Scary Moments for Any Mother-to-be

I know it has been a while since I have written anything, but this past month and a half has been by far the scariest time of my life. 

During the first two trimesters of pregnancy, some of the standard blood tests include a two part genetics test.  This test will let you know if your baby has an increased risk for common genetic defects.  About a week after I had finished the second part of the test, I received a call from my doctor’s office asking me to come in later that day to go over the results.  I begged her to give me more information on the phone, but she said the doctor would speak with me about it when I got there.  After I got off the phone I had three hours before I was due in at their office.

Three hours!  Three long hours of fear, crying, and complete and utter panic.  So, I did what any woman would do who is married to their best friend.  I called my husband at work.  Bless his heart!  Not only did he manage to calm me down slightly, but he also came rushing home from work so he could be with me at the appointment.  I don’t know what I would have done without him.

When the doctor told us the news, it felt like my heart stopped.  My test results came back with an increased risk for Down’s syndrome.  I could feel the tears running down my face, feel my husband squeezing my hand, see the lips of the doctor moving, but couldn’t hear what was being said.  I held my hand up and just focused on trying to breathe.  A few minutes later I had my breathing under control, though the tears wouldn’t stop coming.  I asked what the next step was.  The doctor explained that I would have to see a specialist for further testing in addition to seeing him for my pregnancy checkups.  We discussed the various tests that might be done and what they would do at the appointment.  As we were getting up to leave, the doctor stopped me and said she didn’t think I had anything to worry about.  I asked how she could be sure.  She said she couldn’t be, but that typically babies that have Down’s syndrome have slow, almost lazy movements during an ultrasound, not the fast movements that my baby has been doing.  I squeezed her arm and informed her that if she would have started the appointment with that tidbit of information it might have gone a little bit better.

Anyways, once home I started doing research.  I am the type of person that likes to be prepared for everything.  As I always say, prepare for the worst, that way when it doesn’t happen you are pleasantly surprised.  But if the worst does happen, you will at least have a plan of action instead of being frozen in the moment unsure of what to do.

By the time the appointment with the specialist came around a week later I felt fairly confident with the information we had learned.  At least confident enough to feel I wouldn’t be blindsided by anything.  First step was to see a nurse to give more blood and go over our family history.  Then we had to meet with a genetic counselor to go over what Down’s syndrome is and what our options were for testing further.  Next, we had a detailed ultrasound to measure the baby and get a firm idea of the due date.  This was by far our favorite part.  The baby was moving all over the place!  The tech even said she couldn’t keep up with the baby to get an accurate measurement.  Last, we met with the doctor to go over everything.  By the time we were in the room with him I was feeling much better since the baby had been VERY active during the ultrasound (which is the opposite of a baby with Down’s syndrome).  However, he had a different curve ball waiting for me.

He said that since my blood pressure was elevated during the delivery of my previous child (only 17 months ago) and since it became elevated at the beginning of this pregnancy, that he wanted me to go to the hospital for an EKG and echocardiogram.  Also, he wanted me to do a 24 hour pee test and submit that to the hospital as well so he could check my kidneys.

Wow, okay.  That came out of left field.  So we saw the nurse again to schedule the appointment with the hospital.  She hands me what looks like a small gas can and a white bucket thingy you’re supposed to put in the toilet (but if you turn it upside down it looks like one of those old school nun hats with the big flaps).  Next she hands me the order for the tests with the appointment time.  In the line for diagnosis is written Chronic HTN.  I asked the nurse about it, wondering if it shouldn’t be Gestational HTN (high blood pressure during pregnancy) instead of chronic.  She said since I had it before with the delivery of my daughter that it shows a trend which makes it chronic.  Umm, ok.

Off we go.  I collect my pee for a full 24 hours (so not fun when you have to go every 20 minutes) then to the hospital I go for the testing.  The echocardiogram was neat.  Its basically an ultrasound of your heart.  Afterwards I asked the nurse if everything looked okay.  She reluctantly told me that everything looked picture perfect and I had nothing to worry about (they aren’t supposed to tell you anything, hence the reluctance).  Also, the EKG showed perfect rhythm in all chambers.  Yay!

A week and a half later I got a voicemail from the specialist’s office asking me to call them so we could go over the genetic test results.  Of course, I didn’t get the voicemail until after they were closed, so I had to wait until morning to call them back.  I told my husband about it and we were careful to put it out of our minds and avoid that topic of conversation for the rest of the night.  It wasn’t easy, but I managed to get some sleep that night.

I called their office first thing in the morning and was told that the test came back negative!  No extra chromosomes or signs of any genetic abnormalities of any kind.  Oh, and by the way the baby is definitively a girl!  It felt like I could breathe again for the first time in a month and a half!  It was such good news!  I started crying again (yay hormones!) but this time they were happy tears.

So, now that I have good news to share and hopefully no more worries with this pregnancy, you can expect to be hearing from me more often.

Recipe: Cheater's Lasagna

I have been craving lasagna like crazy lately!  Unfortunately, this pregnancy (and my toddler) are both kicking my butt causing me to feel tired all the time.  Needless to say, spending 4 hours making my lasagna is not high on my to do list. 

So, for dinner tonight, on a whim I threw some things together and bam!  Craving satisfied.  It was so good my hubby asked me to put it on my list of things I regularly make.  If that wasn't enough to boost my ego, my toddler couldn't get enough of it.  You can tell when she really likes something if as the fork is coming towards her mouth she opens as wide as she can, then chews her mouthful with a big grin.

Well, here is the recipe I came up with.  Hopefully it is as big of a hit with your family as it was with mine.  Wish I would have taken a before picture, but I will add one later the next time I make it.

Cheater's Lasagna

Prep time: 10 minutes     Cook time: 25 - 30 minutes

Ingredients for 2-ish servings:
1/2 jar 100% Natural Prego Tomato, Onion and Garlic Sauce (at room temperature)
25 frozen raviolis (I use Mona's 5 Cheese Ravioli, yum!)
4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

You will also need a 1.5 quart casserole dish (if making more than 2-ish servings go bigger) and a spoon or spatula with holes in it.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook ravioli according to package directions. Do not drain!
3. Spoon a small amount of sauce on the bottom of your casserole dish, just enough to thinly cover the bottom.
4. When the ravioli is finished cooking, remove from heat. 
5. Take your spoon or spatula with holes in it and carefully pull them out one at a time, allowing water to drain from the spoon/spatula.  (Yes, it is more time consuming to do it this way, but if you drain the water not only do you run the risk of hurting the raviolis, but they also tend to stick together if left to sit for too long.)  Do this until you have a single layer of ravioli on the bottom of your casserole dish.
6. Spoon a small amount of sauce over each ravioli.
7. Lightly sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the pasta (lightly, you will want to save the majority of it for the top).
8. Repeat steps 5 through 7 until you have used up all the ravioli (I got about 3 layers).
9. Once all the ravioli are used, spoon a generous amount of sauce over each ravioli.
10. Use the remaining mozzarella cheese on the top (I had about 2 oz left so I had a nice layer of cheesy goodness on top).
11. Last, sprinkle your parmesan cheese on the mozzarella.
12. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes.  You will know it is done when the sauce starts bubbling along the edges.

Lastly, enjoy! 

Annabelle is Walking!!!!

