Craptastic!!!

When I was originally going to write this post (Last Thursday when I took this pix) I was going to tell you how “crappy” the day had been, and yes it was all related to the poop in my life. However things have since improved, so why dwell? I could not pass the opportunity to share this lovely photo of BS with you though.

Yes, I will be using this photo to scare off future potential boyfriends. She did this during dinner no less!!! And let me tell you, this is nothing, you should've seen her backside. Well, maybe it was better that you didn't.

TS has gone 3 days w/out defiling her pants. Wahoo!!! (And knock on wood.) We’ve taking the tact of taking away a toy if she does it AND rewarding w/either a piece of candy or a Madeline cookie (not just any cookie, it has to be a Madeline) when she uses the toilet. (To go #2, #1 isn’t really a problem.) This also means no cookies or candy other then those times. She lost 3 of her favorite toys before this weekend, but in the last 3 days has earned them all back!!! I am also trying to make a point of asking her to help me with everything on do and make her feel included.

BS is still having crazy huge diapers about once a day, but the reflux seems to be better. Sort of. I’m not convinced it is reflux and that’s why I haven’t given her the meds for it. I see her dr for her 2 month appointment (I know, can you believe it’s been TWO MONTHS already???) on Friday so I’ll talk to him more about it then. I believe the rice cereal in a bottle once a day and keeping her upright after eating is really making a huge difference; no projectile vomiting (ok, minimal projectile vomiting) and it seems like the “fussiness” is all related to lower intestinal stuff, which would not be reflux.

Ok, more later, timer just went off need to go get dog food & water neighbor’s plants!

Summertime Blues

I guess I don't need to post to my blog today, I'll just direct everyone to Antique Mommy's. It's so my life right now.

Now add a 2 month old who has reflux (or just severe gas or something, who knows, she not happy a lot of the time) but she is sleeping 6-8 hours a night, so I'm not really complaining. And the dr gave us reflux drugs, so we'll see. I haven't started them with her yet, but that's fodder for another post.

I was thinking maybe I was having a touch of PPD (post partum depression) because I just have no patience for TS these days. And it's so not like me. I mean I'm bitchy to everyone else in my life, but I used to be consistantly nice to my kid. (But then she used to be consistantly nice to me.) I feel so bad about it. It’s summer we get to hang together all summer, we should be having fun! But it’s not fun, at least a lot of the time it’s not. It’s a lot of work and frustration for both of us. And the more I realize that the more bummed out about it I get.

Antique Mommy's post did make me realize that it probably isn't PPD or even just hormones, it's probably just us. Both of us frustrated by our current state of life, taking it out on each other. Needing each other and not wanting to all at the same time. Sigh.

Daddy’s Day

This one is sneaking up on me a little. I’m getting better at the two kids thing (just by saying that I’m sure I just jinxed my day) but adding anything like say a holiday throws me a bit. So I’m scrambling a bit today for Daddy’s Day presents. It’s not entirely my fault I knew what I wanted to do and said it in front of DS (I was talk about for the Grandpa’s at the time) and got shot down. Ack! So did I come up with something new? No, I went into denial and now I’m scrambling. I think I know what we’re doing, but it means going to the store (possibly multiple stores) with both kids in tow. Not fun. Oh well, it’s supposed to be HOT today (finally!) so I can bribe the use of the kiddie pool for good behavior.

DS is a great dad BTW. A Daddy’s Day posting wouldn’t really be complete without a mention of that fact. I think there are people who are surprised at what a good father he is, but I’m not. He’s become the dad I knew he would be when I married him. TS has become quite the daddy’s girl as of late and it’s really sweet to see her run to him in the evenings when he comes home from work.

Happy Daddy’s Day DS!!! We love you!

My Inner Nine Year Old Boy is Working Overtime

REFUX

Go ahead, say it out loud. Didn’t you giggle? Just a little? It’s how my 3YO pronounces reflux. Yesterday, I decided that maybe the projectile spitting up vomiting, (I’ve been informed that when the spit projects it’s consider vomit. Oookay.) and the congestion that BS seems to get while nursing might be indicative of something. (I considered that the projectile poop might also indicate something, but have since been informed that “projectile poop is normal.” Of course it is.) I was thinking maybe a food allergy? So I decided that maybe I should cut the obvious culprits from my diet for a week or so and see if it makes a difference. Obvious culprits would be dairy, chocolate & caffeine. Dairy & chocolate would be my worst offenses; I’ve already been avoiding beans, broccoli, cauliflower & cabbage and I don’t do much caffeine on it’s own. Since not having my Vente Decaf Mocha every morning AND evening will just about kill me I decided to call the advise nurse and see if it made more sense to do one item at a time (and can I substitute soy, which is highly allergic on it’s own, for milk? I can use soymilk and prolong the loss of my mochas for a week or two until I have to lose chocolate.) Or would it be better to do it all at once & add them back one at a time. She called me back, asked a bunch of questions and then informed me I should be bringing BS in to see the doctor, how was 12:15 for me? It was currently 11:45, I love how they make you feel like mother of the year over this stuff.

