Tag Archives: baby

He’s Learning

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The past few mornings, he has woken up tremendously early right along with Erik’s alarm clock due to his week to work 7am shift. So, I will go get him, change him, and try to get him to go back to sleep for another hour with me in my bed. Sometimes it works, other times, not so much.

But, he’s learning that mommy doesn’t just jump out of bed and go. He watches her move with curiosity and patience as she pulls this wallet out next to her, unzips it, and pulls out three things : A box, a pencil-like thing, and something that rattles. She pops open the thing that rattles and takes a piece of something out and sticks it in the box. Then, the pencil thing makes a noise when she pushes the button on top. She sqeezes her finger to make this red stuff come out, and touches it to the thing she pulled out of the rattle… and waits. Then, she pushes some buttons, and puts it all back into the wallet and zips it back up.

Then, she grabs another rattle off of the table beside the bed. She twists the cap off, puts a round blue thing in her mouth, closes the rattle and puts it back. She grabs her bottle, drinks from it, and puts it back.

After this, he knows it’s time to pop up and go.

He’s learning mommy has a routine.

He’s learning mommy has things she has to do as soon as she sits up in bed.

He’s learning mommy’s life with diabetes and hypothyroidism.

Revisting: Thinking of Baby

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Last night, I was scrolling through some old posts and once again found this one. My very first post. Seeing as how it’s the eve of my baby boy’s FIRST birthday, I thought it’d be appropriate to repost it, with an updated picture of Kip’s foot. My!, how things have changed in three years!!!! And I wouldn’t trade a bit of it for the world!

Today, my mind decides to play visions of a happy little baby/toddler in mine and my husband’s life. Thinking of how it would be having a “daddy’s little girl” in a cute pink dress sitting in his lap, or walking around trying to reach up to us to hold her. Or maybe a little boy… “Little E” (my husband’s nickname is “Big E” because he’s 6’3″ former college football player) running around with toy Transformers (my husband’s favorite cartoon growing up… still collects the toys from it) or going hunting/fishing/whatever with Uncle Alex and coming home to tell me all about the “BIG BUCK” they saw.

Only problem is, we don’t have that baby neither here or on the way. With my A1c not being on target for pregnancy, and trying everything in our power not to get pregnant, it seems to be that one thing that I want but can’t have. And it’s not like a new house or new car, but just that part of me that wants to be complete… that part of me that my cats can’t take the place of. Although with times as they are with the recession and all, it’s probably not the wisest thing to do right now. And yes, I know, that when the time is right, God will make a way for us to be able to have our little munchkin.

So, until then, I have my goal to work on for my A1c and two loving cats to be my babies.

A big thank you to all of you guys who have helped give me encouragement throughout this wonderful journey. I don’t want to think about how hard it would have been not having your support.

Mobile

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So, lately, I have been working with BabyK to up his tummy time. He never has liked being on his tummy, and (completely my fault) I’ve honestly never made him because he would always get frustrated quickly. But after visiting his pediatrician, he stressed the importance not just for building his neck muscles, but back and arm muscles and to build control and all that good stuff. And silly me thought he had to do the time limit all at once, but he told me to try little bit by little bit until he can do the full tummy-time all at once. If he still didn’t like it, to try starting off with tummy-to-tummy… his tummy against ours… then on something else to help prop him like a Boppy or other pillow, then on the floor. (Whew!). So, we have a pillow like a Boppy (the WalMart version – which in my opinion is better anyway because this one has a strap that goes between his legs and velcroes on the side so he won’t wiggle himself down when he’s laying face-up. You can’t do the strap when he’s face-down). We got it right after he had a bad cold when he was about 2 months old because it would prop him up and help him breathe, plus it helped when he would actually breastfeed.

Little by little, we have been making some progress. At first, he hated it and fussed very shortly after placing him on his tummy. I mean, like, within a minute. We’re now up to three 3-minute stretches, sometimes with and sometimes without the pillow.