We were in the living room playing with our dog, Peanut.  Annabelle crawled over to the doggy gate by the kitchen.  Then she stood up, without the help of the gate or the wall.  She looked at me with a smile on her face, then took that first wobbly step.  Then another.  And another.  She made it all the way to the couch by herself!  Sure it was only 6 or 7 feet, but that's a mile in baby steps!  When she got to the couch, she started squealing and jumping up and down.  She was so proud of herself!  Of course, I was right there with her doing my own version of a happy dance.  I scooped her up in my arms, gave her a great big hug, and told her what a great job she did.  What does she do?  She starts doing laps around the couch. 

Life as I knew it is now over.

Unfortunately her favorite place to walk is on the tile instead of the nice cushy carpet we have in the living room.  My heart stops everytime she stumbles.  But she gets right back up and keeps on waddling.  She's so cute!

Just wanted to share it with everyone.  Thank you for indulging my "proud mommy" moment!  :-)

Prunes! Prunes! The Magical Fruit...

I recently came across a mom of a 5 month old boy who needed some advice.  She recently started making the transition to solid foods with the introduction of rice cereal.  However, she noticed that he started having trouble making a bowel movement.  Her pediatrician recommended mixing water with white grape juice.  She tried this, but it didn't seem to be working.  It had been almost 10 days since his last bowel movement when she contacted me.

I had the same issue with my daughter when we started feeding her oatmeal.  Being the paranoid first time mother that I was, I contacted my pediatrician the first time I noticed a struggle.  He said to give her some baby prunes with her oatmeal and it would help move things along.

After some trial and error trying to find the right amount, it worked like a charm.  Each morning we would put 8 baby spoonfuls of prunes (the first generation baby food kind) in with her oatmeal and formula.  By the afternoon, she would poop.  It was wonderful!  After she started having regular bowel movements, we started weaning her off the prunes.  If she started having an issue again, we just reintroduced them until she became regular again.

A word of advice though.  Never ever EVER give an entire jar of prunes at a feeding.  It causes a nuclear blowout.  Not kidding!  We're talking out the diaper, up the front and up the back almost up to the neck!  Ewwwww!!!

Well, I told this story to the mom in question and she proceeded to give some prunes to her son with dinner that night.  By morning he had pooped.  She sent me a very emotional email thanking me profusely for the advice.  I wrote her back, reminding her to let her pediatrician know what she had done and how well it worked, that way her doctor was in the loop with what transpired. 

Prunes, prunes, the magical fruit.  The more you eat, the more you poop!  :-)

If you have a question or need some advice on anything baby related, or relationship related, please contact me.  I am more than happy to help.

An Unforgettable Easter

My Mom hosted Easter this year. She went above and beyond and did such a wonderful job!  The food was AMAZING (and gone in the blink of an eye).  It was soooo good Annabelle even ate my mom's famous german potato salad (and ham, mac n' cheese, green bean casserole...she's such a good eater)! 

It is always so nice to get the family together.  But this year, we had all of my Dad's family together, including his brother from Chicago and his brother from North Carolina!  We couldn't believe it!  It was the first time all of the 'kids' were together since we don't know when.  My Grandmother was especially excited to have them all together for the holiday.

This was also a chance for us to celebrate my brother and his fiance.  They are soon moving to Iowa, and though I know we will see them again, it may be awhile before we can get everyone together.  As a parting gift I gave them a Florida box.  It was a wooden box filled with post cards, some sand from the beach, a few palm fronds, some t-shirts, refrigerator magnets, etc. all things Florida. This way, on those cold winter nights they will be able to have some 'warmth' to look back on.

Thanks to my wonderful and insanely talented future sister in law Elizabeth, we are able to cherish the memories of this Easter forever.  I won't be posting any of the group photos (though I know they will be blown up, framed, and hung in each member of the family's house) but I will post some of the amazing pictures she took of our Annabelle.  Elizabeth not only took these great photos, but she also edited them before sending them to me.  Like I said, she is insanely talented.  Keep up the good work!

Happy Easter everyone!  I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

One of the few times she left her bunny ears on long enough for a picture!

 I love, love, LOVE the editing work on this one!!!

Our happy family.



Not sure if that look is because my brother is holding her or she's getting tired of not being able to play with the camera, lol.


My brother, Adam

 

And a closeup, drool included! Yay teething!

 

Mama Saw the Doctor and the Doctor Said...

No more monkeys jumping on the bed!  Sorry, its my toddlers new favorite song.  On to the real advice...

When I went to the doc's office for my appointment, I had a list of things I wanted to discuss.  At the top of the list were allergies, insomnia, and constipation.  He reiterated what the nurse had told me on the phone, that I should take Claritin every day for my allergies.  "But be sure to take it in the morning, otherwise you will be up all night."  Oh...my....god....  Talk about a slap to the forehead!  I just sat there for a good minute with my jaw on the floor.  "You've been taking it in the afternoon haven't you?"  I just nodded my head.  He chuckled, yes chuckled, and then kindly said "don't do that anymore."  You would think I would have figured out that taking the NON-DROWSY allergy medicine in the afternoon was giving me insomnia.  But apparently I was having a blonde moment week.

So, I composed myself and quickly crossed allergies and insomnia off the list.  On to constipation.  I am to continue to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, and if it gets really bad I am to take a Colace to help move things along.  The key is to take something that softens everything and makes it easier to go.  Not something that forces you to go.  He also recommended eating an Activia once a day.  Another slap to the forehead.  This guy is brilliant!  Activia is awesome, filled with probiotics, and it tastes pretty good too.  So far its working like a charm.  I crossed constipation off the list.

I then moved on to the meat cravings and morning sickness that lasts all day.  When I brought up the meat cravings the first words out of his mouth was that it does not necessarily indicate that the baby will be a boy.  I guess he gets asked that a lot.  I wasn't so much concerned about that as I was that maybe I was having a protein deficiency, but if that was the case then I was confused about the aversion to eggs.  He asked if I was feeling naseous during the day.  Yep, all day.  He said eat all the meat I want to, but eat smaller portions.  If I have to have a burger, split it with my husband and eat only half of it.  For steak, same thing.  Do this and avoid all sweets and the cravings for meat should die down and the morning sickness should go away.  Let me tell you, it worked like a charm!  After following this advice for a week I'm finally craving salads and veggies again.  The only time I feel ill is if I eat too much.

I love this doctor!  He's soooooo much better than my last one.  I left the office feeling that all my questions had been answered and looking forward to the next appointment instead of insanely stressed out and dejected.  Did I mention I love this doctor?  So glad I switched.

Allergies, Constipation, and Morning Sickness, Oh My!

I am so sorry for the delay between posts.  This pregnancy is kicking my butt! 

When I wake up in the morning I struggle to get out of my nice comfy bed, but usually my bladder won't let me lay there for long.  I'm so tired all the time!  My toddler is hating it, but I try to keep her occupied with flash cards, books, music, and a little bit of floor time.  She's getting better at walking, but still prefers crawling to get around.

On top of all that, my allergies are going insane!  Just to give you an idea, I went through four boxes of tissues in two days.  My face was swollen, my sinuses were throbbing, and I kept blowing my nose anyway trying to prevent any of it from draining down into my chest.  Those of you with allergies know once that happens it opens up a whole new level of yuckiness.  I was so miserable that I called my doctor's office and asked if there was anything I could do.  They recommended I go back on my Claritin.  I argued, saying I thought you weren't supposed to take anything in your first trimester.  To this they said all the sneezing and blowing my nose and not breathing properly were denying both me and the baby the oxygen we required oh so much and that it would be better to go back on the medication I was used to (and is also on the approved list for pregnant women) than to continue fighting it on my own and possibly harm the baby.  Good enough for me.  After a week my symptoms finally started dying down.  The upside to this is my toddler now imitates blowing her nose whenever I do.  Its hilarious!

