Christmas With B

Again the time continues to fly by and I have no idea how. I'm currently on my two-week Winter break from school, and Brooklyn and I have been busy!

Well, Christmas has kept us busy! We've been to the mall several times with S and her twins to do some holiday shopping. Brooklyn did get a picture with Santa and it actually turned out really well. I had ordered Christopher Pop-in-kins (copied S) and Brooklyn was trying to find him each morning. It's amazing how smart a little baby can be.

With our shopping all done, Brooklyn and I have enjoyed some playing time. She's just about crawling, but not too fast which is fine with me! She can do about three crawls and then goes to an army crawl. She is bound and determined to get whatever she is crawling after. Yesterday Mr. Late Than Most's mom commented on how Brooklyn never sits still and is always "on the go." That comment scared the bejesus out of me and I'm not looking forward to the day this little one just goes and goes! We really need to Brooklyn proof this house!

Speaking of house, ours is very small. We totally hate it but what can you do? This economy is not good so selling is not an option. We recently made our dining room into a playroom for B. It's kind of random, but it's a good place for her to practice her crawling and indulge in all of her toys!

As you can see by the post, today is Christmas! Brooklyn's first Christmas! I hate to be a Grinch, but we've been driving all over Illinois the past three days and it's kind of annoying. Brooklyn is in bed and we've not even had our own Christmas with her. She didn't even leave cookies for Santa! Gah! So tomorrow she'll be opening her presents from us. Believe it or not, she does already enjoy opening presents! She says, "Ohhhhh!" and "Ooooooooh!" Kinda cute!

On the infertility front, all of my friends are finally pregnant or have babies!!!! My last girlfriend did IVF at my RE office and she just found out on Thursday that it worked! In fact, her beta was very, very large so I'm thinking twins for sure. Another friend of mine had her little boy a few weeks ago. He's a little preemie, but she finally has her baby. I'm so, so glad for everyone!

My Little Turkey

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone! I had all of these great visions of Brooklyn dressed in her "Thanksgiving outfit" but that kinda went out the door. I just left her in a comfy outfit all day and put a "Mommy's little turkey" bib on her. No worries though, I got her outfit at a resale store and it's a 12 monther. Miss Skinny is still wearing 6 to 9 months.

I'm turning into the mom I never thought I'd be. Have you ever done that? Before kids I was like, "blah this" and "Oh I'll never do that." Well, it started. Long story short, my Christmas shopping for Brooklyn is getting to be a little much. I started off thinking I'll just get her a few little things and Viola! We have more than I expected to have. I'm thinking back to that post I did almost a year ago. The one where I showed you every single thing I bought to make Brooklyn's nursery complete. Well, here is the Christmas list as it stands. And yes. . . I do know it's quite much. But I'm envisioning this cute picture of Christmas day and Brooklyn is sitting with all of her toys in their boxes. Hahahaha. Don't worry, I'll post that one.

Here it is, the stuff I've bought for my sweet baby, who will only be 8 months old at Christmas! Of course I included links just incase you see something you need :)

Fisher Price Stride to Ride Dino

Playskool Elefun Ball Popper


Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Piggy Bank

Tiny Love Fiona Dog Damn it! It's a dollar cheaper now!

Melissa and Doug Farm Puzzle


Fisher Price Bat and Wobble Penguin


DK Baby Faces Book


Playskool Stack and Nest Barrels Don't worry. I didn't pay this price!

So what do you think? Is that a lot? Hahahaha! And I'm sure I forgot something. I went from memory!

Whoops! That Was Long!

I truly have every intention of keeping this blog updated. I mean, I'm very interested in blogging, I just keep forgetting to get on here.

Check out that ticker. . . Brooklyn is 7 months old. SEVEN MONTHS. One thing I learned, at seven months your sweet baby is gone and you get this tiny thing that acts like a baby but previews what the teen years will be like. In other words, this baby has a major tude.

I'm very aware that it was just a blog or two ago that I was bragging at how well-behaved my kid is. And for the most part, she is a great baby. But holy smokes I've seen some interesting tantrums lately! Mr. Later Than Most and I are horrible. . . we actually laugh, which is not a good idea. I mean, how can you not laugh at a little baby who kicks and complains and then two minutes later is laughing at whatever you do? Today she was throwing a fit in her high chair. I hid behind the kitchen counter and popped up from another spot in the kitchen and said, "Boo!" Then she goes from fit to laughing hysterically. You gotta love babies!

Work has been hectic. Getting out the door in the morning takes every ounce of organization I have. Then keeping a clean house is another thing. I know a ton of people do it, and I give them credit. I think the struggle is that I really want to be good at whatever I do. So, I want a clean and organized house. I want a clean classroom with all of my things organized and lessons arranged perfectly. Ahhhh, there it is. PERFECT. That's what's not possible but I keep trying to get things that way. I'm sure it's a constant battle for all working moms. Somethings you have to give up on, and others you don't. So, lately I've given up on the cleaning. Don't worry, I won't qualify for Hoarders. I just wait to do my chores. :)

6 Month Stats and Picture Update!

Well, I did it! I pretended to be a photographer and it didn't go half bad. I know most of you that I'm friends with can see some of the pics from Facebook and I think you may agree! I MADE Mr. Later Than Most help me with the photo shoot. We were at his family's property down in rural Illinois. And yes, I said rural. Combines and everything. We drove an ATV around looked for colored leaves and set them up. I bought a black cloth at Hobby Lobby to use as a prop for Brooklyn to sit on. I used my $4 Walmart pumpkin and what do you know? The pictures didn't come out half bad! Ok wait, there was one casualty. I ironed on my rhinestone 6 and one of the damn stones feel off. I was so pissed!!!! You can totally tell too when you look at the picture! See for yourself!

 

So how annoying is that? Gah! That iron-on cost me $3 and the onesie $4. It's not too bad I guess. And even if it is, at least I semi got the pic I was looking for. Oh and don't judge my photography skills on that one pic. The others came out rather well!

So, today Brooklyn had her 6 month doctor appointment! Her stats:

15.5 pounds. As the doctor calls her. . . . a peanut. 34%ile for weight. But, 27 1/4 inches long and that's the 89%ile for height. If you've seen her pic, she has a round head! LOL 89%ile for head too. The doctor said she has a "nice round head." Good think that pumpkin I had bought was a taller one that was thin. I wouldn't want my kid's head next to a pumpkin to avoid any confusion!

Brooklyn didn't enjoy her shots today. Well, she never enjoys them but today she wasn't having a lot of the appointment. First, it was at 4pm. That's mini nap time. Her solid feeding is at 5pm and as you know, bed around 6pm. So today was a real schedule cluster. She did fine though. She smiled for any person that gave her 30 seconds of attention. She tore the paper on the exam table to smithereens. She talked to the doctor and took off her stethoscope. We enjoyed laughing at her, that's for sure!

The good news is that the doctors, once again, think she's doing great. This I cannot hear enough of. Those are reassuring words and let me know that I'm on the right track as a mom. I've said it before and I'll say it again. . . if she would have given me a sticker, this would be one happy teacher!

6 Big Fat Months

In two days my Brooklyn will be 6 months old. I can't believe it. Really, where does the time go? If I set her upright, she can sit up. When I make a snorting noise with a smooshy face, she copies me. Today she tried to scoot to get one of her blocks. OMG, I need to baby proof this place! You know me, I already bought all of the gadgets.

So, I had planned on taking professional six month pictures and then my shopping got out of hand. How does this relate you ask? Well, I bought so many damn outfit changes that no photographer will want to deal with it. Seriously people, having a girl is a ton of fun! I know I sound looney, but S and I planned all three girls six month pictures months ago. Brooklyn's outfits have been hanging up and just waiting for this coming weekend. So, let's cut to the chase and spill the deets:

Outfit One: Jeggings with a pink tutu. Not too frilly, but just right. I also bought this cute onesie to go with it at Baby Gap. It has long sleeves and two ballerina shoes on it. I'm going to have her bare foot with a giant headband, of course.

Outfit Two: Her sixth month is in October so a Halloween photo is a must. She has a cute long-sleeved onesie that says "I love my Mummy." It has a double-onesie look. I bought some crazy Halloween legwarmers to match. Yes, I have a Halloween hairbow too. My kid has no hair at all. . .  bows are required! I also bought a pumpkin for this one. So, I imagine her sitting next to the pumpkin with her hands on it. We'll see what happens though. A lot of her sitting up turns into face-planting!

Outfit Three: I bought a dark pink onesie and I bought a rhinestone, iron-on six. I will iron the glitter 6 on. I have zebra legwarmers and a zebra headband to match. I'm kinda thinking I may iron the 6 on the butt and take the picture of her on her stomach.

And Outfit Four: PJs!!!! I have some cute owl pjs. I want her in her pjs with her favorite Aden and Anais security blanket. Maybe I can get her to take her paci too! We'll see.

SEE HOW CRAZY I AM!!!! Hahahahah, guess what? I don't even care. Yes, none of it's necessary, but I just get too much joy from all of this shopping! I can't wait to tell you how the pictures go!

Literally

I literally have the best baby. Truly, I'm not just saying that. This is the most easy going baby, and even strangers tell me how lucky we are. And oh yes, this does get annoying.

So we knew we were lucky the minute Mr. Later Than Most's mom stayed with us for Brooklyn's first week. She constantly made comments on how quiet Brooklyn was and how happy she seemed to be. Comments continue from my sisters, my mom, his family, and pretty much most strangers in Target (because I'm there daily.) As you've noticed in my posts,  I'm that annoying person who researches and learns about everything. So, I like to give myself a little credit for this happy go lucky baby! I mean, I did read like five sleep books. Isn't that why my kid sleeps about 13 hours at night? Also, I read every development and milestone book out there. This is why I know how "on track" my kid is. Yes, yes, my head was getting big. Until I read a little comment the other day in Your Baby Week By Week. In week 23 it said, "Your baby now cries only 2 1/2 hours a day." What the hell? Babies cry for 2 1/2 hours a day? Who the heck wants a baby that cries that much? Are you kidding me?

