Little Minion Updates

Ok so it's been a busy week. We've had Victoria's 4 month well baby and dentist appts for Gabriel and Katheryn.

We'll start with Victoria. She is 13lbs 2 ozs and 25-1/2 inches long (81% for height!). I think she is working on her top teeth and going through a growth spurt. She's nursing every 2 hours at night (UGH!) and about every 2 - 3 during the day. She's almost rolling over, she just needs to learn to get her arm out of her way. She sits up really good in her Bumbo chair (which Katheryn uses for her teddy bear to sit in and eat, thankfully she is using the play food from their kitchen).

Katheryn had her first dentist appt yesterday. She did really good! Her teeth aren't as close together as her brothers and she has a bit of an overbite (probably from sucking her fingers when she gets tired). We were waiting to get appts for the next one in 6 months and she grabbed her toothbrush they gave her and brushed her baby dolls teeth. So cute!

Gabriel did good too. They did x-rays and his 6 year molars are getting ready to start coming in and he has his first loose tooth! So I guess I'm gonna put on a new hat...the Toothfaerie! LOL

Chompers

So, Victoria's second bottom tooth came through the skin yesterday and I noticed her top ones were starting to head down. It's good and bad. I'm glad she has gotten them through because she's not as cranky. The bad part is teeth and nursing aren't always fun. They are sharp little teeth! She's already chewing on whatever she can get in her mouth when she's not nursing. LOL

2 Month Well Baby

Well, we were running a bit late because of the move (well just a couple weeks). And the fact that Fort Leonard Wood didn't put her info into DEERS like they said (we couldn't find the TriCare office because they moved it and we decided to just wait til we got here for that) and we had to redo everything when we got here...

Anyways! Everything went well. They were all surprised at how big she was and LOVED Katheryn. lol Victoria now weighs in at 11 lbs 8 ozs (in the 49 percentile) and measures 23.75 inches (in the 82 percentile...WOW). So I apparently am feeding her well even though she only nurses on one side half the time (well until about a week ago she was only nursing one side then decided she wanted more). Tom has now started saying I have "magic booby milk"...Thanks Tom... LOL

I was worried though that she was getting sick (other than a little cold). She has alot of congestion and a cough, but she assured me she sounded good in her chest. When we got here Tom had to go in to the ER for acute bronchitis, which is why I was worrying.

I'm gonna assume it's allergies. The people before us had 3 cats in the house and the air ducts and furnace is full of cat hair. So we're having them cleaned soon.

Victoria's 2 Week Appt

Victoria had her Well baby appt this past Friday. She weighed 8 lbs 5 ozs and 21 inches long! She is in the 75th percentile for height and weight! She's getting to be a big girl! :-) On a side note, I forgot how much a breastfed baby poops! Ew... lol She has a beautiful smile too!

One Week Old

Victoria is one week old today. I have to say she is a great baby and I am lucky. Nursing is going good! She took to it alot better than Katheryn did (we had to work at it).

Katheryn is my helper. She is always looking to see what Victoria is doing and always lets me know when she starts crying (even when I'm in the same room) and gets upset herself. She always says that "baby" is hers. lol She helps me change "baby's" diaper. Gets the diapers, wipes, and throws it away,except the poopy ones. She makes the yuck face while saying yuck. It's so cute.

Gabriel is doing ok. I think he feels "left out", but I think that some of it is the attention the others give to Katheryn. I took him aside and reinforced that I still love him and it will take a little time for me to get to feeling better and then we'd be able to do more stuff.

B-Day

Ok so those of you who have been keeping track of the excitement of my latest pregnancy with Victoria, she finally made her appearance Oct 24th at 12:26pm. She weighed 7 lbs 10 ozs and 19-3/4 inches long.

Well to catch everyone up, I had went to my appt last Wed and was 5cms and 70% and the midwife stripped my membranes. She also set up with L&D for me to be induced Fri if they had a bed. Well, I apparently became famous! I was the lady everyone talked about, how I was walking around at 5cms and not in "active" labor! Every L&D nurse that came in there told me how they couldn't believe I had been walking around at 5 cms and not gone into labor.

