Nothing like the last minute!

Well, I started this quilt last spring... I finished it yesterday! Just like me to wait until the last minute! I think that it turned out pretty well considering it was my first attempt. I actually ended up doing the whole thing myself. I was going to pay to have the quilting and binding put on, but decided it would be nice if I could finish it all on my own. Now we just need baby...

Tomorrow this time I should be holding my newest baby girl! I have a feeling Brian and I aren't going to be sleeping well tonight!

What a great guy!

Well, I have to say that Brian outdid himself this Valentine's Day. We usually don't get too into it, but we did go out to dinner last night because my parents said to go for it and they would watch Payton. But the really sweet thing is that Brian got me another charm for my charm bracelet. It matches that one he gave me when I had Payton except this one has the February birthstone instead of Payton's November one. It is just TOO cute:) Then he pulls out another box, that stinker! I had told him that I really like the infinity circle pendants that I am seeing everywhere, but I never see them in yellow gold, which is what I always wear. Well, he found one for me on a beautiful gold chain! It is just beautiful! I love them both Brian! Thank goodness I did get him a gift this year:) Not nearly as exciting though!

Still pregnant...

Well, one great thing is that my sinus infection has totally cleared and I am FINALLY feeling normal on that front! Thank goodness!

I had my appointment on Tuesday and it seems that other than my history with Payton I am so normal it is ridiculous! I haven't gained any weight in the last week. My BP was a little elevated at first, but it seemed very positional. Once on my left side for a couple of minutes and it went right back down. Baby sounds good and has dropped, big time. I am now 2 cm dilated so my OB stripped my membranes (sorry if too much info for some of you!:) I am not even going to explain that one:)) He is hoping that it will facilitate spontaneous labor, or at the very least get me dilated more. If I haven't had gone into labor by Tuesday we are scheduled to be on labor and delivery at 6am that day to be induced. I will be about 38 1/2 weeks by then. My parents are here now so we don't have to worry about Payton which is a HUGE relief to me. I am feeling okay, but I have to say that I haven't felt the same since Tuesday... I keep telling Brian that my abdomen just feels "unsettled". We will see what the next couple of days bring. Brian is hoping for the nice controlled induction, so we will have to wait and see if he will get his wish! I am just hoping for a "easier" delivery that Payton! Everyone that has told me that the second is easier had better be right:) Again, I am NOT holding my breath on that one! We will keep you all posted!

37 Weeks

Well, I woke up yesterday and my face was killing me... I know what this meant... sinus infection. I had my appointment with my OB and after he pressed on my sinuses and I almost jumped off the chair he told me to start Augmentin for a week. I have a pretty bad sinus headache that hopefully will start to feel better in the next couple of days. I hate to take pills!

I had an ultrasound yesterday because my doctor wanted to check the size of the baby. I am still measuring a little early and because of my high glucose test we need to make sure she isn't getting too big. He asked me if I felt bigger this time around, he said that he really takes his moms seriously when they say that. But I actually don't feel too big. I lost 2 pounds in the last week. So I am up 3 1/2 pounds since pre-pregnancy compared to the 22 pounds I gained with Payton. If the baby looked like she was close to 9 pounds he said we would have to discuss planning a C-section. But the baby is measuring 7 pounds 4 ounces right now. The ultrasound error is usually give or take 1/2 pound. So that is just perfect. (Payton was 8 pounds 7 ounces, for those of you that don't remember that:)) That puts her about a week ahead, which is no big deal. My cervix has "opened more and is very thin and soft". My blood pressure is still going great at 110/76. So he wants to see me next Tuesday, unless I go into labor by then, and if all looks good we will schedule an induction for the 15th or 16th depending on the numbers at the hospital. So just a little more than a week until baby girl #2! My parents are planning on coming up the middle of the week unless something happens sooner. I am personally hoping that we will just have to be induced. I really want to get over this cold/sinus infection and be feeling good when it is time to labor... but I guess you can never plan things that well. Hopefully for us we can, Brian and I am both pretty big planners!

Still recovering...

Well, I am still trying to battle my cold. This is the worst cold I have had in years! I actually went to see my primary doctor last week (I was working that day and she squeezed me in). I have been having a productive cough which isn't too fun. It was making me a little worried, being pregnant and all. She gave me some antibiotics, but said I didn't have to fill them if I felt better in a couple days. Apparently, according to her, even bacterial bronchitis does not seem to resolve quicker if you are on antibiotics vs. waiting it out (according to research). So I waited. My cough is definetly better, and last night I woke up and was actually breathing through my nose! It has been over a week since I could do that! So hopefully I am on the upswing. FINALLY! I need to get better soon, I need my energy to have a baby!

