Sadie's first visit to the Dentist

Waiting for our turn at the dentist

 Dr. Wendy has been suggesting that I take Sadie to the dentist since before her second birthday.  However, I didn't see the need, really.  I asked around about a good dentist and I worried about how it would work cleaning Sadie's teeth.  And I obsessed over brushing her teeth morning and night...but I never called anyone and scheduled an appointment.

So, a couple of weeks ago, I finally got up the courage and called Dr. Welch to schedule an appointment.  It was mostly a "get to know you" visit, as usually they don't start teeth cleaning until 3 years old.  ...And I think it was more about me than Sadie, honestly.

First of all, it wasn't very far from our house, which I loved.  I am still of this mindset that the East side of town is far away...it's not.  So, I showed up WAY early.  They were super nice, we had all our paperwork filled out ahead of time because they had sent it in the mail, and they copied our insurance cards.  That was it.

When we went back to the room, the girl asked a lot of questions and typed in some notes to the doctor about Sadie's disabilities, health conditions, and history.  So when the doctor came in, he was already in the know.

I loved Dr. Welch.  First of all, he barely said hi to me when he walked in the room...he went straight to Sadie and started telling her how pretty she is and how he can't wait to see her pretty princess teeth.  She LOVED every second of it.  He got right in her face, and she turned on that vision and gave him the biggest smile!  He kept touching her arm or squeezing her leg, and telling her how she was such a good little girl and she has such pretty teeth.

Sadie and Dr. Welch

We talked about what we do at home as far as brushing.  And we talked about her aspiration issue, as well as my concern about the teeth not coming all the way through the gums.  He wasn't concerned about any of it.  He said her bite is immature, but that's because she doesn't eat and chew like a typical kid.  And once he got in her mouth with his fingers and the little mirror he said that her teeth look fantastic and that we're doing a great job...which made me feel a lot better, because I don't always feel like we do a good job.

Dr. Welch said that he didn't see anything critical that warranted a cleaning today, so we scheduled her first cleaning for January, after she turns 3.  I asked him about sedating her and he said it probably wasn't necessary.  They'd clean with a grooved brush and no toothpaste and that they have ways of keeping her mouth open.  He also said that they would be really careful with the suction so as not to cause any liquid to be swallowed or possibly aspirated.  I think another reason why he wants to wait is in hopes that she'll be able to swallow better in 6 months when we go back.  But he was confident that it wouldn't be a big deal and he was glad to see such a pretty smile!

When it was all over, Sadie got a sticker...again, that was more for me than for her.  And we were on our way home.  It was a REALLY good experience, and I will definitely take my other children to Dr. Welch.  I also would recommend him to any parents of typical or special needs kids.

Sadie's cool Belle sticker she got for being so good

Mommy & Me Monday #11 - The Olympics

Sadie loves to watch swimming.  We learned this when we were in Texas and the Olympic Trials were on TV.  I don't know if it's the blue water, or the sounds, or if she's just like her Mama and loves water sports.  So, this morning, we let her watch some of the preliminary swimming heats.  She was riveted.  Her vision was on and she was visually interacting with the TV (like she does with Elmo).

Later, I was watching rowing on the computer, so Brian had Sadie joined me.  Turns out, she likes rowing too...however, when they were showing basketball and soccer highlights, Sadie expressed her dislike.

The Olympics is so fun because you end up watching sports you never realized you liked (or that existed)!  And it's fun to share them with Sadie.

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Bump Watch - 29 weeks

Okay, so I know this is late... I was 29 weeks on Thursday and it's now Saturday.  But Thursday I got lost in a little project for work.  Check this out.



Then Brian got in a car accident on his way home, and that totally messed up my evening.  He's okay, no injuries, he was going slow enough.  But we're not sure his truck is going to survive.  We're kind of hoping, actually, that insurance totals it so we can buy a new van!

