Breech baby no more!

So at my 34 week appointment we found out baby girl, or 'little sister' as Molly calls her, was still breech. I was bummed about the news because another friend who is pregnant had to schedule a version and c-section because her daughter was still breech (but luckily her baby turned in time). Anyway, for almost 2 weeks I had to lie on my back with pillows under my hips making my hips about 18in high with my head still on the ground for 15 minutes, 2-3 times a day. It sure was a pain but it worked! At my next midwife appointment she had turned head down and we got to see her on ultrasound to confirm.

So that's a big relief. Our new focus is that she was facing to the side and not to the back. She still have plenty of time to face the back but the midwife recommended that I don't lie on my back or even recline at all. I'm going to start swimming as well because that is suppose to help convince her to get in position as well.

I can't believe I'm at the point where I now have weekly doctor's appointments! I have my GBS test on Thursday so hopefully I will get a break and that will be negative. Otherwise I'll just keep plugging along!

The 'betes...

I should have posted about this a while ago but you probably all know that I have gestational diabetes. It definitely came as a surprise because I didn't have it with Molly. But at my midwife appt before the glucose test, I had sugar that had spilled into my urine so I guess there was a slight hint. Then I failed the 1 hr test on a Friday, got the phone call about that on the following Monday and had to go in Tuesday for the 3 hr test, failed that and got the phone call on Wednesday. I had a nutritionist call me on that Thursday and met with her on Friday. So it all happened pretty fast.

After the meeting with the nutritionist (who pretty much sucked, by the way) I was set with a new meal plan and glucose monitor. I don't have to completely eliminate carbs but have to majorly limit and control them. That not only includes breads, grains, and sugar but also fruits and even milk! and I've upped my protein. I have to prick my finger and check my blood sugar four times a day! That part sucks and I have to write down all of my scores and make notes of what I ate if my numbers are high. The midwife makes a copy of my numbers at every appointment.

All that being true and sucking, I really have come to view it as a blessing in disguise. I am so much more aware of what I am putting into my body and eating so much healthier. With Molly I gained about 50 pounds. So far, at almost 36 weeks pregnant, I have gained seven, yes 7, pounds total. With the food knowledge, I think I will really be able to get in even better shape after this baby comes than I was before!

I am also in the gym at least 3 times a week. With Molly I stopped working out at about 2 months along.

So that's the health saga here. Only about a month left to go. As soon as this baby, well, the placenta, pops out, the 'betes should be gone. I will have to test for a period of time afterward just to make sure it didn't turn into true diabetes but I have full confidence that we'll be back to normal. My midwife already told me that I will be given a grace period right after the baby is born where I don't have to test so to think about what I want to eat during that time.

Almost Ready for Hadley's Baby Sister!

Well, I was trying to get motivated to do some of the million things I need to do this afternoon while Hadley is napping, but I could not get motivated to do a single one! So I decided to write a post instead. I am now 36 weeks with Hadley's baby sister, and was already 50% effaced when in the Dr.'s office a few days ago. The doctor said that was normal for this point in a second pregnancy, but it seems like a lot, since I was about 0% effaced and 0% dilated at 38 weeks when I had Hadley. Ultrasounds have all been normal so far and the baby is head down now, but she will probably only be a little bigger than Hadley was---about 6 or 6.5 lbs.

We brought up all the little baby gear from the basement a few weeks ago to put in the nursery. I can't wait to hold this little baby soon! However, as we were bringing up all the gear, I realized that the amount of gear you need for a small baby directly correlates with the amount of work it is! I don't remember being overwhelmed last time because I just had no idea what I was getting myself into. This time I know how much work it will be on how little sleep, and it is a little overwhelming. Oh well, thank goodness for caffeine! Still can't wait to meet this new little girl!

Melissa and Greer--would love to hear about things you are doing differently this time that are working/not working. Congrats to Melissa! Look forward to seeing the post-birth post, but I know it will probably be a while with two little munchkins to take care of!

--Amanda

trick or treat!

My sweet and sassy little Raggedy Ann, trying out the trick or treating experience for the first time (she loved it!).


A successful posed shot with her hot date, Raggedy Andy. He got relegated to the stroller pretty quickly when it came down to him or the bucket of candy, but she carried him faithfully at the fall festival we went to.


I couldn't get motivated to do costumes for Joe and I or for Lawton this year, so we relied on Laine's cuteness to carry us. I've got high hopes and expectations for myself for next year that we can come up with some cute family themed costumes before they're too old to be embarrassed by it (a la your costumes, Emily... loved it!).

Potty Training

Well, I am happy to report that we are now diaper free during the day! Hadley started showing some interest in potty training at about 19 months. I went to Target one day and I was just looking at potty seats (but not really planning on buying anything that day), and she absolutely had a fit for a potty. So I decided not to fight her if she wanted to try it, and I bought her a potty that day.

At first, I just took her with me when I went and sat her on her own potty. She actually used it the first day, but it took a while before she would do it regularly. For the first month or two, we were still using diapers/pull-ups on her while she got used to the concept of using the potty. She did well when we took her to the potty and every once in a while she would come and tell us she had to potty, but she was not really consistent. So I picked a week when I knew we would be home for most of the week, and I put panties on her full-time. The first day or two were a little rough--there were lots of accidents--and she usually was not very happy about it when she had an accident. But after that, she seemed to get the hang of it.

