Make Room for Baby

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Warning: The following post includes discussion on The Food Source™.

I’m not sure how permanent this is, but now that I’m back at work and Molly Ann is requiring middle of the night feedings again, I go to bed much earlier. So it looks like this:

6:30pm or so - arrive home from work
7:00pm or so - squat and gobble (eat dinner)
7:30pm or so - nurse Molly Ann
8:30pm or so - go say goodnight to Jesse
9:00pm or so - head to bed with Molly Ann for a nap/cuddle
10:15pm or so - Beau wakes up MA and me for the bedtime snack nursing
11:00pm or so - drift off to sleep, holding MA

For now, the family bed is working and I’m not inclined to change that. Beau said she’s sleeping in the pack-n-play pretty well during the day (although he is wearing her a lot, too) and she napped well in the bassinet this morning after her early feeding. She was waking up in the 2-3am range for almost a week, but slept until 4am this morning. It made squeezing in a nursing session before I left for work a challenge, but we managed and she ate well enough. I’m interested to see if that overnight sleep stretches to longer again - that would be nice and I’d get a couple of hours in the evening to watch a movie or something.

As for The Food Source™, things are going very well on that front. She nurses well, even with the regular introduction of the bottle. And I’m pumping plenty of milk while I’m at work for the following day - I’m averaging nearly 11 oz of pumped milk total each day. It’s such a marked difference from my experience with Jesse where I was lucky to get 5-6 oz of milk total. So with that much bottled milk and 3-4 nursing sessions each day, she’s well fed. I’m thinking her weight gain at her next appointment will be better, too.

Anyway, things are smoothing into a routine now that I’m back at work. I’ll enjoy my weekend without the pump since I’ll be at home from Friday to Monday to nurse Molly Ann. And then we’ll start that all over again next week.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Wouldn’t this be hilarious on Molly Ann?

They also have one with this.

SquirtShirts.com is my new favorite online store.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

West Virginia: We went to visit Beau’s friends the other day. It was a lovely day and perfect for spending on a secluded mountain farm. Jesse enjoyed his time playing with L&M’s grandkids and seeing cows and the “big fat dog.” I enjoyed girl chat. Beau enjoyed shooting up clay pigeons with his buddy. Molly got held by a lot of people who appreciated her snuggly cuteness.

The Stairs of Doom: It was while at the farm that Jesse had a slight mishap with what I call The Stairs of Doom. L&M’s farm house is a work in progress. The ground floor, which is more like a basement although it is above ground, is what you’d expect in a basement with a concrete floor. They have hardwood steps leading up to the main floor, but there is no side rail (yet) or banister. Until they had grandchildren, there was an open area at the top from their kitchen where a wall has since been added. Unfortunately the width from wall to wall at the top is just slightly off for the gate they have - it’s too wide for the gate to be tight enough to keep a child from knocking it down if they lean on it. To my mother’s eyes, those stairs are scary business and I keep a vigilant eye on Jesse when he’s near them.

He did well all day. He’s good on our stairs, to the point that we rarely put the gates up anymore - we really only use the gates to keep him corralled in the living room when we are occupied in the kitchen and/or upstairs and don’t want him underfoot. Knowing that L&M’s gate wasn’t as secure as Jesse would expect, I preferred that the gate stay down since he has a healthy respect for the stairs. And as I said, he did well all day.

Until ... It was about 30 minutes before we were planning to leave when it happened. My worst nightmare.

Jesse was playing with this rolling dog; pulling it behind him and watching it follow. He started to the hall area near those stairs and I could see that he was leaning in the direction. Just as I was calling out to him to watch the stairs he disappeared from view and I heard the thunks as he tumbled down. Four adults immediately leaped up, but I was holding Molly Ann and couldn’t get up fast enough.

I was sitting across from L, who saw the whole thing. He said that Jesse went down on his butt backwards, sitting upright until he went out of his view. M got there just as he started to turn and then roll sideways down the last third of the steps. She said he never hit his head once that she could see. Beau got to him just as he started to cry, which was almost immediately upon landing at the bottom. The other two adults were L&M’s daughter and son-in-law - I’m not sure where they ended up, although I think one of them was holding their 2 year old. I handed Molly Ann to L and went to see for myself, Beau got back to the top with Jesse as I got there and we took him to the bedroom to check him over. Amazingly, there wasn’t a mark on him that we could see and he had already started to stop crying. Later, we noticed a red mark on his upper back and the day after he had a small bruise on one elbow and on the outer sides of his feet (he had no shoes on and we figure they banged on the steps as he went down on his butt). Beau said he fell on his backside at the park today and seemed in a bit of pain, which isn’t surprising since he went down hardwood steps on his rear for a while.

Once we realized he was OK, I started to cry in relief. And then I had this thought that it was probably good for me that it happened - my fear was realized and he came out of it OK. I’m curious how paranoid I’ll be about those stairs the next time we visit, though.