I did my 28 week glucose test on Monday.  Let me just start out by saying that last time I was pregnant, I got to eat candy bars a half hour before my appointment, then I just went in and they drew my blood.  This time, because it's more of a traditional doctor's office (even though it's midwives), I had to drink the glucose drink.  I was instructed to eat a high protein breakfast (eggs) and no carbs or sugar, then come in and do the test right after.  

Drinking 50g of sugar in less than 5 minutes made me feel really sick.  Then she took my blood!!  I had planned to hit the grocery store on my way home... I'm lucky I made it home safely, or without throwing up!!  

But after the sugar HIGH, I tanked.  My blood sugar dropped so drastically that for about an hour, I struggled to keep my eyes open!  I drank the stuff at like 7:00 in the morning, and it wasn't until almost 2:00 in the afternoon that I felt like myself again...and then I went to the grocery store.

Grocery Store Checker: How much longer do you have? (gesturing toward my belly)

Me: Oh, I'm not even close, I still have 3 months (I say begrudgingly... I guess it's not as bad as when you have to answer that your due date was LAST week!)

GSC: Oh my gosh, you're going to have the hottest most miserable summer EVER!!

What I wanted to say: Thanks, that's helpful.  It's not like I am already uncomfortable, tired, and sweaty all the time, to remind me that this sucks.  *breaks down in tears*

Me: I know!  I'm going to have a baby... just in time for the weather to cool off.  At least I can stay inside all day in the air conditioning, it might be worse if I was actually nursing in this weather.

How far along?  29 weeks - What?!  I'm almost to 30!!

Weight Gain? I keep forgetting to weigh myself.  I am one of those people who likes to lay in bed and pretend I'm sleeping before I actually wake up and get myself out of bed.  Or sometimes I just lay there and mentally prepare for my day.  And almost everyday I think to myself, "I need to weigh myself as soon as I get up,"  then I get up and I forget...doh!  One of these days I will have a weight update, I promise.

What's up with my Body?  I am tired.  I am so tired.  I hope it's just the baby going through a growth spurt and not something else more serious!!  How can I not worry when I have the history that I do?

My tummy is tight, like the skin is tight because this baby is stretching me and growing big inside me.  It's sort of uncomfortable, but not in a way that really hurts.

It's getting harder and harder to pick up something off the floor.  If I drop something, it becomes a dilemma as to if it's worth it for me to bend all the way over to pick it up.  I wouldn't blame you, either, if you saw me bend down and you laughed...I probably look pretty funny!!

Sleeping is still good for the most part.  I'm not as physically uncomfortable as I was with Sadie.  I just feel big and heavy, but my ligaments feel okay and I can mostly still lay on my back and breathe okay.  I do get up to go to the bathroom 4-6 times a night, but I can usually just go right back to sleep, so it's not a big deal.  

Food Cravings?  Smoothies.  Holy moly, when it's 100+ degrees outside all I want is frozen fruit mixed with juice in the blender!!!  So refreshing.

Gender? It's a boy!  You can read about our ultrasound appointment and see pictures if you go to this post here.

Emotions: I'm kind of all over the place, but a new emotion that has sort of cropped up is fear.  I'm afraid of a similar birth experience full of trauma and unknown horrible-ness.  But I'm also afraid of having a normal baby... I don't know what to do with a normal baby!!  I'm afraid that something is going to go wrong and he won't be able to breastfeed.  I'm afraid we're going to make the wrong decision about circumcision.  I'm afraid I'll have the baby before my mom arrives.  All this fear, which is totally unfounded, is just cropping up, and it's taking all my energy to keep it smushed down and not think about all the what-ifs.

Best moment of the week: This week I went to help my asst. principal train some new teachers.  One of the teachers I sat with and helped learn our online program just had a baby 6 weeks ago.  After we started talking, we learned that she used our same midwives.  She told me that Janice, who is the midwife who caught her baby, actually saved her from having a C-section.  I liked hearing this.  She said there was some distress, but that Janice was calm and trusted that Jen could deliver this baby without intervention...and what do you know?  She did!!  When I asked her what she named him, she said his name is Elias.  That is one of the names I really like...but she's the second person now who has named her newborn Elias, so I guess it's out.  Anyway, Jen was maybe going to be an English teacher (with me), but she's also certified in History, so they moved her over to that department.  I'm kind of bummed I won't be working with her directly, but still excited to have made a new friend!

