntie doc (my sister) came in friday night, took one look at his ear and said, "call the doctor." we went in saturday morning and found out that he has a likely ruptured eardrum (nothing to worry about) in his right ear - hence all of the goop oozing out - and a pretty red and swollen left eardrum. poor little guy. the most interesting part is that he gave us no indication that he wasn't feeling well. he was his normal happy self. he's taking the medicine pretty well (amoxicillan and ear drops)

several times this last week i have come in to get him in the morning and he is on his tummy - which is NOT how we put him down. he has officially mastered rolling over from back to tummy, and also from tummy to back. he doesn't even seem to think about it anymore. he is also pulling up from laying down to sitting by holding on to my hands. he doesn't give this a second thought either. he just does it.

it is so much fun watching this little boy grow and change. what a miracle and a blessing!

Ugh

We have only managed one full night's sleep since the week began - that was on Monday. Last night, Jeffy was up with Owen once. We seem to be going back to the 11:00, 2:00, 5:30 thing from earlier in Owen's life. I was pretty snotty to Jeffy last night as I was up with Owen at 11:30, rocking him to sleep, giving him medicine, etc. I was exhausted and frustrated with the prospect of another night of little sleep. I laid a pretty big guilt trip on Jeffy because that was all I could do in my mood. I apologized this morning a couple of times. I also thanked him for getting up with Owen in the middle of the night.

On a better note, Owen is at least smiling a little bit and even laughing at/with/for us. I've missed that part of my little boy this last week. He is usually so fun and smiley. I'll be glad when we have that and can sleep through the night again.

It's Friday!!! Yay!!! Signing class with baby tomorrow morning. Should be fun!

We found the problem!

And it isn't a cold. Owen is teething. Joy. Sunday night, like I mentioned in my post yesterday, he was up every two hours. Yesterday afternoon, I went out and got several products that help ease the discomfort that he's feeling. I also tried to give him a teething ring that was in the freezer. He didn't take it, I think it was too cold for him. It's now in the fridge instead. The good news is that last night he slept through. Jeffy was up with him until 10:30 or 11:00 (I went to bed at about 7:30), then put him down. He fussed for a couple of minutes, but put himself to sleep for the rest of the night in about his normal time frame. I think Sunday night tired him out pretty good. I know it did me! lol

It breaks my heart to have him so uncomfortable. I wish I could just take the pain away from him. He probably doesn't know what's happening. To him, his mouth is just all of a sudden really sore. I hope these teeth cut through pretty soon. I've heard that the first time is the worst, so things will hopefully get better in the future. I hope he sleeps through the night again!

A Long Night

My poor Little Man. He is either teething or has a cold. We (all three of us) were up about every two hours last night. Owen has never done that, not even as a newborn. At least we normally get lots of sleep so this isn't horrible on us. He'd rock to sleep on my shoulder, but as soon as I would put him in his crib, he'd wake up and start crying again. We ended up switching who got up with him. At around 4:00, I asked Jeffy to rock him so I could get some sleep. Jeffy put him down in his bouncy chair where he fell asleep and stayed asleep till about 6:30. He nursed and slept most of the day yesterday. I'm at work today (it was easier than making sub plans!) I'm a tired mama. At least it's a relatively easy day today. Only 6 classes.

Four months old!

has it really been that long already!? he is now reaching for us at times, when i go down to kiss him before leaving for work, he arches up and gives me a great angle. this kid is growing so quick!

we went to the pediatrician on monday. owen is now in the 45th% for weight (up from 20th%), the 70th% for head circumference, and still at the 95th% for lenght. he weighed 14 lbs, 8 oz on monday and is now 26.5 inches long. long and lean! he really looks like he is just going to get up and crawl away.

we are so lucky he is such a good baby. last night he and i went to be silent observers at a school consolodation committee (my school is on the short list of 6 that will be narrowed to four next week) and he did great. he got chatty toward the end, but that was after 2 1/2 hours. he did great! we spent the last 30 minutes out in the hallway outside of the meeting room. people kept telling me what a good baby he is. :-)

Rolly Poley Owen!

Since I talked with my sister last night, I can now tell you all what Owen's latest trick is. He went over from his back to his tummy! This morning when I went in to get him, his head was still pointing the same direction I had set him in, but he was on his side. The bumper kept him from rolling completely over, I suspect. He's a very active child when he's asleep. Much like his daddy was (according to my mother-in-law at least). We can no longer leave him on elevated surfaces.

What a fun kid he's turning into! I'm really loving this motherhood thing! :-)

AAARGGG!

A continuation on my last post. The same thing has happened twice (!!!) this week. Granted the first time was at the school I'm at on Mondays only and there was no sign on the door, the door was just closed. At least it was two women who had been in my position before. And then, just five minutes ago, the night custodian walked right in. The sign was on the door and he ignored it. Luckily for both of us, I wasnt' pumping yet because I kinda thought he would do that. (Locking the door isn't even an option with him. He has keys!) I'm afraid I was kinda short with him ("The sign is there for a reason. I put it out when I'm getting ready to pump.") We'll see if it happens again with him. He's put me into panic attacks before on program nights by not setting up the chairs like he was supposed to. (Didn't I blog about that last year? I think I did.)

Anyway, enough ranting. Yesterday when I got home, Jeffy told me that Owen managed to get his sock half-way off during the day yesterday. When he (Jeffy) went to try to figure out how he did that, he realized that Owen had done something else! You'll have to wait until my sister calls me though to find out what it is. (Is that a big enough hint, kiddo!?) ;-)

I can't believe he will be four months old on Sunday! Wow! He has grown so much so fast.

Anyone know what color the Pittsburgh Steeler's 12th man flag is? Not that we're upset or anything here. No, not us!

Frustrations

Do Not Disturb
Thank You!

