The First Few Days

Shortly after Jude was born, I went to a recovery room.  They brought him in for some skin to skin time, and I got to hold my baby boy for the first time.  Unfortunately, that only lasted for about 5 minutes. The nurses told me his breathing wasn't great and that they'd need to take him to get evaluated.  I was sad to let him go, but knew it must be urgent by the way they were talking. I told Meezy to stay with the baby and for the first time, I was alone. I started to cry.

When a nurse came back in the room, I asked her to get my mom, so that someone would be in there with me. Shortly thereafter, my sisters came back to see me as well. After a few minutes, Meezy stopped by and said they were taking Jude to NICU. My mom and sisters stepped into the hall so they could see him as he was transported there. Since I wasn't going to be able to spend crucial bonding time with Jude right after birth, the nurses gave me a cloth to hold next to my skin so that it would absorb my smell. They would later place it on and around Jude in his warmer, so that he could start learning my scent. While I was very sad to think about him not being able to know his mom, I was thankful for the opportunity for a small part of me to be with him.

After a while in recovery, it was time for me to go to my private room. On the way there, they wheeled my bed to NICU so I could see Jude. This is what I saw:

My poor, sweet boy had an IV, a feeding tube, and had to wear a CPAP mask.  He was also hooked up to an EKG and pulse ox monitor. At a time when I should've been cuddling him close and getting acquainted with all his features, I had to see him from a distance. I could barely even tell what he looked like. Once I went to my room, I wasn't able to see him in person for the rest of that day. I had to rely on pictures from family members who were able to visit him and updates from Meezy on his condition.

Because he was premature, the alveoli (tiny sacs in the lungs that inflate with air when we breathe) weren't working as well as they should.  His oxygen saturation level was dangerously low, so he needed intervention.  The CPAP mask was giving him pressurized oxygen in an attempt to get his alveoli to learn how to function. Because he couldn't breathe well, and therefore wouldn't be able to breast feed, the feeding tube and IV were necessary in order for him to stay hydrated and nourished. The first day was a rough one for me. I just wanted to hold my son and feel confident that he would be alright. The doctors assured me he just needed time, so I had to be patient.

On Day 2, the numbness from the epidural had worn off, so I was allowed to visit Jude in the NICU.

As Meezy rolled my wheelchair up to his bed, I started bawling. There's already so many emotions going on after birth, and having to see my son like that just compounded everything. After I settled down and was able to touch him, the nurse snapped this pic so we could capture the moment. It was not the situation I expected to be in on day 2 of my son's life, but I was so grateful for it, nonetheless.

Back in my room, I worked on pumping every few hours so that Jude would have breastmilk. Besides that, there wasn't much else I could do besides wait. Luckily, the NICU had an awesome setup where they pointed a camera at his bed so that I could login on my phone and check on him whenever I wanted to. I felt a little closer to him at those times, and I stared at that screen for hours on end.

Meezy divided his time between Jude and me, and I sent him home at night so he could at least get a few hours sleep in a comfortable bed. I could see his exhaustion and knew he needed a break from all the stress. If ever there was a time where he showed what an amazing husband and father he is, this was it. He was so strong and supportive and kept me from being a basket case.

On Day 3, when Meezy and I entered NICU for a visit, I was shocked to hear them ask, "Would you like to hold him?" I was so anxious and excited and couldn't believe the time had finally come.

His CPAP mask had been removed, but he still had the feeding tube and IV inserted. I was so happy to feel him against my chest and finally get a good look at him. He still wasn't digesting food as well as he needed to be, but we were making progress!

On Day 4, as Jude's other issues were improving, the doctors addressed his jaundice.  He underwent phototherapy treatment, which basically looked like he was in a tanning bed!

At this point, I had been discharged, so I took up residence in a private room around the corner from the NICU. What a wonderful option for parents! I was able to be just a few steps away from him, but could have privacy for taking short naps and pumping milk. I stayed there overnight while Meezy stayed at our house with Dutch.

Day 5 happened to be Thanksgiving, and since Jude was making great strides, I asked Meezy to bring me home from the hospital for a few hours.  We grabbed some food from Boston Market and had our own version of Thanksgiving at home. It was nice to have a few hours out of the hospital, away from the stress. By the end of that day, Jude had his feeding tube removed. What a relief!  We knew it wouldn't be long before he could get out of NICU and be transferred to the special care nursery.

Once Jude got his IV removed on Day 6, we knew the transfer was imminent. All of his vitals were great and he was digesting food. We made our way over to the special care nursery that afternoon. In this area, he and I would actually be staying in the same room and I would be solely responsible for his feeding.

