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    20 months

    April 29th, 2010

    We’re in the 20’s now. I have a hard time grasping that in 4 months (4 MONTHS!!!) we’ll have a 2-year old on our hands. I don’t know about you, but the term Terrible Two’s sends shivvers down my back.

    G has an awesome sense of humor. This kid laughs (mostly at himself) any time he’s not in a pissy mood (which luckily is rare). I really, really can’t wait for him to start speaking in phrases I can understand. Maybe then I can laugh with him.

    He’s also become a huge book lover. He loves to sit in my lap and be read to. He’ll bring me 3-4 books at a time and just power through. He likes to bring books in the car too and sometimes won’t leave for school without one. He’s favorite these days is “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”.

    Weight: 22lb 6oz (no change since last month)

    Number of teeth: 15 (we got 2 more canines this month, and the last is about to poke out any day now too)

    Words: Holy cow this has been a crazy word month! He added at least 20 this month alone. Pretty soon I’m going to have to stop keeping track. G is also becoming an incredible mimic. He’s repeat a word after us all the time. Even if he doesn’t know what it means, he can repeat it. The one that stumped me a few weeks ago is repeating “Elephant”. That’s a lot of syllables for a short little dude.
    * shoe
    * fly (butterfly)
    * ducky
    * moonka
    * nuk (Nubsie)
    * muk (milk)
    * beca-boo (peekaboo)
    * cup
    * foggie (Froggie)
    * cow
    * pug (pig)
    * owl
    * chuck (chick)
    * airpeen (airplane)
    * tuck (stuck)
    * bok (block)
    * book
    * pungin (penguin)
    * bugel (bagel)
    * stop
    * buckle
    * open

    Phrases & Sentences: +3
    * All done
    * Sit down
    * I got it

    Favorite food: Pot stickers. Big fan of Sushi Monster (our favorite sushi hangout) pot stickers. He gets a whole order all to himself, as this child easily inhales 6 of them in a sitting on his own.

    Favorite activity: Jumping. He’s trying to figure out how to jump. He can bounce one foot off the floor, but hasn’t yet figured out how to get both feet off the floor at the same time. He loves to jump though.

    My hopes for next month: That he gains some weight. Kid’s been at the low end of 22lbs for 2 months now.

    Potty trained?: HAHAHAHAHHA!

    Naughtiest moment of the month: Throwing objects at the TV & standing up on his trycicle. He’s lost a few toys this month to this behavior.

    Sweetest moment of the month: Backing up to my lap (seriously in dump-truck fashion) with a book in hand.

    Temper tantrum meter: mild


    Me: the advocate in my child’s health-care

    April 26th, 2010

    We’re taking G to meet my grandmother in Bulgaria this summer. And as luck would have it, Bulgaria is in the middle of a measles outbreak. Fun, right?

    G hasn’t had his MMR vaccine yet. It’s on our schedule for when he turns 2 (Happy Birthday, baby!).Unfortunately, our trip is planned before the shot. However, in light of the recent outbreak, and the fact that 2’s only 4 months away, I called the pedi’s office to ask if we can give him the shot early.

    I spoke with an on-call nurse (our pedi was on vacation), who said that Yes, we can give him the shot early, and Yes, as long as he gets it at least 2 weeks before the trip he should be “OK!”.

    However, during our call she also said that G also needs his DTaP shot, and would I like to schedule both for when I came in? Say whaaaat? This sounded fishy to me. G is up to date on all of his shots, and I’ve been diligent to check our vaccination schedule before each visit so that I knew what he was supposed to be getting. I agreed to the MMR only and asked to consult with G’s pedi before we gave him any additional shots.

    This is where things got strange.

    The pedi called back and confirmed that G had his last DTaP in Dec (as part of his Pentacel combo), so he’s good and that this booster should be given 6 months apart at this point. This made me a little perturbed at the nurse, who was looking at G’s record while we were talking and should’ve just done her math.

    However, the part that was strange is that even the pedi was only referring to G having 3 Pentacel administrations. I knew this was wrong! G’s been on track with all of his shots. So I came home today, and turned my filing cabinet upside down looking for proof. In the last print-out of his record, sure enough, it only reads 3 Pentacel doses. I compared the date of each vaccine to my notes. Everything matched… except for Feb 27th, when he had his 3rd Pentacel dose. I saw his Rototeq vaccine on the print-out from the office, but not his Pentacel.  The Rota is an oral vaccine. The Pentacel is a shot. I had even blogged that day about G being such an awesome kid and didn’t cry when he got his shot. That means he def. got his Pentacel. A few more papers later I found an older record print-out that lists BOTH the Pentacel and the Rota as administered on 2/27. Ha! My proof. I guess when he got his last Pentacel booster in Dec, the person who entered it in over-wrote the 3rd entry.

    So, lessons learned:

    1. Don’t let a medical provider talk me into doing something that feels wrong.

    2. Go into each vaccination appointment knowing what’s supposed to happen and not agree to anything more without pediatrician consultation. If S (or anyone else) takes the kids to an apt they are to be armed with the schedule and not accept any immunization not on the lsit.

