pic updates

Wow, it had been awhile. I will post some pics for now. Then try to write about what has been going on later.

These were from when we were putting up the tree. It was awsome.

Dude started grabbing toys and putting them in his mouth.

Colby and Grammy decorated Christmas sugar cookies. Grammy put the frosting and Colby put the sprinkles. We had to throw away the towel after. Rowdy also had to vaccum.
Yes, some sprinkles did make it on the cookies.

Halloween pics

Before getting ready with their cousins.






Off we go...
Where he happily stayed the whole time.

Halloween videos

Colby was in the spotlight!

Updates

I've been able to sleep better lately. That is of course when Brady is. He went 6.5 hours 2 nights in a row. Then he got sick and went back to his newborn actions of being unsettled and needing the butt patted. It was actually working out when Rowdy is working. I get home and wash pump parts, make milk bags and take a bath. I nurse Brady when we get home. I put Colby in his chair to eat at 6:00. I go bathe Brady and get him dressed. Then I put him in his bouncy seat while I eat. It takes Colby over an hour to eat so he's still in his chair. Then I nurse Brady again about 7:00 and put him in bed. Then by 7:15 it's Colby's bath time. 8:00 is Wubbzy. 8:30 his books and then rock to sleep by 8:45. Then Brady is waking up at like 10:30. and I feed him. Then again around 3ish and 5ish. I try to feed him again before 6:30 when I get my stuff ready for work. I already get most of it ready the night before. Then I get Colby up and ready while Brady stays on his changing table. We have been putting the safety gate up on his door for like 2 months. Ever since that night he was back and forth till midnight. I think he is OK with it and he is sleeping better and longer. He was getting up at like 3am to play.

Brady needs way less attention than Colby did at this age. He will stay on his changing table or bouncy seat for a long time now. It doesn't take me long to calm him down if he cries. I can put him to sleep fairly easily. It's just to get him to stay asleep is hard sometimes. He can sometimes sleep through Colby's noise if he is asleep on me. With Colby it was rock and rock forever. He eats his hands all the time. He just went up to 4oz bottles at daycare. He eats at 9,12 and 3. Rowdy still isn't keeping him yet. Colby is loud and it's hard for Brady to nap with all the noise. I bought a pack and play with a bassinet to put on the side of my bed. He still wakes up too often for the crib. Plus he goes to bed right before his noisy brother takes a bath. I can't seem to keep him on a schedule when I have him.

I'm taking longer than 15 minutes to pump on my breaks. But, no one is saying anything. I found out that you can get way more milk if you manually express after the pump stops getting milk. you can get way more.

Colby says anything and everything now. He has counted to 10 twice. He can identify all his ACB's and fill in some blanks with the ABC song. He still whines and we don't know what he wants sometimes. I guess that is just part of being 2.5 years old. He is a picky and slow eater. His favorite is hot dogs. He is not interested in pottying at all. Although he loves to flush. He has a fit if we flush behind ourselves instead of him. He puts paper in to flush too.

My extreme hair loss started about 2 weeks ago. It is everywhere and Colby will find it. It is ridiculous after I wash it.

Colby loves his dude. He doesn't even tell me hi when I walk in. He says Mommy where's dude. Yes, his name is dude now. Rowdy said it once shortly after we got home with him. It just stuck with Colby.

Laughing

Milk storage

I had 51 oz of milk stored before I went to work. After 2 weeks, I have 68. I don't like the idea that he is only taling 3 3oz bottles a day. Colby was taking 3 4oz at this time. I pump more than that in a day. But, not enough for if he took 4 oz. But, I have recently learned that you can get more milk out by hand expressing after the pump stops getting milk out. Here is a picture of the milk I had stored before going to work.

Voice

me

I have not been doing to good lately. Insomnia has kicked in. When Brady/Colby are actually sleeping, I can't manage to fall asleep. My mind is just racing about any and everything. I looked up post pardom depression and I do have some of the signs. Not depressed or wanting to hurt someone or myself. Just insomnia, headaches, anxiety, stress. I don't know if all of this is due to lack of sleep or if ppd is causing it. I went to my chiropractor and she suggested progesterone cream, flax oil and fish oil. She said my levels are most likely out of wack. So, I'll try the natural stuff before talking to the Dr. She said I need to take care of me so I can take care of them. I also got a ocean sounds cd to replace the white noise (static) one. along with lavender lotion and a sleep mask to block out the light. I used it for 2 nights. of course last night you can't count because of Colby. He decided not to go to bed till after 1:30 so I was up most of that time too.