What I'm looking forward to: I'm really looking forward to having this baby!  The more and more I feel him kicking around in there, the more I wonder what he'll be like after he's born.

How baby's growing: His muscles and lungs continue to develop and his head is growing to make room for his giant brain that he's going to have!!  And this week he's the size of a butternut squash (which reminds me, we have one of those sitting on the counter that needs to be cut up and cooked for Sadie!).  He also needs a lot of calcium right now for his growing bones...which might be why I've been craving milk and cheese so much this week!!

29 weeks!

Potty Log - Week 2

Day 8 - Tuesday July 17

It took a while for Sadie to pee on the potty this morning.  After not going at all yesterday, I wondered if we were having a little set back.  We read The Jungle Book, and it wasn't until Mowgli was safe inside the man-village that I finally heard her go pee!!

About an hour and a half later, we were getting ready to go to the pool for physical therapy, so we sat on the potty again.  When I took off her diaper it was DRY.  Completely dry.  So, we sat, read half of Pinocchio, and peed again.  Then I put the same diaper back on her.  When we got to the pool it was still dry.

How cool would it be if Sadie could wear the same diaper all day???  ...new goal.

Day 9 - Wednesday July 18

We didn't have any pee in the potty today.  Sadie is usually hooked up to a slow drip of water overnight, but something happened and her water didn't deliver.  So, her diaper was practically dry when she woke up, and there was no pee on the potty when we sat down.

Later, we tried again, but still no pee...however, then when I went to change her diaper a few hours later, it was FULL!!  I felt kind of yucky today, so we only tried those two times.

Day 10 - Thursday July 19

Sadie had pee only first thing in the morning today.  And that was only after we read the WHOLE story and I told her "it's now or never."

She's been having a REALLY hard time with that last molar cutting through, so we only sat on the potty one other time today, and we had no success.

Day 11 - Friday July 20

We tried twice today and had no pee.  But, like I said before, Sadie's been having a tough time with that last tooth, plus we've changed her diet, so she's having some digestive issues, so I didn't really expect that we'd be that successful.

In fact, I've been thinking that maybe we should take a break from potty training until we're done with that tooth.

Day 12 - Saturday July 21

We're definitely taking a break until Sadie gets over this tooth.  We'll still sit on the potty first thing in the morning, because that's easy to remember and it fits into our schedule well.  And we might sit one other time during the day, but I'm not going to worry about making sure she gets there everyday at specific times.  Right now, we're all trying to stay sane, rock all day without getting cramps in my hamstrings, and feed Sadie without too much drama.

I'm encouraged to know that Sadie CAN do it... when she's in a happy place.  No hurry, many parents of typical kids aren't even starting to think about potty training.  Like with everything else, this isn't a sprint, it's a marathon.

I'm a winner!

No Mommy and Me today.  Frankly, it wasn't a great week...which didn't provide much opportunity for photos.  I thought about a picture of me next to my screaming child who has completely soaked herself with drool, calling it "the last tooth," but honestly, I'm so sick and tired of the screaming, the rocking, and the not sleeping, that I just didn't want to deal with a picture.


But one good thing DID happen this week...


I got a Bloggy Award!!  My cousin, Mary, has a blog about her life as a mother of 5 (and one on the way!!) and the craziness that comes with that!  You can read about her crazy life here One Realistic Mom.  She is a couple of years younger than me, but we've always had some kind of special connection since we were little.  She is cool, and has beautiful children.

How could you not love these sweet faces???

Thank you Mary for honoring me with this award and for always being such a good friend!!  I know you think that being the mother of Sadie, I have a harder job than you being the mother of 5, but truly I don't know how you do it!!  And by the way... I don't think you should stop at 6! haha




So here are the rules for the award: (Mary did apologize for making more work for me!)

