11-Months!

One month and you're officially a toddler!  Where has the time gone?  I've got to be honest with you though, I'm really anticipating your toddler years.  Although you are so cute, cuddly, and little right now, you actually HATE to be coddled and insist that I ALWAYS hold your hand so that you can walk around with support.  This month, you have grown from walking around with two-hand support, to only one-hand support, and then by just grabbing one-finger.  These are litterally your "baby-steps"

One of my favorite things you do is when I'm laying on the floor and you come crawling on me and hug me, and by "hug" I kind of really mean that you throw your body and face onto me (and sometimes even give a little bite).   Yeah - I'm not a fan of the biting part.  You also enjoy rolling on our bed although it still stresses me out because you don't realize what falling off the bed feels like just yet. 

Also, this month has really solidified your greatly-anticipated ability to sleep through the night!  Thank you, Lord!

OTHER TATER TIDBITS

• Yesterday you stood on your own and didn't even notice for about 30 seconds.  When you were 10 seconds in, there were already beads of sweat on my brow.  By the time you reached 30 seconds, I'd nearly passed out!
• Are you pointing AT things?  Or pointing FOR things?  You've picked up finger pointing somewhere along the way.  You mix a finger point with a Tater-grunt, and you've started communicating the things you want.  And boy... you want EVERYTHING!
• Favorite Pastimes:
• Swinging an open door back and forth.
• Reaching into the:  toy box, flower box, bathtub, and toilet (No Tater!  Ewww)
• The backyard is the place to be, even now that it's getting chilly.
• You've come to associate my finger with your ability to walk.  You deliberately look for my finger, grab it with assertiveness, and then your whole body language changes.  It's as if you say, "Good, got the finger.  So let's go now!"
• Bets are still coming in on when you will walk unassisted.  I'm not too confident that you'll be as good a walker as your brother was by his first birthday.  We have one month to go, and you're still a little floppy like a fish at times.
• You still love to eat, so your birthday theme will be Cookie Monster. (Oh and your tastebuds have matured to the point that you now REFUSE bland food!  Who?  Tater?  No way.  Yep - it's true, your palate only wants the good stuff now.) 
• You and your brother have a love-hate relationship.  When he starts to get a little aggressive, you hold your ground and don't take his crap.

MAMA'S TIDBITS

• I'm trying my best to be patient about your need for me to ALWAYS hold your hand while walking.  To stay sane, I've started to think of it as if you're in Rehab, trying to learn to walk again and I'm your physical therapist.  The more therapy time, the quicker you'll walk.  Yeah - it's a stretch but hey, it's got me up and walking with you!  I'm a great therapist.
•  I STILL haven't got my act together when it comes to exercise.  I smell a new year's resolution looming near!
• In my quest to balance work and home life, I'm on a new kick to get organized.  So far, so good!  It's really helping me spend quality time with the kids.  A separate post to come.

-Shirley

It's Over

And like that they're gone.

Almost two full months passed.  Two months full of family activities and although exhausted, I couldn't even begin to imagine how worse off I would've been without their in-house Nanny help.  My inlaws helped me so much with my daily schedule, especially my mother inlaw with Mateo.

Here's an example of the big help I received that I'm now missing (sadface):

7:00 am - When Mateo would wake up crying, I could just focus on getting myself ready knowing my mother inlaw would be there to get Mateo ready, plus I could just let Diego keep sleeping because they watched him the entire day and cut my day care costs in half!
12:00pm - I'd go home for a lunch that was already made!
6:00 pm - I'd arrive home from work to an already cooked homemade dinner!
7:00 pm - Washing the dinner dishes?  What's that?
8:00 pm - Although not fully relieved of my baby duties, it was nice to have someone else share time keeping Mateo from crying entertained.