Payton's tantrums have seemed to decreased over the weekend. She has been sleeping through the night again instead of waking up wanting to play at 3am. Tantrums in the middle of the night are torture... maybe she finally figured it out that we were not going to be coloring or reading books in the middle of the night! She would get so mad that she would just throw herself against her bedroom door to get out and play. What goes through those little minds I wonder! We just wait for her to wear herself out... we have been pretty good I think about not giving in just to make it easier on us. Fortunately Brian and I agree on that!

Well, although Payton can get sassy at home lately she never does at daycare. Her teacher told me that she never does the tantrum thing with them. Payton is so cute. She comes home talking about "school" and her friends. Last Friday she got a special day award for going potty! They get the toddlers on the potty every 2 hours or so during the day. Payton has never gone at school until then! We were so happy:) She has been making progress at home, and now it seems she is doing the same at school. At home we aren't really pushing it, we just offer it and if she wants to go and sit we do. Usually the times she actually goes on the potty though happen when she tells us she wants to "go potty". Then she seems to realize she needs to go and would rather not go in her diaper.

Well, my 37 weeks appointment is tomorrow, I will give you all an update after that:)

More on Boston

Here's a link to a Boston Phoenix article that explains the situation quite well.

http://www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid33000.aspx

Boston Overreaction

The reaction of the Boston police about the electronic signs found around the city is rediculous! They have arrested the two guys who put them up and keep referring to this incident as a "hoax". I think they should look the word up because it doesn't apply. There was no deception with the signs. Nobody claimed they were bombs. They didn't look like a bomb and were only considered suspicious because they had exposed wires and batteries. So I guess if I take some dog crap and put wires and batteries around it they would think it was a bomb.

Baby's Room

We are just about done... we just have to get her name up on the wall. That will have to wait until she is born. We don't want anyone to know before that:)

36 Week Appointment

I have my 36 week appointment yesterday. I gained 2 pounds in the last 2 weeks, my BP is still good at 122/68, heartbeat is great.... etc. I have been having minimal swelling in my ankles at the end of the day, but he says that I am actually doing really good on that regard considering how far along I am. I am having Braxton Hicks 4-5 times a day now. Sometimes they last a minute or so, just uncomfortable. He checked my cervix and I am 1 cm dilated and "soft". And the baby has moved down some. So we are pretty happy about that. Although Brian and I both think that I am carrying very high. Basically my doctor told me yesterday that if my body hasn't done this on its own by 38 weeks he will "help me". So we are on our way. We got the lovely paperwork telling us what to look for and who and when to call if we are in labor. So basically I have 2 1/2 weeks at the most to be pregnant! Right now I have a bad cold so I am just "walking misery" as I like to say. And Payton has been not feeling too well either and she has been just whining and throwing tantrums at all hours of the day AND night. I don't mind tantrums usually, but I am not too patient these days... hopefully we will start to feel better soon.

Antenna Project

I decided to take on a project this weekend that I've been thinking about for a few months. I wanted to get my local network TV channels in high definition. Directv did not offer local channels in HD when we got our HD DVR this past summer. Since we're about 70 miles from Minneapolis the stations came in quite fuzzy with rabbit ears. So I decided a bigger antenna would do the trick. So I got a 39 element outdoor antenna (144 inches long).

But in stead of installing it on the roof I thought it might work by putting it in the rafters of the garage. Since all of the stations are to the north and the garage faces north, alignment was not an issue. I spent about 2 hours putting it together and making all of the connections up in the rafters (it was about 8 degrees, but at least there was no wind). I checked the reception on a small tv first to see what kind of signal I was getting and all the networks except CBS came in perfectly. I ran the cable into the house and hooked it to the HD receiver. After going through the setup again, there they were...the networks in glorious HD! CBS was even coming in perfectly. (Evidently, the stations turn down their analog broadcast power so they can put more power into the digital transmission.) The best part about this project, other than the great picture quality, is that the project worked out exactly as planned (which rarely happens with my home projects!) I got all the right things from the store the first time; it was cheap ($60); it only took a couple hours rather than all weekend; the results are just as good if not better than expected.