This is what is printed (in red) on a sign that I hang from my door at school when I am pumping. Twice, so far, I have had people just ignore the sign and walk right on in. One was an adult who walked in and said, "I hope that doesn't apply to me. I just need to get my water cup." (It does, and she is in my room in the afternoons for the afterschool program.) Then this morning, I had a 5th grader open my door and start in. I stopped her at the door, but it was a bit awkward nonetheless. I don't lock my door because I often forget to unlock it and then leave and close my door with the keys inside. Why don't people read and comprehend? It's not that difficult a concept!

It's A Good Thing He's So Cute!

We were up at 3:45 this morning demanding to be fed. Joy. It made me a little late to work this morning because even though we were done feeding by 4:15, I didn't get back to sleep until close to (or maybe even after) 5:00. It was rough getting up this morning. Hauling my hind end out of bed in the morning is harder the closer to Friday we get. Add being up for an additional hour-plus this morning and it was harder yet. Like I said, it's a good thing Owen's so darned cute. At least it's not an every night sort of thing.

One thing I forgot to mention in my last post is that Owen was baptized a couple of weeks ago. My parents came up from Denver, my sister from Omaha, plus we had a bunch of family and friends who live in the area who came. It was a good weekend. It was also too short of a weekend. I would have liked to spend more time with my family. The Sunday morning, as we were getting ready to leave for church, my parents came over and the first thing they said was, "Well, we're not at X hotel anymore." There was a fire in the kitchen at their hotel so they were up in the middle of the night finding a new hotel. There wasn't much damage done to the hotel, which is good. It just reeked of smoke when we went back on Sunday afternoon to figure out the money issue. (They were only charged for the Friday night, and not for Saturday or Sunday nights.) During the actual baptism, neither Owen, nor the other baby who was being baptized even flinched when the water was poured over their heads. We decided that it had to have been somewhat warm. Owen slept through the whole thing! Brunch was at our home afterwards. It was nice. I'll get a picture of the quilt I designed and my mother made once we get it up in his room.

Back in the Saddle Again

Back to work as of two weeks ago. It was rough the first day. I'd really rather be at home with Owen but, as Jeffy says, "Gotta make that money, honey." It's good incentive to get home as soon as the workday is over. I even get to nurse Owen right when I get home on Mondays. :-)

I've had a technologically frustrating return to work. I turn on my computer on Jan 3 (the first day back after the holidays) and have no network connection at all. This means I don't have internet access in my room and it also means that I can't print from my room. I can't even save to Global Shared (the school network) and print things from my computer on another computer. To access e-mail, I have to go to the lab, which is right next door. It's still a pain because there are three 10 minute chunks in my day when I am essentially stuck behind my desk (pumping) and am unable to do anything else. I like being able to use that time for e-mail or other productive computer usage. After two weeks and three many phone calls to tech services, I finally got things fixed yesterday. I called the first day back, nothing happened the first week except for a brief uninterruption of internet service on the 6th. I then called the next week (last week) a couple of times and was finally told that someone would be out either Monday or Tuesday of this week. Seeing as Monday was a holiday, the tech guy came out yesterday. I told him that it wasn't my computer, that it was the box (he confirmed my diagnosis). All it took to fix the problem was switching out one part that has had a habit of "going stupid" (to quote tech guy #2) in the district. Nice to know that it's a quick and easy fix. :-)

Owen continues to do well. He's putting on the baby fat now. :-) Giving the supplimental bottle is definately working. I can see a difference in him. He's still way cute! Daddy is going well with him at home. The most enlightened thing Jeffy has said to me since I've been back is "Having him sure makes it hard to get things done around here!" I simply replied, "Yeah, he does." It's good awareness on his part.

Homeward bound! I can't wait to see that precious little piece of heaven!

Reflections and projections

Well, another year is nearly gone (9 hours to go as I start this post). 2005 has certainly been interesting, full of varied emotions ranging the entire spectrum. Last year as midnight hit, I was surprized at how much I was affected, after losing Jacob. I felt that I was leaving him behind a glass wall that he could never get through and that I was forever beyond. I cried at midnight last year. I'm pretty sure that midnight this year will be better, though a part of me feels that with each new year, Jacob gets left barther and farther behind.

This year, we have a lot to be thankful for. Owen joined us in all ways this last year. He is truely a blessing. One of the best we will ever receive in our lives. He has brought so much joy to our house, and there was already a lot of joy here. I look at him in awe and amazement each day. It's amazing to think that a year ago, he was merely a prayer and now he is here - a living, breathing person. He has taught me quite a bit these last 11+ weeks. I'm so excited to see him each morning, grinning at me as I sing him awake. FOr those of you who know me, he actually gives me a great excuse to get out of bed on time in the morning. His smile is totally worth it!

We are also thankful for our friends and family, who have blessed us tremendously with their love and support. We couldn't get through life without that. I know I have needed that support as I've frequently struggled with nursing difficulties. (Now I'm drinking one beer a day to help boost my supply. What a great side effect of beer!)

2006 brings a new year, going back to work, and more learning all around within our family. Beginning Tuesday, I go back to work and Owen stays home with Daddy. It's going to be a hard day for me, but I think I'm ready. I actually started planning stuff in my head today. Mentally, I'm ready to go back. Emotionally, not so much. I'm sure I'll cry all the way to work on Tuesday. It will be nice, however, to see the kids and parents again. Figuring out my pumping schedule will be a bit of a challenge, though. I anticipate it will take a couple of weeks to really get it down, mostly since my schedule is so different each day. Two pumpings will be fairly easy to plan and keep regular, but the third of the day will be a little bit more difficult. Suggestions from anyone who has done this would be much appreciated!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Owen's stash at home! There were more presents to unwrap in the big red box!

The stack to his left are all his - some clothes but mostly toys!

Yes, the bow is on his head.

Christmas Day - under the tree.

First picture with a smile! Just done with a bath.

First Christmas!