He was still hooked up to an EKG, but that was it. Because of his prematurity, he had to undergo a car seat test. That involved him having to be strapped in for 90 minutes while his pulse ox was monitored. It felt like an eternity, but he passed with flying colors. That night I didn't get any sleep, because my baby boy was finally staying just a few steps away from me and I was so excited about being able to finally go home the next day.

On Day 7, Jude got the all-clear to be discharged. Meezy and Dutch came and picked us up and we finally got to be a complete family of 4. It was such a long, stressful, draining week, but it was over. We knew it wouldn't be an easy road at home with a newborn and a (nearly) 3 year old, but at least Jude was healthy now and we'd all be together.

Many thanks to all the wonderful NICU nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas. We couldn't have asked for better care for our sweet boy. We are forever grateful to you for keeping him safe.

 

Hey Jude

We're happy to announce the arrival of our second son, Jude, born on November 23rd.  I was scheduled for a C-section tomorrow (12/9) to have him, but he had other plans!  The circumstances of his birth and the week that followed were some of the most stressful days of my life, but we have a beautiful, healthy baby boy today, and that's all that matters!

I woke up around 4am on the morning of 11/23, feeling like I was leaking fluid.  I thought it might be incontinence, which I've heard can be a problem late in pregnancy, but wasn't sure.  I went to the bathroom and then went back to my bed.  A few minutes later, I felt the same sensation.  Hmmm, I wasn't sure what to think about that. I started googling and seeing what the internets thought.  Some people said they experienced the same thing, went to their doctor, and found out it was incontinence and felt dumb.  Other people said it was amniotic fluid leaking and birth was imminent. Eke!  How would I know?  I woke Meezy up and told him about my dilemma.  I told him not to worry, that it was probably nothing, but that I would let him know if I thought it was urgent.  I tried to go back to sleep, but kept experiencing the same thing.  Around 6:30am, I texted my sister and asked for her advice.  She told me to call the on-call doctor at my OBGYN's practice.  After I explained to the doctor what was happening, and that I was just short of 37 weeks pregnant, she told me to go to the hospital.  Honestly, I was shocked.  I just really wasn't expecting it to be anything related to actual labor since I had carried Dutch to the full 40 weeks before we scheduled his C-section.  I figured it would be a similar situation with Jude.

My sister came over to stay at our house while Dutch slept, so that Meezy and I could go to the hospital.  I grabbed my hospital bag (that I had finished packing just a couple days prior), but still didn't really expect to be admitted. I figured I'd get there, they'd run some tests, and then they'd send me home. Once I got checked in and assigned to a bed, a nurse came in and said she was going to test for amniotic fluid.  She said that if she took a swab and it turned blue, that meant it was amniotic fluid and immediate delivery would be necessary.  Even at that point, I was skeptical that labor had started. To my surprise, she held up the swab and proclaimed, "It's blue! You're having this baby today." That's when I went, "Oh, shit."

I was 36 weeks, 6 days pregnant. I thought I still had 2 weeks left before our scheduled delivery date. I told Meezy to call everybody in the family and let them know what was going on. Not being in control of the situation and having it be an emergency C-section made me very anxious. My doctor was out of town, so the delivery would be done by someone I had never met before. This is not what I had planned for and not how I wanted it to happen!

Things moved pretty quickly from there and I got the epidural. That was quite uncomfortable and I very nearly fainted.  I had to ask the nurse to support me, because I would've fallen forward otherwise. I guess my anxiety got the best of me. Before the anesthesiologist was done inserting the epidural, I had to be lain down on my side because I just couldn't sit up anymore. From there, we went into the operating room and the procedure started. I was uncomfortable the whole time. I felt like my throat was restricted and since I was numb from the chest down, I couldn't use my ab muscles to help clear my throat.  I kept asking Meezy how close the doctors were to getting Jude out, because I just wanted it to be over. After what felt like an eternity, he was out, and my discomfort ceased.  It was such a relief.  I could hear Jude crying and that was the best sound in the world. They told me he was 7 lbs, 13 oz, which is pretty hilarious considering he was premature!  While the doctors stitched me up, Meezy got to hold his newborn son and then bring him over to me. We snuggled faces and I let go of the anxiety for the time being.        

    
I wish I could say things were great from that point forward, but the next few days were quite a struggle for us. I had no idea the couple weeks of prematurity would translate to Jude needing to spend five days in NICU.  More to come.

Things I'm Loving This Week

1. Salata - My friend, Kristen, introduced me to this restaurant. I know salads probably aren't very exciting to a lot of people, but since I'm a vegetarian, I love this place.  I can customize a salad or wrap from a ton of fresh ingredients and feel very full afterward.  I also love the fact that I can order online ahead of time and pick up as a to-go order. I'm busy all the time and usually have to get to-go meals during lunch or after evening showings. I hardly eat fast food anymore and there's not a lot of take-out restaurants that appeal to me because of their lack of vegetarian options.  Salata really hits the spot!