Tummy time

 He watches the iPad (facetime with friends or a movie) and plays with his rattles.

 This past week, he started rocking back and forth to his side and back, but never could get all the way over. Well, this morning, I left him playing with his toys on the playmat so I could take a shower. He usually gets fussy while I’m in the shower because he can’t see me, so when he got fussy this morning, I thought it was just because of that and I finished my shower as usual. When I got out, I went to check on him, and he had rolled completely over! He must have done it right before he got fussy because by the time I saw him, he had gotten tired and laid his head down. Of course, it was all over when he saw me though – he got fussy until I rolled him back over, and he thanked me with a big grin.

Then it hit me.

My baby is becoming mobile.

Granted, it’s time because he’s 4 1/2 months old. But still. It’s not going to be long before we will have to have a much closer eye on him! Can someone say, baby-proofing is NEEDED now? Whoa. I mean, I was like, all excited and stuff that he rolled over (side-note: seriously… it’s ridiculous how tremendously excited I get over stuff like that with him! /side-note) and was texting Erik about it and then it was like the light-bulb went off and I saw a reel of visions in fast-play mode in my head.. rolling, crawling, pulling up, then walking. OH my!

*sigh*

So much is happening this month with him. He’ll be 5 months old the day after Christmas. (another side-note: My neice will be  10 years old that day too! O.M.Gooses! /side-note 2) 

Then the adventures of BABY FOOD will begin! JOY!!!! :-D

Precious Things

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Gifts that are received while you’re pregnant for your baby are always appreciated… Even the ones you don’t need right away. You know the person wants to help out and do what they can for you, whether it be bottles, diapers, wipes, or clothes. But then there are the gifts that are even more special… The ones that have a story behind them. The ones that really touch your heart.

Thursday, Erik came home from work with a gift from a lady he works with. He had left to go to the gym, so I took a peek. When I opened it up, the gift that I saw was very beautiful, and I had a gut feeling there was a special story behind this gift.

See, he has a lot of very nice women he works with that would do anything for him. This one lady knew we were expecting our little boy and wanted to do something nice for us. So, while going through her chemotherapy treatments, she hand-made this beautiful, hand crocheted blanket for us. Someone who didn’t know me from Eve but knew Erik took hours of time during her pain to make something special for us and our little boy.

I will forever cherish this blanket, along with the other special hand-made gifts we have received.

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Re-Thinking Food

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Erik and I have started buying food more responsibly. Before, we used to go when we wanted something and would end up spending $40-$50 each trip, a few times per week. Now, we are going once every two weeks to the grocery store and stocking up on sale items (diapers, anyone???) that we may need for the future and grabbing necessary items for the week. Since doing this, I have been able to start packing my breakfasts, lunches, and snacks for the day to take to work, and have been able to save money on drive-thru places and gas to go to them.

packing

But lately, I have been having to re-think the foods we have been stocking up on. I’m trying to incorporate more fresh fruits, whole grains, and just all-around wholesome foods. Granted, if you see us in the store, we will still have a package of something sweet and possibly a pizza in the buggie, but everything else is the good stuff – better cuts of meats, bags and bags of fruits, whole grain rice instead of white rice, you know?

And yes, I’m now 5 months into this pregnancy and you may be wondering why the change now and not when we first found out. Well, since I wasn’t able to eat very much in the beginning of the pregnancy, most all that I ate was the good stuff like fruits, low-carb meals, etc because it was the only thing I could hold down. Now, with hunger coming in full force, I have to control what I’m eating a little better.