Owen's first Christmas was a success. He was such a great kid during all of the festivities. He made it through the party at Daddy's parent's house and Mass on Saturday night, falling asleep during church with some help from Mom. He was awake and smiling when I went in to get him Sunday morning. He ended up falling asleep mid-way through opening presents. Next year will be much different. He'll acutally have an idea about what is going on next year.

After we opened presents at home, we headed to my in-law's for the day. When we got there, we realized that Owen had totally blown out his diaper. It was all over the place and *very* messy. He was not a happy camper while I was changing his outfit and diaper. The way he was screaming you would have thought I was doing something to really hurt him. It took a few minutes for him to calm down once he was changed and dressed in something clean and dry. Then he proceded to conk out for a little while.

He got loads of cool toys from various family members. Mom had fun putting them together last night. :-) He's a little young for them but we can start introducing them soon - he just won't be able to play with them on his own yet ( doesn't have the motor skills necessary).

He is in one of his most beautiful states right now - asleep in my arms. He looks like an angel. In about an hour he'll turn into Og the eating machine. (Og comes from his initials - O. G.)

New Tricks

Owen has a couple of new tricks this week. He is now holding his head up at 90 degrees for several minutes. He also can roll over from his tummy to his back. He's done it twice now - once yesterday at group and once this morning. He was getting so close for quite a while and I was afraid I would miss seeing it because I was afraid it would happen once I went back to work. I'm so glad he did it while I was there! I almost cried I was so excited for him!

The other cool thing that happened at group yesterday was Owen's weigh-in. Last week he was about 10-3. Yesterday he was 11-0. That's 13 oz. of gained weight in a week. Yay Owen! (I've been nursing and then offering him a bottle of formula to suppliment.) He's really starting to look like his daddy now, too, since his face is starting to fill out a bit. I really noticed it just a little bit ago as I was putting him down for his morning nap.

An Expensive Week

So Owen is now two months old. We went to the pediatrician on Monday for his check-up (and four vaccines...poor Little Man!) and all is well. We are now supplimenting with formula after each feeding to help him gain weight. He is doing quite well otherwise. In the 95th percentile for height...24.5" long. He's already outgrowing his 0-3 month stuff, mostly because of his length, not his overall bulk.

Our sleep schedule has changed in the last week. Wednesday of last week, Owen slept through the night. He's been doing it ever since. The first week or so, he went to sleep between 9:00 and 10:00 and woke up between 5:00 and 6:00. That's a great chunk! The last two nights, however, he's improved a little bit. Going to sleep around 9:00 and waking up between 6:00 and 6:30. Way to go, Little Man! It's amazing how much better rested I am now that I don't have to get up for an hour in the middle of the night. I feel so much better. I don't know how long it's been since I've had an uninterrupted night's sleep. Since April or May, maybe?

Now for the explanation of the title of this post. Last Friday Max, the cat, started making horrid sounds (sounds I never knew a cat could make). We went to the emergency vet and found out that he couldn't urinate...there were crystals blocking the flow. $1500 and 3 days later, he came home and has been doing pretty well since. Getting his meds in him is a challenge, but we get it done twice a day. Glad that isn't for life, only through this weekend.

Tuesday was my birthday, Jeffy and I went out dancing to the place where we met 5-1/2 years ago. I hadn't been there since May of last year. It was nice to get back there. Also, due to a new state law, it's now smoke free! Yippee!!!! No more coming home with that horrible stench permiating from everywhere. We'll be going back a lot more now for various reasons. Owen came to dinner with us and then we dropped him off at Jeffy's brother's house. Free babysitting is good! :-)

We're finally getting the tree decorated today, since Jeffy is home today. I still have a few errands to run this morning, but we'll still have most of the day for decorating - and then getting the presents under the tree and off of the dining room table.

Eight Weeks Old

Owen certainly is growing so fast. Today he is 8 weeks old. He'll be two months old on Monday. He is starting to really smile at things (like my fingers walking up his chest, when I sing to him, when we play Pat-a-Cake, etc.) It's great. He's going from a 'blob' to a real little person. He is also becoming slightly mobile. Starting this last week, he's been moving around in his crib at night, ultimately facing a totally different direction than he started out facing. I'm just waiting for the morning when I go in and he's facing down instead of up - that will mean he's turned over instead of just spinning around.

Group has been good on Wednesdays. We are continuing to monitor Owen's weight. Two weeks ago he had gained 10 oz, last week 6, this week 1. I called my lactation consultant and she reassured me that if we average out his weight gain over the last three weeks that he is at the low end, but is doing ok. We go see the pediatrician on Monday for his two-month check and I'm planning on talking with her about it. His failure to gain any significant weight this last week is making me feel somewhat inadequate as a nursing mother. We've been struggling with this since the beginning so it's nothing new, but I was thinking that we had it figured out. Maybe this most recent week was just an off week. Speaking of nursing, guess who's hungry...again... At least he's going 6-8 hours at night. Good chunks of sleep for his parents!

Pigging Out

This is for all parties involved here. Thanksgiving was great. There was lots of food, as usual. My sister and I had a great time together. It was also nice to see Jeffy's sister and brother-in-law from NY. I barely held Owen at all on Thanksgiving, pretty much just to feed him.

Speaking of feeding Owen, he's going through a growth spurt right now...which means he's eating every 90 minutes-two hours. Thank goodness for the nipple shield. It saves me quite a bit of pain right now. We have definately gotten the nursing thing figured out. At last week's group, Owen had gained (drumroll please) 10 ounces! He should be over 10 pounds by now. probably close to 10.5 pounds if the trend continues. I look at him, knowing that he's about the size right now that his daddy was when he was born and wonder how Jeffy's mom did it.

Owen is really starting to smile a lot. I've found that walking my fingers up his chest and then tapping his nose gets him to smile consistently. If I'm having a bad day and he smiles at me, it's so much better!