2 months

Brady weighed in at 13.11 at his 2 month visit today. That is 90 percentile. His legnth was 24 in. That is 85%. Colby was 11.10 at 2 months.

Still not sleeping like I would like him to. The last 2 nights, he was in bed by 8. He ate at about 12,3 and 6. Wold be better if I could actually sleep when he was.

Compare

Colby 2 months

Brady 2 monthsColby 8 weeks

Brady 8 weeks

Stretch

6 weeks

Took him to the Dr. on 8-4 and he weighed 11lbs 4oz. He started smiling at 5.5 weeks.

5 weeks

I had my follow up appointment on 7-29 so I took Brady to the nursery to be weighed. He was 10lbs 12oz. Take off a couple of oz for diaper and clothes. So, probably 10lbs 10oz.

Him and Aunt Cathy.

1 month

4 weeks

Their MaMa and cousins.

3 weeks

Stressing

I've been having a hard time juggling the two boys my myself at the same time. Not that I've really had to. But, that's part of the problem. I keep getting Mom and Mel to help. Rowdy has been on nights and I just can't seem to do it on my own. Colby has been giving us problems staying in his bed. Once he is asleep, he stays. But, he comes back down the hall immediately after we put him in. It goes on for at least 1/2 hour. Brady never stays in his bassinet either. So, how do I try to keep Colby in while Brady is screaming? Plus what to do with Brady while I'm bathing Colby? I bathe Brady while Colby is eating. He hates his bath. Of course, I normally have to wake him up to bathe him. I feel like I'm failing as a mother of 2. Colby has gotten really loud lately. Like he has to scream everything he says. Yesterday, he started throwing puzzle pieces. Oh, one positive thing is he says and recognizes all his ABC's. Sometimes he messes up though. Brady's latch has gotten better. So, I lay down in bed while nursing him. I get more rest by sleeping while he nurses. But, sometimes I don't put him back in his bed. I don't want him to wake up crying and wake Colby. Colby has still been waking for the day at 4am sometimes too. Colby still goes to daycare when Rowdy is working. I have no idea how I'd manage them both all day. I'm tired of hearing you'll figure it out too. Brady will not stay in his swing or bouncy seat. So, that doesn't help. He falls asleep nursing. But, I put him down and he is up crying. I am so afraid that he will be a bad sleeper like Colby was. Colby waking him up doesn't help. I didn't want to start the habit of Brady sleeping with me. But, I need sleep. Oh, the other night Colby was up from 1:30-3:45 AM!

Weight Gain

To recap- Brady weighed 8.8 at birth. He had dropped to 7.6. He had an appointment last week and weighed 8. He went to the Dr. Friday (8 days later and weighed 9.2! Go Mommy's milk! He also grew and inch and is now 21.5.

2 weeks

APPOINTMENT:

We went to the Dr. yesterday. He weighed 8 lbs. They didn't to a PKU because he wasn't up to birth weight. She would've done a bili level if she would've done a PKU. She said his eyes didn't look yellow and just wasn't going to worry about it. We go back next Sat. for the PKU. Hopefully he is back up to birth weight. Don't know if they will do the bili or not.

ME:

I gained 135 according to my prenatal records. First visit was 113.5 and last was 148.5. It was a bit more than that since my first visit was 6 weeks. I'm down to almost 120 and I don't really want to loose much more. I need to eat more so I don't loose as much as last time.

Family:

Mom took this the other day. We will have to get another one where the heads aren't cut off...lol.

Daddy and his boys.

Brady's 2 week picture:

ABC's

Re-admitted

We got discharged on 6-27. My Birthday was 6-28. I had honestly forgot about it till Rowdy told me Happy Birthday. We had a follow-up appointment on 6-29 for his jaundice. I was 9 when we left. Shortly after we got home from the appointment we got a phone call saying he needed to be admitted because his level was 18. I got to room in with him. He needed to have the lights on him to help it.