She still averages about 1 accident per day, but I think for a less than 2-year old that is doing pretty good.

A few suggestions in case anyone else is planning to potty train soon:

1. Potty training is much less convenient than diapering. So if you have not been potty training for a number of months already, I wouldn't suggest doing it right before or after a new baby. And changing a diaper is much, much more pleasant than cleaning out a kiddie potty!

2. Along the convenience lines, you have to be potty-ready at ALL times. Because they will inevitably say "potty" at the MOST inconvenient times for you. Like when you just left somewhere (that had a potty) and got ready to put him/her in the car; when you are driving on a rural road with no bathroom in sight; when the only bathroom in sight is so gross that you would not even want to use it yourself.

3. A few products that help with convenience: the Pottette Plus is the best portable potty ever! You can get it at Babies R Us (online only) and BuyBuy Baby. We keep this in the car so that we have a bathroom everywhere we go. It has disposable bag liners (that actually do not leak), so after they are used, you can just throw them away in the trash and don't have to worry about emptying/cleaning a potty on the go. I also carry potty protectors and a plastic portable potty seat that fits on a regular size toilet so that we can use public restrooms when needed (as long as they are relatively clean). The plastic portable seat keeps her from falling in, and I don't have to hold her up on it.

4. And for the accidents--invest in a steam cleaner. That way you can easily clean carseats, mattresses, carpets etc. without having to take the carseat out of the car. I have the Shark Portable Steam Pocket, which you can get a Kohl's.

--Amanda

party of three...make that party of 4

So we are heading closer to officially become a family of four, and I am still shocked that I am a mom...does it ever hit you that you are a grown up?!!
Anyways, we have about a month to go before this next little guy gets here and I am in full swing nesting mode. The nursery is pretty much done; we just need to hang some art work. We kicked Andrew out of the nursery about two months ago so he would have plenty of time to adjust to his big boy room before Thomas gets here- more on that in a minute. The nursery is the largest regular bedroom in the house so we have room for a full sized bed in there so if needed whoever is doing the night feedings can have a comfortable place to lay down and get some shut eye.
Like I mentioned, Andrew moved to his big boy room, and I am SHOCKED by how well the transition went. Seriously could not have planned it better myself. They always say to "look for the signs"...let me tell you, I suck at reading the signs, but in hind sight I think they were smacking me in the face. We had decided that once our summer visitors were pretty much wrapped up we would turn the guest bedroom into Andrew's room and put the guest bedroom in the nursery until we needed to start using the bonus room when the baby arrive and start using the extra hard bed for guest that we have been hiding for the past year.
Anyways, I had always thought the sign that we needed to move Andrew was him actually escaping from his crib. I was terrified of moving him into a big boy bed so early when all my friends have waited until their kids were at least year years old. But with a baby on the way we had to readjust. That means moving him about a year before I was intending I was not ready for the power struggle that could arise if he wasn’t "ready". But about a week before we were going to seriously start changing the bedrooms around Andrew started acting out at bedtime. He wasn't going to sleep like he used to and he was getting mad at us for putting him in his crib. He was throwing everything out of there and was just becoming a brat to deal with at bedtime. And let me tell you something, if there was something that this kid was a pro at was going to bed. So after a few days of him acting out I threw my hands up. If you don’t want it in your crib, we will take it all out, so I did, everything came out including the mattress. That first night was interesting. He did better than I expected, but was by no means going to sleep on his own like we were used to. I think I fell asleep in there on the floor beside the crib mattress that was more like a pillow to Andrew then a bed. The next day went a little better, but my back was killing me and there is a reason that pregnant woman do not sleep on the floor. So I told Joey that we are working on Andrew's room this weekend because we wanted it "complete" before we moved him in so we weren’t making some many changes back to back.
So that weekend Andrew went to Grandma's house and we finished the big boy room and he loved it. His favorite part was the ceiling fan...just wait until he finds out it comes with a remote control. We didn't get a toddler size bed because we didn't want to spend money on a second crib mattress. We also didn’t get a fun toddler bed because eventually we want the boys to share a room and if we were going to invest in furniture we were going to look into bunk beds. So right now it is just a mattress on the floor. Joey was dead set against it, but after the first few nights of Andrew rolling off the bed he could see we made the right decision. Eventually he will be up off the ground, but we aren't in any hurry.
It took Andrew about a week to get used to the change and he has been such a big boy about it. Bedtime was easier then nap time. But we have a routine worked out and we read books before bedtime and it helped in the beginning to sleep with a toy of some sort that wasn’t a traditional toy...ie: box of baby wipes (don't ask, I don't get the fascination) or legos or even a book these days. I don't see the harm in it and anything to make it easier these days is fine with me. There were a couple of nights in there that I don’t think he was ready for bed, but it was bedtime and we don’t mess with our schedule too much these days with a very pregnant mommy putting him to bed. On those days I would kiss him goodnight and close the door behind me. He would cry, but it would only last a few minutes. We did cry it out when he was younger so this was a very short version of that-time wise nightly and time-wise for just a few days, and after a few days of realizing that he needed to go to bed he has been a big boy ever since. He even tells me night-night now, or bye-bye when it is time to get under the covers. Every once and a while he will not be in bed when we leave, but he knows how to get in and pull up the covers. We have a moveable night light in there with just enough light for him to move around and that has worked out really well for us. But seriously the hardest part of bedtime is getting him in from outside and up the stairs. Once we are in his room he is good to go and start his bedtime routine.
Hope this information helps out. We are nowhere near potty training although his favorite book these days is about a duck that is learning to use the potty chair. We will start looking for the "signs" on that front, but I am thinking it will be sometime next year before we try to tackle that transition. Until then it is all about kissing the baby and learning where the baby will sleep and pointing at all the babies at daycare...I hope he is ready because he is going to be a big brother very, very soon!