Tree season started on Thursday. Jeffy's family runs several Christmas tree lots. Jeff is in charge of one, his brother another, and some people from church the third. On Sunday, he called me and said, "Hi, Honey. Now I don't want you to worry but I'm at TG (a hospital)." Turns out he managed to cut his finger really good and deep with his knife as he was trying to jab it into some wood. The lock on the (jack)knife was either released or released on its own and the blade swung around and cut him. He had surgery last night to repair the tendon that he cut 60% of the way through.

We had our first date since Owen was born a week ago. We went to see Harry Potter, and left Owen with Jeffy's parents. It was tough leaving him, even though I knew he was in great hands. I nearly cried as we were driving toward the movie theatre. The good thing with nursing him is that for my own comfort, I can't be away from him for too long. Yesterday was the longest I've been away from him - 4 hours and boy could I tell!

Today it snowed! Not much, and it didn't stick around for too long, but hey, snow is snow!

A Month Old! (and a week)

Owen turned a month old a week ago. I can't believe he's getting close to six weeks old! The time really is flying. He has some new tricks - he's cooing and smiling on purpose now! He is also gaining weight, something that had been a problem for the first four weeks. Babies are supposed to regain their birth weight by the time they are 2 weeks old. He did it in four weeks. We went on an exhausting three-step regimen of breast feeding (30-40 minutes including burping time), bottle feeding either expressed breast milk formula to suppliment what he got at the breast (10 minutes), and finally pumping milk to increase my supply (15-20 minutes including set-up, and putting the milk in the fridge). If you've don the math, that's around an hour or more. Then we got to start the whole rigamaroll again in one to to hours. This was being done round the clock. The good news is that it worked. We started on a Wednesday evening following an appointment with lactation at the hospital (Owen weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz.) and by Friday noon, he had gained 7 oz.!!! Go Little Man!!!! He has steadily gained an ounce each day since then. Too bad it took us 5 weeks to get nursing really established.

One nice thing at the hospital is a free mommy/baby group that is run by a lactation nurse. We go each Wednesday morning and weigh Owen to see what he's gained from the previous week. It was at this group that we found out that he wasn't gaining enough weight. It's been great to get together with other new moms. After group, we go out to lunch. Last week they were going to go to Olive Garden, but I didn't have enough cash on me for that (nor did I have the check book and I don 't have a credit card) so they offered to go to Jack in the Box instead so I could come. We sort of took over an entire wall of the restaurant between the 7 of us, plus babies, and strollers. I'll be going to the group until I go back to work.

We had Owen's one month check up with his pediatrician last Monday. He grew 2.5 inches in his first month - he's up to 23" long now. (fromt he 50th percentile to the 90th in 4.5 weeks!) He dropped percentiles in weight, but that is under control and will change by the next appointment.

I go to my doctor on Wednesday for my six week check-up. I'm hoping that because nursing has JUST been established that my doctor will extend my need for leave through Christmas. If not, I'll have to go back the first full week in December. I'm not looking forward to that prospect. I'm not ready! I really don't want to interrupt the nursing right now. It's at too critical a point. I'll keep you all posted.

We took our first professional family pictures last Monday also. Owen was so good. He opened his eyes on the last picture, but was pretty much asleep for the rest of the pictures. After pictures were taken, we noticed that Santa was at the mall (and there was no line at all)so we had a picture taken with Santa. We got the package that had four pictures in it - all 3.5 x 5 - one for each of my parents, one for Jeffy's parents, and one for us. It's darling! I can't wait to see what Santa brings for Owen this year!

My sister comes out on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. She has yet to meet Owen. Jeffy's sister and brother-in-law are also coming out on Wednesday and they also have not yet met Owen. Needless to say, he will be spending most of the time Thursday with these two aunts and his uncle. I'll probably only get him back to feed him or put him in the back bedroom to sleep or chill out if he starts getting too overstimmed.

I'll try to post pictures this weekend from Thanksgiving and my sister's visit.

Into a Routine

As the title says, we are getting into a routine. It's nice because it offers some predictability. Owen continues to mature and grow each day. It's fascinating to watch. This week, we introduced a bottle (filled with expressed breast milk) which he attacks each time he gets it. At this point, it's just one feeding a day, though some days he doesn't get enough from the bottle and still feeds for quite a while on the breast. We also introduced a 'plug' this week. He'll suck on it for a little bit, then spit it out and be fine. Yesterday he almost managed to get it back into his mouth on his own! I was amazed. He's a pretty smart little bugger. One of his favorite places to be is in his bouncy chair. He's even managed to get the music started on his own a couple of times by pulling on one of the fishies that hangs down.

We are still awakened by him only once or twice at night, which is a real blessing. As of last night, we are officially shieldless on all feedings! (I was using the shield at night just to save myself a little bit of pain. I'm getting tougher. The latch-on is still pretty painful, but once he gets going, it doesn't hurt, unless he decides to bite down.

Speaking of biting down, it's my turn to bite down on some food. Hope you enjoy the pictures. As the caption on one of them says, he's three weeks old in both of them.

How's it hangin'? (Owen is three weeks old in both pictures.)

Eating is such hard work!

On Our Own

Well, it's just Owen and Mommy today. So far, so good. It's 11:30 a.m., Owen's eaten, Mommy has eaten breakfast and showered, and Owen is napping in his crib. He should be waking up soon for his next feeding.

This morning, I laid in bed just listening to him cooing and 'talking' through the monitor. What wonderful sounds. I'm thinking of going to my college this afternoon and showing him off to a couple of people there. I really want to get out of the house. Maybe after lunch we'll do that. I'm also thinking of going out to Jeffy's mom's work on Wednesday (Jeffy doesn't have to work that day) so she can show off her new grandbaby.

I'm going to get myself lunch now while I still have a sleeping baby. Watch, as soon as I get into the kitchen and get things started, he's going to wake up...