In the meantime, Colby started with a bad diaper rash 2 days before that. It has even started bleeding. Poor baby has a fit for diaper changes now. Called the Dr. and he said there is a 48 hr GI thing going around. Told us to put him on a Banana, Rice, Apple, Toast diet.

Monday- I was so worried about my babies. One finally learning to let us know when he pees and poos. But then cries right after because he knows it will hurt to change the diaper. The other was up every hour Sunday night because he was sick and falls asleep after 5 min of eating even though he isn't full. I could have really used a nap Monday. But, I was over that because I ended up just sitting there looking a him in a box with a light in it. I had already started pumping at home because just because he wasn't eating enough didn't mean my milk wasn't coming in. I actually started coming in Saturday evening. I brought the pumped milk with me just in case. They did actually want me to offer 1 oz pumped milk after each feeding. But, that wasn't working well because he was full and sleepy. He had started eating for like 20 minutes at a time by then. I could see when it was only like 5 minutes at a time. But, I didn't see the need for it anymore. He just ended up spitting it up after.

Monday night- His Iv kept kinking and making it beep. It was flowing OK but going off every 5 minutes. So they finally decided he needed another one. Here it is 5:30 AM and they have been trying for the last hour. They have stuck him 5 times. He has been crying the whole time. His voice is horse now. I'm crying along with him. They said I could've left. I said I didn't think it would take so many times.

Later Tuesday morning thoughts- Now we are on the 3rd nurse trying. It's almost time to feed him again. I haven't slept at all because of the beeping and having to call them. They said it's because he has bad veins and is dehydrated. Didn't get into bed till midnight due to feeding him and all. Then nursed at 3am and been up ever since. The time between was beeping. Night before last he was up every hour. Don't i have to sleep to take care of him?? I met with a lactation consultant. She weighed him before and after feeding him. He gained 1.5 oz in the feeding. She said she didn't see why I should need to supplement.

Tuesday- Brady's level was down from 18 to 14 this morning. His lab for dehydration came back better. so, no more IV after all that. But his urine sample yesterday wasn't good at all so they did a catheter to get another sample to make sure it isn't a UTI. Colby and Rowdy they came visit and I hate seeing them go. I feel bad because i was in a bad mood from lack of sleep. I just want my family to be together and all better.

Later thoughts- Tired of looking at my baby boy in a box. Tired of only being able to hold him when i feed him or change a diaper. I was enjoying burping him earlier because we got to cuddle. But, the more time he is under the light the better. His paran came to visit today and I'm glad he got to hold him for a little while. Oh, the Dr. agreed I didn't need to supplement.

Tues night- Going to bed now. Brady just ate for an hour so hopefully that will help his level. We will see in the morning. No more IV going off every 5 minutes or being restarted tonight. So hopefully some sleep will be had. I will update when i know something.

Wed AM- Bili level is down to 8 and urine culture is negative. We get to go home! They need to do a hearing test and that is all. We need to follow up on Friday.

Friday- Went to the appointment and he weighed 7.11. He had gotten down to 7.6 in the hospital. She sent us to lab. We got a call later and the level was 14. I don't know how when he poos ALOT. Plus he would nurse for 1/2 hour then sleep for 1/2 hour practically all night long last night. Have to go back to lab Sunday. Dr. said just keep doing what I'm doing.

Sunday- Went to lab. Again Dr. called and the level was still 14. I seemed more concerned than she was. I read the older posts for Colby and his was 9 lbs at 2.5 weeks. We have a routine appointment Friday. I guess we will see what happens then.

Birth Story

Night before delivery. Last pregnant belly shot ever!