Here is a link for the nightlight we got. It was last season at Target, but I could only find it on Amazion right now. I think we are going to get the turtle version for the nursery...
http://www.amazon.com/Circo-Circo%C2%AE-Car-LED-Nightlight/dp/B005P8HINE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1320164472&sr=8-3


mel

labor story (and then some)

I can't believe I never wrote down my labor story this time around! I guess that's one of the differences between #1 and #2... less time to reflect on labor, more "labor" when you get home! I'm figuring out why no one's written a book about having a second baby. It's hard to find the time to really capture the changes and the emotions and the new frantic normal in words. ANYWAY... here's the birth story!

We decided in advance to set an induction date (my due date was the 6th, we set a date for the 1st if he hadn't come out on his own by then), which I wrote a post about before. So we went into the hospital the night before (a Wednesday night). The labor and delivery floor was packed and we actually had to spend the night in an outpatient room, but we got moved into the nicest (HUGE) labor room early the next morning so it was no biggie. That night I was already between 1 and 2 cm dilated and about 75% effaced. They gave me Cervadil, which started some small contractions in the middle of the night but we were able to get a pretty decent night's rest. They moved us into our new room at about 6 am and started me on Pitocin at 7. I wanted to try and go as long as I could without medication but had no set "birth plan" this time around. Contractions started picking up pretty quickly and I felt like I was managing the pain pretty well at first. Sometime around 11:30 or 12 the pain got suddenly very intense. The only position I was comfortable in was standing holding onto the arms of the rocking chair basically bent in half and my legs were literally shaking. If I tried to lie down or sit I felt like I was going to rip in half (nice, I know). So I decided to ask for the epidural. My doctor came in as I was getting it at about 12:30 and said he "liked how I was sounding" and would stick around to check me after I got it. When he came back about 15 minutes later, I was at 8 cm! No wonder it had gotten so intense! Almost as soon as he left, I told the nurse I was feeling a lot of pressure. The epidural had just started to take, so I still had some feeling and control of my legs. She checked me again and said I might already be ready to push so she would go find Dr. Goggin. I got more and more uncomfortable waiting for him to come back and got my mom to get a nurse so I could start pushing. I pushed for about 30 minutes (the doctor showed up about 15 minutes in) and still could feel PLENTY. Lawton started crowning and my doctor was able to pretty much push on me rather than me pushing to help guide him out. A little after 2pm, Lawton (Joseph Lawton Caldwell the FIFTH) was born at 7 pounds, 13 ounces (and ounce smaller than Laine). No tearing, no stitches, and so much less exhausted... I actually felt great! And he's been such a good baby... so far! Laine has been an absolute rock star of a big sister... she LOVES the baby and hasn't been jealous at all. Although she does want me to hold her a lot more often whenever her daddy gets home and my arms/lap are free!

To respond to some of your other prompts, Emily...

1. Potty training: We haven't really started yet. We got a "potty" and she has used it a few times, but haven't been pushing it yet. We tried a few days of wearing panties in the afternoon before Lawton was born but I don't think she was quite ready for it. She didn't seem to be aware of the need to go or very bothered by having accidents. So we're just kind of waiting til she seems more aware... I will probably start encouraging her to sit on the potty more often again soon.

2. Big girl/boy bed: SO not an issue. We talked about it a few days before hand and got the Elmo book "Big Enough for a Bed" which we read a couple times and then just went for it. I thought she would just sleep there at night for a few days, but she seemed to have so little problem with it that we started naps in bed the next day and she was fine. She still doesn't get out of bed on her own in the mornings or after naps - she waits for me to come get her, even though she can get in and out on her own no problem. She's been sleeping in her bed for about 4 months now and we have loved it. It's a day bed with a rail on the open side, which I think helps since it is enclosed.

Posts I want to see...

Hello ladies!

I hope you are all doing well. Greer, still waiting on Lawson's labor post! :-D

As our kids are reaching 'transition stages' (this is my name for them), I was thinking there were a couple of different posts I love to read from y'all.

First: if you are potty training or thinking about potty training, or have potty trained already, I would love to hear how you did it, what worked, what didn't work, how you rewarded, etc.

Second: if you have transitioned to a big girl/boy bed, how did that go and how did you do it. And I'd love to see pictures of the new rooms or beds!

We are doing well. Molly was sick from Sat-Mon so we missed out on some fun things this weekend and haven't been to the gym yet this week but her fever was gone this weekend so hopefully we can jump right back in tomorrow morning!

I am in a big time nesting phase which is awesome, but the problem is all the things that (I think) need to be done involve furniture moving or heavy lifting so I have to wait until Todd gets home. And by that point in the day I don't want to do it anymore!