The First Week

Owen is a week old, as of yesterday. He is amazing. For starters, he only fusses in about two or three situations - he's dirty, he's hungry and we don't pick up on his hunger cues soon enough, or he's being messed with (getting dressed or undressed or changed sometimes). He is a very hearty eater. We had an appointment with a lactation nurse on Monday and Owen passed with flying colors. We are continuing to use a nipple shield (or boob condom as Daddy calls it...) during feedings and he's getting a sufficient amount of milk. I'm also pumping after feedings four times a day to help with my supply (the shield can cause my supply of milk to be lower than if we weren't using the shield). Let's just say that my milk is definately in and that Owen likes it. He comes in to feed like a kamakazi pilot. It's pretty funny to watch. We also had our first appointment with the pediatrician on Tuesday and Owen again passed with flying colors. He gained an ounce between the lactation appointment on Monday and the peds appointment on Tuesday. The ped. said that he's looking great, the jaundice is clearing up (thanks in part to Mommy's milk), and he looks great.

Now that he is a week old, Owen is starting to realize that his crib is for sleeping and he can put himself to sleep at night. It's a really nice change from earlier in the week where he had to be totally out before we could put him in and have it work. Now, he can go in the crib slightly awake and be out without fussing! Yay Owen! The other great thing is that (and I know that some moms out there will hate us for this...) he feeds sometime between 10 and 11 at night, again between 2 and 3 in the morning, and then once again between 6 and 7. Mom and Dad get good chunks of sleep and we are loving it! Thank you, Owen!

Max, the cat, is getting Owen figured out. I was honestly worried about Max's reaction to Owen because Max doesn't like strange people, especially kids. Max is getting to the point where he realizes that Owen doesn't pose too much of a threat to him. He's been within inches of the baby (with Mom keeping a close eye on the interaction) several times now. He's pretty much stopped hissing at Owen, too. He hid for the first few days we were home. I honestly forgot we had a cat for those days.

Well, someone needs his pants changed. I'll try to write more soon.

Owen and Mommy - Four days old!

Bob is here!

Only he isn't Bob, he's Owen Gabriel. Born on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 at 1:31 p.m. Owen weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces and was 20.5" long. Imagine what his weight would have (could have) been if he had made it to his due date which is October 19. The doctor said Owen probably would have been close to 9 pounds. I am so glad he decided to come a week early. I was so ready for him to be born, as Jeffy and people I work with can attest to. The last few weeks were pretty miserable. I was big and majorly uncomfortable.

The basics for now (more later when he's not so hungry...) We went to see the OB on Monday afternoon, he did a pelvic and was at 2-3 cm. He told me he "moved some things around in there" and not to be worried if I started bleeding. He also told me that it may have been enough to put me into labor. Well, my contractions changed after we left his office on Monday night. I was really uncomfortable on Tuesday during the day at work. I even considered calling Jeffy and having him come get me. I got home, crashed on the couch, and realized that my contractions were starting to come quite quickly and they were more uncomfortable than ever before. By about 5:30, I knew I was in labor and that we needed to start timing the contractions. I finished packing my suitcase - there were things that I hadn't put in yet because I was using them between when I packed it initially and when we went to the hospital. Jeffy had dinner going (it came with us on paper plates, I didn't eat - wasn't hungry). We got there about 7:00 on Tuesday night and got a bed in the triage area of L & D where they monitored me for a little bit to see if I really was in labor. The nurse wasn't sure so she told us she wanted me to walk for about an hour to see if it made any changes in my cervix. As she finished telling us the game plan, the plan got changed. My water broke. I was staying.

Labor was a lot harder than I expeted. I stayed on top of things and my breathing worked for a few hours. THen the back labor set in. I couldn't deal with it anymore (especially after being stalled at 5 cm for four hours) so Iasked for drugs. There was only one problem. There was just one anesthesiologist available in the middle of the night and he was in on three c-sections. I was low woman on the totem pole. The systemic drugs they gave me through the I.V. worked for a couple of contractions, then didn't do any good. I finally got my epidural at 8:00 a.m., was ready to push by 10, pushed for two hours with very little progress. Luckily, I was able to wait and rest (drugs are good!) from about noon until about one when my OB came in. He offered me two options: push some more and see what happened, or go with a vaccuum assist. I took door number two. Good thing too, because turns out Owen was stuck and all the pushing in the world wouldn't have budged him. So, for 15-30 minutes I pushed like nothing else and the OB pulled. Owen finally his debut, daddy calling it (it's a boy! I saw the outdoor plumbing and thought, "That's a scrotum!") They layed him on my chest (he was so warm!) and I fell in love with another man.

I'll post pictures after I feed him.

One year and a new life

It's an interesting day. It was one year ago today that I had my miscarraige. I've done a lot of healing since then and generally, things are fine. I still have my moments, and I suspect I always will. I have learned several things in the last year. One is that I am a strong woman, stronger than I ever knew I could be. I have taken the attitude that while we may not be able to control what happens to us, we can control how we react and respond to those things we'd rather not deal with. I also know that I will cherish every moment I have with my children because I know what it is to have lost a child. I am in absolute wonder of this new life inside of me. Having lost Jacob, this child will be all that much more special. I wouldn't have this baby if I hadn't lost Jacob. Interesting how life works out, isn't it.

Finally, here's the 8-Month belly shot.

Down to the Wire - 38 Weeks

Well, we made it. It's the home stretch. I'm term (have been for a week), dilating (2 cm.), and effacing (70%). The baby could come at any time. I think I have a sub, but will find out for sure today sometime. My last day of work is scheduled to be next Wednesday, the 12th, with my due date on the 19th. I'll honestly be surprized if I make my due date. I'm taking things one day at a time, always in tune with what is going on. OB appointments are weekly now. It is absolutely unreal. I see other women ready to pop and think "I'll never get there", but now I am. The only other experience I can compare it to is getting married (always the bridesmaid, never the bride...) I am amazed that in a matter of days or weeks, we will be a family of three, and no longer just a couple.

