Growing Up

The husband and I have been watching in amazement as our little boy is rapidly becoming a big boy right before our very eyes. It's happening so quickly too. All within the past week or two C.orben has gone cold turkey off the pacifier, let us know that he's too cool for the highchair, and has gone from his crib to a toddler bed. He's saying new words left and right and has found ways to clearly let us know what he wants even if he doesn't know what words to say. Oh... and apparently the "terrible two's" have come early because he's also working on mastering the art of tantrums. I'm hoping that it is just due to teething and all of the changes he's gone through lately, but I won't hold my breath on that being the cause. It's bittersweet. While we love seeing him grow and progress, it's really sad too because we can't rewind and go back to those sweet, mushy baby days. 

He's been such a champ with the transitions too. The first thing was getting rid of the pacifier. He only used it for sleeping and when in the car, but I knew it was time for it to go and definitely wanted it to be way in advance of Quinn arriving. I was in the process of psyching myself up to take it away, when before bedtime one night I just couldn't find his pacifiers. He went to bed without it and had no problem at all. I decided to keep the momentum going and not give it to him again. He had a few days of fussing before falling asleep or when first in the car and was grumpier than usual during the day, but nothing major like I thought it would be.

For the highchair, one day last week he wouldn't eat his food and was fussing, so we thought he just wasn't hungry and didn't feel like sitting still. We took his plate off the tray, set it on the table, and got him out of the highchair. He immediately climbed up in the regular chair at the table and proceeded to chow down on his dinner. He's been eating great at the table ever since. I did buy him a booster seat to sit in, but he doesn't like it. 

Transitioning to a toddler bed is what I was most scared about. I envisioned horrible bedtimes filled with crying and getting out of bed all night and I was sure that naps would be non-existent. We figured it was time to give it a go though because C.orben had attempted crawling out of the crib, wasn't sleeping as well in it, and just seemed uncomfortable being surrounding on 4 sides with railing. We converted his crib to a toddler bed and gave it a try. Much to our surprise the first night he tried getting out of his room twice and then was asleep within 30 minutes. The next day he pretty much the same for his nap, but he was asleep within 15 minutes. Tonight is the 3rd night and he did even better. He seems to really like his "new" bed and is so much more comfortable. I hope it continues and that he will soon go right to bed with no issues at all.

I'm so mad. We took him to get a little trim because his hair was getting too crazy and the lady cut off way too much. Hopefully it grows back quickly. I miss his head full of ringlets.

31 Weeks

Well almost 31 weeks. Man I've been a slacker! The good news is we got our new camera and I actually got motivated enough to take a picture. I've been feeling pretty good lately and still can't believe how active I've been able to be for this point in pregnancy. My only complaints are occasional contractions that hurt (I hate them) and Quinn is sitting so low that my back hurts pretty much all the time. I started with hip pain this week too. I'm up 20 lbs now and am trying my best to just be okay with that. 

Several weeks ago we got 4D pics done and it was so cool to see her! She's definitely her own little person, but also look sooo much like Corb.en! It's crazy! I'll share just a few of the images since apparently most people are creeped out by 4D ultrasounds. Personally I love them. I can't wait to meet her. Next week I get another growth scan and get to find out how much she weighs now. I know she's pretty big because I can, at the same time, feel her head moving in my pelvis and her feet up by my sternum. I only get kicks every now and then and most of her movement is now dragging a foot across my belly or rolling from side to side. It's so crazy!

I'm pretty much ready and only need to get a few more things together. I'll have to take some pics of her crib and stuff. Even though I'm nesting so bad, I'm making myself wait to wash everything. 8 more weeks until she's here!

Baby Purchase Cuteness

One of the most exciting things about the anticipation of welcoming a new baby is buying cute little baby things. We've got most of the essentials for Quinn now, with the exception of a few minor items, so now I'm getting to the fun of looking at some cute things that are on my "I want this" list. Of course I had to add some stuff for C.orben too :). I'm ecstatic that places like Etsy exist where I can find things that, besides being affordable, are adorable, personal, and unique.