Yes people, reality check. My kid goes days without crying. I thought it was totally normal. I read that and literally started laughing out loud. My Brooklyn may only be 5 months old with North Face boots and Uggs (too spoiled is the point), but she sure is a good baby! And obviously, some of it (or most of it) is innate!

5 Months :)

How is it that one day you wake up and your kid is 5 months old? I mean really. How does the time go by so fast? The good thing is that I take a TON of pictures. I mean a ton! We keep the camera and video camera sitting in the living room so it's really just ready for us whenever we want to take a picture.

Little girls are dangerous when mixed with a joy for shopping. There's no accessory that this kid doesn't have. Seriously, I know it's fun to shop for any baby but there is just too much girl stuff out there. We have a slight addiction to headbands and legwarmers right now. I would say, though, that there are much worse things to be addicted to. Come on. . . DRUGS! Instead I like to buy a cute pair of baby legwarmers every now and then. Yes I'm aware that 13 pair for a 5 month old is excessive, but the ads show the babies wearing them when they are toddlers and in one photo even the dad was wearing them on his arms! See, if I get Mr. LTM to wear some, I have two people wearing them for the price of one! And no, I'm not drunk right now. Ha! I kinda wish I was though! Ha!

So I did the stay at home mom thing for a tiny while and I'm just saying, the working thing gets easier but it sure is taxing. I shouldn't complain, Brooklyn goes to sleep by 6:30 and wakes up at 6:30. Before you start telling me how lucky I am and what a good baby she is, we've been tested here the past couple of nights. I have a normally, very happy baby that is now fighting me during feedings and naps. There is nothing worse than trying to bottle feed a baby that doesn't want to be held! The little stinker will eat if you walk around with her though. Ugh. Today I told her she better not be as stubborn as her dad!

So, I'm curious how people knew they wanted a second kid. I watch my niece and nephew play together and just think it's the cutest thing. It'd be nice for Brooklyn to have a full-time friend. I know it seems I'm jumping the gun, but my yearly appointment is coming up and I've been thinking about my frozen embies. If I wanted my kids two years apart, that means I'd be looking at a frozen transfer this coming summer. And to do that my HMO insurance needs to be switched to the practice that is related to my RE. So, you see this is something I need to think about. I asked Mr. Later Than Most if he wanted kid number two. He said when Brooklyn is seven years old. That way we have some help. Ha!

And, I'm Working

Tomorrow will begin my first full week of school. I'm telling you, this working mom stuff is hard. I know stay at home moms work just as hard, but this is rough. I don't mind the actual working part. As I've said, I love teaching and the kids are too cute. I already have gotten many "you are pretty" comments and "you are the best teacher I've ever had." Yes it has only been 2.5 days but I teach third graders and that's the way they roll. On Friday I got a ring from a little girl and most kids are hugging me on the way out the door at the end of the day. You can't beat this job.

So, our morning starts at 5:30. Not too shabby. I get up and get myself all ready. If Brooklyn wakes before her 6:30a feed, Mr. LTM is on duty. At 6:30 I wake and change Miss B. Then she gets her morning bottle and it's out the door we go. In hand I tote my binder for our nannysitter, my lunch, my diaper bag and my school stuff. Each morning Miss B travels in her pjs. :) Can I just say, she is a great morning travel buddy! I love watching her in my car mirror. She looks all around and plays with her toys I give her. She says not a peep. Sometimes if I talk to her she can see me in the mirror and she just laughs and laughs. Once in a while she takes a quick nap. As I've said, she stays about three doors down from my school, so this is a great thing we have going.

At about 7:45 I drop her off at said nannysitter's. I take her in inside and get her out of her seat. I have a tiny chat with the nannysitter's kids before they come to school and off I go. I drive the .1 miles to my school were I'm practically running in the door to get things prepared. I now arrive an HOUR later than the past nine years. Yes, a full hour. So, my free time at school has to be used wisely!

School ends at 2:40pm and I work my ass off to get things ready for the next day. Because we only have Brooklyn for about two hours before she goes to bed, I don't want to take too much home with me. At 3:50pm I jump in the car and drive over to get Brooklyn. Again, I chat for a few and off we head home. When we get in the door, it's playtime! This is probably my favorite part of the day! At around 6:00pm we do bath, bottle and nighty night. Mr. LTM does the last bottle while I gather my clothes and Brooklyn's clothes for the next day. Everything from socks to the car seat is laid out to make the next morning as simple as possible.

Some days are harder than others. Each day I thank my lucky stars that I put myself through years of education to be a teacher. Not only do I love the job, but it gives me breaks and summers with my baby. Sometimes that keeps me going each day :)

We're On Our Own

Well, Miss B and I are on our four night vacation together at home. Mr. Later Than Most is away with some friends for four days. So far, we're doing well. Um, well not including the random rash she has and now we have to go to the pediatrician. I noticed it on Monday, but I thought it was still the newborn rash she used to get when she cried. Then last night I noticed it had gotten worse. So after 10 minutes on the phone with the triage nurse, she decided Brooklyn needed to come in today. Well, of course you know that when she woke up, the rash looks so much better and now I don't know if we should go in or not. Oh the fun!

Today is D day for my sister in law. She's having her baby via induction as she's a week late. Pretty random for someone who was in preterm labor at 26 weeks. Her baby had the little lung shots and everything. Now, she's overdue and getting induced. I think I've come to terms with her "random miracle pregnancy." You know, she was "only off the pill for 6 weeks." That's the claim to fame. Why do I care any way? Damn infertility. You just don't get over some stuff.

Speaking of, my IUI with injectables friend is almost ready to see if she's pregnant again. She text me from Babies R Us saying how there were a bunch of pregnant bitches there. LOL. I told her that the pregnant bitches still bother me too and I already have my baby. I've got everything crossed for her.

Tomorrow is my last official day of maternity leave. I cannot believe it. I'd rather sit here and cry about it all day but that won't be very productive. B is going to be very close and I do love teaching. I cannot believe I've been home for almost five months. I enjoyed it very much!

The Cereal Diaries

At our fourth month check-up for Miss B, the doctor said to start giving her cereal. I can't believe my little baby is read to eat from a spoon. I really don't always listen to what the doctor tells me. I mean, she has her own opinions and her own kids. To me, she's just another piece of the information puzzle and I have to make the decisions. Yes I know Mr. Later Than Most exists too, but really? Do you think he's read any baby feeding books lately? I don't think so!

I have to admit, running to Target to buy cereal was fun. I'm not going to lie, I had been stalking the food aisle for babies for quite a while. Just another way for me to get more prepared. I went and picked out oatmeal cereal for Miss B. I'd like to say that was my idea but I'm just copying what S is giving to her girls! Tee hee. So I got the cereal, looked at baby food, and headed on our way to S's house where the plan was to give B some cereal. Low and behold, Miss B did okay. She opened her mouth once or twice and seemed to get some down. After about the third try, she cried so we decided it was time to stop. Probably a good idea!

Two days later I was at home and decided to set everything up. I got her bib, burp rag and spoon all ready. I had a genius idea to give her the cereal before her bottle! This way she'd be hungry and interested. I also got the video recorder out so I could remember this fine moment. Well, Miss B was a cereal star! She was smiling and kicking all over. Each time the spoon went to her mouth, she went crazy and wanted more. I ended up feeding her the entire serving! I was so excited at my success, until I gave her the bottle and she stopped eating after 4oz instead of 6oz. Whoops. Mommy fail.

Today I got her morning bottle all ready and the cereal all ready. I planned on giving her the bottle and then moving to the cereal. I figured since she had such a successful cereal day two days ago that today would go well. She should remember, right? Well, bottle down and it was cereal "go time." She watched the spoon come toward her mouth and. . . nada. In fact, I could swear she tightened her lips together. I tried again and nothing. So, I shall try it again when she wakes from her nap. Again, before the bottle. I'm telling you, kids truly need to come with directions. If S and I read one more feeding book, I don't know what I'll do.

Ugh, I could almost die that I have to go back to work this week. Miss B does fine at her nannysitter (nanny in the nanny's home). But Brooklyn and I are buddies, and I know I'm going to have a hard time getting back into the classroom. The good thing is that teaching doesn't even allow you time to pee, let alone time to think about your little baby that's with another caregiver.

Miss B is awake now and the cereal diaries shall continue.

Miss Brooklyn and Baby Number 2!

Yes I totally just tricked you by my title. You see, I haven't posted in a while and I still want you to keep coming back. I know I've been bad and have not updated!

So the baby #2 is not because I have performed a infertility miracle and got pregnant by magic, it's because I did pay for our frozen babies to stay frozen for another year! Some days I think we are crazy but we do talk about number two and maybe, just maybe using one frozen embie next summer to see what happens. That would make Miss B and number 2, two years apart. That whole thing can change tomorrow though.

Today Miss Brooklyn is 4 months old! Oh my, I could just cry. She is getting so big. I'm not just saying this because she's mine, but she is SUCH a good baby. She is always in a happy mood, always smiling, and never complaining about anything. We are so lucky!

Miss B had her 4 month appointment today! She weighs 13 pounds and 5 oz which is the 44%ile. Her birth weight was 7 pounds and 5 oz so she has almost doubled. Her height at two months was 23 3/4 inches and now shes 25 inches which is the 79%ile. The doctors said that she is doing great and checks out perfectly. We are so blessed. Now I don't want to mislead you that I have a perfect baby because she does have a tiny bit of cradle cap. Actually, the doctor said she could not see it but could feel the patch on her head in a little spot!

As crazy as it seems, she said I can start Brooklyn on rice cereal! I'm not ready for this madness! A spoon? People, she's 4 months old. Why don't we just rush her off to college for Pete's sake. I don't know if I'm ready for this, but if she is then fine. Tomorrow we are going to S's for a visit and we may try the cereal there. She just started it with her twin girls so she has some experience!

