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September 2008
September 1, 2008
In this family, we seldom have the opportunity to rest on Labor Day.
This year was no exception. I worked on the nursery while my hubby
watched Miss A. and tried to catch up on our wood pile. Our sole winter
heat is wood, and this summer we've been so busy, our wood isn't ready
yet.
What we didn't expect was that Anastasia would insist on helping to
stack the wood. We don't like to discourage her from helping, so she
worked hard, right beside her daddy. We were amazed not only at how
enthusiastically she worked, but at how much she accomplished. In total,
she put about two wheelbarrow's worth of wood in the barrow or in her
daddy's hands. We were worried she would get too exhausted, so my hubby
made an excuse: "I'm tired! Let's go take a break!" She beamed when we
told her how proud we were of her.
It wasn't cold enough to wear mittens, but I put them on to protect her
hands. Then she rediscovered her knitted gloves that I tried so hard to
get her to wear last winter. Remember how afraid of them she was? Well,
this afternoon she put them on, and I couldn't get her to take them off
until bedtime.
September 7, 2008
Baby Zane seems to be doing really well. He's pretty darn active
(admittedly, I have little to compare him to), and his kicks are
sometimes pretty startling. Last week I dreamed he was wearing tennis
shoes inside me :)
My amniotic fluid level remains on the high side of normal (which makes
the doctors watchful), and Zane's heartbeat is great. My gestational
diabetes seems to be under control; I'm feeling better, despite the fact
that I'm working really hard on writing, the nursery, and trying to get
the house ready in general. I do sometimes get Braxon Hicks contractions
when I push myself physically; last week I had 6 contractions in an hour
and ten minutes or so. Since I'm supposed to call my doctor if I get 6
in an hour, I laid down and had lots of water until they went away.
Miss A. is on overload, I think. There's been a tremendous amount of
excitement, anticipation, and change for her in the last month. She's
been coping with her birthday, a toddler bed, things being moved all
over the house, cleaning, painting, and suddenly getting used to being
babysat a couple of times a week. She's bee pretty sensitive, grumpy,
and whiny. I'm glad we decided to hold off on potty training for a
while, even though I cringe at the thought of buying two boxes of
diapers at a time once baby Zane is born.
Apparently, Anastasia really did appreciate all my efforts for her
birthday party. Last week she said, "Mommy, if you put on your apron,
you can make me a cake." (The only time she's seen me wear an apron was
when I made her birthday cake.) And then, "Could you make me a party?"
So we explained that soon we'll have a party for baby brother, with a
cake and a few balloons. I told her she could help me open presents.
She's pretty excited.
I wonder if she'll expect to have a party every month now.
Miss A.'s also been a real pain to get to bed. She resists naps like
mad, even though she starts saying "I'm not tired. I don't need a
nap..." hours before naptime. Still, she stays in her bed, and if I turn
down her baby monitor, I can at least tape a nap. Bedtime is even worse.
She's a master at delay tactics. She'll ask for juice. Or food. Or "one
more story." Or keep adding more and more onto her prayer until she's
asking God to bless the paint on the walls. Then, as I'm saying my last
goodnights to her and shutting her door, she'll find all sorts of
questions to ask me. But once that's all done, she usually falls asleep
promptly.
Oh, and one last little tid-bit from last week. As we passed a large
power transmission tower while driving the other day, Miss A. pointed to
it and cried: "Is that the Eiffel Tower?!"
September 10, 2008
On Monday, I saw my OB for my regularly-scheduled fetal monitoring.
After twenty minutes of being strapped to the monitoring machine, the
nurse came in and said, "Hmmm...His heart rate is kind of low and flat."
So she gave me a glass of water and after another twenty minutes, my
doctor came in. The water, apparently, woke baby Zane up, because after
I drank it, his heart made some nice rises and falls, which is what they
like to see. I even had a couple of Braxton Hicks contractions show up
on my monitoring (which is just fine). I asked the doctor why the water
helped. "We have no idea. It's voodoo," she said.
I also asked her about some numbness I've had in my fingers, which makes
things like sewing difficult. She said it's probably
carpal tunnel, which isn't uncommon in pregnant women, and tends to
be worse among pregnant women who have diabetes. "It will probably go
away within 6 weeks after you give birth," she said. If not, I'll have
to see my MD about it.