And now, with the flick of the wrist they're gone and all duties fall back on me - the only mom left in the house.  The first night back in the saddle went pretty well, I had prepped to make a Peruvian dish for dinner so all I had to do was toss the ingredients together in a pan when I got home from work.  It took me a total of 20 mins and in that time Mateo kept himself busy getting into kitchen cabinets.  When he started to get a little fussy, I gave him a piece of fruit to keep his hands and mouth busy.  After dinner, he started getting needy when he no longer wanted to crawl.  He insisted that I hold his hand as we walked around the house.  Mateo led me to my inlaws' "old" bedroom. The door was closed so that he would not be able to crawl in there and get into things.  He examined the door, touched it, played patty-cake with it, and tried reaching for the handle.

With his baby grunts and mumbles, he'd repeatedly point to the door. 

"I know, Tater."  

"I'll miss them too."

I really will - Shirley

Dino Tales

I was quite nervous yet excited to see Diego in his costume this year.  I've had dreams of having the kid that wants to go everywhere in their costume even past Halloween.  Once I saw a little princess at the dog park in December, and thought "Hey it's not Halloween anymore".  My mind started to process how that mom's morning must've went.  "OK sweetie, we're going to take Fido out for a walk; let's get dressed!"

"Princess! Princess! Princess!"

How friggin' sweet...

But my first son has already shot so many of my other dreams down for now like fun trips to the beach (hates sand and water).  And with his terrible-twos mood swings lately I needed to find him in the perfect mood to show him his costume, lest Halloween be damned for eternity!

To my delight, he adopted his costume like a cute lost puppy! His favorite part of the costume is the tail since he always points to the tails of his dino figurines.  I also tried to find him a one piece because I thought the extra accessories would get no love.  Boy was I wrong.  Diego liked the extra parts so much, that he stole parts of Mateo's Triceratops costume and turned his own T-rex into a hybrid:  Tyran-a-tops!   The past few days I've helped him put on, then take off his costume at least a dozen times.

It's been a constant, "Mama!  Tail! Tail!" followed by "No tail!" an hour later.

This is the second time he's delighted me this month.  Once at the pumpkin patch and now with his costume.  Either Halloween is on track to be his favorite holiday or -

It's time to give the beach a try again!  Shirley

Dimples

A few weeks ago I read this post from one of my favorite bloggers.  She took the words right out of my mouth.  Well - no, she wrote it better than I ever would have.  That's why she's so awesome.

I gave birth to a baby with dimples.... F-'n A! - Shirley

9 Months!

It feels like such a long time, and in reality 9 months is.  I feel like Tater's been in our lives forever and yet not long enough.  At this 9 month mark, he's been "out" just as long as he was "in"! 

This month, Tater has given me a few nights where he went to bed around 9pm and didn't fully wake up until 5:00 am.  Most nights however, still require me to get up somewhere around the 2am hour to march into the nursery and ease the pacifier back into his mouth.

Other than that it's been a hard month for me because Tater has begun a separation anxiety stage directed towards only me.  Everything is fine and dandy until I waltz into the room.  Cue the crying and wanting to be held by Mama! It's draining on me because he not only wants to be held all the time, but he also doesn't like when I'm holding him while sitting down.  I must be standing up.  So tiring! (if you're wondering why I've been blog absent for the past couple of weeks, this is partly why)  As a result, I'm really starting to get anxious about him starting to crawl.  I think it will do us both some good once he gets a little mobile and independent.  At 9 months, he is so close but still not crawling.  Diego had already begun to crawl at 8 1/2 months.

OTHER TATER TIDBITS

• 23 lbs!
• 22-inches!
• He pulls himself up on the crib when he really wants out
• I believe I used the term "vaccuum" when his doctor asked me to describe his eating habits.  Mateo recently started eating meats in his purees and his doc suggested more finger foods now
• He has about 5 teeth now; aside from his bottom "rabbit teeth", the latest are the top front teeth including his 'vampire fangs' just in time for Halloween!
• He thinks he can walk by himself.  Sometimes when holding him on the floor, he just goes for it.  I think his walker has confused him.
• Oh the walker....  Most of the time he'll fight you when you try to put him in it, because he can walk by himself, don't you know?
• Likewise, he'll fight you if you try to sit him on the floor.  He'll turn into a stone log and won't allow you to bend him in the sitting position.  The kid's got strength!  He only wants to be held!