Also, if any of you read my post for Diabetes Sisters this weekend, you will see my other little issue that has come up. Gastroparesis. It’s where your body has delayed absorption of food. Granted, my endocrinologist said that this is common in some pregnancies because of the hormones changing things, but I can’t say that it didn’t scare the sh** out of me to actually hear that word. I had some slight symptoms of it before pregnancy, but not enough or not often enough to worry about. Now, it’s on my mind every single day because every day, there will be one problem meal. I can prebolus in the correct amount of time, eat my food, but it just sits there. I will feel full to the brim (almost literally) and completely bloated for 2-3 hours, blood sugar plummeting and staying low in the 40 range until all of a sudden, it’s like the gate opens and everything starts absorbing, then my Dexcom starts going crazy that I’m shooting for the sky and sure enough, I will be. I’ve had this happen for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners now, and it’s not fun at all. So, with his suggestion to eat and use a combo-bolus at every meal, I’m also changing up the foods to try not to have too many high-fat meals and opt for more healthier, fresh, wholesome meals to see if it will help. Granted, I know that high-fiber meals can be just as tricky for those who have GP, but I’m really just adding what should have been in my diet all along. I’m also trying to space out my meals and snacks so that I’m having no more than 30g of carb every 2 hours, instead of maybe 60g at one setting with no snacks. Will it help with the GP? I don’t know, but with insulin resistance and GP now in the mix, I am willing to do anything it takes to keep the best blood sugar control I can have and this is the only way I know to do it.

I have to admit. I feel like I’m going crazy already. I knew things would have to tighten up and I would have to be stricter with a lot of things while I was pregnant, but I don’t think I was fully ready for all of this. Sometimes, it gets the best of me and I have a meltdown. Others, I refuse to let myself because I feel like I’m being selfish. I mean, what’s 9 months of super-tight control if it helps your baby that will be with you for (God willing) years and years and years be healthy as possible when he or she is born? My mind is constantly fighting a battle now, it seems, and it’s starting to wear me out. What keeps me going is the kicks I feel from him, all the pictures I have of BabyK from the ultrasounds, and walking in and sitting in the rocking chair in his room knowing that I’ll be holding him there soon. It keeps my d-sanity in line.

22 weeks

That song by Faith Hill – A Baby Changes Everything? Yep, it is SO true… even before they get here. (And now, I have to hush because that other pregnancy symptom is starting up… the tears! Geewillikers!!)

BabyK Kicks!

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Sorry for the blur. I may have to re-film later to get a better quality picture, but this is as good as I could get last night while he was kicking.

Edit: I revideo’ed this afternoon… hopefully you can see him a little better here:

It’s A Boy!

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baby boyJust in case you missed the news yesterday, we found out that we are having a little boy. And trust me, we – along with the ultrasound tech – are very sure… like 99.9999999% sure.

Only a few minutes into the ultrasound and her checking his position (where his head, heart, legs, etc…) were, she asked “Does anyone want to guess what we think it is?”. My sister-in-law said “boy”, but I couldn’t hear her, and she looked at me and I said “Well, we’re hoping for a boy, but what do you think?” (I didn’t want to say “BOY!” and be wrong… silly, I know). We were staring at the screen for what seemed like an eternity for those couple of seconds of silence. Then she moved the wand just a little to the side and there you could see all of his glory there on that 43” TV screen on the wall and said “Yep, you’re definitely having a boy!”. I’m sure if anyone in the waiting room could hear, they would have heard the squeal of my sister-in-law and mother-in-law over in the corner. My sister was there too, but I don’t know if she was in with that squeal or not… we’re not really the squealing type… but I know I looked at her and she was smiling big.

He was squirming all over the place at one point. Moving, playing with his hands and kicking all around. Then at one point he curled up and kicked hard, which moved the wand on my stomach. Erik couldn’t believe it. “I knew you said he was kicking you, but man! He just reared back and kicked the mess outta ya!” I laughed and said “SEE! I told you he was kicking me!” which made him move even more.