Then today, I had an ultrasound and saw the high risk pregnancy doctor.
Just outside the door of his office, Miss A. was speaking in loud,
excited tones. Her daddy told her to use her quiet voice, but just as we
entered the doctor's office, she said loudly, "I need to talk!" Everyone
in the waiting room looked up and grinned.
As we waited on the doctor, Anastasia informed us, "I'm growing up this
year." Later, she discovered some older ladies in the room (my doctor
shares his office with his wife, who is an
oncologist), and was instantly attracted by their glittery shirts
and jewelry. It cracked them up that Anastasia immediately identified
and admired the diamond necklace one of them was wearing.
Then I had an ultrasound. My amniotic fluid levels are okay and Zane
looks healthy. Although he's largish (about 6 lbs. 2 oz. and in the 67th
percentile for a 35 weeker...This doctor still insists he's a week older
than my OB likes to think), his size has grown steadily and hasn't had
bursts.
When I saw the doctor, it wasn't the man I've
normally seen during this pregnancy. It was his partner--a man who kept
telling us during my pregnancy with Anastasia that we should abort her.
I wasn't looking forward to seeing him. Today, he was friendly enough,
but he tends to get a worried, wrinkled brow, which reminded me all too
much of how he looked when I was pregnant with Miss A. Today, the look
passed his face a few times, and I couldn't help but tense up, waiting
for horrible news from him.
But there was no horrible news. He says my blood sugar levels are
"beautiful," which is nice feedback. (If you read up on gestational
diabetes, you quickly learn doctors don't agree on what "good" blood
sugar levels are in pregnant women. So far, nobody had said anything
except that my numbers were "borderline.")
I'd been wondering if I was supposed to continue with the medicine once
baby Zane was born, but the doctor said no. (Which is good, because
you're not supposed to take glyburide while nursing.) He said he felt
sure my blood sugars would go back to normal within 6 weeks postpartum.
He also expressed concern about the date of my scheduled C-section
(October 17th). He feels the baby is so consistently biggish that my
OB's estimation for his gestation must be wrong. "I'm afraid you'll go
into labor before the 17th," he said. He feels strongly enough about it,
he's going to call my OB and suggest she move my C-section date up a
week.
I'm not sure what the complications are if you go into labor before you
have a C-section, but my gut instinct is to go with the earlier
gestational age. I'd rather let Zane bake a little long than risk having
him born too early and end up with NICU time. But I'm willing to let the
doctors hash this one out.
I worked extra hard last week so I wouldn't have to do any writing this
week. Either Anastasia or I have a doctor's appointment every day this
week, and I wanted to give Miss A. some extra attention. Indeed, she
must have needed it because she's been on my lap most of the time. :)
Earlier in the week I told her, "Anastasia, Mommy doesn't have to write
any articles this week! Won't that be nice?" About an hour later, as she
finished her breakfast, I hopped online to check my email. Her instant
reaction was, "Mommy! You're not writing articles today!" It made me
feel kinda sad.
A friend of mine asked me yesterday if I was "going crazy" with
housework. She knows Zane's baby shower is this weekend at my
house...and she also knows I gave up on all housework except dishes and
laundry a couple of months ago. I told her I was only going to mop my
floor, but that turned out to be a lie because today I cleaned our
carpets. (Trust me, they really needed it!) Of course, this brought on
quite a few Braxton Hicks contractions. As I told my mother the other
day, walking around the neighborhood doesn't bother me at all, but every
time I do housework, I get contractions! :D
September 11, 2008
Unbelievably, I forgot to mention that yesterday during the 3D
ultrasound, we had our first glimpse at baby Zane's smile. I can't say
for certain why he was smiling, of course, but I did note that Miss A.
was singing "The Itsy Bitzy Spider" (rather loudly) at that moment...
Today Anastasia had her three year checkup. It's the first time she's
been to the doctor and not received a shot. We'd read her "going to the
doctor" books before hand (Corduroy
Goes to the Doctor and
The Berenstain Bears Go to the Doctor), and she was really
pretty excited to go. She wanted to be sure to wear her sunglasses, and
a headband, and carry her purse. As soon as we parked at the doctor's
office, she was begging to go inside. We check in, and when she saw the
toys in the waiting room, she literally squealed with delight.
