I don't like to talk about this too much, mainly because everyone is an expert, and sometimes it can be....overwhelming to get advice coming from everywhere. Dexter has a speech delay. We noticed around 16 months that he had "lost" or stopped saying many words he had learned and was just sort of grunting and pointing. So we talked to our pediatrician about it and I actually had to push to get him evaluated by an early intervention speech therapist. As a teacher, I know that the earlier you intervene, the more they advance.
Dexter was evaluated and blew them away with how well he understood language, followed directions, and his overall physical development. He did qualify for speech though when communicating.
So we are astounded at how much he's changed since he started therapy at 18 months and since his tubes were put in his ears. In other words, before the tubes, because of his many infections, the poor kid wasn't really hearing. Hence the problems. Needless to say, he has been cracking us up lately.
**********************************************************************************
We push manners like crazy, please, thank you, you're welcome, excuse me, etc. The other day, Dexter burped at breakfast, so I asked him, "Did you burp?" which I usually follow up with What do you say. Dexter says, "No, Mommy. Chair burp."
I went to get him from his room one morning, D "Back hurt, Belly hurt. Teeth hurt." Me "I'm sorry buddy. You're just falling apart!" D "Dexter broken. Mommy fix it!"
Going upstairs at night for tubby and bed D "Bye light, bye carpet, bye door, bye toys, bye shoes, bye tv, bye kitchen, bye playroom...." really kid?
He likes to take Annie's play mat and make a tent/tunnel with a blanket. We don't let him do that if she's on it. She was playing on the mat when he decided he wanted a tunnel. D" tunnel mommy" Me "After Annie is done playing." D "Put Annie there (pointing to the couch)" Me "No she's still playing. You can have it when she's done." D "Dexter want tunnel! Baby Annie there!!!"
'
He won't eat most meats without ranch dressing. I don't know... He's the first kid to hate ketchup. Me "Eat your chicken." D "Need dips!"
IN the grocery store, passing by a display of said ranch dressing D" Bye bye dips!"
He likes to count backwards and say blast off..in his own way D "10.9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1 Whop Ow!"
I know there are more...but Miss Annie is stirring so I have to run. Seriously, if you have any question about your child's speech, early intervention rocks! It costs you nothing and they come to your house. It's that simple!
Friday, February 24, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Differences
We always knew that when we had a second child, that child would be different.
**Disclaimer: I know the next thing I'm going to write is going to be really annoying, but in the case of full disclosure, must be written**
Dexter was an easy baby. I mean really easy. The only time he ever cried was when he was hungry, needed a diaper change, or sick. That's it. Dexter was the happiest child in the world. He was sleeping through the night at 7 weeks. I mean really sleeping through the night. Like we put him to bed at 8 and didn't see him until we woke up the next morning. (Please don't throw anything at us). Dexter never refused foods, he ate whatever you gave him. When his belly was full, he pushed his little lips together and that was it. He got his first tooth at 3 months, had a mouthful of teeth by 9 months and never cried or lost sleep over teething. He had an insane amount of ear infections (resulting in tubes) but never really complained about the pain. He learned how to go up and down the steps at 9 months, and never bothered with them. He never put anything he wasn't supposed to in his mouth. He. Was. Easy.
The following phrase has escaped our lips about a thousand times since we decided to have another child,"We are so screwed with the next kid."
Poor Annie. We've predicted she will be our.....challenging child.
So far, yes they are different. Annie is much more like me than her dad. She's stubborn. She does things the way she wants to. She, at 7 weeks, is sleeping pretty well (8 1/2 hours last night!!!) but not like the D-man. She will eat until you quit feeding her, which results in much spitting up. It's hard to tell when she's really full. She will get a little annoyed at us at times and cry just to cry. That being said, we love every second of it.
The real question is....are they at all similar? You tell me.
**Disclaimer: I know the next thing I'm going to write is going to be really annoying, but in the case of full disclosure, must be written**
Dexter was an easy baby. I mean really easy. The only time he ever cried was when he was hungry, needed a diaper change, or sick. That's it. Dexter was the happiest child in the world. He was sleeping through the night at 7 weeks. I mean really sleeping through the night. Like we put him to bed at 8 and didn't see him until we woke up the next morning. (Please don't throw anything at us). Dexter never refused foods, he ate whatever you gave him. When his belly was full, he pushed his little lips together and that was it. He got his first tooth at 3 months, had a mouthful of teeth by 9 months and never cried or lost sleep over teething. He had an insane amount of ear infections (resulting in tubes) but never really complained about the pain. He learned how to go up and down the steps at 9 months, and never bothered with them. He never put anything he wasn't supposed to in his mouth. He. Was. Easy.