I'm finding I have lots of energy (relatively speaking, of course) in the mornings, but by the end of the day, I have none. Jeffy is now also having to help me sit up in bed in the morning. He's really sweet about it, though he does laugh at me every day because I'm so pathetic at this point. This morning he tried to convince me that mornings are our friend. I told him "Nuh-uh. No way." He 'argued' back at me (we have these 'fights' pretty frequently - they're quite fun and very light-hearted), at which point I told him that "I reject your reality and substitute my own (thank you Adam Savage of the Mythbusters for that line). My reality is that mornings suck!" He just laughed. I hope we're in as good of humor when we're not getting full nights of sleep. It will make things easier and more fun.

My showers were fun. We got lots of great things for the baby, and one great thing for me! My brother-in-law's mother got me a gift certificate to a local salon and spa. I'm using it tomorrow afternoon, in conjunction with a couple of others I got last December, to get a maternity massage. I can't wait! We have lots of really cute clothes, but we'll need to get more once we find out if this child is Annabelle or Owen.

I know, people are waiting for pictures. I need to get my hind end on the computer at home and just do it.

35 or 8

I just looked at my blog and realized that it's been two weeks since I last posted. The weeks have been long and busy, but mostly busy. School is in full swing, this is our first full week. Next week we have four days of kids, then staff training on Friday. The week after that is full, then conferences in the afternoons Tuesday-Friday the first week of October. The second week of October has only three days in it for us with kids. The Thursday of that week is a staff training day, and then Friday of that week is a state inservice day. That's my last week of work before the baby comes (unless Bob or my doctor says otherwise.) Plans for my sub are coming along. I have classtime stuff done, I think. I just have to write down my procedures, plus what I want done for choir and how I do Recorders.

I am not sleeping as well as I used to. The first two nights of this week, I lost 6 hours of sleep. At least I slept well last night. I also have a cold, which isn't making things any easier. I know that when the baby comes, I won't be getting lots of sleep either, but at least I won't have to get up and go to work in the morning! That's what's killing me most right now. I go home and pretty much plant myself on the couch.

I have a consultation with a pediatrician this afternoon. I'm really excited. I've heard nothing but great stuff about this person and the practice she's in. I really hope I like her. I didn't like the last guy I talked with. He was bragging too much and I really didn't care for that.

Be looking for a new picture within the next few days, along (hopefully) with some pictures from my shower that is on Saturday. This is really getting real! The nursery is painted and we have all of the furniture in the house; the crib is assembled, the changing table is mostly assembled, shelves need to be filled, the dresser needs to be moved from our room to the nursery, boxes need to be taken out of the nursery, and sheets need to go on the crib (once we get them.

33 Weeks Down, Seven To Go

Well, the new school year is upon us. We start day after tomorrow. Open house is tonight. I'm excited to see the kids again. I decided this year to forego using butcher paper on my boards and went for the cloth option (which I'm noticing is a lot more popular this year). This involved going to my local fabric store and buying 11 different fabrics. No, I'm not going crazy with this idea. I use a cool curriculum called Recorder Karate, which borrows the belt system from the martial arts. There are nine belts. I bought fabric for each of the nine belts for my RK board, plus an additional solid color to use as a band across the top where my lettering is (that part is just paper cut on the Ellison machine. I cut out the fabric this weekend and tried sewing it together on my sewing maching, which isn't working properly and is really annoying me right now. Sunday night I just wanted to take it and throw it onto the highway from the overpass by my house. I spent a couple of hours last night at my in-laws sewing the things together. It looks fabulous! The board is about 4' tall and 11' long - which just so happens to be a length that is evenly divisible by 9 (for the belts)! That certainly made the math easy on how wide to make each strip. The kids will put their cards on the appropriate color when they earn the belts by playing a specific song. They move their cards along the board as they progress. They really enjoy it and it's highly motivational. Too bad I wasn't the genius who came up with it (though I am on an e-mail list with that genius!)

I'm doing my best to keep things organized and uncluttered this year. For those of you who know me well, you know that this will take major effort. I'm making this my goal ostly so that things are nice in here once I go on maternity leave in about 6 weeks. (Yikes! Is it really that close!?) I'm due in 7 and off the week before, provided the baby doesn't decide to come early. As long as I'm still pregnant on October 12, that will be my last day until January 3.

I was hoping to escape without any stretch marks on my belly. No such luck. I only have a few for now and they are relatively small. They probably appeared when I 'sploded last month. Hopefully I'll be able to keep them to a minimum.

We were awakened (or at least I was) at 5:00 this morning by about half a dozen fire trucks (just the engines and lights, no sirens thankfully). The house two doors down caught fire. It was under control pretty quickly and I don't think anyone was hurt. I never ended up going back to sleep. My alarm was set for 6:00 so I could be at work by 8:00. I was out the door shortly after 7:00. By that time, luckily, the Battallion commander's SUVs were moved from in front of our house so I could actually get out, as were all but two fire truck. At least the SUVs would have been easy to move had I needed to get out earlier than I did.

My plan tomorrow is to get class lists somewhat in order so I can be totally prepared for Thursday morning. I want to have my room ready to go the second I walk in on Thursday. Things where I need them, books and CDs in the appropriate places, stereo set up, etc.

Kids will be here in 2 hours! Yay!

31 Down, 9 to Go

Well, as you can see from my latest belly shot and it's caption, we had a major growth spurt these last five weeks or so. I looked at that picture after Jeffy took it, compared it to my 6 month belly shot and sorta freaked. No wonder I feel like I'm rolling out of bed like a beached whale.

As of yesterday, I am 31 weeks pregnant, that equates to 7 months on the nose. I can go anywhere from 6-10 or 11 more weeks. I'm down to counting on my fingers how many more weeks I have to go.