♥ I found out about these burp cloths from Jess (Here Comes The Sun) and immediately had to order some. They look so cute, absorbent, and so soft. I can't wait to get them in the mail! I ordered these prints:

♥  When Corbe.n was a baby and I was doing his monthly pictures I had decided on displaying what month he was turning by using wooden blocks. I thought it was such a cute idea and loved how the pictures turned out and everything was dandy... until he got mobile. Then taking the pictures became stressful because he was always trying to go after the blocks and grab them. I also had to worry about staging and the block lettering not getting washed out with the flash. With Quinn I decided that I was definitely going to use monthly onesie stickers. Just putting a sticker on a onesie seems like a much better idea, and it looks really nice. After doing some research and reading other recommendations I picked a design from Baby Cakes Design Co. I really like her large selection and cute designs. I picked this one:

 

I'm also really considering this one too. I love how it's bright, simple, and easy to read:

♥ Corbe.n is getting so close to needing his crib converted to a toddler bed. He was attempting to climb out and as soon as I saw he could get his leg over the rail we lowered his mattress to the lowest setting. He's still trying to climb out at times, but isn't able to come close to getting his leg over the rail. It also seems like, because he's so big now and he tosses a lot in his sleep, that the crib rails are getting in his way. We often hear him whacking into them in his sleep or when we go in to check on him find extremities sticking out through the rails. I wouldn't want to sleep like that! Seemingly unrelated (but not) he's also using his pacifier at night. After I was reading that getting a toddler pillow can help not only with the transition to the toddler bed, but can serve as a new comfort item when getting rid of the pacifier I started my search quest for a great and appropriate pillow for him (getting the right size and appropriate "puffiness" is important for safety). Of course this wasn't our only motivation; he also is at the point where he seems like he would be more comfortable with a small pillow. Oh right... my point... I decided to get him a toddler pillow and once I have it in hand we'll convert his crib to a toddler bed and see if he is indeed ready for that big transition. If he's not ready at least we'll have everything on hand for when he is.

I found BobbleRoos where she makes not only toddler pillows, but a bunch of other great baby & child items. Check it out! They're a great price and come with a pillowcase of your choice. You can also order extra pillowcases as well. Look at all of the adorable fabric options (click here)! I ordered a sage green pillow case and also this Dino Dudes print.

Later I'm going to get this one, because I know C will be super excited about the elephants (he's very obsessed with elephants). Unfortunately it wasn't in stock when I placed my order. Luckily he loves dinosaurs too.

I'm also going to be ordering a satin pillowcase to put under Quinn's head in her crib and car seat. Not only can a satin fabric help prevent that typical baby bald spot in the back from rubbing, but it's also great for the hair of mixed kids, helping to prevent tangles and frizz.

♥ Next up is to order some more cloth diapers for Quinn. I ordered her some light purple Kawaii Baby Diapers and while I prefer pocket diapers, I don't like the fit and look of them until babies are a few months old. So, in the meantime I'm going to be using a Kawaii Baby diaper cover with a microfiber insert, and a liner in between, until she's bigger. I tried it out already and it's so trim! I already have tons of inserts, so the only thing I'll need to buy is the covers (at only $4.90 each I'm smiling) and a few more liners. I may play around with some prefolds, but I'm not completely sold on that yet.

That's it for now, but I can't wait to do some more browsing for cutesy baby adorableness! After a few more small touches I'll be ready to show you guys her crib setup! I love it!

28 Weeks- God is good (and other cuteness)

Each week that passes by I get more and more excited. I'm so happy that Quinn is healthy and growing so fast and that the time when we get to meet her is getting closer. I'm definitely feeling more and more whale-like-- I'm uncomfortable, it's harder to get up, climb stairs, and finding a good position so that I can actually fall asleep is so challenging. I'm grateful though that even though I'm so tired it hasn't kept me from taking care of Corbe.n and making sure that we get out for stimulating activities often. We go to the zoo at least once a week (we both love it there so much), we have Toddler Time once a week at the library (though we didn't get to sign up fast enough for the session that is this month), we have a play group that we're a part of, and I have a friend with a son C's age that we meet up with every week. I find that I'm more tired if I stay in the house for the morning and I really enjoy getting some adult interaction. 