When it comes to food, this time around is completely different.  My last pregnancy, I couldn't stand the smell or sight of meat.  It would immediately turn my stomach.  This time, however, I can't get enough of it!  I thought maybe it was just my body screaming for me to eat protein, but whenever I try to eat eggs (excellent source of protein) I get sick to my stomach.  So much so that whenever I smell them I feel ill.  Oh goody.  Peanut butter is okay, but it just doesn't do it for me the way a burger or sausage or meatloaf (uh oh, getting hungry) does.

I try to drink as much water as possible to help with the constipation, but so far no dice.  Its so uncomfortable!  I will be asking the doc what he recommends to help with this.  The obvious fruit and lots of water come to mind, but I'm so nervous about eating fresh fruit when I'm pregnant.  My last pregnancy I was in love with cantaloupe.  I ate it almost every day!  Then they had a big contamination scare and I was terrified to eat it anymore.  Food poisoning and pregnancy do not mix!!!

I have my first doc appointment on Wednesday.  Don't worry, I will share his words of advice for me with all of you.  Until then...

For the Hubbys - Hormonal Mood Swings and How to Deal With Them

Well Hubbys, I've got some good news for you, and some bad.  The good news is your wife is pregnant and you are going to have a new addition to your family.  The bad news, your wife is going through her own version of hell and might take some of it out on you.  Yep, you guessed it, hormonal mood swings.

Hormones are a fascinating thing.  They can make our boobs bigger (big plus for you guys), can make us more loving, but can also turn us into that chick from The Exorcist with projectile vomiting, head spinning, and fire shooting out of our eyes (only a slight exaggeration).  Now if you are one of the rare few that have a phenomenal wife who can handle hormone changes like a pro, count yourself lucky.  In fact, go buy a lottery ticket.  But if you aren't, then I am here to help you.

During my pregnancy, and for a few months after, my hormones and emotions were all over the place.  This was the hardest time for both me and my husband and put quite a strain on our marriage.  After LOTS of loooooooooong talks (and yelling, and crying, and more yelling and crying) we eventually worked it out.  But I want to share my wisdom with you and hopefully prevent you from making the same mistakes we did.

I have put together a short quiz to see how you will rate in dealing with the hormonal blow outs that may occur.  Choose the answer that best describes what you would do and keep track of them.  At the end, see how you did.  Will you be a champion at supporting your wife and have her bragging to all her friends about how wonderful you are?  Let's find out.

Mood Swing Scenario Quiz

1.  You're watching TV together and a commercial comes on for baby lotion.  You look over at your wife and notice she's crying.  Do you:
A. Start laughing hysterically.
B. Sit there uncomfortably in silence, unsure of what to do.
C. Hand her a box of tissues and say "I can't wait either.  You are going to be a fantastic mother."

2.  You're talking together when all of a sudden your wife gets quiet.  You ask her what's wrong and she says she thinks she's having a hormonal moment because she took offense to something you said but doesn't think you meant anything by it.  Do you:
A. Immediately start arguing with her for being upset when you didn't do anything wrong.
B. Just sit there uncomfortably in silence.
C. Calmly reassure her that you weren't trying to offend her and ask if there is anything you can do to help.

3.  You walk into the bedroom to find your wife sitting on the bed crying, holding her wedding rings in her hand.  You ask her what's wrong and she says her rings don't fit anymore and she feels like a fat cow.  Do you:
A. Start laughing hysterically and tell her she's being stupid, it's just water weight from the pregnancy.
B. Sit next to her and say nothing.
C. Kneel on the floor in front of her and tell her she is as beautiful as the day you got married, and suggest putting the rings on a necklace so she can still wear them.

4.  You're eating breakfast when your wife suddenly goes running for the bathroom to throw up.  Do you:
A. Slam your fork down and say thanks for ruining my appetite!
B. Sit there frozen, trying to block out the sound of her vomiting.
C. Go running after her to help hold her hair back.

5.  Your wife just got done cleaning the kitchen and asks you to take out the garbage.  You are watching TV and say sure thing, but decide to wait until a commercial comes on.  Twenty minutes later, you hear the lid to the garbage can slam to the floor and realize you had forgotten all about it.  You listen as she tears the bag from the can and goes storming outside, slamming the door on her way out.  When she comes back in do you:
A. Immediately start arguing with her, saying you were going to do it after the show was over.
B. Just sit there, unsure of what to do.
C. Go to her and apologize for forgetting about the trash.  Tell her the kitchen looks great and ask if there is anything you can do to help her.

Results

If your answers were mostly A's, you failed miserably.  If you don't learn some patience and grow a thicker skin then it is going to be a VERY long nine months (or more) for you.  Try to be more supportive of your wife and keep in mind that this is a hard time for her and she's relying on you to help her through it.

If your answers were mostly B's, you need a kick in the butt.  While doing nothing may seem like a good idea, it can often backfire on you.  Instead of trying to ignore the situation, try to comfort your wife in any way you can.  Ask her if there is anything you can do to help her as often as you can.  This may help avoid some of these scenarios in the future.

If your answers were mostly C's, congratulations!  You are the husband that wives love to brag about to their family and friends.  Keep up the good work!

No matter what your results were, just remember, this is temporary (though it may seem like it will never end).  You don't want to say or do anything that may cause irreparable harm to your marriage.  This is supposed to be a happy time, for both of you.  Enjoy it!  Soon you will have a new baby that will change your lives forever.  Don't waste these few months you have left by arguing all the time.  If you go the extra mile to make your wife happy trust me, she will appreciate it immensely!

I hope you have found this helpful.  Good luck!

Insomnia and FUNNY Commercial

They say every pregnancy is different, and boy did they hit the nail on the head with that one!  My nausea finally started going away, only to be replaced with insomnia.  It doesn't matter how tired I am, as soon as I hit the pillows I am wide awake.  Yay fun fun!

Needless to say I have been catching up on some tv shows on demand.  I came across this hilarious tv commercial for Luvs diapers that had me laughing hysterically and running for the bathroom so I wouldn't have an accident.  If you are a mom and have breastfed, you'll get the joke.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Surprise!

Sorry for the gap in between posts.  For the past week I've been feeling under the weather.  This has been made doubly difficult because my 14 month old doesn't understand why I'm not laughing and crawling around on the floor with her like I usually do during playtime.  Instead I feel tired all the time, really nauseous every time I eat something, and running for the bathroom more times than I want to admit.  Doesn't really make for a fun playmate for a toddler now does it?

I finally broke down and took a pregnancy test.  Then proceeded to do a happy dance in my bathroom.  Yep, that's right, I'm pregnant!  I'm super excited, and scared to death all at the same time.  Yay hormones!

Keeping up with my toddler is a full time job.  It will be interesting to see how well I can manage keeping her happy and entertained without burning myself out.  The hardest part, and my biggest worry, is picking her up.  Sure its not a problem now, but once the belly comes and I'm carrying more weight in my front, I'm worried that I may hurt my back by trying to handle the weight of a toddler AND a belly (and super heavy boobs, my goodness they are huge already!).  It hurts just thinking about it.

So, in the weeks to come you can expect to see posts on pregnancy tips as I brush up on my research.  My two staples are babycenter.com and What To Expect When You're Expecting.  They are invaluable resources when it comes to pregnancy.  Though I will offer a word of advice about the book.  Make sure you read it with a thick skin.  It is a guideline and does not mean that everything in it will happen during your pregnancy.  But it does try to prepare you for the good and the bad and everything in between that may or may not happen to you.  That's why after reading a section on my current stage of pregnancy I would immediately go to babycenter.com to read what they had to say.  It helped alleviate a LOT of stress.