    3. Keep a personal record of each shot.

    4. Keep a copy of each vaccination print-out from the office after each visit. This helps catch record-keeping inconsistencies on their part.

    I’m a little skeeved at the nurse, but I’m glad I know what’s going on and we can straighten this whole thing out. More than that G can thank me in that I spared him from another prick ;p


    Sleep update

    April 26th, 2010

    Since I whined about G’s latest sleep habits,  it’s only fair I follow-up with an update.

    Overall? Things are good. Not 100% back to normal, but a lot better than the clingy, cry-ie mess we had on our hands.

    The second night we had no tears. At all. He just stood up in his crib until story time was over. I kind of had to talk him into sitting down, and later lying down, but he got the program. It got progressively easier with each night since. We’re now down to 1 story, and 1 song. I sit in the glider until he snoozes, but I do so in silence. He occasionally pops up his head like a prairie dog to make sure I’m still there, but it’s working.

    The next step is to put him down, read, sing and just get up and walk away while he falls asleep on his own. We’ll get there soon enough though.


    10 weeks

    April 25th, 2010

    How far along: 10w
    Weight: me = 126.2
    Baby size: a little over 1″ long and weighs a little under 1/4oz
    Sleep: I’m already waking up nightly to pee once a night. With G this didn’t happen until the first trimester, which is making me wonder if come this third trimester I’ll spend more time sleeping while peeing than in my bed
    Movement: None yet
    Feeling: I had a cold last week. It normally wouldn’t se so bad, except that it came with a crappy caugh. Caughing lead to gaggin and gagging — well it decided to show off my breakfast.
    What I miss: Eating like a normal person. I’ve turned into an extremely finiky eater. One moment I want X, the next the idea of it makes me want to hurl.
    What I am looking forward to: Another baby u/s this week
    Milestone: As of today I’m off the progesterone suppositories. Hellz yeah!
    Weekly Wisdom: Bedtime by 9:30 nightly feels pretty darn good.
    Food cravings: None really
    Fetal development:
    The baby has now completed the most critical portion of its development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in its body rapidly grow and mature.

    It’s swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including its kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they’ll continue to develop throughout my pregnancy.

    If you could take a peek inside the womb, you’d spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

    In other developments: Its limbs can bend now. Its hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over its heart, and its feet may be long enough to meet in front of its body. The outline of its spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from its spinal cord. Its forehead temporarily bulges with its developing brain and sits very high on its head, which measures half the length of its body. From crown to rump, he’s about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, the baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.


    Foto Friday

    April 23rd, 2010

    Look! IKEA offers a hidden toddler option for their closet systems

    Apparently G can stack blocks only a toddler high

    Bert & Ernie…

    … the bane to a G’s Saturday

    Do you think the lions objected to the lion on G’s back?

    Makin’ like a prairie dog in a tunnel

    I gotta pump my own water? What kind of farm is this?

    Hello Goat! Please, don’t munch my finger while I offer you some imaginary food!

    Chucks! Chucks! Chucks! Over here, chucks!

    Eeee — how!


    First gender dream… and labor nightmare

    April 20th, 2010

    I had my second “labor” dream tonight. I should rather say nightmare because it was very unpleasant. With both of my labor dreams I ended up w/ another c-section. I don’t know if this is my subconscious speaking, but this last one was certainly not a c-section by choice. It was not good! I won’t go into the details (call it superstition), but let’s just say that this is not a birth option I’m considering. At least it had a happy ending and we took a healthy baby home.

    A healthy BOY baby might I add. I had my first gender dream around this time with G. While it was a lot more confusing (winged pet lions for Halloween, really?) it was right on. Let’s see if this dream will be correct too… or if I’ll have some other dreams to change my opinion.

    Anyway, back to sleep for me. Night, night!


    Sleep retraining… not fun

    April 19th, 2010

    Somewhere in the past few weeks while I’ve been licking my wounds in bed feeling icky, G in the room over decided to switch up his bed-time routine.

    S loves to snuggle with G. Who can blame him? G is so great to hold. However, my easy-to-put-down child, has become a holy terror. What used to be a 15 minute bed-time at best, is now taking an hour an a half. Our routine was simple: teeth-brushing, diaper, jammies, medicine, book, song, crib WHILE AWAKE, and I walk out of the room. G stares up at the ceiling, talks to his lovey and crashes out.

    NOW on the other hand? Teeth-brushing, diaper, jammies, medicine, book, book, sometimes ANOTHER book, song, rock and hold until he’s asleep to put down. And God have mercy on your soul if you try to put him down before he’s been asleep for at least 15 minutes, because then he wakes up and the screaming begins and you gotta start with the rocking and the holding all over again. Tiring? Yes! Irritating? Beyond belief.