Brady James

6-25-09

7:53 AM

8 lbs 8 oz

21.5 inches long

The night before delivery was rough. I had to use a surgical prep wipe stuff. It made my legs itch all night. Could have been because i shaved before. Then the neighbor decided to use power tools till after 10:30. Then I had to get up at 3:45 to get ready to go. I arrived at the hospital's admit department at 5:00. Went to L&D and they asked me all kinds of questions. They blew 2 IVs and called one of our CRNA's to get it. They agreed to not start the catheter until the epidural was started. Dr. Hamby got there and I asked her to check how dilated I was. I had been having some painful contractions since getting there. I was only a 1. They had been telling me my roll back time would be 7. Working in Anesthesia, we knew better. That it would be closer to 8. Well Rowdy dropped off Colby and got there at 7 and my CRNA said they were getting ready to roll. I guess some things do happen on time sometimes. So, off to the OR we went. Got the epidural started. It really didn't hurt. I was crying though. They kept telling me not to more. I was afraid I was and would mess him up. But they said I did good. Several people asked me if I was sure about the BTL. I was like, yes already! Unlike Colby, I remember it's a boy and him crying. I told him Happy Birthday just like I did with Colby. He came out kicking and screaming. He was actually crying before he was even all the way out. Dr Hemelt said OK here comes the next one. So, I got them back after the BTL, I told them I changed my mind. They didn't think it was funny. The epidural was great. I didn't feel any tugging at all this time. He even warned me I may be fixing to feel something. A little later I asked is this where I may be feeling something? He said oh, we're passed that, the uterus is back in. Ii did have a shaking in my arm the whole time though. Oh, they made me drink this stuff before going to the OR. NASTY! Even worse when it came back up too! But, I won't hold that against Robert, it happened with Colby too. He didn't even have to give me some of the drugs they normally do since I wasn't hurting. They thought there may have been some scar tissue due to the previous surgery. But, there wasn't. Also, there was a higher risk of blood loss due to the anterior placenta. But, that didn't happen either. Everything went great. I did get nauseous on the way to and at first in recovery. But, it passed quick and was probably due to the movement. Again no extra drugs. I was in recovery for like 1.5 hours waiting to feel my legs. That is longer than normal. I remember it all too. Just talking to Cindy and all . But, forget remembering anything after the Toradol shot. I know Rowdy came in for a little while before I got it. Oh, Dr. Brooke came in too. He said Brady looked fine and that "that baby does not have Down's". So, they rolled me to my room where Rowdy was waiting. Shortly after my Mom, Mel, Curry and Mrs. Pat got there. Then they brought Brady in. Everyone visited but, I don't remember much of it. Then they all left followed by Rowdy leaving. He went home showered and Ate. Then he went get Colby and came back to the hospital with him. Then Mom and Carrie's crew came back that night. Oh, the air conditioner was not working right most of the time. They finally fixed it the last night. I was already having hormonal flashes and that didn't help. I kept telling people but, no one ever got the right person to come till then. Everyone would say did you tell anyone. On Sat morning a Dr. came in and said so, Dr. Hamby said you wanted to go home a day early today. I was like, I don't remember saying that. But, if Brady is OK then yea. I could've told her that it was my B-day Sunday and it would be nice not to be there. So, he got circumcised and we left. They said he did have jaundice so we needed to follow up on Monday. Also, his weight had dropped to 7.12. The jaundice was making him very sleepy. The nurse said to feed him every 2 hours instead of 3. I wasn't feeding him on a schedule, just on demand when he seemed hungry. I didn't want to do like I did with Colby and wake him up or not feed him if it wasn't "time".

38 weeks

Well Brady will be here by this time next week. I had an ultrasound at 37.5 weeks. I also had one with Colby at the exact same time. They weighed the exact same amount (7.5 lbs). So, I guess they would be the same size. But, Brady is coming 2 weeks earlier than Colby did. I had an appointment on Monday and I was not even a fingertip dilated But, I guess I don't need to be since I'm planning on a C-section. Of course it would have been nice to try natural. I've been having ultrasounds and fetal monitoring every week and everything has been looking good. I really feel that he will be a healthy baby.

My replacement at work started last week. So, I haven't been doing much work myself. They gave me a shower last week. That was totally unexpected. We have everything all ready for him. I started packing bags last week. I've had a couple of visual problems. Hopefully there won't be anymore.