So, off I go to brush up on foods to stay away from during pregnancy.  Its one of the hardest parts of pregnancy for me as I LOVE food!  Until next time...

Teething Signs, Tips, and Tricks

Most babies start getting their teeth between 4 and 7 months old.  The tricky part is identifying the signs of teething which can show up long before their first tooth.  This is a rough time for both you and your child.  But trust me, it will be over before you know it.  When those pearly whites finally do come in it will be well worth the struggle.

 

This is her "teeth" smile on her first birthday, ten teeth already!



Signs of teething can vary, but the most common are: increased drool, red swollen gums, chewing on fingers a LOT, runny nose (usually molars and top teeth), increased irritability, and waking up several times during the night.  Some of the more serious and less common symptoms can include diarrhea, vomiting, and fever.  If your baby has any of these more serious symptoms, contact your pediatrician for steps to take to prevent dehydration.

There are lots of things you can do to ease their pain during the day.  Teething rings are always a good choice (you can make them even more enjoyable by keeping them in the fridge so they are nice and cold).  If your baby is eating solids, some cold baby fruit or baby yogurt works well too.  This was one of my favorites.  I would keep jars of baby food fruits in the fridge.  Apples, bananas, blueberry apple, any fruit.  On days when she was super fussy, I would feed her a jar of the cold fruit and it usually did the trick to soothe her gums.  Another great tip is to use a wet washcloth.  Get a CLEAN washcloth, run it under cold water (or put a damp one in the fridge to get it nice and cold), then give to your baby to chomp on.  This does wonders to help relieve the pain in their sore gums.

At night however the only thing that worked for me was to give her baby Motrin an hour before bedtime (I didn't resort to this until two weeks of no sleep, then I finally gave in). If she woke up during the night it was only when the Motrin wore off. Another dose and a few spoonfuls of COLD banana baby food (cold helps soothe their gums and the food helps prevent an upset tummy), then some rocking and humming and back to sleep in 20 minutes. Now, when the tooth/teeth start to break through (my daughter got her first 8 at the same time) your baby will give a shriek that will make your heart stop (at least mine did). After doing an Olympic style jump over the baby gate and running at the speed of light (slight exaggeration) I scooped her up and saw the beginning of teeth poking through.  So I grabbed a CLEAN washcloth, ran it under cold water and let her chew on it to soothe her gums. She eventually calmed down and went back to sleep.  It took ME over an hour to calm down and get the sound of her shriek to stop ringing in my head.

I hope this was helpful to you.  If you have a funny teething story that you would like to share, please do so!

Labor to Delivery: My Story

Every woman has their own unique story about the birth of their child.  For some lucky women, the process goes fairly quickly.  I am not one of those women.  I was admitted to the hospital on a Friday night, and finally had a c-section that Sunday morning.  Luckily, I managed to take down some notes during the process so that I could remember what happened and how I felt.  This is my story.

December 16, 2011

10:30 am

I’ve been having some contractions this morning.  I'm pretty sure that's what they are anyway.  They are different than the ones I have feltin the past.  It starts with a tinglingin my sides.  Then my whole belly doesthis involuntary suck in thing (like when you suck in trying to fit into a pairof jeans that are just a size too small).  Then everything relaxes after a little bit.  So far they are sporadic.  But I'm writing down the times so I can keeptrack.  They don't hurt, they are justweird.  It could be something. It couldbe nothing.  Could just be gas for all Iknow.  Will see what happens.

Since my doctor is out of town this week, with my luck I'm probably going into labor.  Just perfect.  So instead of the doctor that I have grown to trust over nine months, I will get his substitute doctor whom I have never met.  Okay, that thought caused my stress level to skyrocket, so we'll switch over to happy thoughts....and ice cream.  :-)

2:30 pm

Well, the contractions are starting to last longer and arebecoming more intense.  They don’t reallyhurt if I’m sitting down, but if I’m walking they are a little painful.  I called my doctor’s office to see what theysuggest I do.  Their rule of thumb fromthe beginning has always been when contractions are five minutes apart for anhour, then its time to go to the hospital. Okay, so mine are ten minutes apart. If they are going to have to let a different doctor know, maybe theywill want some time for a heads up. Unfortunately, when I called my doctor's office, it just rang and rang.  No voicemail or answering service pickedup.  So, I called my doctor’s cellphone.  It went straight tovoicemail.  I left a brief messagedescribing the contractions, that they were ten minutes apart and becoming moreintense, and asked him to call me back with instructions with what to do sinceno one at his office was answering the phones. Not knowing what else to do, I looked up the doctor who is filling infor mine while he is gone and found his office number.  Yep, that's right, they didn't even give me his number.  Customer service at its finest!

His office picked up after only two rings.  I spoke with a very nice young woman namedClaudia.  When I was done describing whatwas going on with me, she only had one thing to say: “Hang up the phone and goto the hospital, RIGHT NOW!”  I told herwhich hospital and gave her my cell phone number and promised to meet thedoctor there.  Next I called my mom andtold her that we were heading for the hospital. She said she already had her bag packed and was leaving shortly.

We were all set to go.  My husband was putting my bag in the truck as I was taking a last look at our home.  That's when the panic set in.  Am I ready for this?  Will I be a good mother?  What if something happens?  Who the hell is this doctor anyway?  What if he isn't any good?  What am I going to do?  All these questions were racing through my mind.  I was standing in the dining room, holding onto a chair, frozen.  My husband wrapped his arms around me, and said exactly what I needed to hear.  Everything is going to be okay, just breathe.  Yeah, just breathe.  I can do that.

5 pm

We arrived at the hospital a little after 5pm.  I had just gotten out of my truck when my mompulled up.  What excellent timing!  Together, we all went to triage and signed mein.  They took me back and hooked me upto a fetal monitor to monitor my contractions and the baby’s movements.  The nurse did a vaginal exam.  She said I wasn’t dilated at all, but shewanted to see what the fetal monitor showed. Only one person was allowed back with me, so Eddie and Mom took turnssitting with me.   A little over an hour later, they admittedme, though not because they thought I was in full out labor.  The nurse said she wanted to send me home, but was worried about my blood pressure being so high.  Um, ok???  According to the fetal monitor, mycontractions were two to four minutes apart. And they were going to send me home?  I don't think so.  I told the nurse I would rather stay in case something happened.  She agreed and the process began.  Woo hoo! 

We all make the tripupstairs to my new room and get settled in. They again hook me up to a fetal monitor and we wait.  The hardest thing about pregnancy is that you are always waiting!  We waited nine long months for this.  And now that its toward the end, each hour seems like a week.  Impatient?  Me?  Nah....okay maybe a little.

A fewhours later, they do another vaginal exam, but I’m still not dilated atall.  The contractions aren't that painful, but they decide to give me someAmbien to help me sleep and they would check me again in the morning.  With this decided, mom heads for home, andEddie sets up the couch in our hospital room to sleep for the night.  The worst part of the whole thing wastrying to get up to go to the bathroom. I’d have to scramble out of bed, unhook my tubes from the fetal monitor,and carry my IV rack thingy into the bathroom, all so I can go pee.  Now imagine trying to do this while under theinfluence of a sleeping pill.  Oh yeah,it was tons of fun!  I couldn’t waituntil morning.

But the best part was being able to fall asleep to the soundof Annabelle’s heart beat coming from the fetal monitor.  It was amazing!  Looking back, I should have recorded it.  I LOVE that sound!