On a sad note, I have to start going to work to set up my classroom next week. Yes, my long break of being a stay at home mom is over. I did enjoy it though. Okay I'm lying. The beginning sucked and I wanted to drive off a cliff. I was so bored, but Brooklyn finally because interactive we are buddies :) Luckily, she'll be two houses down from where I'm working and I can keep my eye on her :)

On the friend front, I still have one friend IRL waiting for her baby. She did an IUI injectable cycle and it failed. I hate it. She's going through that really rough patch where she thinks she'll never be a mom and everything is bound to fail. Many of us have been there. I'm doing my best to keep her motivated and not so down. I know this is going to work for her. Did I mention that I sent her to my RE? I really believe in that guy so I know it'll all work out. I'll keep you posted!

Tomorrow will be rough

Well, this is what us Bump girls call a post and run, but I needed to get the frick on here for an update already!

I will be back to work very soon, and tomorrow I'm dropping my little Brooklyn off to her babysitter. Actually, it's a nanny but in her own home so wtf do you call that? Anywho- I want to start getting them acclimated and tomorrow I drop her off for three hours. I'm freaking out! I mean, I always wanted to go back to work, but this is going to be much, much harder than I thought. And truly, I couldn't have a better set up for Miss B. This person is awesome, I already know her. B is the only kid she's watching and she lives two houses down from my school. Yet I'm freaking. It's so tough!!! And really, I'm only leaving her for three hours. To make myself feel better I emailed the nannysitter (there we go) and told her all of my concerns. I told her how I watched an episode of Oprah and a mom left her baby in the car on a hot summer day. The mom was in a routine and just forgot her very own baby. I told the nannysitter that I was deathly afraid of doing this myself, and now I have to worry about her too because a baby is not part of her routine. I also told her that babies need to be put on their backs to sleep now, and that they can't have blankets. I told her how B loves to rub her face with her little blankie and that's how I know it's nap time. I also told her how B has gotten scared of things lately, and may pout and cry if she sees something scary. Normally, I can calm her well, hopefully this person can too.

Great, now I'm crying! Son of a bitch! I guess I should go back through my blogs and remember that I was a mess this time last year wondering if my IVF worked. Now, I have different things to worry about and though they may be though, I'd take them in a heartbeat.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Three Months

Well, I'm late, but Miss Brooklyn is three months old. Where the frick did that time go? This must be what everyone talks about when they say, "enjoy it while you can." We've really been enjoying it, that's why I haven't posted in so long!

B and I are spending a ton of time with S and the girls. It's just too fun! Yesterday I had all three of them lined up on the rug and I was talking to them. They were each making noises back to me and just staring at me. It was the cutest thing. I think Brooklyn knows she has friends. She just stares at each one of them when they play together. I love it! S and I can't wait until they can really interact. OMG- the other day they were all sucking on each other's hands. Miss B was sucking on M's hand and M was sucking on N's hand. It was sooooo funny. We should've taken a pic, but we almost peed our pants watching them. You'd think they have no toys.

Speaking of toys, I'm out of control. Amazon and I are way too good of friends. I'm always ordering stuff for B. Okay, I haven't ordered in like a week so I guess it's not really "always." But the stuff I buy, she just loves! How can you not? And, I don't want to go there on the clothes. Okay, but in my defense, I buy a lot of B's clothes used. So it's not like I'm paying full price. We have a chain of kids' stores that sell used clothing and they have great stuff. Actually, a lot of the stuff I buy still has the tags! That's why Mr. Later Than Most doesn't say too much. I think it's apparent that my Coach diaper bag was probably the last nice thing I will buy for myself. :)

On a more insane note, my friend had a little baby boy the other day. I didn't even see him in person, just a picture and now I want a boy. Son of a bitch! How does that happen? I swear, FaceBook is to blame for a lot of stuff.

It's Been a Year

Before I begin, Brooklyn has found her "voice." She is behind me screaming for just pure fun, joy, and basically to hear herself. She's kinda like her momma. :)

If you go back through my blog you'll realize that it's exactly one year ago that I started my IVF cycle. At that time I thought the end of the world was near. A lot of "why me's" took place. Why can't I have a baby the "normal" way? Why do I have to do these injections? Why is it a possibility that this whole thing can blow-up in our faces? If you are a regular follower, you remember my blog about smuggling. Mr. Later Than Most and I never told anyone about our struggles, but we had a family get together planned for the 4th of July. I wanted to tell Mr. Later Than Mosts mom so she could help us out a little, but he disagreed. So, we planned to get all of our IVF crap together and smuggle it to the family gathering.

What I remember most is how Mr. Later Than Most and I were both like deer in headlights when we were packing. Of course we went to our injection class and I (once again) had done way too much studying and the drugs and what we should do. In fact, Mr. Later Than Most took extensive notes at our class and I was glad because the nurse truly talked a mile a minute. So, there we were with a crapload of needles, pills, and liquids and no clue what we were supposed to take with us. If you are bored, I advise you to go back and read some of those blogs. They are kinda funny.

So, Mr. LTM and I were at the same gathering this weekend. As we were driving somewhere I said, "It was one year ago that we started doing those injections." He says, "No way." The year went by fast. I can't believe it!

Brooklyn will be three months old on Friday. She is such a doll. She's a good, good little baby. Kinda spoiled already but I'm trying not to do that! As I've said before, I'm finally all adjusted now. We are really enjoying our time together before I have to go back to work.

On my last post I said that most of my internet girls are finally pregnant but I have two girls IRL that were struggling. Well, I got great news that friend #2 had a successful IVF and she is about 13 weeks along! Friend #1 is starting an injectable IUI cycle this week. They've been trying for over 2 years, so hopefully good news soon!

I'm an Old Pro

I can't believe I went this long without posting. Time is just flying by and I've been keeping busy. S and I have been spending several days a week together. I pack up Brooklyn and head over to her house. She's got all kinds of fun baby stuff, considering she has twins. We have a fun time just chatting and taking care of our girls. When I can, I try to lend her a hand so she can just carry one baby around the house. Sometimes if B is sleeping, I can help her feed one of her girls. The only problem is that we spend a lot of time on Amazon ordering things for our girls. We tell the girls we are "playing secretary." S made that up and I think it's just plain hilarious!

I also have another friend who has a 4 week old. I've seen her about once a week so far and we just hang out at her place or mine. I show her the ropes of what I know and she just loves my advice. The other day I made her swaddle her little girl and now that baby is sleeping much better :) I'm an old pro.

I'm also an old pro at taking care of my own baby. I've gotten over the hump, I think. I can't really explain it but more like you go through an adjustment period and now I feel like I'm done adjusting. In a good way though! Hahahaha. Actually, tonight I type from my couch as B is fast asleep and Mr. Later Than Most is in Wisconsin at a concert. He'll be back in the morning. Yes, I just said in the morning. They were going to have drinks and well, we all know it's a very bad idea to then drive, so they are sleeping up there. I don't think I was exactly ready to spend the night alone, but I can do it. When I doubted myself I thought of my poor girlfriend whose husband left her. She's 30 weeks pregnant and he decided the married life wasn't for him. He left about 10 weeks ago. So, as I sit here doing it on my own, I think of how she's going to do it on her own every day and it doesn't seem so bad.

So, I had decided to store those two embryos we have. The only thing is that we've just gotten $400 in doctor bills for Brooklyn, so now I need $900 instead of $500. I have the money, that's not the problem. The problem is I just keep thinking, "Do we need them?" It's another mind game that I guess is part of the whole infertility fun. My plan is to store them for the year, and next year I'll make a better decision. Sometimes I look at B and think there is no way I'm having another. She is such a GOOD baby. She's always happy and is literally sleeping 10 hours a night. I hate to even type that for a fear of jinxing it. On the other hand, I looked at videos of her as a tiny baby and just love that little baby. I can't imagine never getting to see a little baby like that again. She was so freaking cute with her little bobble head. Actually, she's still kind of a bobble head but now she's really long :)

Of all of my infertile friends, most of them are finally pregnant. All of them with the help of modern science, but they are there. Christina's little girl is due in August. You remember her. . . she was on TLC's Conception Story which I talked about way early on. Heather, my BFF from TWW just found out she's having a girl. She's due in December. Of course, there are many others that I've met along the way that have recently had babies as well. I do have two friends IRL though that are struggling and I think of them all the time. One is about to start IUI with injectables and the other is about to begin IVF #3. Hopefully those girls can get some good news someday here soon.

Thanks for reading!

2 Month Appointment, Check!

Brooklyn's two month appointment went well. She's getting so big. She is in the 90%ile for height and was 23 3/4 inches at her appointment. She was 20 1/2 at birth, so she is really doing some growing! She weighed 10lb 12 oz and that put her in the 50%ile for weight. She checked-out well and even smiled the doctors and nurses several times. You'd think they get sick of that sort of thing, but they went goo goo gah-gah over it. I wish they'd quite telling us how cute she is though, it's starting to go to Mr. Later Than Most's head.

Shot time was a little more rough. She had two in one leg and one in the other. Two nurses came in to give Brooklyn her shots and they did them at the same time. Brooklyn got all red and screamed for about thirty seconds. She calmed right away when we gave her bottle and there may have been a faint promise of a pony. That was obviously a rookie mistake. Good thing she can't talk to remind us of that moment.

I did ask them about her male pattern baldness and if they thought she would ever get hair. Of course I know she will but I had to crack a couple of jokes. Don't worry, I made sure the doctor had plenty of hair before making that comment.

So, after her shots, Brooklyn has been sleeping a ton. I'm talking three hour naps for the girl who never naps. For instance, right now she's been sleeping for two hours. I have my coat and shoes on to head out, but she's fast asleep in her crib.

One thing I noticed that is Brooklyn has become a bit of a chatterbox. She is constantly babbling about something. I'm worried she'll turn out to be like me. It seems that may be the first indication. Maybe when she starts typing I'll give her a blog. Oh, yes I put her on the computer already. One day I took a picture of her on my FaceBook homepage and posted it to my profile. I titled it "Checking the Book." She was about 4 weeks old. Ha!