Childbirth classes continue to go well. The first week, we learned a little about relaxation. This week, we actually started learning some breathing as well as 'non-verbal touch' communication. The non-verbal part comes from Jeffy, not me. To simulate contrations, our teacher had us hold a handfull of ice for 60 seconds while we did breathing and swaying and while our partners did the massage thing. We also got to watch a couple of birthing videos. One was on the three stages of labor and birth (early labor, birth of the baby, birth of the placenta). When we got to the placenta part of this one, I had a really hard time dealing with it - flashback to last October, Jacob was still in his sac and attached to his placenta when I was holding him. My therapist told me that it would hit me when I least expected it. This was one of those times. It's been a rough week in that arena. I've been thinking about Jacob a lot.

The other video was following a woman through labor and to the birth of her child. The coolest part about that one was that during her early labor, she and her husband were walking around Wash(ington) Park in Denver. (For those of you who don't know, that's where I grew up.)

Seven Months...I 'sploded!

A Doozie of a Day

It is 7:15 p.m. In the last 24 hours we have been to the hospital twice. Once last night for the childbirth class, which was great. I'll elaborate more on that in another post. The second was this morning to visit my father in law who had a minor heart attack last night. He's ok. Will be released tomorrow in the morning. Can go back to work on Monday. Then while we were there, we found out that Jeffy's sister in NY is also in the hospital. No diagnosis yet. I promised my mother in law that I'm not going into labor anytime soon so not to worry about me. She smiled and laughed. At least we got the chance to time one route to the hospital on our way there this morning to visit my father in law. (8 minutes if anyone is interested.)

Painting and Panting

Jeffy is working on getting several rooms in our home painted. This weekend is the hallway. Once that is done, he'll do a couple of small touch-ups in the bathroom, then we get to start on the nursery! (Ok, he'll get to start on the nursery.) The two spaces he's painted so far (bathroom and hallway) look really nice. They've been off-white since we bought the place three and a half years ago. Color is a nice change. Makes it feel more like home and less like just a house.

As for the panting, I've been doing a bunch of that lately with the heat. We also are starting our prepared childbirth classes at the hospital this week. We have class each of the remaining Tuesdays of this month plus the first Tuesday of next month. I'm very excited. I can't believe it's time for these classes! I also can't believe that I'm really getting into the home stretch of 30-40 weeks. It's getting more and more real as each day goes on. I'm both excited and scared about everthing that will be happening in the next 8-12 weeks...mostly nervous about exactly what will happend during labor and birth. I hope that our classes will help prepare us for that, but I also am expecting that there will be surprizes involved in the whole process.

To Miss or Not To Miss

The stroller is put together, and the counted cross stitch for the wall is as done as it's going to get until October. I just realized today that we have 11 weeks until I'm due and there is still a huge amount that needs to be done. The nursery isn't even close to started, let alone finished. Ahhhh!!!!!!

Here are three short lists: Things I'll miss when the baby is born, things I won't miss when the baby is born, and things I'm really looking forward to once the baby is here

To Miss - feeling Bob moving inside of me, having Jeffy cater to my cravings, generally being pregnant, being able to get a fairly solid night's sleep

Not to Miss - feeling Bob moving inside of me when I'm trying to sleep, the various stomach ickieness (heartburn, indigestion, reflux, etc.) caused by said movements, only being able to sleep in one position, peeing all the time (or at least it feels like it...)

I Can't Wait - to see what this person is, to watch this little person grow, to be a mommy, to watch Jeffy being a daddy (he's going to be awesome!), to hold my baby for the first time, to begin life as a family of three instead of just the two of us, to see which traits come from my side and which come from Jeffy's side.

A Decision

I decided yesterday while soaking in the pool out in the back yard (an inflatable jobbie we got at Target earlier this summer) that I am going to do everything in my power to have a May baby next time. None of this pregnant during the hotness of late July and August thing. This is rediculous! Hopefully things will go as well in a few years as they have been this time so that we can easily plan and produce a May baby. At least our temperatures have stayed in the 70s and 80 most of the time so it hasn't been as miserable as in other parts of the country. Don't know how I would handle that 100 degree heat some places have been having...oh, yeah...they have AC there. We don't have a need for it here. Not enough hot days each summer to make it worth it.

Just a quick note

Went to the OB on Monday. Everything continues to be normal! Next appt in 4 weeks, then we go to every two weeks.

I have a very strong suspicion that this baby is a girl. When I was pregnant with Jacob, holding onto a little girl's hand (or holding a little girl on my lap) felt totally alien, whereas doing the same thing with a little boy was totally natural. This time it's reversed. I've noticed it on more than one occasion with various little girls (my niece, a friend's triplet cousins, kids at school at the end of the day, etc.) Time will tell, of course, but that is my suspicion. We'll find out some time in October.

We spent the day in Seattle today, as it's our third wedding anniversary. Went to a soup restaurant called Soup Daddy Soups, though we call it "No Soup For You!" There is even a signed picture of the Soup Nazi behind the counter. Yummy soup, yummy sandwiches, great atmosphere. It's in Pioneer Square if you are ever in Seattle.

Time for bed...

Success!

Not exactly how I wanted to do it, but it worked! The old program still works! Yay! Below you will see three ultrasound pictures and my most recent belly shot. :-)

"The Thinker" - do you see the right arm coming up with the hand resting on the chin? Still a front view of the face and chest.

I call this one Shrek. Do you see it? This is a front view of the face and chest (you can sort of see the ribs).

Profile with a hand

Next Belly Shot - Beginning of Third Trimester!

No luck on Photos

Sorry folks, you're going to have to wait another month to see last month's ultrasound pictures as well as my latest belly shot. I guess I'll have to do try that from school where there is a better (faster) connection as well as a different photo program. I'm bummed and frustrated about it.

I have not had much energy the last couple of days. I am fighting a cold, which is really knocking me out. I'll take Sudafed when I need it, but am getting lots of rest (yay summer break!) and am trying to get lots of fluids into me. Jeffy's working up in Seattle so he can't be here to take care of me (aren't I pathetic!?) Last night I was getting elbowed in the side repeatedly. Makes it really easy to get to sleep, huh?

