We're over a week into the girls' new night time routine. With the new baby on the way, we had to make a change to how we got the girls to bed at night. The old routine essentially entailed two adults being in the house (we could do it with one, but it wasn't pleasant) so that both of the girls could simultaneously be cuddled and rocked until they were sufficiently sleepy to be put in their cribs. We generally put Alivia in her crib first since she was the better sleeper and more likely to drift off faster. And then Adalyn would follow about 15 minutes later. This routine often took at least half an hour to complete and upwards of an hour and a half if one or both of the girls were really fighting sleepy time.
So. The new routine pretty much mirrors nap time and it only takes one adult to be here!! We start winding down, diapers get changed, they get their pajamas on, etc. Eventually we just say "okay girls, time for night-night" and we walk down the hall to their room. Sometimes they follow and sometimes we have to go find where they're hiding! The first couple of nights, they went down without a fuss at all. I think they were confused and honestly thought that it was just nap time...anyone can survive 2 hours of sleep, right? By night three, they caught on that it was a little darker in their room than at nap time and that the humidifier was running instead of their lullaby music. So we had quite the protest. And the protests continued for the next few nights.
Tonight is night nine. And although I had to go find Adalyn hiding behind the couch and Alivia hiding behind the snackbar stool, they went down without a fight. They just giggled when I finally caught them. Stinkers. It's been a blessing to have transitioned to this new routine, not only because the new baby will be here shortly and it would be hard to cuddle both toddlers if the baby needed to be fed. But it has freed up the other adult to get stuff done...be it yardwork, the grocery shopping (what Nate is actually doing right now), or other miscellaneous chores. Personally, I do miss my cuddle time with the girls, so I try to get a little bit more of it during the day when I'm home...sometimes they're willing participants and sometimes they're not!
But in regards to sign language, the girls surprised us today. We took both of them to Target to do some shopping. When they ride in the car, they're typically watching Baby Einstein or something similar on the DVD player. I was driving while Nate was sitting in the back with them. And wouldn't ya know it, but they both signed chair, table and cup!! Okay, so some parents of toddlers wouldn't think that's a big deal because their toddlers have been doing it for a long time and know plenty of words or whatever. But sign language is not something Nate and I have EVER worked on with the girls. EVER. They simply watch their videos in the car while we're bumming around town and that's it. And if both of us are in the car with them, we point out the objects that the videos are showing, such as ball, car, dog, fence, sidewalk, refrigerator, you name it. We focus on annunciating the given object correctly and repeat it a few times to them. Never once have we ever made the associated arm and hand motions that the little lady on the video does. But the girls have picked up on it anyway! We were pretty impressed. It's still not something we will purposefully teach them, but if they pick up some sign language along the way, then that's absolutely fine!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
30 week appointment
I had my 30 week appointment yesterday. Everything continues to go well. There's actually not much to report. It was a pretty straight forward visit. There weren't any special tests or procedures done so I was in and out pretty fast. My blood pressure is low and I'm measuring 30 weeks. I did measure how big around I am and I'm about 38 inches. I was 40 inches with the girls at this time.
After I was done with my appointment, I had to go straight to the dental office. Wouldn't ya know it, but I chipped my stinkin' bottom tooth a couple nights ago! I had originally done it 6 years ago and it ended up letting loose. I'm just glad that it was the bottom one and not the top front tooth that I chipped back when I was in the 4th grade. (I thought I was a pretty good ice skater...yeah, I wasn't) The bottom tooth is only about an eighth of my tooth. On the other hand, the top tooth is about half of my tooth and not as easily concealed. Oh, and much more painful because the chip is so large that it exposes the open nerve! So if one of them had to let loose, I'm glad it was the bottom one. But I'm happy to say that I now have a full smile once again. Yay!
After I was done with my appointment, I had to go straight to the dental office. Wouldn't ya know it, but I chipped my stinkin' bottom tooth a couple nights ago! I had originally done it 6 years ago and it ended up letting loose. I'm just glad that it was the bottom one and not the top front tooth that I chipped back when I was in the 4th grade. (I thought I was a pretty good ice skater...yeah, I wasn't) The bottom tooth is only about an eighth of my tooth. On the other hand, the top tooth is about half of my tooth and not as easily concealed. Oh, and much more painful because the chip is so large that it exposes the open nerve! So if one of them had to let loose, I'm glad it was the bottom one. But I'm happy to say that I now have a full smile once again. Yay!