2. Crystal Light Liquid Flavors - I try to make the majority of my liquid intake each day be water. Water can be pretty boring, though. When I used to bring a bottle of water with me to my office, I would go through 16.9oz over a couple hours.  Now that I add a Crystal Light flavor to it, I typically go through 2-3 bottles over a couple of hours.  It just tastes so much better.  My favorite flavor of the moment is Strawberry Lemonade.

3. Amazon - I mean, seriously, who doesn't love Amazon?  The more pregnant I get, the more I order things from Amazon.  Making a trip to the store is not very appealing to me at this stage, and if I can get something 1-2 days after ordering, that works just fine. I keep adding more and more things to our Subscribe 'n Save orders too.  It's nice to put things on a schedule that you use consistently (diapers, wipes, dog food, drinks, etc) and get them at a discounted price.  In total, I placed orders for 28 items in October. Lol. Another big benefit of Amazon is how it syncs with our Discover cashback cards, so that we can use our cashback balance towards orders.  It's pretty common for our orders to be "free" because we have enough cashback available to cover it.

4. Light Vanilla Soymilk - Meezy is lactose intolerant, but likes eating cereal, so he started buying soymilk. I was skeptical at first, because for some reason I thought soymilk would be gross.  This flavor is delicious, however. We go through quite a few cartons of this each month. I drink it straight up or in fruit smoothies.  It's a good source of protein and calcium, more so than dairy milk.

5. Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili - I thought becoming a vegetarian would mean giving up chili, but I was wrong.  I love this recipe and can eat it for days in a row.  It wouldn't be hard to add meat to, if you're not a vegetarian. So simple to make in a crockpot and enjoy for multiple meals.

The Sewer Line Disaster of 2014

I don't know what else to call our sewer line situation besides a disaster. It stressed me out for about six months this year and cost us a fortune.  I guess we'll start from the beginning...

Last November, we got 13 exterior piers installed to stabilize our foundation.  That cost us $4,485, but we negotiated the purchase of the house with that in mind, since we already knew it would be necessary.  So, no harm, no foul.  After the piers were installed, a plumbing company tested our freshwater and sewer lines and said that we passed, meaning we had no leaks.  This April, we decided to get some additional foundation work done, because we felt like a couple more exterior piers were needed and some interior work might be necessary. After evaluating our options, we decided not to do interior piers because of the disruption it would cause to our hardwood and tile flooring.  Still needing interior stabilization, though, we opted instead for mudjacking. This was a less invasive process, because they could just drill small holes in rooms with carpet, inject the leveling substance, and then lay the carpet back down when finished.  That cost us $4,980.  We hadn't factored that into our purchase negotiations, so it hurt a little bit.  (Little did we know that was only the beginning!)

Before a company does mudjacking, they require water tests to make sure there are no holes in your plumbing lines.  If there are, you run the risk of injecting the substance into your freshwater or sewer lines.  Since we had just passed those tests five months prior, I wasn't worried.  Much to my surprise, this plumber told us we failed the sewer test. WTH?  I figured it must be a small leak, maybe from just a crack, not a hole, so we scheduled a leak detection for the next day and crossed our fingers. Oh.My.Gawd.  That was the first in no fewer than six leak detection visits we had from four different plumbers over the next several months.  I wanted to pull my hair out because every plumber that came verified that we failed the test, but none of them could tell us why we were failing.  After spending nearly a thousand dollars on detection, with no conclusive results, we went ahead with the mudjacking because we figured if the leak(s) wasn't noticeable enough to be found, then it wouldn't be large enough to give us problems with that process.  It was possible the leak(s) was on the complete other side of the house from where we were doing the mudjacking, so it wouldn't have come into play anyway.  Either way, that process got completed, and we took a couple weeks' break from worrying about the plumbing.

After a little more time had passed, I decided we had to address the failing sewer test.  Our foundation warranty wouldn't go into effect until we showed a passing test, and I would have to disclose the existence of a sewer line leak if we ever put our house on the market.  Those were compelling enough reasons to press on.