If you have Halloween costume pictures I'd love to see them!
Emily

New Product for Babies with Reflux

This is for everyone--but especially Melissa. Have you all seen the new Fisher Price Rock & Play Sleeper? Link: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3739296

I have heard this is a miracle worker for babies with reflux. I don't think this was out when Hadley was born, but I wish it had been. It was hard to find anything for her to sleep in that kept her at the appropriate angle after feedings for her reflux. The sleep positioners were not angled enough, and she always slid down when we put towels under the mattress. So we ended up staying up with her for 40 to 45 minutes at night after every feeding to hold her upright (which meant I got to sleep about 20 min. before it was time for the next feeding). A lot of moms have told me this thing is great, so it is definitely on our purchase list for the new baby!

--Amanda

double stroller???

So now that we are moving on to the second round of babies I was wondering what are some of the big purchases you are looking into. We are having another boy, so this really just brings our purchases down to a double stroller. I don't know if anybody is to this point yet, except for Greer who probably already has something, but I just wanted to let everybody knwo about the Britax promotion going on right now. Basically if you get a "B-Ready" stroller you recieve a free toddler seat/choice between two infant carriers/or a bassinet. We just got one this weekend. It was a little more than we wanted to spend, but we were able to get a free seat with it plus we purchased ours at Buy Buy Baby, and they let us use a 20% off coupon from Babies r Us on it so that saved us an extra 100 dollars. We opted to get a free car seat and hope to sell it on ebay for extra savings. Overall if we can get full price for the car seat then our double stroller will only have cost us around $250, which if you haven't started looking is actually a pretty good deal. We did try out the sit and stand strollers, and even though we loved it in theory Andrew just didnt get it, and the carrier hit him in the back of the head so it wasnt a good option for us...Anyways, I hope everybody is doing well!

Melissa

Pregnancy Differences

I would love to hear some of the differences between your first and second pregnancies. I wouldn't say mine have been drastically different but I also feel like my list of little differences is long.

The worst difference is that my eczema in this pregnancy has been about 10, 000 times worse. To the extent that the itching/pain wakes me up in the middle of the night.

With Molly I only threw up 6 times, with this one 10.

I also had nausea/gagging that lasted until about week 17 with this one, week 13 with Molly.

I think my leg hair growth has slowed down.

I feel like my baby brain kicked in full force. I am forgetting EVERYTHING!

Speaking of, I feel like there are more differences but I sure can't remember them!
What are y'all experiencing?!

almost time for the first second baby!

Joe and I are heading into the hospital this evening to induce, so we are anticipating a September 1st birthday if everything goes as expected. We decided to induce for a number of reasons (my doctor is going to be out of town around my due date, the baby has been a little ahead of schedule size-wise for most of my pregnancy, our family is all out of town, etc.). Honestly, though, one of the main reasons is how ready I was to have a solid END date for this pregnancy. It has been hard to be the mother and wife and person I want to be as I have gotten more and more uncomfortable and HUGE. My round ligament pain has been pretty constant and severe again and my back pain has been worse (I blame this one my current little one... she just gets heavier and heavier while I get more and more pregnant!). There is also, of course, the element of control you gain over the experience when you decide to induce. Pregnancy is such an out-of-control state to be in for an organized, plan-obsessed, Type A kind of person like myself that by the end of 40 weeks I am just ready to reclaim my body! I have a felt a little judgment around my decision to induce this time around though... I guess most people just don't see why I would want to induce if I had the option to wait. I hate feeling like I have to defend and rationalize my decision as a parent before I even have another actual baby! Have any of you experienced ambivalence and anxiety about decisions you make during pregnancy because of other people's reactions?

Baby #2

So far, everything is going smoothly with Baby #2. I was a little sicker and much more tired this time--probably due to the fact that I am chasing around a 18-month old all the time now. I am also STARVING all the time! I am really eating us out of house and home. I don't remember being this hungry last time.

I had to switch doctors and hospitals when we moved. I toured the hospital a few weeks ago, and I have my first appointment with the new doctor in about a week and a half. I got spoiled being in Atlanta where they have a plethora of good hospitals to choose from--all within 10 miles or so of our house. Where we live now, there are two community hospitals, each about 20 miles away. Neither of those really have NICU units, and I'm not sure if they have an anesthesiologist there 24 hours a day (important to me because I don't plan to even try going natural since I only lasted about 10 minutes without an epidural last time). I also want the NICU in the hospital just in case things don't go smoothly with the baby. So I have chosen a hospital that is about 45 minutes away. If I end up having to be induced, it won't be a problem. And my old doctor said that I would most likely have plenty of time. If I start getting close and they predict snow around here, however, we will be getting a hotel closer to the hospital. The hospital itself actually has a hotel in the top of it, so hopefully we can get one of those rooms if needed and just be an elevator ride away from where I need to be. This hospital also has an anesthesiologist dedicated to the maternity ward and actually at the hospital (not just on call) 24 hrs. a day.

How are the rest of you doing?

--Amanda

Big Changes for a Big Girl!