MAMA'S TIDBITS

• I gave up on pumping.  I listened to my body.  It was just time to.  More details coming soon.
• Since I'm not really spending time pumping, I've gotten back into manicuring my nails again.  :)
• Instead of doing my nails, I should really run on the treadmill that we finally setup in our garage.  I need to lose these last couple of "Tater" pounds!
• Not a fan of my hair right now.  It's embarrassingly thin and I've got a lot of re-growth that's in an awkward in-between stage and bobby pins are NOT really helping! 
• Just overall exhausted due to Mateo's recent separation anxiety.

That's a wrap! - Shirley

8 months!

The other day as I reached my house, I realized I had drifted off into thought and wonder for maybe 15 minutes while driving home from my parents' house.  It was one of those moments when you snap back to regular consciousness while driving and think to yourself, "Oh my!  How did I get all the way over here already?  Did I really just drive all the way here?"

It's a 15 minute drive from my parents' house.  15 minutes!  The two smaller organisms in the car had been quiet enough to allow me to drift off into thought for 15 minutes.  Not a peep was made.  Not a cry, or a giggle, or a moan.  Complete silence!  This means that at 8 months, Mateo is FINALLY a good car baby! It's so refreshing to know that the worst (in terms of car rides) is now over! 

Other Tater Tidbits

• You said "Mama"!  You said "Mama"!  You said "Mama"!
• You've been going to sleep earlier around 7:30 or 8 pm.  But you still wake up at least once in the night at 3am.
• You pretty much hold your own bottle, so every morning I give it to you while you're laying in your crib and it allows me to have more time to get ready in the mornings
• I started giving you Gerber puff treats and it's fun to watch your hand/eye coordination.  The puffs don't always make it in your mouth though.
• You're not crawling yet, but according to my notes your brother started after two weeks of completing 8 months, tick-tock!
• Grandma scoffed when I tried to give your brother a mohawk, but she thinks a mohawk rather suits your face frame

Mama's 8-mos Tidbits

• Still no luck on the increased lactation front.  It's actually gone down from producing 8oz. a day to 6 oz.  I'm feeling like it's almost time to call it quits.
• I finally bit the bullet and bought a video monitor for the nursury, and I'm so glad I finally did.
• My hair continues to be cooperative regarding frizziness, but oh my it is soooo thin :(

Olympic Redemption

I reached my Olympic moment yesterday (sorry - my house has Olympic fever right now - how about yours?).  Like an Olympic athlete, I have been working hard for years as a mother.  One of the gold medals I was vying for was in the sport of saying "mama" before "dada".  Like Lolo Jones, I was on track for the gold the first time around, but was eventually robbed by the glitz and glamour of Dada. So I kept up my regimen in hopes I'd fare better the second time around.

This is where Lolo's and my Olympic story diverges.  I pity Lolo's story and appreciate that mine turned out differently. 

Diego, Mateo, and I were sitting on the couch.  Diego was silently playing on his Kindle Fire when out of nowhere, Mateo said "Mama" clear as day.  I looked to 2 year old Diego for some kind of acknowledgment since he was my only witness.  The toothy smile that appeared on Diego's face in the seconds after my Olympic moment was validity enough.  Then his smile turned into giggles, and finally he spoke up.  "Brother, mama!" he said and laughed.  It was weird for the both of us.  This little chunk has been in our lives for just about 8 months now and hasn't spoken a word.  So Diego and I had a blast hearing his brother take on a new human trait. 

I can now retire from this sport, a gold medal winner.   In yo' face, Dada!

Reveling in my motherhood moment of glory- Shirley

A 6-Month Update

I really need to post this 6 month update before Mateo turns 7 months!  LOL.  I think my biggest disappointment this month is that Mateo is still not sleeping through the night.  In fact, he still wakes up twice in the night and sometimes three times a night.  I can' believe it's been half a year since I've had a full night's sleep (OK so I did when I was on vacation, I just like to sound dramatic).  I go back and forth between mental frustration and patience:  "Why won't you just go to sleep?!" and then "It's fine, take as much time as you need.  You're my baby, and I love you."