She did terrific when she was weighed and measured, and only cried once
during the entire appointment: when the nurse took her blood pressure.
She recovered from that quickly, however.
The doctor wasn't the least concerned that Miss A. isn't potty trained,
and said that while our girl is petite (36 inches high, 28 lbs., and in
the 25th percentile), she is proportional. She had minor concern about
her gross motor skills (Anastasia can't jump yet...although she does do
messy somersaults!).
We also asked about encouraging Miss A. to keep her fingers out of her
nose. Honestly, she has a special talent for making even her knuckles
disappear up there, then giving herself a nose bleed. The doctor
suggested a small toy (like a Beanie Baby), and encouraging her to pet
it or squeeze it as an alternative. (Rather like our solution of giving
Anastasia a special blanket to pull on at night, instead of her hair.)
We've never seen Anastasia bite her nails before, but she did do this
when the doctor first started talking to her.
When it was time to leave, Anastasia cried, "I need to stay! I need to
stay!" That made the staff crack up. They don't hear that very often.
When we got home, we asked Miss A. whether she remembered her doctor
from when she was younger. She said yes...and we believe her. Those were
some pretty traumatic visits in those days.
September 14, 2008
A few Anastasia anecdotes:
* (After loosing part of a toy:) "I can't find it. I'm so miserable!"
* (Trying to shield her eyes from the glaring sun:) "The sun is killing
me!"
* (When her grandma appeared for the baby shower:) "Gran'ma, did you
bring me a birthday present??"
* "Can I have just a little piece of baby brover's birthday cake???"
Although I explained several times that the baby shower was not a
birthday party, Miss A. had a hard time understanding that :) She was so
excited to be having another party, she hardly slept the night before.
She loved the balloons, the food (especially the cake), and helping
Mommy open presents. And every time we opened a box of baby clothes,
she'd squeal as if they were clothes for her. (At one point, she tried
to put on a pair of newborn, footed pants...)
Most times, she also turned to the person who gave the gift and said,
"Oh thank you!"
(And yes; thank you to everyone who came and helped us celebrate baby
Zane!)
Earlier in the day, the gently used raincoat I'd
bought Anastasia off eBay (complete with leopard lining and little
leopard-skin kittens along the hem) arrived. Miss A. loved it so much,
she wanted to wear it all day. It was in the 80s.
Today, Miss A. made us cry, instead of laugh. I think she has a hard
time pooping when away from home (as she was a lot of last week), or
when excited. She hadn't gone in in about 5 days, so this morning we had
to resort to giving her Fleet--something we haven't had to do in at
least a year. She must have remembered the stuff, because my hubby had
to hold her down while I administered it. She said, "Please, Mommy,
don't do it! Don't do it!" She begged for cream for her bottom instead,
and I tried to explain that cream is for diaper rash only. She was so
tense, the first one didn't "take," so we had to repeat the enema.
The good news is, it worked the second time, and she's feeling much
better.
September 19, 2008
Well, the doctors have hashed it out and we're keeping my original
delivery date (Oct. 17th). My OB said she explained her thinking to my
perintologist (who, incidentally, is the former head of staff at the
hospital and a somewhat known medical researcher, to boot) and he said,
"Okay, that sounds reasonable." :D
Today's ultrasound revealed all good things. Baby Zane's growth is
steady; he weighs approximately 6 lbs. 5 oz.. He's kicking plenty, and
his heart rate is good. My level of amniotic fluid has gone down--which
is normal at this stage of pregnancy. I had a little protein in my
urine, but this is probably due to the fact that I had food poisoning
last night (lots of throwing up, which causes dehydration...and
therefore protein in the urine). My blood pressure is so excellent, my
OB isn't worried that I have pregnancy-related high blood pressure, for
which protein can also be an indicator.
Miss A. has a bit of a cold, but so far, hubby and I have managed to
keep clear of it. She reminded me today of how literal I need to be with
her. My mom was talking to her about going to the hospital when Zane is
born, and suddenly an apprehensive look overcame Anastasia's face.
"Honey," I said, "you won't be like Curious George. You won't have to
stay in the hospital. You're going to be like the man in the yellow hat.
You're just going to visit in the hospital." It hadn't occurred to me
that she might think she'd be staying overnight in the hospital! (Let
alone having surgery and such, like her favorite monkey!)