Well, it has been a while since I have posted an update on our family. For the past month or so I have been preoccupied with trying to work everything out for our big move! As you may know, we recently moved to Indiana for my husband to take a job there. We all had a lot of uncertainty during the first half of this year with trying to figure out whether to make the move, whether we could work out the move financially, what was going to happen to my job, what we would do about childcare, etc. All I can say now is that we have truly been blessed over the past few months, because things could not have worked out better than they did! We decided to make the move because it is a really, really good career opportunity for Tom. We found a great house in the country (I mean really in the country--i.e., our "subdivision" is on a dirt road and the neighbors across the street have chickens). I have always been more of a city girl, so I never imagined I would be living in the country like this, but I actually like it (at least for now). It is very quiet here, and we have a huge yard to play in! I technically quit my job, and thought I would be staying home full-time for a while, but my prior employer actually decided they wanted me to continue working with them from home as an independent contractor. So now, I work from home and set my own hours. Can't complain about that! I usually do an hour or two of work before Hadley gets up and then do some more during nap time, and when I am busy, I can do a little work after she goes to bed. All this means NO MORE DAYCARE!!!

I really liked the daycare Hadley was in, as it was a really good daycare (and it should have been since it cost almost as much as our mortgage). I did not mind leaving her because for the most part I trusted her teachers and she seemed to enjoy it. However, she was ALWAYS sick. The everyday exposure to the germs was just immune system overload for her. The last week she was there, she had a virus that caused her to run a fever of 104.6 for about two days. I had no idea you could run a fever that high with a virus. I had her tested for every bacterial infection there was, but it was just a virus. It really started to make it seem pointless to work because numerous times I had to take an entire week off of work (which actually just meant I worked double time at home taking care of her during the day and then working all night). If I sent her back to daycare too early, she would catch something else before she fully got over the first sickness and then we would start the cycle all over again. Talk about exhausting--and especially not easy while also battling morning sickness and first trimester fatigue with Baby #2!

So needless to say, I am glad she will not have to go to daycare for the time being. We found a good church preschool here that she will go to twice a week starting in August, and she is really excited about it. Every time I say the word "preschool", she says "Yea!".

Hadley is growing up fast! She is speaking in two to three word sentences/phrases now and can usually communicate to us pretty easily what she wants--which is ultra nice! When she is done eating she says "all done", "unbuckle", "get down". She is also really good at puzzles! We had to get her some more challenging ones because she had figured out all the puzzles we had--even if we mixed all the pieces up together, she could still figure out which puzzle they went in. And she is about to have the new puzzles figured out too. She likes to try to imitate the rooster that lives across the street too. Every time the rooster crows, she says "Neh!" as loud as she can. We keep trying to teach her that it is "cock-a-doodle-doo", but she insists on making the horse sound in response to the rooster.

We aren't planning on moving her to the big girl bed until November or early December, but we did get a potty recently. She really likes to sit on it, but at first she would only sit on it for about half a second, and then she would say "all done" and get up to go play more. In the past couple of days, however, she has gone pee pee in it twice, and yesterday she pooped in it!!! So with all luck we will at least be using less diapers for Hadley once the new baby gets here.

Post on the Baby #2 coming soon!

Beware Nursemaid's elbow!

Just a quick warning about something we didn't really think would happen to us.  We ended up at the urgent care clinic this weekend with Isaac because of something called nursemaid's elbow.  In short, it's when the a baby's elbow becomes dislocated after being twirled, or pulled by the wrists or arms.  Isaac LOVES (loved now,) to have daddy or mommy spin him in the backyard, or swing him up when we're both holding his hands, etc.  But this weekend, we learned the hard way that we really shouldn't be doing that.  He's totally fine now, but the doctor had to pop the bone back into place and he was pretty crabby the rest of the afternoon.  A dose of motrin later, and he's totally back to normal, but I just wanted to let you guys know about it.  We can still swing and twirl him, but it has to be with us holding him under his armpits.  Hope everyone is doing well!  http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/bones/nursemaid.html

transitions

We have officially made the transition from crib to "big girl bed"! I am pleasantly (surprised and) pleased to say that it was almost entirely drama-free. We got Laine an Elmo book called "Big Enough for a Bed" which we read a lot in the days leading up to the big change, and we made sure to talk a lot about her sleeping in her big bed that day. We had already moved all of her toys, her table, and pretty much everything else into her new room (we are keeping the nursery the same and Laine gets a new girly room!), so she already identified the room as "hers". We decided to let her try her first time in the bed at night rather than nap time. I had her get her important night time stuff out of her crib and bring it to her new bed (she sleeps with a blankie, a pacifier, and her special bear) and then we followed all of the same bedtime routines, just in the different room. She was up singing and talking to herself for a while, but stayed in bed and slept until 8 the next morning! She took her nap in bed the next day and then slept another full night last night. So far it has been easy and seamless and I could not be more relieved or thankful.

Next big step... more aggressive potty training. We have a potty in the bathroom and she has used it a few times, but it has in no way been consistent and we haven't pushed her to do it. A lot of times she just wants to sit on it but not take off her diaper. Anyone else looking at starting any potty routines? I think it's kind of an intimidating process, but after having an easy time with the bed move (so far) my confidence is a little bit boosted.

How are all of your "big kids" doing???

Greer

How do you spoil your baby?