 

December 17, 2011

Saturday morning comes and I was impatiently waiting for thevaginal exam, hoping that some progress had been made during the night.  But, alas, still not dilated.  So they tell me no more food or drinks otherthan water, and they hook me up to IV fluids and Pitocin to try to force thelabor to progress.  After a few hours onthe Pitocin, the contractions became non-stop and boy were they powerful.  It just made the whole process of getting upto go to the bathroom that much more fun. Unfortunately, with them pumping me full of IV fluids, by the time I gotback into bed from the bathroom, I had to pee again.  During one of the times that the nurses camein to check on my vitals, she commented on the contraction readings and askedhow I was doing.  I said I was hanging inthere, but wished that the contraction I had been having for the last fifteenminutes would end.  She took pity on meand offered me some Demerol (spelling?) to help me deal with the pain.  Thinking ahead, she also gave me something toprevent nausea, the main side effect of the pain meds.  It does not take long at all for that stuffto kick in.  Pain?  What pain? All I felt was happy, giddy, silly, and of course, the urge to pee.  Usually receiving pain medication will slowdown the contractions that are associated with labor.  Well, according to the fetal monitor theywere still coming in one right after the other, I just wasn’t feeling any ofthem.  Yay!

 

Towards the end of the day, they performed another vaginalexam, and still I was not dilated at all. They said my cervix felt a little looser, but only a teeny tiny littlebit.  So they take me off the Pitocin anddecide to insert something vaginally that will release a drug during the nightthat will hopefully loosen my cervix so that when they hook me back up toPitocin again the next day it will be more effective.  Oh goody, I get to do this againtomorrow.  But, with the Pitocin beingdisconnected, I was finally able to eat some real food.  Off to the cafeteria we go.  I haven’t had solid food since lunch theprevious day, and boy were my eyes bigger than my stomach.  But I didn’t care.  So, I thoroughly enjoyed my plate of chickentenders, french fries, grilled cheese sandwich, and broccoli cheese bites.  Hey, it seemed like a good idea at thetime.  I couldn’t even eat half of whatwas on my plate.  By the time I made itback up to my room I was so exhausted that I instantly went to sleep.

The next time I woke up, I was told the doc would be comingto my room to talk to me.  He did anothervaginal exam, again commenting on how far back my cervix was lying (the nursesthat had been doing my pelvic exams had trouble finding it because it was sofar back).  He felt around it and saidthat he could feel quite a bit of scar tissue and asked if I had had anysurgeries.  I told him yes, three totalabout ten years ago, all within the same year: two cryo surgeries where theyfreeze your cervix and one leep surgery where they use electricity to burn awaya layer of the cervix.  This was doneto prevent infection after I had an ovarian cyst the size of a golf ball burst on me.  This apparently was behind the mystery of mylabor not progressing properly.  Thedoctor explained that all of this scar tissue was holding the cervix closed andpreventing me from dilating.  He stillwanted to try the insertion of the drug overnight to see if it would helploosen things any.  But he said if itdidn’t work well enough, rather than doing another day of Pitocin he wouldrather see me get an epidural first thing in the morning and we would discussthe possibility of doing a c-section. Either way, he said, you will be having this baby tomorrow.

Tomorrow, ironically, is my due date.  So, baby girl, looks like you will be cominginto this world right on time.  Myinitial excitement was drowned out by the ambien and pain meds they gave me totry to lessen the side effects of the drugs that were inserted vaginally.  Sleep came very quickly.

December 18, 2011

I woke up in the middle of the night to a beeping noise.  The fetal monitor had run out of paper and the machine was emitting this annoying beep that reminded me of the fryers at McDonald's.  I hit the nurse call button and waited.  I had Eddie pick up the fetal monitor readout off the floor.  The last reading just before it ran out of paper was a little over two hours ago.  After fifteen minutes, I hit the button again.  And again in another ten.  Then I started getting a little panicky.  Where the hell is the nurse?  Did they abandon me?  I thought they were supposed to check on me.  What if something happens?  Just as I get myself all worked up, a nurse walks in.  Not my normal nurse, Debbie, who had been helping me with everything (she was amazing!).  This one walks up, looks at me and says "What's the problem?".  Keep in mind the machine is still beeping.  Me being the smart ass that I am look right at her and say "I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure the fetal monitor is not supposed to be making that noise."  She sighs, yes sighs, and walks over to it.  "Oh, its out of paper." She changes it and says, "Is that it?"  Uh, yeah, that's it.  Thanks a bunch.  Sorry for being such an inconvenience.

Morning comes and nurse Debbie walks in.  I tell her what happened and her jaw drops to the floor.  After apologizing profusely, she politely excuses herself, promising to be right back.  She comes back in ten minutes, pulls up a chair and sits down next to the bed.  "I am going to be your private nurse for the rest of the day.  Your doctor will be in to check on you in an hour or so."  Since we had enough time, my husband left to go feed the dogs and make sure they were okay.  With him gone, I turned to nurse Debbie.

A week ago I got my first hemorrhoid, and boy was it a doozy!  It was very painful and made me scared to have a bowel movement.  As you know, with pregnancy comes constipation.  Well, I was constipated when I was admitted and had been complaining about it to nurse Debbie.  The bed they had me on had this very annoying lumbar thingy that sits right under your butt.  Its great if you need to have a baby and need some leverage so you don't slide around.  But its horrible when you are constipated because it pushes right on it, making the feeling that you need to go that much more intense.  But I couldn't go!

So, I brought it up again to nurse Debbie after my husband left.  She looked at me and asked if the evening nurse had given me anything for it.  I said no, the only time I saw her was when the machine ran out of paper.  She said a few choice curse words that I will not repeat but will admit made me smile.  Since I might be having a c-section today she couldn't give me any medicine for it.  But she could give me an enema.  Um, what is that?  Basically, you shoot water up there and loosen everything up and then it forces EVERYTHING out.  Cool, lets do it.  I don't care, I just want to poop.  I told her about my hemorrhoid and she offered to do it for me.  I agreed.  We did it.  And I am proud to say I made it all the way from the bed to the toilet without spilling anything.  Wahoo!  After a few minutes she told me to stop holding it in and just let go.  I was so happy I started crying, thanking her profusely.  She started singing the poopy song (which she admitted she sings with her three year old when she goes).  It was gross and neat and wonderful.  Did I mention how amazing nurse Debbie was?

That finished, I clean up and get back into bed.  The lumbar thingy was no longer painful, it was quite comfortable actually.

A short while later, the doctor walks in, asks how I'm doing.  I am doing fantastic!!!  Nurse Debbie and I share a smile but don't let him in on the joke.  He does a vaginal exam and tells me that I have not progressed any and he would like to do a c-section.  I say ok.  He says great lets go.  NO!  My husband isn't here!  You can't do it without him!  Right then, my mom walks in.  Yay Mom!  The doctor agrees to wait fifteen minutes, but that we couldn't wait much more than that.  Okay.  I try to call Eddie, and his phone is sitting on the table in my hospital room.  Great.  Thank god my mom was there!  She assures me everything will be fine and that he will make it in time.  I look at nurse Debbie and ask if she will stay with me during the surgery.  She said yep, after what happened last night she was not leaving my side.  My mom gave us a quizzical look so we filled her in.  She handled it well, thanking nurse Debbie for looking after me.

The doc comes back and says we have to go.  Right as I open my mouth to say no, Eddie walks in.  Okay, lets go.  I didn't even have to get up.  They just wheeled the bed out the door and down the hall to the surgery section.  Neat!  We get to the waiting room, the room where they will bring the baby while they are stitching me closed.  They hand Eddie a smurf outfit and put a blue cap on me.  It was super stylish.