1. You must thank the person who has given you the award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link the person who has nominated you for the award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on the blogs to let them know they have been nominated

As I sit here typing with one hand because if Sadie isn't being held, she screams, I'm wondering 1. what 7 things about me that you might find interesting (and don't already know), and 2. if I even keep up with 7 other blogs!!  But I am a rule-follower by nature, so I will do my best to follow the rules of this award...


1. I don't have a favorite color.  I have never been able to confidently say any color is my favorite.  It so often changes.  Truth is, I'm a fan of color in general.  If presented with a rack of shirts to choose from a Ross, I always go for the bright yellow, orange, or pink!!


2. I didn't fly on my first airplane until spring break of my first year in college.  Our family didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up, so our vacations consisted of road trips, camping, and visiting family.  My first flight was to Hawaii for Mary's oldest brother's wedding.  Since then, I've flown so many times I don't think I could count them...including several international flights!


3. I am afraid of birds.  I still like birds... through glass or cages, just not anywhere near me where they could peck my eyes out!!  And anything larger than a robin or a blue jay?  Forget it, that is stuff my nightmares are made of!!


4. I've always wanted to own a used book store.  My grandfather was a librarian, and my grandparents' house was full of treasures I was too young to appreciate at the time.  There is something magical about old books... the way they smell, how they are bound with string and not just glue, and the idea that their journey to this store, this garage sale, or this antique store just might be more interesting than anything written inside.


5. I used to want, like, 10 kids.  I've always thought it'd be cool to be part of a big family.  My aunt has 6 kids, and I've known several families with 5... even a couple with 10 or more. There's just something intimate about having to share your living space with so many people that cannot be substituted.  But then I got married when I was 27, and learned that pregnancy is harder than it looks, and births don't always turn out the way you imagined.  So, I'll settle for 3.


6. My family was in Thailand when that big tsunami happened in 2004.  My mom was living in Korea at the time and paid for my brother and I to meet her in Thailand as a Christmas present/vacation.  We were on an island on the other side of the country, and didn't even realize what had happened or the magnitude of the destruction until we got to the airport in Bangkok.  That's when our adventure nightmare really began...but that's another story for another time!


7. I want to complete a triathlon before I get pregnant again.  I've done a small triathlon indoors at the gym I used to belong to.  It was timed, so you spent like 10 minutes swimming, then 30 on a stationary bike, and finally 20 minutes on the treadmill.  I had a lot of fun, and it was a good way to introduce myself to the event.  Honestly, the idea of swimming 500 yards in open water surrounded by others who are trying to beat you and may not be as strong of a swimmer as you makes me a little nervous, but I still want to "tri"!!  Get it?


So now what do you think?  Am I more interesting to you now than I was before?  I hope so! haha


I honestly don't read too many blogs (at least not regularly), and the ones I do read are either by family and close friends, or their famous and wouldn't care about a bloggy-award chain letter from me.  So instead of passing on the torch (yes, I'm breaking the chain letter... 7 years of bad luck will probably descend upon my household!), I'm just going to list some of my favorite blogs that I may or may not read on a regular basis.


Family and Friends' Blogs
One Realistic Mom
Just Smile and Blog
Decadent Philistines Save the World
We Love Lily

Funny Hilarious Blogs
Stark.Raving.Mad.Mommy.
Rants from Mommyland
Poop on a Hot Tin Slide

Special Needs Blogs
Love that Max
Mama Lewis and the Amazing Adventures of The Half-Brained Baby
Feeding Raya

That's really all I can think of right now that I read regularly.  However, thinking is not my strong point today, what with all the screaming and all!!  I will add to the list if I think of any more!

Bump Watch - 28 weeks

This week has been a bad one.  Monday started off stressful (you can read about that here) with Sadie's appointment at GI...not to mention an annoying phone call that came at the worst possible time, then a security guard who made me lean across my car to roll down my window and talk to him (no, I do not have power windows).  Oh, and I took a wrong turn on my way to Sadie's appointment and couldn't get myself back where I belong, so I was annoyed about that.

