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Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
The Good News
Is that I'm not going into early menopause at the age of 31. The unfortunate news is that my body pretty much thinks I am. My doctor said today that estrogen is really high during pregnancy, then drops when the baby is born, and stays low when breastfeeding. So basically I'm having estrogen withdrawal symptoms and I'm experiencing "mini menopause," possibly up to a few months. It makes sense since I feel exactly like I did on Lupron. Totally not looking forward to real menopause. But I'm glad it's just something I have to wait out. She did check my thyroid levels too but she didn't think anything would be off. She also said I need to make sure I'm drinking a ton of water. And she respects my wishes and never tells me I need to be on birth control, which I love. (Unlike some other doctors in that office, which I won't go to again unless it's an emergency.)
It was kind of sad - I love my ob and I see her a lot for 9 months, and now I don't get to see her for a year. I love the nurses there too. They all took care of Leo while I was in with Dr. P, and RAVED over him. He was good too!
Everyone in my house is still sick! Well, except Leo, thank God. And Ken feels better. But the kids and I have awful colds and coughs so we haven't been doing much.
And Leo has been eating constantly. I'm always surprised at the end of the day when I have milk left over. I have not had to dip into the freezer supply at ALL, and I add more at least every other day.
Ok I have to admit I LOVE American Idol. Probably because I wish I could sing ;) Last week there was a girl who really impressed me, not only because of her voice, but because of her message. Please check her out!
It was kind of sad - I love my ob and I see her a lot for 9 months, and now I don't get to see her for a year. I love the nurses there too. They all took care of Leo while I was in with Dr. P, and RAVED over him. He was good too!
Everyone in my house is still sick! Well, except Leo, thank God. And Ken feels better. But the kids and I have awful colds and coughs so we haven't been doing much.
And Leo has been eating constantly. I'm always surprised at the end of the day when I have milk left over. I have not had to dip into the freezer supply at ALL, and I add more at least every other day.
Ok I have to admit I LOVE American Idol. Probably because I wish I could sing ;) Last week there was a girl who really impressed me, not only because of her voice, but because of her message. Please check her out!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Vermin.
Yes that's right.
Today we ate lunch at grandma's house. As I was loading everyone into the house afterwards, I thought maybe the cat was acting more weird than usual. Leo was quiet in his carseat so I left him in it (in the house) and got the big kids to bed. When I came down I saw the cat was playing with a MOUSE! In my house!! Batting it around, toying with it, carrying it around in her mouth. Well I freaked out and did what any normal person would do...called Ken at work and told him to come home and take care of it. He refused to drive 40 minutes round trip in the middle of the day, mean old Ken.
So I tried to open the front door and shoo them both out. Wasn't working. Then I noticed her GO UPSTAIRS. With the Mouse. Where my BED IS.
I followed them up. She took the mouse into my bathroom into the TUB. Then she laid her fat little smug self down and just watched the poor mouse struggle to get out. I ran into Leo's room, grabbed a gift bag, and decided to try to catch it in that. Stupid mouse kept running UNDER the cat! I finally caught it, held the bag shut and at arms length as I ran down the stairs, opened the front door, and threw it out. As soon as it hit the porch, it started running back towards the door!! I panicked and smacked it with the bag. It flew through the air, making a perfect flying mouse print in the snow. The cat ran outside after it. I'm not sure what happened after that but she came in later looking very pleased with herself.
Seriously, there better NOT be any more, because I cannot handle rodents in my house!!!
And a quick question. Have any of you had Night sweats and excessive thirst almost 7 weeks after having a baby? I mean sweating like I have to change my shirt in the Night. Am I menopausal or what?? It's awful. I'm going for my ob follow up on Thursday so I'll ask her, Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this.
Today we ate lunch at grandma's house. As I was loading everyone into the house afterwards, I thought maybe the cat was acting more weird than usual. Leo was quiet in his carseat so I left him in it (in the house) and got the big kids to bed. When I came down I saw the cat was playing with a MOUSE! In my house!! Batting it around, toying with it, carrying it around in her mouth. Well I freaked out and did what any normal person would do...called Ken at work and told him to come home and take care of it. He refused to drive 40 minutes round trip in the middle of the day, mean old Ken.
So I tried to open the front door and shoo them both out. Wasn't working. Then I noticed her GO UPSTAIRS. With the Mouse. Where my BED IS.