September 20, 2008
A conversation this afternoon:
Me: "Anastasia, take off Mommy's new shoes. They're too big for you.
You'll trip and fall. Besides, I haven't even had a chance to wear them
yet."
Miss A.: "No, I need to wear them."
Me: "Take them off now and put them away."
Miss A. (after doing so): "I need mine red shoes."
Me: "Okay. You know where they are. Go ahead and put them on."
Miss A. (beginning to cry): "I need to wear mine red shoes."
Me: "They're under your bed. Go get them and I'll help you put
them on."
Miss A. (sobbing now): "I need mine new red shoes!"
Me: "You don't have any new shoes, honey."
Miss A. (lots of tears rolling down her face): "I need to wear
mine new red shoes!"
Me: "Your red shoes are under you bed. Go get them, and I can
help you put them on."
Miss A. (the world is coming to an end now): "I need mine new red
shoes in mine closet!"
Me: "In your closet? You don't have any red shoes in your
closet." (Miss A. sobs some more.) "Why don't you show me?"
(We walk to her closet and I open the door.)
Miss A. (pointing): "Dere! I need mine red shoes!"
Me: "Do you mean these tennis shoes with the fuchsia pink trim?"
(Miss A. nods "yes") "Honey, those are two sizes too big for you. If
you wear them, you'll trip and fall and hurt yourself."
Miss A. (tears still streaming): "I need mine boots!"
Me: "No; rain boots are for wearing outside when it's raining or
snowing."
Miss A.: "Hug me, Mommy!"
Oooooh myyyyy...
She wasn't being bratty. She was just really, genuinely upset. Certainly
the main reason is fatigue. (She's still on nap strike, and although I
make her lay down in her bed for an hour each day--mostly so I can
nap!--it's just not the same. Especially when she has a cold.)
But I also think she was upset because I got new shoes and she didn't.
The weather turned grey and fall-ish today. I've been in a funk. I feel
so trapped inside the house. Normally, if the weather is halfway decent,
I take Anastasia on walks, to the park, to the library...But we haven't
done much walking because of my pregnancy. (My doctor agreed it was best
to keep exercise at a minimum.) Since we are a one-vehicle family, that
means I don't go much of anywhere. I haven't even had an opportunity to
chat with other mothers at playgroups. :( And soon winter will be here.
It doesn't help that both hubby and I have been all work and no play
lately, trying to prepare for winter and baby Zane's arrival. We really
need a vacation, but have neither the time nor the means for one.
But before I get to feeling too sorry for myself, I have to remember how
thrilled I am that this pregnancy has been, basically, "normal." Despite
the bump of having gestational diabetes, I am enjoying the awkwardness
and heaviness of having a third trimester. It's all new to me, and I am
thankful!
September 21, 2008
For the second time in two days, I slept forever. Friday night, I went
to bed at 6:30 pm and woke up at 7:30 am. Then I took a one hour nap!
Last night I went to bed at 9pm and woke up at 9am this morning (thanks
to my hubby taking over the care of Miss A.). "Why am I so tired?" I
asked my hubby. "Well, not only are you catching up on your rest after
missing so much the night you had food poisoning, and not only are you
probably fighting off the cold Anastasia has, but--oh yeah!--you're 35
weeks pregnant!" I guess he's right :)
Once I did wake up, Miss A. and I had a conversation about shoes again.
She wanted to know if Daddy had new shoes. "No, he doesn't," I said.
"Does he want new shoes?" Miss A. said.
"I don't think so," I replied. "Do you want new shoes?"
"Yes!"
So I explained why I bought new shoes (the only other pair I have that I
can put on right now are sandals, and sandals don't work so great when
it's raining outside). "And you're about to outgrow your shoes. When
your feet get too big for all the shoes you have, then I'll buy you some
new ones."
This seemed to satisfy her.
Then we had a pretty eventful day. First, we went to Daddy's toy store
(the tool store), then to Anastasia's toy store (a "real" toy store,
where we bought baby Zane's car seat and Miss A. a train set with a gift
card she'd received for her birthday), then we went to Mommy's toy store
(the book store...If I can't get out much, then I at least the mental
stimulation of some new books!). Then we had lunch and went grocery
shopping. Miss A. loved it all, of course, but I think her favorite part
was not the toy store, but eating out at a restaurant. She was getting
her arms out from her car seat straps before we could even reach back
and unbuckle her! We can't often afford the expense of eating out, but
it was really nice to do so as a family.