 

 

They ask Eddie and Mom to wait there while they wheel me over to surgery and put the epidural in.  Only one of them was allowed in during the surgery, so Mom had to wait by herself for a while.  Once the epidural was in, Eddie joined me and grabbed my hand.  They had a sheet up so I wouldn't be able to see anything, thank goodness.  They made sure I was numb and then they started.  I couldn't feel anything!  It was great!

That is until the doctor said the scariest words I've ever heard in my life.  "The cord is wrapped around her neck."  I held my breath.  I know it was only a few seconds, but it seemed like hours.  When she finally cried out it was the best sound I had ever heard in my life!  It was music to my ears.  And boy did she have a set of lungs!  I couldn't see her, but I could hear her, and I knew everything was going to be okay. 

Eddie, as promised, was taking pictures like a mad man.  That is until they handed her to him.  He gave the nurse his camera and they took a picture of the first time I saw her.

She was so beautiful!  I started crying.  Eddie and the baby left to go get all her measurements and stuff.  I called out to the anesthesiologist that I was crying and couldn't breathe.  She came into view and said everything was okay, I could go to sleep if I wanted.  Hey, that sounds like a great idea.  It seemed like only a few minutes, but I was told it was closer to an hour that they woke me up and told me we were going to see the baby.  They wheel me in, and the shock takes hold.  I was freezing and I start shaking like crazy!  They throw blankets on me.  When that doesn't work they put this garbage bag looking thing over me from the neck down and start blowing hot air into it, inflating it like a balloon.  Ahhh, warmth.  The nurses tell me I can't hold the baby until I'm done shaking.  So I try to get it under control.  A little difficult when you're still numb.

Finally, the shaking subsides and I can hold my baby girl.  She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!  I start crying again as I hold her tight and kiss her.  Got to love those hormones!  She is perfect!

That is my story.  I hope you enjoyed it.  If you would like to share your story with me, please email me.  I would love to hear it!

 

Dogs and Babies

Peanut

A new baby can be a difficult transition for our four legged friends.  Start as early as possible with any new rules that you may want to enforce.  The sooner you start, the sooner they will get the idea that things are going to change. 

Here are some tips to help prepare your dog(s) for the arrival of the newest member of your family:

1. Sleeping arrangments.  If your dogs are sleeping with you, its time to break the habit.  During your pregnancy you do not want a dog jumping on your belly during the night.  And when your baby gets here, you don't want to have to worry about tripping over the dog while you are rushing to the bassinet to soothe your crying baby.  To keep them out of your room, either close your door, or put up a baby gate.  Set up a pet bed where you want them to sleep and encourage them each night to lay in it.  Eventually they will get the idea.

2.  Make the nursery off limits.  As a pet owner we know that no matter how much we vaccuum, sweep, or mop the pet hair is never ending.  So to keep the nursery nice and clean, make it off limits to your pets.  Either close the door or set up a baby gate (you can never have too many) to teach them that the room is a no dog zone.

3. Get them used to baby noises.  Turn on TLC or any of the other educational networks that have shows about babies.  When there is a baby crying, turn it up and see how the dogs react.  If they start barking, try to correct them and assure them that its okay.  This will be super helpful when the baby starts crying at 2am for a feeding. 

4.  Practice baby etiquette.  Get a baby doll from the store and wrap it up in a blanket.  When you watch tv in the living room, hold the doll like you will your new baby.  Let your dog check it out.  Encourage good behavior with key words (good job, good boy/girl, etc.).  Correct behavior that you don't like, also using key words (no, down, no kisses, etc.).  Be sure to use the same words repeatedly for good and corrective behavior.  It may take some patience, but soon your dog will know what you expect of them when around a baby.

Seven months pregnant and getting licked by Scrappy during our playtime outside

 

5.  Set aside dog time.  When the baby arrives you will be focused on the baby.  Your dog won't understand the lack of attention, just as an older sibling wouldn't.  During your last few months of pregnancy, start distancing yourself from your pet.  Set aside a time each day, whether its 30 minutes or an hour, to just sit with them and show them some love to let them know they haven't been forgotten and are still loved.  This will go a long way with your pet and will prevent depression later when your baby arrives.  If you get into the habit while you are still pregnant then it will be a breeze to keep up when the baby comes home.

6.  Baby blanket.  While at the hospital, your baby will be wrapped in a blanket.  Have your spouse take the blanket home and let your dog(s) smell it.  If you can, wrap the baby doll in it and then let them smell it.  This will familiarize them with the scent of your baby so they will recognize it when your baby comes home.  Do NOT let them take it from you or use it as a toy.  It is just for smelling.  All the excitement will get out of the way ahead of time so it will be somewhat less chaotic when you get home.  I say only somewhat because they will have missed you terribly! 

7.  Practice with the baby.  Same as you did with the doll, sit while holding your baby and let your dog check it out.  Since you've already trained them on expected etiquette, now you get to see the fruits of your labor.

8. NEVER leave your baby alone with a dog!  Enough said.

I hope this post was helpful to both you and your four legged friend.  If you have any other tips or tricks, please leave a comment!

Cradle Cap 101

After nine long months of waiting for your bundle of joy to arrive they are finally here. Absolutely beautiful! Ten fingers, ten toes, perfect little face, perfect little nose....and the top of their head looks like a snake trying to shed its skin.

Don't panic. Your baby is not going to morph into a mini Godzilla and try to climb tall buildings.  This is perfectly normal.  It is called cradle cap.

Cradle cap, otherwise known as infantile seborrheic dermatitis, is very common in newborn babies.  Sometimes it can last for a few weeks, others it can last up to a year or more.  Its harmless and is not contagious.  Also, it is not a sign of poor hygiene, so don't go crazy with the bathing.

The exact cause for cradle cap is unknown but it is believed that it is hormone related from the mother during pregnancy.

There are a TON of methods for getting rid of cradle cap.  It seems that every mom I asked had a different answer.  Everything from olive oil to special shampoo, even baking soda!  Yikes!  However, I found that the easiest method is just using a brush.  When bathing, be sure to rinse out all the shampoo, then gently brush your's baby's head with a towel or SOFT brush while it is still damp.  This will help loosen the scales and allow you to brush them off.  It might take a few weeks, but eventually it gets it all.  You don't want to brush too hard or too often as it might irritate it and hurt your baby.  But a little patience and a light touch goes a long way.

Now if you notice any bleeding, or if it starts to spread to other areas of the body or becomes itchy and red, you will want to go to your doctor to get it checked out.  But in most cases it is completely harmless and will go away over time.

I hope you found this post helpful!  :-)

Family History Cookbook

This is an ongoing project that I have been doing for the last nine years.  My mom got me started on it (thanks Mom!).  Now that I am married with a family of my own, I am kicking it into high gear and trying to expand on the wonderfully amazing idea she had.

For Christmas one year, she gave me a photo album that contained some recipes from our family.  Of course it had some of our favorites (lasagna, smoked butt, stuffed peppers), but it also had some from my fathers side of the family.  My grandmother's recipe for pumpkin pie.  My great-grandmother's recipe for barbecue sauce.  A recipe from an aunt of mine that is no longer with us.  Each page typed up with the ingredients, directions, and who the recipe came from, all protected underneath the plastic coating of the photo page.  Perfect!  Then, after a dozen or so pages of family recipes, all the rest were left blank for me to add my own.  What a great start to a fantastic project!