I followed them up. She took the mouse into my bathroom into the TUB. Then she laid her fat little smug self down and just watched the poor mouse struggle to get out. I ran into Leo's room, grabbed a gift bag, and decided to try to catch it in that. Stupid mouse kept running UNDER the cat! I finally caught it, held the bag shut and at arms length as I ran down the stairs, opened the front door, and threw it out. As soon as it hit the porch, it started running back towards the door!! I panicked and smacked it with the bag. It flew through the air, making a perfect flying mouse print in the snow. The cat ran outside after it. I'm not sure what happened after that but she came in later looking very pleased with herself.
Seriously, there better NOT be any more, because I cannot handle rodents in my house!!!
And a quick question. Have any of you had Night sweats and excessive thirst almost 7 weeks after having a baby? I mean sweating like I have to change my shirt in the Night. Am I menopausal or what?? It's awful. I'm going for my ob follow up on Thursday so I'll ask her, Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this.
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Sunday, January 23, 2011
In Memory
Yesterday was the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. I was thinking about the 50 million babies who have lost their lives to abortion, and their mothers. In particular, I was thinking about babies like this one, these, and this one. (I disagree with the methods of commenting on that last one, but I can see why people would be angry.)
This issue has become near and dear to my heart in the past 6 1/2 weeks. It just makes me physically sick that people would consider a cleft lip and/or palate a reason to end a life. What is next?
As much as it saddens me what these mothers are doing, my heart goes out to them. They are rejecting a wonderful gift from God. They are missing out on an incredible blessing.
In the past 6 1/2 weeks, my sweet Leo has already changed our lives for the better. He has made all of us in our family more patient and loving. He has shown my children that God does great things for us. I have met some wonderful people who have been such a blessing to my life because of him. I have become closer to God. I have prayed and thanked God for him every minute of every day.
Who knows what God has in store for him, and our family because he is here? We have always had a heart for adoption, perhaps we will adopt a baby with a cleft someday. I know God wanted him here and and I know that he will do his part to change the world. He has already blessed our family and friends. He has already brought us closer to God. He makes me want to fight for unborn babies even more.
Leo, if you are reading this someday, we love you and we thank God every day that he gave you to us! You are precious to God and to everyone who meets you!
This issue has become near and dear to my heart in the past 6 1/2 weeks. It just makes me physically sick that people would consider a cleft lip and/or palate a reason to end a life. What is next?
As much as it saddens me what these mothers are doing, my heart goes out to them. They are rejecting a wonderful gift from God. They are missing out on an incredible blessing.
In the past 6 1/2 weeks, my sweet Leo has already changed our lives for the better. He has made all of us in our family more patient and loving. He has shown my children that God does great things for us. I have met some wonderful people who have been such a blessing to my life because of him. I have become closer to God. I have prayed and thanked God for him every minute of every day. Who knows what God has in store for him, and our family because he is here? We have always had a heart for adoption, perhaps we will adopt a baby with a cleft someday. I know God wanted him here and and I know that he will do his part to change the world. He has already blessed our family and friends. He has already brought us closer to God. He makes me want to fight for unborn babies even more.
Leo, if you are reading this someday, we love you and we thank God every day that he gave you to us! You are precious to God and to everyone who meets you!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Stuck inside
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Thursday, January 20, 2011
Someone please bring me an iced soy chai
I've been puked on at least 4 times today and I'm totally regretting giving Bud chocolate milk for breakfast.
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Wednesday, January 19, 2011
What, is 3 the new 10?
I went three places today. The library, Chick fil A, and the mall (and had an iced soy chai at Borders - YUM!) At all three places people asked me incredulously, "Are they all yours??" and I also heard several times, "Boy, you sure have your hands full." I guess I never thought of 3 kids as a big family, although maybe three kids aged 3 and under looks like a lot. Also I probably look pretty funny with the way I have to cart them all around. The first two places I put Leo's carseat in the stroller, held John Paul on my hip and let Madeleine walk. At the mall I put the two big kids in the double stroller and Leo in the Moby.
Yes, they are all mine, and I am thrilled about that! And yes my hands are full, but not as full as I'd like ;) They make me die to my own desires (and sometimes needs) on a daily basis, and that is a good thing! I truly believe that being a mother is making me a better person. I would not trade them for anything in the world.
In other news, I must be a little on the sleep deprived side these days. Last night I came down for the second time to pump, around 4:30. I set my stopwatch app on my phone, hooked up the pump and relaxed in my chair. The next thing I knew, Ken was holding Leo right in front of me saying, "What is taking so long?" I looked at my phone.... 68 minutes. Best sleep I got all night!