My attempts at various sleep methods are just as mixed from coddling him to sleep, to crying it out, to hoping that starting him on solids would keep him full through the night, to keeping him up later before bedtime (~9:30pm), to finally moving him out of our room and into the nursery.  As you can see, nothing has really done the trick.  I really don't have much faith that the 7-month update will be any different, but I do have hope that I will be wrong about that.

But enough of my complaining, there have been a lot of milestones this month too!

Mateo's 6-month Tidbits:

And we have teeth!

Mateo's favorite foods are banana, sweet potato, and Baby Mum Mums crackers

Uses his walker now, but only goes in reverse and lasts 10 minutes, tops

20.5 lbs in his 6-month check in

The most hilarious thing ever is when Mama blows raspberries on his tummy

Sits very comfortably with his Boppy pillow and is therefore a little more independent and easier to manage

Likes to move objects on the Ipad screen (Cause & Effect)

Has taken a liking to Qori and aunt's dog Mokee

Mama's 6-Month Tidbits

Sleep-deprived

Has decided to start exclusively pumping since Mateo's teeth have come in

Pumping about an ounce less milk per pump than last month (Mateo receives supplemental formula)

Thought it was over, but hair continues to fall out

New hair growth as evidenced in the tons of baby hairs that stick straight up in pony tails.

Tummy stretch marks are slightly faded

Could probably stand to lose a lb or two in the gut area, but won't really start an exercise routine until Mateo is a little more hands-free

Trying to eat more healthy, and sucking out loud at taking vitamins

Hoping to be awake for the 7-month update! - Shirley

Empty Nest

Last night there were big changes over at my place people.  BIG CHANGES!  While it was probably another night for you with the same routine of tucking in the kids, there was a minor tweak in my bedtime routine.  It involved a detour of placing Mateo in his crib in the nursery to sleep instead of the bassinet beside my bed.

I had been preparing mentally for this for months.  I felt like I was never going to be ready to allow my child to sleep in a different room.  But after the previous night, something snapped and I actually DECIDED it was time.  I rustled the covers; Mateo would wake up.  Hubby started snoring; Mateo would wake up.  The dog started scratching himself; Mateo would wake up.  Doing the math, I realized there were 5 bodies inhabiting my master bedroom, including the dog.  It was just too much.  How could anyone get a good nights' sleep?

As I placed Mateo in his crib, I felt a bit of sadness but I knew it was for the best.  I kept telling myself that it was exactly like when he sleeps in his crib during the day, only now it was night.  I left our door and Mateo's door open and I tiptoed out of the nursery to find my toddler, Mr. "I don't want to sleep in the bed and will kick and scream to sleep on the couch" sitting and relaxing on the couch with his Kindle Fire.

"Diego, do you want to go take a nap with us?" I asked.  "No!" he replied.  Exhausted due to the week of sleep deprivation I simply gave up and said, "OK, Mama's going to sleep.  Give me a kiss." and he did.  I left him there safe on the couch in the dark playing on his Kindle. 

Hubby and I started to get ready for bed.  Suddenly, Guess Who came hopping into the bedroom with his Kindle and plopped himself onto his spot in the bed and snuggled in?  I whispered to Hubby, 'don't make a big deal about it, just ignore it.'

And we all fell asleep.  The night enveloped our house with sweet dreams until 4:45am when I woke up to hear Mateo starting to stir.  It was a successful night, but it still saddens me deeply that Mateo is no longer in our room. 

"I don't want to close my eyes. I don't want to fall asleep, cuz I'd miss you baby.  And I don't want to miss a thing" - Aerosmith

Deep Aerosmith, deep... - Shirley

One Man's Trash...

...is a another -- slightly smaller--man's treasure.

I meant to take photos to show how Mateo's very close to sitting on his own now.  Instead, my boys let their personalities take over the shoot and the photos took on a life of their own.

 scared of her own baby - Shirley

 

A 5-Month Update

We reached 5-months on Mother's Day, and your gift to me was the gift of sleeping in until 8 am instead of 6 am.  I soaked up every minute!  At five months you still wake up 1-2 times in the night and you and your brother are like little alarm clocks: waking up at 6 am even on weekends!  So you can imagine my happiness to roll over in bed, grab my phone and see the time was 8 am.  No wonder I felt so refreshed!