The New Stroller: We bought a new stroller today, courtesy of Beau’s parents. We opted for a sit and stand type of double stroller. The truth is that since Beau is the primary parent, he won’t use the stroller as much as I might. He doesn’t prowl the mall, but he will find it handy when he does run errands with both kids. We got a good bargain on it with a 20% coupon. Beau took it on a test walk with the kids this afternoon and he seemed happy with it. Jesse likes his jump seat and Molly Ann’s carseat fits well. The nice thing about it, too, is that it isn’t too much bigger than the single stroller we have - it’s slightly longer, but it is narrower.

I read several reviews of it before we decided on this particular one. One reviewer said her front wheels wouldn’t turn at all. So when we looked at the floor model in the store, I mentioned that to Beau. He took a look at the wheels and noticed that they have individual locks on each one. If that mother never noticed those locks then she would never be able to turn the stroller! Another reviewer complained that it was impossible to stow anything in the basket, but another reviewer suggested unsnapping the basket on one of the sides to stow stuff. I checked that idea out and she’s right - you can easily get large items into that basket by unsnapping it. Another reviewer noted that the kid on the jump seat wouldn’t be able to nap if on a long outing. We debated the need for that option and thought that if we do take a day trip to a park or something that we would most likely be together and I could wear Molly Ann so that Jesse could sit in the front seat to nap. Once she’s too big to wear, then we probably won’t be using the stroller much anyway.

The Beach: We leave for our week at the Outer Banks with the R-clan (my parents and the Cooties) on Sunday. The girls have a spa day planned. I think the boys will take the kids to the aquarium on that day. Each couple will get a date night during the week. And we cap off the week with my cousin’s fabulous wedding. I’m excited about the week away.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Life is finding a rhythm in the Speaks household. Two kids are a challenge, but Molly Ann is a sweetheart so we’re coping pretty well. The only challenge with her is her preference for being held 24/7. Jesse is the sweet big brother I expected him to be with many hugs and kisses for Molly Ann. Beau is a wonderful husband and father - encouraging to me when I get discouraged, tending to Jesse while I tend to Molly Ann, dealing with the house and usual daily issues, and taxi-ing us to and from various doctor’s appointments as needed.

We had a lovely Easter weekend, spending most of it at my parents’ and with my sister’s family and our Uncle Bill. It was a good time.

There’s nothing new to report otherwise. And I need to log off because Molly Ann is tired of hanging in the bassinet while I spend a few minutes online.

Sunday, April 05, 2009

I’ll post more when I can get to/from the basement and the home computer more easily. Until now, quick posts on the work laptop.

Thanks for all the well wishes. We are doing great - my recovery seems easier than the last time and our family management seems to be keeping things going pretty well. Beau manages Jesse while I manage Molly. Of course, we’ll need to adjust that as we get closer to when I go back to work, but that’s weeks away.

Jesse is confirming what we already knew about him - he is a tender-hearted little boy who has embraced his little sister. At every chance, he runs into to see Molly Ann. We think that she may be called Molly Ann permanently because of that, actually. The full name is growing on all of us - Beau and I find ourselves calling her Molly Ann. It has a ring that we like. Anyway, Jesse thinks Molly Ann is “so cute” and he loves to point out her hair, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, etc.

As for Molly Ann herself, she is a sweetie. She is a true angel baby with very little fussing or crying. She’s a pretty good sleeper, although her days were flipped, so she’s struggling a bit with the transition from night owl to daytime. We’re working on The Food Source™, which is just as hard as it was with Jesse. She was started on the formula in the hospital, as Jaynee posted. However, given her size our pediatrician was open to me experimenting with exclusively breast-feeding for this first week to see how we do. Her weight loss/gain at her next appointment on Friday will determine whether or not we will be supplementing with formula.

More soon, including pictures of the cutie herself.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Jaynee here.

I just got a call from Jen herself, with news about Baby Molly.  She was born at 9:22 a.m. via c-section and weighed an amazing 10 pounds, 1 ounce!  WOW!  She measured 21.75 inches long.  Molly’s blood sugar was a bit low after being delivered, but the nurses fed her an ounce of formula and she is now sleeping comfortably.

As for Jen, she is completely hopped up on meds but was lucid on the phone.  Beau is at her side while our parents are down in the lobby (they aren’t allowed up to her room for some reason).  As soon as someone sends me pictures I’ll edit this post and add them!

Congrats, Speaks Family!

Friday, March 27, 2009

I posted an update at Ticklish Giggles earlier today. It’s hard to believe we’re just days away from having our second child.

I had a quieter day at the office today. Still busy, but productive and I managed to get the last key things done with little stress. I think I’ve left my back up in good shape for the next two months.

There won’t be any blogging from me for a while, although I will make sure to have my sister post something when the baby is born on Monday and when I’m able to do it, I’ll post a picture or two as soon as possible after I get home.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Over the weekend, I started sleeping more in the recliner than the bed. It’s just too painful to be completely horizontal anymore, which sux.

Anyway, the other morning Beau said he had this dream about his parents where they had a lion cub as their new pet.

When he woke up he realized that the lion cub’s growling was actually my snoring being incorporated into his dream.