My research has not turned to figuring out how to get this kid baptised or christened when Mr. Later Than Most and I are not church goers. Not that we don't want to be, we just haven't gotten around to it. When we got married we got married outside on a golf course and had one of those officiants that you just pay for. Believe it or not, they do the same things for babies. So, I either need to look into that route or find a church that we will start going to. That's my next quest!

Shots Today

Ohhhh, that message brings back memories of all of those injections I did last year. It's almost been one year since my IVF cycle. Those shots never bothered me. The first one sucked, but after that it was really smooth sailing. I remember Mr. Later Than Most's inspiring words on injection day two. . . "Someday you'll tell your kid what you did to get him/her." Well, it did make me laugh at the time, but as most of you know, people still don't know about our infertility. I have about two friends in real life who know, other than that, not even family.

So back to my title. . . Shots Today. Well, Brooklyn is two months old. TWO MONTHS. Holy crap. That means I've been in survival mode for two months. Hahahaha. I can't believe how big she is getting. Today when she woke up she was talking and talking. Yesterday I told Heather that I was stuck inside (due to the heat) with "Miss Chatterbox." Of course they aren't real words, but she certainly thinks they are! This afternoon we'll go for her two month shots. Ugh! So not looking forward. I do have Mr. Later Than Most meeting me there. Yes, he can hold her during the shots and then when she cries, he can pass her to me. Then she'll think I'm the good one! Hehehehehe.

Okay, I may have said this before but I'm just going to put it out there again. I hate staying home. Yup, I know I'm totally weird. I'm very glad that Mr. Later Than Most doesn't want me to be a stay at home mom, because I have no idea what I would do. I remember everyone telling me, "You wait until that baby is born. You'll wish you were staying home." Um, no. Don't get me wrong, I love Brookie to death, but holy smokes these are the longest days of my life! I truly think it's her age. I bet at this time next year I'll wish I was on the long leave that I'm on right now. I dunno. But, I'm sure there is some girl reading this right now who feels the same way as me. Now, both of us know that we are not psychos.

Well, looks like I'll owe an update and let you know how the appointment goes. I'm trying to figure out if I have any questions for our doctor and I don't! Wow! There's a first!

This is Weird

So, I've been thinking about the two frozen embryos we have. I have not talked to Mr. Later Than Most yet. We've had too much going on and he gets stressed very easily. We recently got a new car that we really needed. Now we are trying to organize getting a new roof on our house. I'm also switching our home and car insurance. We just refinanced our house. Mr. LTM had a friend pass away last week (very sad). As you can see, it hasn't been exactly the right time. We have about three weeks to decide what to do with them. One option is to move them to long term storage. That will be $500. If we keep them at the RE, it's $1,000. Both of those amounts are for a year. We can use the embryos and then commit ourselves to a loony bin. Finally, we can discard them.

So here is what's weird. Those embryos are Brooklyn's twin. The eggs developed at the same time and were fertilized at the same time. So really, twins. Now, of course they aren't "real" twins, but that's what I keep thinking about. The shitty thing is that before all of this, we did not see the embryos as real people. I'm sure that's a hot topic and some of you would like to tell me off. But really, we didn't see it that way and now it's a little different. The crazy thing is that you have to make this decision when your kid is only 8 weeks old and truly, you feel like you never want another kid again. Hahahaha!

$500 isn't all that much, but we've had so many money stealing things lately, that $500 kinda sucks. My plan is to bring it up to Mr. Later Than Most and try to get him to do long term storage for a year. In a year, we can make a rational decision. Now, when in the heck am I going to bring it up?

An RE Visit and Random stuff

From that post title you might think I'm already working on baby #2. Well, you are out of your mind! Ha!

This week S and I took the girls to the RE's office to see the staff. We mostly went to see the embryologist who was super nice when I was there. Actually, we are birthday twins. We also saw a couple of others who played a big part in our successes. Unfortunately our RE was not in that day and neither was the ultrasound tech, so it looks like S and I will have to take the girls back some time. It was really fun to see them and of course they are always interested in seeing the "final product." It was weird to pull into that parking lot and take a baby carrier out of the car. Or, in S's case, two carriers out of the car!


Things are going well here. Miss Brooklyn has been a champion sleeper. Well, I should bite my tongue right now on that one. She normally goes to sleep around 8:45pm and for some strange reason she's up right now an it's 10:00. I think I will blame this one on Mr. LTM. Sometimes when he feeds, she eats and falls asleep so he stops feeding. Then she gets up again in like 10 minutes and he feeds her again. Um, not me! Those little eyes will be closed and I keep shoving that bottle in her mouth. Yes it sounds like I'm force feeding her but she needs to eat to sleep!

For those of you pregnant girls I've found a few things that are critical to getting the baby to sleep. One thing we always do is swaddle. I'm sad to say that my Aden and Anais swaddle blankets are not the ones I rely on for bedtime. They are good for swaddling, but I'm a nervous wreck that she'll loosen it and it will be on her face. So, we rely on the velcro swaddles.  I'm even using the fleece ones and it's almost summer. We keep the air on so they've still come in handy. Also, I'm a huge fan of the Homedics Lullaby Sound Spa. It plays music, white noise, and even projects cute little images on the ceiling. Right now she's watching those images go round and round. Eventually, she'll pass out! Another item I've come to love is the sheet saver. It something you lay over the crib sheet and then button around the crib slats. I can't tell you how many times Miss Brooklyn spits-up on her sheet saver and then I can just peel it off. I love not changing the sheets at night!

My shopping hasn't stopped one bit. The difference now is that I buy nothing for myself. I mean, I'm sure all of my purchases are critical. For instance, we do quite a bit of traveling, so last week I bought Brooklyn a Vera Bradley weekender bag. I've already used it and it fits her stuff nicely. Don't worry, I got it at the outlet mall. Yesterday I bought her the cutest denim jumper and matching purple sunglasses. Those too are critical. She hates squinting in the sun! Oh, and two weeks ago I bought her a pool. Yes, I just said a pool. I know she can't hold her head up but it's a cute little inflatable one that has little toys dangling from it! Come on, isn't cute? And S had a fab idea. . . she's going to put her girls in the Bumbo and then sit them in a baby pool. Isn't that genius? I guess that means I'll be toting my Bumbo over to her house this summer!

So speaking of baby number two, I went to my six week post partum visit and of course they asked me what method of birth control we planned on using. I figured I'd just say "infertility" but I know that wouldn't cut it. Actually, since our infertility was sperm quality and count, that could be different now. It could be better or it could be worse. I'll be honest, I'm still adjusting to life with a little one. I'm one of those people who is always out and about and doing something, so this is been a life style adjustment. Of course I love it, but I'm still getting used to it (and my 8pm bedtime). So, the thought of a second baby truly makes me cringe. Oh and the cost of daycare . . . not so much. So, though I HATE HATE HATE taking a daily pill, I did decide on "the pill." Again, not a fan but I needed to do something. Aren't you glad I shared?

Well, it's off to bed I go. I'm a little mad at myself that I haven't been updating here like I should. So, my goal is to post two times a week. Keep visiting!

The RE Called and STTN!

So, my IVF cycle will be a year ago in July. During our cycle we froze two embryos that were higher grade. Mr. Later Than Most really didn't want to freeze any, but I convinced him otherwise. I just didn't want to do another round of drugs and egg retrieval if I could freeze some and make a cycle less stressful. Luckily he understood. So, here we are, almost a year later! How the hell does that happen? Yesterday the embryologist called me. If you go back through my blogs I'm sure I bragged about her. She was real young, cute, and my birthday twin! We hit it off right away! Anywho- yesterday she called to tell me that we'll need to make a decision with our frozen embies. We either need to discard them or send them to long term storage which is $500 a year. The $500 certainly beats the $1000 the RE charged! Also, she asked me a ton of questions about Brooklyn. Every healthy baby born is a boost in ratings for the RE. I told the embryologist that S and I would bring all of the girls in sometime soon. Don't forget, S and I had identical IVF cycles at the RE and I kept running into her. We never talked, but she found me on TheBump and we've been friends ever since. Of course the RE staff love this and they are dying to see all three girls. I talked to S, and we may do that next week!

Now for STTN!!

 Okay, I have not wanted to jinx this, but I need to brag about Brooklyn. Being a teacher, I can obviously tell this early that my daughter is at the top of her age group.   Ha! Did you believe me? Mr. Later Than Most and I send each other messages about how "gifted" B is. Mr. LTM was a gifted child and probably still a gifted adult. Well, at least I'm hoping so because that would explain why he is so darned difficult! Ha! And as a third grade teacher I get plenty of parents who think their kid is gifted, so we like to play this at home. Anywho- my whole point is that B has been sleeping through the night for a while now. I'm not going to elaborate too much because I don't want everyone to be jealous.

Okay maybe I will. So, since four weeks we'd put her down at about 8 or 9pm and then she would eat at 2am. You do the math. That's five hours from 9 to 2. Well, lately she's been going just a little later than 2am. Sometimes 2:30am. . . whatevs. Well last night Mr. LTM brought me the monitor at 1:45am. I did my usual grumpy complaining, "This sucks. . . I never sleep" yaddie yadda. So, I prepare the bottle, put it on the counter and lay on the couch. After a couple of random dreams I hear Miss B stirring. I try to get to her right when she's about to cry, but before she wails. Well, I look at the clock and it's 4:50am!!!! WTF!!! She slept from 8:15pm to 4:50am? I went flying into her room thinking that she was seriously starved. I picked her up and well, she was just wide awake and no where near crying. Although, she was going to town sucking on her hand! What a good girl!

I'm Literally Nuts

So, sometimes I feel like I should be checked into the loony bin. If you've been reading my blog since pre IVF, you know that infertility can make one crazy. Well, let me tell you how I'm newly crazy.