The following phrase has escaped our lips about a thousand times since we decided to have another child,"We are so screwed with the next kid."
Poor Annie. We've predicted she will be our.....challenging child.
So far, yes they are different. Annie is much more like me than her dad. She's stubborn. She does things the way she wants to. She, at 7 weeks, is sleeping pretty well (8 1/2 hours last night!!!) but not like the D-man. She will eat until you quit feeding her, which results in much spitting up. It's hard to tell when she's really full. She will get a little annoyed at us at times and cry just to cry. That being said, we love every second of it.
The real question is....are they at all similar? You tell me.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Things....
I have found myself in a new place in my life. I enjoyed my time in high school. Never had too much drama, which is kind of funny really.
It has caught up to me.
I have found entirely too much high school drama going on lately. I'm not participating in it, but I'm being stuck into it by others. I don't like it. I'm married, I have two children, I just don't need it. I find that incredibly sad.
I'm not the kind of person to cut people off, but...I think I need to. For my own sanity. I'm tired of fake people, pretending to care. I will never just ignore someone, because that would be very rude. But, I'm no longer actively seeking out the poisonous people in my life. I'm sorry if that is hurtful, but frankly, I don't want myself, my family exposed to it.
I'm moving on.
It has caught up to me.
I have found entirely too much high school drama going on lately. I'm not participating in it, but I'm being stuck into it by others. I don't like it. I'm married, I have two children, I just don't need it. I find that incredibly sad.
I'm not the kind of person to cut people off, but...I think I need to. For my own sanity. I'm tired of fake people, pretending to care. I will never just ignore someone, because that would be very rude. But, I'm no longer actively seeking out the poisonous people in my life. I'm sorry if that is hurtful, but frankly, I don't want myself, my family exposed to it.
I'm moving on.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
1 month
Dear Annie,
I cannot believe you are 1 month old. How the heck did that happen? Dexter loves you more than I could have known. I was worried he'd resent you because he had over 2 years of being an only child,
but he loves you so much.
We can't even remember a time when you weren't with us. Our little family of four seems natural. I tell you every night how special you are to us. Dexter holds his special place as our first born. You also hold a special place as our "miracle baby." Someday, I'll explain that to you.
I was talking with your grandma, my mom, tonight. My wish for you is that some day, you and I have the same relationship my mom and I have. It's good, baby girl.
Know that Daddy and I will always love you no matter what!
Love,
Me
I cannot believe you are 1 month old. How the heck did that happen? Dexter loves you more than I could have known. I was worried he'd resent you because he had over 2 years of being an only child,
but he loves you so much.
We can't even remember a time when you weren't with us. Our little family of four seems natural. I tell you every night how special you are to us. Dexter holds his special place as our first born. You also hold a special place as our "miracle baby." Someday, I'll explain that to you.
I was talking with your grandma, my mom, tonight. My wish for you is that some day, you and I have the same relationship my mom and I have. It's good, baby girl.
Know that Daddy and I will always love you no matter what!
Love,
Me
Monday, January 30, 2012
Stationery card
Modern Script Girl Birth Announcement
Personalized cards for babies, graduation, and Mother's Day.
View the entire collection of cards.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Dexter's Birth Story...
This is coming a good 2+ years after his birth, so forgive me if I don't remember every detail.
Up until about my 32 week, my pregnancy was pretty normal. Then we hit that 32nd week, and my blood pressure started to creep up. It became a routine, the nurse would do all of the pre-exam tests, and my blood pressure would be high. Dr. Shaheen (typically, once Dr. Thomas) would come in and have my blood pressure checked at the end of the appointment, it would be a little lower, and we'd chalk it up to Monroeville traffic or driving in crappy weather, stress from work.
I hit 36 weeks and had my baby shower on a Sunday. More than one person told me I looked like crap (thanks!). I had to wear slippers at my shower because my feet were swelling, which I thought nothing of, being that hey I"m pregnant, feet swell. After my shower was over, I took my slippers off to put my shoes on....my feet were so swollen they were numb and I had ridges all over where the slippers had been. Hmm...
**MEDICAL GIRL TALK AHEAD...TURN BACK IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ IT**
On Tuesday, I went to my doctor appointment. The nurse took my blood pressure, looked at me, didn't say anything much, and left the room. Dr. Shaheen (my most favorite doctor in the world, and no you can't have her) came in and wanted to take my blood pressure. I could see the concern in her eyes, and started to worry. She laid it out for Rob and I. My blood pressure was definitely registering high, and I had elevated proteins in my urine. She wanted me to go to the hospital for some more tests. Being that my blood pressure had been playing games for a few weeks, she thought we'd probably be home later that evening.