We all spoil our babies in one way or another. Obviously I do, because, as you can tell from the heading, I still call Hadley a baby even though she is 1 1/2 years old now! I also have to admit that I still rock her and listen to a few lullabies before putting her down for the night. It is my absolute favorite part of the day! So I am spoiling her a little bit with that--but the good part is I rarely ever have trouble getting her to go to sleep at night. How do ya'll spoil your babies?

it's a...

Just thought I'd make sure everyone saw the facebook video that I posted announcing that Joe and I (and big sister Laine) are expecting a BOY BABY this time!!! I am really excited, but also a little intimidated... I don't have much experience with boys! Any advice from you boy baby mamas?

(In case you missed the video, it's here on my blog now, or on my facebook profile.)

What happened to discipline?

Hadley has been bitten a time or two at daycare for trying to take someone else's toy, and apparently she is learning from those kids because Tom went to pick her up at daycare yesterday and was told she had bitten another kid that was trying to take her toy away. We asked them what they did about it, and they told us they are not allowed to discipline (not even time out), so they just redirected her to another toy. REALLY?! What does that teach her? It teaches her that if she bites someone, she gets another toy. At this age, she is not old enough to understand what she did wrong 4 hours later when we get her home. So what is a working mom to do?

I just don't see what the problem is with giving the kids a very emphatic NO! and a little time out (and honestly, although I don't really believe in spanking, I wouldn't mind a little pop on the hand for something like biting). Of course, once she is old enough to understand things a little more, we can take care of the problem when she gets home if she acts up at school, but what do I do in the meantime?

--Amanda

Hadley at 1 year + continued

So overall, life has been good lately. Hadley and I have started going to the Little Gym together on Fridays before I go to work. They have all sorts of things she can climb on, crawl through, hang on, etc. And the work week is a little easier to get through knowing that I have Little Gym class with Hadley to look forward to on Friday. Hadley really loves to hang on the bars. I have to hold her to support her because her little shoulders aren't quite strong enough yet to hold on by herself.

She is starting to develop a little personality. She is very sweet and lovable--she loves to give people hugs. I love seeing her "read" her books and start to connect words and concepts together. I really thought I loved her as much as was humanly possible when she was born, but I swear I just love her more and more every day!

--Amanda

Hadley at 1 year +

Life was a little hectic for us the first part of the year, and I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I would give everyone an update on all things Hadley! She is walking and running everywhere. She really likes to be outside in a big field where she can just go where she wants. She is also copying like every other word I say! I guess we have to start watching our mouths around her!

Tubes have not been the miracle we hoped for. She is on her second ear infection since getting tubes put in in January. But, they have helped. Ear infections used to mean fever, fussy, lack of sleep, re-arranging work schedules to stay home with her and take care of her fever, and yeast diaper rash and other not so pleasant side effects of the antibiotics. Now it is more like, "Oh, her ear has been draining for a few days. Time to use some drops." So the tubes have helped because she does not get a fever and the pressure does not build up and cause her pain.

Well, nap time is over . . . more later!

--Amanda

Do you juice?

So Molly has never had juice. Not a drop, not of any kind. And it's not because I'm against juice. She's just always loved water and milk so it wasn't a necessity. But I feel like most 14 months old drink juice. What age did you give yours juice? And is there really any reason for me to start her on it now, since she does like water so much?

Update: She's taking several steps, several times a day. But she still thinks it's funny to plop down and start crawling, mostly because she knows I want her to walk! :-D

Emily

We're getting closer..

Molly spent all of yesterday standing up and then sitting down and then standing up again from the middle of the floor, with no accessory toys to help her! And she took 1-3 steps a couple of times yesterday. (Last Wed she took 12 steps in a row but hasn't done that since) So I really do think/hope that we are getting closer! Andrea, keep pushing Isaac down! Molly can't be the last! :-D

-Emily

Can you say Mama?

Cause Molly can! I know it doesn't sound that impressive but after almost 40 weeks of carrying her in my womb, and then 13 months of caring for her 24/7 and nursing her, I was getting pretty fed up with hearing Dada day in and day out! But finally, she says Mama! And I love the sound of it!

On another note, she's not walking yet but getting so much closer. She loves to take a step and then fall, trusting that I will catch her. She thinks it's hysterical! But I'm hoping walking is right around the corner!

Finger daggers

Dude, I just have to say that Molly has some finger daggers. They are no longer nails! I have always clipped her nails while nursing but now I'm no longer nursing. When do you all clip your babies' nails?

more to love

Valentine's Day was initially going to be our "announcement day" anyway, so I guess this is an opportune time to post here! I think most of you have "friended" me on facebook and so probably have already heard the news, but just in case... Joe and I are expecting baby #2!!! We decided a while ago to start trying at the beginning of 2011 and got a little head start in December... and then found out we were pregnant right after New Years! So apparently we have no problems with our fertility! HA. Anyway, I was a little surprised at first but I couldn't be more excited. It will definitely give me plenty of blogging material in the coming year or so I'm sure!

Here was my initial announcement on my own blog: http://greercaldwell.blogspot.com/2011/02/another-letter-to-my-firstborn.html

Anyone else starting to think about adding on to your little families?