Erik, of course, was happy – but he honestly would have been happy either way, boy or girl. We both were more worried about how the baby looked and wanted to make sure everything looked like it had formed right as far as his heart, brain, all that good stuff. From what the ultrasound tech could see, she said that he looked great – no problems from what the ultrasound was showing her at this time. His heart was beating away – all 4 chambers looked good and she even showed where his little bladder was getting full, as sign that his kidneys are working just fine. Thank the Lord!! :-)

After the ultrasound, my inlaws and my sister left and off to the waiting room / lab area we went. My labwork had already been done at my endo’s office (we stopped by there to drop off last week’s bloodsugars) so that didn’t have to be redone, but they weighed me and my weight gain is right on track which is great.

We were put into a room and a few minutes later the doctor came in. He looked at my blood sugars, wanted to see my pump and what basal rates I’m on, asked about my bolusing and wanted to be sure I’m bolusing for meals at least 3 times per day. I’m sure my face turned red because I didn’t quite understand him because I responded, “Yeah, I bolus with every meal… at least 20 minutes ahead.”, thinking “duh, I’m pregnant and I have cravings, so yes, I eat MORE than 3 times a day!” And he looked at me and grinned and said “At least 3 time a day, right??” Then it hit me.. he was making sure I’m eating enough. Which, I am… and I told him too… my meals are spread out all day so I’m either snacking or having a small meal just to try to help keep the bg spikes to a minimum, all the while trying to space them out so I’m not insulin-stacking too – something Dr. C (the endo) warned me about at my last visit. I asked why he wanted to see my pump settings since that was handled by Dr C, and he said they just wanted a base-line for when I’m in the hospital, they know what’s going on and all. So, I guess I’ll be printing out my pump settings report along with my bg’s to bring to them too.

We were going to start me on going every 2 weeks after this appointment, but he said that things are going so well that I won’t need to come back for another 4 weeks, and then he’ll bump me up to every 2 weeks. He also said that he’ll do another ultrasound at the appointment after next (6 weeks from now), so that eases my mind a little bit too.

So it was an awesome visit, though it’s still sinking in…. A boy. We’re having a boy. Our very own son.

 

Oh and the voting results?

voting results

Thank you all for voting. It was fun to see the results as they came in. You guys are the best!!!

Letter To The Little One–18 Weeks

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18 weeks18 Weeks.

Wow.

It really doesn’t seem that long, little one.

You’ve grown from this little thing, barely even a peanut, all the way to be big enough for me to feel you moving and rolling from one side to the other. I listened to you kicking me last night with my stethoscope. You must have gotten bored with me playing with you and, at last, you hid from me.

I’m starting to learn things about you. You wake up and move around after I get settled at work and again after lunch. If I’ve been active that day or haven’t been able to feel you move around, I know I can sit still and play some music on my iPhone and you’ll start dancing. You’re like me… you love to move to the music. Whether it’s from the iPhone or from me singing in church or in the truck on the way home, you’ll start moving your little body around… like you’re singing with me, just with you’re hands and feet. Don’t worry, you’re cousin loves music too, and I can’t wait to see you guys playing and dancing in the floor when the family gets together.

And even though we don’t know if you’re a boy or girl yet (two more weeks till we go to find out, so please don’t be shy!), I’ve started getting your room together. Of course, the cats, especially Sophie, don’t know what’s coming. Your dad and I think they think we’re redecorating for them. Sophie loves to run and sleep under your crib we have put in there for you. I can only imagine what they’ll do when your grandpa gets done refinishing the rocking chair for the room for those nights when you wake us up to be changed, fed and rocked back to sleep. Or when we start getting gifts from showers and they think it’s theirs to play with… or when we get the mattress to put in your crib… oh boy.

Little one, even though God has given life to you inside of me, you have given my life so much already. I never thought I’d ever get to see that plus sign on a pregnancy test. I never thought I would be the one laying on the examining table getting an ultrasound to see if there’s really a baby inside of me, let alone see the little tiny heart beating. I never thought I’d get to feel what it felt like to have a baby moving inside of me. It’s amazing. Every little bit.

We’re only half way through and I love you so very much.

I can’t wait to see you again in a couple of weeks.

Love,

Mommy