The next option for figuring out where our leak(s) was, was to shoot high pressure water throughout our lines to try and clear up any scaling or debris that might be blocking the lines.  Most leak detection is done through running cameras through your lines and looking for problem areas, and if we have debris in the way, that can prevent conclusive results.  The potential con, though, is that if you have brittle lines, high pressure water can cause cracks or holes.  We felt pretty hopeless at this point, so we agreed to the procedure.  That was another $150.  After that was done, they ran cameras again and this time told us they had definitely identified three leaks.  But, there were still some areas that were hard to analyze, so they couldn't promise us all our problems would be solved by addressing those three.  They mentioned our best course of action was replacing ALL our sewer lines, and we quickly dismissed that.  We opted to address the known leaks.  Now, that's easier said than done, because the pipes needing repair/replacement were underneath our house.  They were all directly located under floors covered in hardwood or tile.  If the plumbers went straight down through our floors, we'd then be stuck with replacing thousands in flooring on top of the actual plumbing costs. That wasn't appealing to us. We asked for an alternative and they suggested tunneling from the outside. That was pricier on the plumbing side of things, but we felt it would still be cheaper overall than replacing flooring, and would also mean less disruption to our lives (because the work would be done outside/underneath our house).  The total cost for that? $7,965.  The access points were a tunnel in our garage and a tunnel underneath Dutch's bathroom (that would serve to reach two of the leaks).

 

Tunnel in garage

This is how much dirt came out for the garage tunnel

Dirt from Dutch's tunnel and some of the old pipe

After that work was completed and paid for, you can guess what happened next.  We STILL failed the sewer test. Can you even fathom what was going through my head at this point?  I felt like I was on a prank show.  I think I was in such a daze that I couldn't even muster tears. Instead of continuing to do more leak detection and more spot repairs, we decided we had had enough.  It was time for full sewer line replacement.

As you can imagine, this job would be a huge undertaking. Instead of replacing the lines as they were currently located, it made more sense to replace and reroute all the existing lines outside of the footprint of our house, meaning there would be no more sewer lines running underneath the full expanse of the square footage. Each of our 5 areas of plumbing would be tunneled underneath and then from there the lines would be turned outward to follow a path around the house to hook up to the main city line.  Every inch of it would be new PVC as opposed to 50-year old cast iron. To make a path for the new lines, lots and lots of trenching had to be done. So, 77 feet of tunneling, 201 feet of trenching, plumbing repairs and city permits added up to $15,355.  Wrap your head around that, and don't forget this is on top of every expense I've listed already.

All of this work took about 3 weeks.  For 2 of those weeks, we had to be flexible with which plumbing we used.  For instance, for a few days I wasn't allowed to do laundry or use my kitchen sink. For a few days, we weren't allowed to use our master bathroom or Dutch's bathroom.  We luckily only had one night of absolutely no plumbing use allowed, and for the rest of the time we just had to avoid some areas while still being able to use others.  Having contractors in and out of our house every day was frustrating, though, especially for two adults who typically work from home. The last week of the process was spent on backfilling, repairing the hole in the garage, and repairing our sprinkler lines. 

All in all, we got a brand new sewer line system serving our house, which is definitely a huge selling point. It's not often you can find a home built in the 60s that has all PVC lines instead of cast iron. It's also not common for all of your lines to not be underneath your house, which means any potential issues (way in the future!) can be more easily diagnosed, analyzed, and repaired. We also have a very clear map of where all our sewer lines and clean-outs are. A small part of this is benefiting us now, but the big return won't be seen until we sell down the road.

Some collateral damage from the repairs was the effect it had on our yard.  Not only did the trenches ruin our sod, but the massive piles of dirt that sat in our yard for weeks killed the grass underneath too. We aren't going to address re-sodding until next year, when we can see just how much came back and how much is a lost cause. We did manage to cover up a big portion in one of the yards with the installation of Dutch's new playset.  

I know my words aren't giving you an adequate feel for just how tremendous this project was, so here are some pictures and a video:

           

Looks similar to the one above, but now you can see the second pile in the background

Trench that heads out to the main city connection

Another portion of that trench

Trench portion in side yard that continues to front yard

    
This shows the disruption to our front yard:




Project Costs:
Initial foundation work: $4,485
Additional foundation work: $4,980
Leak detection: $1,000
Leak repairs: $7,965
Full replacement: $15,355
Emotional toll: $$$$$$$$

Dutch's New Playground

We have a large side yard separate from our backyard where the pool is, and we never have any reason to use it.  The dogs go out there to handle their business and bark at people or cars going by. That was the extent of its use.  Earlier this year we put down new sod in it because one portion of it would become a muddy pit after each rain.  During our massive plumbing repairs (post still forthcoming), a huge portion of the yard was disrupted and left in shambles.  The workers had to dig trenches and place the uprooted dirt on other areas of the yard, so when it was all said and done, we were left with a dirt yard.  We weren't too keen on paying to re-sod a yard we had just done that to a few months prior, so we figured it would be a good time to research play sets.  I'd much rather cover the yard with something useful than just put down more grass. The other reason for wanting a play set was so that Dutch would have a great outdoor activity to participate in, while I'm dealing with a newborn in a couple months.  I want him to get out and be active, but getting to a nearby playground will be more of a hassle with two in tow.