Since then, I have been politely asking begging family members for their treasured recipes so that I can add to it.  When finished, this will be one crazy book.  My family on my side are mostly german (both sides), so there will be many german dishes, some italian, and some bohemian.  My husband's family is from Kentucky, so there will be lots of comfort food dishes, beans and cornbread, chili, award winning pie crust, you get the idea.  If I can, I would like to include a photo and details about the person who gets credit for the recipe.

If it works out the way I hope it will I will have a family history by way of cooking.  Something that I can pass down to my daughter and allow her to expand on it when she has a family of her own.  But what should I call this masterpiece?  Family history cookbook sounds a little drab, though accurate.  Dinner Table Time Machine?  No.  Once Upon a Recipe?  Yep, I like that one.  So, as I work on 'Once Upon a Recipe' I will post updates on its progress.  When its to a point that I am satisfied with it, I will get it printed and send copies out to the family members who want one.

So just wanted to get this idea out there.  Family trees are wonderful.  But for me, its the stories at the dinner table that you let know who your family truly is.  Happy cooking!

Childproofing for Your Walking Toddler

When your baby starts walking, it opens up a whole new world of exploring.  And unfortunately, a whole new level of babyproofing that needs to be done around the house.  Here are some essential tools you will need (if you don't have them already):

• Latches on cupboards, refrigerators, ovens, drawers, toilets, anything your baby can reach.
• Baby gates
• Padding on furniture corners
• Outlet covers

If you have these things and you haven't installed them yet, you need to do so now!  In the blink of an eye your child can get into trouble if your house is not properly child proofed.  I know this is common sense but I'm going to say it anyway.  Never, ever, NEVER leave your child unattended.  Enjoy chasing your walker throughout the house.  They are oh so much fun at this age! 

For an extensive and thoroughly detailed checklist for childproofing your home for your new walker, check out this article from Babycenter.com, my go to resource for all things baby!  You can read the article here.

Valentine's Day, On a Budget, With a Baby - Yes it IS Possible!

I remember when Valentine's Day was all about going out to a fancy restaurant, taking a walk along the beach in the moonlight, going back home to exchange gifts, and thoroughly enjoying each other until the wee hours of the morning.  Ah yes, the good old days.  Sigh.

So much for that.

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching.  With all focus being on the baby, it might seem like it has snuck up on you. Before you go into panic mode (Where am I going to find a sitter? Will I be able to enjoy a night out without my baby? What am I going to wear, nothing fits anymore!?!), relax, stop pulling your hair out, everything is going to be okay.  You have options.  Yay options!  Here are some ideas to help you spend this special day with both your valentines (which is what its supposed to be all about anyway, not shiny things, lacy things, and the bedroom).

Skip the lingerie.  I'm starting here because this was my biggest fear on my first Valentine's Day with the baby.  BB (before baby) Valentine's Day would end in the bedroom with a nice lacy something or other. AB (after baby) my lacy somethings no longer fit and my belly looked like a deflated balloon (mmm, sexy).  I was not happy with the way I looked so running to the store to buy a new lacy something was the last thing I wanted to do.  Instead, I hit the thrift stores for a new little black dress.  Something flattering to my new curves that I could feel pretty in.  When I found one it cost me all of 5 bucks.  Yay thrift stores!  After seeing me in baggy easily accessible clothes for two months so I could breast feed without changing or having to take my shirt off, wearing a dress and a nice pair of shoes worked better on my husband than any lacy thing I could have dreamt up.

Skip the evening out.  As a new mom, I knew that if I tried to go out I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself.  I would be worried about the baby the entire time rather than enjoying an evening out with my husband.  Instead, we avoided the stress of going out and just stayed home and enjoyed our evening with each other and our baby.

Dinner.  If you have the energy, cook a nice dinner.  It doesn't have to be anything fancy.  But every girl has their go to recipe when they are trying to impress.  For me, its lasagna.  Cheesy, melty, gooey, food-gasm lasagna with meat sauce (hungry yet?).  But, sadly, lactose intolerance is a pain in the you know what and does not make for a very nice evening in.  So lasagna was out.  I didn't have the energy to spend two hours making it anyway.  Instead, we changed our dinner out to a dinner in.  If you don't have the energy to cook I highly recommend this.  Order dinner from your favorite restaurant and send your husband to pick up the food, giving you ample time to get into your new dress and throw on some light makeup.  When he gets back, strike a pose and hope he doesn't drop the food.  :-)

Gifts.  This can be tricky.  As previously stated, gifts usually included something shiny or something lacy.  With the new cost of a baby, those things were now out of our budget.  So homemade sentimental gifts became the new shiny and lacy.  Here are some ideas.  Go get your hubby and make him read these.  I'll wait.  Okay, here we go:

• Love notes. In the days leading up to Valentine's Day, start leaving little love notes around the house for eachother to find. In the medicine cabinet. The fridge. His toolbox. Taped to the steering wheel of his car. Hidden inside a baby bottle. Taped to the front of a diaper. Just little momentos of how much you love eachother.
• Massages. Hubbys, one of the best gifts you can give a new mother is an hour long back and foot rub. Trust me, it will be greatly appreciated!
• Make a coupon book.  All you need for this is paper, a pen, and a stapler.  You can gussy it up if you want, but with a baby around I know simpler is easier.  Besides, its not the way it looks, its what is inside that counts.  Each coupon is good for something.  You might want to include a disclaimer that you can only use one coupon per day (otherwise they might try to cash in on the whole book at once, yikes!).  You can include anything you want.  Breakfast in bed.  Back massages.  Hugs and kisses.  Snuggle time.  An afternoon to themselves to watch the game.  A weekend pass with no yardwork.  Car wash.  You get the idea.  Get creative!
• Photo book of love. No, not that kind of love, get your mind out of the gutter! Print out some photos of the two of you before the baby, and some of you with the baby. Put them in a little brag book (can usually find these at the dollar store) with a photo on one side and a note card on the other with little messages. Remember when we went here? Look at the new Daddy! So proud! You are so beautiful and such a wonderful mother. Short cute little notes.  When I made one for my hubby he got all teary eyed. He's so cute! Granted, so did I when he gave me one. These books can also be useful to end arguments. When you are at that silent treatment stage, just pull it out and start looking through it, or hand it to your hubby. Works like a charm to remind you that whatever you are fighting about is insignificant compared to the happiness you both share. :-)

I hope you were able to get some good ideas from this post.  Happy Valentine's Day to you and good luck!

Tips and Advice for Before and After a C-section

Someone recently asked me if I had any tips and advice in preparing for before and after a c-section.  What an excellent question!  It was so good I decided to share it with all of you.  Here is my advice as someone who went through it.

1. Be sure you have enough pillows at home. After your c-section, it will hurt to lay down flat for a while, so make sure you have enough pillows to keep you slightly propped up so it won't stretch your stitches and can sleep (sleep? what is that?) comfortably when you get the chance.

2. Have someone at home to help you, at least for the first week. Whether it is a parent, spouse, friend, someone, there will be times you will need help. For example, if you drop something on the floor, it will tear your stitches if you bend down to get it. Also, you won't be allowed to lift anything other than your baby, so having some "muscle" around will be useful.

3. Get a nursing pillow. This will help protect your wound while you are feeding the baby. You can get a Bopby or Walmart has one that is a little less expensive.

4. Buy a huge pack of super pads. You will be bleeding and leaking (a LOT) for a few weeks afterwards and you will need all the pads you can get your hands on.

5. Buy some absorbency sheets. They should be in the store by the Depends. It is a big sheet about the size of a baby blanket. Lay these down wherever you will be sitting in case your pad leaks.