So after much poking, prodding and questioning the doctor gave us a sample swap to swipe BS’s poop onto 3x in the next week to see if there is an indication of any allergies. She didn’t think so, but “to cover our bases.” She also gave me a list of things I need to do with BS to try and limit the spitting up; adding rice cereal to a once-a-day breast milk bottle, avoiding formula (we hadn’t used it in over a week, so not an issue,) and then mostly ways to keep her upright. Depending on her (lack of) improvement we’ll know better if they want to try medication with her or not next week. In addition to all of this poor BS has a herniated umbilical cord. I noticed it the other night & mentioned it to the doctor. She checked it out and said it would heal itself & didn’t hurt her. I’m not convinced about the hurting part. The thing sticks strait out when she’s crying, it looks like it hurts. Have you ever seen a belly button stand up? That's what it does. Ouch!

In spite of all of this BS is up to 8# 4oz (Wahoo!) Considering that she’s sleeping 6-8 hours a night consistently and spitting up half of what she’s taking in, I think I can let the kid tell me how often she wants to eat now. Like it’s ok if she wants to go longer then 3 hours during the day.

Back to my inner nine year old boy; I find it humorous that yesterday, my poop posting day, was one of the highest trafficked days of my blog. Guess I know what I need to talk about if I want more visitor, huh?

It’s Bodily Function Day!

Yes, that’s right it’s bodily function day at the house O’Speak. If you’re squeamish you should turn back now. I think it really says a lot about me that I’ve gone 6 weeks without a post about baby poop. Isn’t that usually the primary fodder for bloggers with new baby’s?

ToddlerSpeak

TS has been more or less potty trained for several months now. She does still wear pull ups when she sleeps. I decided not to mess with the current arrangement until well after BS was born. I figured the move, BS’s birth, etc… was a lot to ask, so why push it. Well, TS has given me the reason; she’s been waiting till she has the pull up on and then pooping in it. This really hit a new low now that she’s decided to take it off (full of poop) and “clean herself”.

Very special.

The other highlight that’s been happening with TS is that she has decided to start peeing herself during the day. For attention. No pull up involved, just regular clothes. She’ll have just gone in the potty 10 mins before and then suddenly announce she’s going. When she did this for the 3^rd time the other day I asked her, “Why did you do that?” And she said, “Because you have to clean it up.” I may have to kill her. Guess who's cleaning up now? Instead of death I settled on losing the pull ups altogether. So yesterday and today she wakes up dry—Wahoo! And promptly pees & poops (Saturday) in her PJs while standing on the bed. Lovely.

Babyspeak

BS has become what you (or at least my parents) would call a “spity baby”. Every time she eats she spits up. Not just a small teaspoon amount either. This kid can heave. It has now progressed to where she projectiles at least once a day. Usually the “jet vomit’ occurs within the first hour after she eats first thing in the AM. She’ll have eaten, burped (she makes her mama proud on this front too) and spits up like normal so you’ll think you’re clear. Then you put her down in her crib and about half an hour to an hour later she’s crying. You go in there & there’s a trail across the crib. I have a mat underneath her, so hopefully if her diaper overflows or she spits up I’ll only have to change the mat not the whole crib. Yeah, right. This kid often manages to miss the mat altogether. She’s kind of amazing when you think about it (and so is the amount of laundry I’m doing these days). Or she’ll have done the trail and when you pick her up, it’s underneath her, down her back, etc…Very impressive. Honestly, it's hard to believe a child her size can put out that much. She also manages to pack some force with her poop. Luckily the worst we’ve gotten on that front is up the back, which is gross, but no where near as gross as it would’ve been if I hadn’t been holding up a wipe when changing her diaper the other day and the “projectile poop” started shooting out.

There’s your visual for Monday.

EIGHT HOURS!!!

Yes, I said EIGHT HOURS, the child slept for eight strait hours last night. I, on the other hand, did not sleep for 8 strait hours. I had to stay up till midnight to pump (she fell asleep at 10 after nursing). Then at 4 AM the cat, realizing we might actually be getting a full night of sleep, decides to have a hairball on the end of our bed!!! GA-ROSS! I woke up before she really got going & kicked her ass across the room off the bed. But now I was awake and had to clean it up. Never-the-less I did get in a “decent” night’s sleep last night.

Today is 6 weeks! Can you believe it’s been six weeks already???? I think her weight is about 7# 9 oz by now. Cool. At six weeks I feel like I should so have may shit more together then this. But I don’t.

I was able to get out of the house today in 2 hours (including 2 time outs for TS) and everyone had clothes on and hair brushed. Yes, I even had on my makeup. So maybe I am getting my shit more together then I think. Or maybe getting some actual sleep makes a difference.