Let's get to the exciting news.... I had my appointments yesterday with my high risk OB and then later with my perinatologist. Last time (see here) Quinn was diagnosed with a Single Umbilical Artery (SUA) and the potential complications had me really worried. Before my appointment yesterday I was so anxious and was praying that we wouldn't hear that her condition was worse than we originally thought. No need to worry! God is soooo good! It turns out that she DOES have both of her umbilical arteries. They don't know how they missed it last time because they checked thoroughly, but there it was yesterday!! The doctor apologized for scaring me for nothing, but I told her I would rather be scared for nothing than scared for something. Whew, praise God! So Quinn is 2 lbs 9 oz and completely healthy! We even got to see her yawning and it was such a precious moment. We have another 4D ultrasound this Saturday, so now I'm even more excited for that.

Her movements are so awesome now and I love how big she is. Seeing my belly move and twitch is so cool and it's amazing being able to press down and actually feel her foot. I can't wait to kiss that little foot! Sometimes it's painful though because she likes to kick the same spot over and over or give punches to my cervix. OUCH!

Sorry no picture this week because my husband accidentally broke our camera. I'm so sad about that, but we'll be getting a new one this week. Still nothing even close to my dream camera, but that will come one day. Here's a great picture of my boys though :)... taken with our friend's awesome camera.

I hope everyone is having a great week! I'm about to do another post on some adorable baby stuff that I ordered. I love baby stuff!

My A-HA Moment

It seems common in our society to focus on the negative, what's going wrong, or on drama. How easy it is to get caught up in it! Lately I've allowed myself to give way to the hormones and bad moods and instead of focusing on all of the blessings and wonderfulness around me I have been noticing the bad way more than the good. 

I may have mentioned before that my husband is in a VERY intense training program for work and it involves a lot of stress, studying, and a large time commitment. Lately this has consumed a lot of his weekend time as well. Despite this, yesterday he let me sleep in until 10am while he bathed Corb.en, fed him breakfast, got him dressed and ready for the day, cleaned up the kitchen and took our boy out on a daddy-son date so I could have some alone time. Did I focus on all of that wonderfulness? 

....NOPE. Instead I was annoyed that he woke me up before he left and that when I got up our house looked like a toy bomb went off, he left C.orben's pajamas in a ball on the bathroom counter, and there were little C.orben hand-prints all over the mirror. The horror! Why didn't he let me sleep in as long as I needed? Didn't he remember me crying the day before because I was so exhausted? Didn't he think my alone time would be better spent relaxing instead of cleaning up the toy bomb? Who does he think it is that picks up the clothes and wipes down the mirrors... our invisible maid? I found myself getting more and more angry.

Then I heard the Lord telling me to march my surly little hiney over to my counter and to read the framed quote I have of Philippians 4:8. Thank you Lord for the reminder! 

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Especially reminding myself to focus on whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, and anything worthy of praise was such a salve to my horrible attitude! My husband set aside the majority of his day to take care of his family! He has a huge (I can't even stress how important it is) exam coming up soon and instead of studying, he took all of the duties for C.orben onto himself so that I could sleep in and then have the entire morning in peace and quiet BY MYSELF. You mommies know how awesome it is to have time all alone. Oh and that mess and toy bomb that I let myself get in such a hissy over.... yeah that took me like 5 minutes to pick up. Seriously.

I'm so grateful that the Lord took over my heart and let me see the situation with gratitude and beauty. It was an instant transformation and instead of focusing on the imperfect scenario I was able to see it for what it was. I had a new attitude and instead I wanted to get the house as clean, fresh, and welcoming as I could so that my boys would be greeted with love and peace when they walked through the door. It was so much better than them coming home to a mess or an angry wife and mother when they had just had such a nice morning together. Don't worry, I still got plenty of relaxation and lounging in too, but I'm so much happier that I was able to have an a-ha moment.