Greer--don't you have something you want to post? ;)

Car Seat

Ok. . . so we ended up with Britax Marathon 70 from the Target sale I posted about last week. We got a blue color. So far, I like it. It also solved the side impact problem--Hadley is now in the middle of the car because the LATCH connectors on this car seat are adjustable and we were able to use one connector from each of the sides. The infant car seat LATCH connectors were not long enough to do that. Hadley also likes it. When we got it out of the box and sat it on the floor, she climbed right in it. Then she got mad when we made her get out of it. The only bad thing is that it is a little bulky, so if there is a next time and if we have twins the next time, we'll have to go through the car seat thing all over again. But, for now, I think it will work.

--Amanda

HUGE CAR SEAT SALE

Target is having a huge car seat sale! I just got a Britax Marathon 70 for $223 plus free shipping! Sale ends Saturday.

--Amanda

Weaning....

It's more for me than her! So Molly and I are going through the weaning process. I'll explain a little how it's gone and how I've felt throughout.

When Mols was 11 months old I started introducing Horizon's Vit D Organic Cow's milk through a sippy cup. We use a Munchkin straw cup because she likes those the best. I put about 2oz in every day but she wouldn't take near that much. But it got her use to the taste which was the main goal. Up to her 1st birthday she was nursing 4 times a day. (right when she woke up, lunch, around 3-4, and right at bedtime) The day after her birthday I dropped a feeding. I chose the 2nd (lunchtime) feeding for a couple of reasons. The biggest reason is that her 1 year doctor's appointment was that day and she was getting shots in the afternoon and I like to nurse her after her shots to help calm her down. The other reason is that she was already use to eating lunch right after nursing so I thought it would be an easier transition because I already had something to replace the nursing with that she was use to.

So, that Friday I dropped the lunch feeding. Todd was very good about taking charge of Molly during that time to reduce temptation. But really, we needn't be worried. Molly could have cared less! I have to admit, my feelings were a little hurt. :-P But Molly really didn't seem to mind, and I wasn't in any physical pain so all was good. We went a week with only dropping that feeding.

The following Saturday (couldn't drop Fri because of more shots) I dropped the afternoon feeding. Again, Molly was like 'whatever, Mom!' Still no pain for me so we were all good.

Tomorrow will be a week of only nursing Molly when she wakes up and when she goes to sleep. Of course, those are my 2 favorite times! This morning I didn't go to the gym so I didn't have to rush her last morning nursing! When she woke up (8:30!) I brought her into my bed (that's a rarity!) and nursed her while just hanging out relaxing. Again, she seems to be take it or leave it but I needed that last 'savor the moment' feeling.

So, tomorrow morning I will drop the morning feeding. It will be the first time in over a year that I will truly be able to sleep in. Todd is good about letting me sleep in (we alternate getting up on the weekends) but it's always been: roll over, "Todd" nudge "Todd, Molly's up" nudge, and then he goes to get her and brings her to me and I nurse her and then he takes her downstairs. At my request, my wonderful husband is going to sleep in the guest bedroom tonight (with the monitor on full volume next to his head or otherwise he won't hear it) and get up with her so I can for real sleep in. Though with my luck I'll start waking up around 8 wondering why I haven't heard her yet! Anyway, he also offered to do the same thing tomorrow night but I think I'll want to be up for morning family time.

So that's where we are. After one more week the plan is to stop the night feeding as well. So what I'll probably do is feed her a little earlier, say 6 or 6:30, and then play some more before 7:30 bedtime. I'll keep you posted on that!

-Emily

Car seat crazies

Dude, y'all are all so right....this picking a convertible car seat business is a pain! And like Amanda, we plan on getting 2 because we use both of our cars almost equally (60% mine, 40% his). But here's what we've decided to do....we have bought the Evenflo Triumph first. Of course, to save 10-20 extra bucks we got it in the poop brown color but I guess that can be good if Molly has any blow outs while in the car! Anyway, it was ranked highest on Consumer Reports when we checked and it was the cheapest by like 70 bucks. We only got one for now because technically Molly can still fit in her infant seat. So the new car seat will go in my car and the infant one will be used with Todd's car. Once we find out whether we like it or want to try a different one we'll order a second. But I think this one should work just find.

So it actually came in the mail yesterday, and I haven't taken a picture of the box yet but we are sending it back and making them ship us a new one. The box looks like it just stepped out of a cage fight with a sumo wrestler! And I'm sure the seat inside is probably fine but I don't know. I'd rather them ship me an intact box just to ease my worries. So once I get that and actually open it, I'll post a picture of teeny Molly sitting in her big girl car seat!

-Emily

ONE!!!!!

"Yay, I'm ONE!!!!"

"What up, yo?"

You'd think she's never seen that bunny before!

It took some coaxing but we got a face dive into the cake!

Precious cake my mom made for Molly.

Convertible Car Seat Confusion

Hadley hasn't quite outgrown her infant car seat yet, but we started looking at convertible car seats yesterday because I don't want to be rushed into buying anything. From what I have seen, Britax and Evenflo appear to be the best as far as brands go. We narrowed it down to 4 models, but choosing between those is difficult. Below are my pros and cons. Let me know if any of you have bought or looked at any of these models and what you think about them.