On a non-related side note; a friend of the family (someone DS grew up with) have been dealing with an unbelievable tragedy. Their 6 YO daughter fell 2 stories in an elevator shaft last week. She survived, and in fact is making incredible progress. You can read about it here if you’re interested. If you’re the praying type, would you mind including them in your prayers this week? As a mom the whole thing makes me sick to my stomach, and since we live far away, asking you to help pray for them is about the most productive thing we can offer them right now.

Ok, more later. I’m off to nurse some more. MOO!!!

Who’s the Queen Now?

I’ve always said I’m the “Queen of Everything”, which makes TS “The Princess of Quite A lot”. But after these I’m not sure who’s the Queen around here. Hee, hee.

This Week(end) has been hard

TS is acting out and having melt downs in ways I can’t begin to describe. It doesn’t seem related to BS, but who knows. I guess we just have to get way more “hard ass” with her over everything, stop giving her so many choices, and consistently make the choices things like, “You can do this or I can do it for you. Now.” It’s hard, I'm still sleep deprived and trying to keep my head above water when things are “normal” and then she pulls the crap she’s been pulling and it’s like I don’t even know how to describe how I'm feeling. My frustration level is through the roof.

I told DS that I think she needs to start going to school 3 days a week. I told him this on Wed & things have been worse since then.

He laughed at me.

I wasn't joking.

I do know that I need to get back on my little flylady system. I started the process of it again this weekend. I’m so frustrated that getting out the door in the morning is taking 3.5-4 hours!!! (This includes feeding BS, usually 2x because by the time I get out stuff together to go she's due to eat again.) I realized that my morning routine needs to be revamped; it just isn’t working for me with two kids. I pulled my timer out and started timing how long it’s taking me to do each task so I can set a realistic routine and allocate some of the tasks to other parts of the day. Hopefully, this will help me get some sanity back (and maybe even more sleep.) So I’d better go now, since my time on the computer is up, more later.

Blogger is Pissing me off

Ok, I wrote how Blogger was pissing me off. I couldn't get a photo to load on that last post to save my life.

However on a whim I thought I'd give it a try on a new post & volia. Go Figure.

So this is NOT the pix I was trying to load. This is a pix of TS giving BS "nosey kisses" something she likes to do often.




This is the photo I was trying to upload. It's kinda dorky, but it's BS's first "smile" (probably gas, but I'll take it where I can get it, right?)

I'm hoping I might even get a birth story up for you this weekend (don't hold your breath). Ok, I'm off to bed, I'm exhaused.

One Month

(I have some pix I'm trying to upload for this, but Blogger is not playing nice tonight.) Keep checking I'll get them added. Honest.)

Well it was one month on Saturday, May 27, but life was happening & I couldn’t seem to get to the computer for any length of time until now. I did manage to get on long enough to find a bargain on a stroller frame ($25!!! Wahoo!!! Craig’s List Rocks!!!) which DS & I picked up tonight.

I’m so cool.

On the non-kid front, outlaws left today (a large part of the reason I couldn’t get on here for any length of time; I was competing w/DS & FIL for computer time in the short bursts of free time I did have, so next to impossible.) Also, my mom is having some major health problems. I think it’s something that can be managed in way that it will hardly make a dent in her life (assuming she gets very proactive about it right away). But I may be naive in my thinking, and that’s assuming she’s on board to kick it in the butt right off. That’s a big assumption; it’s more likely that if she were committed to changing her life that dramatically she probably would’ve done it already. She’s very upset about it right now, so it may be something she’s willing to take on now. I hope so, she needs to be around for a long while. Who else can drive me nuts quite like her?

As usual, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. I have lots more to write about, but I’m going to give BS a paragraph & get to bed. I’m still exhausted most of the time.

So now, back to BS, who this post is actually supposed to be about; as with most second children she’s obviously getting less attention then the first. I’m talking about my blog postings. The kid wants to eat every two hours so she’s getting plenty of actual attention. I do believe that rather then calling me “mom” she will be referring to me as “lunch”. As in, “Hello Lunch. I missed you today.”

Overall things are going very well; she’s up to 7# 4oz (Wahoo!!!) which is exactly how much they want her to have gained. Her weight & height are both in the 5% so she’s a small baby. Note: this does not equal small quantities of diaper changing or contents. We’ve even had a couple nights involving 6 hours of sleep (More “Wahoos!!!”) Dr has given us the ok to let her sleep like that at night (assuming she’s eating at least every 3 hours during the day.) We’ve been setting the alarm to make sure she eats every 3 hours, even if she doesn’t wake us for it. She does seem to get “colic” most nights (usually between 8-midnight). All pray to the Mighty Vibrator Chair Gods is all I can say on that one. And she is starting to be awake for a couple hours here & there during the day, even getting some cooing & smiles.

This is the good part.