Hilarious.

See that ticker up there? Yeah, that’s about where I am these days.

This time next Monday, we’ll have our baby Molly. Not a minute too soon, imho.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Ok, so thanks for Jaynee for posting the quick note about our family stomach flu. That was a doozy that started with Jesse last Monday AM and ended with me this Monday-ish. I went back to work on Tuesday, which happened to be the first day of a rather intense training class that ended yesterday. I was not able to access anything personal in those three days at all during the day and I was so exhausted by the time I got home, that I wasn’t about to sit at the home computer. While I managed to lose 8 lbs and my cankles with the flu, the cankles came back with a vengeance on Tuesday after sitting in an office chair in a stuffy room for 9 hours. When I got home each night, my only thought was to put my enormous feet up.

So we’re in the home stretch with the pregnancy and I’m more than ready for this to be over. I’m huge, uncomfortable at all times, exhausted, cranky, and all of the other things that go with being 2 weeks away from the due date. I’m more than grateful for the scheduled c-section and counting the days to delivery of little Molly.

In the meantime, I have an incredibly long list of things that need doing at work in order to leave things in good shape for my boss and my back up. I fear there aren’t enough days to get it all accomplished since I lost 3 works days with my flu, an additional 3 days with the class this week, and an additional 2 days of training in our own office next week. I’m already planning to bring home work for tomorrow in order to catch up a bit and I may end up working some long days next week. It stinks that my last week at work before maternity leave will be so stressful - that can’t be healthy, but it can’t be helped either. It’s keeping me up at night - hence, the early morning post here this morning. I’ve been awake since about 2:30am and working on clearing out a week’s worth of personal email, Etsy stuff, and as soon as I post this, I’ll do my sales tax reporting to the state for last month.

I’m too busy. When did that happen? *sigh*

Anyway, thanks to those who prayed for us while we were ill. Somehow we muddled through - actually Beau kept things running even though he was ill, too. He was really the only one capable of taking care of anything since Jesse is only 2 and I’m 9 months pregnant. He’s a saint.

Monday, March 09, 2009

There are a couple of new updates at TG, including a new, more feminine theme in keeping with the girl child whose blog that will become in 3 weeks.

1. Daylight Savings sux. Just sayin’.

2. I puked in the shower this morning. It was painful because of the size of the baby at this point. I was not pleased.

3. I was nearly done with breakfast when Jesse started puking at the table. I had to run because it got me to gagging. Poor little dude. Poor Beau having to clean up and comfort by himself. We think he may have finally picked up the stomach flu bug that’s been making the rounds at church. Pray for my fellas, today, please. We can’t have this run through the whole house.

4. I have my 36 week check up this morning. I actually need to finish my hair in a minute before heading out the door.

5. My mother and I had a fun time sorting through CootieGirl‘s hand-me-downs yesterday in preparation for our baby girl, now that we know. There are a lot of really sweet things. Lots of pink. And we were surprised at the number of items with tags still on them. I’ve got a load of newborn-3 months items washing right now to have fresh for our baby when we bring her home. And I’ve picked out the sleeper she’ll wear on that day - it’s precious.

6. While at my folks house yesterday I discovered that one of the tires on the Avalon was going flat. So Dad changed it and Beau came over to switch cars with me. He was going to take care of that and grocery shopping today, but I think Jesse puking may have changed his plans for the day.

Friday, March 06, 2009

No hypoglycemia this morning. I just took my post-breakfast reading and it’s low (89), but I feel fine. So I think the half dose is going to work.

Of course since I’m working at home today, everything was delayed by about 90 minutes because we slept a bit later. So I wonder how much that affects the numbers, too.

Either way, I’m encouraged this morning.

Now, I’m going to get my snack. I’m hungry.

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Again: I actually did pull over this morning because of my hypoglycemia. This on a half dose of the glyburide and double carbs. I can’t win. And I want to cry. I’m so tired of not feeling good. And just tired generally. I woke up super cranky this morning.

Why: Tatiana makes the wild card? Seriously? There were several other people I could think of that are much better options than that nutjob. Sheesh.

LOST was awesome last night.

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Feeling hypoglycemia coming on when in your car in heavy rush hour traffic is not fun. I had passed all options for stopping to get some orange juice about 20 minutes earlier and still faced about 15-20 minutes to get to my office when I could feel my blood glucose drop like a rock. By the time I got to my office I was in bad shape. Fortunately, my back up ran upstairs to buy some OJ for me and I’ve been chomping on rice cakes and I’m doing better already.

But this is really getting old and now dangerous. It’s so frustrating because I followed the directions I was given yesterday - I kept to the whole dose of glyburide and doubled my carbs at breakfast. That didn’t work, clearly.

*huffy, weary sigh*

[UPDATE 5:00pm]: Finally talked to the lady at the diabetes center. She agreed that cutting the pill in half as well as continuing with increased carbs with breakfast will probably solve the problem. She wants me to call her on Friday if I still experience hypoglycemia at that point.