Hearing that, we went straight to Magee. I had my purse. Rob had his wallet.
I expected to hit emergency and wait, but we were quickly (really quickly) shuffled into a sort of holding area, where they put me in a gown and started hooking me up to machines. My blood pressure was being taken every few minutes. Enter in an insanely old nurse. They needed to do a clean urine catch. I thought I'd be peeing into a cup. Um no. They needed to insert a catheter. Without an epidural or spinal. The nurse says, "I haven't put one of these in in over 2 years." Yeah and it hurt like it.
An hour or so later (no I'm not kidding) another of my OB's comes into the room and makes a remark about probably not leaving without a baby. Um, what??? I thought we were going home tonight!! Well, she wanted us to stay overnight, and have me do a 24 hour urine catch. FYI, it was almost 11:30 by the time we got to my room, which meant 24 hours put me at almost midnight the next day! OMG. Do you know how boring this many days in the hospital is???
Finally, my 24 hours has passed. It's early Thursday morning when the same OB I saw in the ER came into my room. She told me I had classic pre-eclampsia. She also said that it was bad, they were worried about it going into eclampsia, and the only treatment was delivery. I'd be 37 weeks the next day, so we'd be proceeding Friday.
I don't think we really had time for things to sink in. Friday morning. The doctors ordered an ultrasound. Even though they were sure they were inducing labor, they had to check and make sure his lungs were developed enough. I was wheeled down (not allowed to walk) to ultrasound. The tech measured Dexter and said he was measuring at 9lb. 12oz. OMG.
My hippie doctor (as I call her) comes to see me and says they're going to induce me. I'm wheeled to labor and delivery and they start my induction. We call our parents, as I'm not dilated at all, and they're anticipating 36 hours before there is any action, and tell them to stay home, no big deal. 20 minutes into the induction, there is a shift change. Rob has gone to get something to eat. Dr. Shaheen enters my room, sits beside me to chat. She saw the ultrasound and is concerned that a natural birth, with the pre-eclampsia, and the size of Dexter would be putting too much strain on him. She was concerned about him having a broken collarbone, or dislocated shoulders. She was also concerned I'd be in labor for that long, and end up with a c-section. Her recommendation was to do the c-section now. Rob walks in the room literally minutes later, having forgotten his cell phone. We talk about what she suggested, and decide it's the best choice.
We're told that there is only one other person on the schedule, so I'd be having a baby within the hour. We frantically call our parents saying, um, change of plans, get down here. My brother and his family also want to head down. My doctor comes back in. The woman ahead of me is having a change of heart, not sure she wants a c-section, so it's go time for me. The anesthesiologist comes in to talk to me about my spinal. The next thing I know, I'm walking to the OR. My spinal is in, the curtain is up, and Rob is beside my head before I can even think about what's going on. We hear Dr. Shaheen and the resident talking, but don't really know what's going on.
meds. The next thing I know, there's a little baby face popped up over the curtain and we here Dr. Shaheen say, "Hi Guys! I"ll be right back!" They take Dexter over and clean him up. They take pictures and bring him to Rob. I'm stitched up, Rob leaves, they move me to my bed, and wheel me back to labor and delivery.
I never had a chance to be scared. Everything happened so quickly. I continued to have blood pressure problems even after delivery. It was a crazy few days. I never truly understood how emergent the situation was. I'm glad that at the time, I didn't. I didn't realize how severe the pre-eclampsia was. Severe pre-eclampsia is diagnosed with a blood pressure over 160/110. My blood pressure was 197/110. My urine proteins were over 1000 mg. I can't remember the exact number, but it was ridiculous.
We were very lucky that they caught it when they did and that Dexter was just perfect. I had slight hypertension during the pregnancy, but thankfully, that's all it was and it passed after delivery.
With Annie, I had so much time to worry, and no emergency situation. With Dexter, we had an emergency, but no time to worry. I don't wish the situation on anyone. Ever. We are blessed with our two wonderful children and choose to look at just that.
Up until about my 32 week, my pregnancy was pretty normal. Then we hit that 32nd week, and my blood pressure started to creep up. It became a routine, the nurse would do all of the pre-exam tests, and my blood pressure would be high. Dr. Shaheen (typically, once Dr. Thomas) would come in and have my blood pressure checked at the end of the appointment, it would be a little lower, and we'd chalk it up to Monroeville traffic or driving in crappy weather, stress from work.
I hit 36 weeks and had my baby shower on a Sunday. More than one person told me I looked like crap (thanks!). I had to wear slippers at my shower because my feet were swelling, which I thought nothing of, being that hey I"m pregnant, feet swell. After my shower was over, I took my slippers off to put my shoes on....my feet were so swollen they were numb and I had ridges all over where the slippers had been. Hmm...