Then we realized Monday afternoon that our cat never came home that morning.  Tuesday I called all the local vets wondering if he'd been brought in injured, and Brian went to the pound to look for him.  It wasn't until last night that our next door neighbor came over because she figured out that the dead cat that had been attacked and eaten by a wild animal was ours.  So, that's made me super sad.

My house is dirty because I just can't muster up the energy to clean it this week (which is bugging me). Work started again, so I'm more busy than I have been for the last 6 weeks.  And Brian is out of town.

Okay, enough whining and complaining... Chelsea will be here today to watch Sadie and I am going to make myself get some stuff done.  And by the way, we're looking to adopt a second kitten (or adult cat if we find the right one), so if you know of any, please let me know!!

How far along?  28 weeks - Well hello third trimester!!  

Weight Gain? Okay, I finally have something to say here this week!!  1. I did weigh myself this morning and I'm up 39 pounds.  Also, I want you to know that I've been the same weight for a week now.  2. We had our midwife appointment this week and when I weighed in, I had only gained 5 pounds since last time (remember, my goal was 5 pounds or less?).  Plus that was after I had a HUUUUUGE dinner, like so much I could barely breathe (it was so yummy!), so possibly I only gained 3 or 4!  So, I'm pleased with my weight gain.

What's up with my Body?  Not really much to note.  My back muscles are sore, but I'm not sure if that's from being pregnant, or from picking up Sadie off the floor.  I've been seeing the chiropractor every 2-3 weeks and I think that helps.  She's really good about stretching my ligaments and making sure everything's in place where it should be.

I'm still sleeping surprisingly well.  Actually, I was just thinking that I'm surprised that I haven't filled our bed with pillows.  I think if it wasn't so hot, I don't think I could complain about being pregnant so much.

Food Cravings?  Yesterday I was depressed about Barney (my cat), so I ate cereal for dinner and a bag of candy.  But for the most part, I've been doing well with my fruits and vegetables, as well as with my protein.  I'm able to eat salad again, so that's nice, and I don't crave salt as much as I was before.

I've started thinking about freezer meals... I didn't make any with Sadie.  I don't know why.  We could have really used them with all our back and forth to and from the NICU.  And I'm not always a fan of unfreezing something and eating it.  But we're trying to buy a big chest freezer for the garage, so since we'll have the room, maybe I should make a few things...at least a bunch of stuff I can (or my mom can, or Brian can) throw in the crock pot.

Gender? It's a boy!  You can read about our ultrasound appointment and see pictures if you go to this post here.

Names? No news about names.  Boring, I know.  We still are kind of liking the one we came up with last week.  At our midwife group appointment, we went around the circle and everybody was supposed to just say how many weeks they are, but the first person told what her baby's name is...so then everybody started telling theirs.  About 2/3 of the group already had names picked out.  I felt better though when the one couple said, "this baby will be lucky to get a name..." haha!!  That's kind of how I feel!

Best moment of the week: Like I said, it's been a yucky week.  But I did get an email from my mom this morning with her flight itinerary.  I am so glad that she bought her ticket!!  She's coming October 6.  And as much as I want this baby to come early... please not until my mom gets here!!

What I'm looking forward to: I'm looking forward to the end.  Is it too early to be looking forward to that???  Some of the people in our group at the midwife are already 34 or 35 weeks...and it's weird to think that by the next time we meet, they could actually have their babies!!  

How baby's growing: He is now able to blink his eyes and his eyesight is developing so that he might be able to see light through my belly now!!  Baby Center says that he weighs about 2.25 pounds at this point, and while I'm "supposed" to gain about 11 pounds this trimester, hopefully 6-8 of that is on the baby!!

This is the shirt I was wearing on the airplane a few weeks ago.  You can see that I hardly look pregnant from the front...especially if you're focusing on my face and not my belly!

but from the side I'm plenty big!!  28 weeks

Baby Kitty Yuri was crying at my feet and wanted to be in the picture with me

This kitten is so demanding, it's like I already have a little baby!!