MaTAYto's 5-month tidbits:

You suddenly accepted your pacifier as we've been trying for months to get you to like it

You are now fully comfortable standing in your exersaucer without any extra padding, and you last about 15 minutes in it

You have found your "outside" voice: letting out high-pitched screams that seem to be for no reason at all (we joke that you scream like a girl - don't worry so does your brother!)

You've had a few upset reactions when your brother has played The Staring Game with you

Mama is considering starting you on early solids (banana, avocado, or baby cereal)

One month away to a 1/2-year old! - Shirley

Wordless Wednesday - 5/9/2012

 

My heart doubles in size each time I see this picture - Shirley

Angry Ape

I swear, my toddler becomes more and more like his father every day!  Will someone please come and help me teach this boy how to SMILE for the camera?!


All joking aside, we spent a wonderful and FUN day at the zoo on a play date with my good friend and her son.  I survived 5 1/2 hours at the zoo with my two little grizzlies and I was beat by the time I got home.  Luckily - so were they!

Ever wondered how a giraffe drinks water?  Awkward!!!!   -Shirley

The Transfer

Mobile that I bought at a consignment event for a couple of bucks.  Goes well in the new blue room!

I used to call it "The Transfer", and it was rarely a success.  Too often, after finally getting Diego to fall asleep as a baby, I would begin "The Transfer" process:  transferring him to his crib.  Each time could last up to 10 minutes of me inching my way to the crib, hovering over the crib, and slowly (oh so slowly) transferring the tiny package into the crib.  It felt like the very moment that contact was lost between me and Diego, he would immediately start wailing, and I'd need to pick him up again.  I used to joke that I should have done more upper body workouts to prepare for Diego's birth.

This is not an exaggeration.  Transfer failure really happened every time.  Diego hated his crib!  And so, Hubby and I naturally became co-sleeping parents because it was the only way for either of us to get any shut-eye.  These co-sleeping habits exist to this day with Diego at 2 years old, and there are no signs of any change in the horizon.  Diego thinks it's perfectly normal to sleep in our bed.

As you know, we've extended and remodeled our house.  We now have a dedicated bedroom for the boys which we've referred to as "Diego's Room" since its inception.  Hubby jokes that Diego is going to kick and scream when we try to get him to sleep in his own room.  I don't think it's a joke...  And I have little faith that Hubby will be able to follow through to get Diego sleeping in his room.  (Especially since he's already expressed that the solution to the problem is to get a bigger bed!)

Mateo, on the other hand, has given me MANY successful crib transfers.  The difference is astounding.  So THIS is what it feels like to have a normal baby that sleeps in his crib!  So now that we are ready to start using "Diego's Room" it appears that it's a misnomer and should have been dubbed "Mateo's Room".

I am torn.  Don't you think it's unfair that Diego gets to sleep with his parents while Mateo is banished to sleep alone in another room?  He's just a baby. And I'm a Libra - we need to keep things fair and equal. We've never had the space to have the crib in another room before so I never had to deal with these feelings before.  The crib has ALWAYS been in our room.  There is something consoling in knowing that your tiny baby is safely sleeping in the same room as you.  You can hear every whimper and react accordingly if needed.  Still, I can see the benefit of having a separate baby room especially in the mornings.  I would be able to get ready for work without tiptoeing around the baby and hoping that he at least gives me 15 minutes for makeup.  But during the nights, it would require me to get my warm, lazy ass up and walk in the cold all the way (as if I had a mansion) to another room to nurse the baby.  But maybe now that this house remodel has given me central heating it won't be so bad in the nights.  Plus, everybody has a nursery.  This is not a new concept.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm going to try it (once I get a better monitor instead of the cheap-o one I bought for Diego that I didn't really need).  For now, Mateo will sleep in a bassinet in our bedroom, and the crib will stay in the nursery.  Once he outgrows the bassinet, he will be banished to the crib in the other room.  I will try it because I'm game for anything - even though right now I feel like I'm punishing Mateo for being awesome at "The Transfer" process.  Am I alone here with these feelings?