Well, I call Friday at 5am and they told me to come in at 5:30. So we go, get hooked up to the monitors and do the normal pre-delivery paperwork (aside from the pre-admission paperwork) and questions. The midwife came in around 7:30 and checked me. I was 6 cms and 80%, but my contractions were sporatic. So she breaks my water. We wait an hour to see if that will be all to make me go into "active labor". An hour later, my contractions really hadn't changed except for getting a little stronger. So she decides to start me on a very low dose of pitocin (in total, they gave me maybe a tsp over the entire time). Well, they are getting really strong and I'm going as long as I can before getting the epidural (yes, I really dislike pain). Well, when the nurse checked me before they gave me the epidural and i was 7-8cms and the contractions were 2 - 3 mins apart. As I was getting the epidural, the shakes started (luckily he was almost finished). I started to get a bit anxious because I still hadn't gone numb in the same area that hadn't gone numb with Katheryn. The told me i might have a "hot spot" in my back that wasn't letting the medicine get that spot. So they rolled me onto my left side and after a while it worked. Not too much longer after I went numb that the nurse checked me and called the midwife. Well, she was in the middle of an exam and when she rushed through that and got there my nurse was in the bathroom. LOL Ten minutes of pushing and Victoria was born. This by far was my fastest "labor" (all of mine had started after my water broke or was broken...Gabriel's was 12 hours long and 45 mins of pushing and Katheryn was 17 hours long and about 30 mins of pushing) and time pushing. I have to say I felt alot better too after this short labor than I did the long ones. The only "bad" thing that happened is Victoria came with her hand up with her head. The midwife thinks that I wouldn't have tore if it wasn't for that. :-( Both of her Bili tests (for jaundice) came back in the normal range and even though she lost 5 ozs, she has already gained back 1 oz as of yesterday.

So far things have been good aside from the soreness.

Eggplant Parm.

Well, I decided not to make the recipe I posted below because I found a small single serving size at the Commissary today. Plus, I didn't want to waste all that money on something I might not even like. Well, I ate the "frozen eggplant parm" today for lunch and liked it. So, I'm sure I'll LOVE the fresh one when I decide to make it. The only problem (which I thought of a solution for) is that it will probably only be me and Katheryn eating it. So I figured I'd just buy some individual dishes that I can bake and freeze individual servings for later.

Oh well, so we'll see how it goes today. *fingers crossed*

What Pregnant Ladies were they talking to????

Ok so, I got my weekly pregnancy e-mail (for week 39). This is what it said (I put what struck me as odd in bold and italics):

..in Week 39

Your Body

Although your tummy is larger than you could have imagined, you may actually feel more comfortable in your body than you have in a while. That's because your baby has dropped further down into your pelvis, relieving additional pressure. This change has also caused your center of gravity to shift suddenly, so you may lose your balance more easily or have difficulty standing upright, particularly when getting out of a chair. Take extra care of yourself – you have a baby to deliver very soon!


WHAT?!?! Hello! Who were they talking to? LOL Yes, you get rid of the discomforts of the baby being so high, but it is only replaced with the baby being so low. Having to run to the bathroom everytime I turn around because the baby is pushing on the bladder or the increased pelvic pressure from the baby getting lower. Ugh. I want to be one of those "pregnant ladies who don't have the discomforts". LOL I just hope I have the baby before my next appt. Having my membranes stripped isn't something I want to go through again (I had it done with Katheryn...not by choice mind you).

I'm tempted to do the jumping jacks Tom keeps telling me to do. LOL jk

I might go pick up stuff to make the Eggplant Parm though. Even though it will probably make a whole bunch extra...it will be worth it if it works. lol

Rock Hard Abs

So I was sitting at lunch with Tom today and I had a contraction (which has become "normal" lately). Then the thought came to mind which made Tom and I laugh. I told him that this was probably the only time that I can say I have "rock hard abs" (due to the contractions). LMAO!