Yes, they are all mine, and I am thrilled about that! And yes my hands are full, but not as full as I'd like ;) They make me die to my own desires (and sometimes needs) on a daily basis, and that is a good thing! I truly believe that being a mother is making me a better person. I would not trade them for anything in the world.
In other news, I must be a little on the sleep deprived side these days. Last night I came down for the second time to pump, around 4:30. I set my stopwatch app on my phone, hooked up the pump and relaxed in my chair. The next thing I knew, Ken was holding Leo right in front of me saying, "What is taking so long?" I looked at my phone.... 68 minutes. Best sleep I got all night!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Surgery update
Ken and I and Leo met with his plastic surgeon yesterday. That sounds weird to say, my newborn baby needs a plastic surgeon. Hm... I wonder if he'll do a two for one - cleft repair for Leo and tummy tuck for me?
Anyway, the waiting room was super nice, which is good because we'll probably be spending a lot of time there over the next 18 years. There was a family with a little boy who had a cleft lip and palate. He had had his lip repair quite a while ago but his palate repair was 7 days earlier. He was 16 months old and looked just fantastic! He was playing and walking around. I talked to his mom a little, and she said that the past week had been pretty miserable for everyone, and that day was the first day he'd been back to his old self. Wow, only 7 days! That's certainly doable.
First of all they weighed Leo and took pictures of him. Last Wednesday he was 8 lbs 13 oz and yesterday he was 9 lbs 10 oz! I couldn't believe that weight gain. Then we met with the surgeon. He showed us some pictures of a cleft like Leo's and explained a little about how they would do the surgery. He said that Dr. J, Leo's pediatrician, would keep a close watch on his ears, and instructed us to take him to the doctor if he has a high fever, so he could check his ears. I asked if he could fly on a plane, and he said "Absolutely." He also said when we start solid food with him, just do what we did with the other two kids, and he shouldn't have a problem. He said he thought he'd do his surgery around 15 months. I was pretty happy about that because he had said 18 months before. Both my kids have talked in complete sentences by 18 months, so I think the earlier the better. He said there is a slight possibility he'd need another surgery if his speech is affected, but that wouldn't be until he was 4-6 and after speech therapy. We are going back in 6 months for a check up. I'm just happy he's doing so well now.
I had a nice surprise today at Mom's group. I left the two big kids in the nursery during the meeting. When I went in afterwards to get them, one of the babysitters pulled me aside and said, "That Madeleine is something else!" (That scared me for a minute, I won't lie.) I asked her, "Good or bad?" She said, "Good!" and then proceeded to positively RAVE about her. She said she had such a great imagination and she could tell she was so creative. She said she was so cute and she reminded her of Shirley Temple, and was very helpful with her brother. Then the other babysitter came over and said that she must be really fun to hang out with. I was Thrilled! She heard most of this conversation but I made sure to tell her how proud I was that she was so good!
Anyway, the waiting room was super nice, which is good because we'll probably be spending a lot of time there over the next 18 years. There was a family with a little boy who had a cleft lip and palate. He had had his lip repair quite a while ago but his palate repair was 7 days earlier. He was 16 months old and looked just fantastic! He was playing and walking around. I talked to his mom a little, and she said that the past week had been pretty miserable for everyone, and that day was the first day he'd been back to his old self. Wow, only 7 days! That's certainly doable.
First of all they weighed Leo and took pictures of him. Last Wednesday he was 8 lbs 13 oz and yesterday he was 9 lbs 10 oz! I couldn't believe that weight gain. Then we met with the surgeon. He showed us some pictures of a cleft like Leo's and explained a little about how they would do the surgery. He said that Dr. J, Leo's pediatrician, would keep a close watch on his ears, and instructed us to take him to the doctor if he has a high fever, so he could check his ears. I asked if he could fly on a plane, and he said "Absolutely." He also said when we start solid food with him, just do what we did with the other two kids, and he shouldn't have a problem. He said he thought he'd do his surgery around 15 months. I was pretty happy about that because he had said 18 months before. Both my kids have talked in complete sentences by 18 months, so I think the earlier the better. He said there is a slight possibility he'd need another surgery if his speech is affected, but that wouldn't be until he was 4-6 and after speech therapy. We are going back in 6 months for a check up. I'm just happy he's doing so well now.