Monday, July 19, 2010
All about the "big kids"
The girls. Where do I even begin?
Adalyn continues to learn more words every day. Her new favorite phrase is "go away." Over the weekend, she was antagonizing my grandma's dog. And when the dog would come near her she would then say "go away." The only place we think she learned it from is the few times that our cat, Desi, comes near us when we're busy and we say "Desi, go away." It's actually kinda scary what they pick up on! Addi will mimick almost anything you say. Or she'll at least attempt to!
Alivia has become mom and dad's little helper. She loves helping put all the toys away, she tries to help change Addi's diaper, and she always has to throw the diapers in the trash for us. She's somewhat like a little puppy, and we love her for it!! If we say jump, she jumps. If we say run, she'll run. If we ask her to show us where her feet, eyes, hands, knees, or whatever are, she'll show us. This is completely opposite of Adalyn who won't do anything on demand. Addi will only do things on her own terms...if you ask her to do something, you can almost guarantee that she won't......
Except! There's always an exception, right? The girls are now fascinated with giving each other high fives and kisses. If we just simply say "high fives" or "kisses" they both seek each other out. I have to try to catch it on video. It's so adorable. Watching them try to line up their hands or their lips is priceless. It takes a little effort. We're just waiting for the time that one of them smacks the other in the face while trying to give a high five!
I've been called out on my lack of posting belly pictures with this pregnancy (you know who you are!!). So I figured I'd share the one that was taken yesterday at exactly 30 weeks.
Adalyn continues to learn more words every day. Her new favorite phrase is "go away." Over the weekend, she was antagonizing my grandma's dog. And when the dog would come near her she would then say "go away." The only place we think she learned it from is the few times that our cat, Desi, comes near us when we're busy and we say "Desi, go away." It's actually kinda scary what they pick up on! Addi will mimick almost anything you say. Or she'll at least attempt to!
Alivia has become mom and dad's little helper. She loves helping put all the toys away, she tries to help change Addi's diaper, and she always has to throw the diapers in the trash for us. She's somewhat like a little puppy, and we love her for it!! If we say jump, she jumps. If we say run, she'll run. If we ask her to show us where her feet, eyes, hands, knees, or whatever are, she'll show us. This is completely opposite of Adalyn who won't do anything on demand. Addi will only do things on her own terms...if you ask her to do something, you can almost guarantee that she won't......
Except! There's always an exception, right? The girls are now fascinated with giving each other high fives and kisses. If we just simply say "high fives" or "kisses" they both seek each other out. I have to try to catch it on video. It's so adorable. Watching them try to line up their hands or their lips is priceless. It takes a little effort. We're just waiting for the time that one of them smacks the other in the face while trying to give a high five!
I've been called out on my lack of posting belly pictures with this pregnancy (you know who you are!!). So I figured I'd share the one that was taken yesterday at exactly 30 weeks.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Whew, it's over!
I took the dreaded 3 hour gestational diabetes test on Tuesday. I didn't expect it to be pleasant, but I didn't expect to feel as awful as I did either!! I had to be fasting for about 10 hours leading up to the test. I wasn't scheduled to have my first lab draw until 11am (by choice because I needed someone here to watch the girls), so I got up after midnight to get a little something to eat knowing it would feel like an eternity until I could eat again.
So I got there and they drew my fasting blood sugar. Then I had to drink the most sugary orange "pop" I've ever had to drink! Eeew. An hour later they drew my blood again and I was still feeling pretty good. But during the next hour, I seriously started to feel like I was going to throw up. And if you throw up, you need to repeat the test again on another day. So I was determined to keep it all down! I think my body was so confused. I hadn't eaten in over 12 hours, so I was light headed and dizzy from that. But then you get slammed with 100 grams of sugar all at once, so I kind of felt like I wanted to run a few miles!
Anyway, I had to go lay down in the car before I had the 2 hour and the 3 hour draw. I felt terrible! Turns out that I passed with flying colors. In fact, my numbers were so low that they're not sure how I failed the first test! My fasting blood sugar was 75 (it needed to be between 70-99). My one hour was 107 with a range being 70-189. And my two hour was 95 with a range of 70-164. I didn't get the results of my last draw before I left, but it really doesn't matter. I could've failed one out of the four and still "passed" the test. So the last draw was irrelevent.