Yesterday I had to drive to the hospital to return my good ole hospital grade pump. Yes, the one that didn't up my supply. So the office is in the hospital's Mother Baby unit. Well, I walk in with my pump and while I'm returning it, my heart melts. I hear a newborn crying. Right away I realize that Brooklyn does not have that newborn cry anymore. She is now 5 weeks old and her cry does not sound like that. In fact, she's so long she doesn't even look new anymore. Right away I got sad that she's so big already. Yes, I just called my 5 week old baby BIG. As I walked out of the hospital, I missed having a newborn and started thinking that I would have to have a second kid. . . one just isn't enough.

HOLD THE FRICKING PHONE. Wasn't I the one who had some bad baby blues and kept thinking I wanted my old life back? Didn't I have 22 hours of labor (normal), two of which I cried because I needed drugs and was in so much pain? Yes, these were all me. I've already forgotten the pain of labor. I've already forgotten the adjustments to being a new mom. Somehow I've forgotten that I am board off of my ass all day as I'm home with little Miss B. The truth is, the reproductive endocrinologist will be contacting us soon to see what we want to do with our frozen embryos. It's $1000 to store them another year. Mr. Later Than Most keeps telling me one kid is all we get. Either way, I'm happy to have my Miss B.

On a sad note, my sister in law is in preterm labor at the hospital. She's only 24 weeks. If you can spare an extra thought in my future niece's direction, I'd be forever grateful.

My Stroller Buddy

The weather has finally warmed-up here in Chi Town! Yesterday Brooklyn and I met S and her twins at S's house. We took the three girls to her town's "downtown" and just pushed the girls all over. We got smoothies and just enjoyed another adult's company. It was great fun, and horridly hot! After about three hours, we began to walk back to her place. All three girls slept the entire time. We hope to get together a couple of times a week.

Mommyhood is going well and I'm getting used to staying home from work. Brooklyn and I take our City Mini out on the town each day. Today we went super early to avoid the heat, but we didn't avoid it so well. I was so gross from sweat! Tonight I went out and got an SPF cover for the infant seat so B doesn't have to have a thick blanket shielding her from the sun. We plan to get a pass to Brookfield Zoo this summer, so that bad-boy will come in handy. Also, S plans to take us with her and the girls to the local Arboretum so it'll get a lot of use.

B is getting so big. She smiles here and there and sometimes it's right at you. She is VERY long! LOL I think she's probably 23 inches already! Tomorrow I should measure her! I know she's over 9 pounds because I got on the scale with her the other day! Ha! Today I officially switched her to size 1 diapers. The newborn still fit, but I feel like she should move to 1s. So far, I use both Huggies and Pampers. I've noticed a difference between the two, but I'm not sure which I prefer.

More later!

4 Weeks!

Oh my. . . Brooklyn is four weeks old! I don't remember the first two weeks (lol) but it seems to have gone by fast. Everyone warned me this would happen, but for a while there we were just trying to get out of survival mode.

Things seem to be back to normal for me. I did my first week "alone" and I was successful! The day goes by fast. I take Miss B for an hour walk a day and it really helps break the day up. Also, it gets me out of the house and allows me to use my City Mini. Man, I love that stroller! Yesterday the two of us ran to Target. It was Brooklyn's first visit to a store (there will be plenty more) and my first time out with her alone. Actually, she had only gone to the doctor before that. It was a successful shopping trip. I got what I needed and she slept the whole time. Tomorrow I will take her to my sister's house for a Mother's Day celebration. I can't believe that I'll be celebrating this Mother's Day. For those who haven't experienced infertility, Mother's Day is one of the hardest days for "infertile" girls to experience. It's another reminder of something they long to have. Mother's Day and baby showers were always the worst for me. I'm happy to say that most of my IF friends are now pregnant or have babies. I have friends IRL that are still struggling, but I have positive hopes for them this week.

I don't know what to make of Mother's Day. I think I'll just hold Brooklyn in my arms most of the day and be thankful that I have her. Today on my walk I kept staring at her (man, is she cute) and thinking about how she was a product of science. She was in a lab developing an being monitored by scientists. Next week I'm going to hang out with S and the twins again. We are goon hoping to take all of the babies to the IVF Institute to see the doctor, nurses and secretaries. I'm kinda excited :)

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mommies and mommies to be. For those who are still waiting for their day to come. . . hang in there. It's worth the wait, the money, the injections and the heartbreak.

Yummy Wine!

Yes, as my title suggests, I'm on the bottle. Well, baby and I are both on the bottle. This week was my first glass of wine! Horray! And Brooklyn is completely on formula. Yes, my body failed me. Even pumping didn't work. I took the Fenugreek and drank the Mother's Milk Tea. I didn't see an increase in supply. In fact, one day last week I just quite pumping, cold turkey, and I only had to pump one time for relief. So, cheers to drinking wine. I'm enjoying a glass of Polka Dot Riesling!

All of my help is gone! Yesterday was my first day alone with Brooklyn. We left on our first road trip at about 9am. We headed off to S's house to see her and the twins. Brooklyn was great on the ride there and I even stopped at McDonald's for coffee! At S's, it was great. She has her whole living room set-up A La Baby. Well, it looks like my place put she has two of everything. The girls were so cute. They pretty much all complained and ate the whole time, but S and I enjoyed each other's company. I tried to help her once, but her little one knew I was a "mommy fill-in." LOL We meant to take pictures, but never got around to it. It's amazing to think that those three girls were all embryos in the same lab and developing at the same time. Sometimes S and I joke that Brooklyn is hers and one of her twins is actually mine. The only thing is, both girls look like her husband and Brooklyn has my mouth. So, we are thankful that they were not mixed up in the lab! Ha! Next week S and I plan to get together twice.

Today was a little more tough. Brooklyn and I woke up around 7. I cleaned a little and she enjoyed her swing long enough for me to eat. At about 9am I thought, "I could get used to this." I was watching Oprah and rocking B in my arms. By noon I was bored to pieces! I had used every baby equipment I had and was out of ideas. I finally bundled B up and took her for a walk. At 1pm I was counting the time until Mr. Lather Than Most would be home at 5pm so I could have a little break. B didn't nap at all today, therefore I didn't nap either. But, you won't be surprised to find that she's sleeping now, because it's Mr. LTM's shift. Such a daddy's girl! I wonder what in the heck I'll do tomorrow for an ENTIRE day. I always knew staying at home would be rough for me. I know it'll be hard to leave B in August to go back to school, but I'll need the routine I'm sure.

Emotionally, I feel much better. Thank goodness those hormones hang out for a while and then take off. OMG, I felt like the white van was going to come and take me away. It's a terrible, terrible feeling. I'm so glad to be feeling better. I truly owe it to Mr. LTM. He made sure I was getting enough sleep and every day told me that my emotions were temporary. He envisioned what B would look like in the next year and tried to make me think about the future and not the day I was on. He's a great guy :)

As for scheduling, it's actually almost time for me to go to bed! I sleep from 8pm to about 1am. The Mr. LTM comes and gets me and he goes to bed. B normally eats around 2 am and then 4am. Sometimes she'll awake at 6 and sometimes 7. I HATE going to bed at 8pm, but I have no choice. She's not sleeping during the day and it's my only time to really sleep. So, I have three hours a day that I'm awake and doing my "own thing." It's rough, but I'm sure I'll adapt.

Off for a wine refill!

The Pumping is About Done

Gah, damn pumping. I'm still getting maybe a half an ounce per session, and that's with the Fenugreek. So annoying. Today I only had enough for B to get one bottle. Better than nothing, but it seems my time is about done. My goal is to pump until Friday, then B will have had 3 weeks of some sort of breast milk in her system.

I'm getting used to life in shifts. My shift is from 11pm to well, technically Mr. Later Than Most gets home from work. Right now his grandmother is here helping, so I've been able to get some sleep from about 6am to 10am, which is nice. I'm of course wondering how in the world I'm going to do this next week by myself. But, it gets done. Single moms, teen moms, married moms. . . every one does it. It'll come with time I'm sure.

Because of my 11pm shift, I nap from 8pm to 11pm and it's about that time. Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter :)

My 2 Week Old :)

I just realized that I should've posted a picture for Brooklyn for my faithful readers. Perhaps I should lock my blog so I feel more comfortable posting pics.

So, my little girl is 2 weeks old today. I can't believe how fast it's gone by already. As I've said in my previous post, I'm doing so much better. I feel like myself again, and I'm sure it's all because my mother-in-law did what she could to make sure that I had a normal week when she was here. I left the house several times and did some shopping. I also had some friends come and see B. It's so nice to just feel good. I would like to say that post pregnancy hormones are kinda scary. I felt a little out of sorts and like I had no control over my thoughts and emotions. My thoughts were never bad. The worst thing I thought was, "Man, I miss my old life." Can you believe that an infertility patient would say that? Two years of trying to get pregnant. . . heartache after heartache. . . and I literally was complaining. Actually, it's funny now. Thank God I only went through that for about a week and a half! I think Heather and I called it the BabyBlues Devil. If you are a reader of my blog, you remember the Infertility Devil, which haunts IF patients.

So Brooklyn is doing well. She is a content and rather easy going baby. When she wakes up, she'll lay there and stare at everything for about 15 minutes before wondering where we are. Today she stared at her "bear mobile" on her bouncy for about 20 minutes. I can't wait for her to meet S's twins so she has some real friends!


B also seems to have a schedule. Now, not that I would know this as Super Grandma has been taking care of her at night, but apparently she eats around 10:30pm, 1:30am, then 4:30am. Right now I'm on night shift and I did feed her at 10:30, so it looks like Super Grandma was right. Although, I do know that she's rather new and this schedule can change.