6. Make some meals ahead of time. When the baby comes home you will be focused only on the baby. And you will be tired. Really tired. Really really tired. Sleep when the baby sleeps and make sure you can quickly get a meal together to feed yourself. Either make some meals ahead of time and freeze them, or eat sandwiches. If you are nursing, be careful what you eat as it can be passed on to the baby.

7. Sleep when your baby sleeps. Just prepare for that now. Sleep as you know it is about to end so enjoy it while you can.

8. Take lots and lots of pictures. Don't use the flash because it may hurt the baby's eyes. Bring extra batteries if you need them. We took a few hundred at the hospital and I'm so glad I have them now.

 

9. Keep a journal of your experience. It might be hard to remember the details later and trust me, you will want them.

10. Go out on one last date with your significant other. Go out to a nice restaurant, take a walk on the beach, enjoy your time together.  Life as you know it is about to change and it might be a long time before you guys get another date night.

Finally, enjoy your new baby. Good luck to you! I hope this was helpful to you! :-)

Getting Your Home Ready for a Crawler

This post is coming to you by request!  I searched and found a very detailed article full of safety tips and guidelines about how to get your home ready for when your baby is ready to crawl.  Again I found it at Babycenter.com (no surprise there) my FAVORITE resource when it comes to all things baby.  You can read the full article at their website here.  Thank you Babycenter!

Jennifer, this one is for you.  I hope you are able to find it useful!  To make sure that you have covered everything, a useful tip is to crawl around your house and look at things from your baby's point of view.  If you see anything that might be harmful, take care of it.  :-)

Bathing

·         Fill tub just enough to cover your baby's legs (2 to 3 inches of water).
·         Use warm, not hot, water (do wrist test or use thermometer to make sure water is 96 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit).
·         Never, ever leave babies in tub unsupervised, not even for a few seconds.
·         Put nonslip mats in bathtub and on the floor next to the tub.
Nice to Have:
·         Soft cover for bathtub spout.
·         Covers for bathtub knobs.
·         Bathtub ring for babies to sit in. (Not a substitute for supervision!)

Preventing burns

·         Don't carry hot food or drink and your baby at the same time.
·         Keep hot food and drink away from edges of tables and counters.
·         Don't hold your baby while cooking at stove.
·         Turn pot handles toward back of stove.
·         Secure oven door with an appliance latch.
Nice to have:
·         Plastic stove guard that blocks access to burners; knob covers.

Car

·         Keep children in rear-facing car seat until age 2, or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat.
·         Install car seat properly, in rear-facing position in middle of backseat.

Changing table

·         Use safety strap and don't leave your baby unattended.
·         Keep toiletries out of your baby's reach but within yours.

Clothing

·         Don't use baby clothes with drawstrings.

Crib

·         Don't use crib bumpers.
·         Don't use drop-side cribs.
·         Don't use soft, fluffy bedding such as pillows, comforters, or sheepskins under sleeping or napping babies.
·         When baby gets up on hands and knees, remove mobiles and hanging toys.
·         When baby pulls up, put mattress in lowest position.
·         Don't leave toys in crib when your baby is sleeping.

Doors

·         Use doorstops and door holders to protect babies' fingers.

Electrical outlets, cords, and appliances

·         Put safety plugs or outlet covers over unused outlets or block with furniture.
·         Hide electrical cords behind furniture or use hide-a-cord device.
·         Keep blow dryers, toasters, and other appliances unplugged and out of reach.

Preventing falls

·         Never leave your baby alone on beds or sofas, in bouncy chair or highchair, on changing table, or in any other spot he could fall from.
·         Use window guards, window stops, and safety netting on windows, decks, and landings.
·         Cut looped window-blind cords; use safety tassels and cord stops.
·         Install gates to block stairways at bottom and top.
·         Block openings wider than 4 inches on railings with plastic garden fencing, Plexiglas, or other material.
·         At the store, use safety belt on shopping cart (or bring one of your own).

Fireplace

·         Install a fireplace grill and keep it in place when a fire is burning.
·         Move gas fireplace keys out of reach.
·         Stow logs, matches, and fireplace tools out of reach.

Fire prevention & CO detectors

·         Check batteries in smoke detectors monthly.
·         Check batteries in carbon monoxide detector at least twice a year.
·         Review your fire escape route.

First aid

·         Take an infant CPR class.

Forbidden territory

·         Keep knives, breakables, heavy pots, and other dangerous items locked up or out of reach.
·         Control access to unsafe areas with safety gates, door locks, and knob covers.
·         Put locks or latches on accessible cabinets and drawers that contain unsafe items.
·         Keep trash cans in inaccessible cupboards or use cans with child-resistant covers.
·         Cover or block access to radiators and floor heaters.
·         Secure refrigerator with appliance latch.
·         Put CD and DVD player buttons and slots off-limits with a plastic DVD guard.
·         Don't use tablecloths or place mats — babies will pull them and what's on them down.
·         Distract babies from forbidden places by keeping one cupboard unlocked and filled with lightweight, baby-safe items.

Furniture

·         Attach corner and edge guards.
·         Secure furniture that can topple (bookcases, chests of drawers) to the walls.
·         Anchor flat-screen TVs with safety straps so they can't fall on your baby.
·         Keep heavy items that can topple on low, sturdy furniture, pushed back as far as possible.
·         Secure tall, unstable lamps behind furniture.

Highchairs and hook-on chairs

·         Use a sturdy, stable, wide-based highchair with a safety strap.
·         Clamp hook-on chair securely to a table that cannot tip over.
·         Use safety straps.
·         Don't leave your baby unattended.

Poison-proofing
·         Move cleaning agents, medicines, hand sanitizer, vitamins, toiletries, mothballs, and other potentially toxic items out of reach or lock them up.
·         Your purse or a visitor's purse can hold medicines, toiletries, and other dangers — move out of reach.
·         Get rid of toxic houseplants such as philodendron or move them out of reach.
·         Post the number for the American Association of Poison Control Centers' national emergency hotline, (800) 222-1222, near phones.
 
Sleep (SIDS and fire prevention measures)
·         Put babies to sleep on their back, even for naps.
·         Don't let babies sleep or nap on pillows or fluffy bedding such as comforters or sheepskins.
·         Don't put babies to sleep on water beds or other soft surfaces.

Sun
·         Keep your baby out of the sun as much as possible.
·         When your baby is outside, protect skin with hats, light-colored clothing with long sleeves, and sunscreen.
 
Toilet
·         Install a toilet-seat lock to prevent drowning.
 
Toys
The safest toys:
·         Are securely put together and in good condition.
·         Have no buttons, eyes, beads, ribbons, or other pieces a baby could pull off and choke on.
·         Are not too heavy (if a toy would harm baby if it fell on him, it's too heavy).
·         Have no strings or cords longer than 12 inches.
·         Are appropriate for a baby's age and physical skills.
·         Can't be hung (or anything else) around a baby's neck.
 
Water
·         Don't leave babies unattended even for a moment in or near a pool or other water.
·         Erect fencing around pools at least 4 feet high with a self-closing, self-latching gate.
·         Empty wading pools and store upright after each use.
·         Don't leave even small amounts of water, cleaning solutions, or other liquids in buckets or other containers.
 
Windows
·         Cut off or tie up dangling cords on drapes and blinds.
·         Mark sliding doors and other expanses of glass with colorful stickers.
·         Keep your baby away from open windows.

I hope you were able to find this list both helpful and informative.  If you have a topic that you would like me to write about, please let me know.  Coming soon, getting your home ready for your walking baby!