Potty Log - Week 1

We started sitting Sadie on the potty last week.  It started out going really well...then Daddy got involved, and Sadie doesn't want to go when Daddy's with her for some reason!!  So, here's what's up!

Day 1 - Tuesday July 10.

We bought Sadie a little Baby Bjorn potty at Target last night.  It's red.  This seems to work better than putting her on the big toilet because she can put her feet on the floor.  It's also nice because we can set up one of her wooden benches in front of her and she can lean on it (like she does when she sits in the Happy Chair or anything else).  Then, that frees me up a little and I don't have to support her so much, so we can read a book!!

We started this morning right out of bed.  We read Cinderella and just as I was saying that they lived Happily Ever After, there was pee!!!  So happy.

After lunch, I waited about a half hour and sat Sadie on the potty again.  This time we got about half way through a story and there was pee!  I'm so proud of how well she's doing... even if it's just about timing more than anything.  She's still doing it, and she gets so happy when I get all excited about her pee!

We sat again a couple more times, but there were no results.  That's okay, we'll go again tomorrow.

Day 2 - Wednesday July 11

Again we had pee first thing this morning, but no other times throughout the day.  Sadie sat on the potty 3 times today and only went that once.

Day 3 - Thursday July 12

Sadie peed again first thing in the morning.  And it was pretty immediate.  It's almost like she knows that as soon as she sits, she's supposed to go.  When didn't even get to read a story, I think I said, "Once upon a time..." and then there was pee!

Sadie peed for the first time with Chelsea (respite caregiver aka. babysitter) today.  That's a big deal, because she's only ever peed for me.  Chelsea did say though that like 2 minutes after they were done, and Sadie had her diaper back on, she pooped.  Chelsea felt like, if they had just sat there another few minutes...  But I'm not sure Sadie's ready to poop on the potty yet.  I think that might be a while still.

She sat on the potty 4 times today and went pee every single time!

Day 4 - Friday July 13

This morning Sadie peed on the potty first thing like yesterday.  It was immediate, she sat, she peed, we got on with our morning.  That was between 8:30 and 9:00 sometime.

Later, after she ate her lunch, I didn't get to put her on the potty as soon as I'd like.  I was on the phone and it was noon before I was able to get her in there.  I was SHOCKED that her diaper was practically DRY!  After 3 hours?!!!  I sat her on the potty and she immediately peed.  It was almost like she'd be holding it because she knew she should pee in the potty!

Later that night, Daddy joined us for the potty routine so he can start joining in on the fun!

Day 5 - Saturday July 14

This was Daddy's first time putting Sadie on the potty all by himself.  Sadie doesn't like it when Daddy's in there.  She screams, and he takes her off the potty.

The only pee Sadie had in the potty today was first thing in the morning with Mama.

Day 6 - Sunday July 15

Our schedule is totally screwed up on the weekends.  Daddy's home, Mama runs errands and goes out, etc.  Sadie sat on the potty 4 or 5 times today, but only went once.

Day 7 - Monday July 16

Our schedule was thrown off today by having a doctor's appointment at 9:20am.  Not to mention, Sadie woke up WAY TOO EARLY!!  We had no pee on the potty today... we're lucky we just survived the day at all!!

GI checkup

Yesterday we had a follow up appointment with GI.  This is the doctor that basically regulates Sadie's weight gain and helps us maintain her diet.  You'd think he also manages her feeding tube and stuff...but no, if we have a problem with that we have to go see the surgeon who did the surgery.  Our GI doctor only manages what GOES IN the feeding tube.

I had a really annoying morning yesterday that started with Sadie waking up WAAAAYYYY too early, then an important phone call that I couldn't ignore as I was trying to buckle her in her carseat and she's gagging and throwing up, then going to the wrong part of the hospital, then having an annoying parking garage security guard (that I yelled at)...so I checked us in and then sat sniffling, trying to hold back the tears as we waited to be called back!!  And when the nurses asked me how my morning's going so far...I lost it and cried all over the place!!