I'll post a comparison picture later when Tom gets home to take one.

Good News

Well, my appt went well yesterday. I still have 4 weeks until my due date, but the midwife believes that I won't go another 2 weeks before I have the baby. I am almost 3 cms, 70%, and the baby is at the -2 station. The first thing out of the midwife's mouth when she went to check was "WOW! This baby's way down there." She also had the happy surprised look on her face. Which I could have told her because the baby likes to play poke the hip bones and lets try and poke our way out when mommy lays down to go to bed at night. She also told me that I didn't have to be on bedrest anymore and that I could go back to what I was doing beforehand because at this stage they aren't going to do anything to try and stop labor. She also said that the baby would be ok to stay at the hospital here without being transported to the NICU in Columbia (unless of course there was anything wrong with the baby's health). I feel so much better and my spirits are up. I think it's both the knowing that the baby will more than likely stay here with me after I have her and the fact I can go back to doing stuff. I'm excited! I hope that the baby can wait to come out until the evening of Oct 9th (since Tom will have a 4 day weekend), but as long as I can go another week then my mom can come up and help out (she's planning on coming up anyways, but the school system she works for has their fall break starting then).

I'm excited and dreading it at the same time. Ready to have the uncomforts of pregnancy over, but not ready to have 2 in diapers!

One more week down

Ok so I followed the nurse's suggestion and laid down as much as possible the last week and thankfully had a pretty uneventful week. I felt better about half of the time and the BH contractions seemed to lessen.

Well, yesterday when I went to pick Gabriel up from school and we were on the way back to the truck, Katheryn started walking toward the parking lot instead of staying in the grass until we got to the truck. Well, she tripped and I went to grab her to keep her from hitting the asphalt and that caused the BH contractions to start up again for the rest of the day (3:30 on). That really sucked! Today I am trying to take it easier, but I am still getting the stupid BH and having a bit of pressure. UGH! Oh well, at least Tom has the rest of the day off of school so he can help me out with the kids and let me get some rest.

I'm just glad that it has been one more week that the baby has been able to grow and develop inside me! Each week it has a better chance!

My Visit to L&D

Well, after a few uncomfortable BH contractions and some pushing from Tom, I went in to Labor and Delivery to get checked out last night. Long story short, I stayed there 4-1/2 hours (most of which was on the monitors) only to have 2 contractions. Well, when I lay down they go away, but when I'm up and doing stuff (even light housework or just getting up from the couch to go to the bathroom) BH start in. So after the first 20 mins of monitoring they check my cervix. Come to find out I am already 2 cm dialated (I'm hoping that it's just because I've been pregnant more than once). Well, the doc tells them to monitor me for 2 more hours then check again. Luckily nothing changes and I finally get to go home at 12:30am. Though I'm told that there is a possiblity of putting me on bedrest later on if things continue and that if I do go into labor they have to send me 2 hours away because they don't have a NICU here. UGH! So even though I have TONS to do and I HATE laying down all day, I am resting and laying down today and will continue to take it easy because that is what is best for the baby. I don't want to have her early!

Sigh...

Well, I went to my 32 week appt today (even though I'm 33 weeks). I'll start with the good news. The baby is measuring good and is gaining weight and getting big (according to # of weeks along). Not so good news (I won't call it bad because it's not to the worrying stage yet), my blood pressure went up and I lost about half a pound. At my appt 4 weeks ago my blood pressure was 105/70 (my blood pressure usually runs low) and today it was 126/85 when she took it about 20 mins later it was 120/80. So now I need to keep an eye on other signs and I need to gain weight. So not only do I need to watch that, but I need to keep an eye on my contractions. If they don't go away after resting (which they are going away now when I lay down and rest) I'll need to go in. UGH! That's all I needed was one more thing to worry about! I'm just happy that the baby is doing good!

What's in the package????

So the last couple nights I've been having some bad dreams about the baby (which I won't go into), but in my dreams the baby was a boy. Although the ultrasound tech told us it was a girl. Unlike my other pregnancies, I don't have a "gut feeling" that the baby is a boy or girl. UGH, it's driving me crazy! Maybe it was because I wasn't able to have the gender ultrasound at 24 weeks. Who Knows! It's probably all in my head.