I also fixed the snow blower this weekend (I think).

Pooped...

I am SO tired! I am having my first home party tonight (Taste of Home Entertaining). I planned if for this month because they are having double hostess bonus and I really like the consultant. She is actually one of the first ladies that I met here in Owatonna. Anyway, not sure if it was the wisest decision to have an open house when I am 9 months pregnant, but oh well. It should be fun. Everyone I invited has been super responsive and even if they can't come they are giving me orders which is nice. I am glad that everyone seems interested.

I got a call from Payton's doctor's nurse yesterday. Her poop was negative, which was anticipated. So it is definetly just iron defiency anemia. We have to continue the iron drops (I tried to talk them out of that!) for another month and then when we bring our new baby in for her 3-5 day check-up, Payton will have her blood drawn again. The ONLY great thing about that is that Brian will be with us. So for once I won't be the one holding her down... After that I am going to pretty much insist that we do half a flinstones vitamin. The pedi and I had talked about that during Payton's last visit, but her iron level was so low that the doctor doesn't want her to switch just yet. So hopefully only one more month for the sweetie to have that horrible supplement and gray teeth:(

Since we are going to be having a house full tonight, and some of my friends haven't seen our house we finally got the crib set up and the baby's room is looking great! I will have to take some photos... who has the time:)

Oh, Payton is up from her nap....

Getting organized...

Okay, so the ONLY thing that I don't like about Owatonna is that the nearest mall is about 40 minutes away. It actually isn't a bad thing, but if you need to do some specific shopping it does require a plan. Usually we can find everything we need here in town. But there was a few things that we needed to pick up for the baby before she arrives and I had already researched everything we needed. So we headed up towards the cities to go to Babies R Us. I have to say I was pretty happy when we walked in there, I knew that we could get all our shopping done in one place and then some! So we got a Bundle Me Lite (it is a lighter version to fit on her car seat to protect against wind, rain and the elements essentially), diaper bag (of course I didn't want to use the same one as with Payton, and that one was showing some wear), memory box, hangers, and Payton picked out the cutest plush ladybug for her. We do want to still get an Ocean Wonders Aquarium for her crib. Payton uses hers EVERY day (you may have noticed that it is hanging on her toddler bed), so there is NO way she will let us take that one! We really want the older version, the reviews I have read about the newer version aren't as great. So I may need to order that online. We have only seen the newer version in the stores. Any of you out there with the newer version? Likes or dislikes? Other than that, which can wait for a while, we have everything we need. Or so we think!

Brian and I did an overhaul on our storage room over the weekend. It was surprising how much space you have when things are actually more organized! Brian had made several shelves last year, but we were finally able to consolidate things and organize it all. It looks so nice! I have begun the tedious task of washing everything we had to bring up for the storage room (bouncy, swing, infant seat, toys, bottles, bedding, tub, pack n play.....). Payton is having too much fun playing with all that stuff. I found her reclining in the infant seat the other day, and once she saw her old bottles she hasn't given them back!

Yesterday we got an under the cabinet drop screen TV/DVD for the kitchen. Since we have moved our big TV into the family room we have our smaller TV in a different location in the living room and you can't see it from the kitchen. I know, this is a huge problem:) Actually we just want to be able to watch the news in the morning instead of Payton's favorites. And since the stereo went with the big TV we haven't had a radio or anything upstairs. I am not ready to commit to another stereo just yet, although Brian would probably love too. So now we are all set! Brian just has to run cable up and it is a done deal.

Well, I am thinking that Payton is unusually hungry this morning. She has eaten a piece of toast with jelly, a piece of banana bread, and she just asked for a "bar" (nutrigrain bar). I finally gave her one because she would not let it go... she just brought me her napkin, empty. I can't believe she actually ate all of that! She usually eats half of that, or less! Lunch will probably not go too well, if I know her!

It's Done!

My grandparents chest of drawers turned out great as you can see. Brian spent a lot of time on that. Everything turned out pretty nice I think:) We just have to put a shelf up, Payton has a few things that she really doesn't need to be getting into! Before we put the chest of drawers in her room it was like munchkin-land in there. Everything is "Payton sized". Just how she likes it too:) It is strange to see all of her furniture in the new nursery. We are almost done with that room. I will post photos when we have completed it.