We honestly didn't do much research on where to purchase the play set from, mainly because I'm big and pregnant and don't have the luxury any more of taking my time!  We visited the Beyond Backyards location in Carrollton and found a model that we liked.  We also found out they did some great barriers, filled with mulch, to section off the area where the play set would go.  That definitely appealed to us since we didn't want our dirt yard to be the base of the set. We selected our options and paid for everything on 10.04 and the unit was installed on 10.13. I love not having to wait very long for something like this!  We were all excited about it.

It took the guys about 4 hours to complete everything, which is impressive considering the size of the structure and the square footage they had to fill with mulch. The area it takes up is 24' x 36'.  Here's a couple of pics during their installation:

And here's the fully finished product:

I absolutely love it!  It's got three swings, a trapeze, a tire swing, a rock-climbing wall, three types of ladders, a slide, and binoculars and a ship's wheel in the tower.  We invited a couple of Dutch's cousins over to give it a test run.

We had talked about it a little bit with Dutch ahead of time, but I was wanting it to be a surprise, so I didn't tell him what day it would be installed.  I wanted to walk him out to the yard and see his reaction for the first time, but the structure is so tall, that he could see it as we drove by the fence!  I heard him from the backseat ask, "Is that my new playground??"  I still managed to video his reaction as he got to see it up close and personal:

I love making this kid happy!

Project costs:

Play structure: $3,299

Groundcover: $3,240

Delivery/installation/tax: $863

Total: $7,402

Chicago Trip 2014 - Part Two

Once Meezy joined us at the hotel, we decided to get out and do some sight-seeing.  We started by going to Lincoln Square.  We thought it would be a cool place to walk around and see lots of shops and restaurants.  It was disappointing - not as large of an area as we had hoped for and no restaurants that looked appealing to us.  It did, however, have a neat toy store there (Timeless Toys) that Dutch had fun visiting.  After we finished there, we headed over to Navy Pier.  We found a restaurant with outside seating (Harry Caray's Tavern) so that we could enjoy the cool weather and check out the happenings on the water.  Dinner went well and we walked along the pier afterward and visited a couple of shops.  By this point, we were all tired, so we headed back to our hotel.

On Saturday, we were excited to meet up with my nephew, Mark, who is in training outside of Chicago.  We went to the Lincoln Park Zoo so we could catch up and Dutch could enjoy the animals. The zoo is awesome because it's free, open year-round, and you just walk right in at any entrance. Towards the end of our visit, it started raining, so we sought shelter in a cafe at the zoo.  A couple of Mark's classmates met us there and we had a nice, relaxing lunch.  Since it was still raining after lunch, we decided to part ways for a bit so Dutch could nap back at the hotel.  We had really wanted to do an afternoon cruise out of the harbor, but the weather prevented that.

After nap time, we met back up with Mark for dinner.  He took us to a cool area in the West Side where there were lots of fun restaurants.  It was busy since it was Saturday night, but we got seated quickly at The Little Goat.  The food was great and the company was even better! We had such a great time hearing about Mark's experiences and were reminded how much we miss hanging out with him.  As it was getting late and we had a travel day the next day, we decided to call it a night.  We dropped Mark off with friends and headed back to our hotel.

  
While we didn't get to do as much sight-seeing as we had wanted to because of the weather, we still had a great time together as a family.  I'm so glad we went on this trip and that Dutch got the experience of flying for the first time.  Hopefully there will be lots more traveling in our future.

Chicago Trip 2014 - Part One

Meezy has to travel to Chicago every couple of months for work, but he never gets to do any tourist things while he's there, since his trips are so short and he's only there during the work week.  Since I am about to be put on travel restriction due to my pregnancy, I decided that Dutch and I should meet Meezy in Chicago on a Friday and we all stay there until Sunday. Dutch had never been on a plane, so I was a little worried about traveling alone with him for the first time, but I figured it needed to happen eventually.

On the morning of our departure, I checked the traffic at about 7am, and everything looked good. Our flight was at 9:30am, so I planned on leaving the house around 7:45am, getting to the airport no later than 8:15am, parking very close to the terminal, and then having 45 minutes to an hour to get through security.  I had already checked us in and qualified for fast bag drop, so I didn't expect any delays at the ticket counter.  I knew that was a tight timeline, but I really didn't want to get to the airport too early and have Dutch already be bored with the situation while we waited to get on the plane.