A Sign of Things to Come?

So I woke up today feeling more energized and not so "heavy". Well, I figured it was because I got more sleep than usual...until...I was sitting on the couch doing some work for Gabriel's teacher (getting the book order catalogs together for her to hand out and the website set up). I then realized when I looked down that the baby has dropped some more. She was already low (I'm gonna assume a bit lower than the midwife expected when I went in for my last appt a couple weeks ago). So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she doesn't decide to come early. I still have a little over a week before my next appt so I'm keeping tabs. I"ve already been keeping track of the Braxton Hicks (which have started to have cramping with them every once in a while) I've been having since around week 20 and the baby's movements since my last appt.

Ugh...I sooooooo feel like the second to last lady on the cartoon alot lately with the discomforts that come with the 3rd trimester.

A Must Share for all Moms and Moms-to-be

As most of us moms can relate to this having already been through pregnancy, here is something for you moms-to-be to look forward too!

TGIF!!!!

I am soooo happy that this week is over. I am so exhausted! On top of Katheryn being fussy and having to have me hold her almost all day yesterday because she had shots on Wed, I had 2 appointments for Gabriel. We went to his Vision test, which turned out good! Yay! Then to the PX where he decided not to listen to me and sprayed perfume (one of the testers) into his eyes. So I went and grabbed some eye wash and cleaned them out in the parking lot. Katheryn then refused to take her nap and when she finally gave up it was time to go to his Kindergarten screening. Again he did good. They were actually surprised he knew as much as he did. What can I say, we have always just talked to him like he was "big". The strangest thing though is he still gets right and left confused (I think it's more he just doesn't care to learn it). He also still writes some of his letters backwards, but you can tell what he's writing. After that I thought it would be a good idea to go to the Commissary....yeah...what was I thinking?!?!? Ugh... I am soooo ready for this pregnancy to be over!

When I had my appt this week, we found out that the baby likes to stay way down there! I've been having extra pressure and can feel her poking sometimes. I go in 4 weeks to my 32 week checkup and physical so we'll see if anything is happening down there. I just hope that she decides she doesn't want to make her grand arrival too early! And this HEAT! Ugh, it's killing me. I feel so drained just walking out to the mailbox (which is in front of our house).

I would like to say that it would be a stress free, relaxing weekend, but the in-laws are coming to visit and should be here tomorrow. I just need a break after this week where I can just focus on something for me!

Latest News

Well, some things have changed here. Tom was told instead of him being pushed to the next class, he is now in this one. So he's going to be busy with this classes work and taking 2 classes for his major. He can do it though, it just means our weekends are not as long. So we might only be at FLW until December. It all depends on if the next unit's COL lets him finish his masters here and take the extra shorter schools he wants to. I kinda hope he is able to do this because it would push the time longer and there will be more of a chance for Gabriel to finish Kindergarten at one place. If not, at least we'd be moving during Christmas break so that he won't miss too much. He was told that I have to have the baby after Oct 15th that way he can be given some time off (as if I have any choice in when it will happen).

Well, my first appt here went pretty good. I found out alot of my "problems" were results of the Braxton Hicks contractions. So now I have to keep a better eye on them. I knew I had had a few, but apparently I've been having more than I thought. Apparently I was either ignoring/not realizing the others. Other than that, everything is good. As of my last appt the baby was head down. Now as long as she stays that way and doesn't decide she wants to be like her older sis and be breech (I don't want to have to go through a Version again).

It's a GIRL!!!

Well, we went yesterday to my 20 week ultrasound and we found out that the baby is a girl. We already had names picked out for a boy and a girl so that was one thing we had done early in this one. Everything looked great and she weighs in at about 12 ounces. Her name will be Victoria Elise. We had chosen a few different names when I was pregnant with Katheryn so we used Victoria and Elise is Tom's German grandmother's name.