Lying in the bed that I made - Shirley

Wordless Wednesday: Double-Duty Daddy

It's been awhile since I've posted a Wordless Wednesday.  This one's definitely going to be filed under "Best Of..." on my computer:

Hungry Eyes

Just having some fun today! The running joke is that Mateo looks at me like I'm his "lechera" aka: Milk Maid. He totally stares at me like I'm a piece of meat so much that it reminded me of the M&Ms commercial. So I thought I'd have a little fun.... at my son's expense!

Hope this gives you the giggles! Ever been looked at like a piece of meat/milk?

PS. He weighed in over 14lbs at his 2 month check-in. He basically doubled since birth! Those eyes have definitely been hungry!

What Sound Does Brother Make?

Me:  Diego – what sound does a monkey make?

Diego:  Ah-ah

Me: That’s right! Ooo-ooo ahh ahh! What sound does a dog make?

Diego:  Wow-wow!

Me: That’s right! What sound does an elephant make?

Diego: (shaking his head “no”, and pointing to his baby brother instead):  Brother! (smiles coyly) Wahhhhhhhhh!

Me (holding in the giggles):  That’s right!  Brother is a cry baby makes the wahhhhhhhh sound!

Diego pacifies the cry baby Mateo

 Help us end the crying!  Make us smile instead by clicking below

Project Four Zero: 39 Weeks!

Well friends, Week 39 marked the week that Mateo was destined to make his early arrival, which might explain why I've been noticeably absent on this blog.  This week started off as a normal pregnant week for me:  feeling no significant symptoms and wondering how and when Mateo would decide to make his presence known. 

In the end it was not Mateo's decision, but the doctor's after my prenatal appointment revealed that I was walking around already 5cm dilated and feeling as normal as any pregnant woman could.  That same day, December 13, 2011, I waltzed into the birth center and my water was broken around 7:30-8pm.  By 11:16 pm and after only 15 mins of actual pushing, Mateo was born weighing 7 lbs, 9oz and 20-in long.  We couldn't be happier with our new bundle of joy!

I've been planning to record a vlog about the birth story, but I've been in non-stop motion while recuperating from the labor, and now with 2 children there's never a dull moment, or even just a moment for that matter, to be able to record a little something.  But I know I eventually will.  For right now, I'm taking advantage of this midnight moment where the two boys are actually sleeping to write on this blog.

If you're wondering about Diego's reaction, he was first confused and scared seeing the little alien-looking animal.  After Dada told him it was OK and allowed him to touch his brother, he began to smile (possibly realizing the alien was actually human).  And now he says, or at least it sounds like he says, "brother" when I'm holding Mateo.  Imagine that.  The boy who barely wants to speak is saying "brother" after just a few days!

Please welcome our 2011 Christmas present:  Mateo: "Gift from God"!

Almost back to my old self, except the 2 children part! - Shirley

The Four-Zero Project: Week 13

It's the end of my first trimester, yay! It's been a week full of finger pricking, dieting, giving back to the community, surprise retirement party planning for my dad, Father's Day planning and so much more! Oh yeah - did I throw in actually "paying the bills"-work in there too? So far, I am coping with this whole gestational diabetes thing, but I find it hard to keep up with my schedule lately.

Last week I had at least three appointments, and then I found out that I totally forgot to bring Diego to his pediatrics appointment! Robbed of another "Mother of the Year" award! Now with the finger pricking, I completely lose track of time when I'm supposed to prick 1 hour after breakfast, lunch, dinner, and once in the morning after fasting through the night. I really need to get my life back on track; I'll figure it out somehow. Knowing me, it will consist of constant alarms, calendars, and to-do lists.

Aside from the pricking, I've had a good week. At work, we were enjoying a company sponsored week of giving back to the community, and I helped my group pack oranges and rice (not together, lol!). It was the day before I was scheduled for a 1:1 with my boss where I planned to let my baby secret out to her. As I stood there and listened to what we were to do, I worried about the part where we needed to lift the boxes of oranges onto a crate. I danced around the issue, and strategically placed myself in a corner so that I wouldn't look like I was too lazy to pick up boxes. Luckily, after awhile the men in our group took on their primal roles, and self-appointed themselves as the official box-lifters. Whew! Saved.