Ohhhhhh, pregnancy hormones, how you make life interesting.

When the doctor came in, he was accompanied by the nutritionist (I know now to make sure and ask for her at our appointment).  He mentioned that he hadn't seen us since January, so I told him that Dr. Wendy wants us to weigh in every 3-4 months and so does he, so we're alternating in order to minimize doctor visits.  He was like, "well, our scales are different..."  I think he was more annoyed that Dr. Wendy hadn't left him any notes from our last visit or communicated this schedule with him.

So, then he voiced his concern that Sadie had lost weight.  And when it came out that she's not on formula, but doing a blenderized diet, he sort of blamed me (passive-aggressively) for not feeding my child well enough.  He said, "we don't usually condone a blenderized diet..."  I said, "well, I don't usually like my kid to be on formula..."  But I reassured him that Wendy knows about Sadie's diet and is okay with it, and that made him feel a little better, I think.  Still, he can say what he wants, but I know it's better to feed my kid real food than formula from a can.

Then as we talked it came out that Sadie's not really getting tube feeds, she's mostly eating by mouth.  I told him that she gets one tube feed in the morning, usually while she's still asleep, but she eats 5 pureed meals a day and then only gets water by tube.  And suddenly I'm not that bad of a mother for giving my child real food, because she's eating it by mouth anyway!!

Anyway, the conclusion was that I'm filling her with fruits and vegetables, and those are NOT calorie rich.  So, I need to start including more calorie dense foods.  They gave me some suggestions... milk with her meals instead of water, 1-2 Tbs of olive oil added to her food daily, more of the following; chicken, pasta, beans, eggs, nuts, etc.  I thought this was a good idea and felt like it was a good suggestion.  The doctor also recommended that Sadie take a daily vitamin, which I was going to ask about anyway, so we got her one already.

When he asked about coming back for a follow up, I told him we were going in to see Wendy in October when the new baby is born, so we were going to just do Sadie's follow up then at the same time.  He seemed less annoyed about that than at the beginning of the appointment, and just said that he'd get together with Dr. Wendy and they'd come up with a plan.  (haha!!  I already have a plan and it's working just fine...)  I think he likes to feel more in control than he knows he is.  Ultimately, I am in control, but he's working hard to try to maintain that he is.  Whatever.

So, overall, it wasn't a great appointment, but I'm glad we went and weighed in, because Sadie does need to be getting more calories, and we wouldn't have known that if we didn't go.  And I don't know what a normal toddler this age eats in a day (the nutritionist kept saying, "think about what a normal kid this age eats..." Finally I was like, "I've never had a kid this age before, I don't really know what they eat!"), so we're just doing our best as we go to figure things out and adjust as needed.  Our feeding therapist said this is a great time to start introducing things like scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, mushed pastas, etc.  So here we go!!

PS. I'd really like to see Sadie break the 30lb mark at her next weigh-in.  I told her that if her little brother can gain 5-6lbs in the next 3 months, she can at least do 3lbs!!!

Please tell me... what does your typical 2-year-old eat on a daily basis???

Mommy and Me #10 - the vibrating chair

Our neighbor is awesome.  She works with special needs kids.  Her job mostly is to train them when they get communication devices and she works with the electronics and stuff.  But, she loves Sadie.

The other day, I came home from running errands and Brian and Sadie were nowhere to be found.  I figured they were probably next door visiting Cindy (she also has a fig tree that we're interested in).  I went over there, and they had Sadie sitting in this Homedics vibrating massage chair and she was loving it.

So, Cindy told us to take it home and "permanently" borrow it.

Okay, so maybe I had other motives for bringing a vibrating massage chair into my home when I'm 6 months pregnant... but Sadie still thinks it's fun!!

It is SO COMFORTABLE!!!