    Last week S and I had a heart-to-heart. I couldn’t do this new routine with G. I have patience, but not an hour and a half’s worth of bed-time patience. S has been great, and has done it, but it can’t go on. We decided to wait, since G was teething, and we wanted to make sure that he wasn’t so clingy because he wasn’t feeling great.

    But the battle of wills began yesterday at nap-time. I put him down in his crib, layed down next to his crib on the floor and told him “Mommy is napping, and you nap too”. He proceeded to jump up and rock out the crib for about 30 minutes. Hi Go-Go-Gadget arms reached his (thankfully empty) humidifier and crashed it to the floor. I took all this in stride, ignored it all and pretended I kept on sleeping. After awhile of figuring out the party in his crib wasn’t going anywhere, he planted face first and crashed out. Ensue 2 hour nap.

    Tonight, more or less same deal. G got dressed, I put him in his crib, I pulled a chair over and began reading. He quickly caught on that he wasn’t getting the treatment he had gotten used to and immediately began protesting. He was pointing to our glider, cried, and kept saying “Up!”. Meanwhile, I kept reading. When our 3 books were up, I rubbed his back and sang. Meanwhile G continued crying. It was rough, but I wasn’t going anywhere and neither was he. He quieted down after awhile, while I again told him I loved him, while rubbing his back, but I wasn’t going to pick him up. So he plopped down, snuggled with Moonka and stared up at the ceiling. I stayed by his crib, singing, and he fell asleep. Then I walked out.

    Tomorrow we do the same thing with hopefully less of the crying. While not fun, tonight at least didn’t take an hour and a half.

    Wish me well! I want my old routine back!


    Movie Monday

    April 19th, 2010

    G is really liking his blocks these days. He’s managing to stack them up pretty darn high too. I love watching him finish what he set out to do. He applauds himself with pride. It’s pretty cute. What’s even cooler is how much he’s maturing. Three weeks ago if his top block tumbled he would crash the whole structure down. Now he’s more patient and tries again. The part that amazes me is how symmetrical he likes to keep things. Is it a little early to worry about OCD?

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMojPt6R8cY]

    ***

    Thanx to Becoming-Mom we decided to introduce G to his first at-bat baseball experience. Honestly for S and I that’s like the blind leading the blind, since we both suck/know little of major sports, but G had a good time. Bat, wooden dowel? What’s the difference? Toilet paper holder vs. t-ball set? Eh, it works just as well. Plus G is cackling and having a jolly old time.

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwIWdk6NSBI]

    ***

    Mom and Dad might not be much in the way of exercise these days, but G’s making it up for the 2 of us. Here’s the little man doing leg lifts. He’s amazingly strong. Have I mentioned that before? Kid is gonna have a six-pack by the time he’s 7.

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvP4UAUKgQc]


    9 weeks

    April 18th, 2010

    How far along: 9w
    Weight: me = 127.4
    Baby size: 1″ long (about the size of a grape)
    Sleep: Not bad. I had my first wake-up for no apparent reason at 3am last night. Just awake. And rested. Luckily Nickelodean and the Rugrats helped me out and put me back to sleep
    Gender: TBD for another 3 months or so
    Movement: Sometimes I think I feel something, but then at 9 weeks, it’s probably just gas.
    Feeling: MUUUUUUUUCH better. I’ve been off the Endometrin for about a week and a half now, and each day that I was off the meds I felt progressively better. I can’t say I’m 100% yet. Even with the Zofran I still feel sick from time to time, but I get a sick episode once, twice a day, as opposed to all day long. I can even get out of bed in the morning before 7, which feels miraculous.
    Either way, I feel like this child will be our drama queen for sure — it’s not afraid to let me know who’s boss and when it needs attention.
    What I miss: My energy. G and I both took a 2 hour nap in the car yesterday following an adventerous trip to the zoo.
    What I am looking forward to: more of less icky feeling
    Weekly Wisdom: Zoo trip on pregnancy nose? Not a good combo. STINKY!!!!
    Food cravings: Chocolate cake. I’m still controlling this one and I haven’t caved in yet, but I know my will-power can only last me so long.
    Fetal development:
    The kiddo is starting to look more and more human. It’s essential body parts are accounted for, though they’ll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: this week the baby’s heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do it’s tiny teeth. The embryonic “tail” is completely gone. No more tad-pole! It’s organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won’t be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. It’s eyes are fully formed, but the eyelids are fused shut and won’t open until 27 weeks. It has tiny earlobes, and it’s mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that the baby’s basic physiology is in place, it’s poised for rapid weight gain, as I guess am I :-/

    Here’s a real snap-shot of the monkey. This was taken on Tuesday at my last ultrasound. I have also now been released from RE care and can officially call myself a “normal” pregnant lady. I have my first pre-natal appointment with my regular OB in a few weeks.

    If you’re curious, the kiddo’s lying sideways with the head on the right and it’s little let nubbins on the left.

    Last, but not least, here’s a shot of my belly — it’s starting to peak out for sure.


    Artwork Day

    April 14th, 2010

    03.10.2010

    03.19.2010

    03.25.2010

    03.26.2010