Evenflo Triumph Advance Deluxe LX: In the most recent Consumer Reports report on car seats that we can find, this one was rated the best. However, after looking at one in the store yesterday, I'm wondering about that rating. I'm not sure about the side impact protection, as the seat is very wide and it seems like there is a lot of room for sideway head movement in it. We are very concerned about this because we don't have LATCH in the middle seats on our cars so she is on the side behind the driver's seat. We tried putting her seat in the middle and fastening it with the seat belt, but it was a lot looser than on the side with LATCH so we left her on the side. I'm also concerned about the front harness adjustment on this seat, as it does not seem to lock into place. After putting her in it and tightening the harness, it seems like it would only move about a notch or two up or down and would not really affect her positioning, but I wondered what other people thought about this. Also, there is a knob on this one that you have to turn to tighten the harness. I already have tendonitis in my wrist from picking her up all the time (along with back problems, but that is a subject for another post), and having to turn that knob all the time is not going to help that problem--the knob is actually rather hard to turn too. Also, the buckle on this seat was cutting into Hadley's belly quite a bit because it was so big--bad enough that it looked like it might be really uncomfortable.

Evenflo Symphony 65: This seat is newer than the Triumph and is intended as an All-in-One seat, so it is in a different category from the Triumph. However, I like that this seat does not have the knob to tighten the harness--it is the regular pull-to-tighten kind. It also has an extra head restraint so that there is not as much space on the side of her head between her head and the side of the carseat. It still has the same harness height adjustment as the Triumph, and although the store sample had the old smaller buckle, the newer ones online appear to have the bigger buckle.

Britax Marathon: This one appears to have gone down in ratings recently, although it was #1 a few years ago. When we tried her in it, it was easy to use and seemed very comfortable, but it does not have the head restraint and I am a little concerned about the recent ratings.

Britax Boulevard: This one is similar to the Evenflo Symphony. It has the head restraint and pull-to-tighten harness. The harness height adjustment is in the back and locks into notches on the back of the car seat. This one was rated second under the Evenflo Triumph on the Consumer Reports ratings.

At this point, I think we are leaning toward the Evenflo Symphony or the Britax Boulevard. Does anyone have any comments on these? It would be particularly helpful if anyone has any comments on the head restraints or on the front harness height adjustment that the Evenflo car seats have. I would probably buy the Britax Boulevard, except that the price is just really outrageous. I find it hard to believe you can't make a safe car seat and sell it for less than $300. And the convertible car seats are so bulky that it will be hard to transfer from car to car, so we will definitely need to have two. Please let me know what you think.

P.S.--Hadley's surgery for her tubes is this week, assuming she gets over the cold she currently has. Trying not to think about it right now...

--Amanda

Brand new year!

So we have been busy this past few months. We have finally moved into our house!!! Can I just tell you that whole month was a blur, but so worth all the effort. We moved out of our condo at the end of November, and moved in temporally with my mother. Of course my family loved the idea of being able to see Andrew all the time, but we craved the schedule that makes our world flow. But on the flip side we had the ability to have instant babysitters so Joey and I could go out after Andrew went down for the night and shop for carpet, paint, furniture, etc. All in all we moved into our house (sleeping wise) the night before we left for the mountains for Christmas. And there was nothing quite like driving home from the holidays knowing you were going home. And we have even broke in the neighborhood park, which by the way is like a two minute walk from our front door behind the house on the opposite side of the cauldisac. I know you guys are jealous :)

Christmas went really well. We were in the mountains and had about 8 inches of snow before we left to come home. We had to cut our trip short because we ran out of milk and since there was a snow storm and everything was bought up. Andrew of course had a never ending supply of presents to open. This kid is so spoiled by our friends and family. He has seriously been opening presents since his birthday! I am trying to divide up toys around the house so he has something different to play with regardless which room we are in. I also need to take some and leave them at the grandparent's house so we don't have to travel with quite so many things.

Let me think of some relateble things...Andrew is still having a really hard time eating, but I think he is getting better. He now eats tator tots. I never thought I would be excited about my kid eating that, but I am thrilled. He has forgotten the bottle and loves his sippy cups. I told you guys we use the cheap toss away kinds. I tried about a week ago to reintroduce the nuby ones, but he just didn't get it. I just wished the ones he liked didn't leak so bad, but whatever my kid is off of bottles and we all survived. We are back on his reflux meds and what a difference it has made. All you mommys with reflux kids, even though the get better potentially around 8 months or so, when you introduce milk it starts up all over again. But the meds have helped big time with the vomit smelling vomit and with his eating. He absolutely hates getting his meds, but I don't know if it is because it smells like peppermint so strongly or because he just hates the idea of getting meds. Which leads me to the last thing that is more challenging...getting into the car seat. We would really like to keep him rear facing until he is two since the research is now showing safety benefits, but this kid is all about tantrums getting into the car. I don't know if it is because he he rear facing and it bothering him or because he doesn't want to be restrained. Anybody else facing this issue? He locks his legs and stands up. Reaches for the mirror and practically rolls out of his seat the majority of times I try to get him in there. Half the time he is doing this before he is even in the car and he ends up hitting his head on the way in.

Oh I almost forgot to tell you guys, Andrew's eye are fine. They want to see him again every six months until he is two and then we will probably come back around 4 to see how he is doing. That last visit is because Joey and I are basically blind and we want to make sure he can see well before he starts school.

I hope everybody else is doing well. Cannot wait to hear about the trails of all the moms handling one year olds!!!

mel