Language Explosion

I've read before that many kids (I had to fight myself to not type "babies") have a language explosion around 18 or 19 months. That's certainly been true with C.orben. He had words that he would say and then hit a language halt where he wasn't saying much, then he went to full on all day long talk fest in his adorable made-up language, and then all of a sudden he's saying all kinds of words. 

Okay, get ready to melt into a pile of mush! This is what he did today. I was sitting on the floor and Cor.ben came up to my belly, kissed it, and then said "baby, baby, baby". Aww! I can't express how that made me feel! He is just the sweetest boy ever! I don't know how much he fully understands, but if you ask him where the baby is or where his sister is he'll point to my belly. Sometimes he'll point to his own too or will try to give either of our belly's food or his sippy cup. So cute!

Here's what he can say right now:

• Eat
• This 
• Dog
• Snack
• Dadda (and Daddy)
• Mama
• Yummy
• Night-Night
• No
• Yes
• Tickle (He loves to tickle things as he yells "tickle tickle". I love it!)
• Hi
• What 
• Out
• Nana (For banana)
• Thank you
• Baby
• Please
• Duck
• Bye

...and he signs: eat, water, more, milk, and thank you.

I can't wait to see what new things he says tomorrow! It's so fun being able to communicate with him and I just love his little voice. I love you little man!

24w Growth Scan: I'm Worried

Tuesday I had my growth scan for Quinn. It was so exciting to see her via ultrasound again and she's so cute! She always loves to have her hands up around her face and likes to nuzzle into her arm. I also got to see her sucking on her hand and opening and closing her mouth. They even switched to 4D view for a little bit and it seems like she looks a lot like my husband. I get growth scans every 4 weeks to make sure that lupus isn't causing her to have any growth problems. On that front things are good right now and she weighs 1.5 lbs.

When they were doing the scan I started getting nervous and knew that something wasn't as it should be. The tech was taking a long time with the scan and I noticed that it was even longer and more in depth then even my anatomy scan. This was definitely not what I had experienced with C.orben. She also kept going back over the umbilical cord and the heart. After she said she was done she left and then a few minutes later came back in the room and said she needed to get the heart rate again. I thought things were off at this point, but wasn't too worried, just thinking it was my overactive imagination. Then the doctor came in to repeat the scan (as usual). After, she explained to me that normally in the umbilical cord a baby has 2 arteries and 1 vein. Quinn only has 1 artery and 1 vein. She explained that this can be present in normal babies and doesn't always mean there's a problem. However, it can also indicate a chromosomal abnormality/ birth defects, but in those cases there is usually also a problem with the heart or kidneys and right now all of Quinn's organs look perfect. BUT it can also cause a baby to have Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR), which is already a possible complication with lupus. 

I can't tell you the panic I immediately felt. It was hard to breathe and I just wanted to get out of there and cry. I feel like I'm at double jeopardy for IUGR. It was just such a shock too because I wasn't expecting to find anything wrong or abnormal with Quinn. My perinatologist said that nothing different needs to be done because we're already monitoring Quinn closely as far as her growth is concerned and we'll just double check her heart and kidney's at my next growth scan in 4 weeks. I'm just so worried about my little girl.

I just need to stay calm and prayerful. I do believe that God is taking care of us and that everything is going to be just fine. I also need to remind myself of the facts. Many babies have a Single Umbilical Artery and have no other problems at all. For it to affect her growth is rare. She is being monitored closely and this isn't a serious health concern. Breathe in, breathe out, and stay away from google. 

I also talked to my high risk ob about this more and he also assured me that while it is something that needs to be monitored, in most cases everything is completely fine. He said the only thing that is common, is during labor it can affect blood flow to the placenta which can cause decelerations with Quinn's heart rate. He said they could let this go on for a little while, but worst case scenario is it would be cause for another c-section. Obviously I don't want another c-section and I'm really hoping for a med-free vbac, but my first priority is the health and safety of Quinn. Also, once again, this is just a possibility and not a given, so I'm trying to remain calm and focused on the facts of everything and not on my fears.

Here's my little cutie sucking her thumb.

24 weeks