In the Home Stretch

Today marks the 6 month mark! I'm just starting my third trimester! I am so exctied about this! I have three months left, and i know that they are going to absolutely fly by. Sleeping is getting interesting. We seem to have a conflict of interest going between me and the baby. I like to sleep on my left side, but that puts the baby face-down, which the baby doesn't like. I know this because every time I lay down on my left side, the baby squirms like crazy. Last night it felt like I had a gymnast in my belly. I finally conceded and turned over to my right side so we could both get some sleep. That is until I had to get up every three hours or so to use the restroom. And it's only just beginning!

I'm trying to upload pictures, both my belly shot from last night and a few ultrasound pictures from last month. Not much luck yet. Either that or it's just taking a year and a day. I don't have the patience for this right now. I'll try later today. Maybe I just need to do it at the beginning of a post. (Michele? Any hints?)

I think I'm going to head into school today for a little bit to do a couple of things. Hopefully I can get into my room. More later, including pictures!

Normalcy

I have been celebrating for the last week and a half...at my ultrasound, we saw that my cervix was a full centimeter longer/thicker than it was at my previous u/s. What a relief! For the first time in my life, I have a normal pregnancy! I was so afraid that it was going to be shorter and I was not going to be able to go to Chicago/Iowa this last week for a wedding. As it is, I can now do light exercise (yay!) and don't have to worry as much. I have decided, however, not to attend my high school reunion in late August because I'm afraid that something will happen either between now and then that will make it so I can't go, or something will happen there and I'll wish I was home.

At the u/s we saw lots of movement, and a bigger baby. According the the tech, the baby was 1 lb, 11 oz. and about 10" long. I'm sure we're pushing a foot and 2 lbs. at this point. Movement is getting more defined, more frequent, and stronger. I can sometimes tell when the baby is turning around, depending on my position and what I am doing. I've also been having Braxton-Hicks contractions. Just a tightening of my abdomen. Slightly uncomfortable, but nothing to worry about (i.e. normal for this stage in pregnancy).

That's all for now. I promise I'll post u/s pictures next time!

This is continuing to be wild. Within the last couple of days, I've watched my belly moving. Just jumps and jolts right now, but I know that soon I will be able to watch much more happening. It's pretty cool. It makes me laugh.

Not much else right now. Ultrasound on Monday so be looking for more pictures!

Belly Shot #2 - Taken on Father's Day - Nearly 23 Weeks (5 1/2 Months)

school news

in just over 30 minutes, this school year will officially be over. i thought i was done teaching on tuesesday, but got an e-mail wednesday morning saying that we would be teaching at my second school yesterday, which we should have had to close down our programs (contractual from the district). needless to say i was more than slightly miffed. i went in yesterday morning and, though it wasn't my intent, expressed my frustrations to the a.p. she in turn talked with the principal and a very nice, professional e-mail went out to the staff explaining the differences between classroom teachers and specialists in job duties and requirements and also complimenting the specialists for our professional manner of handling the whole situation.

i found out this week that for the first time in my career (this was my fifth year of teaching), i will NOT have any new schools next year. i will be returning to bryant, my main school with an extra day a week - bringing my time here up to four days/week - and for the fifth day, i'll be returning to the school where i was two years ago. that school is a mere 6 blocks from home. it will be nice. the staff is fabulous, the kids are wonderful, and the main music teacher and i get along very well. cohorts in crime of sorts. it will be a good situation all around. i'm looking forward to it, that's for sure.

my plan for the summer is to not set foot in my classroom until august when i come in to set up. i should be able to walk out of here this afternoon and be good for the next two months or so.

here's something scary: i realized last night that i am five weeks from the end of my second trimester. it has flown! i can't believe it!!!!!

End of the year and progress

Three more classes and I'm done teaching for the year! Yay! School is out on Friday and I have tomorrow to clean up/do inventory at my main school and Thursday to do the same at my second school. Friday is the awards assembly, which means it's not really a school day. The kids have been really helpful in the cleaning of my room. I've had so many kids in here willingly helping out. It's wonderful. A lot has been done already. That will make tomorrow easier on me, which is a good thing. I'll be able to take breaks as needed and still get everything done. I don't want to have to come back next week to finish up anything. I want to be able to fully enjoy my summer this year since it will be the last one without kids.

I'm excited for the summer. In two weeks Jeffy and I leave for a wedding in Iowa. We were going to drive but my OB just laughed when I told him that. Instead we are flying to Chicago, then driving from there to Iowa City - it's only 4 hours. We're staying with family friends in Chicago for a couple of days on either side of the wedding and driving down with most of the rest of the bridesmaids (I'm also a bridesmaid.)

Also in two weeks, I have my next ultrasound to check any progress on my cervix. Hopefully it's thickened up a little bit since last time. My mom will be in town and is going with me. Do you think she's excited about this? (Don't think too hard...) She'll also be going with me to my monthly OB appointment that same afternoon. Bob has been getting much stronger lately, judging by the kicks I've been getting. Some of them feel like pops...and they are lower down so they really aren't comfortable. Ah, well. I'm still enjoying it. Every kick, every movement reminds me that she's nice and strong and healthy. All good things. :-) Things are continuing to go well.

On Sunday we went and registered at Babies 'R' Us. Spent an hour there and still didn't get done. I have some questions I need to ask people before we register for some things. We got the bedding set picked out, the exercise station, lots of little things for the diaper bag (and we picked out that too), books, a changing pad, etc. (Kristen, I'm going to be calling you to ask about some things and whether you used them or not and what you'd recommend.)

Jeffy was so funny when I mentioned going and registering on Sunday morning. He curled up into a ball and put his arms covering his face, saying "I'm going invisible!" I laughed and told him that I guess that meant that I had control of the remote then. That got him un-invisible. It was fun. He got the scanning gun at B-R-U and even scanned some things that we will need but that I hadn't thought of. I'm glad he went with me.