Colby's shingles healed very well. He had started waking up at crazy hours (4-5am) really to play. He used to be about 6:30. I think he may be back to 6:00 now. But, he has started not liking baths anymore. I don't know what the problem is. He almost seems scared to get in the last few nights. Hopefully just another phase. He is so silly now and is saying so much. He counts 8,9,2,8. Don't know what happened to the other numbers. He can say and recognize lots of letters. Some he even sounds out. He can be a picky eater sometimes. He likes to have his Nemo (goldfish crackers) when he wakes up. He kisses my belly and gives Brady ti tights every night. I have a feeling he will still want to do that after Brady is no longer in there.

Rowdy and I are both getting over sinus problems. I'm afraid Colby may be getting it. There should be a rule about pregnant people and their families not getting sick. We have too much other stuff to deal with.

Hopefully I'll get to post again before he comes. I just thought I'd finally update this blog since I had a little time. Oh, almost forgot the 38 week pic.

35 weeks

I had an appointment yesterday. They checked for dilation for the first time and nothing at all.

35 weeks Colby

Shingles

Colby had a couple of what looked to be ant bites on his hand last Friday. No big deal right. Then Sat and Sunday they got worse and looked like little water blisters. I called the pharmacy and they said to use Calamine lotion. Monday it was worse so I called the Dr. He said that it did sound like ant bites and put Hydrocortizone. Then Tuesday morning it was worse and looked like a heat rash on his arm. I took him to the clinic and they said it looked like Indian Fire. They put him on antibiotic ointment and liquid. They wanted to see him the next day. I took him in and it had gotten even worse. They said it was shingles. There was actually a pediatric dermatologist there that day. She said she had never seen it before in a toddler. The nurse practitioner said he had seen it once in 20 years. They said they didn't have to treat it and to let it run it's course. I said uhh no. So they gave him a different ointment and liquid. Tuesday night he woke up at 10:00 and I gave him Tylenol and put him in the bed with me. He was up crying like every 10 minutes till 1:00. After that it was like every 1/2 hour but not crying. I did research on Shingles and it said that you have to have chicken pox first. I couldn't figure out how he had it then. Then someone asked me if he had the vaccine for chicken pox and I said yes. Well that explained it. They inject the virus into you with the vaccine. So, that was how he was exposed and got it.

So, how's he doing? He still won't use his hand. But, it isn't slowing him down any. He is contagious so I had to take off of work. They use used to look like water blisters and they are more red blisters now. With less redness on the skin in between. The nurse said that they shouldn't pop and just scab over. When they do, he is no longer contagious. But, online it says they do pop. So, we'll see. At least it isn't his thumb sucking hand. He has been waking up way too early with all of this too. We give him Tylenol before nap and bedtime. Thursday he woke up at 4:50, Yesterday 4:30 and today 5:30. Hopefully he goes back to his normal 6:30-7:00 (if not later) when he is all better.

Day 4

Day 6

Ultrasounds, testing and updates

I had an ultrasound on 5-6 @31.6 weeks. Brady weighed 4lbs 3oz. We were surprised and thought they would say 6lbs. I had one with Colby at 32.1 and he weighed 5lbs. Brady was in the 50ish percentile that day. They are also hooking me up to machines to check for heart accelerations. That is what MFM suggested. His heart is beating just fine and doing what it should. He is very active so it does accel. Don't believe what they say about anterior placentas preventing you from feeling as much movements. Or that at this point you don't feel the baby as much due to them running out of room. Just don't believe it. I had another ultrasound last week to check the fluid level and it was fine. Both times I saw him swallowing fluid with his little cheeks moving. We tried the 3D but couldn't get a good shot due to the placenta blocking his face. I had an appointment Friday and he has dropped 1 cm. I had a feeling about that because my belly seemed lower. I never dropped with Colby. She said it is still in the normal range. She had put me on an antibiotic last appointment because of the group B strep. I had had it before. But, before it was only a trace and they would just treat it at delivery. Well, last time it was active. The antiobiotic worked and last week it was just a trace again. Here's some profile pics.

First 2 were on 5-6.

3rd one was on 5-13 and 4th is also on 5-6.

Belly pics

30 weeks Brady
30 weeks Colby

40 weeks Colby

41 weeks Colby

Hummm, you tell me...Does 30 weeks Brady look more like 30 weeks Colby or 40 weeks Colby??