Hooray! For many reasons:)

First of all it snowed over the weekend... we have had a couple of storms, but this is the one that will leave the snow on the ground for a while! I love it! It is so crisp and clean looking out there! Although this morning it was -12 outside, that is without the wind chill! Thank goodness it was calm out there for once!

Secondly, last night Payton was ready for bed and sitting with Brian and she kept saying "icky, icky" and pulling on her diaper. So we asked her if she poopped, "no" then we checked her diaper and it was dry. Then she says "sit on toilet". Wow, you actually want to sit on your potty, that is unusual for her! She will sit there if we put her there, but she never suggests it! So of course I go in there with her and we take off her diaper and pjs. She then sits down and after about 5 seconds she starts to pee!!! This is HUGE!! She has gone on her potty before, but only after sitting there for a while and never anything substantial! Not last night! We were so proud of her! She told us she wanted to go and she did! Good Girl!

Thirdly, I had my 34 week appointment today. My BP is still great and I am up one pound, heartbeat is nice and strong, and she is measuring pretty much the same. A little early. My blood sugars have been doing good. Other than a couple since I started taken them I have been totally within normal range. So now I am going to every other day. My doctor and I talked for a while about my complications with Payton (symptoms, platelet count, weeks gestation....) and he is thinking that if I can make it to 38 weeks he will probably just deliver me. He just pretty much wants her out as soon as she "has cooked long enough" so that I don't risk any more complications at the end this time (I was 39 weeks with Payton). The longer I stay pregnant the more chance I have of developing pre-ecclampsia or HELLP again. Although the HELLP would be very rare if I developed it again, he doesn't want to take any chances. So lets hope that my cervix changes in the next 4 weeks! Then being induced will be a whole lot simpler. Not sure if I am crazy about Pitocin again, but at the same time it would be a lot better on my nerves if we had Payton all taken care of ahead of time!

Oh, Brian finished painting Payton's room yesterday! It looks awesome. Once we have all of her furniture in there I will post some photos! One more thing off our list!

So Sorry Sweetie!

So as you all know it is looking like Payton has inherited my iron deficiency anemia. We have been taking iron supplements since her 2nd birthday in November. In December she was sick almost the entire month and we were lucky to get her to take her iron once a day! Today we went in for a recheck and of course, more bloodwork. Well, first of all it seems her ear infection from December hasn't cleared so we are on round 2 of antibiotics, this time Augmentin. Then we went to have her blood drawn. The tech holding her little arm wasn't doing too great of a job and they almost had to stick her again. Good thing the tech drawing the blood was awesome and able to hold on! She has a nice little bruise which I am sure is tender.

I got a call from the nurse before we even got back for the pharmacy... her iron percentage is actually worse than ever. Everything else looks okay for now. We are waiting for another test that takes a few days to get back and that will tell us if she has some hereditary traits. She is a pretty good eater and doesn't drink a whole ton of milk so it is not due to her diet, it looks like she is just not absorbing the iron. But her pedi wants to be sure that she doesn't have a bleed so I have to pick up some stool cards and check 3 poops next week and bring them back so that they can see if there is any hidden blood. Unfortunately the iron makes her poop black so the first indicator of a bleed would never be noticed. I am sure she doesn't have that problem, but it is an non-invasive test to rule one more thing out. The fact that her iron is worse now than when we started the supplements is worriesome though. So I am feeling SO guilty for bringing this on for her. We are hoping that all the test will check out and once we finish out January with the iron we will be going on a multivitamin with iron. Hopefully that is all she needs. So it looks like her days going to the lab aren't over after all. It is getting harder each time... she seems to be remembering it now. We now just have to wait and see. The good thing is that she doesn't seem to have any signs/symptoms of the anemia... poor little squirt!

What next?!

Well, Payton really is the silliest thing! Last night Brian and I were researching on the internet for a couple of things we are going to be purchasing before the baby comes. He was sitting at the dining room table and I went to sit down next to him. Now mind you that Payton no longer uses even her booster seat. She insists on kneeling on her chair at the table at mealtimes. No big deal, but we always have it covered with a towel, our chairs are ulpolstered (sp?). I sat in "Payton's" chair. She was in the living room and started just yelling at me. She ran up to me to pull me off and then went back into the living room! Not sure when so became so possesive of that particular chair!

Right now the little stinker is calling me... not momma mind you, which is what she always calls me. Oh no, she is yelling "Tina! Tina! Tina!" She thinks she is so funny...