I had a nice surprise today at Mom's group. I left the two big kids in the nursery during the meeting. When I went in afterwards to get them, one of the babysitters pulled me aside and said, "That Madeleine is something else!" (That scared me for a minute, I won't lie.) I asked her, "Good or bad?" She said, "Good!" and then proceeded to positively RAVE about her. She said she had such a great imagination and she could tell she was so creative. She said she was so cute and she reminded her of Shirley Temple, and was very helpful with her brother. Then the other babysitter came over and said that she must be really fun to hang out with. I was Thrilled! She heard most of this conversation but I made sure to tell her how proud I was that she was so good!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
What do you get when you cross a little old man with a baby monkey?
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Friday, January 14, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Passed birth weight!
As of today he is 8 lbs 13 oz, at 5 weeks. He is doing great, looks really healthy, is very alert, very sweet baby. He's done great at Mass for the last two weeks in the Moby wrap. He has some symptoms of a milk protein allergy so I'm going to give up dairy and see if it helps. Heck, after all this, why not? He's worth all the extra trouble. I can't get enough of him.
This picture was taken on Christmas day, and it's the only halfway decent one I have of the three of them. I did get their pictures taken professionally on Monday and got some great ones, so I will post when I get them.
I'm sure you've seen it, but if not, read Leila's post from the other day. If you can get through the comments, Ken left one that I found so funny last night! Maybe I was overtired but he cracked me up.
I was actually able to do a reading lesson and a craft with Madeleine yesterday. I sat at the table and fed Leo, set John Paul up with a coloring book and crayons, and worked with Madeleine. I am just amazed at her reading ability. She is reading words like "know" and "should" and "Jerusalem" and "Hosanna" that I have never taught her. She loves to sit in her little rocking chair and read to John Paul and Leo. It's definitely been a crazy 5 weeks, and I missed doing "school" with her. I am going to make it a priority to do a lesson with her at least 4 days a week. She's doing really well writing her letters too, and she likes trying to spell words. This kid amazes me every day.
John Paul is the funniest kid! He cracks me up every day. Poor Madeleine got a set of blocks for Christmas, and every time he sees her building something, he comes over and knocks it over. I've been putting him in time out for that. Tonight they were playing and Ken and I were sitting at the table. He knocked over her tower she was building. Ken told him to go to the time out chair, so he did. We told him that he was in time out because he knocked over Madeleine's blocks and he couldn't do that anymore. We told him to go say he was sorry. He walked into the room and we heard, "I'm sorry Madeleine!" "That's ok Hancey" *CRASH* He knocked her tower over again! So we told him to go back in time out and said, "Ok!" and happily walked back to the time out chair! Apparently sitting in time out was worth the satisfaction of knocking over his sister's blocks.
This picture was taken on Christmas day, and it's the only halfway decent one I have of the three of them. I did get their pictures taken professionally on Monday and got some great ones, so I will post when I get them. 
I'm sure you've seen it, but if not, read Leila's post from the other day. If you can get through the comments, Ken left one that I found so funny last night! Maybe I was overtired but he cracked me up. I was actually able to do a reading lesson and a craft with Madeleine yesterday. I sat at the table and fed Leo, set John Paul up with a coloring book and crayons, and worked with Madeleine. I am just amazed at her reading ability. She is reading words like "know" and "should" and "Jerusalem" and "Hosanna" that I have never taught her. She loves to sit in her little rocking chair and read to John Paul and Leo. It's definitely been a crazy 5 weeks, and I missed doing "school" with her. I am going to make it a priority to do a lesson with her at least 4 days a week. She's doing really well writing her letters too, and she likes trying to spell words. This kid amazes me every day.
John Paul is the funniest kid! He cracks me up every day. Poor Madeleine got a set of blocks for Christmas, and every time he sees her building something, he comes over and knocks it over. I've been putting him in time out for that. Tonight they were playing and Ken and I were sitting at the table. He knocked over her tower she was building. Ken told him to go to the time out chair, so he did. We told him that he was in time out because he knocked over Madeleine's blocks and he couldn't do that anymore. We told him to go say he was sorry. He walked into the room and we heard, "I'm sorry Madeleine!" "That's ok Hancey" *CRASH* He knocked her tower over again! So we told him to go back in time out and said, "Ok!" and happily walked back to the time out chair! Apparently sitting in time out was worth the satisfaction of knocking over his sister's blocks.
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Madeleine's prayers
I know a few of you have been reading my blog since the beginning (wow, I'm impressed!) So you may remember how Madeleine got her name. Rich Mullins is my all time favorite Christian singer, and he wrote a song for the daughter of his friend called Madeline's Song. One of the lines is "God gladly bends just to hear Madeline when she prays." That sold me on her name!
Last night as I was pumping I remembered something else - this post I did back in April.