As for nursing, that is totally out the window. Luckily, I'm feeling better about it now. In short, we had a great nursing experience in the hospital. Lactation came to help and make sure things were good, and Brooklyn and I had no issues. Although, when we left the hospital, the nurses were worried about the amount of dirty diapers we were lacking. Also, lactation wanted to keep checking in as infertility patients tend to have more trouble nursing (probably hormone issues). When we left, they gave me that SNS system to supplement and nurse if needed. Well, the pediatrician was worried at Brooklyn's 3 day appointment. We were still not getting wet diapers and her weight was down to 6lb 10oz. Mr. LTM and I then uses the SNS tube system. You attach it to your boob and the baby gets formula at the same time as nursing. Well, after two nights of that piece of crap, I busted out the bottle and just gave her the damn formula. I began pumping with the Medela Freestyle I bought. Well, I notice that I wasn't getting much when pumping. I mean, I was getting like 15 ml. When I Googled, I realized I should be getting about 20 oz a day and I wasn't even getting 4 oz. Well, I took Brooklyn to lactation with Mr. LTM and they suggested a hospital grade pump. I rented that and here I am, a full week later, and I only get about an ounce, maybe a little less during each session. UGH. So, my last resort right now is Fenugreek. It's a vitamin supplement. I started it last night, and it's supposed to up supply. The lactation consultant wanted me to email some doctor in Canada so he could write me a prescription for a non FDA approved drug that would increase my supply. That is where I drew the line. Is it just me, or is formula better than taking an non approved drug? I know a lot of girls online do this, but it's not for me. Formula is perfectly healthy (and friggen expensive) and prescription drugs aren't the answer. So, long story short. . . I'm pump, pump, pumpin away and taking about 12 Fenugreek a day. If I don't see an improvement by Tuesday, I'm going to stop it all. I can't do 3 hours of pumping a day to give Brooklyn one bottle of breastmilk. I know it's better than nothing, but I'll keep my sanity.

Speaking of pumping, that's what I'm off to do. Plus, it's time for Mr. Later Than Most's shift!

Here is B. . . about 11 days old.

P.S. I only left the pic up for a short time. I'm too worried about random people getting it.

I'm Still Here!

Ah, it's so hard to update! Things are going well. My mother in law is there to help me this week and she has been a blessing. I'm starting to feel like myself again which is fab! I was so worried that I'd be stuck in a funk and for today, I'm feeling good.

Nursing update is I have very low supply. 15 minutes on a hospital grade pump and I barely get 20 ml which is less than a half ounce. I ordered some Fenugreek to see if it can increase my supply, but we'll see. That's fine, Brooklyn will be Enfamil's new poster baby :)


Mr. Later Than Most has been awesome. As soon as he comes in he runs over to see Brooklyn and take in here baby "smell." It's been hard having our regular routine disturbed, but you get used to it real fast. I cannot stress enough how nice it is to have someone here helping. After my MIL leaves, her mom is coming next week. Things won't be as easy for me, but helping hands are sure nice.

Brooklyn is getting so big. At our lactation appointment on Friday she was 7lb 6oz. Don't forget. . . four days before she was 6lb 10ounces at the pediatrician. Hopefully she's not 9 lbs at her pedi appointment on Monday!

S and I are looking forward to getting the girls together. After my help leaves, we plan to get together once a week. Even if we sit and do nothing, at least we'll have eachother's company. Today I texted her a picture of Brooklyn staring at her bear mobile on her bouncey. The text said, "looking forward to having real friends!" Ha!

Well, I'm leaving my baby right now to see my class! I'm so excited to see them as that's more "routine" for me. I know Brooklyn is in great hands, so I don't feel bad. God, I hope that doesn't make me a horrible mother! Eeek!

Changes

First change needed is this blog! I've got to get rid of the pregnancy badges and switch to mommy ones!

Brooklyn is doing well. She was back up to 7lb1oz at the pedi appointment. Thank you Enfamil ready feed bottles (which cost a little more than a buck a feeding. . . ouch!). After pumping, I realized I must be having supply issues. Normal amount to pump for seven days postpartum is 27oz. . . I'm getting about 7oz though I'm pumping every three hours. So, I maybe get 4 full bottles to feed Broolyn a day. It's better than nothing, but annoying. I did call lactation at the hospital to see if I'm dealing with low supply. They have us going in today. I'm prepared for them to tell me to breast feed her, then formula feed, and then pump. Well, I've already decided that I will not do all of that to feed my baby. I have a feeling I'll be formula feeding and pumping for a while.

I took so many baby classes, I wish they had one on what happens when the baby comes! LOL I was not prepared for all of the mixed feelings. I feel so guilty for even saying that. Mr. LTM has been awesome. Last night demanded I sleep for eight hours. Yes, eight. So, I slept and woke up to pump (so annoying). He stayed with her from 8pm until 8am. I do feel better and hopefully I'm caught up for now.

My mother in law is coming tomorrow for a week! She's going to stay here while Mr. LTM goes back to work on Monday. I'm sure this isn't ideal for most, but I'm excited about it. She's very relaxed and determined to get me back to a normal routine. She said something about a photo day and a painting nails day! LOL I'll keep you posted.

Thanks to the girls who left comments saying my feelings are normal. It really makes a difference to hear that. I promise to repay the favor to my six (yes six) friends who are expecting!

What Day is It?

Literally, it's hard to keep track of the days! Being a mommy is hard work! I barely get online anymore and I've been dying to update you. In short, Brooklyn is doing well. We are obviously still getting used to her. I thought I was the boss before. . . um no. Poor Mr. Later Than Most, I'm not sure how he's going to deal with two head-strong girls!

For being 33 years old and using infertility treatments, you'd think this mommy stuff would be easier. Um no. How do single moms and teen moms do this job? Sometimes it takes two of us to change her! I'm FREAKING out that Mr. Later Than Most goes back to work tomorrow. I'm telling you, when you are sleep deprived, you worry about the dumbest stuff!

Brooklyn is just starting to get on her own schedule. In the beginning, she would not sleep for more than 45 minutes at a time. We were dying! Now it looks like she's about 2 hours at a time, but I'm sure that's because of all of the FORMULA we've been giving her. Ugh. Actually, the formula is my biggest frustration. I planned on nursing. It went great in the hospital, but once we got her home and to the pediatrician, she was losing a lot of weight. Weight loss is normal, and I was prepared for docs to push formula. The only thing is, we were not getting the wet and dirty diapers from her that we were supposed to. That's why I knew we had to do something. They sent me home with a hose system that you attach to your boob (SNS) and nurse the baby with. That went totally fine, but I couldn't use it by myself. It has to be raised and lowered to control flow. It has to be taped on and then sides switched. I got so frustrated one night and we gave her a bottle. It was heartbreaking for me. I think there is so much pressure to breastfeed and then when you plan on doing it and something goes wrong, you just feel so disappointed. Actually I've had a lot of guilt about it. It sucks. Well, when we went back to the SNS, there was a lot more frustration for all of us. Brooklyn was also losing her latch and still not getting enough to eat. We had to start giving her bottles of formula. I tried one more time to go back to the SNS system myself (without help). She did latch on, but I couldn't figure out why I was putting myself through all of that. Mr. LTM keeps telling me that this is what's healthy for her, but I feel really guilty about not nursing. Right now I'm trying to pump every two hours and that's even hard. Today we go back to the pediatrician to check her weight. She was born at 7lb 5oz, left at 7lb and then was 6lb 10 oz on Monday's doctor visit. I know she'll be better today from drinking all of that formula, but it's still hard to get over.

Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I'm a go-getter and real organized. I tend to go above and beyond on what I do (just my personality). I mean, even my coupons are in alphabetical order! Mommyhood has sure thrown me for a loop. Tomorrow Mr. LTM goes back to work. OMG- I don't know how I'm going to do it alone! My mother in law is coming this weekend to stay with me for a week and help out. Bless her! Ugh, I told her it's not too late to change her mind! The baby will be easy, but it's me she has to deal with! LOL

Anyway- I'll try to update and let you know how the appointment went. I'm off to find some new mom blogs and make sure I'm not crazy :)

I'm A Mommy!

Well, I'm sure you thought something was up when I didn't start freaking out the night before my induction! Luckily, at 4:30a on Thursday I woke up with a stomachache. I thought, "this is it!" but to my surprise I had a successful bathroom experience (tmi) and figured that's what was going on. I went back to bed and had that pain again. I decided to go lay on the couch and get out my Itzbeen timer (thank you Christina!). After timing, these pains were regular and I figured this must be the start of labor. Luckily, Mr. Later Than Most had just noticed I was no longer in bed and he came to look for me. We timed the pains for about two hours and they were contsistently 4-5 minutes apart with a couple of random times in there. The pain started getting worse so we decided we should head to the hospital. It was so hard to even get dressed. Those contractions were about a minute and a half long and when they come every four minutes, you don't have much time to do anything!

Poor Mr. Later Than Most, he tried backrubs and talking to me and I wanted nothing to do with anyone. I didn't want him to see me in pain and I kinda pushed him away. Luckily, he was prepared! Every time I had a contraction he went off to do something else! LOL Finally, we got into the car and the ride sucked. Every one drove slow and these streets really need the potholes fixed. I think I dropped a couple of F bombs about needing better streets!

At the hospital (9am) they checked me into triage and decided to give me a check before being admitted. To my surprise I was 5cm dilated. They told me I was staying and mentioned the epidural when they saw how much pain I was in. I told them I would wait a while and I'm not even sure why. Anyway- They took me to my labor and delivery room and I got all registered. My nurse was about my age and very nice. She reminded me that if I didn't care for a natural birth, there was no reason to endure any more pain. True as it was, I ordered my drugs and 30 minutes later I got my epidural. Not much longer after I was laughing it up with the nurses about natural childbirth. I CANNOT imagine how women do that.

Ugh! Now, I'll start to sum things up! My epidural started to wear off about 4 hours later. The anesthesiologist came in and added a little something for me (non narcotic). The helped A LOT. I was back to feeling great. About 4 hours later the pain was setting in. The new anesthesiologist was tied up in a C-section, and I was in pain. I started crying to control the pain, but it didn't really help. My nurse couldn't do much, but there was an extra dose ready in the epidural. She tried that and it didn't work for me. I cried for about 50 minutes. I was having back pain, abdomen pain and for some reason pain in my ribs. The rib thing was the huge problem because I couldn't control my breathing. It's hard to use breathing methods when you can't get air in! I'd love to say there is a great solution here, but after I got another shot, this exact thing happened again. An hour later my new drug wore off and the anesthesiologists were both tied up in surgery. MLTM was very upset as they promised me this would not happen again. I cried for about 30 minutes and the nurse called my doctor to see if a narcotic was okay. Let me tell you that MLTM and I were very against this. I didn't want to keep taking all of these drugs. . . only the epi was in my immediate plan. However, I was very desperate and just wanting to breathe. After receiving it, I felt very loopy and realized the baby would be loopy too. Then I bawled my eyes out because I felt so guilty. MLTM knew whey I was upset and though the nurse reassured us that it was low dose and very safe, we still felt horrible.