Of course Dutch was in a grumpy mood that morning, since I was getting him up earlier than normal, and the process to get him ready took longer than usual.  We didn't get out the door until about 7:55. I checked traffic again as I walked out the door, and to my horror, the highway to get to the airport was shown to be at a standstill.  Oh, crap.  If I was going to take a detour, I needed to have left already.  I stayed on the service road as much as possible and went a little out of the way, and ended up arriving at the airport just after 8:30.  The parking garage closest to our gate was undergoing construction, so there was no parking available at any of the lower levels.  I had to drive all the way to the top of the parking garage, in the uncovered area.  From there, I had to maneuver down four flights of stairs with a 40lb bag, a stroller hoisted over my back, two carry-ons, and a 2.5 year old in my arms.  Did I mention I was 7 months pregnant at the time?  It was no easy task.

By the time I got to the ticket counter area and checked in at the fast bag drop kiosk, it was 8:47am. That was past the 45 minute cutoff for luggage, so it told me I couldn't use the fast bag drop option anymore.  Doh!  I went to the ticket counter, which luckily wasn't busy, and the clerk sternly said, "You need to hurry."  She expressed concern that I wasn't going to make it to the gate in time, so she graciously escorted us to the front of the security line (where they check your ID).  From there, we still had to wait in a decently long line to go through the metal detectors.  I still had the stroller, two carry-ons, and Dutch, to manage.  When I approached the metal detector while holding Dutch, I asked if we could walk through together and the agent told me we could, but that I'd have to submit to a body search afterwards.  Ugh.  Ain't nobody got time for that.  I set Dutch down and walked through and then turned around to coax him through.  He wasn't having it.  He started crying and wouldn't come to me.  I pleaded with him and told him we'd miss our plane, but he was too scared to move.  I finally decided to just use the "Okay, I'm leaving" trick and start walking away, and that worked.  I scooped him up and grabbed all our belongings.  I started to feel like we were in the clear, until I saw how far away our gate was.  I had to hustle through a couple long hallways, up an escalator, through another corridor, get on a moving walkway, then down an escalator.  I couldn't put Dutch in the stroller for any of that because I needed to move quickly and didn't have time to keep taking him in and out of it to maneuver the escalators.  When we finally got to the gate, there were just a couple people left to board.  I got the counter agent to check his stroller and we got on the plane.  I haven't been that exhausted in a while.  I was sweating and breathing heavily. Since my original plan involved a few minutes in the gate area before boarding, I had planned to use the bathroom and get Dutch some water.  Well, neither of those things happened.

I had very low hopes for the flight at this point.  I knew I'd need to use the bathroom before too long and that Dutch would be thirsty.  Since the process was so rushed, I thought Dutch might be a little stressed for the actual flight.  I was regretting the whole trip already!

In a miraculous turn of events, Dutch was pretty much THE BEST KID EVER on the flight.  He never got upset, never got whiny, never seemed bothered with anything that was going on.  I had brought plenty of toys and snacks, so he was quite content.  When I needed to get up and use the bathroom, I set him up on the Ipad so that he would barely notice I was gone!  It worked well.  The passenger next to me asked how old he was and commented about how great he was being.  I was so relieved.  His favorite part of the flight was the descent, because there was a little bit of turbulence. He thought it being "bumpy" was really cool.  He even squealed a little bit from delight and that got a few laughs out of our neighbors.

After we landed and I gathered all our belongings, there was a little more disheveled maneuvering to get us to the rental car counter.  I didn't realize they weren't located at the actual airport, so we had to catch a shuttle to an off-site location.  I was so ready to just put all of our bags and the stroller down! Once we got to our car, I finally got to exhale.  It took me a while to get the rental car seat installed, but at least I wasn't carrying heavy bags or a toddler while doing that.  Dutch and I then drove to our hotel downtown, which had its own set of parking challenges, but finally got checked in.  We were able to relax in our room for a little bit and order a late lunch while we waited for Meezy to finish his work day.        

Out of the Mouths of Babes

It's amazing to watch how much your kid starts to better comprehend things, and even more fun when they can use their vocabulary. Our kiddo is quite the talker and I thought I'd share some of the things he has said over the past year. Sometimes he impresses me, sometimes he shocks me, and sometimes he just plain makes me laugh.  It's really just neat to see his progression.

20 months
- As his punishment ended, he said, "bye, bye timeout."

21 months
- Said, "all done, vacuum" when he saw it, because he hates when I vacuum.
- When the dogs finished their business outside, he said, "Come on, guys!" and beckoned towards them with his hand.

22 months
- When I held a drink up for him so he could drink through a straw, he got mad and wanted to do it himself. He motioned with his hands and said, "set right here" so I would put it down and he could pick it up himself.
- Says, "excuse me" when you're in his way.