That's a lot of exciting stuff for Miss A., who isn't used to going so
many places in one day. On the way home, she actually fell asleep in her
car seat. She hasn't done that in well over a year! Unfortunately, she
didn't sleep long once her daddy put her to bed. I can hear her now,
saying, "I'm not tired. I can't go to bed yet."
September 22, 2008
Poor Miss A.'s cold got much worse last night. She spent a great deal of
time coughing--and moaning because she couldn't sleep because of the
cough. A little Vick's Vapor Rub on her chest helped a tiny bit, I
think. Tonight I will try the old-time remedy of rubbing it into her
feet and then covering them with socks. I'm also going to try to elevate
her head a little somehow.
All the coughing kept me up last night (just when I was feeling all
caught up on my rest). I just hope nobody is still sick when baby Zane
comes home.
Although all Miss A. feels like doing just now is watching
Little Bear, she spent most of the morning playing with her new
train set.
I'm really impressed with this train set. It's
perfect for preschoolers, but will hold Anastasia's interest for several
years. It's also just plain cool--complete with an easy-to-use remote
control. Best of all, while it offers some challenges to Miss A., she
can use it without adult help. It's a
GeoTrax set by Fischer-Price.
A few days ago, I also pulled out a beautiful set of
architectural blocks (similar to these) from Anastasia's closet.
They were a Christmas gift last year from her grandma, but I couldn't
get her very interested in them. In fact, despite the fact that I try
hard to encourage the use of blocks (because
they
are linked to better math skills), and despite the fact that I've
given Miss A.
basic square blocks and several sets of different
Duplo blocks, Anastasia has never played with them much. But
suddenly these architectural blocks were fascinating to her, and she
built her first building without any help at all.
September 24, 2008
Miss A., while talking to her grandma about her new train set: "I
like it. Now I need a motorcycle."
When asked how she slept: "Oh, about twenty minutes."
While riding her
wheely bug: "Bye, Mommy! See you in two weeks!"
Now both Anastasia and I are sick. She suffers the most; last night she
had a coughing fit that lasted at least an hour. I'm putting Vicks Vapor
Rub on her chest and feet. I don't know that it really helps, but she
seems to find it soothing. The head of her bed is elevated, and I get up
at least once a night to offer her something to drink, plus from fresh
Vicks.
How I
wish cough syrup actually worked!
September 25, 2008
Anastasia and I have been working on some autumn activities. Following
an idea I found at
KinderPlans,
I made a simple poster listing things that are fall-ish: falling leaves,
pumpkins, scarecrows, that kind of thing. There are also some more
mature concepts, like hibernation (which Miss A. already knew about),
migration, and harvesting. When explaining what harvesting is, I said,
"That's when you harvest, or pick, vegetables and fruits from the
plants."
Now that she understands these concepts, we read the poster together. I
say, "Fall is a time for--" and Miss A. completes the sentence by
telling me what the corresponding clip art picture is. She does very
well, even getting migration right most of the time, but when I get to
the part where she should say "harvesting," it goes like this:
Me: "Fall is a time for--"
Miss A.: "Stealing!"
Once I stopped laughing, I tried to imagine why on earth she'd say
"stealing" instead of "harvesting," I figure it's because we've talking
about how picking flowers and berries from other people's yards is
stealing. I love the way her 3 year old mind works!
Speaking of which, the other day we were walking outside when she said,
"Mommy, is it cold?"
"No, honey. It's warm out today."
"But I have a cold."
"Ah, yes you do..." and from there we talked about how one word can have
more than one meaning.
"Yes," Miss A. concluded, "like 'bee' and 'B'!"
I was impressed!
September 27, 2008
On Friday, I saw the doctor who delivered Anastasia, instead of my
regular OB (who was out of the office). It was brief; he was the only
doctor in the office (because of a conference) and he just took a look
at my ultrasound and fetal monitoring results to make sure baby Zane was
okay. Even so, I gave him a quick update on Miss A. He also confirmed
that he's scheduled to assist with my C-section.
Interestingly, he said, "You're not getting your tubes tied, are you?"