The next day came, and I'm happy to say that my boss now knows that I'm prego and she was very happy to hear it. Now I'm getting ready to tell the rest of the family and "shout it on the mountain" via FaceBook. My sister helped me take some pictures of Diego over the weekend, and I'm working on a little picture project to tell the family. You'll see it here on my blog too when it's ready.

As a thank you to the week of community activities, my company (consecutively rated one of the best places to work) threw a benefit concert. They do it every year. The talent is always a surprise, and rumors circulate around the conference rooms throughout the week. In the past we've seen Bob Dylan, The Eagles, The Black-Eyed Peas, The Foo Fighters, The Counting Crows, Natasha Beddingfield.... This time it was Chris Daughtry, Sheryl Crow, and Maroon 5!

Here are some pics of the sponsored event, aka Diego's first concert. I probably took one too many photos of Adam Levine's Ass! LOL! Yup, it was a GOOD week!

CRAVINGS:

What does it matter.  I'm not allowed to eat anything delicious anymore anyway!

SYMPTOMS:

Nothing much!  I'm glad to say!

The Crazy, Fainting Girl!

Introducing Baby-Dos in 3D!!!!

And here he/she is in "old-school" 2D (snooze!)

I never got any 3-dimensional pictures of Diego, so it was so fun to see the baby in this new light.  Its little arms and legs are so cute and nubby compared to the big head.  It kind of reminds me of a Cherub or those toys with gi-normous heads and small bodies.  The lady taking the pictures said some people are surprised and scared of what the 3D pics look like, but I find it to be the cutest thing ever!

Before we took this picture, I sat down with a counselor to go over the screening process.  Nothing new since I'd done this before.  However, he seemed a little concerned when I told him that I may have gestational diabetes.  He asked me to confirm when I knew for sure because that meant I should have an additional ultrasound later to look at the baby's heart. 

We also went over a problem that we found in Diego during his pregnancy.  There was a larger than expected amount of fluid in his head.  I joked that since he's been born, he's always ranked in the 95th percentile on head circumference at his pediatric appointments,  so it could've just been that he has a huge head.  The counselor laughed at my joke, and said that could have been it since there have been no signs of an explanation since.

After the ultrasound, the combination of pictures taken and my blood work results left me with a 99.99999% chance that this baby will NOT have Down Syndrome.  That of course, is always a relief to hear.  However, there is another part of the screening in a month or so, so news can change.  For now, we can celebrate good news at this stage.

After my integrated screening, I drove to my prenatal appointment where I was able to hear the baby's heart beat.  It was so melodic!  My doctor then asked if I had been told that I had gestational diabetes.  I told her I was told that my levels were high, but I did not know that definitively meant I had gestational diabetes.  It did, and I do.  (sad face)

I explained my poor eating habits since my stepson moved in with us, and she told me that although those foods would certainly help increase my levels, they do not just give you diabetes.  She said that I may have been a little diabetic before I even got pregnant.  I was surprised to hear that, and I didn't know that someone could be "a little" diabetic.  I didn't question her further because I had my appointment the next day at Sweet Success with a nutritionist, so I saved my questions for the expert.

Before I left, I reminded my doctor of the car accident that I experienced when I was 7 or 8 months pregnant with Diego.  When I would lay or even lean on my back, Diego's weight would put pressure on my Vena Cava causing lack of blood to the head and fainting.  Unfortunately, this happened while driving to a city 1 1/2 hrs away in the fast lane of a freeway.  Luckily no one was hurt or involved other than me and my car.  And my "injuries" consisted of a few barely noticeable scratches on my foot because I was wearing sandals.

Right when I mentioned this issue to my doctor, her eyes widened and she said, "That's right!  You're Crazy, Fainting Girl! I remember that!  It was so sad and scary."

I laughed at the new nickname I was given.  Yeah, it was definitely crazy. 

Sincerely,
Crazy, Fainting Girl