23 months
- He saw me in my fuzzy robe and didn't like it and said, "take that shirt off."
- Told Meezy to "hush" a few times.
- To a boy at daycare, he said, "stop pushing!"
- I pulled out one of his art projects and he said, "I did that."
- When he woke up with a full diaper, he said, "Too much water."
- Saw Meezy open the messages app on his phone and said, "no texting, Dada."

24 months
- Meezy had a Conan clip playing on Youtube and he exclaimed, "It's Conan!"
- Tells me sometimes, "don't sing, mommy."
- Wanted to watch Thomas and said, "Remote! Where are you?"
- Will see Meezy and say, "How are you, dada?"
- When I was leaning off the bed to reach for something, he said, "Be careful."

25 months
- Got in the car and said, "Go see Opa.  Go see Oma too."
- When he's grumpy in the morning he says, "Don't touch Dutchie."
- Saw me change a lightbulb and said, "Mommy, that's awesome!  You did that!"
- Saw me yawn and said, "You're tired."

26 months
- I had the jelly and bread out and he asked, "Where's the peanut butter?"
- He woke up crying one morning, "I need ice cream! I need donuts!"
- Got water on his pants and said, "I hurt my pants."
- When he's hungry he says, "I want to pick a snack."

27 months
- Our dog peed on the floor and he said, "That's not nice, Pitties (her nickname). I go get a towel. I gotta clean it up."
- Likes to ask us, "Who's making that noise?"
- I spilled water on him and he said, "It's okay. It was an accident."

28 months
- Says, "I'm just being shy."
- When I reprimanded him, he went to Meezy and said, "Mom talked to me LIKE THAT."
- I told him Meezy was working and he said, "Daddy's not working; he's playing poker with friends."
- I was wearing a sparkly shirt and he pointed to it and said, "I want to wear that."

29 months
- When we discuss whose turn it is to put him to bed, he says, "I'ts mommy's turn. It's daddy's turn tomorrow."
- When we walked outside, he said, "Hey, it rained today. The table is wet. The chair is wet."
- When I let him sleep in my bed when Meezy was out of town, he said, "My daddy's not here.  I love my daddy."
- When reading a book to him, he said, "You missed a page."

30 months
- Says, "Don't see me, mommy" when he's pooping.
- When at the car wash and the machine went from back to front of our car, he said, "Whoa, we going backwards!"
- When he heard a classmate crying, he said, "I cheer her up in a minute."
- Saw a book he hadn't seen in a while and said, "Oh, I forgot this."
- After he cried and there was a tear on his cheek, he said, "I have a cry on my cheek. Cry went in my mouth."
- When Meezy and him were playing together and Meezy wanted to do the game a certain way, Dutch got exasperated and said, "I'm trying to do this, butthole."

31 months
- Was playing with his cars and said, "Get outta here! It's an emergency!"
- Told me, "Don't play with me. Go watch TV. I'm gonna close my eyes."
- When his nose is running he says, "My nose is running out."
- Told me, "I'm so excited to see you!"
- When Meezy sneaks into his room in the mornings so he can lay next to him and then Dutch wakes up, he asks, "You sleep in my bed, Daddy?"

Yep, Still Pregnant

I feel a little bad that I'm 26 weeks into this pregnancy and I've barely written about it at all. Honestly, though, I've barely written about anything over the past few months.  My life has been one stressful day after the next.  We have had repair contractors at our house every single week for as long as I can remember.  We've been dealing with plumbing issues since April and HVAC issues since July.  When our plumbing repairs are finally resolved, there will most certainly be a post about it. They have disrupted our lives tremendously and are costing us a fortune.  But, enough about that for now.  Let's do a little catch-up.

This pregnancy has been quite different from my pregnancy with Dutch.  I started out with a ridiculous appetite, I think because I was having really bad "morning" sickness.  Putting food in my stomach helped relieve some of the discomfort, but that meant I ate way too much!  I gained weight quickly and felt like my belly popped out immediately.  Luckily my doctor prescribed something that really helped with the sickness, which in turn decreased my food intake.  I felt dizzier and clumsier more often in this pregnancy than before.  I had the same insomnia and horrible heartburn/reflux that I remembered from last time, but they seemed to arrive much earlier in this pregnancy.  My insomnia is getting better, but the reflux is a daily occurrence.  I often feel like I can't quench my thirst throughout the day.  I will go to the fridge multiple times and attempt to drink milk, tea, water - anything because I feel so thirsty.  That does mean I end up drinking tons of water every day, though, so it's not so bad.  I can't say I "crave" anything - didn't during the other pregnancy either - but I do find myself wishing for candy every now and then.  It's not like a "I have to have this right now" feeling, but more of a "it would be nice if there were skittles in front of me right now" feeling.