**MEDICAL GIRL TALK AHEAD...TURN BACK IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ IT**
On Tuesday, I went to my doctor appointment. The nurse took my blood pressure, looked at me, didn't say anything much, and left the room. Dr. Shaheen (my most favorite doctor in the world, and no you can't have her) came in and wanted to take my blood pressure. I could see the concern in her eyes, and started to worry. She laid it out for Rob and I. My blood pressure was definitely registering high, and I had elevated proteins in my urine. She wanted me to go to the hospital for some more tests. Being that my blood pressure had been playing games for a few weeks, she thought we'd probably be home later that evening.
Hearing that, we went straight to Magee. I had my purse. Rob had his wallet.
I expected to hit emergency and wait, but we were quickly (really quickly) shuffled into a sort of holding area, where they put me in a gown and started hooking me up to machines. My blood pressure was being taken every few minutes. Enter in an insanely old nurse. They needed to do a clean urine catch. I thought I'd be peeing into a cup. Um no. They needed to insert a catheter. Without an epidural or spinal. The nurse says, "I haven't put one of these in in over 2 years." Yeah and it hurt like it.
An hour or so later (no I'm not kidding) another of my OB's comes into the room and makes a remark about probably not leaving without a baby. Um, what??? I thought we were going home tonight!! Well, she wanted us to stay overnight, and have me do a 24 hour urine catch. FYI, it was almost 11:30 by the time we got to my room, which meant 24 hours put me at almost midnight the next day! OMG. Do you know how boring this many days in the hospital is???
Finally, my 24 hours has passed. It's early Thursday morning when the same OB I saw in the ER came into my room. She told me I had classic pre-eclampsia. She also said that it was bad, they were worried about it going into eclampsia, and the only treatment was delivery. I'd be 37 weeks the next day, so we'd be proceeding Friday.
I don't think we really had time for things to sink in. Friday morning. The doctors ordered an ultrasound. Even though they were sure they were inducing labor, they had to check and make sure his lungs were developed enough. I was wheeled down (not allowed to walk) to ultrasound. The tech measured Dexter and said he was measuring at 9lb. 12oz. OMG.
My hippie doctor (as I call her) comes to see me and says they're going to induce me. I'm wheeled to labor and delivery and they start my induction. We call our parents, as I'm not dilated at all, and they're anticipating 36 hours before there is any action, and tell them to stay home, no big deal. 20 minutes into the induction, there is a shift change. Rob has gone to get something to eat. Dr. Shaheen enters my room, sits beside me to chat. She saw the ultrasound and is concerned that a natural birth, with the pre-eclampsia, and the size of Dexter would be putting too much strain on him. She was concerned about him having a broken collarbone, or dislocated shoulders. She was also concerned I'd be in labor for that long, and end up with a c-section. Her recommendation was to do the c-section now. Rob walks in the room literally minutes later, having forgotten his cell phone. We talk about what she suggested, and decide it's the best choice.
We're told that there is only one other person on the schedule, so I'd be having a baby within the hour. We frantically call our parents saying, um, change of plans, get down here. My brother and his family also want to head down. My doctor comes back in. The woman ahead of me is having a change of heart, not sure she wants a c-section, so it's go time for me. The anesthesiologist comes in to talk to me about my spinal. The next thing I know, I'm walking to the OR. My spinal is in, the curtain is up, and Rob is beside my head before I can even think about what's going on. We hear Dr. Shaheen and the resident talking, but don't really know what's going on.
meds. The next thing I know, there's a little baby face popped up over the curtain and we here Dr. Shaheen say, "Hi Guys! I"ll be right back!" They take Dexter over and clean him up. They take pictures and bring him to Rob. I'm stitched up, Rob leaves, they move me to my bed, and wheel me back to labor and delivery.
I never had a chance to be scared. Everything happened so quickly. I continued to have blood pressure problems even after delivery. It was a crazy few days. I never truly understood how emergent the situation was. I'm glad that at the time, I didn't. I didn't realize how severe the pre-eclampsia was. Severe pre-eclampsia is diagnosed with a blood pressure over 160/110. My blood pressure was 197/110. My urine proteins were over 1000 mg. I can't remember the exact number, but it was ridiculous.
We were very lucky that they caught it when they did and that Dexter was just perfect. I had slight hypertension during the pregnancy, but thankfully, that's all it was and it passed after delivery.
With Annie, I had so much time to worry, and no emergency situation. With Dexter, we had an emergency, but no time to worry. I don't wish the situation on anyone. Ever. We are blessed with our two wonderful children and choose to look at just that.
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