Well, I got another shot of the original stuff one more time (non narcotic). No one could understand why it wasn't working like it did earlier in the day. By new it was midnight. The baby was still doing great, which was awesome. I forgot to add that they ended up giving me Pitocin at about 2pm because I was dilating, but my contractions were 7 to 8 minutes apart. They finally caught up around 10pm, but the doctor was waiting for the baby to drop as low as possible. Okay, so after that last shot, baby's heart rate was steady, but they wanted it to rise and drop a little more. They put me on oxygen and I slept with that for about 2 hours. Now it was 2am and I was calling for another shot as the rib pain was horrible and I had no urge to push. When the nurse came, she suggested checking me. I was 10 cm, the baby was low, and  this nurse didn't want me on any more drugs! Well, long story short, she taught me to push and I was a pro. after 8 sets of pushing she told me to hold off and she was calling the doctor. She called got a thing or two. The next thing I knew, MLTM was saying, "Melissa! She said not to push!" I was thinking, "Dude, WTF? I'm not pushing!" The nurse calming said to my husband, "Would you please push that red button?" About 1 minute later the room was FULL of nurses. Three of them rushed to me and I was wonder what was going on. Apparently, my little baby was not waiting another second! The baby literally slid right out and my nurse caught the baby and everything. This I didn't know as I was laying there. I asked, "Is the baby out?" They smiled and asked if I wanted to know what it was. Apparently MLTM looked himself and couldn't figure it out, hehehehehehe. My baby girl was born at 2:38 am on April 8th. She weighed 7lb 5oz and was 20 inches long. About a minute after she was born, my poor doctor arrived. He was literally walking down the hall as Brooklyn Renee made her way into the world!

Brooklyn scored 9s on both of her APGARs. She's perfect in every way. I cannot believe she is ours. She looks like MLTM to me, which I'm grateful for. :) It's been a very, very long journey and it's so surreal to think that I'm finally a mommy! The other night I went back through my earliest blogs and read the sadness, despair, and hope that I had with that first IVF cycle. I'm blessed to have had a perfect pregnancy, a rather easy birth, and now the most perfect little daughter in the world.

I will for sure post a picture as soon as I can. Nursing duty awaits (AGAIN). Thank you so much for sticking through my journey :)

Melissa

36 Hours to Go

Today I had a regular checkup for 40 weeks. I thought I was doing regular weight, urine, and blood pressure, but they hooked me up for monitoring and did a quick ultrasound. Here are the deets:

I've been strapped before. It was that great December Saturday that I got to spend in Labor and Delivery after Mr. Later Than Most slid into a car in a small snow we  had. I think he's still scared to drive. So, they hooked me up for about thirty minutes. I swear, I hate fetal monitoring. That damn thing freaks me out. When I was in L&D before, I asked them to turn the volume down. Today I was confident because I knew the baby was moving all over, so I didn't pay any attention to it. I did love watching the contraction monitor though. It did BIG FAT NOTHING. Yea, not one contraction here people. The doctor came in after about 30 minutes and read the tape. He said it was perfect. Whoo hoo! The teacher wants a sticker please!

So after the monitoring he said I needed an ultrasound. Um, okay I didn't know that. I do know though that last week he was incredibly busy so he whisked me out of that appointment ASAP! So, I think he forgot to go over this stuff with me. Either way, the ultrasound was to check amnionic fluid levels. He said I needed 8-24 units in order to let me go to my induction appointment on Friday. If not, it was off to the hospital for a c-section. That was an interesting little wake-up call! He hooked me up to the monitor and goes, "Wait, you don't want to know the sex right?" HOLY SHIT!!!! How did I forget to remind him. I almost freaked out! I said, "Oh thank goodness you are paying attention. . . my husband would have killed me." After that I kept daydreaming about going through 40 weeks of pregnancy and then the doctor slipping the sex because I'm a dingus. Well, the doctor kept the screen away from me seeing it and said that my level was 9.9, so I was good to go until Friday. Then, he watched the baby breath for a while and let me do the same. All I saw were these little lungs moving about. So cute.

So the plan, I have 36 hours to go into labor on my own. After that, it's 8am induction on Friday. The office will not lot expectant mothers go beyond 41 weeks which would bring me to next Tuesday. I figured I may as well just put it for Friday. I mean, I do know my baby is 40 weeks, thank you IVF. The induction is not the way I wanted to go. In fact, I've been vocalizing my wishes to stay away from Pitocin because it can cause a lot stronger contractions which are harder on the baby. The doc reassured me, but I still have my opinion. Either way, if Friday comes I can't avoid it. The sucky thing is that I'm just sitting now and waiting for Friday, which makes me very anxious. I mean, last night I was doing the, "Holy crap, I'm bringing a baby home this week." Come on, I know this and have had a very long time to anticipate it, but the mind games have begun. Mr. Later Than Most is just over the moon. I'd like to think it's because he wants some days off of work, but he truly is just ready to hold his baby. When I see how excited he is, it makes me feel so much more reassured.

Well, tomorrow I'm sure I'll write a freakout post pre-induction. Be prepared for that people!

***Note to readers: I've been lazy and not editing my posts. I'm very sorry.

Got the Pictures!

Ahh, I finally got dressed yesterday and went to get my pictures taken. I've gotta say, Mr. Later Than Most did a great job.  I kept canceling at the Picture People because I just couldn't bare having other people watching me. Instead, we went to a local Arboretum  and spent a couple of hours driving around and looking for photo spots. I'm not too keen on putting my face on my blog for the world to see, but I'll do some editing so you can see some. Please tell me you heard about that family who had their Christmas picture used on Europe billboards? LOL- It happens and I don't want to be that person!

No news on the baby front. Right now I'm watching the baby kick a spool of ribbon off of my stomach. Yes, that's what I'm doing. I had some Sprite and the ribbon action has really been entertaining!

"Four Days to Go"

Well, that's what my ticker says. But, what does it know anyway? Mr. Later Than Most thinks everyday is the "day." For weeks he's been asking the baby when it's going to come out. I always followed that conversation up with, "not for a few more weeks." Now I let him have the conversation! The good news is that I still feel like a million bucks. How lucky am I? That can't be totally normal! Again, not a lot going on the "progress" front. I had a ton of Braxton Hicks last night and they never amounted to anything.

Today should be fun (if I can get off of the damn couch). Mr. Later Than Most and I are going to a local park to take some pictures. I was going to do professional ones, and then I kept getting nervous and canceling the appointments. I don't know why. So, I feel much better just going causally and getting some pictures. I am very, very organized so the fact that I'm going just days before my due date literally cracks me up.

One way or another, this baby will be here in less than a week. My April 8th induction date is still sitting there. I really hate to get induced, so I may need to up my walking. The past few days have been yucky out, so I've walked Target and Walmart like there is no tomorrow. The only problem with this is that I end up buying stuff. So, these are expensive walks!

Yesterday I spend a couple of hours at S's house with her and the twins. OMG- they are just darling and so little! We thought maybe a little time together would make my baby want to meet hers. Yes, we are weird. But, it's fun to say that we can wait for the baby's to meet since they were labmates. Speaking of labmates, I noticed that Mr. Later Than Most will not be coming around with the IVF thing any time soon. When I mentioned the lab mates thing he gave me a look and said not to get too comfortable talking about that. It's weird to me but makes sense. I have several girlfriends that are going through treatments that I talk to or text, so it's in my real world. Also, I spend a lot of time on my websites talking and discussing things with other girls. Mr. Later Than Most has truly had a drive-by IVF experience. We did the shots and the procedures and since then he's had a pregnant wife. So, it's easy for him to not think about it. I do know that he has mentioned several times he's happy for the path we've taken and wouldn't have it any other way. Either way, I've mentioned this before, to me it's up to him. I've told some people and that's all that's needed. I've told about two people more than he knows, and that's fine. They are two girls that are struggling with treatments and there was no way I was going to let them feel like they were abnormal or alone. Mr. Later Than Most will realize this if the time comes.

Um, perhaps I should get ready for my pictures?

Today's Appointment. . . Uneventful!

Ha! I had a regular checkup today and the doctor was like, "Still hanging in there?" Yea buddy, I'm hanging in there! Although, at least I've been able to enjoy my spring break by doing anything I like! I've done some shopping and lots of visiting with friends. Today I saw S and the twins! Yes, my baby's labmates! Hehehehehe, they were all hatching at the same time! S wanted to get out and I was in the area. We went to Target and truly just lapped the store. S was trying to just get out and I was trying to walk this baby out! Her girls were so cute and sooooo good! They slept the thirty minutes that I was there. I may be venturing over to her house tomorrow. She's bored at home and I'm bored too, so we may as well be bored together. Plus, I can take one of those babies off of her hands and get a little practice.

As for feelings, I've got none! No contractions or anything. But, I do feel like baby is falling out so that should be progress, right? All I know is the longer you go, the bigger they get and this little one can sure pack a punch!

What am I Waiting For?

I'm sure any experienced moms can relate to this... I'm just living each day wondering what each twitch and pain are. It's very similar to the two weeks before I got my positive IVF test. I really don't know what I'm looking for, but I'm just sitting here waiting for it to happen! Today is 39 weeks and don't feel anything! LOL Well, I have felt some cramping on and off yesterday but I've got nothing today. Actually, the only thing that happened so far today was a I took about a 3 hour nap and that was about 2 hours after I woke up for the day! Ahhh, thank goodness I'm not working.