Other symptoms include feeling fatigued quickly and going to the bathroom constantly. I remember the excessive bathroom breaks last time around, but again, I feel like that started later in the pregnancy.  I was already suffering this time at 19 weeks.  It's ridiculous.  I'm up at least 2 times a night to pee, and a zillion times during the day. I will literally go to the bathroom, go sit back down at my computer, and five minutes later feel like I could pee again. The worst is when I get the feeling of needing to pee and then can't remember if I just went or not. Man, pregnancy brain is sweet. I'm experiencing some sciatica, but it hasn't been too horrible so far. For about a week at a time, I will get this really sharp pain where my pelvis and spine meet, after I've taken a few steps.  Then it'll be gone the next week.  A couple weeks later, it will resurface.  I'm not getting the shooting pain down my legs or the numbness or tingling I experienced previously from the herniated disk, so I'm hopeful this pain really is just related to the pregnancy.  I was running for the first few weeks of this pregnancy, so I'm optimistic I can get back to that (pain-free) after this pregnancy.

Lastly, my weight.  I know women don't like to talk about this, but let's get serious.  It's on most of our minds.  I'm not embarrassed to say I struggle with my weight and I wish I was 15 pounds lighter before getting pregnant again. Being a mom and having back problems that restricted my exercise meant I didn't get into the shape I wanted to, though. I just see that as motivation to try harder after the second baby. I'm 5'7 and my starting weight was 148.5lbs at 4 weeks pregnant.  That looked like this:

What's funny is that I felt at the time that I needed to lose weight, but I look at that picture now and go, "Damn, I was skinny!"  Lol.  Here's a picture from 12 weeks:

You can definitely see the changes that took place on my front side during those 8 weeks. I forgot to weigh myself and write it down, but I had probably gained 7-10 pounds at this point. Here's what I looked like at 20 weeks:

I can admit that I don't look too big, but unfortunately the numbers on the scale told a different story. By 20 weeks, I was up to 167lbs, which meant a total weight gain of 18.5lbs at that point. Considering some people have gained just a third of that at the same point in their pregnancy, you can see how disconcerting that can be.  I haven't taken my 26 week picture yet, so here's the one from last week:

It is what it is!  I'm definitely getting larger and feeling more uncomfortable. My weight is around 174.5lbs now, which means 26 pounds gained.  I'm not a petite person, and I make large babies, so this weight gain was to be expected.  But, I'm hopeful I can keep it under control and not gain more than 40lbs total.  I gained at least 45lbs with Dutch, probably closer to 50.  I was able to get it all off in about 5 months' time, but if I can keep my weight gain to 40lbs or less this time, maybe it'll be a little easier!  I'm not gonna lie, though, making big babies is not so bad. I can feel this baby move constantly, very clearly.  I like that he's large enough that I can really feel all of his movements.  It's a nice reminder throughout the day of what the bigger picture is in all of this.

Mo Ranch 2014

Every couple years, my Dad's side of the family gets together for a family reunion at Mo Ranch in Hunt, TX. It's actually not too hard to coordinate, because his side of the family is (unfortunately) quite small.  My Dad is the only remaining living member of the original family of 5 that emigrated here from Holland many, many years ago.  One of his brothers had 3 sons before he passed away, so those cousins and their families, and my dad's three daughters and our families, get together with my parents for a fun weekend.  It's a very laid-back place, where you get to roam around and choose from an array of activities like fishing, swimming, sand volleyball, tennis, hiking, riding the rapids, or going down the famous slide.  The funny part about this year is that Mo Ranch is very slowly renovating their rooms, and Meezy and I happened to get one of the only already renovated rooms! Nobody else in our group got one, yet we paid the same price.  Lol!

It's so nice for all the cousins to be together in one place at the same time, because we're usually spread out across Texas in different cities.  Our kids have an awesome time together too!

Jill, Joanna, Janet, Nick, John, Charles

The cousins and their spouses

All our kids!

We typically eat our meals in their main cafeteria, but on Saturday nights, they always do a BBQ by the river.

Doesn't matter how pregnant I am, you know I'm not going to pass up tennis and sand volleyball.

Dutch was hesitant about the long catwalk suspended high above the road.  He cracked me up with his timidity.  It was going to be quite a long journey if we hadn't intervened!

 

In my opinion, the coolest thing about Mo Ranch is the slide that terminates into the river.  Here's Meezy going down the slide:

Now imagine it without the protective guards along the side of it.  When I was growing up, that's what it looked like!  Those extra guards are a fairly recent addition.  I rode it when it was way more terrifying!

Since we go every two years, it's fun to see the changes taking place in our family between trips.  Here's Dutch and I two years ago, and again this year:

Bye, Mo Ranch.  We'll see you again in two years when we are a family of four!