Yay! I get to keep eating what I want!! But on the subject of food, I've noticed something really strange with this pregnancy. About a month ago I first noticed that our peanut butter was tasting funny. Nate had just bought a new jar of Skippy (which is my preferred brand) and I said right away that it tasted like it was made with peanuts that were badly burned. So during his next grocery trip, I asked him to get a jar of Jif. I was afraid to get another jar of Skippy because I didn't want it to be from the same "bad batch." Turns out that the Jif smelled and tasted the same way! My mom confirmed that our peanut butter is fine. And my coworkers confirmed that the peanut butter at work is also fine. So it's just my tastebuds.
Over the last month, I've noticed many other things tasting "weird" to me. Yogurt, ranch dressing, corn, some potatoes (unfortunately, french fries still taste fine!!), cottage cheese, etc. I never experienced this when I was pregnant with the girls. I had an aversion to chicken, which I also have with this pregnancy, but I never experienced the taste changes...where I really wanted something but couldn't eat it due to the bad taste. My taste buds better revert back to normal at some point because let's face it, I LOVE my peanut butter!!
So I got there and they drew my fasting blood sugar. Then I had to drink the most sugary orange "pop" I've ever had to drink! Eeew. An hour later they drew my blood again and I was still feeling pretty good. But during the next hour, I seriously started to feel like I was going to throw up. And if you throw up, you need to repeat the test again on another day. So I was determined to keep it all down! I think my body was so confused. I hadn't eaten in over 12 hours, so I was light headed and dizzy from that. But then you get slammed with 100 grams of sugar all at once, so I kind of felt like I wanted to run a few miles!
Anyway, I had to go lay down in the car before I had the 2 hour and the 3 hour draw. I felt terrible! Turns out that I passed with flying colors. In fact, my numbers were so low that they're not sure how I failed the first test! My fasting blood sugar was 75 (it needed to be between 70-99). My one hour was 107 with a range being 70-189. And my two hour was 95 with a range of 70-164. I didn't get the results of my last draw before I left, but it really doesn't matter. I could've failed one out of the four and still "passed" the test. So the last draw was irrelevent.
Yay! I get to keep eating what I want!! But on the subject of food, I've noticed something really strange with this pregnancy. About a month ago I first noticed that our peanut butter was tasting funny. Nate had just bought a new jar of Skippy (which is my preferred brand) and I said right away that it tasted like it was made with peanuts that were badly burned. So during his next grocery trip, I asked him to get a jar of Jif. I was afraid to get another jar of Skippy because I didn't want it to be from the same "bad batch." Turns out that the Jif smelled and tasted the same way! My mom confirmed that our peanut butter is fine. And my coworkers confirmed that the peanut butter at work is also fine. So it's just my tastebuds.
Over the last month, I've noticed many other things tasting "weird" to me. Yogurt, ranch dressing, corn, some potatoes (unfortunately, french fries still taste fine!!), cottage cheese, etc. I never experienced this when I was pregnant with the girls. I had an aversion to chicken, which I also have with this pregnancy, but I never experienced the taste changes...where I really wanted something but couldn't eat it due to the bad taste. My taste buds better revert back to normal at some point because let's face it, I LOVE my peanut butter!!
Here are a couple pictures of the girls. I'll update on them soon.
Addi loves wearing this hoodie.
Apparently Livi was hot. She laid down right over the AC vent.
Playing with their water table in their new swimming suits from Grandma and Grandpa J.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
All is well in Pregnant Land
For the most part at least!! I had quite the day lined up yesterday. It started with having lab work done to test for gestational diabetes and anemia. After that, I had an appointment with Dr L. I'm measuring at 28 1/2 weeks, which is exactly what I am! She was a bit concerned about the frequency of my contractions, so she performed another Fetal Fibronectin test. I had two of them done while I was pregnant with the girls. It's a very good indicator of preterm labor. If the test comes back negative, there's a 99% chance that the baby will not be born for at least another 1-2 weeks. Anyway, after that, I headed to ultrasound where I thought they were just going to be measuring the exit out. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that they were going to look at and measure the baby too!
So all of the good news first...I found out today that the Fetal Fibronectin did indeed come back negative! Yay! So little Baby J should be staying put for at least a couple weeks yet. The ultrasound revealed that the exit out is actually better than it was a few weeks ago! After a few measurements, the average length was 4.1cm. So that's awesome. The baby looks absolutely fantastic. He was practicing his breathing a lot, sucking on the back of his arm, and his heartrate was perfect - in the mid 150s. Oh yes, and he was actually measuring quite large at 3lbs 2oz!! For comparison, the girls were measuring 2lbs 9oz and 2lbs 11oz at this exact same time. So this baby is GINORMOUS!