Last night Mr. Later Than Most decided to review a small Labor book that the hospital gave us. He kept trying to quiz me as I was relaxing with a little internet searching. (OMG, I just got jackhammered by a baby leg! That was freaky!) I think he realized I was getting annoyed because he eventually stopped his little quizzing game. Or maybe when I said, "Um, I know everything" he got the drift. LOL

For the past two days I'm watching baby shows on TLC. Sometimes they are a little more info than I need right now, but I figured I might learn something from them. Actually, the only thing I've done is look for things people shouldn't do! Ha! How terrible is that? I'm blaming it on the hormones. Oh and the ice cream I just had I'll blame on hormones too. Hey, it's 5 o'clock somewhere!

Clean and Rest. . . Repeat

Ugh, I think I know what they mean by nesting. Yesterday Mr. Later Than Most and I went to get the inside of my car detailed. This was my birthday present and I was dying for it! I didn't want to put a new baby in a dirty car (weird I know), so off we went. DeltaSonic did a really awesome job. I told MLTM that I wanted to actually sleep in the car. I don't think he's too surprised by anything I say or do lately. Poor guy.

When we got home late last night, I started thinking about everything I wanted to clean today. There is only one problem with all of the cleaning fun. . . it's exhausting! So, I just spent over an hour cleaning every crack and crevice in the kitchen, and now I'm on a 30 minute break. Although, every time I clean something, I need a shopping list of things I need to replace or some cleaning product I'm almost out of. So now a Target trip is for sure in order for today.

In general, MLTM and I have done a good job on our house. It is small. This wasn't supposed to be our "real house" (that's what we've always said). We moved in here 6 years ago and figured it was a great starter home for the two of us. We knew we'd live here for about 5 years and then get something bigger. Well, at year 4 we started making improvements to sell, and at this point I'm sure I don't have to tell you that the market sucks and we are stuck here. We are beginning to accept that, but I grew up in a house this size and it just drives me crazy. We have 975 sq. ft of living space, and that includes one bathroom that my husband is not good at sharing :) Either way, these days we are lucky to have a house that we can afford and actually call ours. So, when I'm doing all of this cleaning, I try to remind myself that though it's a small house, it's ours.

As for baby stuff, we are just missing the baby. Everything is totally ready and has been. It appears my ticker says I have 9 days left to just sit and hang-out. It's weird to just be waiting for something so big to happen! Should baby not want to come out on his/her own, I have a scheduled induction date of April 8th. That's less than two weeks away!

Well, it looks like my Swiffer floor is clean. I'm off to work on our living room. More posting to follow. . .

Almost There!

I've been bad about posting!

Well, the last I mentioned I was getting together with S before her induction on the 23rd and before this baby comes. Well, S had her twins that day, so we didn't get together! I've seen adorable pics of them though and they are just adorable! I'm so excited for S and that her long-awaited day is finally here.

I've had two more showers since my last post! Mr. Later Than Most's colleagues threw a surprise shower for him. They invited me and I worked a half-day so I could attend. It was really great! They had tons of great food and even baked chocolate chip cookies for me since that has been my "craving" (or addiction, whatev). They gave us a ton of diapers and an AMX gift card. They were very generous.

This past Monday I was surprised by another shower hosted by 51 third graders! Some room moms attended and organized. We played games and have treats. The kids made me the cutest scrapbook and my class gave us a Target giftcard. The generosity of people amazes me.

As for updates. . . my doctor was very surprised I haven't had any real contractions yet. Also, I'm not having any pressure so perhaps this baby hasn't dropped. I've always gotten a ton of BH, but nothing real. We tried to schedule my induction date today! They would actually let you get induced as early as 39 weeks, but Mr. Later Than Most and I were not interested. I want to go past my due date, so they'll be scheduling for April 8 or 9th. The scheduling unit at the hospital was closed, so the RN will call me tomorrow and let me know the date and time. Scary to think I could have picked a week from today!


Well, tomorrow is my last day of school! I can't believe it. In my nine years of teaching I have really over done it with volunteering for things and different committees. As of tomorrow, I'll be free from work and any classes until August. I know babies take up a ton of time, but I'll still need a mini hobby. I do NOT relax at all. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll eat those words! hahahaha

36 Week Appointment

My appointment was great last night. Mr. Later Than Most came along too to meet the doctor and get a glimpse at our last ultrasound. The baby was head down (yay!). It was moving all around and so cute! When the doctor switched to 3d, we got a good glimpse at the face! The quality at the OB's office isn't that great, but it was still good to see!

I took another iron test and that anemia is not going away any time soon! So, now I'm on two iron pills a day. At least my number went up. At my 12 week appointment it was 11. They want (at my office) between 13.5 and 15. At that point they put me on one pill every other day. At my 20 week it was 9.4. Whoops. So, one iron pill a day and instructions to eat more meat. Meat is very, very difficult for me to eat, but I've been working on it. Well, yesterday it was back to 11.3! So at least it went up but he wants to kick it into that normal range.

Tomorrow I'm having breakfast with S. Do you remember her? We met online. She found me and realized that we both had IVF in the same office and on the same days. Then we remembered seeing each other for each visit. We chat every day through text and have gotten together several times. Her little twins will be here on March 23 via c-section. Those two little cuties are both breech, so S is all set for her appointment. I was hoping they could switch to my birthday on March 24! So, we'll go to breakfast tomorrow and maybe a little Babies R US since they are supposed to be having a "shower" for expectant mothers.


On Sunday I'll see another friend who is expecting. Actually, she was Mr. Later Than Most's friend and now we have bonded. Her shower will be next month and I won't be able to see her. So, I had fun buying her a bunch of stuff and I'll give it to her on Sunday. I love giving gifts to people!

Let the count down begin!

Picture Time!

Well, it's been a long time since I've posted pictures. I am actually going to get professional pictures done next weekend. Just a cheap sitting but we wanted some cute pics to have :)

The pictures here are horrible! I'm sorry, but I still am not too keen on the idea of posting my face! LOL I don't want to travel to Europe and see my face on a grocery store billboard! Heheehehe. I don't know what you think, but I can't even see the difference between my 33week and my 35!

35 Weeks +

Ahhh, 35 weeks! I just got back from the doctor and everything looks great. My blood pressure is normal as usual, 116/62. As for weight, 18 pounds total. 5 pounds in the past two weeks. I'm sure that's baby picking up weight, but the Girl Scout cookies HAVE NOT helped! LOL

My stomach has definitely rounded. Getting up from the couch is hard. I still tie my shoes and shave my legs! Mr. Later Than Most yells at me because I try to do more than he says I'm "supposed to." Honestly, he hasn't really made it through a full baby book so I'm not sure where he gets his details! Hahahah! Nah, he's just being helpful!

So, one last ultrasound next week to make sure the baby is head-down. It was moving all around for the heart rate check today. The doctor had to keep starting over! I also got the rules of no traveling an hour away from the hospital and to "pack those hospital bags." Well, I did already start, but I'm not finished. I think he made it rather real for us!

I'm still sleeping like a champ, but getting up to pee every hour. The funny thing is that I'll get up and be wide awake. Then I lay back down and go right to sleep! I know that's how the body prepares you for baby, but how do people pee so much?

In the past week we put together the changing table, swing and bouncy chair. This weekend is car seat install and City Mini stroller prep! I love that stroller!

Hope all is well with you all!

I'm Here!

Okay, now that this baby is due soon, I'll be blogging more often!

It seems that everything is totally ready. The room is just about finished and we have everything we need. When I say everything, I truly mean it. You don't even want to know. Yes, it's my shopping. Besides having everything, I washed all of the baby clothes, sheets, and blankets. It's all ready and organized.

The baby classes are even done! We took a day-long birth class. I actually really liked it. Then again, I like anything with books and questions! Hehehehe. Last weekend we took a Baby Basics class. It was all about baby care. Truthfully, I didn't need that class one bit. It was Mr. Later Than Most that I thought could benefit. He did really great. First of all, he's much better at swaddling than I am. Also, he did all of the bathing of the fake baby and they made us hold the doll the whole time. He did that. Hehehe. Then, this week I dragged him to a Breastfeeding Basics class. Yes, he went. I kinda dreaded it myself so I'm sure it was torture for him. I already knew everything they had to say (from reading so many books) and the instructor was a bit weird to me. Mr. Later Than Most and I had a teeeny tiny argument during the class. Well, it all started because he said I corrected the instructor. Those who know me in real life would probably not be surprised by that. Hey, she needs to know her audience. I know how the human body works and apparently, she does not. During her presentation she asked when the baby's heart starts beating. I kindly raised my hand and said, "Six weeks." She says, "Nope." Um what? So, I said, "Oh, is six weeks when you can see it then?" She replied that it was. Now number one, is that arguing? So, I let it go.

On the way home I was like. Wait a freakin second. Why did I doubt myself? That lady, a nurse for 27 years, does not know the human body. At 3 weeks, fertilization takes place, there is no heart beat as the egg is not even attached yet. See IVF pays off. I know more than a nurse! Mr. Later Than Most was not impressed with the fact that I went home and Googled to prove her wrong. Success, 6 weeks is the exact answer, and that lady was a dingus. I'd email her, but I'm scared my husband would divorce me if I did. :)

So anyway- classes are over. Mr. Later Than Most needs to put the infant seat in and we are pretty much all set. The hospital bags are almost all packed. That took me forever last weekend. So, I really need to finish that up tomorrow.

In one week we are getting professional pictures taken. I figure that this could be my last kid, so I want as many pics as I can get. We have two frozen embies and Mr. Later Than Most keeps telling me that he thinks one kid is all we'll get. Not to mention it's one thousand bucks a year to keep those little ones frozen. Obviously, we're not ready to make that decision just yet.

As for dreams, I keep having dreams that I  have the baby early. Last night I finally had my first girl dream. Only a teacher would dream that her first kid would be two days old and crawling already. How weird is that?

Stay tuned for pics!