(It's common to do that at the same time you have a C-section.) I told
him no, that my hubby was getting a vasectomy. "Oh good," he said. I
wish I'd had more time with him, because I would have liked to hear why
he felt a vasectomy is better. Personally, I was concerned about
possible side effects with a tubal. I think they are rare, but since I
tend to get rare "female stuff," I just didn't want to go there. (For
those of you not familiar with this topic, you can start at
Tubal.org. There are better
documented sources of info, but this gives a concise representation of
the potential problems.)
Anyway, Zane looked good. He is approximately 6 lbs. 12 oz., which puts
him in the 69th percentile. My amniotic fluid, which was on the high
side of normal, is now on the low side of normal...but at this stage of
the pregnancy, it's appropriate for the fluid to drop. It's also
important to note that all measurements done by ultrasound are only
approximate.
Unfortunately, though, I'm thinking I'm going to need more medication to
control my gestational diabetes. My numbers have been on the high side,
even though I'm eating as I have been. I'm also really puffy. Even
though I see the high risk pregnancy doctor on Monday, my poor hubby is
worried. I think he thinks my placenta will just suddenly go kaput
sometime this weekend. So I'm paying special attention to how active
Zane is.
Miss A. continues to be sick. Last night, she coughed for an hour and a
half straight. We're going to try a vaporizer tonight, I think. If that
doesn't help, I'll call her pediatrician's office and see if they have
any recommendations. We had plans to go to two parties today, but I'm
keeping Anastasia at home. She and I both need rest to get well.
September 29, 2008
Anastasia was on the brink of needing to go to a speech therapist when
she finally decided to start talking, so we're thankful she's now an
advanced speaker. However, there are times when visions of duct tape
dance in our heads.
Miss A. talks virtually constantly from the moment she wakes up until
she finally falls asleep at night. (And sometimes she talks in her
sleep, too!) There are often times we put her to bed only to hear her
chatter to herself for a half hour or so. We joke that on those days,
she didn't get her required number of words in for the day. But last
night, she was awake for hours, laying in her bed talking. She was
actually keeping us awake! We had to go into her room several times to
encourage her to be quiet and sleep.
Another frequent problem with her talking happens at meal times. She
wants to talk for a half hour or more before she even touches her food.
And often, not knowing what else to say, she'll ask the same question
over and over again. (Like, "Mommy, what are you eating?") Oy.
Anastasia does seem to be sleeping a bit better with the vaporizer.
She's still getting one coughing fit per night, but after I get up and
give her a drink of water and some fresh Vicks Vapor Rub, the cough
disappears. Unfortunately, last night I was unable to go back to sleep
after our little Vicks session. I found myself thinking about Miss A.'s
first year of life, and all the difficulties she experienced. Then I
couldn't help but imagine what baby Zane's first year will be like. I'm
sure it will seem he's growing up much faster. Remember, Miss A.
couldn't even sit up or crawl by her first birthday. But I think one of
the biggest differences - for me, at least - will be feedings.
When I look back on Miss A's difficulties, I think the one that was most
stressful was her feedings. If you'll recall, she never learned to
breastfeed, and it was extremely difficult to get her to take a bottle.
After I went to bed at night, I awoke three hours later, fixed a bottle
of breastmilk or formula, then tried to get her to drink it. Like a
typical preemie, she wanted to sleep, not eat. Her feedings were a
frustrating 40 to 45 minutes. Then I put her down and walked into
another room to use the breast pump for about 20 minutes. I then stored
the milk and cleaned up all the bottles. Then back to bed I went. Two
hours later, it was time to start all over again. After nine months, my
milk ran dry, so I got a bit more sleep, but I didn't sleep through the
night until Miss A. was almost two years old.
Now I realize all babies bring their mothers sleep deprivation, but
there is sleep deprivation and there is sleep deprivation. I was pretty
darn miserable and it took many months for me to recover. (Sometimes I
think I still haven't quite recovered!) So I am definitely looking
forward to "normal" feedings!
Just think: This Thursday, baby Zane will be 37 weeks gestation. That
means even if he decides to come before he is scheduled, he won't be a
preemie. Wow. WOW! God is so good.
I'm still fighting with this cold, but overall I feel better. Suddenly,
my blood sugar numbers got better. I have no idea why, but all my
puffiness is gone, and I feel more healthy. I'm not sleeping well, but
one look at my belly will tell you why that is :)