Favorite things

Well, Payton was pretty spoiled over Christmas and receieved a lot of beautiful things. What are her favorites? Not the things I would have expected!

The Strawberry Shortcake "moonie" (movie) that Brian's parents ran out to get her one night because she was asking for a "moonie". She wants to watch it all day long! She will go into the cabinet and pull out her Strawberry Shortcake. Although we are only letting her watch it once a day. Yesterday she didn't watch it once, that was amazing! Those songs just get in your head and stay there!

She also received a little stuffed puppy that came with a Christmas book that Brian's aunt Carol gave her. Since she opened that gift it is Bye Bye babies and all about the puppy. If is falls off her bed at night we will here her "MY PUPPY!". She cries in the mornings that she is going to daycare because she has to leave it behind. It is too cute.

Although she has a lot of fun toys, those 2 things are definite favorites right now. She was all about Play Doh up until Strawberry and the puppy arrived! Right now Payton and her puppy are watching Strawberry and she looks pretty happy:)

Time to start getting it together!!

Well, I kept telling myself that once we got through Christmas I would concentrate on getting the girl's rooms ready for our new arrival. So it looks like we have our work cut out for us. We have to paint Payton's room, finish her chest of drawers (it was my grandmother's chest from when she was first married and I grew up with it in my room) which we has been working on refinishing, make Payton's new bookcase (another of Brian's projects), dig out all of our baby clothes, toys, swing, bouncy, finish the baby quilt I started last summer........ The list going on and on. The new baby's room is already painted thank goodness so we just need to move things in there and finish some minor decorating.

I had my 32 week appointment this week and everything is looking great. I lost 2 pounds over Christmas! Now who can say that?! My blood sugars are great, so I can cut back on how often I am checking, by BP is great, my hemoglobin is not great but getting better at 10.0. I got all my pre-registration paperwork and info on the epidural (with Payton I wasn't able to get one because my platelets were dangerously low, so we will see if I can deliver without any pain meds again, I am not holding my breath!)and at 35 weeks we will have another ultrasound. Because of my borderline blood sugar issue he needs to make sure that the baby is doing well and not getting too big. Right now we are still measuring early. But so far so good. I can't believe we only have 8 weeks to go!

Whew... its good to be home...

We returned from the U.P. on Thursday. Payton was sick most of the time we were there. She was running fevers and didn't eat for about 4 days. She is back to her old tricks now though, and sassy as ever. I think that she loved all that attention. Back to reality little girl:) We all are healthy now, although I worked yesterday and they are dropping like flies there. The stomach flu is really making the rounds. I think I washed my hands a million times yesterday!

We did have a nice holiday regardless. We were able to see our families, although we didn't venture out to see friends because of our sweetie. The drive was a lot of fun being 7 months pregnant. I am glad that we aren't making that drive again any time soon! Payton was totally spoiled by her "yammy's and papa's" as well as Santa. She is actually into opening gifts now. Although she wasn't feeling the best she did have fun on Christmas.

On the way back to MN we were able to stop at our friend Amy's parents house to see Amy, Mark and the kids. That little Jonah is adorable:) Makes me excited to have a baby around again. Payton and Olivia played for a couple of hours so that made a really nice break in our drive for all of us. We finally got everything unpacked last night and it is getting back to normal around here. Now we just need to tackle all the Christmas decorations... I hate that.

I have been good about taking my blood sugars 4 times a day, and let me tell you I haven't been really watching too much. I am just sorta spreading my carbs out and my blood sugar rarely makes it over 110 so that is fantastic. I am hoping to be able to cut back the testing. I have my 32 week appointment on Tuesday.

Oh, and I am sure you will all be happy to know that we have decided on a name for our baby girl. That is a HUGE relief for me:) I am loving driving my sister Nicole nuts, we aren't telling a soul until she is born!

I can't believe this!!!

This morning Brian went to get Payton out of bed, she was awake and he likes to see her before he leaves for work. And her bed and pj's where covered in vomit!! It had been there for a while, yuck!! Not that she even seemed to notice. She had a fever of 100.4. This kid has been sick with one thing or the other for about 2 weeks! What we can't believe is that we didn't hear a peep out of her last night. She usually will whine and cry when she is going to be sick to her stomach, even in the middle of the night... Well, she hasn't eaten much today, but she has been drinking a lot and she seems to be her old self. Poor thing!! Just in time for Christmas...