And now for the not so great, but not terrible news. In addition to finding out the results of my Fetal Fibronectin, I also found out today that I failed my preliminary gestational diabetes test. The number had to be below 140 and mine came back at 146. What a bummer. So I have to go back on Tuesday for the 3 hour test. I will have to fast for 8-10 hours and they will draw my blood right when I get there. Then I'll drink a sugary solution that has double the carbs of the one I drank yesterday. Oh goodie. After that, they'll draw my blood 1hr, 2hrs, and 3hrs post ingestion of my yummy, tangy drink (that's sarcasm just in case you didn't catch on)! Keep your fingers crossed that I pass! The other not so great news is that this baby is sitting very, very breech. He has his legs crossed in front of him sitting right on top of the exit out with his little head up under my ribs. In fact, he's so curled up with his legs rather pretzel-like that Paula couldn't even double check the gender (not that we want to know, but Paula sure did!). He's been this way for over two weeks now and I'm a little worried that he's getting very comfortable in that position. I know he has plenty of time to turn into the optimal delivery position of being head down...but the longer he sits in this same position, the more I fear that he's making his permanent home that way! Let's hope not.
The one positive about Baby J sitting breech is that he's not putting any pressure on the exit out. I think that's why my measurements have always been great during this pregnancy. With the girls, Addi got stuck head down by 18 weeks. And the constant pressure of her little head made the exit out start to buckle. So I guess I have to look on the bright side and realize that this baby might be helping me avoid bedrest by staying breech for a while (just please don't stay that way all the way up to delivery...mommy doesn't need nor want a C-section)!!
Next appointment will be in 2 weeks. But first I have to survive my lab work next week! Ugh.
So all of the good news first...I found out today that the Fetal Fibronectin did indeed come back negative! Yay! So little Baby J should be staying put for at least a couple weeks yet. The ultrasound revealed that the exit out is actually better than it was a few weeks ago! After a few measurements, the average length was 4.1cm. So that's awesome. The baby looks absolutely fantastic. He was practicing his breathing a lot, sucking on the back of his arm, and his heartrate was perfect - in the mid 150s. Oh yes, and he was actually measuring quite large at 3lbs 2oz!! For comparison, the girls were measuring 2lbs 9oz and 2lbs 11oz at this exact same time. So this baby is GINORMOUS!
And now for the not so great, but not terrible news. In addition to finding out the results of my Fetal Fibronectin, I also found out today that I failed my preliminary gestational diabetes test. The number had to be below 140 and mine came back at 146. What a bummer. So I have to go back on Tuesday for the 3 hour test. I will have to fast for 8-10 hours and they will draw my blood right when I get there. Then I'll drink a sugary solution that has double the carbs of the one I drank yesterday. Oh goodie. After that, they'll draw my blood 1hr, 2hrs, and 3hrs post ingestion of my yummy, tangy drink (that's sarcasm just in case you didn't catch on)! Keep your fingers crossed that I pass! The other not so great news is that this baby is sitting very, very breech. He has his legs crossed in front of him sitting right on top of the exit out with his little head up under my ribs. In fact, he's so curled up with his legs rather pretzel-like that Paula couldn't even double check the gender (not that we want to know, but Paula sure did!). He's been this way for over two weeks now and I'm a little worried that he's getting very comfortable in that position. I know he has plenty of time to turn into the optimal delivery position of being head down...but the longer he sits in this same position, the more I fear that he's making his permanent home that way! Let's hope not.
The one positive about Baby J sitting breech is that he's not putting any pressure on the exit out. I think that's why my measurements have always been great during this pregnancy. With the girls, Addi got stuck head down by 18 weeks. And the constant pressure of her little head made the exit out start to buckle. So I guess I have to look on the bright side and realize that this baby might be helping me avoid bedrest by staying breech for a while (just please don't stay that way all the way up to delivery...mommy doesn't need nor want a C-section)!!
Next appointment will be in 2 weeks. But first I have to survive my lab work next week! Ugh.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Cuddle Time
This never happens, so I had to take about 50 pictures while the opportunity lasted. They had just woken up for the day and I think they might have still been a bit tired! Here are just a few of those too-many-to-count pictures that I took. Excuse the bed-head...there was no time to brush hair before the photo shoot!!
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