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Bump Watch - 27 weeks

Alright!  As of yesterday I am 3 months away from baby...God willing.  I have a friend who is 39 weeks pregnant with her second baby.  Her first baby came early, so at this point, having gone PAST when the first one would have been born, she's really struggling!  And it's hot, and she just wants to be un-pregnant.  I'm glad Sadie came late, so I won't have that expectation! haha.  Although I will PRAISE GOD if this baby comes early.

It's crazy to think of my friends who had micro-preemies, whose babies were born as early as now (or even earlier).  Technology is amazing that it can help babies survive when they are born so early.  However, I plan on keeping this one in until the bitter end!

How far along?  27 weeks - my last week of my second trimester!!

Weight Gain?  I forgot to weigh myself this morning!!  I went to bed thinking I needed to remember to weigh myself in the morning...but then when I woke up I was hungry to the point that I felt sick (and I should weigh myself BEFORE I eat).  So, I forgot.  oops.

What's up with my Body?  When I sleep, sometimes my arms/hands go numb.  Only when I sleep on my side.  And it's only my top arm.  It's weird because I'll lay like that all night and be fine, then at one point I just can't anymore, my top arm goes numb.  I remember this happening when I was pregnant before, so I'm not worried...it's just annoying.

My skin is itchy, especially on my tummy.  Somebody told me that after not seeing me for 3 or 4 days, I looked bigger.  So, I must be growing and stretching and that's why my skin is itchy.

This baby is low, way lower than Sadie (I'll have some comparison pictures in weeks to come!), so he sits on my bladder.  Peeing becomes necessary immediately when I stand up otherwise it's painful...so weird.

Clothes: I got a new bra!!  It's crazy that this is the best thing that's happened to me all week, but seriously it's so comfortable and was totally worth the money!

Food Cravings?  I went to the grocery store today and walked out of there with $80 worth of groceries and 2/3 of it was produce.  Not to mention the watermelon that cost me $1.21!!  I think because it's so hot, fruits and veggies sound refreshing.  Maybe because they have more water in them?  Maybe because they're un-processed?  I don't know, I still crave some salt, some cereal, and some chocolate at certain times of the day...but mostly it's grapes and cantaloupe and watermelon that I want.

Sleeping:  The last couple of nights I've slept like a ROCK.  Apparently last night there was a storm.  My neighbor texted me this morning to say she was up all night because the thunder scared the dog.  I had NO.IDEA there was a storm, let alone thunder and lightning!  Wow.  That's some good sleep... without numb hands.

Gender? It's a boy!  You can read about our ultrasound appointment and see pictures if you go to this post here.

Names? We finally found a name that we both like.  But then I told my Mother in law, and she brought up some good points we hadn't thought about concerning this name... so we still like it (she can call him Bill or Buddy or Mac...points for the obscure song reference?), but we're open to the possibility that there might be a better name still out there.  I'm open to suggestions, people!!

Actually the other night, I pulled up a name website and just read through lists and lists of names while Brian shot down EVERY SINGLE ONE.  ugh.

Best moment of the week: Sadie is learning to pee on the potty!!  Today is our third day of operation pee in the potty, and Sadie is 3 for 3.  I think she is starting to understand that when she sits on the potty she is supposed to pee.  I'm convinced that she knows how to hold it, so I'm hoping she's also learning how to release it on demand.  Either way, I'm sure we have a long road ahead of us and I'm not looking forward to her being out of diapers anytime soon.  But we've started the long road, and that's a big deal for us!

What I'm looking forward to: I'm actually looking forward to getting bigger.  Right now I'm pretty big, but I'm at that awkward in-between stage.  I'm ready for this boy to grow grow grow so he'll be big and fat and healthy when he's born!  This IS my last week of my second trimester, after all!!

How baby's growing: He's about the size of a head of cauliflower...which is funny because we have a head of cauliflower in our fridge and I know EXACTLY how big that is!!  He's establishing sleep cycles (sleeping now...will be awake and doing acrobatics later when I want to go to sleep!), and his brain is very active, even though his lungs are still very immature.  

Don't mind my wife beater...it's HOT outside!!

27 weeks