We already knew we were pregnant at the time, we had just found out THAT week. Madeleine asked if she could ask God for another baby in our family and she did. She also talked about that and prayed for that intention many many times after that, until we told her about Leo. However, notice the comments on that post. Both Brenda and Sew asked her to say the same prayer for them. Of course I did ask her to pray for them. And guess what happened?
Hannah Grace - born 12/7/10
Leo Michael - born 12/8/10
Nelson Joseph - born 12/31/10
Wow.
Some people might think this is just a big coincidence.
Me? Not so much.
Last night as I was pumping I remembered something else - this post I did back in April.
We already knew we were pregnant at the time, we had just found out THAT week. Madeleine asked if she could ask God for another baby in our family and she did. She also talked about that and prayed for that intention many many times after that, until we told her about Leo. However, notice the comments on that post. Both Brenda and Sew asked her to say the same prayer for them. Of course I did ask her to pray for them. And guess what happened?
Hannah Grace - born 12/7/10
Leo Michael - born 12/8/10
Nelson Joseph - born 12/31/10
Wow.
Some people might think this is just a big coincidence.
Me? Not so much.
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
The Whirlwind is calming down
Leo is 4 weeks old today and things are finally started to get back to "normal." He is fitting right in with our wild and crazy family. Although the past few weeks have been hormonal and stressful in part, it's also been wonderful. What a blessing it was to have a little baby boy at Christmastime. One of my favorite memories was on Christmas Eve night. Madeleine and Ken went to mass, and John Paul was asleep. I just got to hold my sweet newborn Leo in the family room with only the Christmas tree lights, and imagine how Mary must have felt memorizing the face of Jesus, as I was doing the same thing with my baby.
Feeding Leo has been quite the adventure. I have been seeing a great lactation consultant at the hospital every week and she has been SO helpful. Every once in a while I have been ready to give up trying to breastfeed him and just pump and bottle feed, but he keeps improving. I am happy that I have been able to pump for him for 4 weeks and he has never had to have formula. I plan on pumping for him for at least a year, possibly longer if I can. I'm finally getting the hang of it. He's also improved with breastfeeding so we are going to try to start using the Supplemental Nursing System this week. So I still have some hope that he will be able to breastfeed some eventually.
He is getting bigger and stronger. He started out 8 lbs 12 oz, got down to 7 lbs 7 oz, and then Monday he was up to 8 lbs 2 oz and today he was 8 lbs 6 oz!
He is absolutely a wonderful baby, sleeping well with the Miracle Blanket, loves being in the Moby wrap, and just as cute as can be. Madeleine and John Paul are doing fantastic. Madeleine can't get enough of him, always wants to touch him and kiss him, and her favorite thing is to help me give him a bath. John Paul is doing surprisingly well, he also loves touching him and is learning to be gentle. He and Madeleine have been playing together and maybe watching a little too much TV when I am busy pumping and feeding. I was able to take all three of them to Target the other day and get everything on our list with no crying, screaming or yelling - and the kids were good too ;)
I just love Leo so much - It's amazing how love just multiplies with each child.
Please keep praying for us. I know so many people are praying for us and it's helping!!
Feeding Leo has been quite the adventure. I have been seeing a great lactation consultant at the hospital every week and she has been SO helpful. Every once in a while I have been ready to give up trying to breastfeed him and just pump and bottle feed, but he keeps improving. I am happy that I have been able to pump for him for 4 weeks and he has never had to have formula. I plan on pumping for him for at least a year, possibly longer if I can. I'm finally getting the hang of it. He's also improved with breastfeeding so we are going to try to start using the Supplemental Nursing System this week. So I still have some hope that he will be able to breastfeed some eventually.
He is getting bigger and stronger. He started out 8 lbs 12 oz, got down to 7 lbs 7 oz, and then Monday he was up to 8 lbs 2 oz and today he was 8 lbs 6 oz!
He is absolutely a wonderful baby, sleeping well with the Miracle Blanket, loves being in the Moby wrap, and just as cute as can be. Madeleine and John Paul are doing fantastic. Madeleine can't get enough of him, always wants to touch him and kiss him, and her favorite thing is to help me give him a bath. John Paul is doing surprisingly well, he also loves touching him and is learning to be gentle. He and Madeleine have been playing together and maybe watching a little too much TV when I am busy pumping and feeding. I was able to take all three of them to Target the other day and get everything on our list with no crying, screaming or yelling - and the kids were good too ;)
I just love Leo so much - It's amazing how love just multiplies with each child.
Please keep praying for us. I know so many people are praying for us and it's helping!!
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Story of my life
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